Chapter 64
Chapter 64
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: uly
Chapter: 64
Chapter Title: Part 14: The Snare
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The young female housekeeper entered the waiting room with the utmost caution in her steps.
“…Greetings to the Eldest Young Master of the main family.”
She pretended she couldn’t lift her head and offered her respects toward the Eldest Young Master.
“Who are you?”
One of the maids, who had been huffing and puffing, asked her that.
When she glanced sideways while keeping her head bowed, she spotted the uniform of the Wone Pavilion maids.
There was no need to pay attention to a mere maid.
Instead, she introduced herself to the Eldest Young Master.
“I heard you were looking for me. Please just call me Bang the housekeeper.”
The response came from the woman standing beside the Eldest Young Master.
“BANG the housekeeper?”
A chill seeped from the woman’s voice.
“Yes, please call me that.”
She swallowed a curse inwardly.
*A mere head maid of the Swordless One…*
Bang the housekeeper was well aware of Jeong-a’s background from the Inner Court’s information network.
The vixen who had wavered between the Second Young Master and the Third Young Master, then fled to the Eldest Young Master’s side when things turned dire.
*This visit is probably something that wench Jeong-a egged the Swordless One into doing as well.*
It had only made things inconvenient for her.
“Did you refuse to pay the Great Wone Pavilion’s bill?”
Jeong-a the head maid’s voice was low and heavy.
“Um… if you mean the payment request, are you referring to the book costs?”
*Making a fuss over a pittance like book prices.*
She was merely a second-rank housekeeper in the Inner Court.
The problem started with her thinking the rare books collected by Yeon So-hyeon were worth a mere pittance, but she herself was oblivious to that issue.
Moreover, calling it a ‘request’ for payment.
Her attitude showed that the Inner Court was being treated as her personal fiefdom by its members.
“A ‘request’? Since when did handling expenses for the main family’s direct bloodline become a mere ‘request’?”
Bang the housekeeper hurriedly bowed her head even lower.
“Ah. I’m sorry, Head Maid. I misspoke for a moment…”
Jeong-a snorted coldly without responding.
*This lowborn wench struts around just because she clings to the Swordless One…*
Bang the housekeeper suppressed her inner rage at the attitude.
“That’s enough. Now explain yourself.”
“Yes, Young Master.”
As Yeon So-hyeon interjected, the head maid—who had been an eyesore—backed off.
Bang the housekeeper smiled inwardly.
She couldn’t press her right away and wanted to hear an explanation instead.
*The Swordless One is the Swordless One, all soft-spoken and lily-livered.*
She appealed to Yeon So-hyeon in a tone as if she had no idea what to do.
“…There was an issue with the paperwork, so I couldn’t grasp the details properly.”
“Is that so?”
When Yeon So-hyeon asked back, she nodded vigorously.
“Yes! That’s right! I’m truly sorry to report such a thing!”
By now, with the Eldest Young Master’s temperament, he’d let it slide.
She judged it was time to put a period on it.
“I’ll summon the book broker again and handle it properly, so please forgive me just this once…”
She dropped to her knees with a thud.
It was the moment for a few tears.
“Please take pity on this lowly one’s position…”
She was already furious at being slighted by a mere courtesan-house maid, so the tears came naturally.
“How dare you act so shamelessly?!”
“Stop it right now?!”
The maids beside her fussed noisily, but she ignored them.
As long as she won over the Eldest Young Master, it would all be over, and she was confident in her beauty.
The Eldest Young Master, who had recently been taking on only the most beautiful girls as maids, wouldn’t just overlook her tears.
“…My. Crying over something this minor?”
Sure enough, the Eldest Young Master clicked his tongue.
“I-I’m sorry, Young Master.”
She poured out even more tears diligently.
“…Head Maid. From what this girl says, it seems like a clear mistake. How about letting it go this time?”
It sounded like a request, but it was effectively a gentle command.
*It’s over already.*
It felt anticlimactic.
Bang the housekeeper let out a small inner sigh.
“…If the master says so, I have no choice.”
It seemed to be going exactly as she thought.
“Then, finally, I’ll just verify the problematic paperwork she mentioned.”
“…!”
Bang the housekeeper’s body stiffened.
“Th-that…”
“What now?”
It had all been lies, so of course no such paperwork existed.
She quickly racked her brain.
“Those documents had issues, so they’ve all been incinerated and are hard to retrieve now.”
It was a bit flimsy, but the Swordless One and mere maids wouldn’t be able to dig it up.
“Is that so? Then there’s nothing to be done.”
The Swordless One really was the Swordless One after all.
But one of the maids beside her—the ones she’d thought were ordinary—spoke up.
“Is that right? Then there should be documentation proving the incineration, so we can just check that.”
“Head Maid, Illyeong is correct. As the master is direct bloodline, even for minor matters, incinerating related documents requires the supervisor’s approval.”
How could mere maids know the procedures for paperwork in specialized administrative domains?
“Then bring it right now.”
She bowed her head in a fluster.
“P-please wait a moment!”
Continuing the lies any further could be dangerous.
