6. Baek Clan Estate (5)
Baek Clan Estate (5)
6. Baek Clan Estate (5)
"I'm embarrassed, but I did my best. Did you enjoy it?"
Even after getting me off, Gyeong Su-yeon asked anxiously. I wasn't shameless enough to tell her I hadn't enjoyed it after she'd seen the pathetic mess I'd been in after climaxing.
"You worked hard. Take off your underwear and lift your skirt."
"Yes, Young Master."
Without a moment's hesitation, Gyeong Su-yeon reached under her skirt, pulled down her inner trousers, and lifted the hem. Though petite and pale-skinned, she had surprisingly wild pubic hair. Since I'd been the only one to show a pathetic face and felt somehow defeated, I decided to return the favor. She spread her legs just enough to give me easy access. When my fingers touched her opening, I felt her flinch. As expected, unlike in porn, performing unwanted oral sex didn't leave her wet.
I had no intention of thrusting my fingers deep inside her and stirring them around. I played lightly at her entrance while teasing her clitoris. I'd been a virgin in my previous life, and I still had little sexual experience in this one. I'd assumed a clitoris would spring erect after a few touches like a nipple, but perhaps because its hood was thick, it merely hardened without swelling or standing prominently. Moisture gradually appeared. Whether she liked it or not, her conscious feelings and her body's hormonal responses were separate matters. Even if she hated me, lubrication in response to direct stimulation was a physiological reaction.
"Yeon-hwa lost her chastity mark last month."
Gyeong Yeon-hwa. Her younger sister and the second daughter of the Gyeongse Sect. Perhaps unwilling to feel sexual pleasure from my touch, while I was fondling her pussy, she abruptly started shifting the topic to her sister.
"Really? That bastard Dan-yeong. He didn't even let on all this time. Your sister must have cried a lot. Comfort her well."
At those words, she looked at me cautiously, her face reddening.
"We were already resolved. You may take my virginity at any time, Young Master, and I shall receive it gladly."
Gyeong Su-yeon spoke while gently stroking the red dot on her upper arm.
The chastity mark. That red spot proved her virginity, disappearing the moment her hymen tore. I had no idea what a mark on the skin had to do with the hymen, but that was simply how this world worked. Applying one cost a great deal, so daughters of wealthy households such as her wore them. Now that Gyeong Yeon-hwa had lost hers, the whole world could see that she was no longer a virgin. Since she was a martial artist and martial families valued physical ability much as athletic circles did, losing her virginity wouldn't make marriage impossible. It did, however, rule out marrying into a prestigious house. Gyeong Su-yeon was preparing for the same fate.
In this era, just as in my past life's era, a woman wanting to marry into a good household was an utterly natural aspiration. Yet even though that future had become impossible the moment those sisters were offered to us brothers as sexual playthings, why was the Gyeongse Sect Leader making his daughters do this? The answer was simple. The Gyeongse Sect was the only sect in this vicinity aside from the Baek Clan Estate. The Baek Clan Estate had thoroughly excluded the establishment of any sect in the surrounding area, whether orthodox or unorthodox.
Keeping neighboring powers out was practically the Baek Clan Estate's creed, even when it meant accepting bloodshed or enormous financial losses.
Then why had Gyeongse Sect survived after establishing itself near the Baek Clan Estate? Because it submitted to us. Its leader was a former disciple of our estate and served us almost like a slave in exchange for permission to found his sect. At every ceremony, the Baek Clan Estate stood as the senior authority; even now, the Gyeongse Sect Leader bowed to me and addressed even me as Young Master. Every matter, large or small, required our permission, and they paid tribute each year. That submission allowed Gyeongse Sect to become the only other sect established in this otherwise untapped region. One look at the clothing Gyeong Su-yeon wore made the profits they enjoyed easy to understand.
