The Bastard First Prince Doesn't Want to Die-Chapter 186

[Translator - Jjescus ]

[Proofreader - Starfall ]

Chapter: 186

"Uncle."

"…Why."

I stared blankly into space for a long time after waking up. Maybe it was because of the dream I had last night—my chest felt restless.

After barely pulling myself together, I stepped outside the room and saw Aro sweeping alone. It seemed like she had been released from Sannyeong's grasp.

She brightened as soon as she spotted me, her face lighting up with excitement, but then she hesitated. She just stood there, staring at me intently.

She kept observing me for a while before finally speaking.

"Why does your face look like that?"

Her tone was unusually serious. But since I didn't have a mirror, I had no way of checking what she meant.

I forced an awkward smile, but she still looked at me with that same grave expression. So it wasn’t just about my expression.

Did I have something on my face? That didn’t seem right. I ran a hand over my face, but nothing came off on my palm. In the end, I just asked.

"What about my face? What’s wrong with it?"

"Are you sick?"

"Huh? No, not at all."

I was about to brush it off when it suddenly dawned on me—she must have thought my complexion looked sickly.

I never figured out exactly how my face looked, but I could guess why she thought I seemed unwell. It was probably because of that dream.

* * *

Ever since I first had that old dream, 'Baek Yeon’s' life had been disrupting my sleep. Not that I wasn’t getting any rest—it was just that even after sleeping for hours, I felt even more exhausted than before I went to bed.

But the dream was always the same. Time never moved forward. I was still trapped near Blood Cloud Fortress, caught by Jincheon.

"…Ah."

Damn it. That dream again.

After having the same dream over and over, I eventually gave up on sleeping altogether.

I struggled to stay awake, resisting the pull of sleep. But that only lasted for three days. For three days, I had the same dream repeatedly, and for the next three, I didn’t sleep at all.

That meant it had been a full seven days since I first had the dream.

I buried my face in my hands and rubbed my eyes before sharply lifting my head to glare at Jincheon, who was sitting a short distance away.

Leaning against a tree trunk, he gazed at the distant mountains with an infuriatingly serene expression.

"Are you here on vacation or what?"

I spat out the words, and Jincheon turned his head to look at me.

"What did you just say?"

His icy stare felt strangely unfamiliar. That was odd—he had always looked at me like that.

Suddenly, I felt a wave of resentment.

"…Hey."

He frowned at me.

"Are you out of your mind?"

"That’s…"

That’s you, you crazy bastard.

You kept me locked up here for days. You slaughtered people without a shred of mercy, but now you call me like this—what the hell for?

If you missed me so much, maybe you should’ve treated me better when I was alive. After all that time chasing after me, you didn’t even develop the slightest attachment? Instead, you just lopped my head off like it was nothing.

So why do you keep calling me back?

…But if I actually said all that, he might cut my head off again in a fit of rage. Maybe he wouldn’t even let me finish my sentence before killing me.

That’s when I realized—I could move freely now.

In the first dream, I had no control; I could only act according to past memories, unable to change anything.

But now, it was different.

I could speak and act as I wished.

Huh. That’s interesting. I have no idea how this works, but—

"…Never mind."

I shook my head, rubbing the back of my neck. I had no desire to let Jincheon behead me again.

More than anything… if he killed me one more time, I might just start resenting even the real Jincheon, the younger version of him in the present.

As I hesitated, Jincheon shot me a sharp glare, as if he were looking at something bizarre. Then, with a swift turn of his head, he went back to staring at the distant mountains.

I couldn’t help but wonder—how does that bastard not get tired of looking at the same ridge for three whole days?

Sigh… If only the Jincheon here was the younger one, it would’ve been much easier to sweet-talk him into taking me back.

Even as a younger man, Jincheon was still Jincheon—he had already proven himself capable of handling the duties of a seasoned general. But at least back then, I could’ve bribed him with something as simple as a piece of candy. Would that trick work on this Jincheon?

Getting him to take me back to Blood Cloud Fortress was undoubtedly the best course of action, but I had no way to make it happen.

Screw it. I don’t know anymore.

At this point, all I could do was kill time until I woke up. At least I wasn’t injured anymore. I had narrowly avoided the nightmare of getting tortured in my sleep.

The stab wound Jincheon had inflicted on my thigh was completely healed, though my torn clothes remained the same.

With a deep sigh, I collapsed onto the ground.

Jincheon had dragged me all the way here, but he didn’t seem particularly interested in me. He wasn’t the type to nitpick over minor movements, either.

As I sprawled out on the ground, I heard a faint rustling sound from inside my clothes.

What the…?

I rummaged through my garments to find the source of the noise and discovered something unexpected—a silk pouch filled with sweets.

Just like the one my grandfather had given me.

"Huh?"

Where did this come from?

