Fake Concubine 64

“Unfortunate ​accidents ​seem ​to ​happen to you ​quite ​frequently. ​First, ​you ​accidentally ingest an aphrodisiac, ​and ​now you run ​into a tiger.”

Even ​he ​thought ​it ​was ​a ​bit much. However, ​Song ​Seol ​didn’t particularly condemn ​him. He seemed purely ​fascinated by ​the succession ​of accidents.

“Why ​did you ​enter ​the ​mountains? It would ​have been ​a disaster if I ​hadn’t happened to be ​passing by.”

“……I am sorry. ​I was ​riding ​my horse during the day when ​I was chased by ​a ​tiger ​and ​tumbled ​down a cliff, ​and so….”

“Wait, ​you ​were chased by ​a ​tiger during the day?”

“Yes.”

“You encountered ​a tiger ​twice ​in one day?”

“……Yes.”

Song ​Seol ​let ​out ​a ​rough breath.

“Now ​that ​I see ​it, you’re not just unfortunate; you’re cursed. ​No matter how ​many tigers there ​are in these mountains, ​to encounter ​one twice in ​a ​single day.”

“Regardless, I ​survived both times, ​so if ​anything, ​I suppose ​I ​am lucky. ​……It ​is all ​thanks ​to ​you, My Lord.”

“I ​do ​not know ​the ​full ​story, ​but I shall hear it in due time.”

“Yes…. However, My Lord, I am also curious. How did you know where I was? Even I do not know where this place is.”

Earlier, he had been too frantic to find it strange. But now that he thought about it, there were several oddities.

It was the middle of the night, and they were deep in the mountains. Under no circumstances could it be said that Song Seol was simply ‘passing by.’

Furthermore, Song Seol was alone. A Grand Prince wandering the mountains in the dead of night without a single subordinate—wasn’t that a rarer sight than a tiger?

“I was on my way back to my private residence. That is when I discovered a horse running without its owner.”

“Ah….”

“Something felt off. Seeing the reins and the saddle on its [stolen content]back, it unauthorized copywas clearly a horse with an owner, yet there was no [Read on Read BL Novels]one around. At first, I thought someone had lost their horse, but upon closer inspection, I realized it was my horse.”

Song Seol paused his story. The absurdity he had felt at the time resurfaced.

At the time, Song Seol had assumed it was a simple accident. A minor incident where the horse had slipped out while the stable hand was momentarily distracted.

“But the horse’s behavior was strange.”

That horse, Susu, was clearly terrified. It kept glancing around anxiously, and its gait was unstable.

Though it was somewhat suspicious, it was something that could have been overlooked. In fact, Song Seol’s guards had spoken of it casually.

‘The fellow managed to get out of the stable somehow, but he must be scared because the world is unfamiliar.’

‘Indeed. That is why he should have stayed inside the safe stable, no matter how stifling it felt.’

‘You rascal, you must listen well once you return to the stable.’

One guard tried to grab the reins. However, Susu resisted quite violently. It was unlike the horse, who was born with an exceptionally gentle nature. The reason he had lent Susu to Moon Hee-yul previously was precisely because the horse was gentle and would carry anyone well.

In that moment, an ominous hypothesis flashed through Song Seol’s mind.

‘What if Moon Hee-yul went out on the horse and had an accident?’

It was a plausible scenario. This would explain why Susu was terrified. If such a major accident had occurred, then Moon Hee-yul would be….

As soon as that thought occurred, Song Seol approached Susu.

‘Lead me to the person you were carrying.’

As if understanding the command, Susu began to gallop somewhere. Song Seol leaped onto his own horse and followed Susu.

‘M-My Lord! Where are you going?’

‘The sun is about to set; it is dangerous!’

The guards scrambled to follow. Looking back at them, Song Seol shouted.

‘Search the vicinity. The owner of the horse may be in distress.’

‘Yes, we shall do so! Therefore, My Lord, please return to a safe place for now.’

‘The mountains grow dark quickly, and it is dangerous. Ferocious beasts may appear…!’

Song Seol knew that. That was exactly why he was galloping after Susu. If a ferocious beast were to appear, how on earth would Moon Hee-yul survive?

‘My Lord, who exactly is the owner of the horse that you would personally go to help?’

At someone’s question, Song Seol kept his lips tightly sealed.

Indeed, what exactly was Moon Hee-yul?

Hee-yul, the eldest son of Lord Moon. That was all Song Seol knew about Moon Hee-yul. He knew that contrary to his delicate looks, he was arrogant, more precocious than he appeared, skilled in calculation, and a master calligrapher—and that they were sexually compatible….

