My disciple’s voice felt like cold water being poured on my head. My back instinctively hunched.

Trying to hide such an expression, I turned around to see my disciple standing there holding the reins of a horse. The horse whose reins he held was the one I had ridden.

My heart sank, but I pretended not to notice and greeted my disciple.

“Did you catch my horse for me? Thank you, Your Highness.”

Without replying, my disciple shifted his gaze to the 9th Princess.

“Sister, why are you with my teacher?”

Ah. Oh no. This is bad. My disciple’s expression already showed signs of suspicion.

In my past life, I should have been following the 3rd Prince, so it was clearly strange that I was with the 9th Princess now.

“Your teacher saved me.”

Unaware of my situation, the 9th Princess spoke honestly without hiding anything.

She looked at me with eyes full of trust and even went on to praise me like this:

“I had already heard about the National Preceptor’s qualities and knowledge. But seeing today, the National Preceptor’s horseback riding skills are as excellent as those who passed the military examination.” (National Preceptor: Teacher of the imperial descendants)

Ah, Your Highness the 9th Princess, please look at my disciple’s expression. He’s looking at me with a completely caught-in-the-act expression…

“I see. So Teacher’s horseback riding skills are as excellent as his knowledge. I didn’t know that, Sister.”

Should I submit my resignation right now? Wouldn’t that increase my chances of survival? It seems like it would.

But the Empress herself appointed me as the 13th Prince’s teacher. Is it okay to submit a resignation letter already?

It probably isn’t. If I did that, the Empress would likely take out her anger on our Yo family.

Damn. What should I do about this?

* * *

“I didn’t expect Teacher to be with Sister.”

After the competition had almost ended. While watching the workers cleaning up, as I was trying to calm my heart, a pointed remark came from behind.

Forcibly turning my uncooperative head with a creak, sure enough. My disciple was slowly approaching me.

“We met by chance.”

Seeing him, my barely suppressed heart leapt out again and started racing through my entire body.

To hide my trembling hands, I quietly hid them behind my back.

However, my disciple, with his keen eye, immediately noticed this and reached out to pull my hand towards him.

Seeing my trembling hand, my disciple’s eyebrows raised.

“Why are you shaking like this?”

Because I’m afraid of you.

“I-I gripped the reins too tightly.”

I quickly made up an excuse. I thought he might not believe it, but fortunately, my disciple seemed to accept it.

Not only that, but he clicked his tongue and began massaging my hand himself.

I was so surprised by this that I nearly fainted, but my disciple continued his actions nonchalantly.

In fact, he did well. As his large, warm hands pressed my hand this way and that, I almost let out an “Ah, that feels good” involuntarily.

Of course, I didn’t actually say such words out loud.

I stared blankly at the sight of my hand intertwined with my disciple’s.

After a few breaths had passed like this, my disciple, still looking down at my hand, asked as if in passing.

“This disciple thought Teacher would be with Third Brother.”

“What? No. I was wandering around alone, Your Highness.”

“…”

“Why did you think that…”

“Because Teacher always follows Third Brother around.”

“That’s not true.”

“It is.”

My disciple, who spoke nonchalantly, let go of my hand.

I quickly retrieved my hand. No doubt it would still be trembling.

But when I looked at it after retrieving it, surprisingly, my hand was no longer trembling at all.

What’s this? Was it really trembling because I had gripped the reins too tightly?

* * *

“Sister, did you go horseback riding with Young Master Sun An again today? Were you two together again at the hunting competition?!”

“Today’s hunting competition was for the royal family and relatives, and I was invited as a teacher, so Sun An wasn’t there, little sister.”

“Liar!”

“He hasn’t passed the civil service exam yet, so he can’t even be invited to these things.”

As soon as I got home, my damn sister came running to bring me from the world of terror back to the world of reality.

It’s extremely annoying, but there’s nothing I can do. I can’t throw her out, can I?

Let’s think of my sister as a complete being with both positive and negative functions.

