Ridiculous

Sitting in the seat prepared for him within the library, Ji An made excuses for himself with absolute desperation. Before long, his expression had completely drained of life. However, the lingering traces of his weeping remained, leaving his face as bloated as a goldfish.

Looking at Ji An’s rarely seen bloated face—something he had never even shown during his childhood—Cheong Hyeon recalled two years ago, when his junior had fled the capital like a fox with its tail caught on fire. That day was when Ji An’s older brother, Ji Un, had rescued Hae Won. Hae Won had been abandoned in the back garden, drenched in blood, until Ji Un discovered him while on patrol. According to Shim Ji Un’s written report, he had conducted the patrol entirely alone because his younger brother, Ji An, was unwell. Yet despite his delicate appearance, Ji An was a remarkably resilient youth. Furthermore, while he might refuse to enter the palace entirely if he disliked a task, he was someone who executed his duties with absolute perfection once he accepted them as his responsibility. There was no way a child like that would neglect a patrol tasked with maintaining the barriers of the back garden simply because of a minor ailment. He had even abruptly submitted his resignation without a successor being formally decided. Consequently, he had been forced to carry out those duties until the successor, who was staying within the palace, arrived to relieve him.

Once the successor finally arrived after that incident, Cheong Hyeon immediately traveled down to the Eastern Island. The moment he faced Ji An, he realized something had gone terribly wrong.

“You have arrived, Senior Brother.”

As Ji An smiled at him, his face looked more hollow and dried up than Cheong Hyeon had ever seen before. Watching his junior put up a desperate bravado while cloaked in self-loathing like a permanent shadow, Cheong Hyeon had reflexively turned to look at their master. Their master simply shook his head. He had uncovered absolutely nothing.

At his master’s look, Cheong Hyeon had maintained his usual smile. Furthermore, something he had never seen before was attached to the back of Ji An’s neck. From that exact moment until now, Cheong Hyeon had been digging into Ji An’s background. He wanted to know what on earth had terrified his junior, a boy who usually carried himself as though he alone reigned supreme under the heavens. It was not due to the persistent prodding of their master, who cherished the youngest junior like a biological grandson, but rather because Cheong Hyeon himself was genuinely curious.

Yet nothing out of the ordinary had occurred regarding Ji An.

Since Cheong Hyeon did not press him with aggressive questions, Ji An rattled off endless excuses until he grew thoroughly exhausted, after which he slumped over and stared blankly at the pond. Before long, Ji An spoke up.

“Senior Brother, is this for the sake of Her Majesty the Queen?”

At Ji An’s question, Cheong Hyeon’s gaze dropped toward the pond for a brief moment.

[It serves multiple purposes.]

“Please take excellent care of your own body, Senior Brother. Measures like this only carry meaning when you remain strong and healthy.”

[Look who is talking, after stealing and eating my own restorative medicine in the past.]

“Ah, back then, I thought you were like the Azure Dragon itself—someone who wouldn’t die even if you were killed, Senior Brother.”

Ji An let out a faint chuckle, murmuring that he hadn’t realized his senior brother was a mere human. Ever since the early days, Ji An used to take the restorative medicine provided by their master and drink Cheong Hyeon’s portions alongside his own. Whenever Cheong Hyeon reacted with utter bewilderment, Ji An would shout nonsense like, “Our senior brother has absolutely no need for such trivial remedies! After all, my senior brother is the master of the Azure Dragon!” spouting philosophies about never taking shortcuts in life. What was even more absurd was that even their master agreed, declaring it was completely correct and telling Ji An to eat plenty of it, even taking Cheong Hyeon’s share in the future.

[An, you are a disciple of the Azure Dragon Sect. Both Master and I are right here by your side, so do not suffer in solitude.]

Cheong Hyeon gently patted the back of Ji An’s hand resting on the writing desk. Ji An stared fixedly at that hand before abruptly turning his head away. Cheong Hyeon thought Ji An was about to burst into tears, but he did not cry. He merely offered a single remark.

“Senior Brother, please place your own physical well-being above everything else. If your junior… should ever, by some chance, walk the wrong path, you must reprimand me, Senior Brother. Do not accept me with such kindness as you did today.”

