[ Weicheng's POV ]
The high-altitude frost followed us like a persistent ghost as the vanguard pushed deeper into the unmapped northern territory. By the time the next twilight began to settle over the landscape, the jagged limestone cliffs had given way to a dense, suffocating canopy of ancient cedar and gigantic pine trees that completely blotted out the stars.
"The horses are heavily fatigued! We have to settle our perimeter first!" Master Dan Pu Chi's booming voice echoed from the front of the line as he pulled his massive mount to a hard halt beside a rushing, narrow mountain stream. "We shall rest our ranks for a few hours to let the frost pass, and continue our march past midnight."
The vanguard dismounted in perfect military unison. Master Dan tied the horses to the nearest cluster of trees and retrieved a heavy sack of steamed buns he had secured from the academy kitchens before our departure. As he distributed the stark rations, Princess Xiao'er glided toward my position, her beautiful, expertly tailored silk robes looking entirely ridiculous against the wilderness. She glared down at me, her eyes flashing with a deep, personal annoyance.
"I completely fail to comprehend how a commoner of your unrefined stature was permitted to join an elite imperial vanguard," she said, her voice dripping with a bitter, aristocratic venom. "I can scarcely believe I am forced to camp in the dirt with you."
I simply shrugged my shoulders, entirely unbothered as I lifted my waterskin to take a slow, deliberate sip. I can scarcely believe I am stuck in the wilderness with a conceited, insufferable princess, either, I thought, letting out a quiet, internal sigh as I turned my back to her.
The night wind was beginning to send sharp, violent shivers down my spine, a clear indicator that the true northern winter was fast approaching. I walked over to the edge of the pine grove, carefully hooking and tying my little jingle—the small, reliable mare I had affectionately named—to a sturdy pine tree. To keep my mind from spiraling into the gravity of the 807 manifest, I volunteered to venture into the treeline to gather a substantial pile of firewood.
Before I could take three paces into the brush, Eun Jo stepped out from the camp. "I shall assist you," he volunteered smoothly, falling into step beside me.
As we walked away, I felt a familiar, burning gaze drilling directly into the back of my neck. I didn't need to turn around to know that Prince Tae Hua was watching my every step, his hands likely gripping his sword hilt in absolute, icy fury after the warning he had delivered in the ravine. Every step beside Eun Jo felt like walking on a edge of a blade, but the fire needed kindling, and I refused to let a prince's arrogant paranoia dictate my duties.
The brilliant, luminous glow of the nearing full moon filtered through the high pine needles, illuminating the forest floor in a pale, silver light. As we began searching the frozen earth for fallen timber, I kept my voice low. "Eun Jo. Where exactly are we positioned on the regional map right now?"
"This specific sector is the Yulo riverside," he answered, his sharp eyes easily calculating the distance and hours of our march as he hoisted a heavy cedar log onto his shoulder. "It is a common resting sanctuary utilized by border merchants. Judging by the current velocity of our horses, we should comfortably arrive at the lower valley of Nantong by tomorrow afternoon."
I reached down, lifting a thick piece of pine. To maximize my efficiency, I had taken a large sheet of canvas cloth and tied it securely over my torso, fashioning a crude but highly effective carrier across my back to hold the logs.
"How was it... living within the Capital?" I asked, forcing a casual, out-of-the-box curiosity into my tone to test his background.
Eun Jo shrugged his shoulders, picking up another piece of wood at his feet. "Well, the Capital of Arghon is perpetually congested with people, political theater, and expensive attractions," he started, his voice completely indifferent to the grandeur of the throne city.
"That is all?" I pressed, throwing another log into my canvas carrier. "Aside from the high-born candidates within our current platoon, have you managed to cultivate other genuine friendships within the palace gates?"
The corner of his mouth lifted, a slow, knowing grin cutting through the shadows. "Of course."
"Well, who else?"
"Those three idiots back at the campsite were my childhood companions," he said, gesturing vaguely through the trees toward Tae Hua, Ji Wok, and Qui Run. "But... my closest ally was always Prince Nu Lee."
The Second Prince. The primary political rival to Tae Hua's succession line.
"Then what happened to disrupt that alliance?" I asked softly.
"My father, in his capacity as the Prime Minister, has maintained a bitter, multi-generational grudge against the primary houses of the Yun Clan and General Niu," Eun Jo explained, his features darkening slightly under the moonlight. "My house was a fiercely loyal supporter of the Late Consort. When she passed away under mysterious circumstances, my father adamantly refused to ally our family's political standing with the current Empress. Our house explicitly supports the Wang bloodline... never the Yuns."
