The Bastard First Prince Doesn't Want to Die

[Translator - Jjescus ]

[Proofreader - Starfall ]

Chapter: 173@@novelbin@@

The village nightwatch had to stay up for several nights. Me included, of course.

We didn't face monsters every night. The village chief had warned us that nights with a full moon were especially dangerous, but the reality was that there weren't many attacks. Some nights, there were no attacks at all.

Gradually, the moon began to wane, becoming less and less visible until it was almost completely gone. When that happened, the village chief made an announcement.

"We can stop the night patrols now."

After that, Jawoon rarely visited the village. Except for when he came to collect supplies like rice, he avoided the village. I realized he was intentionally staying away.

"Uncle, let's go see Jawoon," Aro suggested one day, as she usually did.

It seemed like she enjoyed having two outsiders in the village. Knowing that she was curious about the outside world made her intentions clearer.

...Even so, I still felt a strange sensation when she stared at me. It was as if she could see right through me.

"Okay," I replied.

But aside from those moments, she was just like any other child. I followed her as she skipped towards Jawoon's house.

The path to Jawoon's house was quiet. His house was on the border between the forest and the village. The ground was damp, and a cool breeze rustled through the trees.

"Uncle, look at this. Do you know what it is?"

Aro had found something that looked like a flower and was showing it to me. She held it out with both hands, looking very delicate.

"It's not a flower."

"What is it then?"

"Ta-da!"

She waved her hands and the flower suddenly flew up into the air. It was a small insect.

I grimaced, and she giggled.

She was so playful, but when she needed to be serious, she could be very focused.

"Hey," I said.

"Hmm?"

"Can you, you know, see things like the village chief?"

"What do you mean?"

Whenever I asked her something like that, she always pretended not to understand.

I sighed and shrugged. She was clearly avoiding the question.

"Okay, fine. I'll stop asking."

She then asked me, "Where did you come from, Uncle?"

It was a sudden attack. I had been the one asking questions. But since I was the one who needed the information, I answered.

"The capital."

"Ooh," her eyes lit up.

Wait, did she know what the capital was?

When I asked her, she replied, "Jawoon told me. It's where the king lives."

So Jawoon was the one who had told her about the outside world.

But the other villagers probably didn't know much about the outside world either. They had probably lived their entire lives in the village. It was a stark reminder of how isolated this village was.

"He also said that he lived in the capital," she continued.

I was surprised. Jawoon had never mentioned that before. Maybe he had only lived there for a short time.

Or maybe he wasn't from this country at all. After all, there were capitals in many different countries.

I decided to test him.

"You heard that from Jawoon?"

"He didn't tell me much."

She seemed disappointed.

"Well, I'll tell you what I know. The capital is a very big place with lots of people and tall buildings..."

“He didn't tell you? That’s unexpected. I thought it would be easy to get him to talk about the outside world.”

“It’s a secret.”

“What?”

A secret? What kind of secret could it be?

"Fine, then I won't tell you anything either."

"Are you the same as Jawoon?" Aro pouted. "If you ask him where he's from, he gets sad. But you’re different. Tell me."

She then gave me a stern look.

"Or else I’ll catch bugs and put them in your room while you’re sleeping."

“Oh, that’s scary.”

She pouted in response. I chuckled and couldn’t help but think back to what Jawoon had said.

Where was he really from? From his words, I couldn’t figure out his origins.

I gave up trying to guess where Jawoon was from and started describing the city to Aro.

Her eyes lit up with curiosity. It felt strange. I had never wanted to leave my home, so I couldn’t fully understand her desire.

Suddenly, I felt a strange energy in the air.

“Wait, are we going the wrong way?”

Aro tilted her head.

“What do you mean? You’ve been here many times, haven’t you?”

“I know this place, but…”

I stopped and looked around.

“Something feels different today.”

The surroundings were familiar: the trees, the twisted branches.

But something felt off.

I looked around slowly and carefully, trying to sense the energy of the place.

There was a strange, unsettling presence in the air. It was heavy and damp, like a thick fog.

“Something’s wrong.”

I turned to Aro, who was staring at me intently, with the same piercing gaze as the village chief.

“Uncle.”

“…What?”

“Uncle…”

What was she doing? It was creepy.

“What is it?”

“You’re more sensitive than I thought.”

Her words confirmed my suspicions. The village chief must have discovered my abilities.

“You knew?”

“I haven’t seen it yet. Grandma told me not to look too closely.”

“Not yet?”

Aro nodded and her expression returned to normal.

“Let’s go.”

She turned and ran towards Jawoon’s house. I followed her.

When we arrived, I was surprised to see strange symbols and colorful cloth tied to the door of Jawoon’s house.

Something was wrong. I called out to Jawoon.

“Jawoon!”

He opened the door and looked at us. He seemed pale and unwell.

“What are you doing here?”

Aro ran up to him.

“I brought Uncle to see you.”

Jawoon looked at Aro and then at me. He seemed annoyed.

“Why did you bring her here?”

"Is something wrong, Jawoon? Are you alright?"

Jawoon frowned and waved me off.

"Nothing is wrong. Don't worry about it."

He retreated further into the room, adding, "I want to be alone today. You both should go back to the village."

"But you look pale."

As I studied him, his complexion looked even worse. He seemed almost ill. And there was a strange bitterness mixed in with his weariness.

"I told you I'm fine. Go back."

He closed the door in my face. Aro didn't react much. There was nothing else I could do.

Aro glanced at me and then sat down on the mat, pulling on the doorknob. Of course, the door, which Jawoon had closed, wouldn't open.

"Jawoon!"

She knocked on the door and called out, but there was no answer.

I could still sense Jawoon's presence, though it felt weaker than usual. There seemed to be nothing seriously wrong with him, aside from his weakened state.

However, the fact that Jawoon was fine didn't mean everything was normal. There was a strange, dark energy in this house, in this entire area.

"Open the door, please!"

Aro knocked again, but there was still no answer. I went over to the door and listened.

"If you don't open up, I'll come in."

Aro must have known why Jawoon was acting this way. She took a step back as I approached the door.

There was still no answer, so I pulled on the doorknob. When it wouldn't budge, I kicked it open.

The door swung open and revealed a dark, cold interior.

However, the floor was warm, as if there was a fire. The oppressive atmosphere in the room was due to the darkness.

Jawoon was sitting in a corner of the room, his large sword resting on the floor beside him.

He didn't look up.

"I told you to leave," he said in a low, hoarse voice.

[Translator - Jjescus ]

[Proofreader - Starfall ]