The Childish Princess’s Unauthorized Outing (4)

“Let’s pick up the pace.”

Swoosh, swoosh.

Neung Je-gang and Cheong Yeon shot toward Beijing. It was a very different look from when they had simply traveled, taking their time and sightseeing along the way.

Cheong Yeon did not know what was going on but pushed his lightness skill to the limit so as not to fall behind Neung Je-gang.

“She’s still chasing us.”

“Ignore her. Just ignore her.”

By now, Neung Je-gang was certain.

The woman chasing them from behind was the very same woman he had seen before—the one in Luoyang, escorted by the elite experts of the Eastern Depot.

“She doesn’t look like she’s going to drop back at all.”

Cheong Yeon asked again, his expression troubled.

The woman chased with everything she had. The problem was that her lightness skill was not much inferior to Cheong Yeon’s. If it were just Neung Je-gang, he could shake her off, but with Cheong Yeon in tow, it did not seem possible to completely escape her pursuit.

“There’s no helping it. We might end up seeing her face again in Beijing anyway, so I suppose I’ll just have to give in here…”

In the end, Neung Je-gang stopped and came to a halt.

They were on their way to the Eastern Depot anyway; once they reached Beijing, there was every chance they would run into this woman again. They had already run into each other at the Luoyang branch of the Eastern Depot.

“So she really was someone you knew?”

“I’ve only seen her once, but don’t you dare say I knew her. That’ll make things complicated.”

“Sir?”

“I mean if I have to explain why we ran away, the only way is to pretend I don’t know her.”

“Ah, I see.”

“Huff, huff, huff, huff!”

By the time the woman finally reached them, she was panting so hard she could barely speak.

“Huff… You… huff… really… don’t… huff… know me…?”

She blindly grabbed his sleeve and clung to it, clearly afraid he would take off again the moment she let go.

“I’d say this is the first time I’ve seen you… Who might you be?”

“If you don’t… know me… huff… then why… huff… did you run away…?”

“We were told you were crazy. Does that look like how a sane woman fights, in your opinion? We only left because they said you’d gone mad. Did you chase us all this way just to argue about that?”

“No… I’m sure we’ve met before. Don’t you remember me?”

Once she finally caught her breath, she could at least speak normally.

“Absolutely not. I have no idea who you are.”

Neung Je-gang denied it flatly.

But the woman was persistent.

“Then I’ll remind you. We met at the Luoyang branch office before, didn’t we, Mister Pickpocket?”

“Pickpocket? Did you just call me a thief?”

He glared at her and barked back.

“Did you never, ever sneak into the Eastern Depot in Luoyang to steal anything?”

Because he was denying everything so firmly, her own memories started wobbling.

“This really won’t do. You’ll have to come with me so we can get this cleared up properly. I was headed to the Beijing Eastern Depot anyway. If you can’t explain why you went around calling me a thief, I’ll have you thrown in a cell for false accusation.”

“…Uuugh. But I’m sure it was you… You really aren’t him?”

The woman finally let go of his sleeve and cocked her head.

After all, she had only glimpsed him for a moment, in the middle of the night. There was no way she could have any solid proof.

And when the man she suspected as a thief claimed to be on his way to the Eastern Depot of his own will, she couldn’t help but think she might have made a mistake.

“Anyway, why are you going to the Eastern Depot in Beijing…?”

“Do I owe you that explanation?”

“No, but it seems like we’re headed to the same place, so I was just curious.”

At that, Neung Je-gang’s steps faltered.

“So your destination is also the Eastern Depot in Beijing?”

“Yes. Why?”

“Nothing. Then it seems you were invited by the Eastern Depot as well.”

Having decided to pretend not to know her, he stuck to his story.

By openly saying he’d been invited by the Eastern Depot, he hoped to prove that he couldn’t possibly be the culprit who’d slipped into the Luoyang branch.

“Invited? Oh, right. Hehehe. I was invited by the Eastern Depot too.”

The woman let out a big, fake laugh and pretended she also had an invitation.

“So, what’s your name?”

“I’m called Biyeong.”

“Oh! Bi…yeong? I’ve heard that name somewhere.”

She showed a brief flash of surprise at the name.

What Neung Je-gang didn’t know was this:

Behind that expression was the memory of a name that had been at the very top of the Eastern Depot’s list of prime suspects—the one who had slipped in and out of the Luoyang branch so smoothly.

The Eastern Depot was not such an easy place to toy with.

“And what about your identity, miss?”

Neung Je-gang only knew she might be a princess, nothing more. For all he knew, she might not be. A true princess could not simply wander around alone like this.

“Me? I’m, uh… Jang Ok.”

“Jang Ok?”

Neung Je-gang’s face wrinkled up.

Damn it. Of all people, it had to be Princess Jang Ok.

The moment he heard her say “Jang Ok,” he realized exactly who she was—and also that she was far too dangerous to be around.

Princess Jang Ok, Ju So-ok.

She was known as the most doted-on among the current emperor’s many princesses.

Because of that, when Neung Je-gang and Cheong Yeon had served in the Eastern Depot, there had been rumors that any man who got too close to Princess Jang Ok would mysteriously disappear—silenced by assassins sent by the emperor himself.

If the others did not know whether it was true, at least he did.

He had once investigated a series of disappearances, only to be forced to halt the case by threats and pressure from an unknown superior.

