The Prestige of the Eldest Young Master
Early morning.
Luoyang Sword House.
The Sword House Bank, main branch.
The Sword House Bank was notorious for opening at its leisure only after the sun had climbed high, finally deigning to receive its patrons. Yet what choice was there? The side holding the money was theirs; the side that needed it had no choice but to endure.
Today, however, the main branch of the Sword House Bank was different.
"Hey now…! You there! Still not finished sweeping the street?!"
A mid-level supervisor who had come out for inspection shouted in surprise.
"Aigoo, Elder…!"
The servants waved their hands and bowed their heads in apology.
"We've put three times as many people on it! At this rate it's going far cleaner and faster than usual—"
"Enough!"
Ordinarily the supervisor would have piled on the scolding to tighten discipline. Instead—
"Hand that over…!"
"Elder?!"
—he seized a spare broom and began sweeping the street himself.
While the servants stood dumbfounded, the supervisor barked at his subordinates.
"What are you doing, gawking?! Get to work!"
For a moment the servants could scarcely believe these were the same Sword House Bank staff who normally swaggered about. Then they understood why.
"He's coming…!"
In the distance a bank employee came running, drenched in sweat, and cried out:
"The Eldest Young Master is coming!"
It was a rare spectacle indeed. The haughty Sword House Bank—its main branch, no less—had every last employee lined up at the entrance, bowing deeply to welcome someone. Such a thing was almost without precedent.
In the silence so absolute one might have heard sweat dripping from bowed foreheads onto the marble floor, footsteps approached.
Thud. Thud.
Sword-bearing maids and servant girls followed behind, yet to their ears only the sound of Yeon So-hyeon's footsteps rang with perfect clarity.
In the past, when the master of the Luoyang Sword House paid a visit, would it have been like this?
No.
Those assembled now were crushed by a reverence greater even than that of those earlier days.
Death God…
Not one among them had forgotten, even in dreams, the night the Eldest Young Master Yeon So-hyeon last visited the Sword House Bank.
"Subdue any who resist at once!"
"Lethal force is authorized!"
Personnel of the Central Audit Department in their crimson uniforms had poured in. The blades in their hands were stained with the blood of the bank's corrupt staff who had refused arrest and fought back. Their footsteps left red points of blood across the white marble. Screams of those coughing blood never ceased. Even the air itself had been dyed red that day.
And at the very front—
"Not a single one escapes."
"Arrest them all."
—had stood the Eldest Young Master Yeon So-hyeon.
To the bank employees who could not forget that night even if they wished to, Yeon So-hyeon was no different from the God of Death.
"We greet the Eldest Young Master."
Of course, not everyone feared him.
"It has been some time, Banker."
At the end of the line of staff frozen like statues stood the Banker of the Sword House Bank, welcoming Yeon So-hyeon with a bright smile. He was the foremost among those who did not.
The Banker's office.
White morning sunlight filled the room; the subtle fragrance of tea drifted through the air.
"I have already ordered that every request for cooperation from the Central Audit Department and the investigative agencies be met with full compliance, by any means necessary."
The Banker yielded the seat of honor to the Eldest Young Master as a matter of course.
"You have labored hard, Banker."
Yeon So-hyeon's words of acknowledgment were calm.
"I hear the Inner Court has been conducting a particularly harsh investigation."
Having seized the chance, the Naewon Chonggwan was gnawing at the Sword House Bank with obsessive thoroughness.
"Labor? Hardly."
The neatly dressed Banker gave a light shake of his head.
"On the contrary, my heart feels much lighter."
It was not mere words. Compared to their last meeting, the old man truly seemed to have found a measure of peace.
"These were men who treated the family's money as their own and the family's power as their own. They are merely receiving the punishment they deserve, and I—"
He paused briefly, choosing his words.
Yeon So-hyeon knew the reason for the hesitation was simply to select language suitable before the Eldest Young Master; the old man's resolve itself stood firm as a thick stone pillar.
"…I too am fully aware that the responsibility for failing to properly restrain them from within lies heavily upon me."
The old man spoke with the same boundless humility and courtesy he had shown that night he first met Yeon So-hyeon.
"If I must step down to take responsibility, I will do so without hesitation."
Setting down his teacup, Yeon So-hyeon spoke.
