I Became the Teacher of the Imperial Family’s Bastard

003. Hanpuri (2)

Let’s sort out the situation.

I definitely stood on the empire’s final battlefield and got caught up in the prince’s battle, dying there.

When I opened my eyes again, it was in a dream before entering the prison.

The prince was right in front of me, so I excitedly cursed him out, venting all the accumulated frustration.

After that, for some reason, I got drunk and fell asleep on the street.

And so, here we are, the next day.

The morning sunlight is warm, and the ground is cool.

When I make eye contact with passersby, their gazes pierce me as if they are looking at a drunkard.

‘Oh.’

…By now, you should understand.

‘This isn’t a dream?’

In other words, this is reality.

I have returned to a certain point in the past, not a dream after death.

Realizing that, a certain phrase suddenly came to mind.

-Please.

The words that person said before dying are suspicious.

The unusually golden eyes turn suspicion into certainty.

‘Is it real? Did you really send me?’

Apart from the emptiness, acceptance became easier.

How could a mere prince have the power to defy time itself? But then again, considering who he was, it seemed plausible.

Setting aside the trivial details, just one fact was enough.

The Grand Master who appeared for the first time in a thousand years since the first emperor.

The prince was a man who surpassed the realm of legends as if it were nothing.

Truly, as naturally as breathing.

– Hmm, it will be pierced soon.

– What?

– Easier than I thought. A legend.

– What nonsense are you spouting again? Just go to sleep. Stop mumbling to yourself like a senile old man in the middle of the night.

– Don’t be surprised tomorrow.

Don’t be surprised, my foot.

I was utterly astonished in that battle.

Golden sword energy rained down from the sky like a storm, and the man who achieved it laughed heartily, looking like a vagrant. How could I not be surprised?

For a while, I couldn’t even see the prince as human, and it was only after he shouted for toilet paper while taking a dump, causing an uproar in the barracks, that I could treat him as before.

Anyway, that’s the kind of man he was.

If he could easily surpass the wall of legends, why couldn’t he send a person beyond time and space?

“Huh, huh…”

A hollow laugh escaped, followed by a muttered remark.

“…This crazy man?”

I wasn’t curious about his intentions.

The person who caused this had already told me.

“You go back in time and beat me up. You want me to come to my senses.”

Ridiculous.

Sent back in time? Okay, whether it’s real or not, he’s the kind of person who would do that.

Well, I’m grateful that I survived without dying.

But here’s the thing.

In reality, his request was utterly absurd.

According to the strict imperial law, even hitting a royal family member is punishable by death.

And isn’t he the crown prince?

Defying the crown prince?

Beating the crown prince to a pulp?

That’s immediate execution.

Hanging on the gallows, with my head making a tender farewell to my body.

I was grinning as I thought that far.

‘You can’t defy him sober…’

Suddenly-

‘…right?’

My body froze.

Because something suddenly came to mind.

‘Come to think of it, this isn’t a dream.’

Then…

‘…What about yesterday?’

The words I had spoken came back to me one by one.

– Your Highness, please get a grip. For heaven’s sake, detach your lower body from your thought circuit. Or should I do it for you?

First, s*xual harassment.

– You do everything so well~. You don’t attend banquets, you neglect your studies, you don’t even think about training, and all you do is sneak around. Truly, you are the epitome of a benevolent ruler deeply concerned with the lives of your people.

Next, sarcasm.

– I can’t stop farting. Please understand. Or what, does it prick your conscience? Actually, if it doesn’t, you have no conscience at all.

Contempt.

And finally.

– Untie this. If you do, I will erase today’s events from my memory.

…An order to a royal.

It was right after I realized it.

Osooso-

Goosebumps rose all over my body.

The trembling started from my fingertips and spread throughout my body.

A shock as if my soul was leaving my body exploded in my head with a bang.

My mouth hung open in a daze.

“Uh…”

…I’m screwed.

* * *

About the matter of facing execution immediately after regression.

This proposition required deep contemplation, but first, it felt unfair that even after living again, the stigma of being a criminal wouldn’t be erased.

‘What did I do so wrong?’

Even if I asked the heavens, there would be no answer.