A sudden clarity washed over my mind, remembering the tension at court. "So you are a sworn childhood friend of Prince Nu Lee. That is the exact reason why Prince Tae Hua treats you with such absolute, icy aloofness."
"Tae Hua merely requires constant tactical assurance," Eun Jo murmured, shaking his head. "His brother, the second prince, is aggressively combative and constantly seeks to draw him into an open conflict. Throughout our childhood, I was always forced to act as their middle ground. I can scarcely choose a side between them—they are both like brothers to me."
We had gathered more than enough timber to sustain the campfire for the remaining hours of the night, and we turned back toward the rushing sounds of the riverside.
"Make no mistake, Weicheng," Eun Jo continued as we navigated the dark brush. "Tae Hua, Ji Wok, and Qui Run are undeniably the most exceptionally skillful, clever, and reliable warriors among our entire generation. The populace of the Capital—and even the foreign emissaries from neighboring kingdoms—have long supported their houses, firmly believing they are destined to achieve monumental feats for the Empire."
I was listening so intently to his political breakdown that I completely failed to monitor the path ahead. My boot caught the massive, gnarled curve of a wild pine root. I stumbled violently forward, my center of gravity completely collapsing beneath the weight of the logs on my back.
With a sharp twist of my torso, I barely managed to rebalance my footing before hitting the mud.
Eun Jo let out a quiet, amused chuckle behind me. "Why have your steps been so incredibly trippy lately, Cheng?"
I adjusted the canvas strap against my shoulder, huffing out a breath. "Someone of immense malice must be actively slandering my name somewhere in the universe, throwing off my balance."
He shook his head, his soft laughter echoing through the quiet woods as we broke through the treeline. "You may scoff, but those three are also fiercely famous among the noble girls of our age group in the capital. It is practically a regional phenomenon."
I let out a loud, highly skeptical scoff. "So I have frequently heard."
"You clearly do not comprehend the scale of it," Eun Jo laughed, shifting his bundle of wood. "Every last month of the calendar year, the capital transforms into a massive, unmanageable festival."
Naturally, having spent my entire life hiding in the dirt of the lower provinces, I had never witnessed such imperial excess. I forced a stiff, thoroughly fake smile onto my face. "Really? For what specific purpose?" As if I could possibly care enough about capital vanity, I added silently.
"Prince Tae Hua was born on the absolute final day of the last month," Eun Jo explained, pulling his logs closer to his chest. "From the moment the winter solstice begins, his estate receives an overwhelming deluge of expensive gifts, tributes, and treasures from every corner of the state, all dispatched to celebrate his day of birth."
"I am entirely aware that he is a primary Prince of the realm," I countered, crossing my arms over my canvas pouch. "But why go to such structural extremes for a birthday?"
Eun Jo stopped at the edge of the clearing, his eyes turning remarkably grave. "I take it you have never been educated on the omens surrounding his birth?"
"Uh... no," I admitted. I was precisely two winters younger than him; the capital lore of that era was completely foreign to me.
"The night Queen Yun Ni Xua brought him into the world, the imperial astrologers recorded a celestial anomaly. His natal star shone with an intensity that completely outshined the historical stars of every previous emperor in the Arghon lineage. Because of that omen, the high courts officially labeled him as the Dragon Son."
"Oh," I murmured, staring blankly at the campfires ahead. "So his cosmic fate is truly that bright?"
Eun Jo offered a slow nod. "The realm believes he is the singular chosen heir who can carry the imperial bloodline up until the absolute end of time. They call him the Jade Sword of the Kingdom—the one destined to purge the court and bring back its historical righteousness."
I simply nodded along, my ears tuning out the rest of his praise. The Dragon Son, I thought bitterly as we approached the warmth of the fire.
While Tae Hua was being showered in imperial gold and hailed as a cosmic savior, I—his biological cousin, born of the exact same royal bloodline—had been hunted into the mud like a rabid dog, forced to bind my chest and fake my identity just to survive the night. As I threw my bundle of wood onto the ground, I caught Tae Hua's icy glare cutting through the rising smoke. The righteousness of this kingdom was a sickening joke, and the brightest star in the sky was completely blind to the shadows thriving right beneath its light.