Ha Hyun seemed to understand immediately.

“Then something happened right away.”

“Exactly. And just now, I was just.”

I let out a small sigh.

“Just reminded of the past… The atmosphere, looking at the fire, it felt similar to back then. That’s all it was. But now, strictly speaking, there’s no intruder, so it’s okay. You need a fire to find people in the dark.”

As I continued speaking, I reconfirmed my thoughts.

This is not a memory I’ve experienced. It’s only in my head because I unintentionally saw what ‘Ha Hyun’ had gone through.

I lifted my gaze and looked back at Ha Hyun. Although I had only said I was reminded of the past, Ha Hyun seemed to understand what I meant, his face quickly filling with concern. He looked around with a somewhat awkward eye before speaking.

“Then you should just say you’re not feeling well and go home.”

“Don’t say something so absurd.”

Ha Hyun has a strange tendency to blurt out such things in situations like this. He knows he shouldn’t, yet sometimes he just can’t help himself. It’s awkward to respond harshly to someone who is genuinely concerned, but sometimes I wondered if this was really okay.

“Then, why don’t you just stay here and watch over Danju’s children? I don’t mind switching with you.”

Seeing that his expression remained serious, I sighed again and added.

“Moving around might be better. That way, I won’t think about it as much.”

“…If you say so.”

With that, the conversation ended and I could finally go look for my eldest son.

Yuseong Sahbaek had gone to find the absent Yuseong Sahbaek, and as Ha Hyun had said, he would stay and watch over Danju’s children. Thus, Lord Ha Jin and I each moved in different directions.

It was nearly an hour into the search when I found my eldest son.

Some servants who happened to be nearby called for my help, allowing me to confirm the details of my eldest son’s condition right after the initial discoverers.

Even though dozens of people had been moving around, it felt like we wouldn’t find him. When I heard where they had found my eldest son, it made sense.

“I never thought we’d have to search that far. Really….”

The servants clicked their tongues and shook their heads.
According to them, the eldest son was crumpled up inside a gigantic jar in a storage room of a secluded temple, a place people rarely frequented.

“But doesn’t that mean the culprit is someone on the inside?”

After all, they managed to bring the eldest son there without getting caught.

Though I held my tongue for fear of raining on the parade of the servants who were rejoicing at finding the eldest son, I memorized the location where he was found.

A few days later, I felt for the real eldest son’s pulse, which was difficult to ascertain. I had to be careful since I didn’t know how long the imposter had been acting as the eldest son.

“It would be good if Sir Four Hundred were here.”

But he’s not, so there’s nothing to be done.

His pulse was so faint that it took a great deal of concentration to finally detect it. Upon closer inspection, he didn’t seem to have been confined for more than a few days.

It was difficult to gauge his complexion under the flickering torchlight of the dark night, so I gave up on that part. Nevertheless, he was weak but not to the point of immediate death.

“Hmm.”

“What is your assessment, sage?”

Originally, I only had a little training in first aid and was not particularly knowledgeable in medicine.

If he had been critically ill and on the verge of death, even my limited skills would have been employed, but otherwise, I couldn’t contribute much.

I handed the eldest son back to the servants with some instructions.

“He’s weakened, but I think he can recover. When Sir Four Hundred returns, you should show him to get a proper pulse diagnosis. For now, bring in a maid to clean him and let him rest in a warm place. If he regains consciousness, moisten his lips with water. His pulse is weak, so make sure he’s stabilized first.”

“Ah, understood!”

“As for me…”

I pondered for a moment. What to do now?

Now that we’ve found the eldest son, half the problem is solved. But despite the passage of time, the Four Hundreds had not returned.

I didn’t know how skilled the imposter was, but the Four Hundreds were no pushovers either. Their prolonged absence was definitely odd.

“…I should probably go look for the Four Hundreds.”

“Yes, I will relay the message.”

One servant carried the eldest son on his back, while the rest of the group surrounded them, quickly receding into the distance.

I watched them go for a moment before moving on myself.

“Actually, maybe it would be better to simply follow them in this situation…”
The fake eldest son’s ongoing attention towards me had been bothering me. It was odd that he specifically chose to reveal his true self only to me.

Initially, I had planned to go back to that wall. He had been lingering at the shadow boundary of the wall and even told me he wanted to see me again, suggesting that he might have left some sort of mark.

‘Check it and if nothing’s there, quickly turn back.’

I remembered the location, so it wasn’t a difficult task. Just as I was about to sprint using my inner power, fully committed to the decision,

“Help, please! The monastery!”

A servant who had turned the corner of the back monastery found me and cried out as he ran towards me as if about to fall over.

“It’s an attack! The young master and the young ladies! The other monasteries on the volcano are also in danger!”