If it were a heaven that would give answers, it wouldn’t have let the empire fall like that.

Or did it let it fall because there was no answer?

Anyway,

Grrr-

My stomach hurt.

I wanted a hangover cure.

But, when I thought of eating at a restaurant, I realized how drunk I had been the night before; when I woke up, all the jewelry I had been wearing was gone.

Given my situation, begging was out of the question.

Yuren of the great house of Pharos.

No matter how much of a scoundrel I had been, even if I searched all my memories, there was no instance of the scoundrel Yuren begging, so I couldn’t suddenly start begging now.

The thoughts were drifting here and there.

‘…Huh.’

That thought suddenly surged.

‘Can’t I just go home?’

At this point, 20 years ago.

When Pharos was still intact.

Surprisingly, I, Yuren Pharos, was a homeowner.

No, I was a mansion owner…!

‘That’s right. I had a home. Why didn’t I think of this?’

…Well, after becoming an adult, I spent my time behind iron bars in prison, and after getting out, I stayed only in the barracks.

20 years was enough time to erase the concept of home from my mind.

Anyway, the sentiment ended there.

I suddenly stood up.

‘The direction of the house…’

I turned my head this way and that.

If I go towards the center of the main road, there’s the imperial castle.

To the right, there are the boutiques of the nobles, to the left, the mansions of the noble families, and below, the land of the imperial citizens.

Remembering up to that point, I finally recalled the location of my house.

‘Ah.’

Pharos’ mansion is not nearby.

I cast my gaze far away.

The mansion is at the outermost edge of the island.

It stood on a hill where one could watch over the imperial castle.

* * *

As I walked along the path, memories began to resurface.

‘I used to walk this street a lot at dawn.’

On nights when I drank all night, I would pass by the homes of the empire’s citizens and head home while gazing at the eastern city wall.

Because if I did that, I could see the sun rising beyond that wall.

Doesn’t the grandeur of nature make a person sentimental?

I am no different, so at such times, I would buy cheap rum from a nearby tavern and drink it while walking.

This was that alley, and moving further, I saw a flower garden.

‘From here, it was the land of the family.’

Despite being noble land, there was no fence here.

What was it, the teaching of the ancestors that one should not build walls between the people and the nobility?

It’s a bit funny, considering they meticulously fenced around the mansion.

Anyway, since it was a garden not managed by anyone and open to outsiders, the flowers bloomed wildly here and there.

It’s not the season yet, but soon, young lovers and children from the island would come here to see the flowers in full bloom.

I recalled those things one by one.

And at the end of it, I could see.

‘…It’s a house.’

It’s been almost 20 years.

When I found it after getting out of prison, it had burned down without leaving even ashes.

The house was so terribly destroyed that I could barely tell something had been there.

As I looked at it, a new feeling welled up inside me.

‘Was it this small?’

The mansion in my memory was a bit bigger.

A bit more suffocating, a bit more oppressive.

But look.

On the hill, there was nothing but a modest three-story stone mansion.

The fence looked low enough to easily climb over, and the neatly arranged garden exuded a cozy atmosphere.

Suddenly, I wondered to myself.

‘What was so suffocating about this place?’

What kind of person was I in the past?

How twisted was I to find this place so stifling that I ran away from home every time?

Thinking about it made me laugh.

As I took another step, a familiar face greeted me.

“So, so young master…!”

“…Venter.”

Baron Venter Elliot, the family’s retainer.

He was pacing nervously in the garden when he spotted me and his eyes widened.

His snow-white hair and wrinkled face were a welcome sight.

His straightened back and proper gait once again reminded me of how stubborn he was, transcending time.

Venter approached briskly.

I muttered.

“It’s been a while.”

Venter responded.

It was an angry response.

“Yes, yes! It has been a long time! How is it that you are out until morning again today!”

In the nagging filled with nostalgia, I realized it before anything else.

‘Ah, I see.’

To them, I was just a scoundrel who drank last night and crawled back in the morning.

I pondered for a moment.

Would they believe me if I told them I had suffered through all sorts of hardships, became a Sword Master, died, and returned?

‘…No.’