Ji An’s voice was completely thick with unshed moisture. Leaving behind words as solemn as a final testament, Ji An gazed at the pond for a moment before turning back to Cheong Hyeon.

“Your junior must take his leave.”

His smiling face was slightly more animated than before. Perhaps this was actually better than that completely hollow look, which made it seem as though absolutely nothing remained within him. Cheong Hyeon did not hold him back.

Ji An returned home wearing the jade-colored outer robe provided by Cheong Hyeon, with a black brimmed hat resting on his head. He was immediately subjected to a barrage of reprimands, blame, and desperate pleas from his father down to his older brothers, while his mother and sisters rushed over to lament over what on earth he thought he was doing.

“I heard you fell victim to a terrible curse?”

His mother went so far as to urge him to drink water mixed with the ashes of a burned talisman. Ji An looked down at the water, then turned his gaze back to his mother.

“Mother, your son is a mage, yet you went elsewhere to procure a talisman?”

You do know that therapists are subordinate to mages, right? As Ji An blinked his eyes blankly, his mother raised her voice in frustration.

“Do you think I did this out of amusement!”

“I couldn’t even tell them that my mage son fell victim to a curse, so I lied and said it was for a distant relative’s child, do you understand?!”

“No, why do you even think I fell victim to a curse in the first place?”

“Because Grand Prince Myeong Yun stated it so himself!”

“That was just a casual remark! How could a low-grade ghost ever touch me!”

Even as Ji An argued back, he secretly wondered if Cheong Hyeon’s words had truly been just a casual remark. For a casual remark, it had felt incredibly sincere—after all, had he not personally burned every single piece of Ji An’s clothing? In any case, someone who was present when Cheong Hyeon made that statement had clearly run straight to his mother to report it. When Ji An glared fiercely at the most likely suspect, the individual glared right back at him with equal intensity.

“What are you looking at?!”

His older brother, Shim Ji Un, acted entirely righteous, asking if he had said anything wrong.

“Anyone could see you looked exactly like someone possessed by a ghost! Even I, who doesn’t know a single thing about magic, could tell that much!”

“You don’t know the first thing about it, so what exactly do you know?”

Regardless of the bickering, this was a talisman procured by a mother who had thrown away all sense of pride despite having a renowned mage for a son. Unable to ignore her immense effort, Ji An gulped down the talisman-ash water without a single pause. He felt the energy of the talisman flare up fiercely inside his throat, only to be instantly smothered and obliterated by his own energy, which surged forward as if demanding how any defilement dared to challenge it.

What a completely useless endeavor…

Ji An shook his head sideways and turned his gaze to Ji Un.

“So, what about the marriage alliance?”

Ji Un let out a heavy sigh.

“For now, since nothing official was exchanged yet, things will go according to your wishes. However, the other party is royalty, so it will still take some time to sort out.”

“As long as you refuse to go through with it, Brother, Father could break ten marriages like that if he wanted to. So, what about the alliance?”

Ji An was asking whether he had formally conveyed his intention to break the engagement to the person directly involved, Prince Hae Won. Ji Un felt thoroughly exhausted by the subject.

“I have done everything that was required of me. Are you satisfied now?”

Even as he snapped at Ji An on the surface, he felt strangely relieved deep down inside. In truth, the exact moment he witnessed Ji An’s blood splattering through the air, a sudden terror had gripped Ji Un. Was this marriage alliance really something worth his younger brother trying to kill himself over? Come to think of it, why had he been so desperate to get married in the first place? Was the other party truly someone he wanted to marry so badly that it warranted gambling his brother’s life?

When Ji An vanished while cradled in Grand Prince Myeong Yun’s embrace, their father had rushed over, grabbed Ji Un, and shouted in a fury.

“Even that free-spirited child understands the gravity of our family’s position, so why on earth are you attempting to cloud His Majesty’s judgment?! How can you act like this when you know full well that Prince Hae Won is a presence His Majesty considers a blemish upon the court?!”

Ji Un had been entirely stunned at those words. It wasn’t because he failed to understand the meaning behind them, but rather because he couldn’t comprehend why he had fiercely insisted on the marriage up until now, despite knowing that fact perfectly well.

