Chapter 1 – Slave and the Monarch
The king dreamed about a slave.
He had lived as a slave for several dozen years, and the slave just accepted his lot in life. When the king dreamed, he only dreamed about the slave. He even forgot the fact that he was a king.
He dreamed several dozen years worth of dreams, but only a small amount of time had pa.s.sed in reality.
The king looked around after he woke up from the dream.
He was in an extravagant golden bed room. His loyal servants were on their knees, and the high priests were praying for his well-being.
“Your majesty. You dream is caused by a curse. It is an illusion trying to deceive you. Please resist against it.”
The king suddenly had a thought.
Was the slave having a dream about becoming a king? Or was the king dreaming about becoming a slave?
Which one was the dream, and which one was the reality?
“Mr. Hahn-suhjin. What did the hospital say?”
He stood in line with his work clothes on, and his fellow employee standing next to him asked the question in pa.s.sing.
“I’ll know when the result comes out.”
“Don’t worry too much about it. It’ll all turn out well. There are a lot of misdiagnosis for cancer in the early stages. You are young, so it probably isn’t cancer.”
His 40 year old companion spoke to dispel his worries, but Hahn-suhjin couldn’t agree with his sentiment.
He thought about the eyes of his doctor, who had a sickly complexion.
「Mmmm……. We’ll talk again once the result from the biopsy come out.」
He felt an ominous feeling, so he tried to ask several more questions. However, the doctor spoke vaguely saying the final result to the test hadn’t come out yet.
Hahn-suhjin was busily working on the a.s.sembly line when he stopped to look down at his chest. The doctor’s expression wouldn’t leave his thoughts. He felt a pain in his chest that was more painful than usual.
‘What if it really is cancer?’
Even thinking about it made him gloomy.
His household was poor, and his parents divorced when he was young. His sister and him grew up relying on the welfare his mother received.
As soon as he graduated high school, he was hired to work the a.s.sembly line at a semiconductor factory. He worked hard working three shifts, and he had make a good deal of money. It might not be much to others, but to him it was an unimaginably large sum of money.
However, last year his mother withdrew all of the money he had saved, and she had dropped off the map. She had run away with a man she met at a restaurant.
‘Idiot. Why would you give all your salary to mother? You should have taken care of your own money.’
When he remembered his crying sister criticizing him, he felt sorry for her. His heart hurt more from the fact that his mother threw away her children more than losing the money.
His mother still hadn’t contacted them. She got rid of her number, and she completely severed all contact. He didn’t know where she lived, and he had no idea if she was alive or not.
Hahn-shuhjin glared at the a.s.sembly line as he observed it.
Numerous items were moving down the conveyor belt. The employees stood at their a.s.signed spots, and they were busy with the manufacturing process within their area of responsibility. He was one of them.
It was time to work.
For a brief time, he had to put away his resentment for his mother, and the worry about his disease.
“Get up. Lunch is over.”
Hahn-suhjin opened his eyes when someone tapped him from the side.
“Mr. Hahn-suhjin. Recently, you sleep at every chance you get. Now that I think about it you lost a lot of weight. Is something wrong with your body? Why don’t you go to the hospital?”
Hahn-suhjin let out an awkward laugh at his fellow employee’s worry. He didn’t know Suhjin had already went to the hospital, and he was being checked for cancer.
“I guess so. Recently, my body is too worn out. If I let go of my mind for a brief moment, sleep pours over me.”
“You are suffering from chronic fatigue. Try eating some stuff like vitamins. Don’t you know you have to take care of your body more when you are young?”
“Thank you.”
“Let’s head in.”
Hahn-suhjin slowly stood up. The sun light made his head pound. The nap had been sweet like honey, but he didn’t feel refreshed. Instead, a headache swept over him.
‘This d.a.m.n headache…….’
Hahn-suhjin crinkled his eyes.
Was this headache related to his cancer? They didn’t check for any tumors in his brain.
After lunch ended, Hahn-suhjin was inserted back into the a.s.sembly line. He stood in his a.s.signed spot, and he proceeded to do his repet.i.tive work.
