Chapter 59
Part 9: Flawed People
The streets of Luoyang, as the sun slowly sank beyond the horizon.
A young girl, riding on her dependable father’s back, was chattering nonstop.
“…And so the First Young Master looked into my eyes and said, ‘Enforcement Envoy, I regret that I interfered of my own accord and stopped your judgment. I ask your forgiveness.’ So I answered elegantly, ‘It is all right, First Young Master. I believe it was an excellent decision for the sake of the main house as well.’”
Yeom Baek-ha covered her face with a squeal.
“Did you hear that? Did you hear it?”
Baekho, who had been dozing in her arms, was startled awake and clung to her sleeve, dangling from it.
“Was that not so wonderful? Was it not terribly romantic? I felt as though I had stepped into some famous love story!”
Elder Yeom could not understand what part of that was supposed to be romantic, but he did not bother asking.
After all, he was not a fool who poked a buzzing beehive just to confirm whether there were bees inside.
“The reason it was romantic, you see, is because his beautiful yet cold exterior contrasts with the burning heart he carries inside for the poor. The mere fact that such a person truly exists is already romantic, is it not? Is it not?”
Of course, among bees, there were also those that flew out and attacked even if one never went near the hive.
“…And then, when he looked at me like this…”
On the other hand, he felt his heart easing a little.
How long had it been since he had walked through the streets of Luoyang at sunset with his daughter?
With his heart somewhat more at peace, he was able to bring up the unavoidable matter.
“…What do you think?”
She did not ask, About what?
She was a brilliant child, brilliant enough to pass the difficult Enforcement Envoy examination at such a young age.
Though she had never been able to carry out those duties outside, not a single judgment she had made within the house had ever been wrong.
She knew all too well that everything her father had built over his lifetime might be shaken because of her alone.
Her voice sank.
“Father, there is only one thing I wish from you.”
His daughter’s voice reached his ears with painful clarity.
“Please do not use me as an excuse.”
Her voice was utterly firm.
Just like when she delivered judgments as the Law Enforcement Assembly.
“…Are you saying I should abandon you?”
At his question, Yeom Baek-ha gently placed her hand on his shoulder.
“I was born as the only daughter beneath an elder of the main house. And, shamefully, I am also an Enforcement Envoy. I have lived while enjoying everything that my position allowed me to enjoy.”
Her voice held gratitude for all that she herself had received.
“I am not such an unworthy daughter that I would enjoy only those rights while turning my back on my duties.”
She spoke in a firm tone.
“Father, as an elder of the main house and as the head of a household, make your judgment entirely on your own. Even if it is lonely, it cannot be helped. Even if it is painful, it cannot be helped. But please do not say that you had no choice because of your daughter. That alone is unnecessary.”
“You…”
His voice cracked.
“As the daughter of an elder, and as your daughter, I will simply follow whatever that meaning becomes.”
“I see…”
She could feel her father’s shoulders, those broad shoulders, trembling little by little.
But she showed no sign of noticing.
The two of them simply walked like an ordinary daughter and father one might see on the street.
After a while, a calmer voice flowed from his mouth.
“I understand. I shall do so.”
She smiled and hugged her father around the neck.
“A wonderful idea just came to me!”
And then she began chattering again.
“You could officially declare that you are cutting ties with me! Then I, with nowhere left to rely on, would enter Wongakjeong as a maid! And because I am so useless that I cannot do a single maid’s duty properly, the senior maids would bully me! I would hide in the storeroom and shed tears while looking at the moon. Then! The First Young Master would enter the storeroom and discover me there! Oh my. It is perfect! Perfectly romantic! Another flawless love story!”
He focused only on his steps.
For the time being, he would have to keep walking even if it meant being stung by a million bees.
What else could he do?
His daughter had no friend with whom she could chatter about such things.
She was a child who understood her position and conducted herself better than anyone.
So what else could he do?
For a flawed father blessed with a daughter far greater than he deserved, that was one of the few small roles he could play.
***
Wongakjeong, beneath a brilliantly shining moon.
In the wide courtyard covered with fine gravel, braziers burned here and there, brightly illuminating every direction.
There, the nimble shadow of a woman and the solid shadow of a man clashed.
Sword light reflected in the firelight and flashed in all directions.
At last, cheers burst out.
“Goodness, this is…”
One of the Fourth Young Master’s warriors sat sprawled on the ground, unable to rise from the shock.
“I received valuable instruction.”
The one who offered him her hand, along with slightly roughened breaths, was none other than the head maid of Wongakjeong, Jeong-ah.
“No, rather, I was the one who… No.”
The warrior acknowledged his opponent as a warrior.
He gladly took her hand and rose to his feet.
Then he gave her a respectful fist salute.
“Rather, I was the one who learned a move from you.”
The Fourth Young Master’s warriors, who had been standing at a distance around them, approached while clapping.
“Hey! It has been a long time since I saw such a truly impressive spar. I feel as though my eyes have been opened!”
“Was the martial art you used the famous Flashing Shadow Instant? To have achieved that much mastery in such a difficult supreme martial art—truly remarkable.”
Their comrade had lost to a mere maid, but not a trace of ill feeling could be sensed from them.
She had felt it all day, but the Fourth Young Master’s subordinates were fundamentally very cheerful and straightforward people.
Jeong-ah lowered her head and responded to their praise.
“It is nothing more than a minor skill.”
