On a bright spring day warmed by gentle sunlight...

"We shall stop here for today, Mama (Your Highness)."

"Thank you for your efforts."

The young noble child, perhaps six years old at most, sent off the youthful official with manners far too formal for his age. The moment the man left, the child stretched out his legs and cursed.

"Fuck... I'm dying here."

Massaging his tingling legs after kneeling for so long, he turned his head toward the window.

Beyond the countless tiled rooftops lined one after another, the blue sky came into view.

The young boy sighed while staring upward.

"Haa... Being born a prince is great and all, but why did I have to be the Crown Prince of all things? And with King Sejong as my father too..."

The child let out another long sigh.

"I finally got reincarnated, so why doesn't this feel lucky at all?"

The boy casually speaking of "reincarnation," something nobody else would have believed, was Jinho reborn.

He had been reborn as Yi Hyang, the eldest son of King Sejong and the man who would later become King Munjong.

When he first opened his eyes, Jinho thought he had awakened inside some kind of emergency medical shelter.

The first thing he saw was the rafters above him.

'Whose fancy tiled-roof house in my neighborhood was this again...?'

While wondering whose home had been converted into a temporary clinic, Jinho soon realized another problem.

'Why is this room so huge? And why do I feel so cramped? Don't tell me I'm wrapped in a full-body cast?'

Jinho gathered all his strength and turned his head.

And then he realized.

His body was wrapped tightly in swaddling cloth.

And far smaller than expected.

Faced with a completely unimaginable situation, words escaped his mouth on their own.

"Gya?"

At that moment, a woman's voice came from somewhere outside his field of vision.

"Madam! The young master has opened his eyes!"

It took Jinho three full days to truly accept reality.

He had been reborn as a baby.

Though he still spent every day wrapped in cloth, eating, sleeping, and relieving himself while counting rafters overhead, his mind never stopped working as he searched for answers.

'I've definitely been reborn... but where is this place? It feels like Joseon...'

He could not yet determine where exactly he had been reborn because he still could not understand the language.

'Some alternate world that just happens to resemble Joseon? Honestly, that'd be pretty original.'

After months of confusion, he finally became capable of understanding enough speech to confirm the truth.

'No, this really is Joseon. What the hell kind of language is this...'

Ignoring the five hundred years separating him from the era, Jinho blamed the language itself.

Jinho's attempts to understand the situation created misunderstandings among his parents.

"Husband, I do not believe our child is ordinary."

"You feel the same way? I thought so as well."

"That is why I am worried."

"So am I."

The more convinced they became that their child was exceptional, the deeper their worries grew.

'So I'm royalty, huh? Royalty...'

Unaware of his parents' growing concerns, Jinho was organizing the situation in his own mind.

My father is a royal. We currently live in Gaeseong. The capital of Joseon is Hanyang.

Conclusion 1. Combining those two facts, my father must be fairly far from the throne.

Judging by the servants' voices and my parents' clothing, this family is extremely wealthy. Based on what I know, royal family members intentionally avoided scholarship just to survive politically.

Conclusion 2. I'll never have to worry about making a living, nobody can look down on me, and I'll only need to study the bare minimum.

Based on everything I've heard, I'm the eldest son. Nobody within the family can outrank me. I still remember all the knowledge from my previous life. Once I grow up a little, even if I start doing things based on knowledge from my previous life, people will probably just think it's the eccentric behavior of a bored royal.

Final Conclusion. Jackpot!

Satisfied with his conclusions, Jinho smiled brightly.

'Judging by the situation, I'll probably just need to learn the Thousand Character Classic and basic scholarship... And if this is after King Sejong's reign, Hangul should already exist, so I can study that too. Around this era, Westerners should already be wandering into China, so I can grab a few translated Chinese texts and use those as sources too. This is amazing.'

Watching the smiling baby dreaming of a rosy future, Jinho's wet nurse and mother laughed warmly together.

"Oh my, Madam! The young master is smiling!"

"He is indeed. What could make him so happy?"

Holding the swaddled Jinho in her arms, his mother glanced around.

Everything looked as ordinary as ever, while her husband's voice reading aloud echoed from nearby. Thinking the child was smiling because he enjoyed hearing his father read, she gently stroked his head with delight.

"Our child already smiles at the sound of reading. He must possess great literary talent as well."

It was a catastrophic misunderstanding.

Meanwhile, Jinho continued reassessing the situation.

'Looking at my parents first...'

The first time he properly saw the faces of his father and mother after the swelling from childbirth subsided, Jinho's impression had been simple.

'Kids having kids.'

In the twenty-first century, both families would have exploded in outrage at such young parents.

But since early marriage was normal during the Joseon era, he could understand it.

'And apparently I'm the eldest son too. That part makes sense. The real issue is their clothes.'

Looking at his parents' attire, Jinho tilted his head slightly.

'Based on historical dramas from my previous life, this really feels like early Joseon. Even stretching it as far forward as possible... maybe around Seongjong? Or Yeonsangun? If it's Yeonsangun's era, that's a complete nightmare.'

While struggling to determine the era into which he had been born, an even more troublesome situation arose.

After safely passing his first hundred days and nearing his first birthday, relatives from his mother's side began visiting frequently.

Then one day...

"You may leave us for now."

"Yes, Madam."

