Chapter 56
Chapter 56
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: uly
Chapter: 56
Chapter Title: Part 6: Father and Elder
-----------------------------------------------------------------
“Elder Yeom…”
The Fourth Young Master had been consoling his subordinates in one corner.
The boy muttered as he gazed at Elder Yeom, who stood in line among the common folk.
“Someone of his stature in the main family could summon even an imperial physician from the palace, yet here he is. What an ironic twist.”
The boy’s eyes narrowed.
Elder Yeom had amassed countless merits based on his own martial prowess, and with his excellent conduct and judgment, he had carved out a place in the Sword Clan’s internal politics, which was like a battlefield.
In the end, he had risen to the position of elder in the Sword Clan.
The warriors of the Luoyang Sword Clan often spoke of him as a legendary figure of rags-to-riches success, even though he was not from the Yeon family.
“He’s not even carrying his signature greatsword.”
So said the head maid by his side.
“And without any of his subordinates, no less.”
When the commoners, intimidated by the mere mention of a Sword Clan elder, tried to leave the line, Elder Yeom had even persuaded them to stay.
“And strapped to his back is that Law Enforcing Maiden.”
“Indeed.”
At that moment, a young scholar cautiously spoke up.
“My lord. Wouldn’t it be proper to go and greet him?”
The Fourth Young Master shook his head.
“No need. Pretending to know him here would only put him in a more difficult spot.”
The Fourth Young Master was already aware of what had transpired between the Medicine King and Elder Yeom.
“More importantly…”
He withdrew his gaze and clapped his hands.
“Seeing you flapping your mouth like that, it looks like you’ve rested enough.”
Fierce glares poured down on the scholar who had stirred up unnecessary trouble.
“You all heard the young master, right?”
At the head maid’s words, the Fourth Young Master’s subordinates, who had been resting, moved toward the patients in unison.
“A meeting between a prominent neutral elder and the eldest young master:”
The Fourth Young Master flashed a smile of anticipation.
* * *
The girl clung quietly to her father’s back, afraid he might feel uncomfortable.
“…To think I get to see the Eldest Young Master in person like this. It feels like a dream.”
Her frail daughter’s voice sounded like she was walking through one.
‘How many times have I heard that today alone?’
Elder Yeom shook his head.
“You’ll conduct yourself properly, I trust…”
“Yes. I’ll keep it in mind.”
The daughter murmured in a small voice.
“How many times have I heard that already today…?”
“...”
She kept peeking at Yeon So-hyeon over her father’s shoulder.
“…He’s so handsome. Just like in the portrait.”
Elder Yeom let out a small sigh at his daughter’s words.
“…Is White Tiger behaving well?”
At the mention of his name, the small white beast nestled quietly in the girl’s arms poked its head out.
The girl smiled at its soft growl.
“He says he’s happy to be outside after so long.”
Elder Yeom adjusted his daughter on his back and admonished her.
“Behave yourselves.”
The girl and the white beast tilted their heads together.
“Me? Or White Tiger?”
Elder Yeom sighed again.
“Both of you.”
He turned his gaze to the Eldest Young Master.
The Eldest Young Master hadn’t spared him a glance after the initial one.
He swallowed a groan inwardly.
As a Sword Clan elder, he couldn’t possibly be ignorant of the Eldest Young Master’s temperament.
Especially now, with talk of the succession growing within the Luoyang Sword Clan.
A boy holed up in the earthly paradise of Won-gak Pavilion, simply reading books and amusing himself by helping the poor.
‘And yet…’
When he’d heard that such an Eldest Young Master had dismissed his servants, he hadn’t paid it much mind.
But when that foolish butler had returned half-dead shortly after, he’d been shocked.
And when he learned the Eldest Young Master had done it himself, he’d even felt a momentary fear.
Now, that same Eldest Young Master was earnestly tending to the poor.
Smiling at them, patting their shoulders, and skillfully administering medicine.
‘Why, then…’
His daughter wriggled, peeking over his shoulder again.
“It really feels like a dream.”
He sighed and looked at the Eldest Young Master once more.
As his daughter said, the Eldest Young Master was no ordinary beautiful youth.
And yet, for some reason.
That pale, delicate face felt like a ‘mask.’
* * *
When their turn came, Yeon So-hyeon didn’t acknowledge him, so he simply stood silently by his daughter’s side.
Yeon So-hyeon was calmly taking her pulse, just as he did with the other patients.
What was he reading in those half-lidded eyes?
As the pulse-taking dragged on, Elder Yeom forcibly suppressed his growing anxiety.
“Have some tea, at least.”
Was it out of pity?
The beautiful head maid offered him a cup.
“Thank you.”
He took the cup but merely held it.
His nerves were entirely fixed on the Eldest Young Master, who showed no sign of moving.
After a long while, the Eldest Young Master let out a deep sigh.
“Damn it…”
Elder Yeom’s heart sank.
“…I wanted to prove that old geezer’s diagnosis wrong this time.”
A hollow laugh escaped Elder Yeom at the absurd mutter from the Eldest Young Master.
He barely restrained his fist from clenching like a pot lid.
“It’ll be hard to talk properly here.”
Without sparing a glance at the girl who kept blushing and stealing looks at him, Yeon So-hyeon spoke.
