Chapter 78

Part 3: The Worst Assumption

A short while later, the door was firmly closed, and all the chief strategists moved to the front seats.

The old man sat in the chair hastily prepared on the platform and looked down at them.

“I have just returned from attending an elder-level meeting personally presided over by our lord.”

The elder of the Luoyang Sword Clan referred to the Second Young Master as “our lord,” but no one present found that strange.

“As the matter is a private one, unlike usual, you were unable to join us there. I ask for your understanding.”

The short strategist hurriedly waved his hands.

“N-not at all. Understanding? Your words are far too generous.”

“Elder Son, may I say something?”

“You may.”

Han Myeong-hwi cautiously opened his mouth.

“When the information strategists can access is restricted, our overall perspective becomes lacking. And when there are too many stages involved in proceeding with matters, immediate response becomes difficult.”

The strategists did not show any displeasure, but through their silence, they agreed with Han Myeong-hwi.

Elder Son smiled gently.

“And that is why I have come here directly to join you, is it not?”

Han Myeong-hwi lowered his head.

“That is something we are grateful for, but as our lord’s power has suddenly grown of late, we have detected signs that the organization is becoming rigid.”

Elder Son stroked his white beard and nodded.

“So, for the sake of innovation, you want us to raise all of you to higher positions?”

“…I am aware that it may sound presumptuous.”

“Rather than dismissing it as greed, is it not a fine ambition? Ambition is always an excellent driving force that moves us.”

Elder Son, with his benevolent impression, laughed heartily.

“I understand your feelings well, so please try to understand our position too.”

Beneath his long, pale eyebrows, his deep eyes stared straight at Han Myeong-hwi.

“Even the main family secrets you already know are enough to put us in quite a difficult position.”

Han Myeong-hwi’s back immediately became damp with cold sweat.

It was time to retreat.

“…I apologize for spouting nonsense when the matter is urgent.”

“Not at all. Not at all. Such discussions are always welcome.”

Elder Son asked the short strategist.

“Could this old man hear how far our excellent strategists’ discussion has progressed?”

“Yes. We strategists had reached a certain degree of agreement that the incident in the Inner Court was the first cornerstone of the Eldest Young Master’s future movements, and we were in the middle of discussing how to respond from here.”

“Excellent indeed!”

Elder Son clapped his hands and nodded in satisfaction.

“However, it seems the direction of the discussion is pointing toward too many places, so it will need to be narrowed somewhat. Would it be all right if this old man were to suggest one direction?”

“We will listen closely to Elder Son’s words.”

All the strategists bowed their heads at once.

“Heh heh, thank you.”

Elder Son pulled his chair closer and sat.

“Now then. Regarding the Eldest Young Master, try assuming what the worst situation we absolutely must prevent would be.”

When everyone remained silent, Elder Son opened his mouth again.

“How about thinking of it this way? If you were the Eldest Young Master, you would devise what course of action would be the most efficient strategy, would you not?”

Han Myeong-hwi was the first to speak.

“…If I were the Eldest Young Master, I would try to make the greatest possible use of the Sword Clan Golden Seal in my possession.”

“Correct. The Sword Clan Golden Seal is an object that symbolizes the limitless authority of the head of the main family.”

Strategist Choi also opened his mouth.

“But wielding the Sword Clan Golden Seal contains extremely great danger. There is always the possibility of being accused by one’s rivals of abusing its authority.”

That was why Yeon Sang-hyeon had only used it for things like paying for snacks or books.

Until now, he had never used the Patriarch’s Seal for anything grand.

“Indeed! In that case…”

The other strategists began joining in one by one.

“To use the Patriarch’s Seal as he pleases in the current situation, he would need an overwhelmingly grand justification. There is no way the power holders of the Sword Clan would easily accept it.”

“Is there any need to convince everyone from the very beginning? As long as it is enough to gather sufficient forces…”

“Even if he puts forward the Patriarch’s Seal to gather forces, how many could he truly gather?”

“In that case, he should use the Patriarch’s Seal not to gather forces, but to solidify a situation.”

“As was mentioned earlier, by stepping along the line, expanding his range of activity, and spreading his reputation, he can gather forces.”

“Then, after he has gathered forces…”

“But whether there is enough time until the successor selection…”

The discussion grew fierce.

Then, once the discussion had progressed sufficiently, Elder Son raised his hand and calmed them.

“Now then. Let this old man tell you whether I have understood correctly.”

The gazes of everyone present gathered on Elder Son.

“First, the Eldest Young Master uses the loophole in the confinement order to increase his reputation through activities both inside and outside the clan.”

He raised two fingers.

“Second, using the reputation and forces gathered in that way as a foundation, he brings forth the Patriarch’s Seal and claims that he is the Sword Clan’s legitimate Acting Patriarch.”

A third finger rose.

“Then, by gaining the support of Patriarch loyalists such as the Inner Court, he skips past the successor selection stage and solidifies his position as Acting Patriarch.”

He looked around at everyone present.

“How is it? Have I understood correctly?”

Everyone fell silent.

It was not because Elder Son’s assumption had sounded absurd.

It was because the strategy they themselves had constructed was far too shocking.

For a while, only the occasional sound of a low sigh could be heard.

The short strategist barely managed to force his voice through the suffocating silence.

“…We would have to be prepared for several rounds of large-scale civil war against opposing forces like our side and the Third Young Master’s side.”

Elder Son replied.

“Do you think a man who has been confined for ten years, nearly ten whole years, would try to emerge into the world now without even that much resolve?”

Another strategist opened his mouth with a dry cough.

“Is it not too vague an expectation to assume that the Patriarch loyalists would follow the Eldest Young Master on that much justification alone…?”

Elder Son smacked his lips.

