The Patriarch's Harsh Sentence
My first impression of the family head’s residence was simple: If someone told me this was a royal palace, I’d believe them without question. The building was so overwhelmingly imposing that even picturing one of those grand, whale-backed tiled mansions fell short.
It wasn’t just the architecture that threw me off. The warriors guarding the pavilions radiated razor-sharp auras that pressed down on me like blades at my throat.
“Are there usually this many guards?” I asked.
“Not normally, no. The security’s been strangely tight lately,” Yeom Choong replied, sounding equally puzzled.
Regardless, once we sent word inside, a whole crowd came pouring out to greet us. Looks like he cleared everyone out so he could speak with his son in private. Seeing at least forty people drop whatever they were doing just for me made me feel genuinely sorry. As a former salaryman, I knew exactly how annoying that kind of interruption was.
“Back in my day, if the chairman’s son was coming, the entire staff would polish the office until it sparkled.”
I still remembered waxing the floors for the first time right after graduation. Oh, and all that sewing I did during my military service. Now here I was, playing the role of the chairman’s son. The thought actually improved my mood.
“Please come inside, Young Master,” Yeom Choong said, gesturing forward.
I smiled contentedly and stepped through the doors. All right. Time for the private audience.
The interior of the family head’s hall was every bit as grand as its exterior suggested. Gold decorations glittered so brightly they hurt my eyes, and the ceramics and incense burners were clearly worth a fortune. Expensive treasures filled every corner of the vast space.
But I didn’t have time to admire any of it. A middle-aged man with an intense presence was staring straight at me. He sat on a chair draped with tiger skin, his piercing gaze so fierce it was difficult to meet his eyes. I knew instantly that he was the patriarch.
The only problem was what I should call him. Father? Patriarch? Dad? I had no clue what the original Choun-seong had used.
That was when he spoke.
“It’s been a while, Seong-ah.”
Confirmed. This was Cho Ja-hyeok, lord of Chogabo and my father in this world.
I gritted my teeth and put on my most respectful expression.
“Have you been well?”
No title, no unnecessary honorifics. I clasped my hands together and offered a quiet bow. Cho Ja-hyeok’s expression shifted subtly.
“You’ve changed quite a bit.”
“In the past you couldn’t even look me in the eye…”
Just what kind of life did this lunatic live? I pushed the rising questions aside and answered calmly.
“I was told you summoned me.”
“I did.”
“May I ask what this is about?”
“There have been certain stories reaching my ears lately.”
Cho Ja-hyeok’s tone was deceptively mild, yet it carried an unmistakable pressure. A cold sweat trickled down my back. This isn’t going to be easy to escape. His aura was sharp, practically demanding an immediate explanation.
What a cold man. If this was my father, childish antics definitely wouldn’t work. Since there was no point hiding it, I answered without hesitation.
“There was a small disturbance.”
“Is throwing suggestive glances at your brother’s fiancée and attempting to grope her what you call a ‘small disturbance’?”
Damn it. It wasn’t even simple harassment; it was attempted molestation? This damn horny maniac. Oh right. That maniac is me now.
I quickly tried to steer the conversation.
“At the time I wasn’t in my right mind…”
“I can barely remember any time when you were in your right mind.”
“That’s not—”
His smile never reached his eyes. The atmosphere was terrifying. Even though this was our first meeting, I suddenly understood why the original Choun-seong had been so scared of him. His speech was far too cunning for a simple brute to handle. He’s exactly like one of those vicious managing directors at the company.
“You’re working overtime? Good work. Head on home.”
But the moment you actually tried to leave—
“You’re going already? Work must be easy these days, huh?”
Then the next day he’d shove another report in your face. He’d keep you until dawn drinking, and if you were even a minute late the following morning he’d growl at you again. Ugh. After surviving that kind of evil boss, this was practically mild. The difference between nuclear fire chicken ramen and mild bone soup noodles.
I played dumb.
“Well, I’m still young. My memory is a bit foggy sometimes.”
“You’re hardly a child of seventeen.”
“Then perhaps I’ve simply grown too old and my memory is failing.”
“Are you joking in front of the family head?”
Suddenly an aura like frost erupted from Cho Ja-hyeok’s body. This uncle has a short fuse. The pressure radiating from an ordinary person was unbelievable. As expected of the man who leads one of the top ten merchant groups.
In the original novel he’d been a background character with no importance, but this was an unexpected twist. This world really doesn’t make things easy.
I grew even more tense but kept my voice composed.
“If my joke went too far, I apologize. Having grown up alone, I’m not very good at reading other people—”
“Grew up alone?”
“There was no one to teach me. Unlike my older brothers, I didn’t have dedicated instructors, did I?”
“You were the one who drove those teachers away.”
So that’s why only Baek No was around me. The original idiot had brought it on himself. Still, I couldn’t just nod and apologize here. His expression was far too frightening for this to end so simply.
I continued playing innocent.
“Are people who would abandon a child over a tantrum truly worthy of being called teachers?”
“Hmph. So you’re saying it’s my fault for neglecting you?”
“I’m simply stating facts. There’s no need to dwell on past rights and wrongs, is there?”
Cho Ja-hyeok let out a low laugh.
“It seems death and resurrection have made you quite bold.”
“Living in fear doesn’t seem any better. What do you think? I may not have teachers, but I still have parents. I’d like to hear some encouraging words from you.”
“Haha, well now…”
Cho Ja-hyeok looked genuinely taken aback. Of course he would be. The son who used to cower and run away was now talking back. But from the look in his eyes, I could tell—he wasn’t truly angry. After five years of corporate life, I knew a bad expression when I saw one. As expected, instead of a roar, I received a somewhat softened rebuke.