Yet, he felt he still didn’t know who Moon Hee-yul really was. Thus, he could not leave Hee-yul to suffer an accident. He intended to keep him by his side and observe him until he knew exactly what kind of person Moon Hee-yul was and how he thought. His interest in Moon Hee-yul remained unchanged.

“……My Lord?”

‘Moon Hee-yul’ called him cautiously. Only then did Song Seol resume his interrupted explanation.

“Susu climbed up the mountain. He visit our sitewasn’t just running; he stolen contentseemed to have a destination. After a while, he began peering toward a place where there was no path.”

“…….”

“It was quite steep. I could descend alone, but it seemed difficult to move with a horse.”

So, Song Seol dismounted. After checking his weapons, he walked in the direction Susu had been peering.

As he slid down the precipitous slope, he self-deprecatingly thought that he was doing something foolish.

In truth, the guards were right. The mountains at night were incomparably more dangerous than during the day. No matter how precious a human life was, it was reckless to move to save someone who wasn’t even confirmed to be Moon Hee-yul. There was no reason for Song Seol to step forward immediately when he could have sent subordinates to help once day broke.

However, Song Seol did not regret it. He couldn’t describe it, but he felt as though he had to do this. Song Seol trusted his intuition, and that intuition hit as sharply as an arrow he had fired.

“The moment I saw the tiger, I notched an arrow. Fortunately, it hit the beast right between the eyes, so I was lucky.”

There was a risk of missing or clumsily provoking the tiger, which could have invited greater disaster. But such hypotheses didn’t even cross his mind. At that moment, Song Seol thought of only one thing.

That he had to save Moon Hee-yul.

“Thank you for saving me.”

Hee-yul thanked him in a voice that wouldn’t stop trembling. He hadn’t done it expecting gratitude, but he didn’t feel particularly bad about it. Still, Song Seol spoke bluntly.

“If you are grateful, repay me later.”

“Yes.”

“It is a debt of life, so you must repay me quite lavishly.”

“I certainly shall.”

‘Moon Hae-min’ nodded deeply. As Song Seol said, it was a debt of life. He had to repay him generously.

“By the way, is Susu safe?”

“Yes.”

“What a relief…….”

Hae-min muttered to himself and breathed a sigh [stolen content]of relief. His heart had been heavy with the visit our sitefear that the horse might have been eaten by the tiger instead of him; knowing it wasn’t, he could finally relax.

“Achoo!”

He suddenly sneezed. His shoulders shuddered. When he had faced the tiger a moment ago, he had been too paralyzed by fear to feel the cold, but it seemed all his senses were finally returning to normal.

“Are you cold?”

“……Yes.”

“Hmm.”

Song Seol seemed to ponder for a moment before asking again.

“Can you move your body?”

“I am sorry. I can move my hands and feet, but I think it will be difficult to walk…….”

“There is no need to be sorry. However, it will be impossible to return immediately.”

Hae-min dropped his head. Song Seol said there was no stolen contentneed to be sorry, but it [Read on Read BL Novels]felt like it was all his fault. In reality, the fault lay largely with him for going out to ride without Song Seol’s permission.

“It cannot be helped. We shall have to stay here tonight. A search party will arrive before long, so do not worry too much.”

“Yes, My Lord.”

Achoo! As soon as he answered, another sneeze burst out. Hae-min sniffled. His tears hadn’t even stopped yet, and now his nose was running. For once, he was glad the world was pitch black. That way, Song Seol wouldn’t see him in such a pathetic state.

“Moon Hee-yul, have you been here this whole time?”

“Yes.”

“Since when?”

“I am not entirely sure. I fainted for a while…. I am certain the sun was still up when I tumbled down the cliff.”

“Then does that not mean you have been here for at least two shijin?”

For some reason, his voice sounded angry. Since his expression wasn’t clearly visible, Hae-min could sense the emotion in his voice more acutely. Feeling a bit intimidated yet puzzled, Hae-min replied.

“Yes, I believe so. But…….”

Just as he was about to ask, ‘What about it?’, Song Seol muttered bluntly.

“At this rate, even if you weren’t eaten by a tiger, you would have frozen to death.”

“…….”

“Come here.”

Hae-min hesitantly approached Song Seol. He went because he was told to, but the distance between them was already close.

“Closer.”

If he moved any closer, they would be practically touching. As he hesitated, unsure of what to do, Song Seol suddenly grabbed Hae-min and pulled him in.

“Ah.”

Suddenly embraced by Song Seol, Hae-min held his breath. Moon Hae-min tried to pull away from Song Seol’s embrace, but he couldn’t because the other man held him tightly.