The imperial palace had grown a little chaotic.
Ever since word had spread that the Emperor had collapsed.
While eating, I cautiously asked the princess,
"Your Highness, I heard His Majesty collapsed. What happened?"
After a short pause, the flustered princess replied,
"I-It’s nothing serious, really. You don’t need to worry."
"Nothing serious? We’re talking about the Emperor—the pillar of the nation, a sage ruler! What could be more serious? Should I summon the Immortal of Medicine or the Immortal Herbalist?"
"N-No, it’s fine. His royal physicians are already attending to him, so you don’t need to worry, So-ryong."
"Ah, so the court physicians are with him. Still, if he’s truly ill, that would be terrible..."
Judging from how flustered and stammering the princess was, it was obvious.
The Emperor had collapsed because of her.
There was no other explanation for her reaction.
Did she get mouthy after getting grounded? No, she’s not that kind of person... Wait—don’t tell me! Did she touch her sword!?
As I ran through the possibilities, it suddenly all made sense.
The princess was a sword otaku (sword fanatic).
The Emperor must’ve touched her sword to discipline her, thinking she’d back down.
That sword she brought along when we left, the one she always kept with her.
Parents of otaku always make the same mistake—they lay hands on their collections when they get angry.
But that's the worst possible move.
To an otaku, their collection is not just stuff—it’s their identity and life’s passion.
Touching it is the same as denying their very existence. That kind of thing destroys relationships.
Even in my previous life, weren’t there tons of videos on YouTube of otakus fighting with their parents after their collections were thrown away?
Touching your kid’s rare figures or manga when you're angry? That’s the parent’s fault.
The princess is innocent. The Emperor is guilty.
I decided to forget about it and focus on the real issue: the promised reward.
Just as the princess said, the royal physicians would take care of it. No need for me to stress.
Back in the day, people used to say that worrying about celebrities was the most pointless thing ever.
Well, worrying about an emperor was even more pointless.
Now then, what could the spirit beast reward be?
While eating, I began pondering what kind of spirit beast I’d receive. And the more I thought about it, the more I realized I needed to pray.
Why pray in the middle of a meal, you ask?
Because this time, I wasn’t going out and catching the beast myself—it was a gift.
And since I didn’t know what it would be, I had to pray.
This was basically like a gacha pull from a collection game that I hadn’t opened yet.
There was always a chance I could get a duplicate.
Up to now, I’d been incredibly lucky—no duplicates. But that didn’t mean it was impossible.
Of course, there had to be similar spirit beasts out in the world.
Please don’t be a dupe. Please, anything but a dupe.
One prayer with every spoonful of rice.
Two prayers with every bite of meat.
And so, my first night in the imperial palace grew deeper and deeper.
***
"Hey. Hey, you."
A voice called to me in the middle of the night.
Half-asleep, I thought I might have imagined it, but then I caught Hyang’s voice.
—Tssrrr. Dad, someone’s outside looking for you.
Hyang shook me awake, and as I sat up and rubbed my eyes, the dim room came into focus.
Cheonhae floated gently in the dark, and the rest of the children were scattered across the room, sound asleep.
Yo-hwa, in Hwa-eun's form, had dozed off with her eyes open.
Spiders don’t have eyelids, so she probably forgot to shut her palps.
Carefully crawling toward the door to avoid waking anyone, I called out,
"Who... Who is it?"
"It’s the eunuch from the Crown Prince’s quarters. Get up."
The voice belonged to the Crown Prince’s chief eunuch.
That meant this guy was essentially the prince’s chief of staff. When I opened the door, he spoke quickly.
"Get dressed in your court robes. Quickly."
Being told out of the blue to change into official attire was... alarming.
Looking up at the sky through the open door, I saw stars shining bright.
In the distance, the sound of bells told me it was the chuksi hour — the deep hours of the night, when the world sleeps.
Around 1 a.m.
"What’s going on?"
"Questions later. Get dressed first. Wake your kids. Hurry."
He looked really urgent.
Gun Hye-rin, who had been given a different room nearby, was already dressed and arriving.
She wasn’t in the maid clothes provided by the palace, but her freshly laundered original outfit.
"Master."
"What is it, Gun Hye-rin?"
"Something’s not right. Get dressed and come quickly."
If Gun Hye-rin was saying that, something was seriously wrong.
I hurried to dress and woke the kids.
"Guys, wake up! Hurry!"
—Tssrrr. Dad, what’s going on?
—Kishi. Big Brother, what’s happening?
"I’m not sure, but get ready and follow me."
I woke everyone, including Hwana and Hwanji, who had been resting in the courtyard, and followed the eunuch.
We were heading north—toward the mountain side of the palace.
"Where exactly are we going?"
"You’ll find out when we get there. Just follow quietly."
Don’t tell me the Emperor collapsed and now the Crown Prince’s seizing power?
At first, I thought maybe the Crown Prince was staging a coup.
In period dramas, it’s always the same: the Emperor collapses, and the Crown Prince rises up and grabs the throne.
Maybe he was evacuating us to keep his sister’s savior safe from the fallout.
But nothing was certain, and the whole way I followed the eunuch, unease lingered.
The moment we reached the north gate, I figured it out.
There should’ve been soldiers on watch—but no one was there.
They were clearing everyone out through the northern gate?
We were clearly being expelled.
The Emperor, enraged because of the princess, must have had it and decided he didn’t want to see us anymore, rescue be damned.
When people are furious, they don’t want to see anything related to the cause of their anger. That’s just human.
He probably cleared the guards because he’d already said he was going to reward us, and now he was too embarrassed to go back on it publicly.