"…And that is why, knowing full well that a vote of no confidence against you is about to begin in the Elder Council Hall, you have taken no measures whatsoever?"
If the no-confidence vote passed by majority in the Jangro-won, the Banker would have to surrender everything and leave his post.
"Your political enemies have no intention of letting this opportunity slip; they mean to tear into you."
The Banker had in fact provided decisive information and assistance for the reform of the Sword House Bank. Yet his long-standing rivals would never miss so perfect a chance. They had raised the banner of responsibility and begun the no-confidence vote in the Elder Council Hall.
"It will not end with simply stepping down."
Yeon So-hyeon's warning was quiet.
"Your enemies have already joined hands with the Yeon blood relatives."
They shared a clear grudge against both Yeon So-hyeon and the Banker who had aided him.
"…Is not even neglect itself a crime?"
Through the morning sunlight pouring in the window, Yeon So-hyeon looked into the old man's eyes. They were astonishingly clear—eyes free of the slightest greed.
"If they waste their political influence trying to bring down one old man, that would not be so bad, would it?"
"…They will chew you up without leaving even the bones."
"Heh heh. These old bones have been creaking for years already. There would be no flavor in chewing them."
A lofty spirit. Resolute determination.
Yet Yeon So-hyeon found none of it to his liking. Not one bit.
The old man's attitude was exactly like looking at himself in the days of the Swordless One—before he had returned through the Jeam Jincheon Scripture.
And so Yeon So-hyeon had not the slightest intention of allowing the old man to tread the same path he once had.
"…These days, the main house is changing a great deal."
The sudden, disconnected remark left the Banker looking a little confused.
"…Yes, yes. That is so."
Since the words were fact, he nodded.
"I myself have been so busy being summoned for this investigation and that inquiry that I have not properly heard or seen much directly, but…"
A faint smile touched the face that looked at Yeon So-hyeon.
"I know well that the Eldest Young Master has been achieving splendid results."
Seeing that smile, Yeon So-hyeon was certain.
This old man, who had been unable to properly curb the corruption and crimes that had run rampant in the Sword House Bank, now feared he himself would become a heavy political burden to Yeon So-hyeon, and was preparing to sacrifice himself.
"Yes, that is true."
Yeon So-hyeon shrugged deliberately.
"In the space of a few weeks I have changed many things. Still far from enough, of course."
Leaning back at ease, he continued.
"Do you not wish to see it?"
"…See what, my lord?"
Gazing up at the elegantly decorated ceiling, Yeon So-hyeon answered.
"Once I have finished all these affairs in the main house—are you not curious what the main house will look like then?"
The old man gave a bitter smile.
"I do wish to see it, Eldest Young Master. Of course I am curious."
Yeon So-hyeon asked again.
"Do you not wish to see that sight at my side?"
"That is—"
Yeon So-hyeon cut him off and continued the question.
"Do you not wish to overcome every hardship and trial together with me, and one day look upon the main house completely transformed?"
As though painting the vision in the air, Yeon So-hyeon gestured toward the ceiling.
"The true form of the greatest house under heaven."
At once the image rose vividly in the old man's mind.
It was not because the Eldest Young Master's few words and gestures were so realistic.
"The majesty of the true Luoyang Sword House, unified as one beneath a rightful Family Head."
It was because that vision was the old man's lifelong cherished wish, the desire of his entire life.
"An overwhelming power before which none—not even Sa-pae-cheon or any other—would dare straighten their backs!"
Unconsciously the old man bit his lip; strength entered the hand gripping the armrest of his chair.
Had he not just spoken of creaking old bones?
"The name of the Luoyang Sword House ringing clearly across the Four Seas, across the continent, even among the great powers overseas!"
Contrary to his earlier words, the armrest he clutched so tightly was itself beginning to groan.
"Truly—do you not!"
Yeon So-hyeon, who had been gazing at the ceiling in a relaxed posture, was already on his feet, looking down at the Banker with an upright bearing.
Had he grown taller in the space of a few weeks?
The pressure of Yeon So-hyeon's gaze made it difficult for anyone to still call him a boy.
"Do you not wish to forge such a Luoyang Sword House with your own two hands?!"
The Eldest Young Master's deep, transparent black eyes pierced the old man's and looked straight into his soul.
