Chapter 66
Part 16: Inspection Investigator
Elder Yeom of the Luoyang Sword Clan had once told one of his subordinates,
“The First Young Master was not called Swordless because he was looked down on. He was called Swordless because he stayed still even when he was looked down on.”
***
“I said to call them. The Inspection Department.”
Yeon Sang-hyeon spoke.
“F-First Young Master, please wait a moment!”
Steward Seomun tried to stop him.
“Everyone, step aside! Did you not hear Master’s command?!”
The triplet maids pressed them.
“Ahem! Did she not tell you to wait a moment?! First Young Master! First Young Master!”
The stewards blocking the hallway shouted in protest.
“First Young Master, if you suddenly come forward like this…”
“If I do?”
Steward Seomun shouted,
“The Inspection Department?! Are you saying you will call the Inspection Department over nothing more than the cost of some books?!”
“You refuse to answer me no matter how many times I ask, do you not?”
“It seems you are saying this because you do not know what will happen if the Inspection Department gets involved…”
“What will happen?”
“In the first place, there is no way the Inspection Department would step in over the cost of a few books!”
“Then why are you stopping me?”
“Head Maid, listen carefully. You must understand that stopping here is what truly serves your master.”
Jeong-ah’s face remained expressionless.
“Following and carrying out my master’s will is what truly serves him.”
Her chilling gaze turned toward Steward Seomun.
“What exactly did you learn in this place called the Inner Court, that you would try to block Master’s will with mere force?”
Her words pierced straight through Steward Seomun.
“And what, precisely, does the Inner Court do, that it would dare attempt to intimidate the First Young Master, a direct blood relative of the clan?”
“That is…”
At Yeon Sang-hyeon’s innocent expression, Steward Seomun ground her teeth.
“Are you saying you intend to shake the entire Inner Court?!”
Yeon Sang-hyeon laughed.
“Do you think you represent the entire Inner Court right now?”
“If the First Young Master drags the Inspection Department into such a trivial matter, the entire Inner Court will end up harboring hostility toward you!”
Yeon Sang-hyeon looked around, then shook his head.
“Seeing as you block the maid trying to carry out my command, refuse to answer even a question about the cost of books, and fail to show proper protocol even when the First Young Master has come in person, it seems you are already hostile enough.”
Steward Seomun shouted,
“Do you not understand that I mean they will become far more hostile than they are now?!”
At her words, Yeon Sang-hyeon shook his head and clicked his tongue.
“…This is quite the spectacle.”
Judging from the situation, it seemed no words would work on the First Young Master anymore.
She looked at Jeong-ah.
The Inner Court was a department that served the direct bloodline of the family, centered around the head of the main family.
That was the very first thing taught to every member of the Inner Court.
“And now the Inner Court will be hostile toward Master, the legitimate heir of the family?”
“…I did not say that, did I? I said the First Young Master’s actions will incite hostility from the Inner Court. Head Maid, you need to listen more carefully to what others say.”
Steward Seomun had been flustered for a moment, but she was, indeed, no easy opponent.
Of course, the water had already been spilled.
“Whether you seize on my words or try to start a verbal quarrel, I do not care.”
Jeong-ah smiled coldly.
“It is already too late.”
“…What does that mean?”
Steward Seomun’s mind began to race.
“Surely…?!”
At that moment, someone’s voice came from the northern corridor.
“U-Um…?”
It was a voice shrunken with nervousness.
“Who are you?”
At Steward Seomun’s question, the stewards blocking the northern corridor stepped aside.
The triplet maids also withdrew.
“Ah, I am from the Inspection Department…?”
The one who revealed himself, his body drawn in as much as possible, looked like a young scholar.
As everyone’s gazes swept toward him, he avoided their eyes and opened his mouth.
“I am an inspection investigator from the Inspection Department…”
One of the stewards asked in a dubious voice,
“You are really an inspection investigator?”
At that, he scratched the back of his head as if embarrassed.
“Ah, yes. Though my probationary period only ended last year.”
His glasses slid down.
“Who asked you that? Show us the identification plaque of the Inspection Department.”
Steward Seomun frowned.
“Ah, r-right. I apologize…”
He began rummaging through his sleeve in a fluster.
“Huh?”
Only after searching his other sleeve and then inside his robe did he finally pull out the identification plaque.
“H-Here…”
One of the stewards accepted the plaque with a doubtful expression and passed it to Steward Seomun.
“Investigator, Kang Ho?”
The young man whose name had been called smiled as if embarrassed.
“Yes, I am Kang Ho. Please just call me Investigator Kang.”
Only then did Steward Seomun, her tension easing, let out a faint laugh.
“When asked to investigate the price of books, it seems they sent someone suited to the task.”
Kang Ho laughed sheepishly.
“I am sorry. When a report comes in, we do have to investigate it. There are procedures…”
The other stewards relaxed as well.
Steward Seomun smiled.
‘Of course. There is no reason for the Inspection Department to overturn the Inner Court and ruin relations over the book costs of some Swordless wretch.’
Kang Ho peeked into the waiting room.
“Um, by any chance, is the complainant here?”
Yeon Sang-hyeon waved his hand.
“Here.”
At that, Kang Ho jumped in surprise.
“Ah! First Young Master!”
He hurried inside with a clumsy gait and bowed to Yeon Sang-hyeon.
“This lowly Kang, holding a minor post in the main family, greets the First Young Master of the main family!”
He was extremely respectful, and every movement was precise.
“Enough with the useless formalities. There is evidence related to the complaint here, so use it as reference.”
Jeong-ah handed over the ledger related to Wongakjeong’s budget.
“Please take it.”
“Ah, th-thank you.”