My reward!
I didn’t care about gold or land or even a fancy estate.
I had plenty of that already at the Sacheon Tang Clan.
But the spirit beast he promised—he had to give me that!
The worst kind of person in the world is someone who gives you something and then takes it back.
Even worse is someone who says they’ll give it to you, then doesn’t.
My fury surged.
Grrraaahhh!! I’m turning dark! So this is how traitors are born!
Yesterday, I had learned what loyalty was.
Today, I understood how rebellion begins.
And just then, a familiar face appeared.
"S-So-ryong!"
"Princess!"
The princess, dressed not in royal garments but in the plain clothes of a common woman, appeared under the shadow of the north gate.
I quickly asked her what was going on.
“What is this about?”
“I’m sorry. It’s because of me.”
Hearing her say it was her fault, it was clear now—we’d been kicked out.
Then came the confirmation I needed.
“I’ve been expelled.”
“Haah...”
I pressed a hand to my forehead.
And let out a sigh.
No, the princess getting kicked out was fine and all—but what about my spiritual beast?
As I thought about how petty the emperor was, the princess asked,
“So-ryong, I have nowhere to go... Could you take me with you?”
“What about Botaam?”
“I can’t burden them anymore. His Majesty also told me never to return there again while he’s alive. So now I really have nowhere else to go.”
“This is a disaster.”
“Please, So-ryong.”
“No need to plead or anything...”
It was all fine.
Sure, if she caused that kind of trouble, getting kicked out made sense.
It looked like the emperor had cut ties with her, but again—that was between the two of them.
Why should I be the one to suffer from their quarrel?
Where was my spiritual beast?
Why the hell hadn’t I received my spiritual beast?
I was fuming at how tyrannical and unjust this was when—
“Ahem.”
A voice behind me cleared its throat.
When I turned around, the Crown Prince was standing there with an awkward expression.
“Your Highness.”
I quickly bowed my head, but the prince rushed over in surprise and grabbed my arm.
“D-Don’t do that.”
“Excuse me?”
“I mean, this isn’t the time for formalities.”
“Ah.”
“His Majesty is still very angry, so you should leave the palace and return to Sacheon. If you follow the Golden Guards waiting outside, they’ll take you to a boat docked by the river. You can take that back.”
“Understood...”
I answered glumly.
Then, the prince glanced to the side.
“Bring it here.”
Hearing that he had something brought out, I wondered if he was sending me off with at least some sort of gift.
‘So the prince does have a conscience. No wonder the princess said he was a decent guy.’
Just as I was thinking he was actually a good guy, a soldier appeared carrying something.
It was a ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) cage covered in cloth.
At that moment, I felt a jolt of excitement.
“Wait, is this...?”
I looked at him, eyes wide in disbelief, and the prince nodded.
Then I heard the answer I’d been desperately hoping for.
“That’s right. It’s the spiritual beast His Majesty intended to bestow upon you. I couldn’t let you leave empty-handed, so I brought it myself.”
“Gyaaaaah!”
“P-Please calm down.”
“Ah, yes, of course.”
Yes, the one I should pledge loyalty to wasn’t the tyrant of an emperor, but the wise ruler of the next generation.
I swore I’d be loyal not to the emperor but to the Crown Prince from now on.
“Th-Thank you, Your Highness! I will never forget this grace!”
“Y-Yeah.”
Just as I received the cage-like item from the soldier, the prince looked at the princess, then turned to me.
“So... could you take her with you and look after her?”
Seemed like the brother really did care for his sister, now that she’d been exiled.
Taking care of her wasn’t a problem.
I answered with a reassuring look.
“Please don’t worry about Her Highness. I’ll take her with me and care for her for the rest of my life if I have to.”
He gave me the spiritual beast—of course I could take care of her for a lifetime.
***
The prince, having sent the princess off, arrived at the emperor’s bedchamber.
Normally, as soon as he arrived, the eunuchs would announce him from within, but the chamber doors quietly opened.
“His Majesty?”
As the prince stepped inside, the royal physician bowed his head and spoke.
“His Majesty hadn’t been sleeping well for days, worried over the princess. When the shock hit him, he fainted, and all the accumulated fatigue seems to have come at once.
We’ve administered medicine so he can rest deeply for about three days.”
“Well done.”
If it was merely a combination of shock and exhaustion, then he would wake up just fine after some rest.
As the prince turned to leave and head back to his quarters, the chief eunuch of the emperor’s court asked,
“Your Highness, what of the princess?”
“I sent her off well.”
“And... will Your Highness be alright?”
The prince gave a wry laugh as he answered.
“Haha. What choice do I have? His Majesty made me crown prince. If he scolds me when he wakes up, so be it. I have no choice but to grant my sister’s request.”
“Do you think he won’t demand she be brought back?”
Even though the princess had left behind a written letter, the emperor might still order her return.
But the prince shook his head.
“That was because her marriage was fake, and then she suddenly said she was... ‘connected’ to a man, which shocked His Majesty. But once he finds out that man was Senior So-ryong, he’ll understand.
When he was investigating the one who saved her, he even said it’d be great if that guy became her consort. Said he could tame dangerous spiritual beasts like children, so our sister wouldn’t be in danger.”
“Then why not wait and get His Majesty’s permission first?”
The prince shrugged.
“Well, my sister had her reasons, so what could I do?”
The chief eunuch looked puzzled and asked,
“By the way... what exactly did Her Highness like about that man?”
The prince grinned and replied,
“He’s pretty.”
“?”
The eunuch blinked furiously.
