Chapter 103
Chapter 103
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 103
Chapter Title: Part 3: Laying the Pieces (2)
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The personnel to enter the Won-gak Pavilion together had been called out by Elder Yeom himself.
Elder Yeom, Yeom Baek-ha, and the warrior captain to escort Yeom Baek-ha.
Even when Head Maid Jeong-a said everyone could come in, Elder Yeom insisted there was no need to trouble family with too many people and selected only the minimum.
It was the Old Strategist himself who stopped Yeom Baek-ha as she was about to inform her father that the Old Strategist had been excluded.
“Miss.”
Amid the bustle as the Won-gak Pavilion maids began guiding the procession, the Old Strategist spoke quickly.
“This old man, who has spent his life buried in military strategy, entering the Eldest Young Master’s private quarters—essentially his inner chambers—without an invitation would be like picking a fight.”
“But…”
The Old Strategist pressed on swiftly, cutting off Yeom Baek-ha’s words.
“Your father isn’t bringing you in to show you off to the Eldest Young Master simply as a patient.”
The deep eyes beneath the Old Strategist’s long eyebrows met Yeom Baek-ha’s squarely.
“The most important reason is that you are your father’s ‘heir.’”
“...!”
Yeom Baek-ha felt as if lightning coursed down her spine.
As one of the Won-gak Pavilion maids approached with a smiling face, the Old Strategist chuckled softly and handed her the donkey’s reins.
“Old Strategist…”
Without even glancing back at Yeom Baek-ha, the Old Strategist followed the maid, entrusting himself to the donkey.
‘Me, Father’s heir…’
It was a thought she had never entertained before.
She had always believed her duty as a daughter was to marry the son-in-law her father chose for her and bear a child before his life ended.
But the Old Strategist, practically her father’s right-hand man, had declared it.
‘This Yeom Baek-ha is Father’s heir.’
That had to be her father’s will as well.
Her spine straightened resolutely, and the mind that had shrunk in awe of the object of her admiration cleared in an instant.
Even White Tiger’s steps toward her father, waiting right in front of the main gate, gained vigor.
* * *
Once Elder Yeom’s group disappeared into the depths of the Won-gak Pavilion under Head Maid Jeong-a’s guidance, one of the special duty agents guarding the main gate let out a sigh without realizing it.
“Intimidating, huh.”
He nodded at his comrade’s words as the latter approached.
“Yeah.”
Elder Yeom’s serene yet intensely powerful aura still lingered in his eyes, standing there so calmly.
“Yeom Gak-chu—no, Elder Yeom—seems to just keep getting stronger without end.”
One of his comrades, secretly wiping cold sweat, smirked.
“That’s what it takes to be one of the main family’s top swordsmen, right?”
They all nodded slightly in agreement.
One of them, a former training comrade of Elder Yeom, gazed at his right hand.
“If this right hand of mine had survived, could I have become like him…?”
The top-grade prosthetic provided by the Council of Elders clanked.
At that, a comrade nearby jeered.
“With your level, it’s not that your right hand’s gone—it’s that even having an extra one wouldn’t have been enough.”
“What?!”
Just then, a maid came running up lightly from inside.
“The Head Maid says no chit-chat during duty.”
With that, the maid bowed her head politely and vanished back into the Won-gak Pavilion.
They all exchanged wry smiles at her relayed words.
“Does Lady Jeong-a have eyes everywhere or something…?”
One comrade, straightening his posture after the reprimand, replied via transmission.
‘Someone with the talent to stand alongside Elder Yeom must be what they mean by Lady Jeong-a’s caliber as a warrior.’
Another comrade chimed in via transmission.
‘A woman that young, barely started wielding a sword, and she’s already mastered Flash Shadow Instant Sword?’
‘In a few years—maybe even sooner—she’ll join the ranks of masters.’
‘Another genius born in the main family to follow Lady I-gong, called Seamless Heavenly Robe…!’
* * *
They had wasted some time soothing White Tiger, spooked by the powerful barrier-level formation created by the forest of the Won-gak Pavilion, but they finally succeeded in entering the woodland path.
