“The king is also too much! Shouldn’t a parent protect their child from danger instead of exposing them to it?”

“Lower your voice. Do you realize how dangerous that statement is?”

Expressing dissatisfaction about the king’s command could be a dangerous statement, potentially qualifying as a crime of disrespect.

Before the attention of others focused on them, Geon intervened to stop Yeonwoo.

Yeonwoo expressed her frustration in a lower voice than before.

“…But it’s true that it’s too much.”

“Anyway, it was something that had to be done.”

“Then, can’t you at least assign a few members of the Tiger Hunt? How can you send Nari alone on the dangerous task of capturing a tiger?”

“That is the will of the king, and we must follow it.”

As expected, Yeonwoo’s intuition was correct.

From the beginning, she did not believe the baseless rumors that the men were spreading.

Geon wasn’t attempting to monopolize tiger hunting to gain the king’s favor; he had to embark on the tiger hunt without the assistance of the Tiger Hunt due to the king’s command.

“I knew it would be like this. Nari moved according to the king’s will, but those guys twisted it as they pleased. They should have been punished more.”

Yeonwoo, regretting that she couldn’t have beaten the men, struck the air as if she was hitting them.

Having trained in the military, Yeonwoo had become a fighter as skilled as any man.

Geon silently observed Yeonwoo expressing anger on his behalf.

It was unusual for someone to express genuine emotions and take action for him. Until now, no one had shown such sincerity and action on his behalf.

Throughout his life, Geon had never encountered someone who put so much passion into their work.

He watched Yeonwoo, who had been silently protecting him, with fascination.

“Now, are you not afraid of me?”

“Afraid? Why would I be afraid?”

Yeonwoo blinked her large eyes in response to Geon’s question.

“It refers to the rumors about me. The question is whether, after hearing those rumors, you are not afraid of me.”

Thinking about the rumors that the men had spread, Yeonwoo recalled stories she had heard even before entering the Gwangho Army.

Although she wasn’t sure who spread the malicious rumors, most of the rumors about Geon were different from the truth.

There was no evidence to support the absurd claims, and Geon had not engaged in the ridiculous deeds mentioned in the rumors.

On the contrary, Geon was not someone who tormented weaker people or arbitrarily harmed others without reason.

Even in the recent incident, where Geon drew his sword against the men, it wasn’t because of rumors about him. He drew his sword because the men tried to turn harsh words against Yeonwoo and insult her.

He was a person who knew how to care for others, and he had a deep understanding of humanity.

The fearsome and cruel image that Yeonwoo had imagined of Geon before joining the Gwangho Army did not exist anywhere.

Meeting Geon in person, she found him to be quite the opposite.

Yeonwoo, looking Geon straight in the eyes, responded confidently.

“I am not afraid. Even if those rumors were true, I believe there must have been circumstances that led you to act that way.”

“Ha…”

Geon, who had never encountered unconditional trust from others, let out a self-deprecating laugh at Yeonwoo’s firm response.

Most people around him had either avoided him or shifted the conversation when it came to him.

However, why was this trainee showing such unconditional trust without any conditions?

Feeling the deep trust from Yeonwoo, Geon approached her and looked down at her.

“What do you know about me to say such things?”
A slight tremor appeared in Geon’s eyes.

Resentment, sorrow, anger, and melancholy.

Geon suppressed the whirlwind of emotions created by complex feelings that had gathered within him.

These emotions were not directed towards Yeonwoo but towards those who spread unfavorable rumors about Geon.

Even though he thought it was okay to hear baseless rumors about himself, he realized he might have lived without being honest about his own feelings.

The unfocused emotions within Geon entangled themselves.

In the whirlwind of complex emotions, what Yeonwoo felt was empathy.

Geon’s reflection in her eyes seemed like a beast swelling in size to defend itself as it received more wounds.

“I don’t know anything about Nari. I don’t know how you grew up or lived. But…”

Yeonwoo stared at Geon with unwavering eyes and continued speaking.

“I am sure you are a good person. At least, that’s how I see Geon, the Gwangho Army commander, based on my experience.”

With just that one sentence from Yeonwoo, numerous complex emotions that had been entangled within Geon were washed away as if pushed down by water.

Perhaps Geon had been waiting for someone to understand his sincerity.

“Wouldn’t it be better if I were afraid of you?”

When Yeonwoo stared at Geon with clear eyes, Geon’s eyes trembled again with anxiety.

Yeonwoo was the first person to show Geon sincere trust.

Yeonwoo, as much as she was the subordinate and friend of Geon, was someone he hoped would not be afraid of him.

“A friend, huh? You speak boldly.”

Although Geon lightly teased Yeonwoo, his inner thoughts were different.

Strangely, the term ‘friend’ felt particularly sweet this time.

At that moment, Yeonwoo cautiously spoke.

“Uh, and Nari…”

“What is it?”

“I’m sorry for earlier.”

“Earlier?”

Seeing Geon’s puzzled reaction to her apology, Yeonwoo hesitated.

It was an uncommonly passive attitude for her.

“On the day of the initiation ceremony, I didn’t give a speech in front of Nari. Do you remember?”

“I remember.”

“After going through today’s events, I felt embarrassed by how foolish I was back then.”

“Wasn’t it okay?”

Geon couldn’t understand why she brought up something that had already been resolved.

Yeonwoo continued to speak.

“At first, I judged Nari based on rumors without really knowing anything, just like those people. I probably wasn’t much different from them, right?”

“After all, it was not just once or twice that I heard such rumors.”

The reason Yeonwoo apologized to Geon earlier was merely because she was afraid of his retaliation. It was not a sincere apology where she reflected on her actions and thought about his perspective.

However, now that she had experienced it firsthand, Yeonwoo realized how wrong she had been in the past.

Even though she only witnessed Geon being slandered once today, she was not the victim. How would Geon have felt, the actual victim? She couldn’t fathom how much he must have suffered hearing such rumors repeatedly. Geon’s indifferent attitude made Yeonwoo’s heart ache even more.

Unable to shake off the guilt, Yeonwoo shook her head, and Geon gently placed his palm on her head.

“But still, this time you stood up for me, didn’t you?”

As Yeonwoo looked up at Geon with surprised eyes, his large hand gently stroked her head.

“Moreover…”

With the first initiative from Geon, Yeonwoo widened her eyes in surprise at his touch.

“You’re okay.”

Initially, he thought of him as a strange guy.
He acted like a woman amidst the men’s topics, daringly insisting on being friends with the prince. He even went so far as to step into matters that didn’t concern him, creating a fuss. However, despite being unusual, his absurdity wasn’t disliked. She didn’t mind trusting him unconditionally. If he was like this, it seemed fine to keep him by her side. It felt like it would be okay for him to open up a bit more and be honest. Geon slowly lowered the hand that was petting Yeonwoo and spoke, “You are my person.” His trusting gaze reached Yeonwoo, and it was a moment when the inner barriers that were invisible to anyone else opened.