As I turned around, as expected. My disciple was standing firmly behind me.

The disciple was dressed more elaborately than inside the palace, but due to the extravagance of this place itself, he didn’t look gaudy.

The disciple’s moderately lavish attire blended naturally with the atmosphere here, preventing his handsome face from standing out too much.

‘Did he perhaps calculate even this and come dressed like that?’

“Your High- My disciple.”

I almost reflexively called him “Your Highness” but fortunately, before making that mistake, I quickly changed the title and bowed deeply.

“I greet you. It’s nice to see you again in a place like this.”

After greeting him, I belatedly noticed another person standing behind my disciple. I had thought it was just someone overlapping with my disciple so I didn’t pay attention. But looking closely, that person was also a familiar face.

‘It’s Yu Dong Baek.’

He was one of the disciple’s close associates before the regression. He’s someone I also got to know while being forcibly in the same faction as my disciple.

Yu Gaju, Taegam Woon Gwi, the royal physician Cho Gam, and now Yu Dong Baek. Indeed, it seems my disciple is gathering his former close associates from before the regression.

The fact that he’s gathering those associates again… Does my disciple intend to become emperor this time too?

Well. After poisoning me, he must have been excited to live as emperor, but he regressed along with me so he must feel frustrated. This time, he probably wants to experience the imperial life he couldn’t before.

As I was grumbling inwardly, my disciple asked.

“What brings you here this time? Another hideout?”

My search for hideouts is supposed to be top secret. But this guy is spreading rumors everywhere. Why don’t you just write an official document and distribute it?

“Why else would one come to a gambling house but to gamble?”

I deliberately cut him off sharply. I didn’t want to discuss my friend’s situation as gossip in front of my disciple and his associate at a gambling house.

But at that moment. Unexpectedly, Yu Dong Baek mentioned Sun An’s name first.

“Could it be that you came to meet Gaju about Sun An’s matter?”

“Yu Gaju?”

The moment my disciple murmured following Yu Dong Baek, I noticed that Yu Dong Baek’s appearance had some similarities to Sun An.

I hadn’t thought about it before because their auras were so different. But looking closely, Yu Dong Baek and Sun An’s facial features were somewhat similar.

Moreover, Yu Dong Baek… Yu… Sun An’s maternal family is Yu… Could Yu Dong Baek possibly be a relative from Sun An’s mother’s side? Or am I overthinking this?

“Come to think of it, you were also Yu Gaju’s grandson.”

As if answering my rising questions, my disciple spoke.

“That’s right.”

Yu Dong Baek quietly replied as if it wasn’t a secret. Then he went ahead and introduced himself to me directly, even greeting me.

“I am Yu Dong Baek, Sun An’s maternal cousin. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Hearing those words, I was shocked. Yu Dong Baek was really Sun An’s cousin?

This was something I didn’t know even before the regression. Even before regressing, I was close with Sun An and maintained an unavoidable acquaintance with Yu Dong Baek, but I didn’t know they were cousins. They each had different connections.

With my ears momentarily dazed from shock, I heard Yu Dong Baek muttering in a low voice.

“I hear a woman has appeared claiming to have given birth to Sun An’s child, causing chaos and ruining the marriage talks with the 9th princess. It seems my lord’s teacher has come to see my grandfather about this matter.”

I was surprised several times by what Yu Dong Baek said.

Once that Yu Dong Baek already knew about the incident regarding Sun An’s child, once that he was already calling the 13th prince his lord, once that he knew who I was, and once more that he knew I had rushed here for Sun An’s sake.

The attendant who had recommended beginner games to me had long since noticed the strange atmosphere and fled.

‘Well. Yu Dong Baek was my disciple’s informant. As someone who brought all sorts of information to my disciple, it’s no wonder he knows such things.’

I looked back and forth between Yu Dong Baek and the 13th prince, barely suppressing my surprised feelings and managing my expression. But as soon as I calmed my surprise, this time I became suspicious of Yu Dong Baek.

‘Could it be that he’s the one who fabricated Sun An’s fake baby?’

He seems to have both the ability and motive…

At that moment. Yu Dong Baek, who had been telling the 13th prince about Sun An’s child incident, must have felt my gaze as he suddenly turned his head to look at me, and asked with a gentle smile.

“Why are you staring at this lowly one so intently?”

Yu Dong Baek was eleven or twelve years older than me. Perhaps because of this, even though he spoke politely to me, his eyes looked as if he was addressing a much younger child.

I quickly shook my head.

“It’s nothing.”

I actually wanted to ask Yu Dong Baek some probing questions, but I couldn’t with my disciple present. My disciple cares for Yu Dong Baek. If I show signs of suspicion towards him, my disciple might intervene.

“I was just looking because you said you’re Sun An’s cousin… It’s interesting. You look completely different.”

I made up an excuse and deliberately turned my gaze to my disciple.

‘This is not the time to be doing this with them. I should hurry and find Yu Gaju first. According to Sun An, Yu Gaju cares deeply for Sun An, so even if Yu Dong Baek is involved in this matter, he’ll step up to help.’

“Well then, my disciple. I’ll be on my way now.”

As soon as I organized my thoughts, I quickly gave my farewell and turned around. But unexpectedly, my disciple grabbed both my shoulders with his large hands as I was turning.

“Have a chat with your disciple.”

“Pardon? Now?”

