Chapter 71
Chapter 71
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 71
Chapter Title: Part 21: Marionette
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Luoyang.
A large workshop that had signed a contract with the Inner Residence to supply various furniture.
The time when the sun was slowly hiding itself toward the west.
The guards who usually stood at the main gate of the workshop were trembling in place.
They were the local thugs infamous in the neighborhood as ruffians.
They looked somewhat imposing in their thick leather armor, greaves, and wrist guards.
But they couldn't even think of reaching for the clubs at their waists.
“Wh-what business do you have with our workshop?”
“Step aside.”
One word was enough.
The underlings who came and went from the workshop owner's inner quarters scattered in terror at the sight of these people striding in.
It was because the black uniforms they wore were ones no one in all of Luoyang didn't recognize.
“Why is it so noisy outside?!”
The workshop owner, a withered old man who had been enjoying a fine time with his concubine, flung open the door.
Half-dressed, he froze on the spot.
With trembling eyes, he looked at the silver-embroidered letters on the epaulets of the black-uniformed men.
“The Sword Clan's Protectorate…?”
The woman who stepped forward gave a cold smile.
“Are you the owner of this workshop?”
“Y-yes! Yes! That's right. I'm Lee, the owner of this workshop.”
He immediately dropped to his knees right there.
“I-I don't know what this is about, but please spare my life!”
“I am a Protector Emissary of the Luoyang Sword Clan.”
“Y-yes, esteemed Protector Emissary!”
She took out some documents from her bosom.
“We are investigating the contract you made with the main family's Inner Residence, so from now on, answer my questions honestly.”
The workshop owner prostrated himself on the ground.
“Yes, I understand. Ask me anything.”
Such scenes were unfolding all throughout Luoyang.
* * *
Luoyang Sword Clan, Inner Residence.
The area around the Inner Residence, completely sealed off by the Protectorate, had no one passing through.
The people who would normally peek out of curiosity were nowhere to be seen, undoubtedly because of the black-uniformed figures densely surrounding the Inner Residence.
At the main gate of the Inner Residence, lines of people being escorted in from outside crossed with those heading out to make arrests.
From various parts of the main building, groans of those under torture echoed sporadically, and screams of those who couldn't endure the harsh interrogations rang out.
Only the essential Inner Residence personnel were living a hellish daily life under the Protectorate's strict surveillance.
* * *
Inner Residence main building,
Temporary Joint Investigation Headquarters, command room.
“It was truly like a bolt of lightning—swift and unyielding.”
The one laughing heartily in self-praise was the Protectorate's Sixth Division Chief.
“...”
But even though the mood in the room didn't respond, he pressed on with his characteristic thick-skinned demeanor.
“Of course, this is all thanks to the Central Inspection Pavilion Lord here taking swift and excellent preliminary measures, isn't it?”
The Central Inspection Pavilion Lord, Duggo Ya-yeon, merely nodded silently in acknowledgment.
“Haha. I look forward to your continued cooperation in the remaining investigations. But…”
He smacked his lips.
“The investigation inside the Inner Residence is nearly complete, so where should we set up the Joint Investigation Headquarters afterward?”
“Do as you please.”
“Haha. Then, for the follow-up, the Joint Investigation Headquarters will be under our Protectorate…”
“Yes.”
With a curt reply that cut off the useless conversation, Duggo Ya-yeon's gaze turned toward the person seated at the head seat.
Under that blatant gaze of wariness, the Sixth Division Chief smiled and looked toward the head seat.
“Does the Eldest Young Master have any questions, by chance?”
The Eldest Young Master, Yeon So-hyeon, smiled.
“Then, does that mean the investigation inside the Inner Residence will be fully concluded by the end of today?”
“Of course, I can't reveal all the details, but since it's you, Eldest Young Master, I'll tell you specially…”
He continued with a smile.
“Even after the Inner Residence investigation wraps up, the external investigations in progress will take a few more days.”
“Is that so?”
He smiled as if he knew Yeon So-hyeon's mind.