Kang Ho looked at Jeong-ah’s face, then his own face turned red as he accepted the ledger with trembling hands.
“Please sit here.”
“Allow me to bring you some tea.”
“Is there anything else you need?”
As the triplet maids gathered near him, Kang Ho’s face turned even redder.
“Ah, n-no! It would be troublesome if the complainant’s side treated me like this!”
He refused the triplet maids’ attendance and quickly sat down on a chair.
At that sight, the stewards crossed their arms and sneered.
‘Yes, go ahead and try hard to win over a greenhorn who has only just finished his apprenticeship. It will be of no use.’
Steward Seomun smiled faintly as she watched the fledgling inspection investigator hurriedly flip through the pages.
No doubt, he at least had to pretend to investigate. Yet since he could not drag it out, he seemed to be merely pretending to examine the ledger.
From the seat of honor, the First Young Master rested his chin on his hand and asked him,
“Is your grandfather doing well?”
At that, Kang Ho, who had been rapidly turning pages, laughed sheepishly and nodded, only for his glasses to slide down again.
“Yes, he is the same as ever. Just a few days ago, he sent me a letter and scolded me endlessly, saying the First Young Master had not replied to him.”
Even as he spoke, he continued turning the pages.
“I do not know what he thinks of a grandson who is nothing more than a low-ranking official…”
Yeon Sang-hyeon laughed.
“Were you not the one who took first place in the palace examination held before His Imperial Majesty? A grandson like that refused an official post and headed to the Luoyang Sword Clan, so he must naturally assume you are being treated with due respect.”
Kang Ho looked embarrassed.
“How is it that the First Young Master knows so much about my circumstances?”
“The letters your grandfather sends me are filled entirely with boasts about his eldest grandson.”
Yeon Sang-hyeon looked at him and smiled.
“If he heard that you refused special treatment and started from the bottom as a probationer in the Inspection Department, he would likely ride to the main family at once.”
“N-No, First Young Master, that must not happen…”
Even as he said that, his gaze never left the pages as he turned them swiftly.
“What are you worried about? He is nearly eighty by the day after tomorrow, yet he is still so hale and hearty. I hear he still goes hunting with members of the imperial clan.”
“That is not the problem. I am worried my backside will catch fire.”
Suddenly realizing himself, he shrank back.
“Ah, r-right. I have behaved far too casually before the First Young Master of the clan.”
“Ha ha. It is fine. Your grandfather and I are practically friends, so what fault is there if his grandson is a little informal with me?”
At that sight, and at that conversation, Steward Seomun and her stewards began to feel that something was going wrong.
Before they could even properly respond to that unease, Kang Ho closed the ledger.
“I have completed my confirmation.”
He glanced around nervously and carefully opened his mouth.
“By any chance, is there anyone who wishes to make a statement regarding this complaint? If this place is uncomfortable, we can move elsewhere…”
Steward Seomun stepped forward.
“Rather than that, please tell us what the result of the investigation is.”
She was unsettled by the sight of the First Young Master flaunting his connection.
Somehow, she wanted to move on quickly to the “predetermined conclusion.”
“Huh? Then please note that a formal investigation of the accused and witnesses may follow…”
“Wait!”
Steward Seomun interrupted.
“A formal investigation? If this is merely an investigation into the cost of books, it should only be a simple confirmation procedure. What is this talk of a formal investigation?”
Kang Ho shrank back.
“Um, well. That is… there seem to be suspicious points…”
“Suspicious points?!”
The stewards joined in.
“Could it be that the investigator is approaching this investigation with personal feelings involved?”
“I do not wish to go this far, but after hearing the conversation just now, it cannot be denied that the investigator’s intentions are sufficiently questionable.”
Kang Ho’s glasses slid down.
“Huh? Wh-what? That is not…”
Steward Seomun struck the table.
“What do you mean it is not?! Over an investigation merely related to book costs, how can you—”
Yeon Sang-hyeon clicked his tongue.
“Who said this was an investigation related to book costs?”
“Yes…?”
Steward Seomun and all the stewards froze in thought.
Ignoring them, Yeon Sang-hyeon asked Kang Ho,
“So, what was the result after confirming the evidence?”
Kang Ho answered haltingly.
“W-Well, from this ledger alone, there is no problem.”
Steward Seomun shouted,
“Then what is the problem?!”
Kang Ho adjusted his glasses and said,
“The amount of the budget recorded in this ledger as having been paid to Wongakjeong is different from the amount I confirmed.”
Yeon Sang-hyeon smiled.
“I was wondering why you were late. It seems you checked the Inner Court’s ledger archive first.”
“Ah, yes. If I was going to investigate, I thought it best to confirm from the top first…”
“That is a lie! W-Who gave you permission to enter the ledger archive?!”
At Steward Seomun’s shout, Kang Ho tilted his head.
“It is forbidden to question an investigator about the identity of a cooperating witness.”
Steward Seomun cried out almost desperately.
“You! What on earth are you investigating right now?!”
Kang Ho nodded.
“That, I can disclose.”
His glasses slid down again.
“I was dispatched to determine the need for an audit regarding a report of suspected misuse of the budget allocated to Wongakjeong among the Inner Court funds approved by the Luoyang Sword Clan’s Council of Elders.”
“A budget audit…?!”
“Misuse of funds?!”
He adjusted his glasses.
“As the opinion of the inspection investigator, the suspects have been narrowed down to a certain extent, and the allegations are being substantially substantiated. As such, I judge the current situation to be highly serious…”
His gaze, beyond the lenses of his glasses, turned toward Steward Seomun and the stewards.
“Therefore, in the name of the Inspection Department, I hereby order that from this moment on, all personnel related to this investigation are forbidden from leaving the main building of the Inner Court.”