PRU | Chapter 1.1

Daily life went on dullingly. Before he knew it, Jaehwan had acquired a certain level of vocabulary and had become quite good at speaking. Meals came in faithfully three times a day, and Jaehwan forced himself to eat all of them. It was simple survival instinct.

Sometimes it was like that. Sometimes, if someone burst in opening the door, he would jolt and shriek. Of course, the only person who came in was Alestia.

Alestia did not say it, but she seemed to think this Jaehwan rather pathetic. One day, she asked Jaehwan,

“Apene. Aren’t you tired of being startled?”

There was no answer. Jaehwan just glared at the door. He kept glaring at it again and again. As if someone would rudely kick the door open with shoe-clad feet.

The room was quite large and pleasant. The table, luxurious ceramics, flowers, paintings, the large mirror with lavish decorations, the soft goose-down duvet and pillow, and the silk clothes laid out, things that had not even caught his eye when he first arrived… Everything was unfamiliar and luxurious. Luxurious beyond reason.

But everything was standing-style. Not a single floor-seating arrangement, and the barbarity of wearing shoes all the way into the room. And the food that came up was only something to be eaten with bare hands, with no spoon, chopsticks, knife, or fork. The bathtub did not release hot water at all, so three maids whose names and faces he did not know heated water and brought it in.

A room standing on the boundary between the luxury humans could enjoy and uncivilization. That was the room Jaehwan felt. Glory, Red Lion, king, let them all die.

Jaehwan still dreamed. And even if no one burst in through the door, he would have a seizure and shriek. Every day, like that, those things repeated themselves. As if it were an old habit.

Still, Jaehwan felt that the room having no red at all inside it made it peaceful enough. Even so, hardship came, and it began with a brown-haired man who had suddenly come in.

“Good day.”

Jaehwan stared blankly at the brown-haired man whom Alestia had introduced as Arispe-e while bringing breakfast. Jaehwan knew that man. He recognized him at first glance. He was the man who had been with the red-haired man when he was first dragged to this land. Jaehwan panted for a moment, then felt his vision go dark.

Jaehwan did not wake up after a long time. He had only skipped from breakfast to lunch. When Jaehwan, who had been laid on the bed, got up, the man still had not left.

“Let me introduce him again. Arispe-e Olga.”

Jaehwan looked at Arispe-e. And then he looked at his fingers. Jaehwan had broken a finger then. It had been the pinky finger, and because of that, the neat line they made when his fingers were brought together had now become impossible no matter how hard he tried. The pinky finger was still attached in a slightly crooked shape.

“……”

“Nice to meet you. What I am going to explain is how Apene came to the blessed, fortunate land of the blessed Red Lion. Alestia.”

“Yes.”

“Unfold the map.”

Without a single moment of hesitation, Alestia took out the bundle of papers she had been holding. Arispe-e picked up one of them and began explaining to Jaehwan.

“The continent consists of the Sarpie Continent where we exist, the southern continent Cheka, and, to the people to the east of Sarpie, it would be the eastern continent, but from our point of view there is the western continent Akakti.”

Then he picked up a map that greatly enlarged the continent he had just explained as the Sarpie Continent and explained again.

“Of those continents, that is, this Sarpie Continent, is ruled by a total of 7 kings. First, the white tiger Eulmichan of the eastern mountains, the black hawk San Jeichi Bei of the northeastern highlands, the silver elephant Ashwittung Matsu-san Aung of the southeastern tropical forest, the blue mountain goat Haremia Tenom Ahimshi of the central grasslands, the gray wolf Kalliyayene Yebia Noramshira of the northwestern snowfields, the golden fox Putia Al Miya of the southwestern desert, and our eternal king, the red lion of the western grasslands, Mehion Danhi Aperiti Karityupee. You will gradually memorize the names of these people. But you will have to quickly memorize the name of His Divine Majesty Mehion Danhi Aperiti Karityupee. Apene, because he will become your husband.”

“Pardon?”

“In any case, you said you can read and write? Excellent. As expected of Apene. I will write His Majesty’s name here, so please memorize it by today. And…”

“No, no, I don’t really understand what you mean…”

“Ah, I must have spoken too quickly. Still, that much is proficient. Good. To summarize, then, you, Apene, will marry His Majesty Mehion, and you will have to memorize the king’s name.”

“No, so, what?”

“Good. Apene, just do as you are told. Alestia.”

“Yes.”

“Later, help her memorize His Majesty Mehion’s name.”

“Yes, I understand. Apene is a very intelligent person.”

“There is no need for sentiment. So, Apene. Your coming here was the will of god Kala. It is a blessing. To come here among so many people. Besides, you will rise to the greatest position to assist the king. Ah, such a blessing for Apene.”

“Who is the king?”

“Apene, it is that one. The one who bestowed royal favor on Apene.”

“What is royal favor?”

At Jaehwan’s question, Alestia answered as if it were obvious.

“Apene. Didn’t His Majesty look for you?”

“Pardon?”

“Did His Majesty not enter the bedchamber with you?”

