The Room of Truth
"Well then, to start, I believe it would be best if everyone except the young lady and myself stepped outside."
The maids who had escorted me shuffled out of the room. But just as the young maid standing beside her made to take her leave, the girl reached out and snatched her wrist in defiance.
"What nonsense are you spouting? Yeon-ah is staying right by my side."
"Y-Young Lady, I really think I should..."
The poor maid kept darting anxious glances back and forth, clearly frozen in place. Left like this, there was not a chance she would ever be allowed to leave. The look on the young lady's face screamed, Go on, try me if you think you're tough enough.
I tamped down my irritation, forcing a polite smile onto my face.
"The Family Head has granted me full authority over your education, Young Lady. If you insist on behaving like this, I will have no choice but to resort to extreme measures—much as I would prefer not to. I would be most grateful if you simply complied with my instructions."
She clearly had no intention of listening, treating my words as in one ear and out the other. As I stood there watching her in silence, she even had the nerve to giggle.
*Snap.*
That was the unmistakable sound of my patience snapping like a dry twig. Fine... if you're begging for it that badly, I have no choice but to use that method.
"Wait, what on earth is that?"
I pointed out the window, and she reflexively whipped her head around.
"Huh? What are you—"
The instant her guard dropped, I snatched the maid out of her grip with practiced ease.
"W-What do you think you're doing?!"
My sudden move left her flustered, completely at a loss. Having been pampered and spoiled her entire life no matter what tantrums she threw, it had never once crossed her mind that someone might actually trick her.
Ignoring her outrage, I offered the maid a pleasant smile. "Hurry along now."
"A-Are you sure it's alright...?"
Her face was etched with genuine dread as she looked between me and her mistress.
"I'll take care of everything, so there's no need to worry. You may go."
She hesitated for a split second, then evidently made up her mind and bolted straight out the door, shouting over her shoulder.
"Young Lady, I'm so sorry...!"
"Y-Yeon-ah...!"
The girl reached out desperately toward the doorway, but the maid had already vanished like the wind.
Now that only the two of us remained, a heavy silence settled over the room.
"...At last, it's just the two of us, Young Lady."
"Do you really think that will make me listen to—"
"Oh, there's no need for that. I happen to be of the exact same mind."
Turning my back on her, I strolled toward the door and snapped my fingers.
*Snap!*
Clueless as to what that gesture actually meant, she pitiably continued to screech at the top of her lungs.
"Just you wait until I get out of here, I'm telling Father everything! If I say the word, you could literally die! So if you apologize to me right n-now... Huh?"
"Ah, did you finally notice? Color me impressed. You've actually studied your formations a bit, haven't you?"
That finger snap had activated a hidden formation. Reaching inside my robes, I pulled out an iron helmet I had prepared beforehand.
"W-What are you going to do with that...?"
"Put it on and sit quietly. It's for your own safety. I never got to wear protective gear after my very first time, so you should count your lucky stars."
Without the faintest clue what was happening, she meekly pulled the helmet over her head. ...Funnily enough, she listened surprisingly well at times like this. Well, saves me the trouble.
It had been so long since I'd done this that a thrill of excitement bubbled up, and I caught myself humming a little tune. Watching me, she began to tremble like an aspen leaf in a gale.
Now then... Hm? You're asking what kind of formation I laid down earlier? Nothing particularly grand. It's just a simple array that prevents a single peep of sound from leaking outside. If you're wondering why on earth I suddenly needed something like that, we have to travel back exactly twenty years.
I was ten years old, the day I made my very first escape attempt—only to get nabbed by that bald old codger.
"Ho-yeon, what did I tell you happens if I catch you running away?"
"..."
"I see you have no intention of explaining why you tried to run."
I couldn't fathom for the life of me how he didn't already know, but since opening my mouth felt like a surefire ticket to being pounded into paste by that massive fist, I kept my lips sealed tight.
"..."
"Very well. You must have had your reasons, so I shall respect them."
When the old bastard, who normally ruled with an iron fist, suddenly acted as if he were cutting me some slack, alarm bells began ringing wildly in my head.
"...?"
"In exchange, I expect that conviction of yours never to waver. Understand? Now then, put this on first."
It was an iron helmet, though it felt as if something else had been forged into the metal. Back then, completely ignorant of what donning it actually entailed, I put it on without the slightest suspicion.
Then, for some unfathomable reason, the old man clenched his fist and hoisted it high into the air. Only then did I realize that something was horribly wrong. I struggled frantically to scramble away, but it was utterly futile.
*Grab!*
"Where do you think you're going, Ho-yeon? We haven't finished our little chat. If a shred of truth happens to cross your mind, be sure to speak up promptly."
"W-Wait a second—!"
*Whoosh—*
*BAM! BAM!!*
"Guh-ack! I-I'll talk! I'll talk...!!"
