Chapter 105
The man, who had been watching Yi-Gyeol with interest, spoke again—his tone noticeably softer than before.
“You know who we are, and you’re still asking for help?”
His grip on Yi-Gyeol’s arm loosened, just enough that he wouldn’t lose hold. Even as he waited for a response, the man kept examining Yi-Gyeol’s face, scanning it closely.
“To people like me, who have nowhere to go…” Yi-Gyeol murmured, lowering his gaze and letting his voice tremble, “You’re the ones who find us new masters, aren’t you?”
Before the man could reply, the larger one from the driver’s seat stepped forward, visibly annoyed.
“Quit bothering us and get lost...!”
“Wait a second,” the first man interrupted, still eyeing Yi-Gyeol. “He stopped us on purpose, didn’t he? That means he knows exactly who we are.”
At those words, the large man paused. He turned and gave Yi-Gyeol a new look—one filled with growing interest.
“You don’t look like you’re from this continent… Where are you from?”
The question was blunt and harsh. Yi-Gyeol flinched, answering in a small, practiced voice.
“I’m from a minority group beyond the continent.”
Seth had once instructed him to give that vague response if anyone ever asked about his origins. Yi-Gyeol repeated it now, just as he’d been told. The two men exchanged glances.
Then the larger man gave a knowing smile, reaching out to run his fingers over the fabric of Yi-Gyeol’s jacket and shirt.
“This is expensive material. And clean, too. You don’t look like someone who's been sleeping on the streets.”
Suspicion sparked in their eyes. But before they could ask any more questions, Yi-Gyeol spoke again, his voice trembling just enough.
“I served someone close to the Second Prince… But after my master got caught up in trouble…”
The two men shared a look and nodded slightly, as if everything now made sense.
Almost everyone in the empire had heard of the Second Prince’s failed attempt to poison his older brother, the First Prince, and frame the Crown Prince to bring him down. Most of his supporters had deserted him after that scandal, but a few nobles who refused to back Sethian had faced serious consequences.
It wasn’t far-fetched to think the delicate-looking young man before them was a servant from the Second Prince’s camp, cast aside after a loss of favor or status. Servants like him—abandoned, without money or protection—often turned to slave traders. They were easy to manage if given food and shelter, and their soft, unblemished skin made them particularly valuable for nighttime work.
The men quickly made their decision.
Yi-Gyeol was a lucky find.
They led him into the carriage, tying him beside the young man who had been sobbing in silence. The young man flinched at the sudden return of the men and let out a soft whimper when he saw Yi-Gyeol follow them inside without resistance. Though he couldn’t speak through the bit gag in his mouth, his eyes pleaded in warning.
Yi-Gyeol ignored him.
He sat quietly and offered up his wrists without protest.
The cold metal shackles clamped around his arms with a heavy snap, and chains were hooked to the ceiling. While seated, the chain was short enough that he had to keep both arms stretched upward, but the ceiling was low enough that he could lower his hands to about waist level if he stood and bent forward slightly.
*This will do.*
One of the men ruffled Yi-Gyeol’s hair, seemingly satisfied with how compliant he was, then stepped out of the carriage. The moment the door shut, Yi-Gyeol’s eyes sharpened. His thoughts never stopped moving.
The chain was too tight and too firmly fastened for him to get out of the carriage—but that didn’t matter.
He had no intention of letting himself be sold.
The carriage began to move, rattling along the road toward a small gate on the outskirts of the city—one designated for slave traders and livestock transport.
When they reached the gate, the guards gave the carriage only a cursory glance. The interior was unlit, and the traders were familiar faces. There was no real inspection.
After a brief exchange of idle chatter, the carriage rolled on.
Unknowingly, Yi-Gyeol let out a faint sigh.
He had heard that everyone except slaves carried a wooden identity tag. He had always stayed inside Seth’s quarters, with no reason to go anywhere else, so he had never bothered to get one made. Now, that lack of preparation gnawed at him.
*Even if I had one, I couldn’t use it...*
Even if he’d had the tag, he wouldn’t have dared show it.
He had chosen this day deliberately—the day before the coronation. Seth would be too preoccupied with the ceremony to neglect it. Even if Yi-Gyeol disappeared, the coronation would still be more important. And afterward, buried under the responsibilities of the throne, he would be too busy to have time to look for him.
*By now, he’s figured it out.*
Shock. Anger. That would’ve been Seth’s first reaction. But he was too composed a man to act recklessly. He would prioritize what mattered. Maybe he’d send someone to look, just out of obligation.
Either way, Yi-Gyeol had to put as much distance between them as possible.
