Bloodhound’s Regression Instinct

Chapter 19

Yan sneered.

‘Was that what you did while you were away?’

The crown prince seemed to have taken the chaos as an opportunity to slip away and quickly went outside.

“So I’m wondering whether I should spare you or kill you, right now.”

Yan lifted the corners of his mouth.

In fact, this was something unimaginable if he thought about the usual behavior of the chief instructor.

It would not be strange if he tried to kill him right away in this situation.

But he was still hesitating.

“But seeing you come out so lukewarm, I guess I was right to some extent. Ah! Or did the daughter of the special commander get there faster?”

“How did you know that?”

The chief instructor’s eyes narrowed.

Like the eyes of a snake hunting for prey.

He was starting to be annoyed by Yan’s confident appearance.

But as Yan said, the daughter of the special commander had already moved her residence a few hours before he arrived.

The place that Yan told him was a mess.

As if she had fled in a hurry.

So he tried to follow her, but failed.

The traces were meticulously erased.

‘That fox-like crown prince…’

The chief instructor gritted his teeth as he thought of the special commander.

Yan waved his hand.

“Don’t push me too hard. You don’t have to worry. She’ll be in your hands soon. She couldn’t have gone far.”

“Huh?”

The chief instructor’s eyes turned fierce.

What was the reason?

He pressed Yan with his aura, as if to spit it out.

But Yan did not answer properly and diverted the chief instructor’s momentum.

“Pfft!”

He was so amazed that the chief instructor could not help but laugh.

Until a while ago, he was only trembling under his pressure, but now he was resisting?

The chief instructor’s eyes sparkled.

“What did you eat in the Blade Mountain Range that made you so bold?”

Yan shrugged his shoulders instead of answering, and the chief instructor chuckled.

His eyes flashed with irritation and murderous intent, but Yan did not flinch.

He was confident that the chief instructor would not harm him right now.

So he could talk back like this.

After all, the chief instructor was in a situation where he had to cling to him.

He had no information.

And another reason.

“Where is His Highness the Crown Prince?”

“What are you going to do with that?”

“I guess he called me. So I think it would be better if I knew.”

The crown prince knew of his existence.

“You’re really funny.”

The chief instructor’s eyes turned cold.

He was more wary than friendly now.

“How did you know that the Crown Prince was looking for you?”

“He seemed to have a lot to say to me.”

He did not think that the crown prince sent him to the medical station out of concern.

Maybe he thought it would be better to talk after he healed his body, so that the flow would not be interrupted?

That’s what the emperor of his previous life would have done.

The crown prince of this life was showing a different appearance than he expected, but… the root did not change.

It was a way to prepare for the worst and cope with the possible variables later.

“Get up.”

And his words were proven by the chief instructor’s actions.

Yan smirked and got up from the bed.

He briefly wondered whether to untie the bandages that were meaningless now, but he just left them on and followed the chief instructor.

The place where the chief instructor headed was his office.

It was where Yan was interrogated a while ago.

‘How should I deal with the crown prince?’

Until he returned, he thought he had no feelings for the emperor of his previous life.

So he did not think of revenge.

Anyway, the emperor had burned and destroyed the empire that he cherished so much.

What more sure revenge was there?

But.

‘I don’t know.’

He still felt something rising in his chest.

Yan could not tell what it was.

Intense anger, or a sense of alienation that arose from the difference between the emperor he knew and this one.

When Yan was thinking hard about what that emotion was.

The chief instructor knocked on the door of the office.

Knock knock.

“Come in.”

As he got permission, the chief instructor quietly opened the door and gave Yan a hint.

He seemed to want him to go in alone.

Yan swallowed his dry saliva and stepped inside.

“I’ll go in.”

The inside was the same as before.

Except that the crown prince was sitting in the chief instructor’s seat.

“Yeah, come on. Sit there.”

The crown prince gestured to the empty chair.

Yan sat in the chair and looked at the crown prince’s face.

He felt complicated emotions.

He had a gentle and soft smile on his face, which was very different from the face Yan knew.

“What is your name?”

“Yan… that’s what I’m called.”

Even as he answered, Yan’s head was spinning fast.

Who was the crown prince sitting here right now?

Was the righteous-looking appearance his ‘real’ self?

Or was he just acting like that?

But from the crown prince’s point of view, he didn’t have to do that.

He had the dragon body, which only those who were born with outstanding talent among the direct descendants could have, and he had already secured the position of the next emperor.

He didn’t need to deceive anyone else.

‘I still don’t get it.’

He thought he should try to figure it out little by little while talking.

“Yan. Yan.”

The crown prince rolled Yan’s name in his mouth and smiled.

“That’s a good name.”

“Yes, well… thank you.”

Yan bowed his head and asked bluntly.

“But why did you look for me?”

A direct question that seemed rude.

But the crown prince just smiled.

“I was curious about something and wanted to ask you a few questions.”

“What are you curious about? I’ll answer you honestly as much as I know.”

Of course, he had no intention of doing that.

The crown prince nodded his head and began to ask questions one by one.

“How did you find out about the lair of the lich?”

