Chapter 75

Part 25: The Inner Court

The Inner Court’s main building.

Temporary Joint Investigation Headquarters, command room.

The Head of the Sixth Department of Law Enforcement entered with a cigarette in his mouth and a bundle of documents in his hand.

“This may not be something I should say, given that it has only been a few months since I became a department head, but was this position always supposed to have this much work?”

The Head of the First Department of Law Enforcement stamped his seal on the approval line and gave a faint laugh.

“For investigations being pushed this hard from above, we have to step in personally for things to move at the desired speed.”

With a sigh, the Sixth Department Head placed the bundle of documents on his temporary desk and sat down.

“For now, the Central Inspection Pavilion has completely withdrawn. We have received all the related documents as well.”

As the First Department Head stamped his official seal, he opened his mouth.

“Do you remember the person who first began the investigation in the Inspection Department?”

The Sixth Department Head took out a cigarette, put it in his mouth, and rubbed his forehead.

“…You mean that low-ranking investigator, Kang something?”

“Inspection investigator Kang Ho. Remember him.”

“Why remember someone so low-ranking…? Well, I will keep it in mind for now.”

“And we have received word from the Court of Justice.”

The First Department Head handed over a document that had just arrived.

“They say the date for the public trial has been set for this very morning.”

The Sixth Department Head’s mouth fell open.

“…This morning?”

It was an unprecedented speed.

He flipped through the document stamped with the emblem of the Court of Justice and frowned.

“We have not even finished investigating the external parties involved or completed the follow-up investigation yet.”

He set the document down with a thud.

“Is this their way of saying they intend to cover things up moderately and move on?”

Then he immediately denied his own words.

“No, if that were the case, there is no way they would push for a public trial. Then…?”

The First Department Head nodded.

“It means they intend to harshly punish, one after another, everyone from whom dust comes out when they are shaken down afterward.”

The Sixth Department Head looked stunned.

“…Was this case really that serious?”

The First Department Head’s eyes narrowed.

“The Court of Justice has interpreted this as the clan’s discipline collapsing.”

The Sixth Department Head fell silent, forgetting even to light his cigarette.

“…When I first heard the rumor about the book prices, I just laughed it off.”

He recalled the voice transmission he had heard from the First Department Head last night about the Chief Administrator of the Inner Court and the First Young Master, and his body trembled.

At that moment, a member of the Law Enforcement Court knocked on the door, entered, and reported.

“The First Young Master says he is leaving. And…”

He hesitated for a moment.

“The Inner Court says they are holding some kind of opening ceremony.”

***

Instead of going down to pay his respects to the First Young Master, the First Department Head opened the window.

Along with the dazzling sunlight of sunrise, a cold wind blew in.

“Are you not going down?”

Rather than answering, the First Department Head gestured outside the window with his chin, and the Sixth Department Head approached the window.

Since the temporary command room was located in a corner of the third floor of the main building, they could clearly look down at the courtyard of the Inner Court’s main building.

“…It may be better not to go down.”

The courtyard was filled with protocol stewards and protocol maids who had gathered to see off the First Young Master, a direct blood relative of the main line.

Their orderly appearance, holding flags and ceremonial banners, looked rather impressive, but that was not the problem.

“…The Inner Court Personnel Secretary, the Inner Court General Affairs Secretary, the Inner Court Security Secretary, the Inner Court External Affairs Secretary…”

At the positions the First Department Head listed while looking outside, the Sixth Department Head swallowed dryly.

“…The front row is seventh rank, and the back row is sixth rank. They are the Inner Court’s highest echelon.”

In particular, once one reached the seventh rank of the Inner Court, due to the nature of their duties, even if they were not treated above elders, they were effectively people who had to be regarded as having the status of elders.

The First Department Head gave a bitter smile.

“At present, they are treated as elder-class figures, but when the Grand Patriarch was still active, their will was the same as the Patriarch’s will.”

The Sixth Department Head spoke while hiding himself just enough so that he could not be seen from outside.

“That is because the Supreme Operations Council is currently assisting the Grand Patriarch. If the Grand Patriarch rises from his seat, they too will regain their proper positions.”

