Chapter 81
Part 6: The Institution
Far in the distance, the snow piled atop the famed, rugged peaks of Mount Song gleamed pure white beneath the morning sunlight.
Several streams of waterfalls poured down from the cliffs, scattering brilliant golden light and drawing rainbows in the air.
The dense mountain forest flowed down all the way to the gently sloping flatlands, becoming the woodland of Wongakjeong, known as forbidden ground.
The mist that had risen from early dawn held the forest’s fresh air within it as it wrapped around Wongakjeong, while from Wongakjeong’s kitchen, the smell of cooking rice spread far through the chimneys.
It was, as always, the perfectly peaceful dawn scenery of Wongakjeong.
“...Were you sent by the Institution?”
“That is correct.”
But from the very front gate of Wongakjeong, that peace was beginning to crumble.
“From this moment onward, you will follow the Institution’s control.”
Though it took the form of polite speech, it was also an unmistakable order that allowed no refusal whatsoever.
“All personnel currently carrying out guard duties at Wongakjeong will surrender their weapons and cease the duties they are presently performing.”
The Life-Stealing Ghost Sword frowned and glared at the man before him.
“...I suppose you have no intention of telling me what is going on?”
“Specially Appointed Captain, you do not have the authority to handle information related to the Institution’s mission.”
There was not the slightest warmth in the man wearing a golden, shining cloak.
Behind his smooth golden mask, a cold gaze flashed sharply.
“From this moment onward, this area is under the Institution’s control. Please follow the Institution’s control immediately.”
“...Ha, damn it. What the hell is this so early in the morning?”
“Well, it works out. Let’s just call it a long-overdue vacation.”
The Specially Appointed Unit members, who had never backed down against anyone until now, obediently surrendered their weapons and withdrew.
Then those wearing golden cloaks and masks over their faces took their place.
“However, you must never leave our sight.”
The commanding warrior of the Institution spoke again.
“Specially Appointed Captain.”
His gaze was terribly emotionless.
The Life-Stealing Ghost Sword looked at the hand the man held out and clenched his teeth.
“You have no right to refuse. Cooperate immediately.”
The blunt tone was a warning.
“Captain...”
The worried gazes of his comrades turned toward the Life-Stealing Ghost Sword.
The sharp tension sank into a heavy silence.
“...Damn it.”
In the end, the Life-Stealing Ghost Sword relaxed the strength in his eyes and let out a sigh.
He unfastened the weapon at his waist.
“...I am also entrusted with the personal protection of the Eldest Young Master, so allow me to enter Wongakjeong.”
The Institution’s commanding warrior received the weapon from him and nodded.
***
The triplets stared at the intruders while they were in the middle of cooking rice and preparing food.
“Everyone, stop what you are doing and follow our control.”
One of them raised her ladle and spoke.
“No, what does cooking rice have to do with your mission?”
“We’re preparing breakfast for the Eldest Young Master!”
“Dispose of it all.”
When the Institution warrior in the cloak waved his hand, the other warriors moved.
“Excuse me!”
“Hey!”
They poured water into the stove and scattered ashes into the pots, ruining all the dishes.
They even scattered ash over the dishes that had already been finished and covered.
“Hey! Are you people insane?!”
At the sight of the food they had prepared with all their care, sweating from early dawn, being ruined, the triplets exploded.
“You could’ve just left them covered! Why the hell are you scattering ash over them?!”
“You think you can do anything just because you’re from that great Institution?!”
The enraged I-ryeong shoved one of the Institution warriors, but the one who was sent flying back was her.
It was not because of inner force, nor because of a shove in return.
It was simply because of the tremendously heavy armor the warriors were wearing.
***
Seeing the incredible level of heavy armament visible beneath their golden cloaks, the girls clenched their teeth.
“From this moment onward, all of your daily duties will be controlled through the Institution.”
“And for personal matters that are not part of your daily duties, this female warrior here is in charge of the maids’ quarters, so you must inform her first and then follow her control without fail.”
