Euyn, the Butcher of Westward Forest: A Character Analysis from Five Broken Blades

Overview

Euyn Hali Baejkin, once a prince of Yusan, enters Five Broken Blades as a man who has already lost everything. Exiled to the lawless badlands of Fallow and hunted under a 20,000-gold-mun bounty, he survives under the assumed name Donal, living in constant fear of assassination. But the title that precedes him—the Butcher of Westward Forest—marks him as a killer long before the story begins. The narrative tracks his transformation from a paranoid fugitive into a would-be king, forcing him to confront his violent past, his illegitimacy, and the possibility that to claim the crown, he may have to become the very monster his brother King Joon is accused of being.

Plot Role

Euyn is the linchpin around which the conspiracy to assassinate King Joon revolves. Mikail, the royal spymaster, recruits him not merely as a figurehead but as the only person who can legally claim the throne once the crown is removed. At the same time, Euyn serves as the story's moral test case: the characters—and the reader—must decide whether he will prove any better than his brother. His presence divides the group's loyalties, particularly after Royo swears fealty to him in exchange for a promise to reverse Joon's mass execution edict. By the climax, evidence strongly suggests that Euyn has betrayed the entire crew, raising the possibility that the Butcher of Westward Forest never reformed at all.

Motivations and Traits Shown Through Actions

Euyn is driven by a layered set of motivations that often pull him in opposing directions.

Desire for Reclamation. At his core, Euyn wants his birthright—the throne he lost when Joon banished him. He tells Mikail he refused to die because he still wants to live, but his actions reveal that mere survival is not enough. He craves restoration. This hunger is tempered by a genuine wish to undo Joon's cruelties: when Royo asks him to reverse the edict condemning long-sentenced prisoners, Euyn agrees without hesitation, a moment that indicates a potential for fairness.

Guilt and Self-Loathing. Euyn carries profound shame for two acts he cannot undo. The first is the massacre in Westward Forest, which earned him his butcher's name and led to his exile. The second is his mother's death: her deathbed confession that he was not the king's son so enraged him that he shook her to death. This secret gnaws at him; he fears that if Mikail learns he is a bastard, he will lose the only love that sustains him. His paranoia—obsessive trap-setting, refusing to sleep alone, scanning every rooftop—is not merely tactical caution but a reflection of a man who believes he deserves to be hunted.

Hypocrisy and Self-Deception. Throughout the journey, Euyn criticises the violence around him, yet he himself is responsible for some of the most devastating acts. He kills the father and daughter who scouted the gang warehouse to prevent them from warning the gang, justifying it as a tactical necessity. He reflects on the mounting bloodshed required for his crown but continues to participate. This gap between his self-image as a potential reformer and his willingness to commit murder is one of the defining tensions of his character arc.

Chronological Arc

Act One: The Fugitive. When the novel opens, Euyn is hiding in Fallow as Donal, a man who has spent three years trying to become invisible. He is cautious, meticulous, and utterly alone. The red envelope from Mikail shatters his fragile safety and forces him to re-enter the world of politics and assassination.

Act Two: The Reluctant Conspirator. After meeting Mikail, Euyn learns that his exile was orchestrated by the spymaster to preserve his life. The revelation that Mikail arranged the caravan that saved him in the desert reshapes Euyn's understanding of the past three years. He begins to question whether he is the Butcher of Westward Forest or a man who can be more. During the journey, he shows glimpses of compassion—sparing a father named Chul, stitching Mikail's wounds, carrying Kito's body—that complicate his earlier monstrosity.

Act Three: The Betrayer. As the assassination draws near, Euyn's paranoia sharpens. He suspects Aeri of hiding a capacity for violence, he fears the crown's curse will kill him, and he knows his illegitimacy could destroy his claim. At the climax, he is confronted by a palace assassin who claims Mikail ordered his capture. Royo later concludes that Euyn never appeared at the arena, that he set up the entire crew, and that the Butcher of Westward Forest was always a lie. This ending leaves open whether Euyn was truly reformed, always a traitor, or forced into betrayal by circumstances.

Relationships

Mikail. The most layered and emotionally charged bond in Euyn's life. They have been lovers for nearly a decade, and their relationship is built on physical hunger and deep trust. Mikail saved Euyn's life by pretending to betray him in the throne room, then secretly arranging his escape. Yet Mikail also keeps his own secrets: his Gayan heritage, his personal vendetta against Joon, his plans for the crown. Euyn depends on Mikail for emotional grounding, and the possibility that Mikail might have betrayed him at the end is the wound that breaks him.

Royo. Royo begins as a skeptic, suspicious of Euyn's character. Their turning point comes in the carriage when Euyn promises to reverse Joon's execution law. Royo swears fealty, a gesture that binds them. By the end, Royo feels doubly betrayed—not only because the plan failed but because he believed Euyn could be a better king.