When Ji Un broke off the marriage alliance today, Hae Won had merely offered a lonely smile.

– It is only proper.

He had simply left it at that single remark, offering no resentment toward Ji Un. He had merely requested that they enjoy a boat ride together—an activity they had frequently shared—since it might very well be their last time doing so. However, feeling strangely uneasy, Ji Un had declined the invitation under the pretext that he needed to return home immediately to tend to his sick younger brother.

“You broke it off?”

Ji An’s eyes gleamed intensely once more. Ji Un answered immediately before his brother’s madness could flare up again, knowing full well that while Ji An had always been relentless, he had seemed practically unhinged lately.

“Yes. I did exactly as you wanted, so please, never do something like this ever again. You nearly gave your brother a heart attack.”

“If either of you ever pulls a stunt like this again, I will be the one hanging myself from the rafters!”

Throwing away all the dignity expected of a Noble Consort, their mother shrieked in anger before pressing a hand to her forehead, causing both of her sons to rush to her side. Ji Un quickly supported her weight, while Ji An raised his hand. From his palm, the distinct blue energy of the Azure Dragon Sect began to flow outward.

“Haah…”

Madam Yoon let out a languid breath. This was because Ji An’s energy was gently loosening the severe tension in her stiff neck. While absorbing his mother’s negative energies and restoring a refreshing vitality to her body, Ji An whispered softly.

“Mother.”

“Yes?”

“Your son wishes to eat bulgogi.”

Madam Yoon’s eyes flashed with anger instantly.

“What exactly have you done right to warrant complaining about the food you want to eat…!”

“Bulgogi.”

“Look at you acting like the king himself, huh?! To think I would give meat to a rascal who ruthlessly harms the body his parents gave him—”

“Bulgogi, Mother.”

Ji An blinked his eyes.

Watching that display, Madam Yoon bit her lower lip. She had thoroughly intended to correct his terrible behavior today once and for all, but she suddenly recalled her third son when he was six years old. When Ji An was six, they had been forced to send him away to the magical mountain. The child’s mana was far too powerful, and if they left a child who couldn’t control his magic inside the capital, the family would surely face severe reprimands from the royal court. To make matters worse, the innate attribute of the child’s mana back then happened to be fire. The residents of the capital, who practically broke out in hives at the mere mention of a fire, had submitted a mountain of joint petitions demanding that the child be exiled to the magical mountain.

The six-year-old Ji An had understood absolutely nothing, weeping bitterly while clutching his mother’s skirt. Begging her not to send him away, crying that he was entirely at fault, promising that he would eat less food and read his books diligently—he had listed everything he could possibly do with his tiny, fern-like hands. Knowing that she wouldn’t be able to let him go if she looked back, she had steeled her heart, detaching the child from her side and refusing to even watch his departure, even as his loud wailing echoed in her ears.

Ever since that day, Madam Yoon, just like her husband, found it impossible to remain strict with Ji An.

“Do you want it grilled dry?”

“I am a person of the capital, so I must eat it capital-style. Make sure it has plenty of broth.”

At Ji An’s words, Madam Yoon muttered a lament about what he had possibly done right to deserve having bulgogi stuffed into his mouth before exiting the room.

From just outside the door, she could be heard giving instructions to a waiting servant.

“Chil Seong, you cannot be spared since you are currently attending to Un, so go select a quick-witted child who is suitable to serve as An’s personal manservant.”

Hearing those words, Ji An turned his gaze to Ji Un.

“Is Chil Seong your current manservant, Brother?”

“Yeah.”

“What happened to the manservant you originally had?”

“He eloped in the middle of the night with one of the maidservants. Isn’t it completely ridiculous?”

Watching Ji Un chuckle, Ji An turned his head back toward the doorway.

Eloped in the middle of the night? Along with a maidservant? This was an incident that had never occurred in his previous life. Ji Un’s servant was a married man in his late twenties. He had been thoroughly diligent, and the affection between him and his wife had been remarkably deep, so for a man like that to suddenly elope with a maidservant in the dead of night?

Ji An let out a sharp laugh as he watched the shadow flickering against the paper screen door.

“Yeah, it’s completely ridiculous.”