Chapter 15
Family
To Jeong-ah, the Chief Steward was no different from a father.
Having lost her father early when she was young, Jeong-ah had also lost contact with the few remaining blood relatives she had after coming to the Luoyang Sword Clan.
The Chief Steward had taught and guided Jeong-ah with all his heart and sincerity.
No matter how exceptional she was, she was still human, so she had made many mistakes and caused trouble several times.
Each time, the Chief Steward had protected her, always helping her walk a better path.
Had he not been there, Jeong-ah was certain she would have been swept away and vanished in the raging current that was the Luoyang Sword Clan.
He was the only person Jeong-ah could trust in this immense organization called the Luoyang Sword Clan.
That was precisely why the report he had sent to the Young Master, and the words contained at the very end of it, could only come as a tremendous shock to her.
“If she cannot abandon her innate nature and attempts to make a transaction with you, Young Master…”
The man she regarded as her father was recommending that, if she did not seem useful to the Young Master, she should be killed and disposed of.
Her legs gave way, and all strength left her body as she collapsed to the floor.
Her face turned deathly pale, and her hands began trembling uncontrollably.
“Ugh—!”
She clutched the railing and vomited onto the floor.
Even after emptying everything inside her, she continued dry-heaving for a long while.
When the retching finally subsided, she took out a handkerchief with trembling hands.
She wiped her face, which had become a mess of tears and snot.
Even as she wiped, fresh tears flowed down, and sobs threatened to leak from her tightly shut mouth.
She took a deep breath and pulled herself together.
There was no trace of blood in her clenched fists.
“…Do you understand why I showed you that report?”
Yeon Sang-hyeon’s voice was as leisurely as before.
But Jeong-ah felt a cold darkness flowing in the depths of that voice.
“…Yes, Young Master.”
She straightened her posture, turned back toward Yeon Sang-hyeon, and lowered her head.
“What is contained in this report is the Chief Steward’s loyalty. I dare presume that you showed me what true loyalty is.”
Even someone no different from one’s own blood meant nothing before one’s lord.
“Loyalty…”
Yeon Sang-hyeon leaned back comfortably and looked up at the ceiling.
“I consider that madness.”
How else could one explain something that made a person abandon even their own child?
Jeong-ah bowed her head deeply.
“Generally speaking, that may be so.”
She continued in a voice that had stopped trembling.
“But if this is that kind of place—the very center of the Luoyang Sword Clan, called the greatest clan under heaven, the place where every scheme and desire for power ultimately gathers…”
Once again, she became aware of where she was.
Once again, she confirmed her own position.
“Then this is loyalty.”
Yeon Sang-hyeon lowered his gaze and slowly looked at Jeong-ah.
“…Even now, if I accept you, do you still wish to offer me your loyalty?”
Jeong-ah smiled.
That smile was beautiful and radiant, like a flower blooming beneath the bright sunlight after the rain had cleared.
“No.”
She prostrated herself and pressed her forehead to the floor.
“Whether I am accepted or not rests entirely with my master. I shall merely serve my master with loyalty.”
Yeon Sang-hyeon instinctively felt that the flower called Jeong-ah had fully bloomed.
That flower held a deep, rich fragrance.
The fragrance named madness.
“Young Master, you are my one and only master.”
Yeon Sang-hyeon smiled.
It was a thoroughly satisfying answer.
The night at Wongak Pavilion was quiet and peaceful, as always.
When the wind brushed past, colorful petals fluttered and danced through the air.
It was thanks to the absolute formation surrounding Wongak Pavilion that the temperature remained relatively warm.
Jeong-ah lit the prepared oil lamp, sat near the brazier, and continued her story.
“…That was how my family’s once-harmonious merchant group collapsed in an instant.”
“Yanwang Bond and successive misfortunes…”
Yeon Sang-hyeon was still holding a book in his hand, but he listened to her story, occasionally asking questions.
“Yes, that is correct. My elder sister, who had remarkable talent for commerce, made several bold moves with my father, but in the end, when one calamity piled on top of another, there was nothing they could do.”
“Even if she was your elder sister, she could not have been much older than you. Was she involved in running the merchant group?”
Jeong-ah moistened her throat with a sip of alcohol and answered.
“My elder sister is truly an amazing person. Ever since she was young, she was practically the pride of our family, and even now, she is my pride.”
Like Jeong-ah, her elder sister had also been sold to a household somewhere, but she had displayed her abilities and quickly bought herself back.
“Now, she works as an information broker in Luoyang. It seems she has established herself and is beginning to make a name for herself.”
From the way Jeong-ah spoke about her sister, it was easy to feel just how proud she was of her.
“…And according to a letter my sister sent me recently, she found the source of the misfortunes that befell our family.”
Her face darkened.
“The source was none other than the very man who made us use the Yanwang Bond.”
Strength entered the hand with which she held her wine cup.
“I still cannot forget him. That greasy face, that bloated body, and the bastard named Geumjil who ruined my family…”
Yeon Sang-hyeon’s eyebrow rose.
“Geumjil, you say?”
Jeong-ah looked at Yeon Sang-hyeon with puzzled eyes.
“Yes, I am certain that was the name. I do not think it was his real name, but I remember that everyone called him that. Is it a name you know, Master?”
Instead of answering, Yeon Sang-hyeon turned his head and looked into the distance.
“Geumjil…”
The memory of last night surfaced in his mind.
***
“My lord! Thank you! Thank you!”
“Enough with the thanks. Just guide me in the right direction.”
