The Sorrows of the Young Master
Anyone can have a goal in life.
Some people live for profit.
You might call that selfish, but who was in a position to criticize a man for pursuing his own gain?
Some people lived for others instead.
A noble, selfless life.
And then there were those who lived for their own convictions.
For the search for an unchanging truth.
So what was my goal in life?
I didn’t really have one.
Aside from the face I’d been lucky enough to inherit, I was a useless man with nothing else going for him.
There was only one thing I admired.
A righteous knight-errant.
Someone whose actions might not fit the usual definition of justice, but whose words could be trusted, who always kept his promises, and who would stand against the strong to protect the weak.
Wasn’t every martial artist supposed to carry at least a little of that spirit in their chest?
From that moment on, the knight-errant became my goal in life.
But to walk that path, above all else, you needed power….
Back then, I hadn’t realized that.
What a stupid thing.
Not even understanding something so simple….
"So I lost…."
"……."
Looking at his son before him, the man murmured in a low, empty voice.
"To a little girl, at that…."
It wasn’t a question.
It wasn’t even an attempt to confirm the facts.
It was just a line stripped of everything—disappointment, anger, even feeling itself.
That hollow tone stabbed into his heart like a blade.
"…S-sorry… Father…."
He pressed his forehead to the floor and forced out a voice that wouldn’t come.
Begging, apologizing, pleading….
The man looked down at his trembling son with cold, unfeeling eyes.
"Enough. It was my mistake to expect anything from you."
His voice was so cold it seemed to carry frost.
And yet the son’s face lit up with relief.
"R-really?"
Of course, it didn’t last long.
"Disappear."
"Pardon?"
The son blinked, as if he’d misheard.
So the man repeated himself.
Clearly.
"Get lost. You are no longer my son."
"F-father?"
"And if you’re no longer my son, then you have no right to remain in the Chae Family."
In an instant, despair flooded the son’s face.
"W-what do you mean by that, Father?"
"I am no longer your father."
The man’s voice was sharp enough to cut.
"Fine. Go live your life playing at being a righteous knight-errant, since that’s what you like so much. I won’t say it twice. Leave the Chae Family today."
"Father! Father!!! Mother, say something!"
"…Haah."
A heavy sigh slipped out, but she said nothing.
She only looked at her son with eyes full of pity.
The man rose and walked deeper into the room.
And then he spoke once more.
His tone was as cold as ever, never once turning to look at his son.
"I said, disappear from my sight."
It was the final sentence.
"Father!! Father! I’m sorry. I’m sorry!"
The son clung to the man’s trousers, only to be shoved away so violently that he tumbled across the floor.
"F-father…."
His pained voice echoed through the room, but no one paid it any mind.
"Take him out!"
"Yes, sir!"
The servants moved with perfect coordination and seized both of his arms.
"This is the family head’s order."
"Wh-what do you mean by this! I’m the Chae Family’s eldest son, the heir!"
The man’s roar rang out.
"Throw that bastard out right now! He’s no longer one of the Chae Family. Expel him at once."
""Yes! Understood!!""
"Let go, you bastards! Do you know who I am?"
Thwack!
"Kh, k-kagh!!"
Thud!
Smack!
"Ughh, F-father…."
"Wouldn’t it be easier if you just left quietly? Why do you make people work so hard!"
"You’ve lived in comfort and luxury all this time thanks to your bloodline…! Have one more for good measure!"
"Tsk tsk… to think you can’t even beat a couple of servants…. I can’t believe that fool was ever my son."
His cries of pain rang through the Chae Family residence, but no one answered his screams.
—The man disappeared inside without so much as looking back once.
His mother was the same.
Pathetic.
*****
"W-what do you mean? You’re serious?"
"I heard you. I heard you were expelled from the Chae Family."
She set her teacup down with a sharp clack and spoke.
She had just heard something shocking.
And it had come from the lips of the man she loved and was engaged to.
"Y-you’re breaking off our engagement?"
The words that left her mouth were almost impossible to believe.
"Yes. I’ve even received a better introduction. I did think about it a lot, though."
She paused there and cleared her throat.
"Whether I truly loved you, that is."
"What are you talking about…."
Don’t tell me…
Was she throwing me away because I was no longer the Chae Family heir?
"You said I was the one you loved most. That you’d love me for the rest of your life…."
"I did say that back then. But…."
Watching her choose her words as if she were deliberately toying with me, I could already guess what was coming next.
No… don’t say it! Don’t say it!
"What I meant was that I loved everything about you, including your family."
Words I had never wanted to hear from the woman I loved.
She took a sip of tea and continued.
"If you think about it, we were only engaged because of our families’ promise, weren’t we? Even if it had been someone else, the result would’ve been the same."
Each of her calm, matter-of-fact words, as if it were all already over, became a dagger stabbing straight into my heart.
So I hadn’t been special to her….
"Besides, the person I’m meeting this time is the heir of the Martial Alliance. You should be a little more proud. It’s what you’d call an honorable death, isn’t it?"
