“There is a place used to test the concubine candidates. The terrain is flat but a bit low, so you can look down on it if you climb up a nearby hill.”

Wow. That sounds like a good idea, but…

“Is that allowed?”

I have a strong feeling that we shouldn’t go up there from the location selection.

“Originally, it’s not allowed.”

The disciple answered as if it were obvious. Anyone looking would think I was the one who suggested going.

The disciple gave me a testing look. As if curious how I would react.

“…”

I racked my brains hard. What should I do? Should I risk going to see my sister’s condition? Or-.

“We could just go for a quick look, right?”

The disciple silently smiled and turned around ominously.

“Follow me.”

The place the disciple took me to was a hill near Hwayeoncheon, though calling it a hill was generous – the slope was so steep that ordinary people wouldn’t even think of climbing it. More like a low cliff?

Thanks to that, climbing was difficult but my mind was at ease. Good. We’re unlikely to get caught in a place like this.

It would be troublesome if all the elder brothers who sent their sisters to the concubine selection were crowded together on hills like this trying to watch the selection process.

“Is this the place?”

When I asked upon reaching the top of the hill, the disciple nodded and gestured somewhere with his eyes.

I approached the disciple’s side and looked down to see a spacious area with colorful, bright clothing. It seemed to be the attire of the young ladies who had dressed up for this concubine selection.

“It looks like it’s started.”

The concubine selection appeared to be in progress as the young ladies were lined up like pieces on a Go board, and the Emperor and Empress were seated in the two chairs at the most honored position.

I scanned the young ladies once to identify Lin Hwa by the color of the clothes she wore, then examined the faces to locate Lin Hwa’s position.

“My sister is over there, Your Majesty.”

I pointed out Lin Hwa’s location to the disciple, pretending to be friendly, and craned my neck.

Wow… It’s hard to see clearly. I can distinguish the faces but nothing beyond that. She doesn’t seem to be causing any trouble since she’s not standing out.

Still feeling uneasy, I stared blankly at Lin Hwa for a while before realizing this wasn’t the time and clasped my hands to pray to the gods of heaven and earth.

Then the disciple, who had been ignoring me since we came up the hill, approached and spoke.

“It seems you want your sister to become a concubine, Teacher.”

“What? No, I don’t.”

“Then what are these praying hands for?”

“I’m praying for her to fail.”

“!”

The disciple raised his eyebrows and looked back and forth between Lin Hwa, me, and my clasped hands. It wasn’t a very favorable gaze.

How very amusing. He imprisoned and exiled his own siblings, yet he’s surprised by this?

How long did I send prayers of hindrance to Lin Hwa like that? As my arms were gradually starting to ache, the disciple spoke again.

“I thought you and your sister were close.”

The concubine selection still seems far from over. But my arms were aching, so I lowered my hands and asked:

“Why did you think that?”

The disciple looked up at the sky for a moment, then lowered his gaze and answered calmly:

“Just because.”

Hearing that answer, I think I understand why the disciple mistakenly thought Lin Hwa and I were close.

‘We were close before the regression.’

Even then, we had a bad relationship at first, but since the disciple wasn’t interested in Lin Hwa, he probably doesn’t know the details of our sisterly relationship over time. So he must only know about the latter part when we were close.

But I couldn’t pretend to know about this.

“We’re not very close.”

I answered as if it were no big deal and looked back at Lin Hwa. Don’t get selected as a concubine, don’t get selected…!

As I was about to resume my earlier prayer, perhaps because I was making a bad prayer, the ground beneath my feet suddenly gave way and I lost my balance as my foot slipped sideways.

“!”

As my vision flipped and I thought ‘I’m screwed’, someone grabbed my waist.

I flailed about, grabbing whatever I could reach, trying not to hit the back of my head on the ground.

Fortunately, though my legs ached, my body didn’t fall back any further.

‘That was close.’

I looked down at the dizzying slope beneath my feet with relief. Wow. If I had fallen here, I really could have died again.

Moreover, my corpse would have rolled down to the feet of the young ladies in the concubine selection. What an embarrassment that would be.

But soon the sense of relief vanished completely. I realized that what I had grabbed was the disciple’s waist.

The pose was so passionate that if my parents had seen it, they would have screamed in shock.

“!”

I let go in surprise. But as soon as I released my grip, my body tilted again, so I ended up grabbing the disciple once more.

As we remained stuck like that, a short sigh descended on my head.

Soon the disciple lightly lifted me up, moved me back, and set me down on the inside.

When my feet were safely on the ground, I finally carefully released the disciple’s waist and bowed my head deeply in apology.

“I’m sorry, Your Majesty. I grabbed you because I was afraid of falling.”

Fortunately, the disciple didn’t seem angry.

“You did well. Falling here would be such a disgrace.”

Or not? Is he angry? He seems annoyed that I grabbed him. Ah, I’m really sorry, I’m sorry.

I stepped back a couple of paces from the disciple out of embarrassment. But the reverse effect of cursing Lin Hwa manifested once again.

“Ah!”

As the ground beneath my feet had crumbled earlier, it felt like my ankle was twisting. After taking just a couple of steps back, a pain like my ankle had been struck with a hammer shot through, and strength left one of my knees.

‘The heavens are helping Lin Hwa!’

In the end, this time I fell over properly. I fell sideways so I didn’t hit my head, but I looked at my leg in dismay.