As Jeong-ah handed over her sword, she asked,
“Even when we have business in the privy?”
The Institution warrior nodded emotionlessly.
***
“If you state your business, the female warrior in charge will explain the procedure to you each time.”
The female warrior stepped forward and said,
“In the case of the privy, you must use it with the door open, and you must never leave my sight.”
Jeong-ah gave her a small shrug.
“You’ve been given quite a difficult mission.”
From behind her mask, the female warrior answered in an indifferent voice.
“You do not have the authority to handle information related to the Institution’s mission.”
Jeong-ah looked at the people rummaging through her room and asked,
“Are the things they’re doing also necessary for carrying out the mission?”
“That is correct.”
The Institution warriors were carelessly pulling out her underwear from the wardrobe.
She had not confirmed it herself, but the same thing was likely happening in the rooms of the triplet maids as well.
“Hey! You bastards...!”
At the shout that reached her ears, Jeong-ah looked out the window.
In the front yard of Yeon Sang-hyeon’s residence, the Institution’s commanding warrior took out an order and unfolded it.
“As of this moment, in the name of the Sword Clan’s Supreme Operations Council and the Institution, I hereby declare that Wongakjeong has entered a state of complete lockdown.”
On the morning of an otherwise peaceful day, Wongakjeong was sealed off just like that.
The Institution warriors were digging up part of Wongakjeong’s fields.
The vegetables that had been growing so well were being pulled out by the roots and thrown all over the place.
“Those are vegetables we worked hard to grow!”
Sam-ryeong tried to stop them, but the Institution warrior holding her did not budge an inch.
“That too?”
“That is correct. It is all part of the mission.”
Jeong-ah looked at the Institution warrior, who answered with an emotionless and composed face.
“Some of that is true, but even you yourself have doubts. This is not a necessary security procedure. Did someone order you to do this?”
“It is all security procedure.”
He answered as naturally as he could, but Jeong-ah sighed and shook her head.
“I must meet my master.”
When she tried to leave the room, the Institution warriors blocked her path.
“That cannot be permitted.”
“...I am beginning to regret handing over my sword.”
The Institution warriors in the room snickered.
“I will acknowledge your confidence. However, please do not forget that we, the Institution, receive our orders directly from the Supreme Operations Council of the main clan.”
His gaze turned toward Jeong-ah.
“We have the authority to summarily execute anyone who points a blade at us, regardless of rank or status, Head Maid.”
***
Institution warriors wearing golden cloaks were stationed in every corner of Wongakjeong.
And even more warriors than that were combing through all of Wongakjeong as if searching for lice.
“...They’re no different from an occupying army.”
“Ah... Today’s dishes were my masterpiece too.”
“They’re rummaging through all of Wongakjeong like it’s their own home.”
“Their own home? Would they really do things like that in their own home...?”
“I want to smack one of those ugly masks.”
They said it deliberately for the warriors standing behind them to hear, but the warriors showed no reaction whatsoever.
At that sight, the girls all sighed at once.
“This is just tea.”
Among the triplet maids, I-ryeong glared crookedly at the Institution warrior blocking her path.
“This is as far as you are permitted to enter. Hand the tray to me and return.”
After handing over the tray with two cups of tea on it, she grumbled and stepped outside.
There, her twin sisters were already crouching on the stone steps.
Every corner of Wongakjeong that entered their sight was occupied by warriors in golden cloaks.
Yeon Sang-hyeon reached out toward the teacup placed on the tray the Institution warrior had brought in.
“Excuse me for a moment.”
When the Institution’s commanding warrior, seated across from him, gestured with his hand, the warrior waiting behind him picked up Yeon Sang-hyeon’s teacup.
He shifted his mask aside and carefully tested the tea with a sip.
Yeon Sang-hyeon snorted.
“So? What kind of tea from where has it been identified as?”
The warrior gave no answer and politely returned the teacup to the space before Yeon Sang-hyeon.
