The Strategic Betrothal
Having spent a passionate night with his sisters, Tang Hwi had successfully tightened the bonds of their relationship. On the final day of the banquet, despite his heavy responsibilities as the general manager, he carved out some time. After all, he had made a promise to Jegal Hye to engage in a serious discussion about formation arts.
By creating a clone using the Yang-ui-shingong to handle the paperwork, Tang Hwi had managed to finish the major tasks by the morning while his main body roamed the banquet hall to oversee operations. With only trivial matters remaining, he had offloaded them to the Secretariat. Of course, this was done with the permission of the Patriarch, Tang Suryeon. The members of the Secretariat had pulled long faces at being suddenly dumped with his work, but what could they do? Once Tang Hwi mentioned that he was going to have an important discussion with Jegal Hye, Tang Suryeon had no choice but to grant permission, a reason the Secretariat found sufficiently convincing.
Creak. Tang Hwi closed the door to the guest room and stepped inside, where he found Jegal Hye sipping tea. As befitted a daughter of a prestigious clan, her movements were impeccably refined. "Young Lady. Have you been waiting long?"
"No. As a guest who requested this meeting, waiting is only natural. More importantly, can we get straight to the point?"
"Getting to the point is perfectly fine with me." However, there was something to be settled first. "But shouldn't we start by discussing the compensation? That is the proper order of things, isn't it?"
"That’s not wrong. You seem quite confident, bringing up the reward right away."
"It’s more that the reward I seek from you is mutually beneficial."
"And what is that?"
Tang Hwi looked at Jegal Hye, whose curiosity was piqued, and smiled faintly. "Let’s get engaged."
"…Excuse me?"
Jegal Hye stared at him with a gaze that had, without her realizing it, become incredibly rude. It was the look one might give a madman, but Tang Hwi didn't care. He had intentionally omitted details to catch her off guard and seize the initiative in the conversation. Tang Hwi continued with a sly grin.
"Ah. I don't mean a real one. I’m suggesting a fake engagement. Were you surprised?"
"……That’s an amusing joke. Setting aside the fact that it’s a ruse, do you have any idea what kind of talk would circulate if a broken engagement occurred between two of the Five Great Noble Clans?"
"I am well aware. My sister is a victim of such things. Isn't that why you turned the Iron Dragon into the Changing Dragon as part of your revenge?"
"And yet you want to break it off later? How do you intend to explain that to our respective families?" She frowned deeply, as if she didn't want to be the one stuck playing the villain.
"Young Lady, let’s think about this rationally. Even if it is a ruse, it’s not like either of us has someone we love, right?"
"Why do you assume I don't have a lover?"
"Well…." Tang Hwi trailed off, his gaze drifting to Jegal Hye’s hair. That deep pink color, rarely seen in the Central Plains, must have surely invited discrimination. Even within the Jegal Clan, it was obvious that she couldn't have stopped the commoners from gossiping about such exotic hair. Not only that, but she must have been treated poorly within the family as well. In such a situation, could a lover even exist? It would have been difficult for the Jegal Clan to even select a fiancé for a strategic marriage.
Jegal Hye frowned at the implication in Tang Hwi's eyes, but she soon relaxed her expression. "What about you, Young Master? Setting aside whether you have someone you love, surely your family has already picked a fiancée for you?"
"I was a good-for-nothing until recently. There are no women who like me. And because my father is the way he is, my mother detests strategic marriages."
"Ah! …My, my apologies." The infamy of Namgung Buryun was well-known. Having heard of it, Jegal Hye immediately lowered her tail.
"Regardless, for those reasons, I don't want to discuss marriage for the time being. Now that I've come to my senses, I've realized there is much to be done." In truth, it was because he had to conquer the Patriarch's Pavilion before a fiancée could even enter the picture, but there was no way for Jegal Hye to know that.
"Aren't you also aiming for the position of the clan's Young Patriarch? Use this fake engagement to make your opponents let their guard down."
"That’s not bad. But what if one of us finds someone we love later?"
"I have a plan for that, too. I understand that the Monster Dragon, currently the leading candidate for Young Patriarch, has a habit of viciously tormenting his opponents at the Dragon and Phoenix Gathering."
It wasn't for nothing that he was called the Monster Dragon despite being from the Jegal Clan. The nickname was earned because he would beat his opponents to a pulp every time he entered a match at the Dragon and Phoenix Gathering. The situations he created were so exquisite that people in the martial world would whisper about whether he was actually from the Evil Faction. It was just that, for a member of the Jegal Clan, his physical prowess was exceptional, and his intellect was high, so the family couldn't easily cast him aside.
"As your fiancé, I will inevitably end up making him a 'cripple,' and I will request an annulment, claiming I have no face to see you, my fiancée. I’ll offer a modest compensation as an apology, of course."