“No need to worry. The punishment for those who dared to mock the main family's Eldest Young Master will be carried out immediately once the external investigation concludes.”
“Excellent.”
“Just trust in us.”
Yeon So-hyeon smiled at the loudly boasting Sixth Division Chief.
“You seem reliable. In that case, can we also recover the budget they embezzled that I haven't received all this time?”
“Ah, well, that is…”
He quickly calculated in his head before answering smoothly.
“Given the amount, and since it's related to the budget, it will ultimately need to be decided by the Elder Council, don't you think?”
A thicker smile formed on Yeon So-hyeon's lips.
“Setting that aside, now that corruption on this scale has been uncovered, shouldn't the investigation be expanded to the entire Inner Residence going forward?”
“Th-that is…”
The one who raised a hand to interrupt was the Protectorate's First Division Chief, who had been sitting silently until now.
“The investigation hasn't even properly concluded yet. For now, it would be right to focus on the case at hand in line with the Joint Investigation Headquarters' purpose.”
“But…”
The First Division Chief's heavy gaze turned toward Yeon So-hyeon.
“Anything beyond that could be interpreted as overstepping authority, so please be cautious, Eldest Young Master.”
Yeon So-hyeon unhesitatingly turned his head to look at Duggo Ya-yeon.
“The Central Inspection Pavilion does not state positions or conduct investigations.”
Yeon So-hyeon shrugged his shoulders.
“Well, nothing to be done then.”
He stood up.
The seated people hurriedly rose to follow.
“The investigation inside the Inner Residence should be done by the end of today, right?”
“Ah, yes. At the latest, it should wrap up by dawn.”
Yeon So-hyeon nodded.
“No need to hear more, so I'll head back and have dinner.”
The Sixth Division Chief looked at him.
“If you're returning to the Origin Pavilion, I can issue a temporary pass…”
“No. How could the main family's Eldest Young Master casually ignore the blockade order and wander about?”
The Sixth Division Chief was bewildered.
“…Then, you're saying you'll have your meal here in the Inner Residence?”
Outside, screams and the smell of blood were still wafting from various places, and this was the Inner Residence's main building.
“Indeed. The Inner Residence's ceremonial secretary wishes to express their apologies with the finest banquet.”
“…No, aren't you worried about possible poisoning?”
Yeon So-hyeon chuckled.
“If that happens, with all of you here, you'll catch the culprit right away.”
He turned his body.
“Well then, everyone, keep up the good work.”
Finishing his words, Yeon So-hyeon opened the door and left before they could even greet him.
For a moment, staring in the direction he had gone, the Sixth Division Chief's face looked as if he had witnessed something grotesque.
By then, the First Division Chief and the Central Inspection Pavilion Lord were already seated again.
“Good grief…”
He shook his head and took out a small case containing cigarettes from his bosom.
“Anyone need one…?”
There was no response.
He shrugged, took out a cigarette, and lit it with a Threefold True Flame.
After exhaling a puff of smoke toward the ceiling, he spoke.
“…By any chance, am I the only one feeling this uneasy about this case?”
The First Division Chief and Central Inspection Pavilion Lord gave no answer, but it was silence tantamount to agreement.
With the cigarette in his mouth, he continued.
“For a case of this scale, to mobilize both the First and Sixth Divisions of the Protectorate at once? I'm just a lowly division chief in the Protectorate now, but has there ever been a case like this?”
“This is a first for me too.”
At the First Division Chief's agreement, the Sixth Division Chief smacked his lips.
“And both the First and Sixth Divisions had several ongoing cases, didn't they?”
Smoke rose from his cigarette.
“Shall we speak more frankly?”
He tapped ash into an empty teacup.
“I was ordered to mobilize all available personnel from the Sixth Division and conclude the investigation in the shortest time possible.”
The hitherto silent First Division Chief spoke.
“At most three days. We'll know the limits of our investigative authority once we see the scene.”
The Sixth Division Chief's eyebrows twitched.
“I received the same orders as you.”
