The First Three-Tenths
"…Voting is currently underway. Elders who have not yet cast their ballots, please remain in your seats…"
Elder Hwangmok's voice, tasked with conducting the proceedings, rang through the great hall. Yet—
"…So if everyone would just quiet down a little…"
Not a single elder paid him any mind.
In one corner of the hall, a cluster of elders had gathered almost as if occupying the space, voices rising sharply among them.
"What in the world are they all doing over there?"
An elder who had just returned from attending to other business narrowed his eyes and studied the faces of those assembled.
"…Every one of them is either a senior elder or the head of a faction or clique, aren't they?"
An elder of the same Hebei Faction answered with a shrug.
"They're saying they're hunting for traitors."
"Traitors…? Ah."
The first elder nodded as understanding dawned.
"You mean the three-tenths who broke the initial consensus and cast invalid votes for the Eldest Young Master?"
"Exactly. But…"
Another elder who had been watching the entire situation unfold cut in.
"They're not looking for the three-tenths first. They're hunting the one-tenth who changed their minds during the re-vote and switched to invalid ballots."
Those whispering among themselves were not figures of particular prominence or overwhelming influence within the Elder Council. Still, as elders of the Luoyang Sword House, they grasped the intent at once.
"Ah, of course."
"It's far easier and faster to find a single one-tenth than to unravel every combination of factions and cliques that could add up to four-tenths."
"And through that one-tenth, they'll root out the three-tenths who were the real key to this whole affair."
Just then, another elder of the Hebei Faction returned from casting his vote and approached them.
"So then. Which way did everyone vote?"
Under ordinary circumstances, no one would have asked so openly. But the situation had long since passed the point of caring about such niceties.
"Against."
"I voted against as well."
Casting a vote of rejection against the no-confidence motion meant choosing to keep the current Banker in place.
"The Vice Head of the Sword House Bank—who was the candidate for the next Banker—has already been thrown into the dungeons of the Central Audit Department."
"He'll only come out as a corpse."
"No. He won't even come out as a corpse—"
"—He probably won't come out even after he's dead. Word is they burn the bodies themselves inside."
"In a situation like this, what good does stalling do?"
"I'd rather just go home, wash my feet, and rest."
"Besides…"
The one who casually joined their conversation was an elder of the Imperial Capital Faction, long on familiar terms with the Hebei group.
"Even those people over there have already given up. What's the point of pushing any further?"
At the words "those people," every head turned slightly toward the seats of the Yeon bloodline elders.
"…Still looks vicious enough."
"But the poison's gone out of them."
"Looks more like a house of mourning than anything else."
The Imperial Capital elder who had joined the talk gave a short snort of laughter.
"They'll be holding a whole string of funerals soon enough, so it's not exactly wrong."
"What, have you heard something?"
The answer came, unexpectedly, from the newest elder of the Hebei Faction.
"From what I hear…"
He was the same new elder whose shoulder the Eldest Young Master had patted in encouragement.
"The investigative organs have already secured the secret transaction ledgers the Vice Head of the Bank was keeping."
The Imperial Capital elder nodded.
"I heard the same news myself."
He stroked his beard and regarded the new Hebei elder with a meaningful look.
"That aside, young man—you've got real ability. Perhaps you'd be interested in our Imperial Capital clique—?"
"Now see here!"
"You bastard…!"
The Hebei elders instantly glared with fire in both eyes.
"Are you seriously trying to poach our new blood right in front of us?!"
Even amid the angry shouts, the Imperial Capital elder never took his sly gaze off the new Hebei elder.
"If you're interested, just give me a quiet word later."
"Haha, no thank you."
The new elder of the Hebei Faction declined the offer on the spot.
"I have already chosen my path and set my purpose. Regrettable as it may be, I must refuse."
"Is that so?"
The Imperial Capital elder clicked his tongue.
"He's got backbone, too. A fine young man, but—"
His words never finished.
"We already said it wasn't us!"
Every head snapped up at the booming voice.
It came from the direction where the senior elders and faction heads had gathered.
"That's…"
"Isn't that the voice of Elder Paeng, head of our Hebei Faction?"
"No means no, Elder Paeng. Why work yourself into such a state?"
An elder of the Third Young Master's faction narrowed his eyes.