*Focus.*
It was both something meant for Seth, whom he should no longer meet, and a warning to himself, who had already started thinking he missed him the moment Seth came to mind. Once he forced Seth’s face out of his mind, fear suddenly rose in him.
He already knew how this escape would end.
*It’s not like I’ll really die. I’ll just… leave the dead body when the time comes and wander.*
Like a wandering soul, he would drift and drift, and when Seth died… then he could disappear with him. If Seth saw his soul, he might catch him and make another body for him again, so he would only be able to watch him from afar.
How long would he have to wander? How cold and lonely would it be?
Thinking about that endless, empty time made his mouth taste bitter. The future felt as bleak as the darkness before his eyes.
And yet, he had no intention of changing his mind.
*He’ll forget soon enough.*
He would sit on the lofty emperor’s throne, meet someone far better than Yi-Gyeol, and come to love that person. Since there was the matter of an heir, he might even take concubines like the late Emperor. Then maybe he would quickly forget a man like Yi-Gyeol, who only ate away at his lifespan.
Just then, the carriage jolted. A metallic clatter—chains scraping—shattered the silence.
Yi-Gyeol snapped out of his thoughts.
*Time to move. It’s been a few minutes since we passed the gate. That means...*
He stood carefully, bracing himself against the swaying carriage wall. The young man beside him, nearly asleep, flinched awake and stared wide-eyed as Yi-Gyeol rose.
Bit by bit, he created space to move. He unbuttoned two buttons from his shirt. Slipping his hand inside, past the bite mark Seth had left on his collarbone, he grabbed the sleeping drug—practically his only weapon. Still leaning against the wall, he sank back down and held it beneath his nose, inhaling deeply. His vision went dark, then immediately brightened.
The separation came easily.
His soul slipped free, leaving his body slumped as if dead and the young man staring at it in shock, and headed outside the carriage.
They were far enough from the castle. Rising high and looking down, he could see a village not too far away.
After carefully taking in the area, even some distance beyond it, Yi-Gyeol returned to the carriage and reentered his body. The moment he did, he snapped his eyes open. Ignoring the muffled sounds of the young man beside him, who kept seeming to try to speak, he searched his pocket.
What came out in his hand was a palm-sized square of pale blue handkerchief, folded neat. It was hard to see in the dark, but in the light, the center would be visibly darker.
It was the handkerchief he had once soaked under the pretext of practice. He didn’t know how long it would still work, but it was a drug as strong as the sleeping medicine, so even now that the liquid had dried, it should still do its job. He just had to be extremely careful, since using it wrong could put him to sleep instead.
He took another deep breath through the handkerchief, feeling his head clear, then tucked it away again. His heartbeat tight with tension, he suddenly started kicking the carriage wall hard.
“What the hell!”
The larger man’s shout came from outside as he climbed down from the driver’s seat. Yi-Gyeol, standing inside the stopped carriage, opened the sleeping drug and blocked the mouth of the vial with his thumb, turning it upside down so the drug coated the inside of his finger.
As soon as he tucked the vial back inside his shirt, the carriage flap was thrown open and light flooded in.
“Hey, why are you standing? Sit down already!”
If Yi-Gyeol fell and got hurt while standing inside a moving carriage, the merchandise would be damaged. For that reason alone, the man had to make him sit.
The man’s face twisted in irritation when Yi-Gyeol remained standing in silence. He climbed into the carriage.
The moment he stepped close and opened his mouth again, Yi-Gyeol’s thumb brushed the corner of his lips.
“You, what—!”
The man’s eyes rolled back, and he dropped at once.
Braced only by the wall behind him, Yi-Gyeol barely withstood the man’s heavy body collapsing into him. Without panicking, he searched the man’s pockets. The key used for his shackles had definitely been in his trouser pocket.
The rough cuffs had rubbed his wrists raw, but fortunately he found the key. Once he shoved the man off him with difficulty, the heavy body hit the carriage floor with a thud.
“Hey! What’s going on!”
The other man came running, but he ended up on the carriage floor the same way.
Having dropped both men in an instant with the sleeping drug, Yi-Gyeol swayed as the tension finally seemed to leave him. Between his lack of vitality and the strain, his body already ached as if he were coming down with a fever. After several deep breaths, he forced strength back into his legs and used the key he had obtained himself to unlock the cuffs on his wrists and the shackles on his ankles.
Rubbing his sore wrists, Yi-Gyeol turned to the young man beside him, who was trembling with fear and confusion. He removed the gag and then the cuffs and shackles one after another. The young man’s eyes quickly filled with admiration. To him, Yi-Gyeol was someone like an incredible mage who could easily bring down those vicious slave traders—and a savior who had rescued him.
Once he had freed him completely, Yi-Gyeol gave him a small, gentle smile.
