Parasites in the Lion's Body
After Yeon So-hyeon and Kong Yo left the Administrative Wing, the newly appointed overall head of that wing—Hongdokjiju—was already running a meeting, without so much as a moment to inspect her own office.
"…In that case, we would do well to respond to this matter exactly as the First Young Master instructed."
The people seated around her nodded in agreement. No one was about to quibble over an item for which the First Young Master himself had already prepared a response guideline.
"Then we shall decide to handle it that way, and move on to the next agenda item…"
Beside her, the administrative chief maid who had long coordinated with the Fourth Young Master was turning a page of documents when a knock sounded at the office door.
"Chief Administrator! Urgent report!"
The cry from outside made Hongdokjiju's heart drop. Aagh! Just hearing that voice makes my stomach turn…! But neither the Fourth Young Master nor the First Young Master was present. The one responsible was her—and her alone.
"Enter."
Her voice was calm and dignified. With the help of her extremely thick makeup, she betrayed not the slightest outward tremor.
"Geomga Jeonjang has accepted a request made by a support division of the Business Support Corps."
At the messenger's report, the room stirred.
"Come now. We expected the review of that request to take a considerable amount of time, did we not?"
"At the very least, we thought they would go through the motions of reviewing it."
"It's as if Geomga Jeonjang had been waiting for this to move."
Someone of no small standing within Geomga Jeonjang itself had clearly taken a hand in this.
"Everyone, do not be shaken."
At Hongdokjiju's words, every mouth closed and every head bowed.
"Yes, Chief Administrator."
As the office settled at once into a composed atmosphere, Hongdokjiju marveled inwardly. Indeed… there was a reason the Head of the Great Academy recommended these people so strongly. Just as Grand Academician Kong Yo had been confident they would, these were men and women tempered in real practice—veterans who had weathered every trial across their respective fields.
"As for how we deal with this urgent report—when the time comes, this Chief Administrator will step forward and resolve it herself. For now, keep your focus on the matters presently before us."
No sooner had she finished speaking than the room behaved as if it had already forgotten the contents of the report.
"Regarding the next item…"
"In my experience, situations like this call for approaching from a new perspective…"
Even as they developed the discussion, they kept glancing at Hongdokjiju from time to time. Heavens. She heard a report like that and didn't show the least agitation.Indeed… she looks more than equal to the post of overall head. The First Young Master's skill at employing people is outstanding as well.
"An excellent method, grounded in a fresh point of view. Let us take that approach as our foundation and draft a plan."
Whether or not she noticed the admiration in their gazes, Hongdokjiju calmly guided the meeting forward. Th-thank goodness…! She swallowed a sigh of relief deep enough that none of them could catch it. Everything is unfolding exactly as the First Young Master told me it would…!
If Yeon So-hyeon had not left her those private predictions, what then? She might still have kept any outward agitation from her new subordinates—but she would have been so busy wrestling with countermeasures that she could never have concentrated on the meeting itself. Thank you, First Young Master…! It was Yeon So-hyeon's meticulous consideration: a way for her to adapt swiftly to her new post and win ready recognition from her new subordinates.
By the time she had thanked him about ten times in her heart, the meeting ended.
"Thank you all for your hard work."
She addressed the others as they rose, gathering themselves from their seats.
"This is everyone's first time working for this Sword Family, so if anything even slightly irregular arises, report it to this Chief Administrator at once."
"Yes, Chief Administrator. Of course."
As they left the office, one figure who had remained behind raised a hand carefully.
"However, Chief Administrator…"
At his cautious tone, Hongdokjiju softened her expression and answered gently.
"You would be Scholar Yang, the former jinshi, would you not? A man of your standing need not raise his hand. Come over here and speak freely, without reserve."
"Thank you."
Impressed that she already knew both his background and his face, Scholar Yang carefully opened his mouth.
"…As I understand it, the First Young Master's intelligence organization lies outside the Sword Family."
"That is so."
The organization outside the Sword Family he meant was surely Hyeonwol Pavilion.
"Then how is it that information from inside the Sword Family arrives this quickly—and this accurately?"
Both earlier and just now, the urgent reports the messenger had brought were the sort of intelligence only an insider could possibly grasp.
The Business Support Corps' support division declaring a halt to funding for the Valley of Sin project.
Following that, the Business Support Corps requesting, through Geomga Jeonjang, the full recovery of the support funds it had invested in our side.
Geomga Jeonjang accepting the request made by that support division of the Sword Family Support Corps.
By what means did the First Young Master possess an intelligence net that seemed to see straight through the Luoyang Yeon Family?
"Heh heh. Now that you mention it, Scholar Yang, you were an applicant for the Administrative Wing's intelligence department, weren't you?"
At her words, Scholar Yang bowed his head.
"Ah—yes. That is so. Given that the work I did outside was of a related nature…"
He cut himself off and shook his head.
