Chapter 103

I fell into thought for a moment.
What on earth did ‘Guardian Court beware’ mean?
It seemed like it meant to be careful of the Guardian Court, but I couldn’t grasp the exact meaning.

‘Don’t tell me the Guardian Court made a move?’

What reason could there be for the people around me to vanish around the same time?
The Guardian Court Master was the type burning with ambition.
He clung tight to powerholders like Geuk Mu-hyeok and the Elder Council Lord, living for a single purpose.
This incident was likely his doing as well.
He was probably targeting me.

‘For now, let’s go to Ink-Needle Hall.’

I needed to know how dangerous this situation was, and what the Guardian Court was aiming for.
If it was Ju Ok-hwa’s information network, she would’ve figured something out.
I sighed and mounted the horse.
It seemed neither I nor this guy had the fate to rest.

On the way to Ink-Needle Hall like that.
People moving around the main base recognized me.
Why was it?
Their gazes were strange.
Some were curious, and some looked like they were sneering.

‘What is it?’

With an uneasy feeling, I arrived at my destination.
Ju Ok-hwa saw me and let out a small laugh. It felt very similar to the looks those people gave me earlier.

“Oh my, look who it is. Isn’t this the Seventh Young Lord who’s so busy he doesn’t even show the tip of his nose?”
“It’s been a while, right? I had my circumstances.”
“What kind of circumstances could our Seventh Young Lord have had?”

Ju Ok-hwa kept sneering.
She didn’t look like she knew I’d gone to the Central Plains.
I’d moved too secretly, and Gal So-ye would’ve been running her own operation too, so it was only natural.
No matter how Ju Ok-hwa ran an information organization of her own, she couldn’t compare to Gal So-ye.

“You came because of your people, didn’t you?”

Maybe she’d sneered enough, because Ju Ok-hwa cut straight to the point.
I nodded and asked back.

“Do you know anything?”
“I do, but…….”

Ju Ok-hwa trailed off.

“I’m annoyed with the Seventh Young Lord, you know. If you’re busy, shouldn’t you say you’re busy? Do you know how long I waited? How can you do this to a business partner?”

The stated reason was that she felt slighted, but her real intent was different.
She wanted something.
Because our relationship was based on transactions, in the end.

“As it happens, I brought something you’ll like.”

I pulled out the oiled paper I’d wrapped the eel’s inner core in.
Ju Ok-hwa sniffed the air, then quickly held out her hand.
I took a step back.

“Seventh Young Lord, what is this?”
“I haven’t heard anything yet.”
“As if I wouldn’t tell you. Is this all there is, between us?”
“You just said you were annoyed. Were we the kind of relationship that can’t even understand each other being busy?”
“……Anyway, I can’t beat you with words.”

Ju Ok-hwa shook her head.
Only then did I offer the eel’s inner core again.
Even if I was going to give it, I had to sort things out first.

“It looks like a spirit-creature’s inner core. Where did you get it? Even if I ask, you won’t tell me, right?”
“You know me well.”
“Fine. I’ll tell you something you would be curious about. It looks like you left your post for a long time and don’t know anything.”
“First, I should start with this. Seventh Young Lord, I hear you’re very hot with Guard Im?”
“What does that mean?”

Ju Ok-hwa briefly told me the rumor.
That I had a close relationship with Im Yeon.

“It seems like a rumor someone is spreading deliberately.”
“Sounds like the Guardian Court.”
“That’s what I’m guessing too.”

I frowned.
Using rumors to shape public opinion was something both Ju Ok-hwa and I did, but being hit with something this absurd didn’t feel good.

Ju Ok-hwa kept talking.
That the Guardian Court’s atmosphere was ominous, that Im Yeon was imprisoned somewhere in there, and that the disappearances of Hwang Seung-jong and the others might also be the Guardian Court’s doing.

“Of course it’s speculation, but they vanished too suddenly.”

It was sudden from my point of view, but it wouldn’t be for the Guardian Court.
Whether it was because of Geuk Mu-hyeok or the Elder Council Lord, they would’ve made many preparations to bring me down.
And the start of it was touching the people around me.

“One thing is certain. The Guardian Court is luring the Seventh Young Lord. Otherwise there’s no reason to imprison Guard Im.”
“It seems they really want to do something to me, no matter what.”
“How are you going to respond?”
“I should give them what they want.”
“You’re saying you’ll go to the Guardian Court? Are you out of your mind?”
“I am in my right mind, but there’s a part the Hall Master can help with.”
“What is it?”

Ju Ok-hwa answered surprisingly easily.
She was probably trying to earn the inner core’s price.
I explained the plan I’d just made.
After hearing it all, she clicked her tongue.

