The Bastard First Prince Doesn't Want to Die

[Translator - Jjescus ]

[Proofreader - Starfall ]

Chapter: 197

‘My name is Baek Yeon.’

I almost blurted it out. Why did my eldest brother have such a familiar face?

It was as if we had just seen each other yesterday.

I nearly made a grave mistake, but I barely managed to hold myself back and responded as calmly as possible.

"Prince Ikwon, Yegyeong."

As soon as the words left my mouth, I realized—there was no way my eldest brother would recognize the face of the First Prince.

"Huh?"

As expected, my brother gave me a puzzled look.

I swallowed a sigh and focused on assessing his condition. He looked like he could barely move.

"It's not important right now. We can talk about it later. Can you stand and walk?"

Acting all serious in front of my eldest brother felt odd.

I was the kind of person who always crossed the line, got too playful, and ended up getting smacked for it.

It was just as strange to hear him speak formally to me.

To be fair, my brother was a man of courtesy no matter where he went. A true model of a gentleman.

Even when dealing with street vendors, he never failed to use polite speech.

So, given that I had saved his life, it was only natural for him to treat me this way.

But I didn’t like it.

The warmth and familiarity he usually showed me—that was what truly made me feel special.

He was always polite to others, but with me, he let his guard down.

That was what made our bond different.

"I can, of course—"

As he attempted to rise, he suddenly collapsed.

Sweat dripped down his face.

Clearly, he was more injured than he let on. It was impressive that he was even speaking properly.

Then again, my brother had always been good at enduring things—including his emotions.

"Get on my back."

I crouched down so he could climb on.

But he simply waved his hand, rejecting the offer.

"N-no, I couldn’t possibly burden my savior any further."

"Hah, come on. Just get on. You can’t even stand properly."

"Ah…"

His face turned beet red with embarrassment.

I immediately realized my mistake.

I had spoken in my usual blunt manner, but to someone as upright as my brother, it must have sounded harsh.

Feeling awkward, I stepped back.

By now, our allied soldiers had arrived.

They dismounted and hurried to support my brother.

"I’m relieved you’re safe, brother."

Among them, a familiar voice stood out.

I had sensed someone approaching for a while, someone vaguely familiar.

But as Baek Yeon, the presence I had known before and the one I recognized now felt vastly different.

Regardless, I turned around—and locked eyes with my second brother.

He quickly averted his gaze and bowed his head, looking flustered.

He must have witnessed everything from a distance.

I had simply been faster than them, so they hadn’t had a chance to help.

"Are you our savior? How can we ever repay this debt…?"

Hearing those words, I let out a hollow chuckle.

It might have sounded like a scoff.

"A debt?"

Who was he to talk about debts?

Of course, they wouldn’t understand my reaction.

My brothers exchanged glances before lowering their heads in unison.

"We wish to welcome our savior into the fortress."

* * *

Instead of heading to the fortress immediately, I went to check on the villagers I had left behind.

They had already been exhausted to the brink of collapse.

Rather than wandering around looking for me, they had chosen to stay put, resting and waiting for my return.

"I told them we should just wait," said Aro.

She was filthy, covered in grime, but still seemed to have more energy than the others.

However, her gaze kept flickering toward the bloodstains on my clothes.

I had come straight here, thinking it would take too long to change.

But I hadn’t considered how unsettling my appearance might be to her.

Not just to her—the others, too.

I could see the tension in their faces.

But instead of explaining, I simply gestured for them to move.

One by one, they rose to their feet.

"It was a good decision to stay put instead of searching for me. If something like this happens again, don’t move—just wait."

"Understood."

I ruffled her hair before hoisting her onto my back. Then, I led the group toward Blood Cloud Fortress.

"These are the people I mentioned."

When we arrived, my second brother was waiting for us at the now-empty fortress gates. He had been dozing off while leaning against his spear, but the moment I appeared, his head snapped up.

"There are more than I expected."

He eyed the group. Since they included children and the elderly, they weren’t threatening in the least. His expression was more curious than wary.

Their ragged appearance might have drawn some suspicion, but I could easily pass them off as wandering refugees.

After all, it wasn’t uncommon to see drifters around Blood Cloud Fortress—though usually in smaller numbers.

In fact, when the lord of Blood Cloud Fortress once speculated about my origins, he, too, had assumed I was from a group of wandering refugees.

People believed these nomads came here because this land bordered the Huawei Kingdom.

But after learning of the village that had existed within the Demonic Realm, I started to suspect otherwise.

Perhaps many of these so-called refugees were actually from the Demon Realm itself.

"Come inside," my second brother said.

I pushed my thoughts aside and turned to face the fortress gates.

Broken doors, shattered wooden debris, and twisted metal fragments littered the ground.

The massive gates were half-destroyed and barely functional, but repairs would come soon enough.

That was how it always was. No matter how many times Blood Cloud Fortress was shattered and torn down, it always healed.

