The Bastard First Prince Doesn't Want to Die

[Translator - Jjescus ]

[Proofreader - Starfall ]

Chapter: 193

"Uncle."

"Hm? What is it?"

"Aren’t you scared?"

"Who knows?"

We were heading toward Jawoon’s house. There was no one in the village we could trust. If they didn’t get in the way, that would already be a relief.

I sat down on the wooden porch and continued speaking.

"If we don’t act, we’ll all die. Isn’t that scarier?"

"I’m not sure."

"For someone like you, it’s better not to know."

"Mm..."

Aro fell silent for a moment before speaking again.

"Uncle."

"Hm? What now?"

"Then... does that make you a prince?"

"Yeah, technically."

"Whoaaa!"

"It’s not that big of a deal."

I rubbed the underside of my nose with my finger, playing it off. Jawoon clicked his tongue.

"Then!"

Aro suddenly turned to Jawoon, eyes wide.

"That means Grandpa is kind of like a prince too!"

"Wrong, you fool."

I turned my head toward the Hwang siblings, Hwang Danyo and Hwang Gongyoung, who were still standing instead of sitting on the porch.

It wasn’t that there wasn’t enough space—they simply hadn’t wrapped their heads around the situation yet, looking back and forth between Jawoon and me in confusion.

"What... is all this?"

Jawoon had vouched for them, saying they could be trusted, which was why he had called them here.

Since he had known them far longer than I had, I trusted his judgment over mine. Besides, we needed all the help we could get.

"Care to explain, Uncle?"

Hwang Gongyoung directed the question to Jawoon.

Jawoon remained silent for a moment before shifting his gaze to me. Naturally, the siblings followed suit, their eyes now fixed on me.

I had no choice but to explain.

At first, they reacted with disbelief.

"…Well, since you're here, it’s not like we can say you’re lying."

Surprisingly, Hwang Danyo nodded in understanding, though her expression darkened.

"…Do you know the way?" she asked, suspicion in her voice.

I knew the path on the map, but Jawoon would be the one to find the actual route. Of course, after all these years, there was no guarantee the landscape would remain the same.

"What matters is preparing to endure the deepened corruption of the Demonic Boundary," I said.

Jawoon nodded in agreement.

"…Lady Sannyeong wouldn’t have lied."

Hwang Gongyoung spoke up suddenly, defending Sannyeong.

Despite promising to help me leave the Demonic Boundary, Sannyeong had delayed and schemed behind my back. Yet, Hwang Gongyoung still seemed reluctant to fully trust my words.

Fortunately, a few enchanted tools remained in Jawoon’s house—items the village chief had prepared with her sorcery before she fell ill.

Perhaps because Jawoon often stood guard around the area, the chief had stored these tools in her home.

Most of them were sacred straw ropes, but even those would be enough to drive the demonic beasts toward the village and terrify the people into action.

"I just hope no one gets hurt," Hwang Danyo murmured.

Jawoon replied matter-of-factly, "There is always sacrifice for the greater good. I would regret seeing injuries, but… as you know, we have no other choice."

Hwang Danyo, looking somewhat dejected, answered quietly, "Yes, Elder. I understand."

And so, Jawoon and I continued our preparations to relocate the villagers.

Keeping ourselves safe from the thick fog of the Demonic Boundary wasn’t as much of a concern as I initially thought.

I had heard that Jawoon was an exception, but it turned out that most of the people the villagers referred to as "ours" carried bloodlines that granted them some level of resistance against the corruption.

And among them, Aro had the strongest resistance. She said the fog barely affected her at all.

I wasn’t as resistant as Aro, but according to Hwang Danyo, who had spent the entire night scouring the archives, I likely wouldn’t suffer fatal damage either.

Still, for some, we needed to acquire enchanted talismans overseen by Haejung. Hwang Gongyoung had taken on that task.

He successfully stole all the talismans from Haejung’s storage, but in the process, he got caught—though not red-handed.

Fortunately, Haejung merely reported the theft to the villagers without directly suspecting Hwang Gongyoung.

That was because there was someone else who seemed far more suspicious—a more obvious culprit: Sannyeong.

Sannyeong had been sneaking out of the village every night, heading somewhere in secret.

I was certain she was going to the shrine to complete a ritual she had left unfinished. But I kept that suspicion to myself.

To the villagers, who had no knowledge of such a ritual, Sannyeong’s constant disappearances were deeply unsettling.

As a result, the theft of Haejung’s talismans cast a strange and uneasy atmosphere over the village.

Then, the time finally came.

Jawoon and I immediately sprang into action, running all over the area to prepare for luring the demonic beasts.