“Sister, Sun An—”

Too annoyed to answer, I went into my room, locked the door as soon as I entered, then sat at my desk and took out my writing tools.

Now is not the time to argue with my sister. I need to calculate my safety a bit.

Let’s see… First, the 9th Princess.

In my past life, we were on lukewarm terms. But it seems she’s taken a liking to me because of today’s events.

Those eyes she looked at me with were clearly the kind of eyes one would have when falling in love at first sight.

‘Is this okay?’

Even while playing the role of a playboy, I tried not to get entangled with families that were difficult to handle.

Because if a young lady from a prestigious family were to propose marriage, it would be difficult to refuse.

Moreover, I probably won’t be able to marry someone from a similar prestigious family. Because I’m disguised as a man…

Father and Mother are planning to find a gentle-natured young man with a small Adam’s apple and flower-like appearance, then dress him as a woman and have him marry me.

Because of this, they are diligently searching for flower-like young men who can be persuaded by our family’s power.

In any case, given this situation, it’s absolutely not a good thing for the 9th Princess to take a liking to me.

Not only can it never come to fruition, but refusing would also be burdensome… Ah! No. No.

‘I don’t need to worry about this.’

Come to think of it, the Empress knows that I’m a woman, doesn’t she?

When I was born, the doctor said my mother couldn’t have any more children. Because of this, my father went to the Emperor and Empress and asked to raise me as a male child.

‘Unexpectedly, Lin Hwa was born later though.’

Anyway, since the Empress knows I’m a woman, even if the 9th Princess begs for a marriage proposal, she’ll block it herself.

Good. It might be a bit burdensome, but this side is fine.

‘Then the problem is with my disciple after all.’

Being intelligent, he’s surely suspicious that something is strange.

In the past life, I followed the 3rd Prince, but now I saved the 9th Princess, and while I wasn’t skilled at horseback riding in the past life, now I even received praise from the 9th Princess…

“This is driving me crazy.”

If only the 9th Princess had been angry with me, my disciple wouldn’t have been so suspicious. Things went too well, which might make him even more suspicious.

If I had known this would happen, I should have just followed the 3rd Prince like in my past life.

‘…But in this life, I don’t want to go near the 3rd Prince.’

After spacing out like that for about one incense stick’s worth of time, I took out a shortened incense stick and was about to insert a new one into the sand when I remembered something that happened around this time.

That’s right. The 6th Prince! In my past life, when the 6th Prince got angry at the 13th Prince, he took it out on me.

He found fault with me and slapped me thirty times. My disciple would know about this incident too.

What if I don’t avoid this incident?

If I get slapped thirty times by the 6th Prince just like in my past life, wouldn’t my disciple’s suspicions be resolved?

Alright. The thought of being slapped thirty times again makes me dizzy already, but it’s better than being poisoned due to my disciple’s suspicions.

Let’s offer my cheeks to the 6th Prince!

* * *

Two days later. After thoroughly preparing myself mentally to be slapped by the 6th Prince, I entered Wolmugung.

I remember it hurt terribly when I was hit, and afterward my face was swollen for days, looking awful, but it’s okay. There were no lasting after-effects, right?

Rolling in a dog poop field is better than dying. If I can resolve my disciple’s suspicions by being slapped thirty times, I’ll take it.

‘Come to think of it, that incident also influenced me to distance myself from the 13th Prince in my past life. Although it was the 6th Prince who hit me, he did it because he hated the 13th Prince.’

I remember excitedly complaining to Sun An that if I stayed by the 13th Prince’s side, I might end up being buried alive with him.

“Where are you going?”

It seems I had walked too far while lost in thoughts about the past.

At my disciple’s voice calling me, I suddenly came to my senses and turned around.

My disciple was leaning crookedly against the door of his study, looking at me.

It seemed he had been watching me and called out when I, who should have entered the study, kept walking absentmindedly.

“I had some things to think about. I apologize, Your Highness.”

I quickly apologized and approached my disciple.