If he were to cripple their only son, would the Jegal Clan be pleased? Furthermore, if the Monster Dragon became a cripple and couldn't produce an heir, Jegal Hye, the remaining candidate, would naturally be chosen as the Young Patriarch. Since they couldn't marry off the Young Patriarch—the next head of the clan—to another family, an annulment would be the natural course of action.
"Since there would only be one candidate left, the Jegal Clan would have to request the annulment, but since it would be my fault, if the Tang Clan requests it and provides a modest compensation, we could save face. Wouldn't that be good for both of us?"
"That is true. If it goes exactly as you say, Tang Young Master." Jegal Hye’s eyes narrowed. Her gaze, which seemed cold and rational, held the intellectual atmosphere unique to the Jegal Clan.
"Iron Dragon—"
"It’s Changing Dragon."
"…The Changing Dragon is strong among the rising stars, but he is on the weaker side among the Nine Dragons. He was in the mid-stage of the Peak Realm, but the Monster Dragon is in the late-stage of the Peak Realm. Are you certain you can win?"
Even while thinking it was creepy that he insisted on correcting his title, Jegal Hye asked what means he possessed, perhaps because her ears were piqued. After all, it was a proposal that had no downsides for her.
"I have a certain method, but I will only reveal it once you accept my proposal."
"Isn't playing hard to get a bit much here?"
"Young Lady. This is a transaction. I am providing support to help you become the Young Patriarch, in exchange for your teachings on formation arts. Considering that, I think it’s a bit much that you’re only offering a fake engagement in return."
"……." Thinking about it, he was right, so Jegal Hye pressed her lips together. 'I’ve been played. At some point, I became so focused on his words that I completely lost the initiative…!' As a member of the Jegal Clan, renowned for their superior intellect, she had forgotten that this was a transaction and had handed over the initiative. However, that didn't mean she had nothing to say to Tang Hwi.
"This is a transaction, but it is also an investment you are making in me. After I become the head of the clan, couldn't I then establish a close alliance with the Sichuan Tang Clan?"
If you invest, you can get back several times the amount later. So why not be reasonable with your greed? Tang Hwi countered this attack with a face full of composure.
"An investment, you say. I would be crippling the Monster Dragon and acting as a shield to prevent you from being forced into a strategic marriage through this fake engagement… can you really repay that? If you don't, who knows? I might accidentally let the details of this agreement slip somewhere."
"In that case, wouldn't we just end up rolling in the mud together?"
There was circumstantial evidence, but no clear proof. Therefore, if they started a fight over this, it would only lead to a dirty war of nerves where neither side gained anything. When Jegal Hye pointed this out, Tang Hwi shrugged.
"You truly are not easy to deal with."
"Look who’s talking."
"I will concede. The method is… this."
"What on earth is that…?" Just as she was about to say something to Tang Hwi, who had raised his hand, Jegal Hye was left speechless. A teacup was floating above his hand, spinning round and round. It was the Void Grab, a symbol of the Master Realm. Jegal Hye was so shocked that her mouth hung open.
"It’s me." He said with a sly, satisfied smile at her shocked reaction. "I doubt there will be any rising star other than me who has reached the Master Realm by the time the next Dragon and Phoenix Gathering ends. Especially not the Monster Dragon."
"That, would be true…. There are only a few rising stars in the history of the martial world who have reached the Master Realm before the age of thirty…."
And those few rising stars were all considered candidates for the title of the Greatest Under Heaven. Jegal Hye felt dizzy. That meant the man in front of her was highly likely to be the next Greatest Under Heaven. The value of that glorious title, Greatest Under Heaven, was beyond words. Just by having such a master, a region would develop, and money would flow in. Wandering masters would flock there, hoping to stay as guests of the clan that housed the Greatest Under Heaven, and all sorts of matchmakers would come looking for him. Even if she only chose what she wanted from that, she would secure a robust power base that would seem to last forever, like the lights of a city that never sleeps.
Jegal Hye quickly composed her emotions and, for the first time, put on a soft, charming expression. Although her hair was pink, she was confident in her beauty. Why else would men's gazes constantly land on her unnecessarily large breasts? 'I have to become the clan head, so I can't marry him, but… the reverse is fine.' If, by any chance, Tang Hwi fell for her and entered the Jegal Clan as a matrilocal husband, the benefits would be too numerous to list.
"Young Master, I accept your proposal. So, shall we start discussing formation arts now?"
The attempt at using her charms, which was unlike her, was met with a response: "Young Lady…. You sound so unnatural, it’s honestly quite frightening. Just speak in your usual tone."
"……." It had failed miserably. Grind. She ground her teeth without realizing it.