While receiving suspicious glances, I simply looked back and forth between the 13th Prince and the 7th Prince with a polite demeanor.

Come, my disciple. Look. I am taking your side.

However, the 7th Prince reacted before the disciple.

Just as the 7th Prince raised his hand, there was a slapping sound near my ear and my vision turned sideways.

“!”

Even though I had politely refused, the 7th Prince had struck my cheek, unable to contain his anger.

‘That temper of his. No wonder the disciple killed him quickly in the past life.’

Though my cheek stung, I tried hard to manage my expression.

Fortunately, though hot-tempered, the 7th Prince wasn’t stupid. He was just the type to explode before thinking things through.

After lashing out, the 7th Prince seemed to realize his mistake and immediately lowered his hand.

The 13th Prince may be his half-brother without backing, but he must have remembered that our Yo family is one of the most prestigious, having held the position of Ilsajik for five consecutive generations.

Although we no longer have as much power as the previous generation since my father’s time, we are still counted among the top noble families.

“Since Master Yo says so, there’s no helping it.”

But it seems his pride was too hurt to apologize. The 7th Prince mumbled before tossing those words and leaving abruptly, brushing off his sleeves.

As he swept away like a storm, I couldn’t help but sigh.

The 7th Prince was always quick to act before thinking, often getting scolded by the Emperor. He had many enemies because of it.

But before the regression, I had never been hit by the 7th Prince. We were just on cold terms.

Yet after the regression, I even got slapped by him. Though he left reluctantly after hitting me, the 7th Prince must have harbored resentment inside. Our relationship had worsened compared to before the regression.

‘From now on, I should avoid making enemies with other royals even while siding with the disciple.’

I’m in a position where I can’t freely use future information, aren’t I? If I act carelessly and the future changes, it could become difficult to respond.

When the 13th Prince officially joins the fight for the throne, there will be many unavoidable conflicts. I couldn’t create personal enemies on my own.

‘Let’s be careful.’

“Why do you take my side?”

But it wasn’t over with getting slapped by the 7th Prince.

As soon as the 7th Prince left and his footsteps faded, the disciple immediately asked me.

Coming to my senses, I saw him looking into my eyes as if analyzing them. With a suspicious expression rather than a grateful one.

He seemed to find it dubious that I, who had killed him repeatedly through several regressions, was suddenly helping him.

Well, even in the immediate past life… I had taken the 7th Prince’s side.

Right. It would be suspicious to suddenly act friendly.

“I apologize, Your Highness. I have never heard that Your Highness excels at horseback riding.”

So I made the excuse that I acted this way not to take the 13th Prince’s side, but out of concern for his shortcomings.

Of course, I know the 13th Prince’s horsemanship is far superior to the military officials’. But at this time, the 13th Prince was in a period of humbling himself, so in the past life, I didn’t know his skills then.

So it should be fine to make such an excuse.

The 13th Prince’s eyes narrowed. Is he recalling memories from before the regression? Or is he gauging the truth of my words?

After that test-like moment passed, the 13th Prince turned coldly and instructed:

“You may go in. If not treated quickly, there will be a hand mark on your face.”

Did he… accept it for now?

* * *

As soon as I returned home, I sat at my desk and took out paper and a brush.

I tried to recall as much as possible about what had happened in my past life.

Even if I couldn’t openly use information from the past life like the 13th Prince, I thought I should know to some extent to be prepared.

Even with today’s incident. If I had known in advance about the clash between the 7th and 13th Princes, I could have prepared by avoiding that place altogether or finding a better response.

If I hadn’t appeared at the place where the 7th and 13th Princes clashed, I could have just comforted the 13th Prince later.

Then the 13th Prince wouldn’t have looked at me suspiciously. Wouldn’t he have viewed me more favorably?

But remembering the events of the past few years before the regression wasn’t as easy as I had resolved.

‘I think I could recall if there was a trigger. It’s not working well just trying to remember suddenly.’

Fortunately, I immediately recalled the hunting competition thanks to the 7th Prince’s mention.

There were two big events there. One was the 7th Prince falling off his horse and injuring his leg, and the other was the 9th Princess getting hurt while the 2nd and 6th Princes were fighting.

‘Those two tried to pin it on the 13th Prince.’

Since the 9th Princess was the Empress’s daughter, if the 13th Prince with no maternal backing had been implicated, it would have been very troublesome.