Many of his fellow employees felt pessimistic and bored by the simple and repet.i.tive work. However, Hahn-suhjin liked his work. If he compared the current situation with his childhood marred with poverty, he felt blessed to be able to work and eat under his own power.
‘The test result will be out tomorrow..’
It’s probably nothing.
Hahn-suhjin consoled himself as he faithfully acted as a gear in the large machine called a factory.
After he ended his 3rd shift, it was time for him to go home. Some of his fellow employees, who he was close to, left to drink some alcohol.
Hahn-suhjin didn’t mix with that crowd. He returned home, then he entered the bathroom to wash himself.
When he looked into the mirror, he could see his face had lost a lot of flesh compared to several months ago. He frowned as he washed himself.
He prepared a simple dinner, but he wasn’t hungry. He forced several spoonful of food down, then he laid down.
‘I’ll be all right. I’m sure I’ll be all right…….’
He repeated it over and and over again inside as he tried to sleep.
When he opened his eyes, he saw a brilliant chandelier.
The king slowly rose from him bed as he looked around his surrounding. He saw women in thin silk slips pouring wine and the beautiful women delivered it to him on a silver tray. Before their eyes could meet, the women quickly bent their backs towards the king.
“Where is this…….”
A head splitting headache washed over him. The dream and reality was all mixed up, and it was causing him to be confused. Numerous words floated around inside his head in a jumble.
Korea. Lenorjian. Hahn-suhjin. Arthur. Slave. The n.o.ble king. Dream. Curse. Then the traitor..
Who was Hahn-suhjin? Where was this place? Who am I and where….
“Your majesty. You are awake.”
When he heard his servant’s voice, it was as if he had been splashed with cold water. He came to his senses as the confusing memories inside his head settled to find its rightful place.
At that moment, the king realized something.
He knew what was the dream, and what was the reality.
The Archmage was kneeling in front of the king. He calmly acknowledge his old loyal servant as he opened his mouth.
“Isn’t this the third time…. How long was I asleep?”
The bronze colored skin maid, who was basically naked, spoke in a respectful manner.
“Four hours, your majesty.”
“Unfortunately, we failed again.”
The king spoke in a calm manner.
“I couldn’t gain any epiphany inside the dream. I didn’t know my own name or who I was. Moreover, I wasn’t aware that the events happening inside my dream was actually a dream.”
“The power of the curse is very strong. It is very difficult to guide one’s dream to one’s intent. The best you could do right now is resist against it.”
One month had pa.s.sed inside his dream, but in reality, he was asleep for one hour. Inside his dream, he wasn’t the king. He was some imaginary character named Hahn-suhjin. This man lived a worse life than the slaves owned by the king. He was an existence, who possessed nothing.
The king mumbled as if he was speaking to himself.
“The curse…. It’s already been almost 1 year.”
As if he took it as a reprimand, the old va.s.sal quickly bent his back forward.
“I’m sorry, your majesty. Your lowly servant’s power is too poor…… I’ll put everything on the line. I’ll definitely find a way to dispel this curse!”
“I’m not reprimanding you.”
The king slowly shook his head.
The confusion he had felt after he had woken up from the sleep was already washed away. The king clearly remembered his entire dream, yet he didn’t confuse the dream with the reality.
“How’s the Karsharai family doing? Are they still confined within their territory?”
“Your majesty.”
The old servant’s face hardened, and he spoke with heavy words.
“Once they may have been the in-laws to the throne, but they are clearly a family of traitors. We are already bending the law by keeping them confined to their territory instead of wiping the whole family out of existence.”
“…….”
“Please don’t weaken your heart any further. You people’s entreaties to punish the Karsharai family is rending the sky. Please give us a resolution.”
The king let out a bitter laugh.
Earl Karsharai. He was a man of repute, who had sired the queen. At one time, he used to be a n.o.ble beloved by the people.
However, their family were branded as traitors over night, and it had already been one year since they were confined to their territory.
The old servant spoke vehemently as if he was a kettle about to boil over.
“They are traitors, who dared to put an ancient curse on his majesty. How can you show them any mercy?”