TOPWL 81

“Uncle Hui…?”

Diego, who had been gripping the assailant by the hair, yanked his head up to reveal his face. It was indeed Uncle Hui. He used to sell stuffed buns near the slums with his wife—a soft-hearted man who would hand out buns to hungry children.

“Let go. Please, let me go… I—I need to get revenge.”

Hui sobbed as he spoke, his anguished voice echoing through the alley. When Yudit moved, startled, trying to approach him, Shane held him back.

“Don’t go near him. It’s dangerous.”

Diego glanced at the knife Shane had taken from Hui. It was a worn kitchen knife, the kind one would doubt could even kill someone.

Realizing that Diego and Eden had no intention of letting him go, tears welled up in Hui’s eyes in an instant. They brimmed quickly and streamed down his dry, weathered cheeks.

“…”

As if he had given up everything, Hui laid his cheek against the ground.

Eden, confused, asked him quietly,

“Uncle… why did you do this…?”

Still lying on the ground, Hui murmured weakly in reply.

“You’re all the same. You saw what the royals are really like—you lived through it—and yet you believed his nonsense about building us homes and led him straight to Aldrich’s house. You know what kind of place that is. You know what the royals did to my wife…”

“Did something happen to her?”

At Eden’s question, Hui’s lips trembled, and he bit down on them.

“She’s in a coma. The physician says… she won’t last a week.”

“But… she was healthy.”

Eden’s face twisted with sympathy.

Perhaps sensing Eden wasn’t to be trusted, Shane brought out a rope and bound Hui tightly.

Now slumped against the wall, eyes hollow, Hui continued speaking in a daze.

“I just stepped out to the market for a moment… Then a gang showed up and started smashing everything, said we were obstructing traffic. She tried to stop them and…”

His voice faltered. He fell silent.

Then, suddenly, he glared at Yudit.

Yudit quietly met his gaze, calm and unmoved.

Even though it wasn’t his fault, he accepted the hatred silently.

That look stirred something in Diego—something he couldn’t quite name.

Eden, seemingly close to Hui, looked deeply shaken.

Everyone here knew the truth: those who attempted to kill a royal were sentenced to death.

In fact, he doesn’t even need to be tried. If Yudit gave the order, Shane would carry it out without hesitation.

But instead of ordering Shane to carry out the execution, Yudit stepped forward and bowed his head deeply before Hui.

“I’m sorry.”

Hui’s eyes widened—he hadn’t expected an apology.

Diego was just as surprised. How could someone apologize so sincerely to the very man who’d tried to kill him, no matter the circumstances?

Of course, an apology alone couldn’t soothe Hui’s rage.

“Y-You think saying sorry will fix this? My wife is dying!”

He struggled, trying to tear free of the ropes to strike Yudit across the face.

But Shane had tied him so well that the ropes didn’t budge. They only dug deeper, hurting him more.

Fearing Yudit might be attacked, Shane stepped between them.

“It would be best if you spoke from a bit more distance.”

“…Very well.”

Yudit nodded and looked at Hui again.

“Then tell me—what should I do?”

It wasn’t an accusatory tone, nor one of blame. Yudit was simply asking.

“Save my wife… please.”

“I know a skilled physician. If you tell me where your home is, I’ll send someone to treat her.”

At Yudit’s words, Hui looked bewildered, though suspicion still lingered in his eyes.

“You’re just planning to kill both me and my wife once I let my guard down…”

Yudit stared at him steadily in response to his words, which brimmed with hostility. Hui met his gaze for a moment, but soon lowered his eyes, defeated.

“If I intended to kill you, I wouldn’t bother offering help first. There’d be no reason for it.”

“That’s right, Uncle. You might think I’m taking the side of the royals and feel hurt, but you can trust Yuli. See this scar here? He got that from Prince Hiore. And here, and here too.”

Eden pointed to several places on Yudit’s face and body. Hui looked conflicted at that.

“All royals… they’re all the same kind…”

“We’re poor, Uncle. Not stupid. If Yuli were anything like Prince Hiore, he wouldn’t have held that open meeting at Aldrich’s house. You didn’t attend, did you?”

“I was taking care of my wife… and even if I wasn’t, I had no intention of going.”

“That’s a shame. It went on for quite a while. You would’ve found it worth hearing. He answered the same questions a hundred, a thousand times over—each time slightly differently, never losing his patience. It was wild, really. Eventually someone slapped the guy who asked the hundredth time and answered for him.”

“…”

As Hui bit his lip, Eden’s face clouded with sympathy.

“No one kept listening to Yuli just because they were foolish. Out of all the royal family, he’s the only one—the only one—who stepped forward to help us in any way.”

“…”

“What happened to your wife is truly tragic… but if you kill Yuli now, who’s going to stand up for us next?”

“I don’t need anyone to stand up for me. I just… want revenge for my wife…”

Even as he spoke of revenge, Hui’s voice had lost its edge.

“As someone who’s both Yuli’s longtime friend and a resident of the slums, I’ll stop you, Uncle. If we let someone who’s trying to help us be put in danger, then we’re throwing away our only means of salvation. I’m sorry for being selfish.”

Hui said nothing in response to Eden’s apology. Yudit looked quietly at him and spoke again.

“Is your place far from here?”

“It’s… about five minutes on foot.”

Without realizing it, Hui’s tone had become polite. Yudit turned to Shane and asked,

“Shane, do you think we can have the Duke’s physician see her?”

“I… I’m not sure.”

“Who said you could?”

The voice came from behind, catching them off guard. They turned to find Khalid leaning casually against the wall, arms crossed.

He wore an ivory shirt with a cravat and a long gray frock coat that fell to his calves. Whether it was the clothes or his striking features, seeing him in the slums felt like spotting a gem tossed into the gutter.

“Your Grace? What brings you here…?”

“The banquet’s tomorrow, and since you hadn’t sent word, I had no choice but to come collect you.”

Yudit suddenly remembered—the banquet Khalid had invited him to was indeed tomorrow.

“Ah… apologies. I’ve had more to deal with than expected…”

“Oh, I’ve long known how terribly busy our dear prince is. Always too generous with his time in the wrong places, never sparing even a moment for me.”

It was the kind of banter that could easily be mistaken for that of lovers. Yudit neither affirmed nor denied it, simply gazing at Khalid. In response, a faint, elegant smile curved on Khalid’s lips. Yudit approached and asked in a low voice,

“How long have you been here?”

“Since the moment our prince was nearly filleted like a fish on a cutting board.”

In other words—from the very beginning. Yudit pressed his lips together. Khalid leaned in and murmured by his ear,

“If you’re planning to go to the his house and get rid of them both, I’ll gladly help.”

Yudit frowned.

“That is not my intention.”

“Is that so?”

When Yudit nodded, Khalid scoffed and let out a short, incredulous laugh.

“You’re going to treat her?”

“If possible. If not, I’ll find another physician.”

“So now anyone with an ailment just needs to threaten you with a knife and they’ll get top-tier treatment?”

“You’re being extreme.”

“Do you even realize how many people are watching you right now?”

Khalid asked with exasperation. Yudit could feel it too—not just from those present, but from others watching from the shadows. The hairs on his cheek stood on end from the weight of unseen eyes.

“If it were me, I’d have had him executed. No righteous ruler would pardon someone who came at him with a blade. The moment he raised a knife to a noble, he forfeited his life. Have you even considered what would’ve happened if you’d been alone in that alley? You’re just lucky, that’s all.”

Khalid didn’t even bother to lower his voice. Hui’s face had gone pale at his words. He opened his mouth to say something, but then hung his head, as if realizing there was nothing left to say.