“…That is true.”

The First Department Head did not believe that the “unconscious” Grand Patriarch would rise from his seat, but he gave a vague agreement.

It was a truth that could never be told to the Sixth Department Head, who had only just begun to look into the deepest parts of the Luoyang Sword Clan.

How deep the darkness of the Luoyang Sword Clan was—something one only began to properly see after becoming an elder.

Even the First Department Head himself was sometimes startled by it.

“…In any case, the First Young Master is remarkable as well.”

“Indeed.”

The First Young Master was accompanied by his maids and was calmly exchanging greetings with the highest-ranking members of the Inner Court.

Perhaps he was occasionally making jokes, because the laughter of those around him could be heard all the way up in the temporary command room.

“…The Inner Court’s highest echelon, who are accepting the First Young Master’s jokes so calmly, do not seem entirely sane either.”

Even they, who had investigated the Inner Court, found them so uncomfortable that they could not bring themselves to go down.

All the more so, the highest echelon facing the First Young Master, the very person who had filed the accusation, should have felt even more uncomfortable.

And yet, not one of them still looked surprised, frightened, or angry.

“…Even though so many of their subordinates were cut down by the sudden inspection and investigation.”

The Sixth Department Head had been through countless cases in the Law Enforcement Court and had gained long experience through investigations.

He could guarantee it: there was no negative emotion at all in the faces or gestures of the Inner Court’s highest-ranking members.

A sense of incongruity pressed down on him.

“This is a rare sight even for us, so watch it carefully.”

The First Department Head whispered in a low voice, unusually showing a hint of excitement.

“That scene right now shows, at a glance, the nature of the Inner Court, one of the most secretive organizations even within the main clan.”

“All I feel is a sense of incongruity…”

The First Department Head narrowed his eyes.

“What you are feeling right now—that sense of incongruity—is the true face of the Inner Court. Everyone we saw during this investigation was nothing more than small fry unworthy of the Inner Court’s name.”

“…Are you saying they are so good at hiding their emotions that it feels unnatural?”

“No.”

The First Department Head explained calmly.

“They truly do not care.”

“…They do not even care that their subordinates were cut down? Is that not just a characteristic of those in power?”

The First Department Head snorted quietly.

“They would not care even if the head of one of their fellow highest-ranking members were to fly off right this moment. The same applies even if it is their own head.”

“What does that…”

“The highest-ranking members of the Inner Court regard themselves as nothing more than parts. Parts that make up the organization called the Inner Court. They are fully prepared to be replaced at any time and consumed at any time.”

It was an ideology completely different from the mindset held by ordinary people in power.

“No, what kind of madness is that…”

The First Department Head’s gaze turned toward the Sixth Department Head.

“Have you forgotten what lies behind the main building of this Inner Court?”

***

Behind the Inner Court’s main building stood a small hall.

In a space as wide as the main hall of a temple, an old man of an age impossible to guess sat cross-legged.

Within his half-open, deep eyes, profound contemplation and madness beyond the comprehension of any ordinary man crossed one another.

The side door opened, and a middle-aged man with seven golden-thread tassels hanging from his waist appeared.

“The Chief Administrator has granted permission. Tell them to enter.”

“…Chief Administrator of the Inner Court, the lockdown order has ended.”

At the voice of the Inner Court Chief Administrator’s secretary, the old man’s eyes opened fully.

“Does that mean the First Young Master is leaving?”

“Yes. In accordance with procedure, the Inner Court is currently conducting the opening ceremony.”

The Chief Administrator of the Inner Court, whom Yeon Sang-hyeon had called an old monster, rose from his seat.

“Now that the First Young Master has begun to move, everything from this point onward will be overturned.”

“…Everyone is prepared to cast aside their lives like blades of grass at any time.”

The Chief Administrator of the Inner Court slowly nodded.

“That is how it should be. Even if the shears break, so long as the hand is not hurt and the potted tree is not damaged…”

The Chief Administrator of the Inner Court murmured softly.

