Chapter 71
Part 21: Puppet
Luoyang.
A large workshop contracted with the Inner Court to supply various kinds of furniture.
It was the hour when the sun was slowly slipping away toward the west.
Those guarding the workshop’s front gate were trembling in place.
They were guard servants notorious in the neighborhood as local thugs.
With thick leather armor, gaiters, and even wrist guards, they looked fairly imposing.
But they could not even think of reaching for the clubs hanging at their waists.
“Wh-what business do you have with our workshop?”
“Move aside.”
One word was enough.
The servants who had been moving about the workshop owner’s private residence paled in shock at the sight of those people striding in.
It was because the black formal uniforms they wore were known by everyone in all of Luoyang.
“Why is it so noisy outside?!”
The aging owner of the workshop, who had been in the middle of enjoying time with his concubine, flung the door open.
Half-dressed, he froze on the spot.
With trembling eyes, he saw the letters embroidered in silver thread on the shoulder insignia of those wearing black uniforms.
“The Sword Clan’s Protectorate Court…?!”
The woman who stepped forward smiled coldly.
“Are you the owner of this workshop?”
“Yes! Yes! That is correct. I am Li so-and-so, the owner of this workshop.”
He immediately dropped to his knees.
“I-I do not know what this is about, but please spare my life!”
“I am an enforcement envoy of the Luoyang Sword Clan’s Protectorate Court.”
“Yes, yes. Honored enforcement envoy!”
She took a document from inside her robe.
“There is something to investigate regarding the contract you made with the main family’s Inner Court. From now on, answer the questions I ask honestly.”
The workshop owner pressed his head to the ground.
“Yes, I understand. Please ask me anything.”
Scenes like this were unfolding all throughout Luoyang.
Perhaps it was because of the people in black uniforms densely surrounding the Inner Court.
At the Inner Court’s main gate, lines of those who had been outside and were now being escorted in crossed paths with lines of those heading out to arrest others.
From various parts of the main building, the groans of those being tortured flowed out from time to time, and the screams of those unable to endure the harsh interrogations also rang out.
Only the essential personnel of the Inner Court were continuing their hellish daily routine under the strict surveillance of the Protectorate Court.
***
Luoyang Sword Clan, Inner Court.
The area around the Inner Court, completely sealed off by the Protectorate Court, was so deserted that not a single passerby could be found.
If it had been any other matter, people would have poked their noses in out of curiosity, but none could be seen at all.
Inner Court main building.
Temporary Joint Investigation Headquarters, command room.
“It can only be called lightning-fast.”
The one boasting of his own achievements and laughing heartily was the Sixth Division Chief of the Protectorate Court.
Even though the atmosphere in the room did not respond to him, he continued speaking with his characteristic thick skin.
“Of course, is this not all because the Chief of the Central Inspection Pavilion here took swift and efficient preliminary measures?”
The Chief of the Central Inspection Pavilion, Dokgo Ya-yeon, merely gave a small nod in silence.
“Haha, I look forward to working well with you in the remaining investigation too. However…”
He smacked his lips.
“The investigation inside the Inner Court is nearly complete. After this, where would be best to establish the Joint Investigation Headquarters?”
“Do as you please.”
“Haha, then from now on, the Joint Investigation Headquarters will be at our Protectorate Court…”
“Yes.”
Dokgo Ya-yeon cut off the useless conversation with a short answer, her gaze fixed on the person seated at the seat of honor.
At that openly wary gaze, the Sixth Division Chief smiled and looked toward the seat of honor.
“Does the Young Master perhaps have anything he is curious about?”
The eldest young master, Yeon Sang-hyeon, smiled.
“Then does that mean the investigation of the incident within the Inner Court will be completely finished by today?”
“Of course, I cannot tell you every detail, but since it is you, Young Master, I shall make a special exception…”
He continued with a smile.
“Even if the investigation within the Inner Court ends, the investigation currently underway outside is expected to take several more days.”
“Is that so?”
He smiled as though he understood Yeon Sang-hyeon’s feelings.
“Please do not worry. The punishment of those who dared make a fool of the main family’s eldest young master will be carried out immediately once the external investigation is complete.”
“That is good.”
“You may trust us.”
Yeon Sang-hyeon smiled at the division chief, who was speaking so grandly.
“How reliable. Then, once they are arrested, will I also be able to receive the budget that I was not given all this time?”
“Ah, well. That is…”
After rapidly calculating in his head, he answered naturally.
“The amount is one thing, and in the first place, it concerns the budget. Would it not require a conclusion from the Council of Elders?”
The smile on Yeon Sang-hyeon’s lips deepened.
“Then let us leave that aside. Since misconduct of this scale has been revealed, should the investigation not be expanded to the entire Inner Court going forward?”
“Th-that is…”
The one who raised his hand and cut him off was the First Division Chief of the Protectorate Court, who had been sitting silently until now.
“The investigation has not yet been properly concluded. For now, it would be right to focus on the case before us in accordance with the purpose of the Joint Investigation Headquarters.”
“But…”
The First Division Chief’s heavy gaze turned toward Yeon Sang-hyeon.
“Anything beyond that may be interpreted as overstepping one’s authority, so I ask that the Young Master be careful.”
Without hesitation, Yeon Sang-hyeon turned his head and looked at Dokgo Ya-yeon.
“The Central Inspection Pavilion does not declare a position before conducting an investigation.”
Yeon Sang-hyeon shrugged.
“Then there is nothing to be done.”
He rose from his seat.
The people who had been seated hurriedly rose from their seats after him.
“The investigation within the Inner Court will be finished by today, correct?”
“Ah, yes. It appears it will be concluded by dawn at the latest.”
Yeon Sang-hyeon nodded.
