Chapter 72

“What sudden whim has blown in?”

The chief Seong Yu-geon asked Bukgung Cheon.

“You’ve never done this before, have you, Lord?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean officially recognizing the young masters and the young ladies as candidates for the Family Lord. If you were going to do this, you could’ve done it long ago. Why make such a declaration only now?”

Bukgung Cheon gave a cold, silent sneer.

With Bukgung Cheon’s official declaration, the competition that had been waged beneath the surface would now rise openly.

Nobles would use gold and force, schemes and dirty tricks—he’d declared that means didn’t matter.

And the youngest daughter drawn into this arena of predators, Bukgung Yoon, was…

…!

Seong Yu-geon widened his eyes as realization hit.

When circumstances are hard to understand, you have to invert your thinking.

The question wasn’t “Why did the Family Lord do this now?”

But rather, “Why could the Family Lord only do this now?”

Seong Yu-geon had clawed his way up from the bottom to become inner hall chief of the preeminent family; his instincts were razor-sharp.

“…It’s because of Miss Yoon.”

One of Bukgung Cheon’s eyebrows twitched crookedly.

The twitch proved Seong Yu-geon was right.

“So there was never any talk of a next Family Lord because you were waiting for Miss Yoon. You were waiting for her to step out from under the young masters’ shadows and earn her qualification by my hand. Only then could you formally proclaim it to the retainers.”

…

Bukgung Cheon answered with silence. To Seong Yu-geon, who had dealt with him for years, that silence was a yes.

“Family Lord… do you wish to make Miss Yoon the Family Lord?”

Bukgung Cheon looked at Seong Yu-geon without a word.

Seong Yu-geon bowed his head, admitting his presumption.

“I’m sorry. That was presumptuous of me.”

But then—

“…Because that child resembles me the most.”

…!

Bukgung Cheon replied.

“But I will not protect Yoon for that reason alone. That alone does not fulfill the qualifications to sit in this seat.”

“Then…”

“I will simply watch. As I am doing now.”

However,

“How far Yoon can go will be entirely up to her.”

“I must devour Yoon.”

Bukgung Mok-min, the Fifth Young Master of the Bukgung Family, muttered.

“This is my chance.”

The Sixth Young Master, Bukgung Bi-beom—like a thorn in his eye—had been knocked out of contention.

And it was Bukgung Yoon, the weakest among the Bukgung siblings—or not even considered a contender—who now stood in the center of it all.

“That stupid bastard.”

Bukgung Mok-min chuckled.

He’d been surprised to hear that Bukgung Bi-beom had been bested by the youngest.

How on earth? By visible strengths, the gap should have been unbridgeable.

But the circumstances were even more absurd: betrayal. A single internal defector had upended Solitary Cloud Manor. It wasn’t even a fight.

“Bi-beom was indeed the puppet of that commander fellow.”

Ironically, the reason the Fifth Young Master couldn’t take Solitary Cloud Manor was because of that commander.

Unlike careless Bukgung Bi-beom, the commander was a bright, scheming serpent skilled in stratagems.

It was that commander who repeatedly thwarted Mok-min’s attempts to expand into Shandong.

But that commander grew greedy, eyed the Dragon’s Blood, tried to swallow Flying Swallow Manor whole—and was struck down.

Was this what they called a windfall?

Thanks to that, Solitary Cloud Manor, having lost its head, fell apart, and for the Fifth Young Master with his eyes on Shandong, it was as if a feast had dropped into his lap.

“Yoon, Yoon… You aim for the Family Lord? Your brother knows you’re not serious. Women are suited more to wearing thin clothes and sewing in the boudoir than chasing big dreams.”

Bukgung Mok-min believed he knew women well.

A woman’s outward words and inner thoughts are different creatures.

She wants to be Family Lord? Of the most preeminent family in the land?

Not a chance. Childish talk from a little sister.

Rather than let her stand in the wide world, he wanted to teach his sister the true happiness of settling for small comforts.

As a brother, he could magnanimously create a suitable little sandbox for his youngest sibling’s play.

The problem was…

“There will surely be elder brothers besides me eyeing Flying Swallow Manor….”

But it’s fine.

If his bargaining partner was a woman, Bukgung Mok-min was confident he wouldn’t lose to anyone.

Winning a beauty’s heart was his specialty.

“Heh heh heh…”

Bukgung Mok-min dreamed a sweet dream: the great tiger’s wyrm becoming a dragon and ascending to the heavens…

The bold declaration by the Bukgung Family’s youngest daughter—and the Family Lord’s recognition, the reversed succession structure—meant Bukgung Yoon, mistress of Flying Swallow Manor, who had drawn everyone’s attention, was now…

“Kyaaah!”

Rolling on the ground, Bukgung Yoon braced herself with trembling arms.

Her tailored martial uniform was caked in dirt, her throat raw from dust, and her cheeks scraped and stinging.

If the External Protection Troops who had risked their lives to protect her had seen her now, they would have stamped their feet and wailed.

To subject her—now officially acknowledged as a candidate for the Bukgung Family Lord—to such humiliation was precisely because of…

“Are you tired already?”

It was Yeon Mujin, captain of the External Protection Troops.

“…”

Bukgung Yoon looked up at Yeon Mujin with a glare that made her teeth chatter.

Where had it all gone wrong?

After the Bukgung Family Lord’s proclamation, on the way back to Flying Swallow Manor, Bukgung Yoon’s mind had been in turmoil.

She had poured everything out to her father as if she’d lost her mind, the family’s retainers and her brothers had heard it, and she had even been confirmed as qualified in front of all those people.

