Na Manor (2)

Only after quite some time were Na Seoyu and Seonu Jin able to return to her room.

Only then did Na Seoyu smile as brightly as she had on the front lines and speak to Seonu Jin.

“Thank you, Young Master Seonu. This is all thanks to you.”

Seonu Jin gave an awkward smile and shook his head.

“Oh, it was only natural. We’re family, aren’t we?”

At those words, Na Seoyu asked with a puzzled expression.

“Family?”

Seonu Jin hurriedly elaborated.

“Everyone in Platoon Seven is family, aren’t we? All of us. Ahaha!”

“Ah, right. We’re practically family.”

Seonu Jin cleared his throat and asked her.

“Ahem. By the way, what will you do now?”

Na Seoyu sank into thought as she answered.

“Well, of course I’ll say that I won’t marry him, and the most important thing will be treating my father.”

Na Seoyu had known nothing about it until now, but she had been told that the Lord of Na Manor had suffered internal injuries while subjugating nearby bandits several months ago.

However, his condition had not been that serious until it suddenly worsened drastically one day.

The Lord of Na Manor suspected it was because he had grown old and his vitality was failing.

Na Seoyu muttered.

“I’d like to meet the physician treating Father, but they probably won’t let me, will they?”

It was obvious that Lady Min would not cooperate with anything unless Na Seoyu agreed to the marriage.

Seonu Jin cautiously made a suggestion.

“How about this?”

“Yes?”

“Go to that woman and tell her that Lady Na already has a betrothed. Say that you’re as good as married already, so you can’t marry anyone else. Then tell her that because of the marriage issue, you need to meet your father.”

Na Seoyu tilted her head at those words.

She doubted Lady Min would give up even if they did that, but more importantly, she doubted Lady Min would believe it.

“Would she believe me if I suddenly said something like that?”

Seonu Jin asked carefully.

“Wouldn’t it work if I stepped forward and played the role of your betrothed? Of course, it wouldn’t be real. Just briefly, for this occasion. Ahahaha….”

“What?!”

Na Seoyu’s eyes widened in surprise.

However, she soon burst into laughter and shook her head.

“No. You don’t have to go that far, Young Master Seonu. I’m already grateful enough for everything you’ve done. I can’t ask you to do something so unreasonable as well.”

“Ah, i-is that so?”

Seonu Jin had to work hard to hide his disappointment.

‘It wouldn’t be unreasonable at all….’

Without noticing Seonu Jin’s expression, Na Seoyu continued.

“Now that I’ve seen Father, I think it might be best to leave Na Manor for the time being. We can start by asking around for a skilled physician. What do you think?”

“Y-yes? Ah, that sounds good too. I think we might be able to come up with something useful. I’ll try putting together a plan.”

After discussing matters that far, Seonu Jin left Na Seoyu’s room.

Na Seoyu spoke to him apologetically.

“I’m sorry, Young Master Seonu. I should have arranged a proper room for you….”

“Haha! It’s fine! I’ve had to hide so often that I feel as though I’ve half become an assassin by now. It isn’t uncomfortable at all!”

Of course, that was a lie.

There was no way Seonu Jin did not want to rest comfortably in a proper room.

Besides, his mood felt strangely unsettled.

He was glad that he had made Lady Na happy, but for some reason, he was also reminded of his father back at the Seonu Clan. More than anything, he felt bitter because it seemed he had confirmed that Na Seoyu still did not think of him as a man.

It was then.

While Seonu Jin was secretly looking around various parts of Na Manor, he saw someone heading out through the main gate.

“Where are you going at this late hour, Young Master?”

“I have an appointment with my friends. I’ll be back.”

The person leaving the residence with an arrogant expression and several guards was Na Seoyu’s half-brother, Na Seohwang.

Seonu Jin’s gaze deepened as he watched him.

“Hmm.”

Then he secretly began following him.

Na Seoyu’s younger brother, Na Seohwang, headed to a pleasure house on the outskirts of Heungui.

“Oh my! Young Master Na, you’ve finally arrived?! Aehyang has been waiting so long her neck has nearly fallen off!”

“Hmm. I was delayed by important business. Surely she didn’t receive another guest merely because I was a little late?”

“Oh my! Of course not! Aehyang has been waiting devotedly for no one but you, Young Master! Please, go inside!”

