The Patriarch's Unyielding Verdict
The bandit subjugation campaign launched from the Baek Ri Clan was expected to take more than a fortnight. That meant the patriarch would be away for over two weeks.
But he returned after just three days. It was absolutely not a good sign.
The hundreds of servants in the Baek Ri household were always cautious, but today they were especially vigilant, holding even their breaths as they moved about.
In the clan's main hall, Baek Ri-paehyeok sat with his eyes closed. Beside him stood Baek Ri-gang, his expression inscrutable, and Jang Seok-ryang, who had already knelt once and risen, now bowing his head.
One by one, others filed in: Baek Ri-muk, Baek Ri-ran, Baek Ri-myeong, and then Baek Ri-pyo and So U-ak.
Without opening his eyes, Baek Ri-paehyeok sensed they had all arrived and spoke to Jang Seok-ryang. "You may leave now."
Jang Seok-ryang bowed deeply and withdrew.
Baek Ri-muk and Baek Ri-myeong dropped to their knees the moment they entered, quick on the uptake. The twins, looking bewildered, followed suit and knelt as well.
But Baek Ri-ran stood ramrod straight, her eyes blazing with indignation instead.
Baek Ri-paehyeok kept his eyes shut for a long while before finally speaking. "Yi-ran, you look like you have a lot to say. If you have something, speak."
Baek Ri-muk tugged at the hem of Baek Ri-ran's robe from behind, as if trying to pull her back. But she ignored him, lifting her chin defiantly.
"You can't just let that insolent Namgung Wan from the Namgung Clan get away with it, Father!"
Baek Ri-gang, who had been staring at the floor, looked up at Baek Ri-ran. She scoffed at his gaze and pressed on.
"How can Namgung Wan be so rude? He dared to mock and belittle my son, who carries the Baek Ri bloodline, right here in the Baek Ri Clan!"
With his eyes still closed, Baek Ri-paehyeok asked slowly, "He mocked and belittled your son?"
"Yes!"
"How so?"
"He said Pyo and U-ak can't even hold a sword properly and should never show their faces again! Do you know how hurt the boys were?"
Only then did Baek Ri-paehyeok snap his eyes open, his piercing gaze sweeping over the twins.
He spoke deliberately. "Then why do you think Namgung Wan said that to the boys?"
"Who knows! Why would that Namgung Wan suddenly say something like that?!"
Meeting Baek Ri-gang's eyes, Baek Ri-ran lifted her head even higher. The gatekeepers were all bought off by her mother anyway. Witnesses? Just Namgung Wan and Baek Ri-yeon. If it came down to numbers, she had Baek Ri-myeong, the twins, and the gatekeepers on her side—more than enough. She could deny it all. Insist that Namgung Wan and Baek Ri-yeon were colluding, and what could Baek Ri-gang do?
Baek Ri-muk said in exasperation, "Yi-ran, please, just stop."
Baek Ri-paehyeok, watching the scene, turned his gaze to the twins. "Baek Ri-pyo, So U-ak. What do you think of your mother's words?"
"……"
"……"
The twins glanced around nervously, unable to speak easily.
"Fine. It seems hard for you to speak first, so I'll ask. What happened with the peony?"
The twins flinched in shock, and Baek Ri-ran gritted her teeth. That wench Baek Ri-yeon—or maybe Namgung Wan—must have snitched like a rat.
Baek Ri-ran shouted, "Father, what does a stupid peony matter? Ask the gatekeepers! Baek Ri-yeon was the one who offered it to the boys first!"
Still fuming, she continued. "The boys just played a little prank, and Namgung Wan butts into Baek Ri Clan affairs over it? It's as good as the Namgung Clan looking down on us! And you're okay with letting such an outrageous man go unpunished, Yi-gang? You too…"
"Shut your mouth!"
Baek Ri-paehyeok's hand trembled on the armrest.
Baek Ri-ran shrank back momentarily at her father's roar. But seeing her sons beside her reminded her of their humiliation, and she couldn't hold back.
As she opened her mouth to argue again, Baek Ri-muk hurriedly covered it and bowed his head. "How can you act without any sense of propriety, shame, judgment, or decorum?!"
Unable to bear it, Baek Ri-paehyeok slammed the armrest repeatedly. "Ask the gatekeepers? Those fools spilled everything to Jang Seok-ryang before I even questioned them!"
Baek Ri-ran's face drained of color. The twins hastily bowed their heads.
"I sent you to the academy to study, and not only do you pettily bully your sick little sister, but you act like that in front of Namgung Wan!"
No, it was fortunate it happened in front of Namgung Wan. As Baek Ri-gang's close friend, he'd consider his friend's face and not spread it around!