In the end, those missing were officially recorded as having voluntarily gone into hiding.

Because of that experience, Neung Je-gang had sworn never to get involved with the imperial clan if he could help it.

“So who were those people earlier?”

He hurriedly changed the subject.

He gave up on trying to shake her off. If he provoked her and drew her ire, he might find himself attacked by the Eastern Depot experts on the emperor’s orders.

“They were bandits. You couldn’t tell at a glance?”

“Well… to my eyes, they just looked like poor fellows getting mauled by a crazy woman.”

At that, Princess Jang Ok’s face stiffened.

“Is that how strange I look when I fight?”

“There was nothing strange about your actual fighting. If they were really bandits, you could say they deserved no less. But it would have looked much better if you’d kept your mouth shut while you fought.”

“Kept my mouth shut?”

“Don’t tell me you didn’t realize you were screaming the whole time.”

“How am I supposed to not scream when there’s blood everywhere?”

Neung Je-gang was at a loss for words.

If she couldn’t stand the sight of blood, she could have simply not fought. Or kept the Eastern Depot bodyguards at her side. If they had been with her, she wouldn’t have needed to swing a sword at all.

“Anyway, who is this?”

When he fell silent, she seized the chance and turned to ask about Cheong Yeon.

He had been quietly following behind them, watching the exchange between princess and man as if it were a play on a stage.

“My name is Cheong Yeon.”

“Cheong Yeon? What a pretty name.”

At that, Cheong Yeon’s expression turned bitter.

Wherever he went, people who heard his name for the first time always reacted the same way.

“Did I say something wrong? If so, I’m sorry.”

Seeing his face, Princess Jang Ok hurriedly apologized.

At moments like this, it was almost impossible to believe she was the same fierce woman from earlier.

“It’s fine. Don’t worry.”

“Then, Sir Cheong, are you going to the Eastern Depot as well?”

“Yes. I’m simply following him.”

“By the way, is ‘Biyeong’ really your name?”

She seemed to know she wouldn’t get a straight answer from Neung Je-gang, so she asked Cheong Yeon instead.

“Yes. It’s both his name and his sobriquet.”

Cheong Yeon had already been told of her identity by Neung Je-gang.

Precisely because of that, he answered as carefully as he could.

“Um… do you, by chance… know who I am?”

Princess Jang Ok suddenly asked him out of nowhere.

She must have sensed something off in the way he behaved around her.

“Ah, no, that is…”

Cheong Yeon fumbled.

He was not good at lying.

“Please be honest. You do know me, don’t you?”

“……Yes. I do.”

In the end, faced with her repeated questions, he could not keep it hidden any longer.

He had no choice.

He had once sworn to live for the country, the emperor, and the people; he could not bring himself to lie outright to a princess, the emperor’s daughter.

“Tsk, tsk. That stiff-necked attitude never changes.”

Neung Je-gang clicked his tongue.

Whip.

Princess Jang Ok immediately turned her head.

“So you know who I am too?”

“Who wouldn’t, after hearing the name ‘Jang Ok’? And Cheong Yeon used to serve as an Eastern Depot agent in Beijing. Even if he didn’t know your face, he’d at least know the name Princess Jang Ok. So if you ever want to hide your identity, Your Highness, you’d better come up with something more convincing than that.”

“You… speak quite freely for someone who knows I’m a princess.”

“Do you want to be treated like a princess?”

This time, it was Cheong Yeon who was shocked.

Neung Je-gang had to be out of his mind to speak to her like that.

“And what if I do?”

“Then this is where we part ways.”

“Why?”

“You really don’t know? Anyone who gets close to Princess Jang Ok mysteriously disappears. I have no desire to end up like that. If you insist on being treated as a princess, I’ll simply have to run away.”

“What are you talking about? What do you mean, ‘mysteriously disappears’?”

She looked genuinely clueless.

Now he could see she really had not known.

Still, this was not something that ought to be kept from her.

She needed to know how many people had vanished because of her, so she would stop unwittingly causing more deaths.

“Think back to the people around you who suddenly disappeared. Especially the men.”

“T-those people…?”

“Consider them as good as dead. Or locked somewhere they’ll never see the light of day again. Ah, is this the first time you’ve snuck out alone like this?”

“Yes. Why?”

“Did you receive permission, or did you slip away from the Eorimwon guards?”

“I slipped away. It was too suffocating.”

“Oh, for… Tsk, tsk. What a waste.”

Neung Je-gang clicked his tongue in true regret.

Because they had been assigned to guard such a reckless princess, more good people were likely to lose their lives.

“What do you mean?”

“You treat your status far too lightly—especially the fact that you’re a princess singled out for special favor by the emperor. You’ll see when you get back to the palace. Your guards and palace maids might all have been replaced by new faces.”

“That could never happen.”

“We’ll see.”

Perhaps because his words were too shocking, Princess Jang Ok did not say a single word for the rest of the journey.

Neung Je-gang felt a twinge of guilt.

He had spoken more harshly than necessary.

Even if it was close to the truth, it was not something he had to throw in her face.

“Beijing.”

Cheong Yeon’s voice held quiet emotion.

“Yes. We’re finally back in Beijing.”

Neung Je-gang’s tone, too, carried a hint of sentiment.

In the distance, the massive city walls of Beijing Fortress came into view.