“Damn it…”
The Sixth Division Chief irritably crushed the burned-out cigarette, took out a new one, put it in his mouth, and spoke.
“As expected, when I arrived, the Inner Residence's accounting secretary—the key figure in this case—was already dead by suicide. And moreover…”
His gaze turned toward Duggo Ya-yeon, whose expression was unreadable.
“I came thinking it was a cooperation request from the Inspection Department, but how surprised was I to see the Central Inspection Pavilion Lord here? No, why on earth is the Central Inspection Pavilion investigating a case like this?”
There was no answer.
Not expecting one from the start, he let out a hollow laugh.
“And the whistleblower is that Eldest Young Master, who hasn't clashed with any power factions inside the main family for the past ten years?”
Smoke leaked from his mouth, clouding the air.
“…Is there anyone who can tell me just what's going on here?”
He directed his gaze at the two.
“Surely both of you here know more than I do?”
“The Central Inspection Pavilion does not share internal information with other organizations.”
Duggo Ya-yeon rose from her seat.
“Then, I'll take my leave.”
Watching the door she exited through, the Sixth Division Chief spoke.
“…As expected of her reputation, her expression is unreadable, but she clearly seems in a bad mood. Looks like she doesn't know much either.”
He sighed softly.
“Is even the Central Inspection Pavilion Lord from the Inspection Department—which holds the most secrets—ultimately just a marionette being manipulated by someone on stage?”
He slumped into his seat and rubbed his eyes.
“…Senior.”
“Yes.”
Calling the First Division Chief as he did in the old days.
“I clawed my way up to this position precisely because I didn't want to end up like this.”
His cigarette crackled and glowed red.
“I thought that once I became a division chief in the Protectorate, I'd know everything, and even if I had to deal with someone, I wouldn't be manipulated.”
His gaze turned to the ceiling.
“A division chief. Division chief. And not just anywhere, but in the Protectorate.”
The air above was hazy with smoke, making the ceiling indistinct.
“…And yet, it's still like this.”
The hitherto silent First Division Chief spoke.
“…Even I, who has barely ascended to an elder position in the main family, feels the same.”
“…Senior?!”
The First Division Chief took a cigarette from the Sixth Division Chief's case, put it in his mouth, and lit it.
“The Elder Council? An impressive place. Information no one else could even imagine flows there, and decisions that sway the entire main family are made…”
The man who was both Protectorate First Division Chief and one of the Luoyang Sword Clan's elders gave a hollow smile.
“But sometimes, when I lie down to sleep, I think about it too.”
His gaze wandered in the air.
“If I become the Protectorate Chief, will things change? If I become the Elder Council Lord? Or if I retire and am selected as a Senior Elder? If I beat the odds and become a Supreme Councilor, will I finally know everything?”
“...”
The Sixth Division Chief couldn't even open his mouth.
It remained agape.
He merely sighed amid the smoke and bowed his head.
Watching the junior's head full of gray hair, the First Division Chief let out a small sigh.
Had his distant junior already caught up to this point?
Then, it was time for him to gradually learn the true face of the Luoyang Sword Clan.
‘…From now on, forget everything I say here. No, don't just not speak of it—erase the fact that you even heard it.’
The Sixth Division Chief flinched briefly at the sudden transmitted voice.
‘Behind all this, the Eldest Young Master and the Inner Residence Chief Manager are likely involved. That's all I know.’
‘What do you mean…’
‘As I said, forget it.’
The First Division Chief abruptly stood up.
“Come on, let's get back to work.”
‘Forget it, for the sake of your family too.’
He casually rolled his shoulders and opened the door.
“...”
As he exited, he glanced back briefly.
The Sixth Division Chief remained frozen in place, deep in thought.
His mind must be utterly chaotic.
At the same time, he would realize that things that hadn't made sense until now were falling into place one by one, and feel ecstasy from it.
And fear as well.
That sight reminded him of a day in the past, shortly after he himself had become division chief.
In time, he too would pass on the story to someone in the same way he had heard it from his senior long ago.
In this very manner.