Judging from the conversation, Na Seohwang seemed to be a regular visitor to the pleasure house.

Moreover, it appeared that his claim about meeting friends had been entirely false.

“Tsk.”

Seonu Jin clicked his tongue. He had followed in the hope that he might uncover something useful.

It seemed there was no longer any need to keep watching.

Hidden atop a tree near the pleasure house, Seonu Jin began circulating his qi.

He had used concealment arts so frequently of late that he no longer felt any discomfort.

He even felt as though he might now be better than most actual assassins.

How much time had passed?

Na Seohwang emerged from the pleasure house again with a satisfied smile.

“Take care on your way, Young Master!”

“Yes. I’ll come again.”

Accompanied by two guards, he began heading back toward Na Manor.

Seonu Jin overtook him and went ahead to ambush him along the route Na Seohwang would take home.

Unaware of that fact, Na Seohwang suddenly spoke while walking with his usual arrogant stride.

“The night air is particularly pleasant tonight!”

It was true that the night air was cool and pleasant compared to the scorching daytime heat of Guizhou Province, but there was no reason for it to be especially pleasant tonight.

Thus, if anything felt better than usual, it was his mood.

Na Seohwang has lacked nothing lately.

He had solved the problem of being sent to the front lines by sending his foolish older sister instead, and once his ailing father died, he would inherit the position of Manor Lord.

And he had only just turned twenty.

Of course, the death of the Lord of Na Manor, the strongest martial artist in the manor, would mean a sharp decline in Na Manor’s strength.

Afterward, it was entirely possible that the surrounding factions would threaten Na Manor.

However, Na Seohwang believed there was no need to worry about any of that.

That was because of Na Seoyu.

‘I can just marry that stupid bitch off to Wounding Manor. Hehehe.’

The reason they intended to marry Na Seoyu into Wounding Manor was to make the rapidly rising Wounding Manor the power backing Na Manor.

Thus, as long as the marriage proceeded properly, there would be no faction in the vicinity capable of threatening Na Manor.

For that reason, Na Seohwang could not suppress the pleased laughter escaping him.

‘All that remains for me now is a comfortable life as the Lord of Na Manor! Khehehehe!’

While walking with an air of self-importance as though he had already become the Manor Lord, Na Seohwang suddenly spotted the silhouette of a man walking steadily toward him.

“Hm?”

Na Seohwang frowned the moment he saw him.

Perhaps the man stood out more because he was the only other traveler on the night road, but for some reason, Na Seohwang disliked the way he walked at first sight.

Perhaps it was because his steps seemed far too unhesitating.

Na Seohwang glanced back at the two guards following him and said.

“That man coming toward us is irritating me. Make him a little less irritating.”

It was an absurd order, but the two guards answered without complaint.

“Yes, Young Master!”

Such incidents were hardly rare while they followed Na Seohwang around.

The two burly guards moved past Na Seohwang and approached the man.

“Hey, you! Our young master is calling you! Come over here quietly!”

The man paused for a moment before resuming his steps.

He continued in his original direction, straight toward the two guards.

Na Seohwang watched with a cold smile as the man’s silhouette overlapped with those of the two guards.

He was already wondering how he would toy with the man once his guards roughed him up and dragged him over.

The next moment, screams rang out alongside the sound of breaking bones.

Crack!

“Guaaagh!”

“Aaaagh!”

“Hm?”

Na Seohwang, who had been lost in thought, suddenly sensed something was strange.

The screams sounded as though they had come from two people rather than one.

He also saw two of the three silhouettes collapse to the ground.

Na Seohwang blinked his greatly widened eyes.

“Surely not?”

Two people had fallen. Did that mean his guards had been defeated?

No, surely that could not be….

However, when he heard the approaching figure’s voice, Na Seohwang had no choice but to realize that the impossible had become reality.

The approaching man spoke in a tone of disbelief.

“I was already planning to teach you a lesson, but I never imagined you’d pick a fight first. There truly is no bastard quite as vile as you.”

Na Seohwang suddenly bristled at the insult, which seemed to refer to him, and shouted.

“You bastard! Do you have any idea who I am?!”

Even in this situation, Na Seohwang allowed his emotions to take priority. That was because he had never experienced a proper crisis in his entire life.

At that very moment, however, a kick too fast to see smashed into Na Seohwang’s thigh.