"H-how could you… all I did for you…."
"You really don’t look like a great knight-errant right now. You always said you wanted to become one, didn’t you? Or was that a lie?"
My fiancée—no, my former fiancée—smiled brightly.
And the mockery hidden in that smile was more than enough to tear my heart to pieces.
"I’m going back to my family now."
"……."
"Take care. And don’t catch a cold."
And just like that, I was disgracefully thrown out the door.
This can’t be…
And from that day on, a strange rumor began to spread.
The rumor that the young master, expelled from the Chae Family, had flown into a rage and assaulted a woman.
"I didn’t do it. I’ve never even seen that woman!"
"Hic, sob…."
"You’re still denying it? The victim’s tears are proof enough!"
"What a vicious bastard…."
"You beast! Tell us the truth already!!"
I was beaten for a long time, told to confess to something I hadn’t done, but how could I admit to a crime I hadn’t committed?
"You rotten bastard…."
In the end, there wasn’t enough evidence to keep me locked up, so I was released. But the way people looked at me had turned ugly.
Why the hell am I in this kind of state…?
A sour, metallic smell clung to my mouth.
I asked my friends for help, but….
One.
"Cheon Sojin is here? No. I won’t see him."
"So-young! Wait—!"
"Don’t ever show your face in front of me again, you piece of trash."
Two.
"Ah, So… Sojin."
"Seol-ah, I need a favor."
"S-sorry! Please don’t talk to me anymore!"
Three.
"Ju-ha. Wait a second!"
"……Hmph."
…None of it mattered.
I stared blankly at their retreating backs as they drifted away without a care.
Pathetic.
What kind of life have I even been living?
Unbelievable.
Shuffling forward, I wandered the marketplace with unsteady steps.
That was all I could do.
I’d been too shocked for anything else.
Was my family really that important? Why wouldn’t anyone believe me?
"……."
It was miserable beyond words.
By the time I caught sight of an inn, someone called out to me.
"Young master, what are you doing here? It’s cold—come this way."
The drifters I’d taken in when I was young.
"You look depressed. How about a drink with us, young master?"
"Young master, cheer up a little."
"Exactly! On days like this, jukyeobcheong is the best!"
Those who wanted to live like human beings, at least.
I looked at the drifters in silence.
Right. My martial skill might be a little behind. But that’s not what matters.
I still had yi—righteousness.
"Today, we’re treating you, young master! Come on this way!"
"Thanks."
I didn’t know it then.
That I shouldn’t have followed them.
"Young master… do you really think you can survive in this brutal martial world being that naive?"
"At this rate, you’ll end up doing something stupid again, helping people right up until some alley thug guts you. Whether you die now or later, isn’t that the same kind of life?"
"If that’s the case, then just die for us instead. Isn’t that the righteousness hyung taught you!"
"Y-you guys… how could you do this to me…."
"What are you waiting for? Hurry up and kill him."
"Don’t worry about us, young master…. We’ve already been paid very handsomely for taking care of you."
He pulled a pile of gold bars from his robe and showed them off.
"W-who? Who hired you?"
"Who else? I’d love to tell you as a parting gift on your way to the Yellow Springs, but I can’t."
"Think hard about it. The road to the afterlife is a rough one, so you’ll have plenty of time to think."
This couldn’t be happening.
Why?
Why was I in this kind of state?
Deep regret swept through every corner of my body.
Ah…
I hadn’t even understood something this simple.
I had lacked strength.
"Stop him!"
"Hurry and catch him!!"
And so I ran, only to miss my footing and tumble off the cliff—but somehow, by pure luck, I survived.
No, it was hard to call this living….
The smell of blood stabbed at my nose, and every movement sent a savage pain through my body.
"Ugh…."
With my level of skill, there was no way I could climb back up the cliff. I’d either starve to death here or bleed out.
It was a painful life, but…
At least I was still breathing.
"Huff… cough!"
A cough mixed with blood burst from my throat before long.
When I lifted my head, I saw a small altar deep inside the cave.
For now…
I should sit there and rest.
"I really am a piece of shit, aren’t I."
Hauling my body up with difficulty, I mocked myself in a low voice.
Did a worthless bastard like me even deserve to live?
Talk of righteousness was honestly ridiculous.
Even the people I trusted had abandoned me. What a joke.
Rage welled up in me, but I was weak—a fool who could do nothing.
I didn’t want to live anymore.
Then a carving caught my eye.
"Soultaking Scripture?"
Those were the words engraved on the altar.
It was a sliver of a possibility, but I was done for either way.
I had nothing left to lose.
Nothing left to regret.
As I followed the words on the inscription, the altar slowly began to darken with a blackish-red hue.
"……."
So this would be the end, then.
As the strange light flickered, the final thought in my mind was simple:
I hoped they would regret it too, just like I did.
*
*
*
The red light faded away.
The man who had lain there as if dead slowly rose to his feet.
"No way…."
##