As if erasing the scars of war—returning everything to how it was before the screams.

The people here knew how to rebuild better than anyone.

As we stepped inside, I noticed carpenters already approaching to repair the gate.

They hesitated when they saw the unfamiliar faces in our group, but upon recognizing my second brother walking beside me, they quickly bowed their heads and dispersed.

The aftermath of battle had left everyone on edge.

And for good reason.

Soldiers were stationed along the walls, listening for distant threats while inspecting their weapons and armor.

In makeshift tents, the wounded groaned in pain, enduring their suffering.

You didn’t have to witness a battle firsthand to understand the horrors of war.

For the villagers, who had never seen a fortress of this scale before, the sight left them either tense or awestruck.

Despite its bloodstained walls and shattered gates, Blood Cloud Fortress never stopped moving.

Soldiers rotated shifts between sentries and reinforcements.

Supplies and medical tools flowed in without pause.

The field hospital inside the fortress was filled with the sounds of groans and cries.

Underneath the tents, a handful of physicians worked tirelessly to treat the wounded.

Blood-soaked bandages piled up as the doctors’ orders rang out, cutting through the chaos with unwavering urgency.

"The bleeding won’t stop! Get more bandages!"

"There’s nothing we can do. I’m sorry… you should prepare yourself."

Each time I passed a soldier, a strange expectation stirred within me.

Would someone finally lash out?

Would they curse at me, demand to know why I had only just crawled back here now?

A foolish thought—but my mind kept conjuring these pointless illusions.

After walking for some time, my second brother suddenly halted and gestured toward someone.

"Oh, you’ve finally arrived! You have no idea how worried we were. When you left alone, we feared you might never return."

"You worried for nothing," he replied.

Amid the familiar faces of Blood Cloud Fortress, seeing those closest to me again felt different.

Lady Byeon, the woman in charge of the fortress’s household affairs, approached at my second brother’s signal.

She looked at me and said, "We are honored to meet our savior. I don’t know how we could ever repay this kindness."

Her eyes welled with tears.

It was jarring.

Where was the fierce woman who once raged at me for sneaking food in the dead of night?

Seeing this vulnerable side of her made my stomach churn.

I didn’t belong here.

"We’ll guide your group this way," she said.

"…Very well," I answered, my voice laced with conflicted emotions.

With a bow, Lady Byeon turned and led the villagers away.

"Now then, let’s go see Father—no, the Lord of the Fortress," my second brother said.

I nodded, but I didn’t feel at ease. There was no comfort in this.

The time I had spent here no longer existed anywhere.

I was on my way to see the Lord of the Fortress again. I had thought that if I could meet him once more, there would be nothing I couldn’t endure.

Yet now that the moment was here, I felt no joy or relief—only a deep, complicated sense of melancholy.

My steps felt unbearably heavy.

"There, he’s over there."

When we reached the heart of the fortress, my second brother pointed ahead.

Even amidst the clamor of people and the countless movements of the fortress, I recognized him instantly.

A few paces ahead stood the straight back of a middle-aged man.

My second brother called out.

"Father!"

The fortress lord turned around.

"Ah—my apologies. My Lord."

As expected, my second brother wasn’t one for formalities.

But I barely registered his words.

My eyes were fixed straight ahead, locked onto the fortress lord, who was looking back at me.

This wasn’t a dream or a hallucination.

He wasn’t a corpse or a ghost—he was alive, standing right in front of me.

My feet refused to move.

And then, he took a step forward.

Before I knew it, there was only a single step between us.

"It is an unfathomable honor, Your Highness."

The fortress lord bowed his head to me.

No—he wasn’t just bowing. He was preparing to kneel.

I tried to stop him, but I failed.

And so, I was forced to witness the astonishing sight of the fortress lord offering me a deep, formal bow.

"W-What?"

My second brother, unable to grasp the situation, was clearly flustered. Then, following the fortress lord’s lead, he hurriedly dropped to his knees as well.

I sighed.

"You don’t need to do this."

"Please allow me to show my utmost respect. It is an honor beyond words."

"No, it isn’t."

This was the last thing I wanted.

Should I just throw myself onto the ground instead?

"How could I dare stand in your presence when my child owes his life to you, the rightful heir to the throne?"

"Please… stop this."

The more formal the fortress lord became, the more distant I felt.

I was Baek Yeon.

Inside, I was undoubtedly Baek Yeon.

Most of my memories, most of my experiences, had unfolded within these fortress walls.

And yet…

No one here recognized me.

Suppressing the bitter feeling was difficult.

"H-His Highness?"

Meanwhile, my second brother was still himself.

He couldn’t hide his shock as he looked between me and the fortress lord, struggling to make sense of it all.

"Please rise," I said in a quiet voice.

I had finally returned to the home I had longed for.

But cruelly, I was nothing more than a stranger in it.

[Translator - Jjescus ]

[Proofreader - Starfall ]