The Price of a Life

“And? You simply let it be, even though he is destined to destroy the Empire?”

“It was a dream, Your Majesty. In that place, I held no power. I could do nothing but follow Chase and watch what he did.”

“Enough. What does your dream have to do with anything? I fail to see how that justifies hiding the brat’s true identity.”

“If this were merely a dream, you would be right.”

A faint flicker of doubt appeared on the Emperor’s face. Watching his expression as he tried to gauge my intent, I placed my final bet.

“Has everything in my dream not come true exactly as predicted? This is no mere dream—it is a prophecy.”

“A prophecy?”

“Yes. I believe it is a prophetic dream bestowed by the heavens.”

I breathed a private sigh of relief as I watched the Emperor’s complexion shift. If he had laughed it off as nonsense, Chase’s life would have flowed toward an irreversible end. I tightened my grip on my resolve.

“In the dream, I felt his emotions vividly. I felt the sorrow he endured from the senseless violence I inflicted upon him. I felt his grief when Dalia—the sinner who mocked the Imperial Family—died. Every single emotion, whether he felt joy or suffered through hardship, I felt them all without exception.”

“…”

“If the heavens had sent this dream merely to warn me that he is dangerous, there would have been no need to let me experience his heart. I realized then what the heavens truly desired.”

The heavens—or whatever power sent me here—did not want Chase to live out the tragedy I saw in the dream, the original story. That was my claim.

“That is why I changed how I treated him. I altered the fate he was meant to face. He became a commoner instead of a s*ave; he was never sold off; and under my shadow, he lives more comfortably than any ordinary citizen.”

The Emperor simply stared, his face urging me to continue. I had to desperately wrack my brain to provide an answer that would satisfy him.

“The Dragon’s prophecy was delivered around the time of my attempted poisoning. If I had acted as I always did after having that dream, that prophecy would surely have come to pass. But I changed my attitude, and I cleared the hardships he was supposed to suffer. In these six months, so much has changed—who is to say if that prophecy still holds any truth?”

The Emperor crossed his arms and tapped his finger rhythmically. He tilted his head slightly, peering down at me through narrowed eyes, seemingly weighing how to handle this. I didn’t look away; I stared back with confidence. If I acted timidly now, everything would fall apart.

“Do you know what these are?”

The Emperor picked up a handful of papers from his desk. Even at a glance, the quality was superior, adorned with gold foil—clearly correspondence from foreign nations. When I didn’t answer immediately, he dropped the papers in front of me as I knelt.

“To put it simply, every one of these is a letter demanding the boy’s immediate execution.”

Scanning them briefly, I saw elegant script after elegant script, all calling for Chase’s death. The Emperor’s voice continued from above.

“It isn’t even certain if your dream is a true prophecy. How can I justify letting him live?”

“I can put the matter to rest.”

“How?”

“I will… go and meet the Dragon who gave the prophecy.”

Interest finally flickered in the Emperor’s dull eyes. As the priestess Mayril said, a prophecy might be absolute. But I couldn’t just sit on my hands; I had to try something.

Whether I hear a new prophecy from the Dragon or convince it that the future has changed.

To be honest, I wasn’t confident. However, having read the original work, I knew someone who could help me. It was a bit ambiguous to call him a ‘person,’ but since he would be favorable toward Chase, I felt he wouldn’t hesitate to help persuade his own kind.

After all, he had unintentionally played a part in my poisoning. If he refused to help, I planned to use that as leverage to throw a tantrum—specifically to the Black Dragon, who becomes Chase’s unconditional supporter in the original story.

“I will bring back proof from the Dragon’s own mouth—that the prophecy was mistaken, and that I have already changed it.”

Despite my determined words, the Emperor didn’t give an easy answer. After a long, tense silence, he leaned down toward me.

“Setting that aside, what do you intend to do about the humiliation I’ve suffered?”