“Even I am nothing more than a pair of shears…”

The “hand and potted tree” he referred to did not mean himself.

At that moment, a person’s voice came from outside the hall.

“The Medicine King has come for today’s treatment.”

When the Chief Administrator of the Inner Court nodded, the Inner Court Chief Administrator’s secretary spoke toward the outside.

“Yes.”

A short while later, the side door opened, and a shabby-looking old man entered while carrying a bundle.

It was the Medicine King.

The Chief Administrator of the Inner Court lowered his head toward him.

“Elder, I entrust today’s treatment to you as well.”

The Inner Court Chief Administrator’s secretary also bowed deeply with him.

The Medicine King clicked his tongue quietly.

“You are going through a great deal at your age.”

The Chief Administrator of the Inner Court smiled.

“There are no times when I envy Elder’s boundless vitality more than these days.”

“…Now that ‘that fellow’ has begun to move, you must be feeling your strength leaving you all at once.”

Seeing the Chief Administrator of the Inner Court merely give a bitter smile, the Medicine King let out a small sigh.

“I will prescribe you some tonic medicine later, so take care of yourself.”

The Chief Administrator of the Inner Court lowered his head.

“Right now, rather than me…”

“You need not say it. I know.”

The Medicine King passed by the Chief Administrator of the Inner Court and entered the long passage stretching inward.

“The person you value more than your own life—I will protect them even if I must stake my name on it, so do not worry.”

The physicians directly under the Inner Court followed behind the Medicine King and disappeared into the passage.

The Chief Administrator of the Inner Court looked toward the direction of that passage and opened his mouth.

“…Everything is for the Patriarch.”

The Inner Court Chief Administrator’s secretary lowered his head.

“Everything is for the Patriarch.”

The place where they stood, located behind the Inner Court’s main building, was the innermost heart of the Luoyang Sword Clan.

It was a domain solely for the Patriarch of the Luoyang Sword Clan.

***

The First Department Head looked down at the courtyard of the Inner Court’s main building as the cold wind struck his face.

“…Everything about them exists only for the Patriarch of the Luoyang Sword Clan. If I had to put it into words, they would be ‘extreme Patriarch loyalists.’”

The Sixth Department Head swallowed dryly.

“…The more I learn about the Luoyang Sword Clan, the more absurd a place it becomes.”

The First Department Head gave a faint laugh.

The Sixth Department Head roughly rubbed the goosebumps that had risen on his arms and asked,

“Then are all of them involved in that… what was it called again…”

“Brainwashing?”

“Ah, yes. Are all of them connected to that brainwashing? I heard the main clan has ‘experts’ in that field as well…”

The First Department Head shook his head.

“I heard that technique from the unorthodox arts can only draw loyalty toward a ‘specific target.’ Its limitations are quite clear.”

The Sixth Department Head nodded.

“…Then the gap would be far too large when the main clan’s Patriarch changes.”

“Yes. Simply by changing the Patriarch, those who should serve as his hands and feet would all become like puppets whose strings have been cut.”

No matter what happened, the clan had to keep functioning.

“…Then that makes it even more frightening. Does that not mean that all of those people, each with such immense authority, are voluntarily prepared to throw away their own lives?”

The First Department Head smiled.

“…Think of the main clan’s warriors.”

“…Mm.”

A quiet groan escaped the Sixth Department Head.

Murderous fiends fanatically obsessed with loyalty and devotion.

Those prepared to abandon everything for the clan or their liege.

“…I think I understand why the successors fight so fiercely with one another to become the Young Patriarch.”

“Yes. But there is something even I do not understand right now.”

“What is it?”

The First Department Head stroked his beard.

“Those people. The Inner Court’s highest echelon. Why have all of them come out at this hour before dawn to see off the First Young Master?”

The Sixth Department Head’s eyes widened.

“…Are you saying they did not come out because of that opening ceremony or whatever it was?”

“As far as I know, the opening ceremony is nothing more than standard procedure.”

Doubt filled the First Department Head’s eyes.

“I am saying there is no need for the highest echelon to pour out like this merely because of an opening ceremony.”