"We're simply discussing numbers."
"Numbers don't lie. Isn't that right?"
Under the pressure of the Third Young Master's side, Elder Paeng flushed crimson and shouted back.
"If numbers don't lie, then your calculations are wrong!"
The heads of the other cliques and factions who had been named alongside Elder Paeng's Hebei group raised their voices as well.
"What possible gain would we have from making a secret pact with the Eldest Young Master behind everyone's back?!"
"If you keep pushing us like this, we have our own thoughts on the matter!"
As the exchange grew rougher, the watching senior elders hurried to intervene.
"Now, now, everyone is far too worked up…!"
"Calm yourselves for a moment…!"
One of the older seniors among them stepped forward.
"We can argue all we like right now, but in the end we will find those people and punish them. Agreed?"
At that, both the Third Young Master's faction and those who had come under suspicion simply because the numbers had matched nodded in agreement.
"Agreed."
"We must make them pay dearly."
"Only then will nothing like this ever happen again…!"
"To stab their fellow elders in the back and side with the Eldest Young Master…!"
As tempers began to heat once more, the elderly elder raised a hand.
"And yet… this old man also sees reason to be thankful for the present moment."
"…Thankful, you say?"
The vote's outcome was already a foregone conclusion. The Elder Council had suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands of the Eldest Young Master. Add to that the strangely intense scrutiny from outside that had been fixed on them since morning, and their losses were anything but small.
"Yes. Think carefully, all of you."
The old elder continued.
"If those who made up that three-tenths had stood fully and openly on the Eldest Young Master's side… what do you suppose would have become of this affair?"
The moment the question landed, a chill ran down every spine.
"…Indeed."
"…You're right."
The senior elders and faction heads fell into grim silence.
"If they had not deceived their fellow elders from the shadows, but instead revealed themselves… that would mean…"
Elder Paeng's eyelids trembled.
"…That a full three-tenths of the Elder Council already belonged firmly to the Eldest Young Master's power."
If they had not merely joined hands with him in secret for this one matter, but had already been his people and simply followed his orders—
"Then this would not have ended as a mere defeat in today's business."
"…Everything from this day forward would have been different."
The words they themselves had spoken made their skin crawl. Every man present swallowed dryly.
"…So what you're saying is…"
"…We have actually avoided the worst possible outcome."
"…We may truly have reason to call ourselves fortunate."
Once the shared sense of crisis and the common understanding had taken hold, the elderly elder who had raised the point moved to the heart of the matter.
"That is why… however important it may be to root out the traitorous cliques and factions by any means necessary, the most vital point of all is…"
Thud.
He struck the floor once with his staff, his voice growing heavier.
"When a sprout appears, one must cut it before it is too late. We must prevent them from consolidating into a proper force centered on the Eldest Young Master."
In the seats of the Hebei Faction—
"It's gone quiet again."
"I thought it was about to explode into a complete disaster."
"At least it seems some sort of discussion is still moving forward."
The Hebei elders looked toward the cluster of seniors and faction heads and let out sighs of relief.
"By the way…"
As the tension eased, one of them turned to the new elder.
"That thing you said earlier—that you had 'already chosen your path and set your purpose.' What exactly did you mean by that?"
"I'd like to know as well."
Another elder glanced toward the Imperial Capital elder who had returned to his own seat, then stepped closer to the newcomer.
"That is…"
Finding every gaze fixed upon him, the new elder looked briefly flustered. Then, as if steeling himself, he asked in a quiet, probing tone:
"Do the senior elders here feel no dissatisfaction with the Elder Council as it stands?"
"Dissatisfaction…?"
"…Dissatisfaction, is it."
One elder gave a short laugh.
"There's no shortage of it."
Another shrugged and turned his eyes away. His gaze settled on the senior elders and faction heads they had just been watching.
"…This pond has grown far too stagnant."
It was not something to be said aloud, so they spoke in low murmurs.
"Only the ones already feeding keep feeding."
"Still, if there's any hope—"
One elder chuckled as he picked up the thought.
"—the hope is that those men are growing old too. When our turn comes, we'll be the ones feeding."
"So we just endure, waiting for that day. That's all there is to it."
The elder who had spoken with a bitter smile addressed the new elder.