The Banker's answer was already decided.
"I wish to see it with my own eyes…! Of course I do!"
He had risen from his seat without realizing it, his aged body straightening with a sudden surge.
"And of course I wish to rebuild the main house with my own hands! Is that not only natural?!"
The old man who moments before had been quietly pressing himself down in preparation for sacrifice was gone.
"Even if someone forbids it! Even if someone tries to stop me, I still wish to do it!"
What stood there now was the tireless fighter who, long ago, had thrown himself into the Luoyang Sword House with a heart full of ambition and the will to ride the winds of change—still carrying the heart of that young man.
"But…!"
Even so, the experience and wisdom layered by age still held his ankles.
"For the Eldest Young Master to expend strength protecting this old man would be an utterly wasteful act."
No matter how round a man's character, if he held a position of power, political enemies sprang up as naturally as mold in a damp cellar. Moreover, his active cooperation with the Eldest Young Master and the investigative authorities had exploded into grudges and resentment, creating new enemies as well.
"Even if it means stepping over this old man's corpse, the Eldest Young Master must advance one more step to lead the main house to a better place—"
"No."
Yeon So-hyeon cut him off.
"If a corpse is needed to become another's path and road, then it shall be I."
He raised a hand and pointed to himself.
"I, Yeon So-hyeon, will become that corpse first."
At some point the Eldest Young Master's speech had shifted to the familiar form, yet it felt entirely natural.
"I sacrifice no one."
How arrogant the words sounded. Had anyone other than the Eldest Young Master spoken them, the Banker would have immediately rebuked him to face reality. Yet because it was Yeon So-hyeon—
I will sacrifice no one.
—the words carried an entirely different weight.
"…Eldest Young Master. Is there still a way, even now?"
Seeing the fighting spirit return to the Banker's eyes, Yeon So-hyeon smiled.
"You have been so chased by investigations and inquiries that you truly have had no room to notice the outside world, it seems."
That smile was full of certainty.
"How greatly this Yeon So-hyeon's prestige has changed within the main house—you will now see it for yourself."
Even if the Banker's current position was precarious, as head of the Sword House Bank he was still one of the highest powers in the Luoyang Sword House. Yet when a certain middle-aged warrior spotted him, the man offered nothing more than a slight nod of greeting.
Still, not one of the haughty high officials of the Sword House Bank present dared to take offense at the discourtesy. The bank's own warriors even stepped carefully out of the man's line of sight, as though terrified of catching his eye.
Five swords hung carelessly at his waist. Simply by standing there with a slanted posture he pressed down upon the entire surroundings. The Banker recognized the middle-aged warrior's identity without difficulty.
Tal-myeong-gwi-geom.
Called the Blood God Evil Ghost, the Madman of Five Swords, the Nightmare of Jiangnan—he was the warrior who had struck terror into every enemy of the Luoyang Sword House.
…So the information that the most ferocious sword of the House had offered his blade to the Eldest Young Master was true.
"You have come out."
The moment of attention drawn by Tal-myeong-gwi-geom passed quickly. The Banker's gaze moved to the young man who was greeting the Eldest Young Master.
"Kang Ho."
The youth's name left Yeon So-hyeon's lips.
"Yes, Eldest Young Master. Your messages have all been delivered in full."
The young man bowed respectfully, hands clasped before him, and reported.
Kang Ho… I am certain I have heard that name in the reports.
Though he might have wondered what those messages from the Eldest Young Master had been, the Banker's attention remained fixed on the youth called Kang Ho.
"Kang Ho—might you be of the Kang family…?"
Kang Ho pushed up his glasses and gave a slightly sheepish smile.
"Ah, yes. That is correct, Banker. Though I am inadequate, I serve as the Eldest Young Master's secretary. And…"
He lowered his head as though embarrassed and added:
"My grandfather currently serves His Majesty the Emperor in the Imperial Capital."
"Indeed…!"
That phrasing—"serves His Majesty"—was modest. Kang Ho's grandfather was Kang Sang. He had already held the office of Prime Minister across the reigns of two emperors, and only recently had returned to the post once more. As an individual, not a clan, he had served as Prime Minister three times—one of the foremost powers in the Jungwon Kingdom. Even the renowned Banker of the Sword House Bank would not dare speak that name lightly.