"Ah! Thinking on it, this is not something someone who only joined today has any right to ask."
He apologized to her with an embarrassed look.
"I raised the matter needlessly and wasted the Chief Administrator's valuable time. I am truly sorry."
"Not at all, not at all. For a man of Scholar Yang's caliber, I believe it is a perfectly fair question."
It was not an answer born of being swept along by his apologetic mood. From Henan Province, Central Government Office, Information Security Division. Resigned after clashing with a superior who had been siphoning official information for sale. Outstanding ability. Reliability: High. A confidential dossier on Scholar Yang's background already sat in her mind—the product of a joint effort between Kong Yo and Yeon So-hyeon, who had passed along personal particulars for key recruits in advance.
More precisely, while Yeon So-hyeon conducted brief one-on-one interviews with the principal figures, the first round of verification had already been completed. For security, Chief Maid Jeong-a had remained out of sight in the Ironclad Fortress, and through her Dragon Eyes—Yong-an—she had read the innermost thoughts of every person who spoke with Yeon So-hyeon. Extremely tight-lipped, quick to read a situation. Holds responsibility dear. For the sake of a greater cause, he will show absolute devotion to the organization he belongs to. Of course, the matter of Jeong-a was something even Hongdokjiju did not know. Tang Gwi-ho, Vice Head of the Sichuan Tang Family, whom they had met some time before, had once alluded to Jeong-a's ability. After that, Yeon So-hyeon had further tightened information security around her, and Jeong-a had not shown herself outside at all.
"That the Chief Administrator would say as much—I am nothing but grateful…! I shall withdraw for now."
Apparently moved by her words, he expressed his thanks yet did not dare press further, and with sharp instincts made to leave. Exactly the man the report described.
Confirming that the office was now empty save for her administrative maid, Hongdokjiju spoke toward his retreating back.
"Scholar Yang."
Berating himself for having asked an impertinent question out of excitement, Scholar Yang answered in haste.
"Ah—yes. Please speak."
"Your thought is correct."
"…Pardon?"
Hongdokjiju smiled at him.
"The First Young Master also maintains, within the Sword Family itself, an intelligence organization fine enough to stand comparison with any other."
"Ah…!"
Was she placing her trust in him? It was only as much information as was permissible—but it was more than enough to move Scholar Yang's heart.
"Chief Administrator! Thank you!"
Watching him leave the office with his zeal rekindled, Hongdokjiju smiled. Because a corrupt superior harassed him at every turn and found fault with his work, his hunger for recognition is especially strong—just as they said. The report was frighteningly accurate. I think I can keep doing well from here on…!
As she leaned back in her chair with a pleased smile and stretched, an administrative maid entered from the secretariat.
"These are the new documents for approval that came in during the meeting."
At the sight of the approval requests stacked so high they hid the maid's face, Hongdokjiju's own face went pale in an instant.
"Ugh…!"
A short while later, once more drowned in a wave of paperwork, she paused mid-stamp.
"Come to think of it…"
She recalled her exchange with Scholar Yang. I myself know almost nothing about the First Young Master's internal intelligence organization within the main house. By what means had the First Young Master, Yeon So-hyeon, built an intelligence organization inside the security-obsessed Luoyang Yeon Family—and how had he kept extracting insider-level information and operating it to this day? And this, from a man who until recently had been living in seclusion?
"Chief Administrator."
The administrative maid, glancing at her, spoke up.
"Your hand has stopped."
"Ah—I know! I know!"
She shuddered and returned to her work. Thoughts of the intelligence organization had already vanished from her mind. After all, was there only one or two things about the First Young Master's actions that defied understanding?
Somewhere in the Luoyang Yeon Family—a warehouse.
A servant who had brought food supplies by cart was moving the load together with the warehouse hands.
"Whew. That's the last of it."
"Much obliged."
While the warehouse servants, after a bout of hard labor, gathered in one place and chattered noisily, the man who had driven the cart stood a little apart, quietly smoking cheap tobacco.
"Hey—did you hear? Today the Vice Director of the Financial Headquarters is running around like his tail's on fire."
"Course I heard. With temperamental types, you've always got to keep track of their mood, or else."
"The Vice Director's in a bad mood today?"
"Not so much bad as looking for a fight with every underling he sees. Something about important guests being here."
Mid-conversation, they realized an outsider—the cart-driver—was with them, and cut their talk short. They, too, had received the Luoyang Yeon Family's basic security training, and so did not share truly important matters even among themselves.
"I'll be off, then. Take care of yourselves."
Sensing their cautious glances, the carter who had brought the supplies rose.
"Watch yourself out there!"
"And make sure the vegetables are the fresh ones next time!"
With the tobacco still between his teeth, he climbed onto the shabby freight cart, waved, and bid the warehouse hands farewell.
