Danmokchang lay gracefully in the middle of the room. It hadn’t been long since the medicinal herbs were applied, and the room was filled with a strong herbal scent.

Still not fully conscious, he stared blankly into the air and muttered in a voice that seemed about to extinguish, “Survived.”

It was a truly pitiful word. Startled for a moment, I entered the room with an awkward smile.

“Seems like you wanted to die.”

“Soldier!”

Recognizing my voice, Danmokchang immediately tried to sit up. Surprised, I held his shoulders and gently laid him back down.

“Don’t get up! Giving strength might cause the wounds that just started to heal to burst again!”

“But I can’t welcome a soldier like this lying down…”

“Lying down is more comfortable for me! Please, stay lying down!”

Danmokchang continued to want to get up, but since I insisted so much, he eventually couldn’t refuse and lay back down.

His face, lying down with his hair untied, looked even younger than his actual age. After hesitating for a moment, Danmokchang, who had been mumbling his lips, offered an apology in a heavy voice.

“I’m sorry, Soldier. It’s all my fault.”

Surprised, I widened my eyes, and Danmokchang, in a frenzy, pointed out what I had momentarily forgotten.

“If I hadn’t given you the sleeping scent, you wouldn’t have been dragged away so helplessly in the first place. So, it’s my fault.”

Right, the sleeping scent. Initially confused even after being captured by Hyeonjung, it was because I had lost consciousness during the meal with Danmokchang.

“You knew there was a sleeping scent?”

If he had known and still offered me the meal, I might not have forgiven Danmokchang. However, I couldn’t question him directly because I knew he wasn’t that kind of person.

From Danmokchang’s mouth, a figure who seemed to have survived the sleeping scent was mentioned.

“My father said he wouldn’t let me go if I couldn’t even have a meal with the soldier. But I didn’t know he would resort to such tricks. I was also greatly surprised when the soldier collapsed.”

‘Even Danmoksoo would do something like that.’

What is the sleeping scent? He put a poisonous concoction and could blame the crime on someone else.

When I made that expression, Danmokchang spoke with a weak voice.

“But no matter how I say it, it doesn’t change the fact that it’s my fault. Please forgive me.”

“No, it’s not like that. You came to save me and got hurt in the process.”

He tried his best to take responsibility for what he had done.

‘Danmokbi and Jegal Min even infiltrated the Blood Sect without knowing.’

But since Danmokchang didn’t have any particular connections to Gangho, it was necessary to find out how he managed to infiltrate.

‘As long as Danmokchang doesn’t run away. I’ll ask him later when he’s feeling better.’
My gaze involuntarily turned toward the sturdy blanket covering his body. The sight of him collapsing, looking like he could die at any moment, still made my heart pound even now.

‘I should have told him to escape on his own.’

I should have kicked him out before Hyeonjunghyuk came back.

The fact that Hyeonjunghyuk had ominously approached Danmokchang also weighed heavily on my mind because it was somehow related to me. I made an effort to explain with a bright smile.

“Your leg is severely injured, so it seems you’ll have to move like this even when you need to. I understand you want to rest comfortably in Danmok’s room, but please understand the need to move slowly.”

“I became a burden to you again.”

I thought I filtered out words that would provoke him, but Danmokchang, with a self-deprecating smile again, seemed to have found a way. I had no words to respond, so I just nodded.

There was a moment of silence between us. Danmokchang, who had been staring into space as if recalling the distant past, turned to me and asked.

“Is the one who saved you my younger brother?”

“Yes. Danmok Soga came and defeated Hyeonjunghyuk.”

There is an awkwardness in saying ‘defeated.’ Hyeonjunghyuk disappeared as if scheming something. ‘He will definitely show up again later. He even said he would regret rejecting me.’

Tension rushed in, but either way, that was a matter for later. I was contemplating what precautions to take before Hyeonjunghyuk reappeared.

In a moist voice, Danmokchang said, “I still can’t overcome Danmokbi.”

“That…”

“Even though I’ve been alive, it didn’t feel like I was alive.”

Maybe it was because his mouth was open. Danmokchang poured out a story that he hadn’t easily shared before.

“The expectations and affection directed toward me quickly turned to others at a rapid pace, and I had to helplessly watch that happen. There was no way for me. I couldn’t improve my martial arts skills, and I couldn’t abandon everything and run away.”

It was a story that wasn’t unrelated to me.

‘Right. Until Danmoksoo appeared, Danmokchang was the one everyone had expectations for.’

I prevented Danmokbi from appearing by feeding the elixir to Danmokbi and making him learn martial arts, and as a result, the roles of the two were reversed.