Those maids were no ordinary people.
She couldn’t fabricate stories without knowing what knowledge and background they had.
“I-I’ll bring someone who can explain right away!”
She retreated in haste.
She heard the flustered Eldest Young Master calling from behind but didn’t even look back.
* * *
“What…?”
Seomun the housekeeper asked, but Bang the housekeeper said nothing and just bowed her head.
She knew it wasn’t because she hadn’t understood.
“From what I heard, it’s clear that wench Jeong-a was fanning the flames from behind.”
The other housekeepers who had heard her report together clicked their tongues.
“And those new maids who entered the Great Wone Pavilion recently are definitely hiding something.”
“This could get messy…”
Seomun the housekeeper rubbed her eyes.
“But you’re certain there’s not a shred of falsehood in the Eldest Young Master’s reaction as you reported it?”
Bang the housekeeper bowed deeply in haste.
“O-of course! How dare I lie before you, Seomun Housekeeper?”
Seomun the housekeeper nodded.
Bang the housekeeper was someone she had trained from top to bottom herself.
And she was still favored because she didn’t spout nonsense to cover her own mistakes when things went wrong.
“Was there something off about the Eldest Young Master’s reaction?”
“I thought it matched his usual temperament with no major differences.”
They were right.
The reaction he showed was no different from the Eldest Young Master she had always known.
Even when someone committed a wrong, the Eldest Young Master asked for the reason first.
Even if it seemed intentional, he didn’t respond emotionally or escalate matters.
Until now, even when they crossed lines, he’d parry appropriately and let it end there.
Only…
When she had visited the Great Wone Pavilion over that Jeong-a maid incident, the Eldest Young Master she saw had seemed somehow a little different…
“…No. It’s nothing.”
It was probably just her being overly sensitive lately with all the faction talk.
The reaction he showed then hadn’t changed from his previous ways either.
She rose from her seat.
“In the end, I’ll have to step in myself.”
The side clearly escalating a mere book payment issue was unmistakably the Eldest Young Master’s.
With Jeong-a the maid suddenly gaining great power, she was surely running amok.
In that case, she needed to teach that brat that power was truly a “double-edged sword.”
* * *
Seomun the housekeeper led her loyal housekeepers into the waiting room with great bravado.
Her official rank was merely housekeeper, but that was due to the Inner Court’s unique structure.
In reality, her status was close to that of a small organization’s leader within the Luoyang Sword Clan.
“Greetings to the Eldest Young Master. I’m sure you know who I am without introductions.”
The Eldest Young Master, who had been propping his chin boredly, spoke.
“Hmm. I know the face. Not the name.”
Her subordinates, their moods soured, coughed awkwardly in succession.
At the coughing sounds, Yeon So-hyeon’s maids responded with snorts.
Jeong-a the head maid simply stood quietly behind the Eldest Young Master.
Seomun the housekeeper’s hand clenched.
“My name is…”
Yeon So-hyeon waved his hand.
“Enough. I have zero interest in your name.”
For a moment, Seomun the housekeeper was at a loss for words.
*This isn’t the Eldest Young Master I knew!*
Did that mean Bang the housekeeper had lied about something that would soon be exposed?
Her gaze turned backward.
Confirming Bang the housekeeper’s gaze was confused, she felt confusion herself.
“So… you’ve come in person, taking these heavy steps, to explain why my bill hasn’t been settled?”
Seomun the housekeeper was certain something was wrong.
Now was the time to retreat.
“No, Young Master. It seems I’ve misunderstood something.”
She stared straight at Bang the housekeeper.
“I don’t know what this girl has done.”
She was cutting off the tail.
Bang the housekeeper bit her lip.
“The reason I came here is to leave this girl’s punishment to the Eldest Young Master.”
As she sensed her retreating, the other housekeepers moved swiftly.
They had already exited into the corridor.
The room held only Bang the housekeeper, bowed and trembling.
Yeon So-hyeon approached her.
“…My. Crying over something this minor?”
It was a line she had heard once before.
He smiled as he wiped the tears from her eyes.
Bang the housekeeper flinched in shock.
His hand was as cold as if it were frozen.
Seomun the housekeeper turned.
“Then, I have urgent business…”
At that moment, Yeon So-hyeon’s voice came from behind her.
“Hmm. I wanted to hear an explanation from whoever’s responsible for this, but oh well.”
She tried to ignore it and take a step.
“Then I suppose I’ll have to ask the Inner Court Chief Steward directly.”
His voice pierced her greatest weakness.
The moment this reached the Inner Court Chief Steward, her fate was sealed.
Just as she had done to Bang the housekeeper, the Chief Steward would discard her.
Without mercy.
She turned around.
“…If it’s just that much, I believe I’m qualified to explain as well.”
“Is that so? Suits me fine.”
Yeon So-hyeon was already seated in the place of honor, as if he had known she would turn back.
He took Bang the housekeeper’s hand and seated her beside him.
“But first…”
As he smiled, his head maid spoke.
“The Eldest Young Master of the main family has visited in person—shouldn’t we at least bring some tea?”