…The Eldest Young Master is employing the grandson of such a man as a mere secretary?
The grandson of a Prime Minister. Even granting him some substantial title and keeping a careful distance would already be burdensome enough. Yet Yeon So-hyeon had taken such a person as secretary, keeping him at his side and using him as freely as a limb.
The Banker looked at the Eldest Young Master with an astonished expression, but Yeon So-hyeon merely commanded the surroundings as though it were nothing at all.
"What are you all doing? Move."
On one of the great avenues of the Luoyang Sword House.
Within the House, every member of the Sword House was required, barring special reason, to walk on their own two feet when moving from place to place. It was the most representative rule displaying the martial spirit of the Luoyang Sword House.
Yet for that very reason the broad avenues often became congested with the splendid processions of those who wished to flaunt their power.
"Come now, if you would just shift a little to the right…!"
"What nonsense! It is you who should wait a moment and then pass!"
Though dressed differently, men who appeared to be stewards were jabbing fingers at each other, veins standing out on their necks.
"Do you even know who I am escorting right now?! How dare you…!"
"How dare? That is my line! Do you know who I serve?!"
Faces flushed scarlet, the underlings of the two processions that blocked each other's path sprayed spit as they argued, while their warriors fingered their sword hilts and exchanged cold glances. It was hardly a pleasant sight.
Even so—
"Ahem."
"Hrmm."
—their masters merely stood with hands clasped behind their backs, watching the spectacle. When power holders of similar stature met like this, pride alone made it impossible for either to yield the way.
That was the moment congestion began on the broad avenues of the Luoyang Sword House.
But then—
"Clear the road!"
Everything was settled with a single cry.
"The Eldest Young Master of the main house is passing!"
"Th-the Eldest Young Master?!"
The stewards who had been shouting with veins bulging spun around in shock to check their masters' intentions. Even if they would yield before the Eldest Young Master, opening the road without their masters' leave could bring punishment later.
"What are you doing?!"
Yet it was their masters who were most flustered. Faces gone white, they forgot all dignity and had already scrambled to the roadside, shouting:
"Hurry and clear the way!"
"Empty the road at once!"
No sooner had they scrambled aside than the Eldest Young Master's procession arrived. The masters who had been putting on airs bowed their heads so low their foreheads nearly touched the ground for fear of being recognized, while their underlings dared not even straighten their backs and prostrated themselves flat on the earth.
And that scene unfolded not in one place alone.
"Everyone, clear the road!"
High-ranking outsiders who had come by carriage to visit the Luoyang Sword House, and every power holder within the House who normally threw their weight around—
"The Eldest Young Master is passing!"
—on every avenue the procession of Yeon So-hyeon traveled, not a single person dared block his path. They did not even walk alongside. Though no one forced them, every last person stepped to the roadside, bowed deeply in respect, and quietly waited for the Eldest Young Master's procession to pass.
In the midst of that procession, the Banker of the Sword House Bank did not show it outwardly, yet he clearly felt the emotion boiling up from deep in his chest.
That Eldest Young Master… has now…
The power holders and masters of skill whose faces were hidden by their deeply bowed heads. What could be felt so vividly from them was fear and respect directed at Yeon So-hyeon—in other words, awe.
"Does it feel new?"
Walking among the armed maid corps, Yeon So-hyeon spoke with a deliberate smile.
"New does not begin to cover it."
The Banker smiled on his wrinkled face and shook his head.
"From the time winter was ending until now—barely half a year at most…"
At the start of the year, no one had considered Yeon So-hyeon a power holder of the Luoyang Sword House. Few even treated him as a proper heir. That same Eldest Young Master Yeon So-hyeon, in this short span of time, had not merely made his presence known; he had reached a position where no one any longer dared deny that he was the Eldest Young Master of the Luoyang Sword House.
"…To the point that one can feel it merely by walking the avenue. You are formidable, Eldest Young Master."
As the Banker laughed softly, Yeon So-hyeon gave a short smile—his characteristic arrogant smile.
"Do not be surprised by something so minor. Not a single one of your problems has been solved yet, has it?"
True. All they had done was walk the avenue together. The tangled, neglected problems that had only grown deeper remained completely untouched.
"That is so. Yet…"
The Banker could answer with a far lighter expression.