We weren't quite so servile, but when we visited the Murong Clan, Father likewise bowed until his head nearly touched the ground before Murong Rin, who was around my age. Even so, the Murong Clan was in the Central Plains, far from the Baek Clan Estate despite being our nearest major power. Paying our respects once or twice a year was enough to satisfy them. Gyeongse Sect's position was entirely different. The Murong Clan operated on a different scale and in a different sphere, so courtesy alone sufficed. Gyeongse Sect had barely been permitted to operate inside our territory. Strictly speaking, it survived by begging for a share of the profits that belonged to us and therefore had no choice but to prostrate itself. If it provoked even my temper, let alone Father's, it could be destroyed overnight.
They had sent their two precious daughters to the two of us as sexual playthings, accepting that the girls would never marry into respectable families. That was Gyeongse Sect's declaration of submission. By offering their beautiful daughters and seeking the protection of becoming our in-laws, they demonstrated in advance that they had no intention of opposing the Baek Clan Estate. Their leader was abject to a disgusting degree. Judging by how he had offered us his daughters, he had probably already offered his own wife to Father, though I'd never confirmed it.
My past world, too, had been ruled ruthlessly by strength once its thin veneer was stripped away. In this world, that law governed everything openly and without disguise. Weakness was a sin. It was a rule accepted as self-evident in my old world, this world, and every world inhabited by humans.
As I stroked her while lost in idle thoughts, her legs suddenly snapped shut. No matter how much she hated me or tried to divert the conversation to her sister, she seemed to be approaching climax.
"Don't close them. Spread your legs."
"Ha... haa... Yes... Yes... Y-Young Master."
She barely managed to answer, but her thighs continued closing. Of course she could not deliberately hold them open in that state. I forced my hand between them, moved more roughly, and drove her firmly over the edge. Her eyes widened; her composed face went slack, and a little drool escaped her lips. She wore the same pathetic expression I had earlier, except that tears brimmed in her eyes. At last, she collapsed.
I held my wet hand out before her flushed face as she panted. As befitted a martial artist, she steadied her breathing after only a few breaths, wiped my hand with a handkerchief, and cleaned herself as well. While she remained crouched, I kneaded her breasts again and spoke.
"You sisters seem to get along well?"
"We do, Young Master."
"I'm a little envious of that. I get along badly with that bastard Dan-yeong."
"The Second Young Master can be rough, but I believe he will one day understand how generous you are, Eldest Young Master."
"I'm generous? Then that bastard Dan-yeong must be a complete son of a bitch?"
"Th-That's not what I meant."
Gyeong Su-yeon had only just recovered from her orgasm and regained her composure when she answered, flustered.
"You said you're close with your sister? How does Lady Yeon-hwa get along with Dan-yeong? I want to reconcile with my bastard brother too, so I'd like to know a bit about him."
At those words, she looked troubled.
"The one thing I do know is this. His cock is really tiny, right? So even though Lady Yeon-hwa lost her virginity, it probably didn't hurt that much."
A light joke. Judging by her hesitating face, she'd already heard as much from her sister.
"We do some light caressing, you use your mouth on me, and once we are done, we drink tea or something. It's always been like that. What does he do to her?"
"Th... well..."
She hesitated. I released the breast I'd been kneading, took her hand, helped her up, seated her in a chair, and poured her tea. She couldn't refuse my orders anyway. After I'd shown her even this small kindness, she struggled with herself for a moment, gave in, and began speaking quietly.
"I heard the Second Young Master is very different from you, Eldest Young Master. Every time Yeon-hwa visits the Baek Clan Estate, she returns to the Gyeongse Sect and cries all day without coming out of her room."
"Lady Yeon-hwa did seem tender-hearted. I feel a little sorry now. But what about you? You don't cry anymore?"
"Young Master. May I speak honestly?"
"Of course. Even if our relationship is like this, we've known each other for ten years. We have a fair idea of each other's personalities, do we not?"
At those words, Gyeong Su-yeon nodded quietly.
"To be honest, there were times I felt so ashamed and humiliated I wanted to shed tears myself. But when I hear Yeon-hwa's stories, I absolutely cannot show tears."
"Is it that serious?"
"Although I offer my body to you as well, you at least treat me as a woman, Young Master. The Second Young Master does not treat Yeon-hwa like a woman at all. Whenever she returns from the Baek Clan Estate, her whole body is covered in bruises."