I was worried about what to do if my disciple asked ‘What were you thinking about so intently?’, but he didn’t say anything, seeming uninterested in me.

We soon entered the study where we have our lessons, and I tried to teach my disciple while carefully not revealing the knowledge from my past life.

How much time passed like that?

“Let’s end here for today.”

Feeling it was about time to end the lesson, I closed my book first. My disciple didn’t object and followed suit, closing his book as well.

As we were doing this, urgent voices began to be heard from outside.

Even from a quick listen, it seemed to be something about His Highness the 6th Prince.

‘The 6th Prince has come to slap my cheeks.’

Since I had already prepared myself mentally for this, I didn’t feel afraid. No, I even felt somewhat glad.

But trying not to show these emotions, I slowly tidied up and then casually glanced at the door while muttering.

“It’s quite noisy outside.”

My disciple’s gaze on me was strange. He must know what’s about to happen too.

Perhaps my disciple is observing how I will react from now on.

Almost simultaneously as I picked up my belongings and stood up, my disciple’s eunuch entered the room and announced.

“Your Highness. His Highness the 6th Prince has arrived.”

The eunuch glanced at me and added.

“He says he wants to see Lord Yo.”

My disciple leisurely stood up with me and asked.

“Will you meet him, Teacher?”

His gaze was testing me. He was trying to gauge whether I was an ordinary teacher without memories of regression or not.

“Of course I should meet him if a prince has come.”

I answered leisurely, as if I had no idea what was about to happen.

Then as I went outside, my disciple followed behind me. It was exactly the same situation as in my past life.

‘But why did the 6th Prince slap my cheeks again?’

I remember he got angry because of my disciple and found fault with me, but what exactly was that fault?

Well, it doesn’t matter. I just need to go with the flow anyway.

Still, as I actually came out to the garden and faced the 6th Prince, I became curious. What fault did the 6th Prince find to slap me when he came with a smiling face?

Huh? Smiling face?

‘Did the 6th Prince come with a smile?’

I flinched after looking at the 6th Prince.

My memory isn’t perfect, but I don’t think the 6th Prince came with a smile.

I remember he came with an angry face from the start and openly picked a fight.

That’s why I immediately felt ‘He’s taking out his anger at my disciple on me.’

‘But why did he come with a smile this time?’

Before that question could be resolved, the 6th Prince approached me, hugged me, and exclaimed.

“Thank you, Lord Yo!”

I froze at that unexpected greeting.

“Pardon?”

Didn’t you come to slap my cheeks? Didn’t you come to take out your anger on me? What are you thankful for?

As I stood there bewildered, the 6th Prince let go of my back that he had hugged and shouted in a jovial voice.

“If it weren’t for Lord Yo, both Second Brother and I would have been in trouble. Thanks to Lord Yo saving our ninth sister, we saved face.”

At that moment, I felt like cold water was poured over my head.

Damn! That’s right. The 6th Prince slapped my cheeks because he was angry at the 13th Prince, and he was angry at the 13th Prince because of the 9th Princess’s incident.

But this time, I intervened and saved the 9th Princess, so the 9th Princess wasn’t hurt.

Of course, the 2nd Prince and 6th Prince weren’t scolded by the Emperor either.

In other words, the incident where the 6th Prince resented the 13th Prince and slapped my cheeks had completely disappeared.

As I came to this realization, I felt an incredibly intense gaze from behind.

It must be my disciple. My disciple is looking at me!

Unaware of this, the 6th Prince just laughed heartily and patted my shoulder.

“Second Brother is very grateful to Lord Yo as well. He wanted to come together, but he came alone in case the thirteenth would feel burdened.”

No, I’m the one feeling burdened.

“Come visit Seonghwangung sometime. I’ll treat you very well.”

Oh my goodness. Even the 2nd Prince is grateful to me?

I’m going crazy. This isn’t, this isn’t what I intended! I was trying to look good to my disciple! Why am I suddenly getting closer to other princes and princesses?

‘This is even more suspicious!’