Chapter 55
Ch. 55 .｡.:✧ Family Head's Residence ✧:.｡.
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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Chaos
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A few days ago, after confirming my father’s condition, I immediately sought out Dokgo Hyun and asked for his help.
He was prepared to follow me to the ends of the earth to repay his debt, so persuading him was not difficult.
I recalled our recent conversation.
‘Of course, with your skills, you should be able to handle most of the turmoil within your family.’
‘Then what do you see as the biggest problem?’
‘The problem… is the culprit behind all this. The biggest obstacle will be how much stronger they are than you.’
‘Hmm…!’
‘The leader of the retainers, the Black Serpent, is likely only at the First-Rate level, but there must be those behind him, using the ronin to plot the takeover of the trading company. You’ll have to somehow eliminate or capture those masterminds.’
‘Hmm.’
‘There could be an even greater power behind the ronin.’
‘……’
‘If you visit the family head’s residence with me this time, keep an eye out for anyone among the ronin who acts hastily. There will inevitably be a leader who receives reports from the group.’
Indeed, the Hidden Healer, Dokgo Hyun, seemed to have experienced many such intricate and secretive events in the Jianghu.
Dokgo Hyun, who had offered me various pieces of advice, now stood beside me with a reassuring smile on his face.
He spoke to me through telepathy.
[Don’t worry. They won’t have a pretext to turn away the family head’s sons who have come to pay their respects.]
[Is that so?]
[Especially since the eldest son, who has been ill for years, has recovered and is coming to see his father.]
[I wonder… I’m more curious about how they will react.]
[Well, what can they do? Those ronin are just following orders from above.]
After that conversation, I looked at my brother, Eun Hajin, who stood beside me with a hardened gaze.
“…Brother.”
“Hmm.”
“This is just the beginning. Keep your wits about you.”
“…Alright. I will do as you say. I must face them.”
Eun Hajin said, his eyes burning with resolve as he stared at the family head’s residence.
“I will not fall here.”
“Still, please don’t overexert yourself.”
With that, I approached the ronin blocking the front of the residence.
At once, they drew their weapons and aimed them at me.
Watching this scene, I let a scornful smile touch my lips and spoke.
“…What is the meaning of this?”
“We have orders not to let anyone into the family head’s chambers. Even if you are the family head’s sons, the order does not change.”
As I let the guard’s words wash over me, Eun Hajin, who had been listening beside me, clenched his jaw in anger.
Seeing that he was about to burst forward, I gestured for him to hold back.
Eun Hajin, realizing his mistake, slowly nodded.
In the meantime, I spoke to the guard.
“I am simply here as a son to pay my respects to my father, and my brother has come to show him that he has finally recovered from his illness.”
“……!”
“And yet, you intend to turn us away, merely parroting the same words like puppets?”
“Hmph…!”
“Shouldn’t you at least pretend to listen and report to your superiors?”
…It was obvious that the mastermind behind this was already listening in on this conversation.
But the reason I was doing this was simple.
It was, in a sense, a declaration of war.
‘From the culprit’s perspective, they must have heard the news that Eun Hajin, the first young master of the trading company, has fully recovered.’
That meant they must also be feeling a sense of crisis.
My presence alone, as the second young master, would have changed the situation. Would they continue to stand by and watch?
I thought not.
The return of the second young master, who had been nothing more than a delinquent, had begun to disrupt their plans.
‘Although I acted like a delinquent and was treated as an outsider to the family because I entered Mount Hua… I am still the heir appointed by the family head himself. As long as the family head is in seclusion, it wouldn’t be strange for the heir to hold a family council and give orders to the branch heads in his stead.’
Of course, this premise was only valid if the heir had a history of acting in a manner befitting his position.
If I, who had been training at Mount Hua for years, suddenly returned and gathered all the branch heads for a meeting, how many would follow me?
In that sense, I needed to create a strong ally who would fully support me and have a powerful voice among the collateral branches and relatives.
That was my brother, Eun Hajin, standing beside me.
‘If Eun Hajin, who has now recovered from his illness, stands by my side and helps me, the story changes. I will have the pretext of being the heir, and the powerful support of the family head’s direct bloodline, his first son.’
If Eun Hajin had not been bedridden, he would have been more than worthy of the position of heir.