“That is…”

“The fact that the whole world now knows I raised another man’s blood as my own, unable to recognize my own lineage.”

The Emperor was speaking in circles. He was telling me he lacked a sufficient excuse to spare Chase. No previous member of the Imperial Family had ever used ‘prophetic dreams’ to predict the future, so it was a weak shield. Even with the Empire’s might, he couldn’t ignore the backlash from every other nation without incurring a massive loss.

‘In the end… I have no choice.’

Realizing the Emperor needed a heavier price, I finally brought out the card I had hoped to keep hidden until the very end.

“After I prove that the prophecy is wrong at the Great Forest… I will enter the Alpersa Monastery.”

“…”

“You may attribute any reason you wish for my entry there.”

The Emperor’s eyes sharpened. It made sense; the monastery I mentioned was a place where Imperial members who committed grave crimes were sent into exile. While it could be used for prayer, it was so rugged and isolated that no one went there willingly. There wasn’t even a single priest inside to offer help.

“Why?”

“…”

“Is he that important to you? Strange. What is your reason?”

There was a trace of curiosity in his voice. Knowing his interest could be toxic to Chase, I spoke flatly.

“I am simply doing what I believe the heavens desire.”

The body I inhabited had only lived eleven years. But in my previous life, I had lived into my mid-thirties. Naturally, the weight of those thirty-some years felt heavier. I wasn’t a perfect citizen, but I lived within the law and never strayed far from the path. Raised in a relatively equal society with a decent education, I loathed crime and found it impossible to forgive the abuse of those who couldn’t fight back—especially children.

There must be a reason I awakened in the body of a Crown Prince. Whether it was the will of a god or someone else. Regardless, Chase was a child who had only lived ten years. I couldn’t just leave him like this.

The Emperor fell into thought. After a moment, he stood and paced before me.

“Five years. The period of exile will be five years.”

“…”

“I will not allow a single servant or maid. You must go alone and endure it by yourself. Do you still accept?”

“Yes.”

When I answered without a moment’s hesitation, the Emperor smiled deeply. With a face that looked almost mischievous, he spoke again.

“In exchange, if you fail to complete those five years and return early, I will kill him immediately.”

Faced with that condition, I had only one choice. Regaining his composure, the Emperor sat back in his chair as if telling me to go ahead and try.

“Furthermore, you must obtain permission to enter the Great Forest yourself. I will provide the knights to escort you and people to attend to your needs until you reach the border, but gaining entry is your responsibility.”

I scowled at the petty conditions, but since there was still only one path, I had to agree. The Emperor dismissed me, and I walked out.

“Haa…”

He was being incredibly stingy, but from his perspective, he was actually being quite lenient. It would have been much easier for him to dismiss me as crazy and just execute Chase.

I stared at the door to the office for a moment before turning away. Before I went to beg the priestesses, I intended to visit Chase.

‘How did he know?’

In the original work, Chase believed he was royalty until the moment the priestesses exposed him. But thinking back to that day in the hall, he looked as if he already knew he wasn’t imperial blood. Maybe I was overthinking it; maybe he was just too terrified to speak.

Regardless, I headed for the dungeon. Previously, he had been kept in a palace room because he was “royalty,” but now he was a commoner who had committed the crime of deceiving the Imperial Family. He was sitting in the very same cell where the concubine Dalia had once been held.

“Chase.”

“…Your Highness?”

He had been huddling in a corner but raised his head at my voice. He looked disheveled from being on the floor without washing, but he didn’t look injured or sick. I saw the blankets I had sent in for him and the empty dishes from a meal he had finished. Fortunately, it didn’t seem like he was too scared to eat or that anyone had tampered with his food.

As my gaze shifted to the empty dishes, Chase flushed red. He seemed to take my silence as criticism for his appetite.

Silence stretched between us. I had so much to ask, but I struggled with where to begin. Finally, after opening and closing my mouth a few times, I asked the same question I had asked him once before.

“Do you want to live?”