“As expected of the Seventh Young Lord walking the path of the Heavenly Demon, you made a bold plan.”
“What path of the Heavenly Demon? I don’t have even an eye-booger’s worth of interest in the successor seat.”

I wrapped up the talk and stood up.

“I’ll be going now. I have many places to visit.”
“You have it nice, Seventh Young Lord. You have lots of people to use.”
“Always keep your resolve. You’re number one, Hall Master.”
“How could I not be?”

Smiling, I left Ink-Needle Hall.

‘Let’s go to the Illusory Hwang Clan.’

It didn’t matter what preparations the Guardian Court had made.
If they dug a trap, I just had to break the trap itself.

The next day, the moment training ended, I headed for the Guardian Court.
Even though we’d returned from a long journey, the Heavenly Demon didn’t let training slide.
I asked if he really had to go this far, but the answer that came back was, ‘Yes.’
In the end, I got on the horse while tired, but unexpectedly my body felt light.
How should I put it? It felt like stiff muscles had been loosened nicely.

After riding for a long time, the destination finally came into view.
This place, with eaves sharp like spears and roof tiles like blades that seemed to flaunt intimidation, was the Guardian Court.

‘In the past, this would’ve been a symbol of fear.’

In the past, the Guardian Court boasted the greatest power within the cult.
But now, even its teeth and claws had been pulled out.
So the Guardian Court was in a state of desperation to reclaim its former prestige.

Dagaak, dagaak.
As I approached the main gate, I lightly patted my chest.
A blunt texture was felt.
It was reassuring.

‘This one thing is enough.’

The closer I got to the gate, the guards’ expressions changed.
They recognized who I was.

“Seventh Young Lord, what brings you to the Guardian Court…….”

I found it funny inside.
They would’ve been instructed on what to do when I came, and yet they were pretending to know nothing.

“I want to meet the Escort Hall Chief.”

I stated my business right away.
The Escort Hall Chief was responsible for the little demon’s guards.
If I wanted to get my guards back, I had to meet him no matter what.
A guard asked.

“Do you have an appointment arranged in advance?”
“I don’t. Is that a problem?”
“……No. Please go in.”

One of the guards led me inside.
He had me stand at a certain spot, then left, saying he would bring the Escort Hall Chief.
While waiting, I looked around the inside of the Guardian Court.
The atmosphere of the faces I passed wasn’t normal. Like a tautly drawn thread.

Before long, a middle-aged man appeared, with pockmarks on his face that stood out.
He came before me and politely clasped his fist.

“I greet the Seventh Young Lord.”
“Are you the Escort Hall Chief?”
“I am Jang Seong-chan, the one holding the post of Escort Hall Chief.”

‘Jang Seong-chan.’

I hadn’t met him in my past life, but I’d heard rumors.
Silent-Killing Ghost Blade, Jang Seong-chan.
A master of fast saber arts, so fast the sound followed after the swing.
They said that in the future Heaven Rebelling Society incident, the number of people who became wandering souls by his blade reached three digits.
Seeing the calluses packed into his slightly exposed palm, I could feel he was a martial artist who’d truly swung the saber tirelessly.

“Shall we go inside? It seems better to receive the Seventh Young Lord there.”
“Let’s.”

I went to the reception room with Jang Seong-chan.
A servant quickly brought out hot tea.
I didn’t drink it, and quietly studied Jang Seong-chan.
Calm, and cold.
It felt similar to the martial art he used.

“Do you know why I came to the Guardian Court?”
“If you speak, I will listen attentively.”

How shameless.
He would know the reason, and yet he was pretending.

“When I finished closed-door training, an absurd situation had happened. Human resources efficiency? For some reason like that, all my guards were gone.”
“Yes. We were planning to assign new guards within today.”
“Is it allowed to withdraw a little demon’s guards at will, without any notice?”
“There is a regulation that it is possible in specific situations.”
“What are those specific situations?”
“When the guard’s normal duty performance is impossible.”
“In detail.”

Jang Seong-chan answered calmly, without stammering even once.

“Continual failure to report and disregard for the chain of command, loss of judgment due to blind loyalty toward the protected subject, and lack of crisis response capability. Do you need any further reasons?”
“In one line, it’s ‘They didn’t properly keep the Seventh Young Lord under watch.’”
“That depends on how you interpret it, but the Guardian Court merely followed the rules.”

Jang Seong-chan continued leisurely, as if to say, what can you do about it?

“The Seventh Young Lord may think it is not reasonable. However, I hope you understand that this withdrawal measure and punishment are within the Guardian Court’s authority.”
“Punishment?”
“Yes. Along with the stripping of squad leader rank, she will be dispatched to Sogollok for three years.”
“…….”