“What an incredible formation…”
Head Maid Jeong-a simply smiled at Yeom Baek-ha’s unwitting murmur and led the way ahead.
‘Not even the Life Gate is visible.’
As familiar with military treatises as she was with legal texts, she still couldn’t even begin to read this terrifying formation, let alone find the Life Gate.
She could only follow behind Jeong-a as she guided them along the path.
Even if they had brought the Old Strategist, versed in military strategy, she couldn’t guarantee he could locate the Life Gate here.
‘Miss, did you see those maids?’
At the warrior captain’s transmission, Yeom Baek-ha, unable to transmit, gave a small nod.
Every maid following behind Jeong-a in the Won-gak Pavilion carried a sword without exception.
Though Yeom Baek-ha couldn’t use internal energy, having grown up practically in the military world, she could roughly gauge their levels by sight.
The warrior captain’s transmission continued.
‘Each one is more than qualified to join any decent Sword Unit in the main family within a few years.’
Yeom Baek-ha swallowed a silent groan.
Why would the Eldest Young Master keep warriors of that caliber as maids?
Before she could fully ponder it, the forest ended, and the true fairy-like scenery of the Won-gak Pavilion unfolded.
But neither Yeom Baek-ha nor the warrior captain took in the beautiful vista.
“Are the gifts being sorted properly?”
“Poetry, calligraphy, and paintings go this way, please.”
“Senior maid, the gifts from the General’s song…”
Dozens of maids were deftly handling the ever-growing piles of gifts with practiced skill.
And every one of those maids carried a sword.
‘…They’re all around the same level. Especially the one in maid attire.’
After a pause, the warrior captain continued via transmission.
‘…At least on par with, or superior to, our Sword Unit’s warriors. Roughly estimating their numbers, they’re about twice ours, making their total force equivalent to a full Sword Unit.’
Indeed.
The Eldest Young Master already effectively commanded his own Sword Unit made of maids.
‘As you know, miss, the main family’s Sword Units overcome the slight deficiencies in individual abilities through group tactics—that’s their purpose.’
The warrior captain massaged his stiff neck as he transmitted.
‘But if my eyes aren’t deceiving me, each of those maids has talent surpassing the standard required for a typical Sword Unit.’
And that meant the Sword Unit—Elder Yeom’s father’s key card in negotiations with the Eldest Young Master, bound by fate—was overshadowed.
Yeom Baek-ha clenched her eyes shut.
* * *
In her view, the outcomes her father, Elder Yeom, could achieve through negotiations with the Eldest Young Master were as follows.
Of course, the best would be treating his daughter while avoiding any political fallout.
But to her, that seemed utterly impossible.
‘If Father had such a clever scheme, he wouldn’t look so determined.’
Even in the best case, things would unfold like this.
He would entrust his daughter—herself—to the Won-gak Pavilion after agreeing to treatment.
Full recovery required treatment during unpredictable seizures.
Yet to outsiders, it would look as if his daughter was held hostage by the Eldest Young Master, making Elder Yeom appear as part of his faction.
Thus, Elder Yeom’s hard-earned neutral political position would shatter, leaving him isolated thereafter.
The problem was that this wasn’t even the ‘worst’ case—it was the second-worst.
The worst would be the Eldest Young Master holding his daughter hostage and using Elder Yeom as a puppet elder.
‘I want to believe that won’t happen…’
In her judgment, the most realistic best outcome for her father was to become a ‘valued asset’ to the Eldest Young Master.
Even if other political positions crumbled, at least favorable treatment from his side offered a chance at survival.
‘But to achieve that, Father’s value must be highly appraised by the Eldest Young Master…’
His greatest value lay in his elder position and the Sword Unit called the war advisory group.
But the Eldest Young Master already had what amounted to a Sword Unit of maids.
Yeom Baek-ha’s gaze flicked momentarily to her father’s demeanor, but Elder Yeom simply walked on silently, revealing nothing.
‘Father…’
All that remained was his martial prowess as Sword Mountain Breaker and his elder status.