Just imagining the tremendous pain from earlier made me dizzy. Could I descend this steep hill in this state?

Feeling at a loss, I stared blankly down the hillside for a moment.

How long had I been like that? After pondering for a while, it seemed impossible to go down alone, so I reluctantly asked the disciple.

“Your Majesty. It seems I’ve twisted my leg. So it’s a bit difficult for me to go down alone…”

The disciple narrowed his eyes as if he had expected this. Just as I was about to say “Could you please…” to ask him to call someone to help me.

The disciple turned his back and said almost simultaneously:

“Get on my back.”

“!”

As soon as I heard the disciple’s words, I abandoned what I was going to say and quickly jumped onto his back.

“Ugh.”

I must have gotten on too forcefully, as the disciple let out a small groan.

But I didn’t let go of the disciple.

Earlier, I was about to say “Could you please call someone” and the disciple said “Get on my back” almost at the same time.

Since I heard the disciple’s words, he must have heard mine too. Wouldn’t that be embarrassing? If he’s embarrassed, he might take it out on me, so I clung to him as if his words were correct.

Fortunately, instead of pushing me off, the disciple said with a faint groan:

“Don’t squirm and hold on properly.”

It was while I was being carried down the hill on the disciple’s back.

Contrary to my worries, as the disciple easily descended the steep slope while carrying me, I was feeling relieved when unexpectedly, a person passing by caught my eye.

‘That person!’

I looked at that person in surprise, but when they started to turn their head in response, I quickly turned my head to the side and pretended to be asleep on the disciple’s back.

But my heart was pounding rapidly.

It couldn’t be helped. The person who just passed by was Cheongyang, a martial arts expert who would later become the 13th Prince’s right-hand man.

Martial arts expert is a nice way of putting it, according to Yu Dongbaek, he’s an assassin. Anyway, he’s a terrifying guy.

I’ve seen many unpleasant things after being forced to follow him a few times.

‘Why is he here? Has the disciple already won over Cheongyang too? Or is Cheongyang wandering around the palace and getting won over by the disciple?’

It was then.

“Teacher.”

The disciple, who had been walking quietly, suddenly called me in a gentle voice.

‘Did he notice that I was startled by seeing Cheongyang?’

I answered like a lamb, surprised by the feeling of my heart dropping.

“Yes…?”

My voice trembled slightly, even I could tell.

“…”

Was that strange? After calling me, the disciple didn’t say anything for a while.

So we both stayed quiet for a long time. When we had descended about half the hill, the disciple muttered:

“Your heart is beating fast. Did you know?”

This disciple. Is he even counting my heartbeats?

At the disciple’s mention of my heart, my heart started beating even more vigorously as if happy to be noticed. The pulse could be felt even in the blood vessels of my neck.

“Your Majesty’s heart?”

Still trying to play dumb, I tried to deflect, but the disciple let out a small laugh and corrected me.

“I mean your heart, Teacher.”

“Are, are you counting it?”

“I can feel it without counting.”

“!”

“What’s wrong? Perhaps… because of the person who passed by earlier?”

It’s fortunate that my heart was already beating at top speed. If not, my heartbeat would surely have accelerated even more upon hearing those words from the disciple.

I was very taken aback by the disciple’s words, but since my heart was already beating rapidly, I didn’t feel much difference.

No, more importantly, what should I do? I got too nervous when Cheongyang passed by earlier, so does the disciple find it strange? Should I not have changed my posture then?

I was so nervous that cold sweat started to seep out from the nape of my neck.

The fear began to seep through, breaking the stability I had gradually found over months of lessons together.

“Teacher?”

Then, as the disciple called me with a voice tinged with laughter.

I clung tightly to the disciple’s back, shouting “I’m dead!” in my mind, and said:

“I apologize. I’m so embarrassed to be carried by Your Majesty. I tried not to show it, but it seems it was obvious.”

“!”

“Seeing Your Majesty descend so steadily while carrying me, my heart feels like it’s going to burst. Is this… what they call love?”

Did my words work or were they ignored? There’s no response. Since he’s not immediately refuting, it seems he might find it plausible…?

Still, just in case, I deliberately kept chattering near the disciple’s ear.

“This heart. This shameless heart. I don’t know why it keeps giving me away like this. It seems to want to make its presence known to Your Majesty. Your Majesty. Your Majesty. I think my heart wants to speak to you.”

“…”

“Can you hear what it’s saying? Thump… Thump… Thump… Love you… Love you… Is that what it’s saying?”

Was it effective? The disciple, who had been speaking unusually gently when questioning me earlier, now answers coldly and curtly.

“I can’t hear it.”

“But you said you could even count its beats, Your Majesty.”

“Please don’t refer to your heart as if it were a child. It’s creepy.”

“But this child seems to have a will of its own, jumping around whenever it sees Your Majesty. It’s like there’s another personality, so that’s why.”

I hear the disciple grinding his teeth softly. He must not like me talking like this.

“I told you not to call it a child.”

Seeing him openly express his dislike, I asked brightly, pleased:

“Are you embarrassed?”

As soon as those words ended, my bottom hit the ground. This disciple had simply let go of me.

Sitting there dumbfounded, I looked up, and the disciple looked down at me coldly and warned icily:

“You should keep that mouth shut for about two hours, Teacher. Unless you want the eunuchs to come looking for you here in the middle of the night.”