The blood of a small demonic beast—a bait we had captured—spilled onto Jawoon’s yard, staining the ground.

A long, thick streak of crimson cut through the otherwise humble yet well-maintained yard that Jawoon had tended to every day.

Still, he showed no sign of displeasure. Even though he knew his home, the place he had built up over the years, was about to be ruined, his expression remained calm and composed.

I suddenly wondered what he was thinking.

From what I could tell, he wasn’t particularly happy about leaving the village. But at the same time, he didn’t seem to dislike it either.

It was a strange expression—one that lacked even the slightest hint of anticipation or relief that you’d expect from someone returning to the place of their birth.

"We drain the blood now, then spread it once night falls," he instructed.

"Understood, Lord Unguk."

I nodded at Jawoon’s explanation. This, too, was part of the baiting process.

We had captured multiple small demonic beast and planned to use their blood to draw a ritual formation around the village at night. That would undoubtedly lure in the demonic beast in droves.

"Stay sharp," Jawoon warned, his tone strict.

At his words, Hwang Danyo and Hwang Gongyoung nodded cautiously, their expressions tense.

Their role was crucial—once Jawoon and I successfully drove the demonic beast into the village, they would wake the villagers and lead them toward the boundary.

"I never thought I’d actually get the chance to leave in my lifetime," Hwang Gongyoung muttered.

Unlike his sister, whose face was stiff with anxiety, he let out an awkward chuckle, unable to fully hide the sliver of excitement creeping into his voice.

Seeing this, Hwang Danyo let out a deep sigh—then promptly smacked him on the head.

"This isn’t a joke!"

Their task was vital. They had to gather the villagers and lead them safely to the boundary. It was during this process that the most injuries were likely to occur.

Jawoon seemed to think she had been a bit too harsh, but given the gravity of the situation, he didn’t reprimand her.

And now, it was time to put our plan into motion.

Would we be able to protect all of the villagers without a single casualty?

I wasn’t sure.

After all, I had always been the one fighting on the front lines—I had never been in a position where I had to protect others.

As night deepened, Jawoon and I silently carried the blood-filled containers, moving carefully.

Everywhere we went, the thick, metallic scent of demonic beast blood lingered like a haunting afterimage.

How many demonic beast would come?

The chaos about to unfold was already playing out vividly in my mind.

"Ugh. Spilling it like this makes it even more disgusting," I muttered.

"I agree. But be quiet," Jawoon replied.

Jawoon had warned me. I gave a nod and finished handling the remaining tasks.

With the preparations to lure the demonic beast complete, all that was left was to wait for them to take the bait.

I recalled the fierce battle against the demonic beast horde atop Wolhan Fortress’s walls, replaying the mistakes I had made.

Looking back, there had been so many errors in judgment—missteps I hadn’t even realized at the time.

Only now could I recognize them, thanks to the teachings of Jincheon, which had appeared to me in my dream at the shrine.

I lingered on the strange mix of shame and superiority that memory evoked.

Then, at last, a massive presence stirred. The ground trembled beneath its weight.

Glancing back, I saw the village still lost in slumber, unaware of what was coming.

The sight of thatched-roof houses soaked in the pale, hazy darkness of the Demonic Boundary only heightened the tension.

That peaceful scene would not allow me the luxury of failure.

And then—beyond just a looming presence—the demonic beast finally came into view.

Jawoon and I shouted in unison.

“Monster! We’re under attack!”

For a fleeting moment, the village remained eerily silent, as if no one had heard our cries.

Then, one by one, lights flickered to life in the homes, and the air filled with commotion.

The confusion spread like ripples on the night wind.

I could hear Hwang Danyo and Hwang Gongyoung’s voices—small but clear.

Then came a sharp, unmistakable scream.

Sannyeong.

It was a scream that seemed to tear through the very air.

But it wasn’t because she had encountered a demonic beast. We had ensured that the demonic beast would only approach from this direction.

From this point on, it was a race against time.

We had to lure the demonic beast away, evacuate the villagers, and secure a safe passage out of the Demonic Boundary.

And that meant far more than simply leaving this place behind.

“By the way.”

“Yes, Lord Unguk?”

The demonic beast were nearly upon us. I drew my sword and leapt into battle.

Perhaps it was because I had fought countless times against Jincheon in my dreams, but the incoming demonic beast fell in droves—their heads and limbs flying, drenching the air with blood.

A reckless exhilaration surged within me. Restraining it was a struggle.

“…Is it truly right to take their homeland from them just to save them?”

Jawoon’s voice cut through the space between the demonic beast’s dying screams.

The words struck my ears with clarity—but answering them was not so easy.

[Translator - Jjescus ]

[Proofreader - Starfall ]