*Whoosh—*
"Eeeek...!!"
"A moment later, and you would've caught another one."
Staring at the crushed, completely mangled wreck of a helmet after that brutal thrashing, I had an epiphany.
Namely... there is nothing in this world that a fist cannot solve.
Basking in that nostalgic memory, I slowly drew back my fist.
"H-Huh? Why are you..."
"Do you know what this formation is called? It had a different name originally, but I gave it a new one. The Room of Truth. In short, no matter how loudly you scream in here, not a whisper will reach the outside. Nobody will ever know what happens in this room."
Watching her flinch in sheer horror gave me an odd sensation. It was almost like looking at my past self.
"So, if there's anything truthful you want to say, you'd better speak up quickly, got it?"
*Whoosh—*
*BAM!*
"Kyaaaaah!!"
Only now did I truly understand why Master had forced that helmet onto my head back then. This was surprisingly thrilling; I couldn't help but pour more and more power into it.
"Tsk, tsk. I told you, trying to block will only hurt you more. Let's go again..."
*BAM! BAM!*
"Guh-ack! P-Please stop, Master...!!"
My fist, already rocketing toward her head, screeched to a halt at her desperate plea.
In just three strikes, she had been tamed into utter submission.
"...What's this? Giving up already?"
What a shame. The stress I'd built up earlier was just starting to melt away.
Deep dents shaped like my knuckles were cleanly stamped across the iron helmet. When I pulled it off her head, her face beneath was completely drowned in snot and tears.
"Hic... sob... Uwaaaaaah!"
I thought I had controlled my strength reasonably well, but apparently not well enough. For a fleeting second, the thought crossed my mind that perhaps I'd gone a bit overboard, but I quickly discarded it. If I showed the slightest hint of leniency, she would revert back to her spoiled ways in an instant.
"Cut the tears and start talking."
"Hic... ugh... sob..."
The moment I made a subtle motion to raise my fist again, she flinched in absolute terror and babbled frantically.
"Hic! I-I'm sawy! I won't—hic—ever do it again...!!"
"Hmm, not very convincing."
"F-From now on—sob—I'll be good, I promise...!"
"Hmph..."
When I pretended to mull it over, she began waving her hands frantically in every direction, desperate to prove her sincerity.
Who knew getting beaten like a dog back in the day would come in so handy? Damn old geezer.
I glanced down at the battered helmet lying on the floor. Looking at it, the tempting thought crept in that maybe I could just ignore her pleas and give it one more solid whack. The impact felt really satisfying in my hand, after all...
The second she saw me smacking my lips while staring at the helmet, she dropped flat to the floor and begged for mercy.
"H-Heeek! P-Please forgive me, Master!!"
"See? Wouldn't it have been so much nicer if you'd acted like this from the beginning?"
"Y-Yes, of course! Ha, haha..."
Not a shred remained of the insolent brat from earlier; she had been transformed completely. Such was the miraculous efficacy of the Room of Truth.
What? You think I went too far against a young girl? Fists are the great equalizer. She ought to be thanking me on her knees for knocking some sense into her head before the world did it worse.
...Did I ever feel thankful to that old geezer, you ask?
...Ahem. Well, all's well that ends well, isn't it?
A moment later, I snapped my fingers to deactivate the formation.
*Snap.*
"That will be all for today. See you tomorrow."
"Y-Yes..."
As I stepped out into the courtyard, someone was waiting for me. Half of his face was concealed behind an open folding fan, obscuring his features.
"Who might you be?"
"So you are So-yeong's new tutor."
He slowly lowered the fan, revealing beady, weasel-like eyes set into an intensely sly, ratty face.
"...Pfft."
A snort escaped my lips before I could stop it. The man was just so remarkably ugly.
"..."
Yet despite my blatant rudeness, he only showed a flicker of discomfort rather than flying into a rage. Instead, he forced a laugh so strained anyone could see right through it.
"I am Jegal San. I hold the position of Fifth Elder within the clan. I happen to have some business with you—might we speak in private?"
Just looking at him gave off a foul stench, but my instincts warned me that something thoroughly shady was brewing. I had a creeping suspicion he was about to solicit me for something unsavory.
Moreover, the two men flanking him... At a glance, they looked like ordinary bodyguard escorts, but there was no fooling me. Those two were assassins. And damn skilled ones at that.
They had probably done their best to mask the scent of blood, but they couldn't deceive my nose. The reek of slaughter, steeped into their very marrow from years in the trade, drifted faintly through the air. A closer look revealed that both of them were wearing human skin masks to disguise their true identities.
Just what could he possibly want with me to go to such absurd lengths...?
For now, I decided to play along.
"...Haha, certainly. Where should we head?"
"Follow me."