It was the question he expected.

“I ran into an ogre and ran away, and the only place that seemed like a way out was there.”

“So you jumped off the cliff?”

“I was much more likely to survive than being caught by the ogre.”

“Hmm! Then how did you get into the lair? As far as I know, there were a lot of traps installed there.”

Yan’s eyes widened.

“Traps? There was only a passage there.”

Yan made a face as if he didn’t know the fact, and the crown prince stared at him.

“…Is that so.”

The crown prince, unlike the chief instructor, passed over it even if he had some doubts.

Yan was surprised by that.

‘He doesn’t ask for more details and moves on?’

Did he notice something?

No, even if he did, he should have checked it out before moving on.

From the crown prince’s point of view, there was no reason not to interrogate him.

Compared to the emperor of his previous life, who had to reveal every reason for even a speck of doubt, it was a very contrasting appearance.

‘…I still don’t get it.’

Was he really acting for some reason?

Or.

‘Was this his original personality, but it twisted after some event?’

But could a person change so drastically?

That doubt.

It only grew bigger as he saw the crown prince bowing his head to Yan.

“Thank you. Whether you intended it or not, many trainees were saved because of you.”

“Me… because of me?”

“Yes. If you hadn’t gone into the lair then, many people would have died because of the lich.”

When he calculated the time, the time when Yan went into the lair of the lich and the time when the lich flew to the lair from the Blade Mountain Range were similar.

“Is that… so?”

“So I’m going to give you a reward, whether you intended it or not.”

Yan’s ears perked up.

“A reward…?”

“I heard that you’re not from here. If you were captured, I can let you go right now.”

A serious look.

“No.”

Yan refused the offer in an instant.

He had to find out about the connection between the chief instructor and the clan first.

“You want to stay here?”

“Yes.”

“Why? This place does not guarantee survival. Do you want power too?”

Yan snorted inwardly.

What power?

Yan knew very well that the special unit was nothing but a shiny dog.

But he didn’t need to say that here.

“Is there anyone who doesn’t want that?”

For a moment, the crown prince’s eyebrows twitched.

He looked angry for some reason.

But he soon sighed and put the teacup on the table to his mouth.

“Yeah. If that’s what you want, I’ll respect it. Anyway, I still want to give you something as a reward… Is there anything you need? I can give you a vision or a sword of fame if you want.”

“I don’t need that. Just having this meeting with the crown prince who will lead the empire in the future is an honor for me.”

Yan flattered him without even wetting his mouth, and the crown prince smiled awkwardly.

He said he wanted power bluntly, but now he was acting like this…

‘He’s quite an interesting kid.’

The crown prince listened to Yan’s words with a smile.

“If you don’t mind, I’d appreciate it if you could give me something to commemorate our meeting.”

“Something to commemorate?”

He was rejected, but the crown prince didn’t get angry or anything.

Yan engraved that image in his eyes.

‘He’s so different from the emperor I knew.’

He has no sense of authority.

The crown prince tilted his head at Yan’s words.

“I don’t know why you need that… but I’ll give it to you if you want. Look!”

He called the attendant who was waiting outside and ordered him to bring a rope and a thick iron that could be used as a necklace.

A little later, the attendant came with a rope that looked sturdy at a glance and a lump of iron the size of a thumb.

The crown prince took it and began to carve the lump of iron with mana on his fingers.

Scrape, scrape.

The lump of iron was cut like a string and soon turned into a dragon that symbolized the empire and the royal family.

The crown prince put it on the necklace string.

“Are you satisfied with this?”

Yan took it with sparkling eyes, and the crown prince laughed heartily.

“Hahaha! I’m glad you like it.”

By now, he couldn’t tell what was what.

What.

What changed this crown prince’s personality so much?

* * *
After finishing his private talk with the crown prince, Yan headed straight to the Blood Brothers.

“You’re being called around a lot. I could hardly see your face in the Blade Mountain Range.”

Roman, who was hanging out with the gang, was the first to spot him and got up.

As he approached Yan, whom he hadn’t seen in a long time.

Gasp.

‘Is this guy… the same one I knew?’

He couldn’t express it, but he felt something had changed in him.

Roman looked at Yan with a wary eye.

Yan had a serious face and was thinking hard about something.

He didn’t seem to notice that he had come close.

‘…I’ll ask later, whatever.’

Roman reluctantly let go of his suspicion and shrugged his shoulders and went back to his place.

Leaving Roman behind, Yan went deep into the Blood Brothers and sat down.

He took out the things in his pocket.

“…”

A silver pendant and a souvenir from the crown prince.

Yan stared at them and grabbed the string of the souvenir necklace with both hands.

And.

Snap.

He broke it with force.

He pulled out the dragon statue and threw it in a corner, and picked up the pendant instead.

Click!

He checked that the family photo inside the pendant was safe, and quietly put it on his neck.

“Just a little. Just a little more…”

He wanted to go back to his clan and see his lost family as soon as possible…

“But I’ll get rid of everything that could be dangerous until then.”

He felt he had to get rid of any possible risks before he could relax.

With that in mind.

He clenched the pendant.