I lost my words without realizing it.
Sogollok was a border region between the Demon Cult and the Tibetan esoteric sects.
It was a place where local clashes broke out whenever there was an opening, and casualties happened daily.
Sending Im Yeon to a place like that was practically no different from a death sentence.
I spoke in a voice that sank lower.

“Do you think I’ll just stand by and watch that?”
“I do not believe you have built a bond deep enough to make Lady Im and this Court enemies. Unless, as the rumor says, you cherish Lady Im.”

In that moment, I felt a subtle sense of wrongness.
I understood the Guardian Court was targeting me. But did they need to go this far with Im Yeon?

‘To provoke me?’

Even that didn’t make sense.
What if I threw Im Yeon away without hesitation?

‘Is there another aim?’

And what was with calling her ‘Lady Im.’
Because of the questions that popped up, my brow furrowed.
Jang Seong-chan, who had been studying my expression, formed a smile I didn’t like.

“However, I will offer you a choice. First. Save Im Yeon. At that moment, we will subdue the Seventh Young Lord for obstructing Guardian Court duties and hand you over to the Disciplinary Court. In that process, the Seventh Young Lord may suffer serious injuries. We will also generously provide you with the scandal of having gone mad over a woman.”

Jang Seong-chan took a sip of tea.

“Second. Do not save her. Im Yeon will die in Sogollok. The Seventh Young Lord will be branded a weakling and a coward who could not even protect his own people. In this cult, it will be humiliation worse than death.”
“And on top of that, I’ll have to accept new guards. Ones who will report my every move.”
“That is correct.”

What he offered was a two-choice dilemma that wouldn’t be easy for anyone to pick without hesitation.
Was this what Im Yeon had in mind when she warned me to beware the Guardian Court?
Because she realized they would use her to put me in a bind?

‘What a fool.’

I recalled Im Yeon’s letter.
A few lines written in Im Yeon’s proper, honest handwriting.

-As a guard, I feel deeply sorry that I must leave without being able to protect you to the end, Young Lord.
-As I leave the side of the Young Lord whom I served like a lord, my steps are unbearably heavy.

It could’ve been words roughly put together just to make a code from the first letters.
But I alone knew.
Im Yeon tried to protect me sincerely.
In Demon Valley.
In the Ice-Soul Demonic Realm.
In the moment she blocked the way before me inside the extreme killing intent that Heuk Jin-pung poured out.
In the Heaven Rebelling Society attack.

There wasn’t a single moment she hadn’t been a guard.
And before I knew it, I considered her my true guard.
Just as Im Yeon didn’t abandon me.

‘I won’t abandon Im Yeon either.’

I looked at Jang Seong-chan and spoke coldly.

“What should I do? There isn’t exactly an option that tempts me.”
“You must choose anyway. You walked in on your own feet, but you may not be able to leave again.”

Snap. Jang Seong-chan flicked his finger.
Then dozens of presences approached outside the reception room.
They had surrounded it.
A cold laugh came out.
Putting effort into something useless.

I didn’t know what meaning he took from my smile, but Jang Seong-chan spoke again.
It was a tone as if he were doing me a favor.

“You must be conflicted. We can also provide a third option, specially.”
“What is it?”
“Do not reject this Court, and live harmoniously.”
“Harmoniously? Not submission?”
“To the Seventh Young Lord, they are the same word. We form a force far larger than you believe. As I said earlier, we have the ability to remove you from the succession structure through various means.”
“You think I want the successor seat?”
“Do you not?”
“When you have a certain kind of eyes, you only see that kind of thing. The one behind you might think that way.”

A truly consistent sort.
The Elder Council Lord’s provocation back then, and the Guardian Court’s provocation now.
In the end, behind it all, there was Great Sahyung.

“Choose your words carefully. I will not tolerate disrespect toward him.”

A madness I hadn’t seen until now swirled in Jang Seong-chan’s eyes.
It would be aimed at Geuk Mu-hyeok, but it was closer to faith than loyalty.
He’d been thoroughly recruited.

“Fine. I’ll choose.”
“The third?”
“No. The fourth.”
“……Tell me what that is.”
“Getting my guards back, and correcting the Guardian Court’s habits too.”

Jang Seong-chan’s face hardened.

“It seems you have no intention of speaking carefully. I do not let insults pass.”
“You’re a funny man. Do you think I would?”

Jang Seong-chan and I stared at each other.
The air stretched taut.
Jang Seong-chan’s hand slowly moved toward the saber at his waist.

“Before using rough methods, I will ask one last time. Which will you choose?”

I said with a smile.

“I said the fourth.”

In that moment, Jang Seong-chan’s saber burst with light.
A speed that suited his epithet.
I didn’t tense up.
Because I could see the trajectory of his fast saber.