Bukgung Yoon felt as if she had been stripped naked and made to dance.

‘How embarrassing….’

Fidgeting as they returned, Yeon Mujin stared at her and said bluntly.

—Manor Lord, do you know how your face looks right now?

—How does my face look?

—Among the manor lords I’ve seen, it’s the most…

The most?

—ugly.

—….

Bukgung Yoon shot a venomous glare.

—It’s a sincere statement without a single lie.

—It seems Captain Yeon hasn’t fully tasted the manor lord’s authority.

—That didn’t actually hurt; I just pretended it did. I was worried you might feel embarrassed, Lady.

Bukgung Yoon raised a finger.

—Shall we try once more?

—All right.

Yeon Mujin answered while watching the passing scenery.

—But let’s do it back at Flying Swallow Manor. When your head is cluttered, moving your body is best.

Despite the annoying delivery, the content was sensible.

Bukgung Yoon needed a way to clear her thoughts.

But she hadn’t expected it to be this intense.

“You are feeble. Fragile. Flimsy. Weak. Delicate.”

“Captain Yeon, please shut up.”

“Frailty, slackness, listlessness, timidity. At this level you’re only fit for the External Protection Troops’ ‘shake-shake’ games. Shall we stop now?”

Bukgung Yoon genuinely hated Yeon Mujin.

“You’re taking revenge on me for pricking Captain Yeon’s ego, aren’t you?”

“No, I’m not.”

“You are taking revenge, though.”

“Absolutely not.”

“You’re using this chance to unload everything you’ve built up on me.”

“No, I’m not.”

“That’s informal speech!”

An aggrieved Bukgung Yoon shouted.

Of course, Yeon Mujin didn’t flinch.

“So will you give up?”

“…One more time.”

Before she could take three steps, she was thrown down again.

“Damn it…”

Before the sand-gritting Bukgung Yoon, Yeon Mujin danced and caused a commotion.

The rule was simple: whatever trick Bukgung Yoon used, if she could grab Yeon Mujin’s sleeve she would win; if she fell, she lost.

Today’s result was zero wins, seven losses.

In the blink of an eye, Yeon Mujin snatched Bukgung Yoon’s wrist and spun her around.

Her body followed him—she fell for the same move seven times in a row.

Bukgung Yoon, who prided herself on being clever, felt truly humiliated.

“Why on earth are we doing this!”

“Don’t you know why we’re doing this?”

Yeon Mujin asked.

“Manor Lord, you are now officially recognized as a candidate for the Bukgung Family Lord. The External Protection Troops, myself included, will do our utmost to protect you, but we cannot know when, where, or by whom an attempt will come to harm you. Self-defense is loyal service. You’ll never lose by learning it.”

“It feels less like learning and more like you’re tormenting me.”

“Learning by the body is always the fastest way. The External Protection Troops are living proof of that.”

With that justification, there was nothing to retort.

“I can’t do any more.”

Bukgung Yoon gave up standing and sat down heavily.

It was the first time in her life she’d sweated herself into exhaustion.

“Has your head cleared a bit?”

“…Yes, thanks to you.”

That much was sincere.

Sitting dazed, the breeze brushing her earlobes felt cool.

How long had it been since she’d cleared her head and felt the weather like this?

Staring blankly at the sky, Bukgung Yoon spoke suddenly.

“…I didn’t expect the Family Lord to come out like that.”

“Now that Solitary Cloud Manor has been smashed to pieces, it was only a matter of time. You are qualified, Lady.”

“That qualification was for me to state my intent clearly. He wanted me to reveal my resolve to become Family Lord outright. Not just a struggle to survive.”

“Exactly.”

“And Captain Yeon was one step ahead of me in sensing the Family Lord’s intent.”

Of course.

Yeon Mujin knew the Bukgung Family Lord well.

In the past seven regressions, the reason he could defeat other manors and repeatedly install his lord as Bukgung Family Lord was partly his insight into the Family Lord’s intentions—more than anyone else.

…though Bukgung Yoon did not know this.

“It’ll get busy now. Since the Family Lord has officially recognized you, the brothers will move first. Flying Swallow Manor, being weak against them, will be good prey. We’ll have to figure out how to survive in that gap…”

“They’ll probably move immediately.”

Bukgung Yoon nodded.

“Time is tight. We need to build the manor’s strength, send letters to the Jegal and Hwangbo families, and in the meantime see how the brothers will act…”

They decisively lacked time to respond.

With Solitary Cloud Manor’s fall, everything proceeded like hands scooping food—quick and relentless.

“Hm.”

Yeon Mujin rubbed his chin.

If time is short—

Can’t you buy time?

“Manor Lord.”

“Yes?”

“Do you know how to fight when at a disadvantage?”

Bukgung Yoon rolled her eyes in thought.

“Do you mean the Thirty-Six Stratagems of military strategy?”

“…Yes.”

In truth, it wasn’t limited to that.

“If among the Thirty-Six Stratagems you name the stratagem of defeat, surely…!”

Bukgung Yoon’s eyes popped open.

“The beauty trap!”

In response, Yeon Mujin’s pupils narrowed.

“No.”

“I was joking.”

“You weren’t.”

“I am joking.”

“The enemy is strong, and we lack time. At least we need time to decide the direction going forward. But other heirs won’t wait. In such times there is only one option.”

“If it’s not the beauty trap, what is it?”

Well, it’s simple.

“The Thirty-Six Stratagems: run away.”

To put it plainly.

“Let’s run away for a bit, shall we?”