I shook my head.

Telling such a story would only make them think I was crazy.

The longing was entirely mine to bear.

‘Let’s see…,’

What kind of person was I in the past…

Yes, it must have been something like this.

“I felt like getting drunk.”

“Is there ever a time when you don’t want to get drunk?”

“……”

“Young Master, please…!”

Venter’s face was drawn with a look of distress.

I feel a pang of guilt.

As I avoided his gaze, Venter let out a deep sigh.

“Young Master.”

“Venter, I don’t feel well. I want to eat something and get some sleep.”

“You can’t, Young Master.”

“Should I collapse here with my stomach turned inside out?”

“Even so, you can’t, Young Master!”

Venter rarely raised his voice.

Strange.

In my memory, Venter was never this firm.

“Why are you like this?”

Was my memory romanticized?

It was at that moment such thoughts arose.

“The Lady has been waiting for you all night. She hasn’t slept a wink!”

The words handed to me stopped my thoughts.

* * *

I entered the mansion for the first time in 20 years.

Yet my heart was not at peace.

I couldn’t recall any memories of the mansion’s decorations, items, or structure.

Because when I thought of the person who would be in the third-floor office now, all those thoughts became blurry.

In the midst of this, Benter spoke.

“The lady was really worried about you.”

“…I suppose so.”

“She sat at the dining table for over an hour, thinking you had forgotten the time.”

“…I suppose so. That’s just like her.”

“She couldn’t even touch her meal. The cold food was eaten by the servants, and the lady couldn’t even go to her bedroom, thinking something might have happened to you. Even when she heard you were enjoying yourself in the streets, she was the same. Really… she looked so relieved yet so sad.”

It was truly an action befitting my sister.

At that, I recalled something I had forgotten.

‘That’s right…’

The day I was imprisoned, it was one of the rare occasions I accepted my sister’s dinner request.

I remember being so annoyed by her persistent pleading.

And then what happened…

‘I was assaulted by His Majesty.’

Immediately after, I was imprisoned.

My sister only found out two days later, and she came straight to me and said those words.

“Young Master, are you hurt anywhere?”

Emaciated to the extreme, he spoke with such foolish laughter.

As a child, I did not understand such things.

It was much later that I realized my sin.

This was a memory that pricked my heart, a guilt that would not disappear no matter how many times I looked back.

Of course, it would have been fortunate if it ended with reminiscing about the past.

But today was not the past.

I saw the wooden door that smelled of old wood.

Behind this door was my sister.

Venter knocked on the door.

“The Young Master has arrived.”

Then a voice was heard from inside.

“Let him in.”

My eyes trembled.

It was only now that I realized that the faint tone, as if it would fade away, would be etched in my ears again.

The door opened.

Now I could see with my own eyes.

Long gray hair like mine. Eyes shining with the same blue hue as mine.

But unlike me, who was like a wild colt, my sister had a very delicate and pure impression.

That was the world’s assessment, not mine.

Then, I saw my sister’s arm, so thin it looked like it would break with a touch.

I also saw her deeply shadowed eyes and haggard complexion.

Cecilia Pharos.

The woman who protected this family in my stead, the scoundrel.

A woman who waited her whole life for her worthless brother to come out of prison, only to perish with the family in the end.

I suppressed the rising emotions.

I tried to bow my head.

But before I could, I heard footsteps, and before I knew it, she was right in front of me.

My sister placed her hand on my cheek.

Then she quietly moved her lips.

“Young Master.”

And then she,

“Are you hurt anywhere?”

She smiled.

Foolishly and haggardly, but with relief.

Just like the day I was imprisoned.

My sister looked exactly as I remembered.

“I heard you slept on the street. Is your stomach okay?”

Words caught in my throat.

I could barely breathe.

It felt like a heavy stone inside me was crushing my lungs.

Because my sister was so pitiful, and because it was I who made her so pitiful.

Also, because I was despicably grateful for the fact that I could see this face again.

At the end of those overflowing emotions.

I bowed my head and answered.

“…Yes, I am fine.”

Such words.

My sister was the only woman in the world who could make me a sinner.

End

ⓒ papapa.

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