“There is nothing more for me to hear, so I shall return and have dinner.”
The Sixth Division Chief looked at him.
“If you are returning to Wongakjeong, I can issue you a temporary pass…”
“No. Would it be proper for the eldest young master of the main family to carelessly ignore a sealing order?”
The Sixth Division Chief was dumbfounded.
“…Then you intend to dine here in the Inner Court?”
If one stepped outside, the Inner Court’s main building was still a place where screams and the smell of blood flowed from all over.
“Yes. The Inner Court’s protocol secretary said she wished to offer me the finest dinner as an apology.”
“…No, are you not worried about poison?”
Yeon Sang-hyeon laughed faintly.
“If something like that happens, all of you are here, so you will quickly catch the culprit.”
With those words, Yeon Sang-hyeon turned around.
“Now then, everyone keep working hard.”
After saying that, Yeon Sang-hyeon opened the door and left before they could even offer their farewells.
For a moment, the Sixth Division Chief looked in the direction he had left, his face as though he had witnessed something bizarre.
Meanwhile, the First Division Chief and the Chief of the Central Inspection Pavilion had already sat back down.
“Well, now…”
He shook his head, then took a small case containing tobacco from his robe.
“Does anyone need one…?”
There was no answer.
He shrugged, took out one cigarette, and lit it with Samadhi True Fire.
After exhaling a puff of smoke toward the ceiling, he opened his mouth.
“…Am I the only one who finds this case this unsettling?”
Neither the First Division Chief nor the Chief of the Central Inspection Pavilion answered, but that silence was practically agreement.
With the cigarette in his mouth, he continued speaking.
“As expected, when we came here, the Inner Court accounting secretary, who could be called a key figure in the case, had already killed himself and collapsed. On top of that…”
His gaze turned toward Dokgo Ya-yeon, whose expression could not be read.
“I came here after hearing it was a request for cooperation from the Inspection Department, and do you know how surprised I was to see the Chief of the Central Inspection Pavilion here? No, why in the world is the Central Inspection Pavilion investigating a case like this?”
There was no answer.
Having expected no answer from the start, he let out a hollow laugh.
“And the complainant is that eldest young master, who has not clashed with any power organization within the main family for the past ten years?”
The smoke leaking from his mouth made the air hazy.
“…Is there anyone here who can tell me what exactly is going on?”
His gaze turned toward the two of them.
“Surely both of you here know more than I do.”
“The Central Inspection Pavilion does not share internal information with other organizations.”
Dokgo Ya-yeon rose from her seat.
“Then I shall take my leave.”
The Sixth Division Chief watched the door she had left through and opened his mouth.
“…As expected of her reputation, I cannot read her expression, but it is clear she is in a bad mood. It seems she does not know much either.”
He let out a small sigh.
“So even the Central Inspection Pavilion Chief, from the Inspection Department said to hold the most secrets, is ultimately nothing more than a puppet being manipulated by someone on the stage?”
He sank into his seat and rubbed his eyes.
“…Senior.”
“Yes.”
He called the First Division Chief that, just as he had in the old days.
“I clawed my way up to this position because I hated being treated like this.”
His cigarette burned red with a faint crackle.
“I thought that if I became a division chief of the Protectorate Court, there would be nothing I did not know, and even if I had to make deals with someone, I would never be manipulated.”
His gaze turned toward the ceiling.
“A division chief. I am a division chief, and not just anywhere, but a division chief of the Protectorate Court.”
The air above had grown hazy with smoke, obscuring the ceiling.
“…And yet I am still in this sorry state.”
The First Division Chief, who had been silent until now, opened his mouth.
“…That is something even I feel, despite having barely climbed to the rank of elder of the main family.”
“…Senior?!”
The First Division Chief took a cigarette from the Sixth Division Chief’s case, placed it in his mouth, and lit it.
“The Council of Elders? It is an impressive place. Information that others would not even dare imagine gathers there, and decisions that control the entire main family are made there, but…”
The man who was both the First Division Chief of the Protectorate Court and one of the elders of the Luoyang Sword Clan gave a hollow smile.
“Sometimes, when I lie down to sleep, I think about it too.”
His gaze wandered through empty air.
“If I become the Head of the Protectorate Court, will things change? If I become the Head of the Elder Council, will things change? Or if I retire and am chosen as an elder statesman, will things change? If I break through the faintest of odds and become a supreme councilor, will I finally be able to do everything?”
Had his distant junior already caught up this far?
If so, then it was time for him to begin encountering the true face of the Luoyang Sword Clan little by little.
‘Do not speak of what I am about to tell you anywhere. No, not merely do not speak of it—forget the very contents you heard.’
At the sudden sound transmission, the Sixth Division Chief flinched for a moment.
‘There is a high possibility that behind all of this are the eldest young master and the Inner Court Chief. Beyond that, even I do not know.’
‘What do you mean by that…?’
‘As I said, forget it.’
The First Division Chief abruptly rose from his seat.
“Now then, let us get back to work.”
‘Forget it, for the sake of your family as well.’
He calmly stretched his shoulders and opened the door.
The Sixth Division Chief could not even finish opening his mouth.
He could not close it either.
He merely let out a smoky sigh and lowered his head.
Looking at the gray hairs that filled the man’s head, the First Division Chief let out a small sigh.
As he stepped out the door, he briefly looked back.
The Sixth Division Chief remained frozen in that posture, deep in thought.
His mind was undoubtedly in utter chaos.
At the same time, he would be realizing that the things that had not made sense until now were fitting together one by one, and from that, he would feel exhilaration.
And fear as well.
That sight reminded him of himself, on a day long ago, not long after he had become a division chief.
Someday, he too would pass this story on to someone in the same way.
In the same way the First Division Chief himself had once heard it from a senior in the past.