Sora. Euyn views Sora primarily as a tool in Mikail's plan, though he recognises her suffering. He learns she is one of Chul's stolen daughters but chooses not to tell her, fearing it will destabilise the alliance. This silence is characteristic of his pragmatic cruelty.

Aeri. Euyn is suspicious of Aeri from their first meeting. He notes her lack of horror after the warehouse killings and wonders whether she has killed before. This wariness suggests that Euyn, himself a person capable of hiding his true nature, recognises the same capacity in others.

King Joon. Joon is Euyn's half-brother and the target of the conspiracy. Euyn resents him for the exile and for the cold calculation of the banishment, but Mikail's revelation that Joon's hands were tied by the Council of the Lords complicates Euyn's hatred. The relationship is defined by sibling rivalry, political animosity, and a shared bloodline that Euyn may not actually possess.

Key Decisions and Consequences

Theme and Symbol Connections

Betrayal. Euyn is both a victim and perpetrator of betrayal. Joon exiled him, Mikail faked betrayal to save him, and Euyn's final absence suggests he betrayed the crew. The theme underscores the impossibility of trust in a world built on political expedience. See the betrayal theme page for deeper exploration.

Guilt and Redemption. Euyn never fully pursues redemption. He acknowledges his guilt but rationalises each murder as necessary for the crown. His arc raises the question of whether a person who has killed can ever truly become a just ruler. The guilt and redemption page examines this theme further.

Sacrifice. Euyn is willing to sacrifice others—and his own conscience—for the throne. The deaths of Kito, the barmaid's family, and countless others are weighed against his ambition. This connects to the broader theme of sacrifice in the novel.

Identity and Deception. Everything Euyn believes about himself is suspect. He is not the man he pretends to be (Donal), not the heir he claims to be (his mother's confession reveals illegitimacy), and possibly not the reformer he wants to be. The identity theme is unpacked on the identity and deception page.

Power and Corruption. The crown's curse—that only Baejkin blood can wear it—literalises the theme. Power is a relic that either kills or transforms. Euyn's fear of becoming ash mirrors his fear of becoming a tyrant. This connects to the larger theme of power and corruption.

Five Book-Specific Questions and Answers

1. Why is Euyn called the Butcher of Westward Forest?

Euyn earned this title after he killed a group of prisoners from Idle Prison while hunting them in the Westward Forest—a royal hunting ground between the palace and Tamneki. One prisoner, Chul, survived long enough to report to the Council of the Lords, triggering Euyn's exile. Euyn himself does not deny the massacre; when Mikail confronts him, he admits he is guilty and that he would commit the same act again. The title brands him as a ruthless killer before the events of the novel.

2. Does Euyn actually betray the crew at the end?

Within the scope of the novel, this is an interpretive question because the final chapters are told primarily from Royo's perspective. The available evidence shows that Euyn was supposed to appear in the royal box to be crowned after the assassination but never arrived. Royo explicitly states, "Euyn fucking set us up. He's the only one not here as everyone gets rounded up." Euyn's own chapter (Chapter Seventy-Seven) ends with a palace assassin apprehending him and him believing Mikail ordered the capture. The narrative deliberately leaves open the possibility that Euyn betrayed them, that he was himself betrayed, or that both things happened simultaneously.

3. Why did Euyn spare Chul in Westward Forest?

Euyn explains to Mikail that Chul was a father who had killed a magistrate for arranging the sale of his daughters to pleasure houses. When Euyn cornered him, Chul's last words were to tell his daughters he died trying to find them. Euyn admits he could not take the shot because he admired Chul's dedication as a father—a quality Euyn himself never experienced, having lost his own father at age four. The decision is a departure from his usual ruthlessness and is the first evidence Mikail sees that Euyn may have changed.

4. What is Euyn's biggest secret, and why does it matter?

Euyn's mother confessed on her deathbed that he is not the king's son. This means he has no Baejkin blood and cannot wear the crown without turning to ash—a fate that befell a general who tried to crown himself in a historical coup. Euyn has told no one, not even Mikail, because revealing it would destroy his claim to the throne, end the conspiracy, and likely cost him Mikail's love. The secret also deepens the theme of identity, as Euyn is literally not the person he was raised to believe he was.

5. Would Euyn have made a better king than Joon?

The novel offers conflicting evidence. On one hand, Euyn explicitly promises Royo he will reverse Joon's edict executing long-sentenced prisoners, calling death "inherently unreasonable" for those not originally condemned to die. This suggests a commitment to proportionality and justice. On the other hand, Euyn's own actions during the journey—killing the barmaid and her father, accepting the deaths of Kito and others as necessary—indicate that his pragmatism is not easily distinguished from Joon's cruelty. Whether he would have been better is left ambiguous, making it one of the central questions the book asks rather than answers.

For a complete overview of how the conspiracy resolves, see the ending explained page. For more on the novel's key moments and unanswered questions, visit the questions and answers page.