Ah... I had a rough idea. That bastard, his dick is fucking tiny, yet he takes after Father in useless ways. No matter how much Lady Tang educated him, this apparently couldn't be helped. That bastard was a son who admired Father, same as me.
"Got it. I'll have a word. Ah, in a way that won't cause trouble for you two."
Her eyes widened. She must have found it absurd to hear me say such a thing when I was just as much her sexual exploiter.
"And I have really good news. I'm leaving the Baek Clan Estate for a while. I've decided to enter a sect in the Central Plains and become a Taoist. So you don't have to come visit me every month like this anymore."
"What?"
"It's an all-female sect, so I'll find myself a decent wife there. You should choose a decent man and get married as well. The Baek Clan Estate will still be watching, so don't choose someone from too powerful a background—just find a good man. If the Gyeongse Sect Leader has any conscience, he'll allow at least that much for a daughter who's suffered for years."
"Y-Young Master!"
She couldn't keep up with what I was saying.
"Why? There's nothing you can't do, right? I never touched your virginity, so your chastity mark is definitely still there. If you marry into a suitably ordinary household, Father won't give you trouble either. Even if we say the situation was unavoidable for both of us, I'm well aware I've done terrible things to you, so though it may be hypocritical, I'll apologize like this."
I rose from the chair, bowed, and apologized to her. Although I'd been playing with her body like a red-light-district courtesan only moments earlier, the apology left her at a loss and even moved her. This, too, was the logic of power. An apology from the powerful worked that easily. Honestly, I didn't feel true guilt. Faced with leaving the estate, I had apologized on a whim because the morals of my past life left me vaguely uncomfortable. She would probably remember it for the rest of her life.
My farewell to Gyeong Su-yeon, who had relieved my sexual urges over the past several years, ended that simply. Now only that bastard remained.
"Young Master. What business brings you here?"
When I approached Dan-yeong's door, the servant in front of it asked in surprise. He had every reason to, since today was the first time I'd ever come here.
"What do you think I'm here for? I came to see my brother."
"Huh? Ah... yes. Understood. But will you be all right? Madam is inside as well."
Lady Tang was Father's second wife, and every retainer in the Baek Clan Estate knew how badly she and I got along. My existence was naturally a problem for her; I was the greatest obstacle to her biological son Dan-yeong becoming Clan Head. For my part, I could hardly feel warmly toward her either. When I was only two and my mother's health had deteriorated, Father had brought Lady Tang into the household as a politically arranged second wife.
But not long after she arrived, my mother passed away, and the woman who had been merely Father's second wife became the matriarch of the Baek Clan Estate.
There was also an unresolved, unsettling rumor. My mother's illness had suddenly worsened as soon as Lady Tang arrived, and she died soon afterward. Lady Tang came from the Sichuan Tang Clan, peerless in the use of poison. Even without speaking it aloud, everyone in the Baek Clan Estate felt some unease toward her. But what did any of that matter now? I had already withdrawn from the contest to become Young Clan Head.
"What does it matter? Just announce that I've come."
"Yes. Understood.
"Young Master. The Eldest Young Master has come to see you."
What an inefficient method. I could simply have knocked and entered, yet etiquette demanded that a servant announce me first. There was no helping it.
"What?"
Dan-yeong's startled voice. Annoying.
"It's me. I'm coming in."
I opened the door and entered without waiting for the servant. Dan-yeong stared at me in shock, while Lady Tang looked as though she'd seen something dreadful.
"I pay my respects, Madam."
First, I paid my respects to her.
"What is your business, Eldest Young Master? You may be the eldest son of the Baek Clan Estate, but entering without the occupant's permission is a gross breach of etiquette."
Lady Tang's voice rose, as expected, clearly displeased.
"We're family, so what does it matter? An older brother can visit his younger brother's room."
"You would have heard from the servant that I was present here?"
"So I ask again, what does it matter? Can a son not see his mother?"
Lady Tang dropped the teacup in her hand. Dan-yeong's face was equally horrified. I dropped into an empty chair at the table where mother and son sat and helped myself to their refreshments.
Whoa. This bastard really had been eating well, thanks to his mother.