The Bastard First Prince Doesn't Want to Die

Chapter: 137

Gong Chomun led Jincheon to a tent.

It was a tent located at a corner of the camp, suggesting he didn\'t want to draw attention.

At this point, Jincheon\'s assessment of Gong Chomun had adjusted.

From an annoying person to a very annoying person.

There seemed to be people already gathered in the tent. Loud conversations could be heard from outside. Occasionally, there were hearty laughs mixed in.

"Go in."

Gong Chomun opened the tent door and gestured with his chin. But it wasn\'t a gesture of goodwill.

Jincheon looked at Gong Chomun suspiciously before stepping into the tent.

Immediately, the noisy interior fell silent.

It was a chilling silence. It was as if they had made a pact. Jincheon scanned the people inside the tent.

Judging by their well-trained bodies, their aura, and their expressions, they were all seasoned warriors. Just as Jincheon was examining them, they were scrutinizing him.

The process was momentary, but the impression it left on Jincheon was strong.

They didn\'t welcome Jincheon, and Jincheon was in no position to fight them.

As soon as Gong Chomun followed him in, the warriors, who had been silent as if they had colluded, began to greet him.

"General Gong!"

"It\'s been a long time!"

The warriors, without exception, spoke first. But their goodwill was only directed towards Gong Chomun.

"Come in. We\'ve been waiting for you."

However, just because they greeted only Gong Chomun didn\'t mean they weren\'t paying any attention to Jincheon.

While ostracizing Jincheon, they were carefully watching his every move.

"Haha, if you weren\'t so late, I would\'ve let this slide."

Gong Chomun laughed cheerfully and sat down in an empty seat. But there was only one seat.

Jincheon stood at the entrance of the tent, watching the warriors without moving.

\'I thought it would be over soon, but it seems it will take longer.\'

If Jincheon had been in the military for even a year or two, he could have figured out why the warriors had called him. But unfortunately, Jincheon was still naive.

Remembering his low rank, he simply stood by the wall in silence.

Being ignored was more painful for Jincheon than doing nothing and being bored.

\'I should apologize to His Highness for leaving without reporting. Maybe he\'ll come looking for me...\'

For some reason, Yegyeong would immediately go looking for Jincheon if he couldn\'t see him.

Although he was in a safe camp, Yegyeong might find him while searching for him and discover the warriors gathered here.

The warriors glanced at Jincheon as he stood quietly and continued their conversation.

"How have you been? Have you had any difficulties serving His Highness?"

"Yeah, I heard there was something going on."

But the conversation was merely a smokescreen. They had originally gathered here to assess Jincheon\'s character.

Since they already knew Gong Chomun, greeting him was all they needed to do.

"Everything went smoothly. It\'s all thanks to His Highness."

"Haha, is that really true? Tell me more. It\'s been so long since I\'ve seen His Highness that I\'ve forgotten what his personality was like."

As questions poured in, Gong Chomun responded with a casual tone.

"It\'s more comfortable to follow His Highness than to lead."

"That\'s reassuring, if not humble."

"Of course, it\'s not humble. Do you think the Gong family is known for being humble? Hahahahaha."

Gong Chomun disliked it, but he didn\'t say anything that would discredit Prince Ikwon.

So, instead of listening to what Gong Chomun was saying, Jincheon was more interested in observing the people in this room.

Jincheon had a naturally keen sense. It would be difficult to find someone as sensitive as him among ordinary people.

Among them, a middle-aged person named Gyeong Daebang caught his attention.

Jincheon didn\'t know the warrior\'s name, but he realized that he was the strongest among the people present.

He could figure out that they were lower in rank than General So but still higher than himself.

At that moment, Gong Chomun spoke to Gyeong Daebang.

"General Gyeong, do you remember?"

His attitude had clearly lowered. His tone was different from when he was speaking to others.

And Gyeong Daebang, who was called General Gyeong, replied to Gong Chomun\'s greeting with a very natural attitude.

"Well..."

He\'s the most senior person here. Jincheon stored the information in his head and carefully observed Gyeong Daebang.

There was no particular reason. He was just doing it because it was something to do during the boring time.

It wasn\'t that he was wary of the strong. After all, he would be much stronger in a few years.

"Since you, too, couldn’t have any contact with His Highness, how would you know what he\'s like?"

Another warrior said, "General Gyeong, although it\'s been a long time since you left the capital, you must have heard rumors."

At that, Gyeong Daebang frowned sharply. The atmosphere in the tent suddenly became tense just because one general had frowned.

"Mind your words."