I wasn’t picky about food, but I’d never been particularly fond of sweets. I wasn’t the kind of person who meticulously packed snacks for the battlefield, nor did I crave sugary things that much.

No matter how hard I searched my memory, I couldn’t recall ever carrying something like this. Strange.

"What are you doing?"

Jincheon’s voice pulled me out of my thoughts. He was watching me fiddle with the colorful pouch.

What, does he think it’s poisoned or something?

His suspicion irritated me, so I decided to be petty.

"Here, take it."

I tossed the pouch at him, and he caught it effortlessly, as if he had expected it.

Why does he have to look so composed even when receiving something as trivial as candy? It was annoying.

The sight of him—dressed in his blackened, bloodstained clothes, covered in dirt, yet holding a bright, colorful pouch of sweets—was downright comical.

He stared at it for a long moment before tossing it back to me.

"At least it’s not poison."

"Just keep it."

Now was my chance.

I quickly grabbed the pouch he threw and lobbed it right back at him. I aimed to hit him, but it was pointless—his reflexes were absurdly fast. He caught it with ease.

And then, just like that, I woke up from the dream.

* * *

Rubbing my eyes, I got up and stepped out of my room.

Instead of holding a broom, Aro was pacing down the hall with a handful of freshly picked red raspberries.

As soon as the door creaked open, she trotted over and looked up at me.

"Hmm."

"…What?"

Was my complexion a mess again? Scratching the back of my neck, I asked, and Aro tilted her head.

"Did you have a bad dream last night?"

She really was the village chief’s granddaughter—her intuition was uncanny. A chill ran down my spine at how spot-on she was.

I gave her a small nod.

Her eyes widened in surprise, and she gestured for me to come closer. When I leaned in, she whispered:

"Uncle is starting to wake up too."

Her words reminded me of something she had said before.

"In that dream of yours, are we there?"

We?

At first, I thought she meant the two of us.

But then, I realized she was referring to the village chief and a few other townspeople.

"If you ever see them, ask when they’re coming back, will you?"

"Sure. If I ever meet them."

But in my dreams, the only one I ever saw was Jincheon.

* * *

Now that I thought about it, there had to be a reason why Sannyeong remained at the shrine without making any progress.

Most likely, her goal was for Aro’s powers to completely awaken.

"I’d need to ask to get a clear answer, but..."

If I asked, I’d probably just get kicked out.

Sigh.

I let out a deep breath and trudged forward.

"Don’t you think you took too long?"

As soon as I saw the familiar figure, Jincheon spoke. He didn’t even bother to look at me, but I wasn’t surprised.

"I told you, I had things to do."

"Did it really need to take that long?"

"Constipation. Happy now?"

Why does he always have to nitpick?

Grumbling under my breath, I plopped down on the ground.

Aro had told me to pass on a message if I ever saw the village chief in my dreams.

But the only one I ever met there was Jincheon.

That useless bastard...

If it were the village chief, at least I could ask him some questions. But this guy? Completely useless.

There’s an old saying that even dung can be useful in medicine, but if that’s true, then Jincheon is worth even less than dung.

…Wait, no. That’s not right.

At the very least, he was stronger than me. So he wasn’t entirely useless.

With that thought, I jumped to my feet.

"Hey."

"...What now?"

Jincheon turned to me with his usual cold stare. I lifted my chin slightly and said, "Fight me."

"...Are you out of your mind?"

"I’m not asking you to kill me."

I pointed a finger at Jincheon, who was still sitting with his back to me.

"You should at least repay me for that candy I gave you."

"...What?"

Jincheon actually looked taken aback.

Seeing an older Jincheon—not the young, inexperienced one—caught off guard was a rare sight. I should’ve recorded this moment.

I bet I could make good money selling a drawing of his expression.

If I gathered up all the people who held grudges against Jincheon, I could probably fill an ocean.

Too bad I can’t draw.

"I know you ate all of it."

Instead of denying it, Jincheon sighed and offered a compromise.

"...What do you want?"

"I already told you. A spar. I don’t mean an actual fight to the death, just a proper match."

Jincheon stared at me like I was the dumbest person alive. Then, after a long pause, he let out a deep sigh and stood up.

With a smooth motion, he drew his sword.

I did the same and faced him head-on.

Of course, the result was utter defeat.

"Ugh..."

A complete and total loss.

Not that I hadn’t expected it.

"You knew you’d lose."

Jincheon’s cold remark landed on me as I lay sprawled on the ground.

I didn’t care.

If we’re all going to die eventually, why bother eating? Why bother making money? If time keeps moving forward, we’ll all end up dead anyway.

"Yeah... but not yet."

Not yet.

Even if this was just a dream, pain still felt real.

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I muttered weakly, and Jincheon turned his head away, as if even looking at me was a nuisance.

As if I enjoy this either, you bastard.

My vision blurred.

And just like that, I woke up from the dream.

[Translator - Jjescus ]

[Proofreader - Starfall ]