"…We're being rather blunt about it, but none of that is wrong."
"No. That is not what I meant."
The new elder shook his head firmly and looked at his seniors.
"I mean that the Elder Council should not exist solely for the sake of securing personal profit and political advantage the way it does now…!"
Until that moment he had been quiet and reserved. Now he spoke with a passion no one would have believed possible.
"A true Elder Council—elders who genuinely deliberate and exchange views for the future of the Luoyang Sword House."
He shot to his feet and cried out:
"Do none of you wish to become such elders of such a true Elder Council…?!"
Yet the answer that returned to the new elder who had laid bare the deepest wish he had kept hidden in his heart was only the awkward expressions of his seniors.
"…Pfft—hah!"
In the end, one of them even burst out laughing.
"So that's the sort of thought you've been carrying around?"
"Young. Still so young."
"Heh. How in the world did you even climb as high as an elder's seat?"
One of the senior elders shook his head.
"This is all because so many of the Second Young Master's elders were purged after the last clash with the Eldest Young Master."
"Good grief."
Someone wiped away a tear of laughter and shook his head as well.
"To think I'd live long enough to hear such boyish idealism inside a place like the Elder Council."
"Listen here…"
The senior who had first questioned him gave the new elder a light clap on the shoulder.
"I'll give you some genuine advice. If you want to survive in this place, you'd best put away such childish fantasies at once."
Amid the noisy laughter and the sidelong glances of seniors who mocked him, the new elder clenched a fist where no one could see.
"…I…"
Just then, someone looking toward the guest seats called out in a low voice.
"The Eldest Young Master of the main house is entering!"
What could be strange about announcing the Eldest Young Master's entrance? Yet—
"…Which elder is shouting that?"
This was the Elder Council.
"Seems some fool has already switched sides just because the Eldest Young Master won this round."
"Idiot…"
In a hall filled with nothing but elders, to announce the Eldest Young Master's arrival was the same as demeaning oneself.
At first they mocked the voice the same way they had mocked the new elder. But then—
"…Wait. That elder."
"Isn't that the First Director of the Hobop Court…?"
Once they confirmed the identity of the man who had announced Yeon So-hyeon's entrance, bewilderment spread through them like wildfire.
"Why is the First Director of the Hobop Court…?"
"Where is the Head of the Hobop Court? Is the First Director openly calling himself the Eldest Young Master's subordinate?"
Even under the weight of every stare, Hobop Il-bujang kept his head high. Not a single crack showed in his expression or bearing.
"…Hobop Il-bujang."
The new elder, who had been staring at him with the same wide eyes as everyone else, soon gave a small nod.
"…The seniors mocked me."
The senior elders who turned to look at him frowned and motioned for him to sit.
"Are you still fretting over those words at a time like this?"
"We've already forgotten it. Enough with the nonsense—"
But the new elder ignored them and remained standing, speaking his piece with quiet dignity.
"Yet there was someone who did not mock that thought of mine. Someone who listened, and even chose to walk ahead of me."
As he spoke, the new elder looked toward the man who had entered the great hall and was now sweeping the assembly with an arrogant gaze—the Eldest Young Master, Yeon So-hyeon.
"You…?"
"Right now…?"
Only then did the senior elders sense something amiss and try to speak, but the new elder's words came first.
"When I was uneasy, he told me he would show me his influence, his skill, and his power."
The new elder continued.
"All he asked of me in return was that I cast an invalid vote in secret."
"……!"
As the truth of an affair none of them had even imagined began to surface, every member of the Hebei Faction froze solid.
"And he—the Eldest Young Master—proved his words more brilliantly than I could ever have hoped."
At that same moment—
"Hm? Where do you think you're going?"
"W-wait…?"
Those who rose from their seats were not limited to the new elder of the Hebei Faction alone.
"What is this…?"
As one after another stood, others seemed to draw courage from the sight and rose as well.
"What are all of you—?"
And as if they had agreed upon it from the very beginning, they gathered toward the guest seats—toward the side of the Eldest Young Master, Yeon So-hyeon.
Their number came to three-tenths of the whole.
Later records would call them "the first three-tenths."
It was the moment when the Eldest Young Master's faction officially revealed its presence within the Elder Council of the Luoyang Sword House.