Bam!

“Aaaaaagh!”

Na Seohwang screamed from pain that felt as though his organs would burst out.

The horrific pain shot all the way to the crown of his head, as though he had been struck by lightning.

His thighbone had broken from a single blow, but he lacked even the presence of mind to understand that.

As his mind went blank, he heard his opponent’s voice.

“Na Seohwang, do you know your sins?”

“W-what did you say?!”

Even amid the pain, he managed to realize that the other man knew who he was and had targeted him from the beginning.

However, his thoughts went no further.

The next moment, the bastard planted his foot precisely on the thumb of Na Seohwang’s left hand and crushed it.

Crunch!

“Aaaaaaaagh!”

Tears poured from his eyes at the unbearable pain.

Na Seohwang instinctively began sobbing and begging.

“S-spare me! Please spare me!”

It took only a moment for the habits of a lifetime to change.

Na Seohwang had never suffered pain or hardship in his life, so there was no possibility that he possessed willpower or endurance.

The only thought in his mind was that he did not want to die.

Then his opponent asked again in a cold voice.

“I asked whether you know your sins.”

“Y-yes?”

When Na Seohwang failed to understand what he meant, the man began crushing his little finger this time.

Cr-r-runch!

“Aaaaaaaagh!”

Once again, the pain was so intense that his mind went blank.

As Na Seohwang writhed like a worm, his opponent spoke coldly again.

“It seems you do not know your own sins.”

There was no reason left in Na Seohwang’s mind now. Only the instinct to survive somehow remained.

He shouted desperately.

“N-no! That’s not true! I know them well! I have committed sins deserving death!”

The man gave a faint laugh and asked.

“Really? What sins have you committed?”

“…What?!”

Na Seohwang’s expression went blank for a moment.

He did not even know who the other man was, so how could he know what wrong he had done to him?

However, his opponent did not wait even a moment.

Without the slightest hesitation, his foot came down on Na Seohwang’s ring finger and began crushing it.

Cr-r-rack!

“Aaaaaaaaaagh!”

Na Seohwang screamed in agony and writhed again, but this time he did not hesitate.

He began shouting desperately.

“I’m sorry! I deliberately arrived two si-jin late so Aehyang wouldn’t be able to entertain any other customers!”

The man’s foot moved again and lightly rested on his middle finger.

Apparently, that had not been the answer he wanted.

Seeing that, Na Seohwang desperately began confessing his other sins.

“And yesterday, a woman I saw on the street looked rather beautiful, so…!”

The man’s foot remained atop his middle finger, gradually applying more pressure.

Tears streamed down Na Seohwang’s face as he confessed every offense he could remember, beginning with the most recent.

His crimes were extremely varied, but most involved assaulting innocent people or violating commoner women. Among them were also the things he had done to Na Seoyu.

It seemed he did at least recognize that what he had done to his older sister was a sin.

Among his confessions was one that caught Seonu Jin’s interest.

Na Seohwang cried out desperately.

“Mother poisoned Father so I could inherit the position of Manor Lord sooner! But I didn’t do it! Mother acted entirely on her own!”

“Oh?”

She had poisoned the Lord of Na Manor?

It seemed that was indeed why his internal injuries had suddenly worsened.

Seonu Jin continued listening to every wrongdoing Na Seohwang confessed afterward.

After hearing everything, his conclusion was that there was no particular reason to let the bastard live.

He was a piece of filth rare even in this world.

However, Seonu Jin decided not to kill him.

No matter what, he was Na Seoyu’s younger brother, so Seonu Jin thought it would be better to hear her opinion.

Besides, if he killed him now, would she not perhaps realize that Seonu Jin had done it?

“And…. And….”

As Na Seohwang desperately searched for more crimes to confess, seemingly having run out, Seonu Jin spoke coldly.

“You seem to at least know your sins, so I will not kill you.”

At those words, Na Seohwang’s tear-soaked face instantly brightened to an extreme degree.

“Y-yes?! Th-thank you! Thank you! Thank you!”

The next moment, he felt a powerful impact against his head and lost consciousness.

Thud!

“Urgh!”

After lightly kicking him in the head and knocking him unconscious, Seonu Jin immediately launched himself away.

The bastard had one shattered leg, but the guards had only had one arm broken each, so returning home would not be a problem.