After dismissing the wet nurse and maids, Jinho's grandmother lowered her voice and spoke quietly to his mother.

"Does the Grand Prince still devote himself to books these days?"

"As always. He remains deeply absorbed in scholarship."

Jinho's mother answered proudly.

Hearing the reply, the grandmother tightly grasped her daughter's hand and continued.

"There is much talk these days regarding the Crown Prince's disgraceful conduct. Because of it, many rumors now surround the Grand Prince as well. Your father has already begun moving little by little, so both you and the Grand Prince must endure quietly and act with caution."

His mother turned pale.

"Mother! How can you say such dangerous things?"

"You must never repeat this to anyone. Endure quietly and remain cautious."

His mother was not the only one shocked.

'What the hell is this supposed to mean?! They're talking about replacing the Crown Prince! Which king had his Crown Prince replaced again?'

Lying beneath his blankets, Jinho desperately forced his brain to work.

'The one replacement that actually succeeded was King Sejong... But how many almost got replaced?'

Digging through his memories, Jinho frowned deeply.

'There are too many possibilities!'

Throughout Joseon history, disputes over the qualifications of Crown Princes had been far from uncommon.

Several cases had nearly escalated into actual succession changes, while countless more likely disappeared before reaching the surface.

"Our little Hyang. Are you uncomfortable? Did you soil yourself?"

Seeing the baby frowning intensely, his mother hurriedly checked his diapers and bedding while warning her own mother.

"Mother. Let us pretend today's conversation never happened. Never speak of it again."

"...Understood."

"I will not see you out."

Faced with her daughter's resolute attitude, the grandmother quietly left the room. Still turned away, Jinho's mother focused entirely on him before letting out a long sigh.

"...Hoo."

'Am I going to end up a slave before I even turn one?'

While anxiously worrying over his future, Jinho finally learned exactly when and to whom he had been born during his first birthday celebration.

"Congratulations!"

"Congratulations!"

"Thank you."

On the day of Jinho's dol ceremony, guests dressed in luxurious silk robes poured into the residence offering congratulations.

Each time another guest arrived, Jinho's father bowed respectfully and returned their greetings.

'For a royal living in Gaeseong, my father seems surprisingly influential. Doesn't that make this even more dangerous?'

Watching the procession of important-looking guests, Jinho found himself unsure whether he should feel happy or terrified.

'If they bet on the wrong side and lose everything, we're all screwed...'

"Our little Hyang, why do you look unhappy on such a joyful day?"

Seeing him frown, his mother lifted him into her arms and checked his backside.

"You're not wet... What's bothering our little Hyang?"

Hearing her words, Jinho sighed quietly.

'Putting everything else aside, I guess I really have to live as Hyang from now on.'

Even now, he occasionally became confused over whether he was still Jinho.

At last, he reached a conclusion.

'From now on, I'll live as Hyang... a Hyang who possesses Jinho's memories.'

The moment Jinho, no, Hyang settled upon his identity, the person carrying the most important answer finally appeared.

"Hahaha! Chungnyeong! Congratulations! Sister-in-law, congratulations!"

"Congratulations, Sister-in-law."

Two young men who appeared to be in their mid-twenties entered the hall, prompting everyone present to immediately rise.

"Welcome, Your Highness the Crown Prince."

"Welcome, Your Highness the Grand Prince."

One of the young men casually raised a hand in response to the respectful greetings.

"Ah, good to see everyone."

The man in flowing robes approached Hyang's mother.

"Sister-in-law, may I hold my nephew for a moment?"

"It would be an honor, Your Highness."

After receiving Hyang from his mother, the Crown Prince gently bounced him in his arms and examined his face.

'Smile. Smile!'

The moment the Crown Prince picked him up, Hyang forced himself to smile as brightly as possible.

The Crown Prince burst into laughter and looked toward Hyang's father.

"Hahaha! Chungnyeong, the child resembles you. He already looks exceptionally clever!"

"Thank you, Your Highness."

"You don't need to be so formal with your own brother. That's always been your problem."

Seeing his younger brother answer politely as always, the Crown Prince lightly scolded him. After returning Hyang to his mother and taking the seat of honor, the celebration resumed.

Meanwhile, Hyang remained trapped in utter shock.

'Chungnyeong?! My father is Grand Prince Chungnyeong? My father is King Sejong?! Then I'm Munjong... and my son becomes Danjong?'

By the time Hyang barely recovered from the ocean of shock consuming him, the ceremony had already reached the doljabi.

"Now then! Let us see what my nephew chooses!"

At the Crown Prince's booming declaration, several objects were placed before Hyang.

As every guest focused their attention upon him, Hyang examined the items laid out nearby.

'Let's see. A brush, rice, a gold bar, jujubes, thread, a wooden sword... Pretty standard stuff.'

While wondering what to pick, his gaze suddenly locked onto something else.

More specifically, onto the earring hanging from the Crown Prince's ear.

'They could make craftsmanship like that in this era?'

Filled with curiosity, Hyang unconsciously reached toward the Crown Prince.

"Gyaa!"

"Hmm?"

The moment the Crown Prince lifted him, Hyang grabbed the earring.

"The earring?"

"Gyaa!"

Seeing Hyang reach for such an unexpected object, the guests at the feast began wondering how they were supposed to interpret this.