Chapter 67
Part 17: The Tightening Snare
“…I will not forget your efforts.”
“Please leave the rest to me.”
“I am counting on you.”
The middle-aged man, the Chief Secretary, left the office, the seven golden-thread cords at his waist swaying.
Left alone in his office, the accounting secretary’s gaze lingered on the desk.
A small bundle, delivered through the Chief Secretary, lay upon it.
“As instructed, I opened the ledger archive to the inspection investigator.”
“…You have worked hard.”
“Not at all. That young man was so astonishingly clever that he grasped the situation in an instant. There was nothing for me to explain or assist with.”
“He is the investigator personally designated by the First Young Master. I hear he is a prodigy among prodigies, one who passed the palace examination in first place.”
“The future of the Luoyang Sword Clan, where such talented people gather, is bright. That puts me at ease as well.”
“Accounting Secretary, you are also one of those talented people.”
“Ha ha, to hear even the Chief Secretary under heaven say such a thing, even if only in words, makes me feel good.”
***
Silence hung over the waiting room.
Steward Seomun closed her eyes for a moment, then opened them and asked Inspection Investigator Kang Ho,
“…It will be fine as long as I do not leave the Inner Court, correct?”
Kang Ho nodded readily.
“Yes, that is correct.”
She looked for a moment at the ledger placed on the table, then abandoned any lingering attachment to it.
Now was not the time to think of primitive solutions.
Without even offering Yeon Sang-hyeon a farewell, she turned around and left the waiting room.
The stewards followed behind her.
Kang Ho wiped his glasses and opened his mouth.
“Please do not leave the Inner Court under any circumstances.”
Steward Seomun, who had stopped walking for a moment, left behind only a low snort and departed.
Kang Ho shook his head.
“The brazen attitude of those with power is the same everywhere…”
I-ryeong asked him,
“Is it all right to let them roam around like that?”
“Ah, yes, it is fine. They are not criminals yet, and I issued the order in the name of the Inspection Department. If they break it, an immediate pursuit order can be activated.”
“I am more worried about what they might plot behind the scenes.”
“Ha ha. You need not concern yourself with that.”
He rose from his seat and spoke to Yeon Sang-hyeon with proper courtesy.
“First Young Master, I must return and submit my report. I judge the situation to be more serious than I expected.”
“Yes, do so.”
Kang Ho’s gaze turned toward the ledger on the table.
“As for this ledger…”
Yeon Sang-hyeon nodded.
“For now, it would be safer for me to keep it.”
Kang Ho looked around at the swords hanging at the maids’ waists, then bowed his head to Yeon Sang-hyeon.
“Yes. Shamefully, my level is low, so considering any unforeseen situation, I judge that would be best.”
“Understood.”
“Then, as soon as I finish my report, I shall return at once.”
Yeon Sang-hyeon glanced at his retreating back, then asked the ceremonial steward, who was trembling in the corner,
“What are you doing there?”
“I-I…”
“Enough. Go and prepare a meal. It is already lunchtime.”
“Yes! Yes! I understand!”
He hurriedly ran out, only for his legs to tangle and send him sprawling.
But no one smiled or laughed at the sight.
“Now…”
Yeon Sang-hyeon sank deep into his chair.
“Chief Steward of the Inner Court, just how far are you prepared to cut?”
His eyes gleamed.
The triplet maids unknowingly shrank back.
Right now, Yeon Sang-hyeon looked utterly calm.
There was no killing intent, no imposing aura.
And yet, compared even to the sight of him brutally using violence against Elder Yeom’s steward that night, his current appearance felt even more terrifying.
***
A deserted part of the Inner Court.
Steward Seomun looked around at the other stewards.
“You all remember the emergency code of conduct, do you not?”
“Yes, of course.”
“Then from this point on, we must do everything we can.”
She brushed back the hair that had fallen loose.
“That fledgling investigator struck us first, but we have not even begun yet.”
“That is correct.”
She looked at the stewards.
“Do not even think of stopping that fledgling investigator from making his report. He seems to have someone backing him. But we must stop the Inspection Department’s formal investigation from beginning, no matter what.”
The stewards nodded with determined expressions.
“Let us see if we can land a blow on that Swordless wretch.”
She gave a brief order.
“Everyone, move.”
The stewards scattered in an instant.
They had prepared far too well for a situation like this—how they should move, whom they should seek help from, and whom they should pressure.
In the place where everyone had left, only Steward Bang remained. She looked at Steward Seomun with trembling eyes.
“…Steward Seomun, whom will you meet first?”
“I should meet the highest-ranking person I can reach right now.”
Steward Seomun looked at Steward Bang.
“You should also send word to the elders of the Bang Family within the main family.”
“Yes, Steward Seomun.”
Once even Steward Bang disappeared, Steward Seomun moved her feet.
It was time to head even deeper into the Inner Court.
‘That Swordless wretch… I will repay this humiliation someday, no matter what.’
Until just now, she had simply been careless, and that was why she had allowed the first move.
Once they began exerting their influence in earnest, they could overcome this level of crisis as much as they wished.
At least, that was how she judged it.
***
Elder Yeom was eating lunch with his family and the closest aides who were able to attend.
As expected of a former warrior, the meal was exceedingly simple for an elder of the Luoyang Sword Clan.
Though, fitting his build, the quantity was absurdly large.
At that moment, one of his subordinates entered, handed him a note, and disappeared.
“Mm.”