"Hiyah."
After a brief, honey-sweet rest, the draft horses ambled into motion. So the Vice Director of the Financial Headquarters is receiving distinguished guests. He had not heard who those guests were, but it did not matter. A mere ignorant laborer like him hardly knew who the Vice Director was, or what the man even did. He only needed to report what he had heard and seen.
"Come on, then. Let's head back, you lot."
He drove the freight cart away from Geomga Jeonjang's food warehouse.
"So, Park—you're saying guests in silk clothes went pouring in?"
At the question of a middle-aged maidservant who could never resist a rumor, the servant sweeping the street straightened his back and answered.
"And expensive silk, no doubt about it. If I dressed my wife in clothes made of that stuff, she'd look like a fairy, no question."
After a brief stretch of gossip about the wife of the man called Park, the middle-aged maid naturally steered the topic back.
"And the clothes they wore—all the same style? Must have been people from the same house, then."
Though he had never said any such thing, the servant unthinkingly contradicted her.
"What are you talking about? Those old men were all wearing different clothes. No way they were from the same family."
That was enough. Old men. Highest-grade silk. All from different families. The middle-aged maid moved smoothly on to the next subject.
The Luoyang Yeon Family's security training was solid enough—but among those who worked under the same house, the exchange of information was often a necessity.
"So—those high-ranking gentlemen in the silk clothes. Where were they said to be from?"
Hidden in a corner of a back alley, checking left and right, a servant answered in a near-whisper.
"I don't know who they are, but I heard they came out of the Second Young Master's camp."
"And what's the proof they aren't people from inside the main house?"
"Each of them rode a different carriage and moved all at once, they say."
The one who had stored the needed information in his head spoke.
"Good. Your turn to ask this time."
The other asked carefully.
"As promised—tell me about Maid Hyangdan of the Reception Hall. What she likes. What she dislikes. Everything."
"Heh heh. Helping a man in love is always a rewarding business."
"Oh, come on. Enough of that nonsense…!"
"Did you get it all down?"
"All of it."
There were no greetings. The carter drove his draft horses on toward his original destination.
"That's everything. Did you get it all down?"
"All of it."
The middle-aged maid balanced a load of laundry on her head and headed for the washing place.
The one who had, for a time, written down the details people had called out to him slipped the scraps of paper into his robes and left. No one found anything strange about a servant recording the entry ledger at the gate.
An old servant who had been pretending to dry glaze on jars set out by the roadside quietly picked up one of the jars before him and started walking.
The place the old man reached was the underground space of an empty warehouse.
"……"
Many people came and went below, but not one of them spoke. The less one knew, the better. Knowing nothing at all was better than knowing even a single thing.
"Hangdo Street."
The old man handed the jar to the clerk and left. A maidservant carrying the jar entered the inner chamber—a zone no outsider could ever set foot in.
"Unprocessed intelligence from Hangdo Street."
When she upended the jar onto the table, scraps of paper bearing fragmentary information spilled out. The maids inside sorted them with quick hands and began to copy them. They simply transferred the contents into cipher according to the code book. There was no need to compile or analyze the information. That was not work for maids, and they had no talent for it in any case. Nor was there any reason for information to leak from their lips. Every last one of them, without exception, had been brainwashed by someone's methods.
And so the information moved on to somewhere else.
Somewhere, intelligence pooled as water pools; at the next stage, the gathered intelligence pooled again somewhere else—and in the end, all of it flowed toward a single place.
That place was none other than the Luoyang Yeon Family's Steward Department.
"Chief Steward."
"Come in."
The man who held authority over the training and assignment of every underling of the Luoyang Yeon Family—save those who served the Family Head's household under the Inner Court. The same man who, long ago, had sent Jeong-a and the maid corps to the First Young Master, Yeon So-hyeon. The Chief Steward pointed to a corner of his desk.
"Leave it there."
Knowing his temperament, the maid set the documents down at once and withdrew quickly.
"Now then—let's see."
He drew out the cipher document that had been slipped unnoticed among the papers. His eyes moved swiftly as he scanned the raw intelligence it held. The heads of influential houses who have joined hands with the Second Young Master's side are visiting Geomga Jeonjang. The one receiving them is the Vice Director of the Financial Headquarters.
After burning the cipher text in the brazier, he took up his brush, wrote a short note, and called toward the outside.
"Summon a messenger!"
The messenger would hand the sealed note to the Luoyang Yeon Family's postal bureau, and the postal bureau would deliver it outside the family. The front business of Hyeonwol Pavilion that received the note from a postal errand boy would then handle it according to security procedure. What followed after that was not something even the Chief Steward needed to know—and so he took no interest in it.
In the end, as always, the note would arrive with perfect accuracy at its true master: the First Young Master, Yeon So-hyeon.
And by his judgment, the information would be passed on to those who needed it.