Elder Yeom blocked her view with his massive frame and replied.
“…Very well.”
* * *
The two moved to another room.
Tea and refreshments had already been prepared for them in the small chamber.
Yeon So-hyeon naturally took the seat of honor and gestured for him to sit.
“Take a seat.”
Elder Yeom stared at him for a moment before sitting.
A flicker of confusion crossed his eyes.
The one seated before him was undoubtedly the Eldest Young Master he knew.
But somehow, it didn’t feel like him.
“That old geezer… the Medicine King’s diagnosis was spot on. For now, this is all I can do.”
Yeon So-hyeon finished speaking and lifted his teacup to savor the aroma.
Elder Yeom set the cup he’d been holding— the one from the maid outside— down on the table and spoke.
“…It would be difficult for the Medicine King to examine my daughter again, wouldn’t it?”
Yeon So-hyeon’s eyebrow twitched.
“You know better than anyone that old geezer wouldn’t allow it, Elder Yeom.”
Elder Yeom sighed.
He knew.
The moment his butler had tried to pressure the Medicine King, any chance of a revisit was gone.
It wasn’t the Medicine King’s personal issue.
It was an unwritten rule.
A rule to prevent the countless powerful figures desperately awaiting the Medicine King from using the ‘same method.’
A Luoyang Sword Clan elder could ignore most powers.
But with even imperial elders among those waiting for the Medicine King, it was no longer a matter of power.
‘That utterly idiotic butler…’
Seeing Elder Yeom’s fists tremble, Yeon So-hyeon spoke leisurely.
“Right here, I can give your daughter the same prescription the old geezer did to prevent her seizures.”
Elder Yeom’s gaze, which had been glaring at the table, turned to Yeon So-hyeon.
The Eldest Young Master continued with a wry smile.
“But considering your position, even that won’t be easy, will it?”
“That is…”
Elder Yeom couldn’t continue.
It would shake the political stance he had maintained as a neutral faction.
“To begin with, as you know, the old geezer could have cured your daughter completely. But…”
Elder Yeom took over.
“But to do so, the treatment had to align precisely with the moment her seizures struck.”
He sighed.
“The Medicine King wanders the entire continent, and my daughter is in no condition to endure such a harsh journey.”
Yeon So-hyeon leaned back comfortably, crossing his legs.
“As you know, I could cure her the same way. After all, I live in the Sword Clan.”
Elder Yeom froze at his words.
His sharp gaze stabbed toward Yeon So-hyeon.
“You’d treat the daughter of a neutral elder who neither supports you nor intends to? You’d be branded as lacking pride.”
Yeon So-hyeon tapped his foot.
“The me sitting here is merely a physician.”
He then snorted.
“And if I feared others’ gazes that much, do you think I’d have lived as freely as I have until now?”
“...”
His gaze fixed on Elder Yeom.
“Besides, this isn’t the time for you to worry about me, is it?”
Indeed.
Elder Yeom had tried to deflect, turning the arrow back on Yeon So-hyeon to avoid answering.
The moment he accepted treatment from Yeon So-hyeon— entrusted his daughter to him for a cure— he would lose the political position he had built.
Some might call it a decision for his family, but those coveting his power certainly wouldn’t.
“That’s no concern of yours either, Eldest Young Master. My political standing is entirely…”
Yeon So-hyeon rose and slammed the table.
“That tone!”
The sound wasn’t loud, and Yeon So-hyeon hadn’t struck it hard.
But Elder Yeom barely kept himself from jumping.
“Drop the rhetoric you’d use in the Sword Clan’s petty politics.”
With his long-honed experience and courage, Elder Yeom met Yeon So-hyeon’s gaze without flinching.
“I have no need for political flattery or flowery words before me.”
Yeon So-hyeon leaned in across the table.
“Don’t evade my question.”
His voice was low.
No emotion showed in his gaze.
Elder Yeom swallowed dryly.
“I’m just a mere physician and Swordless One, so what are you?”
Before him, the Eldest Young Master he hadn’t truly known bared his teeth in a smile.
“Can you be just a father to one child?”
Elder Yeom felt the backrest against his back.
Unknowingly, he had recoiled.
He tried not to avert his eyes from Yeon So-hyeon’s gaze, but even that was beyond him.
He who had crossed countless battles, stepped over the corpses of powerful foes to reach this seat.
He who had endured what all deemed impossible, outlasting his political rivals until they fell.
“...”
And yet here he was, utterly overpowered by a mere seventeen-year-old boy.
The boy who, until moments ago, he’d dismissed deep down as one shut away in his mother’s quarters, reading books, painting, and fond of aiding the poor.
“Ha.”
A smile curled the boy’s lips.
It was blatant mockery.
Yeon So-hyeon turned and headed outside.
“Of course, I understand your position. No need to decide hastily.”
On his way out, he patted the rigidly stiffened shoulder of Elder Yeom.
“Don’t waste that tea. Finish it.”
As Yeon So-hyeon stepped through the door, his voice came from behind.
“The aroma is rich, and the Lu flavor is clean and excellent.”
Elder Yeom’s gaze fell to the table.
Yeon So-hyeon’s cup had been empty for a long time.
Before him sat two untouched cups, stark and alone.