The warrior who mentioned the rumor was immediately intimidated. Even if he had stopped there, no one else would have mentioned the rumors about His Highness. But Gyeong Daebang continued.

"How dare you evaluate His Highness? Especially based on unfounded rumors from the marketplace..."

"Hahahaha, General Gyeong. It must have been a mistake. Please calm down."

Gong Chomun intervened to calm Gyeong Daebang. Gyeong Daebang glared at Gong Chomun resentfully and turned his head.

"It\'s not something a general should do to humiliate a mere soldier."

Gyeong Daebang\'s gaze met Jincheon\'s. It was unexpected for a seated general to defend him, but Jincheon wasn\'t moved.

"What\'s your name?"

Jincheon replied with an indifferent expression.

"Jincheon."

"I see. You\'re the young soldier His Highness personally took in, right?"

Gyeong Daebang acknowledged him.

Jincheon felt a little better at those words.

"Yes."

"I heard General So mention you."

"Is that so?"

"His Highness made you his personal attendant."

"Yes."

"It\'s an extraordinary promotion to be responsible for His Highness\'s protection at your age. Do you know that?"

Jincheon chose his words carefully. But before he could figure out what to say, Gyeong Daebang turned his head again.

Thinking he had lost interest, Jincheon closed his mouth.

Gyeong Daebang looked at Jincheon again and asked, "Do you know why we\'re all gathered here?"

It was too broad a question. Jincheon replied conventionally, "For His Highness..."

"That\'s one way to look at it."

Gyeong Daebang nodded.

"All the armed men in this tent are indebted to General So."

Gyeong Daebang spoke calmly and seriously. But Jincheon\'s mind was already full of other thoughts.

\'Is he feeling sorry for me because I look pitiful? Is that why he keeps talking to me? Just send me away.’

Although Jincheon had already lost interest, Gyeong Daebang continued the conversation without realizing that Jincheon\'s eyes were unfocused.

"You could say that you\'re indebted to General So as well."

Debt.

Someone on General So\'s side had bought Jincheon and he had stayed at General So\'s residence for a few days, so that could be considered a debt.

Of course, it was a different kind of debt from the one these warriors were talking about.

Suddenly, Jincheon briefly remembered the servants at the mansion trying to beat him up. But he didn\'t feel much regret. He was used to it.

"Our primary goal is the general\'s return."

“The general\'s return?”

So Ik-Gyeom was already a general. Did it make sense to talk about a return?

As he pondered this question, Gyeong Daebang continued.

“You might find it hard to understand.”

Someone among the warriors cleared their throat.

“But it’s not just about official positions.”

Those words applied not only to General So but also to Jincheon. It was only then that Jincheon realized their intentions.

Jincheon’s official position didn\'t hold much significance to them.

“I’ve also been out of office for a long time. I’m not even allowed to enter the palace.”

Since they were all in similar situations, Jincheon being a mere soldier wasn\'t a reason for them to not keep an eye on him.

Gong Chomun was also an ex-official.

‘So that’s how it is.’

Based on that standard, Jincheon, who spent most of his day by Prince Ikwon\'s side, held a considerable position among them.

“We called you here today to see your face. We didn’t mean to humiliate you.”

‘I don’t think so.’

Although Gyeong Daebang made an apology, it didn’t feel sincere. Or perhaps it was just his personal opinion.

Then, a noise came from outside the tent.

“Are you in here?”

Immediately after, a hand reached out and flung open the tent door.

“Excuse me.”

A haggard face popped out as the door swung open. One of the warriors who first saw the face looked embarrassed.

The warriors were quite surprised that the prince himself had come to look for his personal attendant.

“Ah, here you are.”

Yegyeong raised an eyebrow upon discovering Jincheon standing there. Then he looked back and forth between Jincheon and the other warriors.

He seemed to have figured out what was going on.

“Why didn’t you call me? I wanted to greet them too.”

When Yegyeong said that, excuses flew out.

“We were planning to prepare a formal seat for Your Highness to greet you.”

“Prepare a seat? Why bother?”

Yegyeong grumbled, and the warriors were greatly embarrassed.

As Gyeong Daebang had reprimanded, it was risky to mention rumors about the reckless prince, but they all knew the rumors.

Some even told stories about him beating up palace servants for trivial reasons, such as not liking their clothes.

So they couldn\'t help but be nervous.

However, Yegyeong just grumbled a few words and didn\'t behave in a way that would justify the nickname "reckless prince."

That was unexpected. And Yegyeong\'s intrusion into the tent made the warriors realize two things for sure.

Prince Ikwon was not the reckless fool as rumored, and he cared more about the boy he had as a personal attendant than they had expected.