“Whatever the reason, you have done something that should never have been done.”
Is he changing the subject?
But the next words were completely unexpected.
“Your greatest sin is that others learned of your mistake.”
Cho Ja-hyeok continued.
“Within Chogabo, the power of the direct bloodline is absolute. At least here, it is even more so.”
His eyes flashed as he spoke.
“The direct bloodline never makes mistakes.”
In other words, even if mistakes were made, they were never acknowledged. Suddenly I remembered the recent incident.
“The Young Master has done nothing wrong.”
“For the legitimate son of Chogabo to act so pathetically…”
Now I understood both men’s reactions. They were protecting the powerful image of Chogabo. Rather than feeling angry, this part actually made sense to me.
What the hell is this? If I’d caused trouble, he should have just scolded me. Instead he’d locked me away deep in the inner court and left me to suffer. Why had he left this maniac unchecked? He should have beaten some sense into him!
Before I could voice any objection, Cho Ja-hyeok declared sternly:
"I hereby order you to permanent house arrest."
Permanent house arrest? Was he planning to lock me inside forever? For a single apology, this punishment seemed excessively harsh.
“Furthermore, the upcoming elders’ council will determine your final treatment. Prepare yourself!”
Elders’ council? What was that about? I need to look into this.
“Aigoo, Young Master!”
After hearing what happened in the family head’s hall, Baek No wailed dramatically. Yeom Choong looked utterly dejected, unable to lift his head. I felt just as heavy.
Finally I spoke.
“Baek No. What does it mean that they’re bringing my case before the elders’ council?”
“Hic… Young Master. It is extremely rare for a blood relative’s name to appear before the elders’ council.”
“So what does it mean?”
“In most cases, it concerns expulsion from the family—”
“Not just a scolding and some punishment?”
Baek No wiped his eyes with his sleeve and shook his head.
“Punishment is the patriarch’s authority. The elders’ council does not handle such trivial matters.”
In short, in the worst case I could be thrown out of the family entirely. It was enough to make me want to cry. This is completely different from dealing with a modern managing director.
Does this even make sense? The man who had stayed silent through all my previous atrocities was now ready to expel his son the moment I tried to turn over a new leaf? Even for a trashy novel, this was hard to accept.
There must be something more. I need to find out what it is.
I’d somehow obtained a flower path. Being kicked out now would be the same as throwing it away myself. I couldn’t let that happen.
There has to be a way. I must find the answer.
That night, alone at last, I opened the Cheonryong Chronicle.
In the original story, the elders’ council had convened because of internal sword fighting. Yet now they were treating an incident where I nearly killed someone and my apology to Lady Seo Mun as equivalent offenses?
It was as if fate was flowing exactly according to a predetermined storyline.
“Does that mean no matter what good deeds I perform, I’m destined to become the future villain? This world can’t possibly be that simplistic.”
Of course the original novel was simplistic and stupid. But even so, this was ridiculous.
“Ugh, absolutely not! I will change it no matter what.”
As someone who knew the future, I was certain of one thing—there had to be something I didn’t know yet.
After flipping through the Cheonryong Chronicle with desperate intensity, I discovered a strange passage.
As the two trading companies cut off their dealings, Cho Ja-hyeok began to worry greatly.
Taken at face value, the sentence meant nothing special. Just that losing a couple of business partners had caused him serious concern. But the more I thought about it, the stranger it seemed.
Would the patriarch really shut himself away just because two minor trading companies cut ties?
Chogabo’s wealth was among the greatest in the world. We had money to burn and countless merchants lining up to do business with us. There were far larger and more important partners than those two.
“Those two companies didn’t have any special characteristics either.”
There was another odd passage.
The master of Hoeui Hall visited, filling three entire carts with medicinal herbs he wished to sell.
The master of Hoeui Hall. He wasn’t some legendary figure like the Sichuan Tang Clan or the Divine Doctor, but he was still the leader of a prestigious medical house renowned for its healing arts.
The master of such a prestigious house personally came to sell a few herbs? And with three full carts at that?
In this world without modern division of labor, medical houses usually operated under an apprenticeship system. The leader would examine patients personally and pass on knowledge to disciples. It was rare for the representative of such a sect to leave his post.
I felt a spark of intuition.
“There must have been a reason he had to come personally. There has to be.”
A small clue had appeared.
“I need to dig deeper.”
As expected, Baek No’s skills were excellent. Less than a few hours after I asked, he returned with the materials I’d requested.
“These are all the documents related to Hoeui Hall that you asked for, Young Master.”
I tilted my head at the dozen or so books piled on the table.
“More than I expected?”
“It’s only natural. They’ve had a long trading relationship with Chogabo.”
“Is there a special reason?”
“As you know, the master of Hoeui Hall and the patriarch have been close friends for a long time. Since they’re also the closest prestigious medical house, it makes sense.”
Oh. I didn’t know that. So the master of Hoeui Hall and my father were old friends.
Did I mess up then?
Clicking my tongue, I flipped through the book covers. One entry immediately caught my eye.
“Transaction logs?”
Scanning through them, I found countless tiny characters listing endless records.
“The volume is enormous.”
“It’s a place famous for excellent medicinal herbs. It’s bound to be a lot.”
“Do they visit often?”
“Usually once a week, but there are days when three deliveries arrive in a single day. In summer, when there are many patients with heat-related illnesses, the carriages come quite frequently.”
“I see. That makes sense.”
The original novel had been far less detailed. Maybe I had been thinking too simply. Still, I had to go through all of this.
But I can’t give up now.
This was my chance to test whether my choices could truly change a predetermined fate. I had to find a way, no matter what.