The warrior who had sparred with her nearly jumped at her modesty.
“If the head maid says that, then what does that make me?”
“What do you mean, what? Is it not only natural that the one with inferior skill loses? Loser, stop loitering and move aside.”
“That is right, that is right. We need to have a discussion with this head maid about supreme martial arts.”
“Rather than having a discussion, we ought to be receiving instruction.”
The warrior, pushed aside by his colleagues as they crowded around her, gave a hollow smile.
“…No, I have not even reviewed the bout yet.”
His colleagues were already no longer listening.
The beautiful head maid, who had mastered one of the most difficult supreme martial arts in the Sword Clan, was gaining tremendous popularity among them.
“Good grief.”
Shaking his head, he picked up his sword and small blade from the ground.
And that was not all.
Scattered messily across the ground were the caltrops, needles, and throwing knives he had used.
Aside from poison, which could not be used in a spar, he had employed every secret technique he knew.
“…And none of this worked?”
He crouched down on the spot.
Looking at the courtyard that had become a complete mess, all he could do was shake his head.
***
From outside came bright cheers and lively voices.
The Fourth Young Master smiled.
“Elder Brother, I enjoyed an excellent meal. As expected, Wongakjeong’s ingredients are undoubtedly the finest in Luoyang.”
“I am glad to hear that.”
Once the table had been cleared, the plump maid appeared.
She was the maid who had been following the Fourth Young Master around all day.
After offering a respectful greeting, she placed after-meal tea on the table for them to cleanse their palates.
“Thank you.”
At the Fourth Young Master’s thanks, she gave him a charming smile and left the room.
“I am sorry. Wongakjeong is still short on people.”
“Not at all, Elder Brother. At times like this, we should help one another. What else are brothers good for?”
The door closed, and the signs of people withdrew into the distance.
Now it was time for the brothers to have a proper conversation.
“This business was far more important to me than it appeared.”
The Fourth Young Master bowed his head with a dignified air.
Even his tone had changed.
“Elder Brother, I will never forget the teachings you bestowed upon me today, nor the things you did for my sake.”
Yeon Sang-hyeon waved his hand.
“…It seems the other two are pushing ahead and shaking your position.”
The Fourth Young Master let out a small sigh.
“That is right. This business is large in scale, of course, but in truth, its greatest importance is that it is also my struggle to avoid being knocked out of the succession dispute.”
“Do you have a desire to become the Young Patriarch?”
Yeon Sang-hyeon lightly enjoyed the aroma of the tea and set the cup down again.
But the question he had thrown out was by no means light.
The Fourth Young Master opened his mouth more carefully than ever.
“…We cannot hand the Sword Clan over to the Second Young Master or the Third Young Master, can we?”
“No, we cannot.”
Yeon Sang-hyeon nodded lightly in affirmation.
“Elder Brother.”
The Fourth Young Master looked up at him.
“By any chance, even now…?”
Yeon Sang-hyeon cut him off.
“Those investors coming from Sichuan.”
The Fourth Young Master immediately bowed his head.
“Yes, Elder Brother.”
“I heard there are some among them who are making things difficult for you. Is that true?”
The Fourth Young Master shook his head.
“You have no idea. No matter how much I try to persuade them, they insist on touring Luoyang separately, apart from the movement of the business group as a whole…”
He placed his elbow on the table and rested his chin on his hand.
“Well, what can I do? I am the one in need, so I must find some way to handle it.”
Moreover, regardless of the amount they invested immediately, they were important people who would greatly influence the mid- to long-term success of this business.
After listening to the Fourth Young Master’s explanation about them, Yeon Sang-hyeon nodded.
“Then I shall take charge of them.”
At his words, the Fourth Young Master froze.
“Why?”
The Fourth Young Master’s eyes trembled.
“If you go that far, it will become an entirely different matter.”
The boy licked his drying lips.
“The migration of the poor can be treated as nothing more than Elder Brother briefly helping his youngest brother. The shares I intended to give you are also a kind of advisory fee.”
“That is true.”
The Fourth Young Master drank the tea that was growing cold.
“But if you do more than that, it means you will now be joining me in this business.”
“It will become a business conducted jointly by the First Young Master and the Fourth Young Master of the Sword Clan.”
Yeon Sang-hyeon smiled with unreadable meaning.
“That is also why I intend to propose new conditions.”
The Fourth Young Master felt his head grow dizzy.
“…Elder Brother.”
The boy looked at the person he loved and respected most.
“Are you trying to end your seclusion now? The Second Young Master, the Third Young Master, and everyone who hates you will rise up like a swarm of bees to block you.”
Yeon Sang-hyeon asked in return,
“Do you have a desire to become the Young Patriarch?”
The Fourth Young Master sprang to his feet.
His chair was flung backward.
“No!”
The boy slammed the table.
“Absolutely not!”
He shouted.
“The position of Young Patriarch of the main house is a place that only you, Elder Brother, deserve to know!”
Yeon Sang-hyeon smiled brightly.
He could no longer afford to lose one of the few remaining family members he loved.
That was why he had to make this “business that was certain to fail” succeed no matter what.
He knew the “future” in which this adorable younger brother had suffered so greatly for his unworthy elder brother’s sake.
“I intend to ‘officially’ end my seclusion now.”
And so, this unworthy elder brother intended to become an elder brother whom anyone would see as the most worthy of pride.
“Will you stand with me?”
It was a question that hardly needed to be asked.