Elder Yeom’s strength, as one of the Luoyang Sword Clan’s top swordsmen, was formidable, and as far as she knew, the Eldest Young Master lacked such a powerhouse.
‘There’s still a card left.’
But moments later, even that thought crumbled spectacularly.
“This is the Eldest Young Master’s office.”
It was a refined hall.
Guarding its front was a single warrior in special duty uniform.
Uniquely, he wore five swords, and at the sight, the warrior captain jumped in shock.
“Five swords… no way, are you Life-Seizing Ghost Sword?!”
Yeom Baek-ha couldn’t hide her own surprise at the words.
“The Sword Clan’s most ferocious blade!”
Though the man bearing that name had been active long ago, it was famous enough for even Yeom Baek-ha, still in her prime youth, to know.
The middle-aged warrior called Life-Seizing Ghost Sword neither confirmed nor denied, merely offering Elder Yeom a curt bow.
But that very action confirmed his identity as Life-Seizing Ghost Sword.
“…Life-Seizing Ghost Sword. Hiding in a place like this?”
Even Elder Yeom, who had shown utmost composure until now, couldn’t keep a trace of emotion from his voice.
“‘A place like this’? Watch your words, Elder Yeom. This is the Eldest Young Master’s residence, the Won-gak Pavilion.”
It was phrasing no one should dare use toward Elder Yeom, an elder, yet none could call Life-Seizing Ghost Sword’s tone improper.
After all, he had already been one of the Luoyang Sword Clan’s top swordsmen back when Elder Yeom was rising to prominence.
“I apologize. That wasn’t my intent. I was simply startled to encounter a famed warrior in such an unexpected place.”
It was the first meeting between Elder Yeom, who had shaken the North with his great renown, and Life-Seizing Ghost Sword, who had terrorized the South with his infamous dread.
“Is that so? Then this meeting must be fate…”
“…Indeed.”
The tension flowing between them felt like the surrounding temperature dropping sharply.
White Tiger quickly retreated, and the warrior captain blocked in front to protect Yeom Baek-ha.
As the two top swordsmen slowly revealed their terrifying auras, it seemed the entire Won-gak Pavilion plunged into deep silence.
The imminent clash they evoked was shattered as if by magic by a low voice that rang out.
“Life-Seizing Ghost Sword! Enough fooling around—bring the guests inside.”
So exquisitely timed was it that even these two masters, unfathomable in their realms, swallowed and stepped back.
Elder Yeom suppressed his surging wariness, his face puzzled.
“…Life-Seizing Ghost Sword?”
At the word, Life-Seizing Ghost Sword snapped his head around and gruffly opened the office door.
“Master. The guests have arrived.”
Head Maid Jeong-a, who had maintained her composure throughout, bowed politely toward the interior, and a reply came from within.
“Let them enter.”
Striding forward, Elder Yeom scooped up his daughter Yeom Baek-ha and said to the warrior captain.
“Wait here.”
“Yes, my lord.”
Yeom Baek-ha said nothing, nestling demurely in her father’s arms.
Elder Yeom’s embrace, with his ever-bold strides, was as reassuring as always.
Yet at that moment, she realized it.
With Life-Seizing Ghost Sword’s appearance, her father’s card of top swordsman prowess had collapsed.
Now, only the value of his main family elder position remained.
A chill ran through Yeom Baek-ha.
Could the arrangement of everyone they’d met so far have been the Eldest Young Master’s intent?
A profound scheme to force her father to stand bare before him.
She was certain.
The man awaiting them now, Eldest Young Master Yeon So-hyeon, was incomparable to any foe her father had faced before.
More fearsome than any opponent her father had broken.
But she did not close her eyes.
She resolved not to miss the moment her fate was decided.
For she was her father’s daughter, the heir of Luoyang Sword Clan Elder Yeom Gak-chu.
Father and daughter passed unflinchingly through the office entrance, gaping like a giant monster’s maw.
At the end of the dark, short corridor stood a boy holding the office doors wide open on both sides.
“Welcome.”
The boy greeted them with a thick, expressionless smile.