However, the 13th Prince ‘luckily’ encountered the Emperor during the hunting competition and walked around with him before parting ways.

At the time the 9th Princess was injured, the 13th Prince was still with the Emperor.

Thanks to that, the lies of the 2nd and 6th Princes were immediately exposed, and the Emperor was so angered by this that he didn’t even receive greetings from the two princes for several months.

At that time, I thought ‘He’s really lucky’, but…

‘It probably wasn’t luck.’

He likely knew in advance about the incident where the 9th Princess would be injured and stayed by the Emperor’s side to avoid the danger.

But I don’t know the exact circumstances. In the past life, I stayed near the 3rd Prince during the hunting competition, so I was somewhat removed from this incident.

However, since the 3rd Prince had no incidents and safely completed the hunting competition… Alright. This time, I’ll follow the 13th Prince.

No, no. That’s not it. If I follow the 13th Prince, I risk being marked by the 2nd and 6th Princes earlier than in the past life.

Although I’ll inevitably grow distant from all royals except the 3rd Prince once the 13th Prince starts aiming for the throne, I shouldn’t make enemies until then.

Gaining favor with the 13th Prince and making unnecessary enemies are different matters.

If I become disliked by other royals for gaining favor with the 13th Prince, I might be killed by other royals before the 13th Prince can kill me.

‘And in such a dire situation, the disciple wouldn’t help me either.’

* * *

On the day of the hunting competition.

As the competition began, I acted according to my pre-planned strategy.

After hearing the bell signaling the start of the competition, I watched as the royals and relatives moved into the forest in order, then slowly rode my horse into the forest.

‘I should go neither towards where the 13th Prince is, nor where the original 3rd Prince is.’

I’d like to rest in the tent, but doing so during an event hosted by the Emperor would incur his displeasure.

So I planned to pass time at Changse Lake at the edge of the hunting grounds.

If I spend time there and return, the 7th Prince’s leg should be broken, the 9th Princess should be injured, the 2nd and 6th Princes should be scolded by the Emperor, and the 13th Prince should have safely overcome the crisis on his own.

‘Good. Perfect.’

But not long after, I encountered something completely unexpected.

‘How can there be such an impossible situation.’

As I was moving while smelling the forest scent and resolving, ‘Living is really the best, let’s live a very long life this time, let’s live a long and healthy life without getting entangled with the 13th Prince,’ I heard the sound of fighting not far away.

What’s that sound?

Though curious, I stood in place listening to the sound instead of going towards it, in line with my mindset of walking a safe path.

‘It sounds like fighting?’

Although it’s hard to make out exact words, it’s definitely the sound of two men arguing.

“!”

This can’t be. Could it be the sound of the 2nd and 6th Princes fighting?

The 2nd and 6th Princes were said to have fought and injured the 9th Princess. Is this the scene of that incident?

Oh no. Then is the 9th Princess nearby too?

This can’t be! I only meant to come to a less crowded place to avoid the 13th Prince. To think that less crowded place was the scene where the 9th Princess gets injured!

I screamed internally.

Come to think of it, since I followed the 3rd Prince in my past life, I didn’t know where the 9th Princess was injured, where the 7th Prince was injured, or where the 13th Prince met the Emperor.

‘…It’s okay. No one has seen me yet. Let’s slip away to another place.’

The moment of confusion passed quickly. I decided not to get involved and quietly turned my horse’s head.

Let’s go that way, no. Quietly.

But before the horse could take a step, I heard someone shouting “Hya! Hya!” in panic from somewhere.

Looking towards the sound, I saw a horse running at an incredible speed, breaking through the undergrowth.

It wasn’t coming towards me, but running a bit further ahead… Why is that horse running so madly? The person on the horse seems to have no control at all.

Wondering what this commotion was about, I looked closely and saw that the person on the horse was the 7th Prince.

The 7th Prince was trying to calm the horse with a terrified face, but for some reason, the horse wouldn’t stop. It was strange considering the 7th Prince’s excellent horsemanship.

Meanwhile, the 7th Prince seemed to have spotted me too and shouted loudly.

“Master Yo, help me!”

However, even as he called out, the 7th Prince was moving away too quickly for any attempt to help.

Even if I could help, I wouldn’t have. If the 7th Prince’s horse was acting up due to the disciple’s scheme, I shouldn’t interfere.

But a few breaths later, I realized the shit the 7th Prince had thrown at me.