“Ah.”

Ah, Jaehwan blinked. The long hair that had grown before he knew it brushed his cheek. Ah, once more, briefly. Drawing in a breath, ah, why? But there were always more things Jaehwan could not do anything about than things he could. Always. In truth, that was how it was for anyone. Jaehwan briefly wrapped his hand around his pinky finger.

To become the object of someone’s hatred was, for someone, natural and grateful.

Where did this gap come from? Was it decided only by the environment in which one was born and lived? Or was it a matter of the values one had originally carried? Everyone thought it was natural. He was not. Were they the crazy ones, or was he the crazy one? Jaehwan let go of his pinky finger. Then, in a trembling voice,

“I, why, is that, royal favor…”

“Of course, because there is no such grace. The person His Majesty had been seeking like that is unprecedented. It is a grace no woman or man has received.”

“Ah, what the hell.”

Jaehwan gasped. Alestia looked at him with an indifferent gaze and advised Arispe-e.

“Apene has no awareness of his own position. If you speak any more, the progress of the matter will be delayed.”

“Good grief.”

Arispe-e held his head for a moment and then stood up, saying, “Good.”

“Alestia. Then you take over Apene’s education. I really cannot, at all….”

He could not understand Apene’s thoughts. Saying that, Arispe-e rose from his seat. Have the maps removed yourself. This is our Dekaria map, is it not. It is military secret. Yes, I understand. Then, Apene, goodbye. Leaving the sobbing Jaehwan behind, Arispe-e clicked his tongue and went back.

Seeing that Arispe-e like that, Alestia shook her head as if there was nothing she could do and took Jaehwan’s hand.

“Apene. Calm down.”

“No, ha, no, how is this place, what is it.”

“Yes. Apene. Speak.”

“How can that bullshit be royal favor…”

“Apene.”

Alestia said in a stern voice.

“Our eternal king Mehion is divine. He is one of the seven bloodlines sent directly by our god Kala. Since you shared a bed with such a person, of course, Apene, it is royal favor.”

[Son of a bitch.]

Jaehwan said softly. What did you say? Alestia asked back. Nothing. Jaehwan, however, muttered again. This place is full of bastards.

“Then does that person die too?”

“It is not the concept ordinary people speak of. If this life ends, he will be under the throne of god Kala.”

They’re all bastards.

Jaehwan had to memorize the king’s name by the next day, if not that day. It was Alestia’s merciful treatment.

Mehion Danhi Aperiti Karityupee. As Jaehwan wrote those letters, he thought of many emotions. Mehion Danhi Aperiti Karityupee. This is the name of hatred. Mehion Danhi Aperiti Karityupee. This is the name of pain. Mehion Danhi Aperiti Karityupee. This is the name of resentment. This is the name of despair. This is the name of anger. And this is the name of fear.

Alestia kept asking about fear from time to time.

“Apene. What is the king’s name?”

“Mehion Danhi Aperiti Karityupee.”

Jaehwan was, by anyone’s standards, an excellent student, so he quickly memorized such text made up of a few syllables and words. Asking a long-distance racehorse that had run 1900M to just try running 500M was too easy.

Alestia kept asking about fear every day while Jaehwan was reading, while he was eating, and while he was washing his hands, and Jaehwan answered fear more skillfully than anyone. Then fear soon changed like a fossil.

Time had the achievement of turning even the largest dinosaur into a fossil. For such time, it was impossible to completely erase fear of someone not seen for a long time, but hardening it like a fossil and covering it with an outer shell so that it settled was a very easy thing.

Jaehwan became calm and Alestia felt relieved. Because education had to begin. Merciful Alestia knew that Jaehwan needed time to calm down. As long as he had come into the palace and was serving Apene, personal feelings and personal opinions were forbidden, but still, she could not help adding some remark to Jaehwan’s misfortune. Jaehwan had been dragged here out of nowhere and, without a proper explanation, put in a position where he had to serve the king.

Even so, Alestia could not understand Jaehwan. Jaehwan was Apene, and to Alestia, this was something that had been arranged from the beginning. That was why Jaehwan having seizures, going wild, and then falling into despair felt like an exaggerated reaction.

Was it because the human left and right brains were split? Emotion recognized the pitifulness trembling like a caged bird after flying freely. But reason was focusing on the bird’s bodily peace, abundant food, and the golden cage. And Alestia’s logic was solid.

Therefore, Alestia thought. ―Apene is arrogant.

To Jaehwan, there were far too many things about Alestia he could not understand. Apene is arrogant. There were many starving people in the world. Even he himself had been taken in by the king, ah, there was no way to repay the grace, after his parents at the temple had received one donghwa and offered it entirely, hadn’t he? If he had remained in the temple, he would have just swept the temple courtyard and died.

Of course, it was certain that it would be a life more peaceful than outside. The temple, pitying the poor, had tried to rescue the children, but the number and size of temples were limited, and the children of the poor were many. In the end, it had been 5 years since the servant of god gave up poor relief. The world was sunk in grief.