Instead, the commanding warrior opened his mouth.
“Please do not blame him too much. We are merely carrying out our mission for the Eldest Young Master’s safety—”
Yeon Sang-hyeon cut him off.
“Not for my safety. For the safety of the ‘Supreme Operations Council’ that summoned me.”
Before Yeon Sang-hyeon lay a document stating that he was being summoned.
On the document, the seal signifying the Supreme Operations Council had been stamped clearly.
Yeon Sang-hyeon interrupted him again.
“No member shall ever forget, under any circumstances and for any reason, that they exist to protect the head of the Luoyang Sword Clan.”
It was the oath of the Institution.
Yeon Sang-hyeon leaned back deeply in his chair.
“...You know the Institution’s oath.”
“I do.”
Yeon Sang-hyeon gave a twisted smile.
“And I also know that the oath was revised recently.”
After a brief silence, the commanding warrior opened his mouth.
“As you know, the Institution is the sole shield of the Luoyang Sword Clan, its greatest and final shield. All its members—”
“It no longer says they protect the clan head. It says they protect the core of the Luoyang Sword Clan.”
Yeon Sang-hyeon’s sharp gaze seemed to pierce through the commanding warrior’s mask.
“What you are protecting right now is not my father, the clan head, but the supreme members of the Supreme Operations Council.”
The Institution had originally been a security office established to protect the Luoyang Sword Clan’s highest decision-maker—in other words, the clan head.
For that mission, it had also been granted the highest priority authority in carrying out operations.
“To be precise...”
The eyes behind the mask subtly avoided Yeon Sang-hyeon’s gaze.
“The clan head you speak of, Eldest Young Master, has now retired and become the Grand Elder Clan Head. The main clan is currently operating under the acting clan head system of the ‘Supreme Operations Council’—”
“Then, legally speaking, I am also not merely the Eldest Young Master, but an acting clan head of the main clan.”
“Eldest Young Master, you have not been formally recognized through official procedure as an acting clan head, and therefore cannot claim authority as an acting clan head—”
“Is that so?”
Yeon Sang-hyeon took the Sword Clan’s clan-head seal from his robe and placed it on the table.
“Say that again. Say whatever you were saying about authority.”
At the sight of the Sword Clan’s Golden Seal gleaming as it reflected the sunlight, the commanding warrior swallowed.
“Why don’t you say it?”
He sighed.
“...You are exactly as I heard. I truly cannot dare to contend with you in a war of words, Eldest Young Master.”
It was a sarcastic remark, but Yeon Sang-hyeon did not care.
“Then stop talking nonsense and take me to the Supreme Operations Council.”
He lifted the teacup and continued.
“And stop pointlessly tormenting my people.”
Behind his mask, the commanding warrior shook his head.
“As you surely know, we are merely moving according to the guidelines given to us.”
Yeon Sang-hyeon snorted.
“Nonsense. What you people are doing in Wongakjeong right now is clearly outside standard procedure.”
“Regarding the Institution’s procedures—”
When Yeon Sang-hyeon quietly stroked the clan-head seal, the man shut his mouth.
“How obvious.”
Looking straight into the commanding warrior’s eyes, Yeon Sang-hyeon opened his mouth.
“This is probably the work of some foolish supreme member trying to dampen my spirit a little before the summons, isn’t it?”
Yeon Sang-hyeon bared his teeth.
“I can tell just from the fact that they deliberately sent a commanding warrior who has never met me before. Anyone who knows me would never do something like this.”
At his words disparaging a supreme member, the warrior waiting behind the commanding warrior gave an obvious false cough.
But with the clan-head seal before him, he did not dare act recklessly.
However, Yeon Sang-hyeon did not say anything further either.
His gaze had stopped on the hand signal the commanding warrior was making in secret.
—Requesting standby—
It was a hand signal known only to Yeon Sang-hyeon himself and to “his friend,” who had now departed from this world.