That damned prince! He called out my name as he passed! The 6th and 2nd Princes must be nearby!

Then another thought occurred to me, sending a chill down my spine.

‘Could this incident be involved in the 9th Princess getting hurt?’

The 2nd and 6th Princes fought, but why would the 9th Princess get hurt out of nowhere? Could it be because of the shock from the 7th Prince’s horse incident?

I screamed internally.

Even if that were the case, I could just suppress my curiosity and move elsewhere if I wasn’t involved.

But the 7th Prince had to shout “Master Yo” loudly as he passed. The 2nd and 6th Princes must have heard.

Knowing that I was near the scene, perhaps the 2nd and 6th Princes would try to drag me into the 9th Princess injury incident instead of the 13th Prince this time.

Just then, I heard a woman’s scream. Something had clearly set off a chain reaction.

‘Damn. I have no choice.’

I had no choice but to ride towards where the fighting sounds had come from earlier.

Then I saw the 9th Princess’s horse running as madly as the 7th Prince’s horse had earlier.

The 9th Princess was hugging the horse’s neck with both arms, while the 2nd and 6th Princes were just now mounting their horses with bewildered faces.

So the princess wasn’t at the fighting site. The 9th Princess was just passing by when her horse got startled by the 7th Prince’s scream.

The 2nd and 6th Princes saw this and were surprised, trying to save the 9th Princess but failing.

Damn it!

I turned my horse towards where the 9th Princess was riding.

I had a strong feeling that if I couldn’t save the 9th Princess, I would end up taking the fall for the incident that the 13th Prince had avoided. I had to save the 9th Princess no matter what.

“Hya!”

Fortunately, unlike those two princes, I was already on horseback, and my horsemanship skills had improved dramatically from being forced to follow the 13th Prince in my past life.

I pushed my horse to its maximum speed, making the surrounding trees look like they were rushing past.

“Your Highness, please hand me the reins!”

When I caught up to ride alongside the princess’s horse, I called out to the 9th Princess.

However, the 9th Princess shouted while hugging the horse:

“I can’t let go!”

It certainly looked that way.

This time, I brought my horse as close as possible to the princess’s horse and grabbed the reins directly.

Then I pulled on the reins while controlling the horse to slow down.

The horses ridden by royalty are all well-trained, so they can be calmed quickly if you focus properly.

“Don’t grip the horse’s neck too tightly, Your Highness.”

As I said this to the princess again, perhaps due to the horse slowing down, the princess also loosened her grip that had been almost choking the horse.

With that, the horse slowed down even more, and the princess quickly stabilized.

“Grab the reins, Your Highness! It should stop now!”

I shouted from the side again and handed the reins to the princess.

However, as the princess reached out with one arm to grab the reins, she shook her head again.

“I can’t! I’ll fall!”

Finally, as I was about to control the reins directly to stop the horse.

I spotted a tree standing not far between me and the princess.

‘Damn it!’

The position was so precise that if we continued like this, my arm would break against the tree, the impact would cause the princess’s horse to fall, and the princess would tumble to the ground.

“Excuse me, Your Highness.”

There was no choice. I moved over to the princess’s horse and pulled on the reins directly to slow the horse down.

Fortunately, the horse calmed down immediately.

As soon as the horse stopped, I quickly dismounted, bowed my head, and apologized to the princess.

“I apologize, Princess Your Highness.”

Normally, one shouldn’t jump onto a horse ridden by royalty at will. It’s not written in law books, but it’s just common sense.

But it was an urgent situation, so wouldn’t she understand?

However, contrary to expectations, the princess didn’t respond at all.

No way. Is she going to rebuke me for being disrespectful even in such an urgent situation?

As I was racking my brain, I looked up at the princess with a wistful and dazed expression that women in my past life had said “makes even angry hearts soften.”

I hadn’t acted like a playboy with princesses, but this was an urgent situation.

Whether it was because she was shocked or because she prioritized etiquette even in such an urgent situation, I wasn’t sure.

However, as I carefully raised my head and met eyes with the red-faced princess, I felt that something had gone terribly wrong.

The princess’s appearance, with peach-like cheeks, looking at me was unmistakably the face of someone who had fallen in love at first sight.

‘This is troublesome.’

Just as my mind was about to freeze in shock at that passionate gaze, this time a cold voice came from behind.

“What are you doing there, Master?”