He set down his spoon.
Everyone’s gaze turned toward him.
“…Is it news related to the First Young Master?”
At his aide’s question, Elder Yeom answered without taking his eyes off the note.
“You fool. Even if that is how you feel, you should still call him the First Young Master.”
“M-My apologies.”
Elder Yeom clicked his tongue.
“Here and there, there are too many people who look down on the First Young Master.”
In the corner, Yeom Baek-ha, the Law Enforcement Princess, who had been eating porridge by herself, let out a sigh.
“Pathetic fools…”
Her mutter was as quiet as a whisper, but Elder Yeom’s aides swallowed dryly.
Only Baekho, who was tearing into a chunk of meat on the floor, remained completely absorbed.
“The inspection investigator whom the First Young Master designated and summoned has returned to the Inspection Department.”
“He is likely reporting to his superiors.”
“Yes. This will not simply end now.”
He looked at his aides.
“I know how much all of you usually disregard the First Young Master.”
The aides avoided his gaze.
Though Elder Yeom, who had met the First Young Master in person, had personally explained to them what he had felt from Yeon Sang-hyeon, they still remained half in doubt.
“So take this opportunity and watch carefully what kind of person the First Young Master is.”
He picked up his spoon again.
“If he were truly Swordless, he would never do such a thing. If he were truly Swordless, he would never escalate matters.”
He continued speaking as he chewed his food with large bites.
“The ones who thought that way, the ones who were confident they knew the First Young Master well, will be the ones who see that delusion collapse in the most absurd fashion.”
Yeom Baek-ha stroked Baekho, who was begging for more meat.
“What a shame. If I were healthy, I would have run straight to the Inner Court by now.”
She whispered softly.
“If I had, then for a while, Baekho, I would not have needed to worry about your meals.”
The aides who heard her words could not move their spoons for a long while.
***
“Is the Accounting Secretary inside?”
The Third-Rank steward guarding the front of the Accounting Secretary’s office bowed his head.
“Yes, he is inside. However, he said he would not receive guests.”
“This is an urgent matter.”
“There are no exceptions.”
The steward was seated at his desk, handling documents.
“I am saying this is urgent not only for me, but for the Accounting Secretary as well.”
He did not even look at her.
“I said there are no exceptions.”
Steward Seomun bit her lip.
In any case, she had not expected him to obediently meet her when she had just been caught up in trouble.
However, among those related to the budget in the Inner Court, the Accounting Secretary was the highest-ranking person practical workers like her could approach.
A person like him would surely have several ways out of such a situation.
If she was lucky, she might be able to ride on one of those methods. Even if she was unlucky, he had the power to help her avoid the worst-case scenario.
“…I will first send word inside. I shall receive any reprimand separately afterward.”
The Third-Rank steward shrugged.
It meant she could do as she pleased.
If he had truly intended to block visitors, he would have stationed warriors at the entrance.
“Accounting Secretary, this is Seomun, the Four Seasons steward who belongs to the Budget Committee along with you.”
She knocked on the door several times, but no answer came back.
“If there is no answer, it means he is truly in a poor mood, so perhaps you should simply return…”
Ignoring the Third-Rank steward’s words, Steward Seomun flung the door open.
At the sight of her entering the office without even receiving permission, utterly fearless, the Third-Rank steward was left staring in stunned disbelief.
“This crazy…”
The Third-Rank steward quickly sprang up from his seat and followed Steward Seomun.
When he hurried into the office, he found her collapsed on the floor.
“Accounting Secretary, I apologize! This woman forced her way in…”
His voice gradually faded.
“W-What is this…”
His legs began to tremble uncontrollably.
Staggering, he all but tumbled out of the office and ran.
“Is anyone there?! I said, is anyone there?!”
The frantic cries of the Third-Rank steward gradually grew distant.
But Steward Seomun showed no sign of rising from where she had collapsed.
Her gaze was fixed straight across the dark interior, without the slightest movement, toward the Accounting Secretary’s desk.
Below the ceiling beam, a corpse with a rope around its neck swayed slowly.
The room was filled with the foul stench of filth spilled from the corpse.
Between the tightly shut shutters, a few shafts of sunlight were streaming in.
One of those shafts struck the golden-thread cord hanging at the corpse’s waist, making it glitter.
Six golden-thread cords.
The corpse belonged to the Accounting Secretary.
“…Th-This cannot be.”
The voice that barely escaped Steward Seomun was terribly cracked.
“This cannot be. This cannot…”
What did the Accounting Secretary’s corpse signify?
He had held final responsibility over Wongakjeong’s budget, but he was someone in a position where that much could have been evaded any number of ways.
She hurriedly tried to raise herself.
Her knees wobbled, and she collapsed again.
In the end, she crawled.
Crawling to the window, she grabbed the wall, pulled herself up, and threw the window open.
As the shutters opened and sunlight poured in, she could see the Accounting Secretary’s face.
His face was deathly pale, his eyes rolled upward, and his tongue hung long from his mouth.
She nearly collapsed again, but then she saw a small silk pouch on his desk.
It had a vivid elegance hidden within its simplicity.
With trembling hands, she picked up the silk pouch.
When she turned the pouch upside down over the desk, a black object fell out onto it.
It was a broken pair of obsidian scissors.
Some of the mother-of-pearl, once ornately carved by a craftsman’s skill, had broken and scattered.
The sunlight reflected by those pieces of mother-of-pearl was dazzling, like gemstones.