“You didn’t see anything. Understand?”
“You know who we are, and you’re still asking for help?”
His grip on Yi-Gyeol’s arm loosened, just enough that he wouldn’t lose hold. Even as he waited for a response, the man kept examining Yi-Gyeol’s face, scanning it closely.
“To people like me, who have nowhere to go…” Yi-Gyeol murmured, lowering his gaze and letting his voice tremble, “You’re the ones who find us new masters, aren’t you?”
Before the man could reply, the larger one from the driver’s seat stepped forward, visibly annoyed.
“Quit bothering us and get lost...!”
“Wait a second,” the first man interrupted, still eyeing Yi-Gyeol. “He stopped us on purpose, didn’t he? That means he knows exactly who we are.”
At those words, the large man paused. He turned and gave Yi-Gyeol a new look—one filled with growing interest.
“You don’t look like you’re from this continent… Where are you from?”
The question was blunt and harsh. Yi-Gyeol flinched, answering in a small, practiced voice.
“I’m from a minority group beyond the continent.”
Seth had once instructed him to give that vague response if anyone ever asked about his origins. Yi-Gyeol repeated it now, just as he’d been told. The two men exchanged glances.
Then the larger man gave a knowing smile, reaching out to run his fingers over the fabric of Yi-Gyeol’s jacket and shirt.
“This is expensive material. And clean, too. You don’t look like someone who's been sleeping on the streets.”
Suspicion sparked in their eyes. But before they could ask any more questions, Yi-Gyeol spoke again, his voice trembling just enough.
“I served someone close to the Second Prince… But after my master got caught up in trouble…”
The two men shared a look and nodded slightly, as if everything now made sense.
Almost everyone in the empire had heard of the Second Prince’s failed attempt to poison his older brother, the First Prince, and frame the Crown Prince to bring him down. Most of his supporters had deserted him after that scandal, but a few nobles who refused to back Sethian had faced serious consequences.
It wasn’t far-fetched to think the delicate-looking young man before them was a servant from the Second Prince’s camp, cast aside after a loss of favor or status. Servants like him—abandoned, without money or protection—often turned to slave traders. They were easy to manage if given food and shelter, and their soft, unblemished skin made them particularly valuable for nighttime work.
The men quickly made their decision.
Yi-Gyeol was a lucky find.
They led him into the carriage, tying him beside the young man who had been sobbing in silence. The young man flinched at the sudden return of the men and let out a soft whimper when he saw Yi-Gyeol follow them inside without resistance. Though he couldn’t speak through the bit gag in his mouth, his eyes pleaded in warning.
Yi-Gyeol ignored him.
He sat quietly and offered up his wrists without protest.
The cold metal shackles clamped around his arms with a heavy snap, and chains were hooked to the ceiling. While seated, the chain was short enough that he had to keep both arms stretched upward, but the ceiling was low enough that he could lower his hands to about waist level if he stood and bent forward slightly.
*This will do.*
One of the men ruffled Yi-Gyeol’s hair, seemingly satisfied with how compliant he was, then stepped out of the carriage. The moment the door shut, Yi-Gyeol’s eyes sharpened. His thoughts never stopped moving.
The chain was too tight and too firmly fastened for him to get out of the carriage—but that didn’t matter.
He had no intention of letting himself be sold.
The carriage began to move, rattling along the road toward a small gate on the outskirts of the city—one designated for slave traders and livestock transport.
When they reached the gate, the guards gave the carriage only a cursory glance. The interior was unlit, and the traders were familiar faces. There was no real inspection.
After a brief exchange of idle chatter, the carriage rolled on.
Unknowingly, Yi-Gyeol let out a faint sigh.
He had heard that everyone except slaves carried a wooden identity tag. He had always stayed inside Seth’s quarters, with no reason to go anywhere else, so he had never bothered to get one made. Now, that lack of preparation gnawed at him.
*Even if I had one, I couldn’t use it...*
Even if he’d had the tag, he wouldn’t have dared show it.
He had chosen this day deliberately—the day before the coronation. Seth would be too preoccupied with the ceremony to neglect it. Even if Yi-Gyeol disappeared, the coronation would still be more important. And afterward, buried under the responsibilities of the throne, he would be too busy to have time to look for him.
*By now, he’s figured it out.*
Shock. Anger. That would’ve been Seth’s first reaction. But he was too composed a man to act recklessly. He would prioritize what mattered. Maybe he’d send someone to look, just out of obligation.
Either way, Yi-Gyeol had to put as much distance between them as possible.
*Focus.*
It was both something meant for Seth, whom he should no longer meet, and a warning to himself, who had already started thinking he missed him the moment Seth came to mind. Once he forced Seth’s face out of his mind, fear suddenly rose in him.