"For some reason I have the feeling that even if everything begins to unravel smoothly from this point on, this old man will no longer be surprised."
"Oh?"
Yeon So-hyeon stroked his chin theatrically.
"You say you will no longer be surprised?"
And when their procession reached its destination—
"Eldest Young Master… this place is…"
Contrary to his own words, the Banker could not help being surprised.
"Is this not the Hobop Court?"
"It is."
Against the backdrop of the splendid and imposing hall, Yeon So-hyeon shrugged.
"Just as you said, this is the Hobop Court that investigates and prosecutes every crime within the Luoyang Sword House."
The Banker could not hide his flustered expression.
"But the Sword House Bank is currently under investigation by this very Hobop Court…"
Ordinarily the Sword House Bank and the Hobop Court maintained a distant, cow-and-chicken sort of relationship between financial institution and investigative organ. Now that the bank itself was under investigation, this place was no different from a dragon's pool and a tiger's den.
"Banker. The responsibility theory that has arisen against you began during this investigation, did it not?"
"That is true, but—"
Looking at the flustered Banker, Yeon So-hyeon continued with a playful expression.
"Therefore, to untie that knot, one must of course begin by untying it here at the Hobop Court."
"Eldest Young Master… but!"
Though Yeon So-hyeon had recovered the dignity of the Eldest Young Master, the Hobop Court was by no means an easy place. Carelessly bringing scissors to cut a knot would more likely leave one bound instead—for an investigative organ was precisely the sort of place tangled by the interests of power.
"Dealing with an investigative organ requires thorough prior preparation and a cautious approach—"
"You do not have that kind of time, do you?"
It was true. The no-confidence vote against the Banker by the Elder Council Hall was set for this very day. Thorough preparation and cautious approach were impossible.
"Even so, Eldest Young Master—"
The Banker's words never finished.
"Open it."
At Yeon So-hyeon's nod, the main gate of the Hobop Court swung wide open.
And once again, contrary to his own earlier claim, the Banker could not help being astonished.
"…We greet the Eldest Young Master of the main house."
The one who had come all the way to the main gate to receive Yeon So-hyeon was none other than—
"It has been some time, Hobop Wonju."
—the Hobop Wonju himself.
The supreme head of the Hobop Court, one of the foremost power holders even within the Sword House, and a pillar of the Elder Council Hall, had personally come out to the main gate to greet the Eldest Young Master Yeon So-hyeon.
"…It has been a long time, Eldest Young Master."
"Indeed. This seems to be the first time since this Eldest Young Master ended his seclusion."
The Hobop Wonju wore a sour expression. Yeon So-hyeon's smile was twisted. Their gazes crossed in the air. In the end the Hobop Wonju had no choice but to open his mouth to answer.
"…That is so."
His expression grew even more sour. In every incident since Yeon So-hyeon had ended his seclusion, the Hobop Wonju had never once handled matters in a way favorable to him. Though he had not openly made an enemy of Yeon So-hyeon either, the two had never been on good terms.
"This Eldest Young Master merely informed you that he would visit the Hobop Court. Yet for the Hobop Wonju himself to come out and receive him…"
Yeon So-hyeon laughed heartily.
"I am honored."
The Hobop Wonju forced a stiff smile.
"…When the Eldest Young Master says he will visit, of course I must come out myself."
Watching them, the Banker understood.
This scene—
It displayed the reversed relationship between the once-unrecognized Eldest Young Master of the Sword House and one of its highest power holders, the Hobop Wonju.
"…Eldest Young Master. Please, come inside."
The Hobop Wonju spread an empty hand, indicating the interior.
"I shall personally guide the two of you."
The Banker's eyes narrowed slightly.
Is this the Hobop Wonju's own form of expression?
An indirect way of saying he had no intention of engaging in any dirty struggle over the current Yeon So-hyeon and the Sword House Bank.
Fortunate… So things may somehow work out after all.
Feeling he had placed too heavy a burden on Yeon So-hyeon, the Banker found his heart lightening a little.
"My thanks."
Yet Yeon So-hyeon's words did not end there.
"However, this Eldest Young Master has neither the intention nor the reason to accept guidance from you, Hobop Wonju."
Yeon So-hyeon trampled the offer of reconciliation the Hobop Wonju had extended without the slightest hesitation.