“Th-that way, sir!”
The middle-aged man limped as he guided Yeon Sang-hyeon, somehow managing despite the pitiful state of his body.
He was none other than the middle-aged man who had been beaten by the men Yeon Sang-hyeon had dealt with.
“If you save my family, I will never forget this grace, even after death! I will repay this debt of gratitude, even if it takes generations!”
He repeatedly expressed his gratitude to Yeon Sang-hyeon, then finally clung to him, begging him to help his family.
“I know it is a shameless request, but please, I beg you!”
“…I understand, so just lead the way.”
He fell several times, but whenever Yeon Sang-hyeon tried to help him, he refused, got back up, and continued guiding him.
“There! Over there, sir!”
Soon, his shop and home came into view.
Beneath the dim moonlight, his shop was in complete disarray.
“Oh no, dear! Dear!”
Shocked by the sight, the middle-aged man rushed into the inner courtyard.
“Husband?! What happened to you?!”
“Father!”
The vivid sounds of a tearful family reunion came from the inner courtyard.
With a small sigh, Yeon Sang-hyeon began walking inside, only for something beneath his foot to crack and break.
“…A mask?”
Everything rolling around the wrecked shop was a mask.
There were masks used at weddings, and there were also masks hung up in homes to wish for good fortune.
‘So he was a mask craftsman.’
When Yeon Sang-hyeon stepped into the inner courtyard, he saw a whole family embracing one another and crying.
“My lord…!”
The moment the mask craftsman saw him, he threw himself at Yeon Sang-hyeon’s feet and performed a deep bow.
But perhaps misunderstanding something from that sight, his wife suddenly knelt in front of Yeon Sang-hyeon and began pleading.
“Oh, my lord! We will pay the interest soon, so please forgive this man just this once! He needs his limbs intact if he is to repay the money, does he not?”
Then she began wailing right there on the spot.
“No…”
Before Sang-hyeon could even say anything, the children came rushing out as well, grabbing his trouser legs and sobbing.
“Please save our father! We were wrong! Please forgive him just this once!”
Then they even rolled around on the floor.
“No, all of you! This lord is not that kind of lord! He is the one who saved my life!”
Apparently, the mask craftsman usually referred to the men who came to collect debts as “my lord.”
After the mask craftsman hurriedly calmed his family down, his wife and children rose awkwardly, and this time, before Yeon Sang-hyeon could say a word, they began offering deep bows.
“My lord, thank you!”
“Thank you!”
At the chaotic yet strangely coordinated sight, Yeon Sang-hyeon could not help but give a hollow smile.
***
“It is humble, but please sit here for a moment.”
The mask craftsman guided Yeon Sang-hyeon into the main house, seated him in the warmest spot, then stirred the brazier to revive the flames.
Then, while his wife brought out hot water, he searched deep inside a wardrobe and took out a small jar he had hidden away.
“These are tea leaves. They are nothing more than cheap leaves, so I worry they may only ruin your palate, my lord…”
“It is fine. Put them in.”
Tea leaves were not some common grain tea people drank casually, but an enormously expensive item.
The mask craftsman called them cheap, but any tea leaves at all were expensive enough to make one’s mouth fall open.
“How could I do that?”
Before Yeon Sang-hyeon could stop him, he emptied every bit of tea carefully stored in the jar into Yeon Sang-hyeon’s cup, then poured in hot water.
Soon after, the children came in carrying wooden bowls filled with snacks.
They placed the bowls on Yeon Sang-hyeon’s table as politely as they could, then withdrew and knelt on the floor.
The mask craftsman and his wife also knelt in front of the children.
“My lord, thank you!”
“Thank you!”
As though he had no choice, Yeon Sang-hyeon shook his head and lifted the teacup with elegant composure.
“…It is good tea.”
At his praise, the children, who looked about six or seven years old, brightened with joy and smiled broadly.
“My lord, how could we ever repay a grace as deep as the sea…”
Yeon Sang-hyeon waved his hand, stopping the mask craftsman from continuing.
“Enough. I did not do this because I wanted something in return.”
“But, my lord…!”
“More importantly,”
Yeon Sang-hyeon set down his teacup.
“Who was it that oppressed you and made this mess here?”
The mask craftsman lowered his head and answered.
“…I understand that those men are people who have made a contract with the Black Bone Sect.”
“Black Bone Sect?”
The mask craftsman slowly began telling him what he knew.
“Yes, sir. The Black Bone Sect is a dreadful group of thugs led by a woman named Geumju, who is said to be the daughter of a man called Geumjil.”
Geumjil.
And Geumju, said to be his daughter.
“The Black Bone Sect is a group that moves on behalf of that man Geumjil. From private loans to gambling houses, if there is the smell of money anywhere, there is nowhere they do not stick their hands into. They are a massive organization.”
“What was the reason you went to the gambling house?”
The mask craftsman pressed his forehead to the floor and answered.
“That is their method, sir!”
“Their method?”
As if pouring out all the resentment he had built up until now, the mask craftsman spoke.
“Yes, sir! Since the interest rates on private loans are strictly limited by law, they force those who borrow from them to participate in gambling and use that to increase their debts!”
“Ha…”
At those words, Yeon Sang-hyeon gave a bitter smile.
Luoyang’s interest-rate restrictions were an achievement from the past that his father had pushed through after negotiating with the authorities.
And the one who had first investigated and studied the law, then shaped it into a concrete form, was none other than Yeon Sang-hyeon himself, back when he was still young.