Eun Hajin, who possessed not only a good character and the legitimacy of being a direct descendant, but also outstanding abilities.
I planned to use Eun Hajin to pressure and draw out the mastermind hiding in the family head’s residence.
‘I brought the Hidden Healer, Dokgo Hyun, in preparation for any unforeseen circumstances and to use force if necessary, so I have nothing to fear. Now, how will you react?’
I inwardly smirked.
In that situation, the guard, who had been frowning deeply, spoke to me as if he had no choice.
“…Please wait a moment.”
“Of course.”
“I will be back within the hour.”
Swish—
The guard turned and entered the family head’s residence.
Thump, thump—
As I watched the guard enter the residence, I thought.
‘I wonder who will be the one to be eaten…’
As if sensing the prelude to a massacre that was about to unfold, Falling Star, at my waist, vibrated slightly.
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“You have been summoned. Please follow me inside.”
The one who came out from inside the residence to greet us was a woman dressed in what could only be described as ordinary clothes.
She looked like a physician’s assistant, and the scent of medicinal herbs wafted from her, as if she had just been cutting them.
But despite this, there was a sense of unease about her.
‘She tried to hide it, but… her appearance exudes an unusually strong sensuality.’
I glanced at the assistant with the eyes of someone observing an inanimate object and frowned slightly.
As I frowned, the assistant, who had been smiling with her eyes for some reason, immediately bowed her head deeply and apologized.
“Please forgive the guards if they have done anything wrong. However, given the circumstances, we had no choice but to be on high alert.”
“…Enough. Just lead the way.”
“…Please follow me.”
Perhaps because she was bowing with her hands clasped over her stomach, the guards’ eyes were all drawn to her unnecessarily large chest, which was slightly visible through her clothes.
However, the somewhat alluring atmosphere emanating from the assistant was like that of a siren, and I soon felt not lust, but a rising killing intent.
‘…This woman is not to be taken lightly.’
The opponent was hiding her martial prowess.
She was far more than just a woman who would pose as a mere physician’s assistant.
Realizing this, I quickly calmed my burning anger and asked softly.
“It seems you are the one primarily attending to the family head. Where is the physician who should be here?”
“…The physician has gone out on an errand.”
“…I see.”
After a brief reply, I followed the siren-like assistant into the family head’s residence.
The sound of our footsteps was occasionally muffled by the creaking of the wooden floorboards.
Thump, thump…
After some time, we followed the stairs and reached the family head’s chambers.
Finally, we arrived at the bed where the family head lay.
‘This must be the first time Eun Hajin has seen our father like this.’
Drrr—
The door opened.
The assistant bowed her head deeply and stepped back.
But for some reason, I couldn’t shake off a feeling of unease.
However, in the situation that unfolded next, I couldn’t help but watch the assistant, who was slowly backing out of the door, with wary eyes.
“F-Father…!”
“……”
“How did you end up like this…! What did they do to you to make you lie here like a living corpse…!”
“…Brother.”
I grabbed the shoulder of Eun Hajin, who was sobbing with a voice full of resentment as he approached our father’s bed.
Then I muttered in a small voice.
[Brother, we are still in enemy territory. Do not act rashly.]
“Hngh…”
[It is still too early to punish them. Only then will it serve as a strong warning to the retainers who have abandoned the family’s grace and sided with them, and the ronin who incited them.]
“I know. But…”
…How can I, as a son, just stand by and watch my father in this state?
Eun Hajin said to me in a bitter voice.
At his words, I remained calm and gestured for him to step back.
At that moment, Dokgo Hyun, as if to confirm something up close, reached out his arm to take a pulse, then uttered a single, unbelievable word.
“This is…!”
[What is it?]
As I asked, Dokgo Hyun sent me a telepathic message, his voice filled with disbelief.
[It’s Gu poison.]
“……?!”
[And it’s from the Divine Cult.]
“……!”
Hearing those words, I was so shocked that I couldn’t help but ask him back.
[…What did you say?]
[……]
But Dokgo Hyun, as if to make me understand the situation, just stared at me with a grave expression.
‘…Ah.’
Then, I finally realized.
‘In the end, the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult has intervened.’
The worst-case scenario I had feared had come to pass.
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