“Now.”

What, why is this disciple suddenly wanting to talk with me when he was just with his associate?

I didn’t have a single thing to discuss with my disciple, but unable to refuse, I followed his lead into a nearby empty room.

Upon entering the room, I saw a wide, massive chair meant for drunkards. My disciple perched on that chair and asked me.

“Did you really come here because of your friend?”

I lied again like before.

“I told you, I came to gamble.”

Though there’s no bad blood between my disciple and Sun An, if Yu Dong Baek hates Sun An, my disciple might try to help with that. I didn’t want to spill everything about Sun An to my disciple.

However, my disciple ignored my words and continued speaking.

“I don’t believe you. You’re not someone with talent or interest in gambling, so there’s no reason for you to just come to a gambling house for fun. You came because of that Sun An fellow, didn’t you?”

If you don’t believe me, why are you asking me again? I stared at my disciple in bewilderment, but eventually gave him the answer he wanted.

“Yes, that’s right.”

Then my disciple frowned as if something displeased him, and immediately contradicted what he had just said.

“But you’re not the type to step up like this for someone else.”

Oh, what do you want me to do? I stared at my disciple even more bewildered. Now my disciple was staring intently at me while muttering softly.

“Well. Sun An is the person you matched with the 9th princess. If this incident truly turns out to be Sun An’s doing, it will put you in a difficult position too, won’t it? You’ll thoroughly displease His Majesty and Her Majesty the Empress, so your future won’t look bright.”

Are you cursing me? My disciple continued with what seemed like a soliloquy or something, and finally reached his own conclusion and said.

“You must be trying to help Sun An for the sake of your own future. …Then there’s nothing strange about it.”

What are you saying? My disciple’s words sounded really strange. It seemed as if my disciple was coming up with all sorts of reasons to thoroughly deny that I would help Sun An out of loyalty.

Then finally, as if satisfied with his understanding, my disciple asked me with a somewhat relieved expression.

“But do you really believe Sun An is completely innocent in this matter? Or are you trying to save him even though you think that child is indeed Sun An’s?”

“Of course I believe my friend. I don’t know why you’re asking this, but…”

I spoke firmly and glanced at the door. Can I leave now? I don’t understand why my disciple called me to this empty room in the first place, and it’s just wasting time.

By this point, I was suspicious that while my disciple was keeping me here, Yu Dong Baek might have gone to find Yu Gaju to preemptively tell him not to help Sun An.

That’s when. My disciple brought up something unexpected.

“It’s not good for this disciple either if you get into trouble. This disciple can help you. Shall I help you?”

…As often happened before, I couldn’t understand the flow of my disciple’s thoughts and words this time either.

At first, he denied that I would help a friend out of goodwill. Now why is he saying he’ll help me?

I stared at my disciple in bewilderment, but he just calmly looked down at me.

By this point, I became curious about what my disciple was thinking. But since I couldn’t ask him “What are you thinking that makes you want to help me?”, I just honestly confessed.

“My disciple. I’m also suspicious of Sun An’s cousin who was with you earlier. So you don’t need to help me.”

I said that and turned to leave, but my disciple threw unexpected words from behind.

“It wasn’t Yu Dong Baek’s doing.”

What are you saying? I was about to open the door and leave but turned back. My disciple was sitting leisurely on the long chair and continued speaking.

“I don’t know if you’ve already heard from your friend, but Yu Dong Baek dislikes Sun An. However, Sun An becoming the emperor’s son-in-law is good for Yu Dong Baek too. The emperor’s son-in-law can never become the successor to this lineage. So he has no need to interfere.”

“!”

“Be suspicious of the Sun family.”

My disciple’s words were plausible. To be honest, as soon as I heard his words, my ears perked up.

But because it was my disciple saying it, I was suspicious. I couldn’t respond right away and just stared at him warily.

The funny thing was that my disciple, having made the suggestion himself, was also looking at me with wary eyes.

Really… I’m really curious. What on earth is he thinking?

As soon as the teacher left the room after giving a seemingly polite greeting, the tension-filled room instantly became empty.

Left alone in the spacious room, Hwa Ryeo stared coldly at the closed door.

‘Yo Yohwa. My teacher.’

Through countless repeated deaths, Hwa Ryeo had reached only one conclusion about his teacher.

My teacher is an untrustworthy person.

After becoming an unwanted teacher-student pair, he had spent a very long time with that young teacher. Truly, an exasperatingly long time.

Hwa Ryeo was confident that he knew his teacher better than the teacher herself.

And based on that information, Hwa Ryeo had succeeded in perfectly controlling his teacher in the immediately preceding regression, finally not being betrayed by her.

Even as he watched the 51st life flow in an unexpected direction, Hwa Ryeo responded calmly.

Through his long repeated lives, he had realized that life has more variables than one might think. The 50 lives were never identical.

That’s why even though his teacher showed different behavior from previous lives, Hwa Ryeo wasn’t greatly surprised. No matter how life progressed, he thought he could control his teacher this time too, since he had already succeeded in controlling her.

The teacher’s betrayal is an inevitable fact. The teacher deeply loathes him from the bottom of her heart, so she will turn away at any time. He just needed to keep these two points in mind.

But… that incarnation of betrayal is wandering around an unfamiliar gambling house to save a friend? That betrayer of betrayers?

‘…Teacher. What on earth are you thinking this time?’