“They are less sane than any people you have ever seen. You must not try to understand them through logic.”

A strategist who had been racking his brain spoke up.

“…First of all, this assumption only holds if there is someone on the Eldest Young Master’s side capable of devising such a strategy.”

Elder Son looked at him.

“I can guarantee that the Eldest Young Master alone has more than enough ability to establish this strategy. Perhaps the Eldest Young Master can even draw up every process needed to produce the result by himself.”

Once again, a tremendous shock swept through the strategists.

“Are you saying he is on the same level as the Left and Right Grand Strategists of the Third Young Master’s side…?”

“Perhaps.”

The strategists’ mouths closed.

Elder Son smiled bitterly as he looked at them.

“Please understand that there is a reason people like me, who knew the Eldest Young Master in the past, have not told you such stories until now.”

“…We have heard a few secret rumors and hidden stories.”

“You may have thought the rumors about the Eldest Young Master’s past were merely exaggerated tales, but they are not.”

Now, none of them could easily open their mouths.

Han Myeong-hwi, who had been squeezing his eyes shut, spoke with difficulty.

“…All of this discussion began from the report I wrote.”

“It was an extremely excellent report. Our lord is said to have admired it several times.”

Even at those words, Han Myeong-hwi did not look pleased in the slightest.

“Thank you, but right now, I simply want to deny it. Is there no possibility that the logic I wrote was nothing more than excessive interpretation, and that this series of events was merely coincidence?”

Elder Son nodded.

“The Eldest Young Master, like us, is a being governed by the principles of the universe, so there is no way his life would be without coincidence. However…”

He gave a bitter smile.

“There is no coincidence in his actions.”

“But based only on the actions he has revealed so far…”

Elder Son raised his hand.

“From what I have heard, the Eldest Young Master demanded that the joint investigation headquarters investigate the entirety of the Inner Court. Though he was refused.”

“…So he intended to make the incident even bigger.”

“He likely wanted to announce his return to more people, and on a greater scale.”

In the end, Han Myeong-hwi also fell silent.

“Now do all of you understand why I told you to assume the worst-case situation?”

No answer came back.

But Elder Son knew well that it was not because they had fallen into despair.

True strategists were people who did not stop thinking of ways to survive and escape, even as a blade dug into their necks.

While they fell into their own worlds and turned their minds, Elder Son opened the door and left the grand conference hall.

When he returned, he was accompanied by a group of maids.

They quickly distributed cold tea and refreshments to the strategists, then left the grand conference hall.

Han Myeong-hwi drained one cup of cold tea in a single gulp, tilted the teapot, and poured himself another cup before drinking that as well.

“…If the Eldest Young Master is such a worst-case opponent, then we must not give him any ‘pieces’ to move in the first place.”

Strategist Choi nodded while chewing on a refreshment.

“If every strategy assumes possession of the Patriarch’s Seal, then we must take the Patriarch’s Seal away from him.”

“Or strip him of his qualifications as a successor from the start…”

Elder Son smiled and helped guide them along.

“We cannot dare to touch the Sword Clan Golden Seal, the symbol of the Patriarch, directly. The same goes for his qualifications as a successor. In that case, what should we do?”

The short strategist tilted his head.

“…Assassination?”

“Leaving aside whether it could succeed, unlike before, at this point, that method carries too great a burden. The Third Young Master’s side might accept it, but most of the main family would strongly oppose it.”

Another strategist opened his mouth.

“In the current situation, can the Sword Clan’s Council of Elders touch the Eldest Young Master’s confinement order?”

“How would they touch it?”

“The Council of Elders is also an organization that creates laws. What about using this opportunity to create clear regulations regarding confinement?”

Han Myeong-hwi sprang to his feet.

“That is right! Because of the Eldest Young Master’s actions this time, we have more than enough justification!”

Elder Son nodded.

“So you mean to confine him inside Wongakjeong from the very beginning, preventing him from being given an excuse to bring out the Patriarch’s Seal. Good! Very excellent!”

The other strategists also began pointing out problems one after another and throwing themselves into establishing countermeasures.

“However, unexpected variables may exist in this process.”

“To begin with, the Patriarch’s Seal itself may become a variable.”

“Then we will need a countermeasure for that as well.”

“There is something you all must know regarding that.”

Their meeting continued without pause, and it was only when deep night had fallen that it finally ended.

“Now then, everyone, you have worked hard until this hour.”

When Elder Son, still full of energy, began clapping his hands, the exhausted strategists also began clapping along with him.

“After hearing all your valuable opinions, this old man is delighted beyond measure that we were able to establish a strategy to prevent the worst-case situation. Now, all of you should rest.”

He picked up his removed outer robe and documents.

“This old man will now go report this strategy to our lord. Well then.”

Everyone, their faces filled with fatigue, staggered to their feet and greeted him.

“…Elder Son.”

Just as he was about to open the door and leave, Han Myeong-hwi followed him.

“Hm? Strategist Han, do you still have business with me?”

“Could it be…”

Han Myeong-hwi’s exhausted yet piercing gaze turned toward Elder Son.

“The countermeasure we established today—was it not already brought up in the elder-level meeting held earlier today?”

“…What are you talking about?”

Elder Son laughed loudly and patted him on the shoulder.

“Do you think old men like us could imitate such an excellent plan?”

Elder Son walked away, laughing as if the idea were absurd.

When the door closed, Strategist Choi, sitting collapsed on the floor behind them, spoke.

“…What an obviously visible lie.”

Throw the same topic to groups with different dispositions, then combine the results that emerge from them.

That method of making a plan watertight was something they themselves often used on their subordinates.

“What makes me angry is…”

The short strategist muttered as he wiped sweat from his collar.

“What took all of us more than half a day, those old men did in barely one double-hour.”