"Don't let Namgung Wan off? Just how much more do you plan to drag the Baek Ri Clan's reputation through the mud?!"
After bellowing, Baek Ri-paehyeok drew a deep breath. Where had it all gone wrong?
He still hadn't acknowledged her faults, so he glared down at Baek Ri-ran, who was mumbling excuses.
Baek Ri-ran had grown up her whole life compared to Baek Ri-gang. If there had been a big age gap like with Baek Ri-muk, it might have been better. But being near in age, they had been pitted against each other from the moment they first picked up swords.
To Baek Ri-ran, Baek Ri-gang was an insurmountable wall, breeding deep inferiority. The helplessness of a warrior forever compared and never once victorious.
How could Baek Ri-paehyeok, who had lived sword in hand, not understand that feeling? That's why he'd turned a blind eye to her outbursts, merely scolding her.
But who knew that leniency born of pity would lead to this?
Baek Ri-paehyeok's gaze deepened as it fell on the twins beside her. He couldn't let his grandsons' futures be ruined like this.
He declared firmly, "No more words. I can no longer entrust the children to you."
Baek Ri-ran, doubting her ears, stammered, "Father? What do you…?"
"I'll give you three choices."
Baek Ri-paehyeok cut off her question. "So U-ak carries Baek Ri blood but is of the So Clan. I can't interfere arbitrarily, so send him to his father's So Clan household, and send Baek Ri-pyo to the High Precept Temple. Then you may remain in the Baek Ri Clan."
Baek Ri-ran's eyes widened, her body stiffening. The High Precept Temple was no ordinary hermitage. It was a strict place where even sleep, waking, meals, rest, and bathroom breaks were regimented. No servants allowed—everyone cooked, laundered, and tidied for themselves, focusing on self-cultivation. Great families often sent wayward members there for discipline.
"Second: You and So U-ak leave for the So Clan household together, leaving Baek Ri-pyo here. But you cannot return to the Baek Ri Clan until he comes of age."
"W-Wait just…"
"I'm not finished!"
Baek Ri-paehyeok silenced her and pointed at the twins, shouting the rest. "Finally! Take both children and leave. I'll ensure you never want for livelihood. But if you go, neither you nor your children will ever see me again."
At his final words, Baek Ri-ran's face crumpled as if the sky had fallen. "Ah… Father. Y-You're joking, right? That can't be."
"Decide now, or you can speak more if you wish!"
Trembling, Baek Ri-ran looked to Baek Ri-muk with tear-filled eyes. But he had no solution, merely bowing deeply in shared regret.
"N-No… How could I… How could I ever part from my children?"
Baek Ri-ran sobbed, pulling the twins into her embrace. The boys, terrified for some time now, clung to their mother and began weeping apologies.
After holding and rocking them for a while, Baek Ri-ran suddenly lifted her head. She crawled to Baek Ri-gang, clutching his robe like a lifeline.
"Yi-gang. Yi-gang. I'm sorry. I was wrong. Please, just say one word to Father for me."
Baek Ri-gang's gaze, silent through it all, turned to the sobbing twins. They were just a year younger than his own daughter.
But before he could ponder, Baek Ri-paehyeok roared, "If you have any shame, don't think Yi-gang will speak for you! No matter what he says, my decision stands!"
Crack! The armrest shattered after repeated blows.
"So U-ak, Baek Ri-pyo. This isn't the first time."
Baek Ri-paehyeok eyed the twins coldly. "Yi-gang's daughter was ill and busy caring for her, yet you asked for his precious time to spar and guide your training. Did you even visit once?"
Baek Ri-gang's expression grew grave.
"You only visit Baek Ri Clan disciples who fawn over you under the guise of sparring, flattering you while making no progress in martial arts! Ha, Mu Baek Divine Art, 3rd Star?"
Baek Ri-paehyeok let out a incredulous scoff. "Ignoring and bullying your little sister whenever you get the chance—do you think that's easy? Ridiculous! What can you learn with that attitude? This time, I'll straighten you out properly!"
In the end, Baek Ri-gang said nothing.
Baek Ri-ran released his robe limply and collapsed, sobbing on the floor.
Baek Ri-paehyeok looked down coldly and turned to Baek Ri-myeong next, as if it were his turn.
Baek Ri-myeong, sweating profusely amid the unfolding drama, bowed hastily. "Baek Ri-myeong, I had high expectations of you."
"This grandson was wrong, Grandfather."
"Do you know what you did wrong?"
As Baek Ri-myeong prepared to recite the rehearsed apologies he'd repeated in his mind, a servant's voice rang from outside the hall.
"Patriarch, Young Lady Baek Ri-yeon has arrived."