He already knew how this escape would end.
*It’s not like I’ll really die. I’ll just… leave the dead body when the time comes and wander.*
Like a wandering soul, he would drift and drift, and when Seth died… then he could disappear with him. If Seth saw his soul, he might catch him and make another body for him again, so he would only be able to watch him from afar.
How long would he have to wander? How cold and lonely would it be?
Thinking about that endless, empty time made his mouth taste bitter. The future felt as bleak as the darkness before his eyes.
And yet, he had no intention of changing his mind.
*He’ll forget soon enough.*
He would sit on the lofty emperor’s throne, meet someone far better than Yi-Gyeol, and come to love that person. Since there was the matter of an heir, he might even take concubines like the late Emperor. Then maybe he would quickly forget a man like Yi-Gyeol, who only ate away at his lifespan.
Just then, the carriage jolted. A metallic clatter—chains scraping—shattered the silence.
Yi-Gyeol snapped out of his thoughts.
*Time to move. It’s been a few minutes since we passed the gate. That means...*
He stood carefully, bracing himself against the swaying carriage wall. The young man beside him, nearly asleep, flinched awake and stared wide-eyed as Yi-Gyeol rose.
Bit by bit, he created space to move. He unbuttoned two buttons from his shirt. Slipping his hand inside, past the bite mark Seth had left on his collarbone, he grabbed the sleeping drug—practically his only weapon. Still leaning against the wall, he sank back down and held it beneath his nose, inhaling deeply. His vision went dark, then immediately brightened.
The separation came easily.
His soul slipped free, leaving his body slumped as if dead and the young man staring at it in shock, and headed outside the carriage.
They were far enough from the castle. Rising high and looking down, he could see a village not too far away.
After carefully taking in the area, even some distance beyond it, Yi-Gyeol returned to the carriage and reentered his body. The moment he did, he snapped his eyes open. Ignoring the muffled sounds of the young man beside him, who kept seeming to try to speak, he searched his pocket.
What came out in his hand was a palm-sized square of pale blue handkerchief, folded neat. It was hard to see in the dark, but in the light, the center would be visibly darker.
It was the handkerchief he had once soaked under the pretext of practice. He didn’t know how long it would still work, but it was a drug as strong as the sleeping medicine, so even now that the liquid had dried, it should still do its job. He just had to be extremely careful, since using it wrong could put him to sleep instead.
He took another deep breath through the handkerchief, feeling his head clear, then tucked it away again. His heartbeat tight with tension, he suddenly started kicking the carriage wall hard.
“What the hell!”
The larger man’s shout came from outside as he climbed down from the driver’s seat. Yi-Gyeol, standing inside the stopped carriage, opened the sleeping drug and blocked the mouth of the vial with his thumb, turning it upside down so the drug coated the inside of his finger.
As soon as he tucked the vial back inside his shirt, the carriage flap was thrown open and light flooded in.
“Hey, why are you standing? Sit down already!”
If Yi-Gyeol fell and got hurt while standing inside a moving carriage, the merchandise would be damaged. For that reason alone, the man had to make him sit.
The man’s face twisted in irritation when Yi-Gyeol remained standing in silence. He climbed into the carriage.
The moment he stepped close and opened his mouth again, Yi-Gyeol’s thumb brushed the corner of his lips.
“You, what—!”
The man’s eyes rolled back, and he dropped at once.
Braced only by the wall behind him, Yi-Gyeol barely withstood the man’s heavy body collapsing into him. Without panicking, he searched the man’s pockets. The key used for his shackles had definitely been in his trouser pocket.
The rough cuffs had rubbed his wrists raw, but fortunately he found the key. Once he shoved the man off him with difficulty, the heavy body hit the carriage floor with a thud.
“Hey! What’s going on!”
The other man came running, but he ended up on the carriage floor the same way.
Having dropped both men in an instant with the sleeping drug, Yi-Gyeol swayed as the tension finally seemed to leave him. Between his lack of vitality and the strain, his body already ached as if he were coming down with a fever. After several deep breaths, he forced strength back into his legs and used the key he had obtained himself to unlock the cuffs on his wrists and the shackles on his ankles.
Rubbing his sore wrists, Yi-Gyeol turned to the young man beside him, who was trembling with fear and confusion. He removed the gag and then the cuffs and shackles one after another. The young man’s eyes quickly filled with admiration. To him, Yi-Gyeol was someone like an incredible mage who could easily bring down those vicious slave traders—and a savior who had rescued him.
Once he had freed him completely, Yi-Gyeol gave him a small, gentle smile.
“You didn’t see anything. Understand?”
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