Chapter 98

Part 23: Declaration

In front of Wongakjeong’s main gate.

Before working hours began, at the break of dawn, it would normally have been quiet.

But the sight of the street before Wongakjeong’s main gate, now not merely tidy but splendidly refurbished, standing completely empty felt especially desolate.

“Today is the first day, right?”

At the question from the Special Unit member standing guard at the proper sentry post, his colleague, who was writing in the log beneath a lantern, answered.

“That’s right. Construction is almost finished, and today is effectively Wongakjeong’s opening day.”

The Special Unit member on guard looked down the street.

Lanterns hung densely from the buildings, brightly lighting them, but there was not a single person to be seen in the street itself.

“…It’s like a ghost street.”

The colleague writing the log snorted.

“No matter how well it’s been decorated, with that person as its owner, I suppose it can’t be helped that it’s empty.”

At his words, the Special Unit member on guard clicked his tongue.

“…It would be nice if some guests came.”

“Have you somehow grown fond of the First Young Master?”

“No, no. That’s not it. I mean the maids and the maidservants. When I think about how hard they worked, I just hope enough people come for them to feel rewarded…”

“Mm… That is true.”

The Special Unit members had watched, from the closest position possible, as girls young enough to be their daughters did their very best to prepare everything.

“…But it will be difficult, won’t it?”

“Most likely, would it not?”

At that moment, two people appeared from the far end of the main road.

“Two unidentified individuals approaching.”

“Could they already be guests?”

The two sharpened their eyesight and looked at the approaching figures.

A short while later, the Special Unit members sighed.

“…Guests are guests, but not welcome ones at all.”

***

The people who had come to Wongakjeong from early in the morning were none other than two men whose heads had been aching because of Jeong-ah, who had become the First Young Master’s head maid.

One was the steward of Howon, the organization the Second Young Master had created to replace the Inner Court.

The other was one of the Three Peerless Warriors, belonging to the Third Young Master’s personal armed force.

Originally, the two would never even have acknowledged each other, but the situation was bad.

“…I have no idea what kind of nerve that mad wench has, ignoring several letters like that.”

At the Howon steward’s words, the Three Peerless Warrior ground his teeth.

“If the head butler had not dragged things out with talk of procedures and the like, this problem should have been dealt with long ago.”

“The fact that the First Young Master ended his seclusion during that brief interval is also a problem.”

“Even so, that wench is nothing more than a lowly servant girl. She is a body that must obey when those above give orders.”

“That is precisely why the First Young Master reclaiming his position is the problem, is it not?”

“Hmph. My lord is far greater than some Swordless. They are not even comparable.”

“If we only consider standing within the main family, that is, of course, true. If my master, the Second Young Master, could properly exert his political influence, that wench’s position could be adjusted as much as we wished. But the fact that he cannot do so is the problem, is it not?”

“What problem is there in the strong taking what they desire?”

“…It is my fault for trying to talk with a foolish warrior.”

“What did you say?! You scrawny little thing who would not even amount to a single punch…!”

After growling at each other for a moment, the two sighed and quickened their steps.

Neither of them had imagined that guests would visit someone like the First Young Master so early in the morning, but because the matter was personal, they had to avoid drawing attention.

“…Did you not receive instructions from above to leave that wench alone for the time being?”

“…You received such an order as well?”

But both of them did not want to miss this excellent opportunity to earn recognition from the masters they served.

“What is someone like the First Young Master anyway…”

“Among our warriors, there is no one who fears a Swordless.”

The sight of the magnificently decorated street grated on them all the more.

***

After the two ignored the gazes of the two Special Unit members, who were looking at them with extreme displeasure, and waited for a while, Jeong-ah appeared.

The moment she appeared, the two, who had been about to shout at her, swallowed dryly without realizing it.

Jeong-ah was wrapped in palace attire that showed restrained splendor and adorned with dazzling ornaments. Her beauty was such that anyone, regardless of age or gender, could not help but be captivated.

Wearing deep makeup, looking down at them arrogantly, and walking with confident steps, she radiated not only elegance and dignity, but even a strange forcefulness.

And when twenty sword-bearing maids lined up before the main gate behind her, that forcefulness was enough to make even the Special Unit members inwardly admire it.

“For what business do you seek to see this head maid?”

Her golden eyes stared at the two unwelcome guests.

For a moment, the Howon steward almost lowered his head unconsciously, but he deliberately snorted harshly.

According to their prior agreement, the Three Peerless Warrior stood with his arms crossed and silently watched.

“It is laughable to see you acting so high and mighty just because your circumstances have improved a little.”

Without even snorting, Jeong-ah replied.

“Even so, how could I compare to you, who runs wild while relying only on your master?”

When the other party spoke informally, Jeong-ah immediately answered in kind.

She was no longer the Jeong-ah they had last seen.

“You lowly thing…!”

At her informal speech, veins instantly stood out on the Howon steward’s forehead.

Before Jeong-ah could even answer, the maids opened fire on him in unison.

“Mind your words!”

“To speak so rudely before Wongakjeong, where the First Young Master of the main family resides!”

“Even if the head steward of Howon, who gives you orders, were here, he would not dare speak so carelessly to the head maid of Wongakjeong!”

Ignoring those maids, the Howon steward took out a fan and pointed it at Jeong-ah.

“Do you think I would be intimidated in the slightest just because you are dragging around mere maidservants?”

Jeong-ah answered expressionlessly.

“It seems you are mistaken. These maids were not brought here because of you.”

The Howon steward’s eyebrow twitched.

“I tried to show you even the slightest consideration, but if you insist on humiliating yourself in front of all these people, I will not stop you.”

“This head maid has nothing to be ashamed of, so do as you please.”

A blatantly vile smile spread across the Howon steward’s lips.

“Do they know that you were nothing more than a whore who walked the tightrope between the Second Young Master, whom I serve, and the Third Young Master, only to flee to Wongakjeong because you could not handle the things you had done?”

It was an openly insulting remark.

At the same time, his goal was to spread filthy rumors about Jeong-ah among the maids of Wongakjeong.

“With that lowly body of yours, you went around reeking of lust and seduced two young masters of the main family. But when things did not go your way, you finally lured in the First Young Master, who knows nothing of worldly affairs, and seized the position of head maid.”

He wagged his tongue and rolled his eyes, quickly examining the maids’ reactions.

“To think that a woman like you is the head maid serving the First Young Master of the main family. It is beyond absurd!”

But contrary to his expectations, the maids’ faces showed nothing more and nothing less than anger toward him.

From the beginning, there was no way the maids of the maid corps would harbor even the slightest doubt toward the head maid trusted by the First Young Master.

Moreover, they had already lived together with the head maid and knew all too well what kind of person she was.

Jeong-ah waved her hand.

“My ears feel as though they will rot from that filthy tongue of yours. If your business is merely to spew such nonsense, then get lost at once.”

The maids were not the only ones displeased. The two Special Unit members standing guard felt the same.

They slowly edged forward and began faintly releasing their presence.

But the Howon steward, knowing they could do nothing to someone who had not intruded into Wongakjeong, remained calm.

“I have come all the way here in person, yet in the end, you are digging your own grave.”

He clicked his tongue.

“Even if you are the First Young Master’s head maid, there is no escaping your lowly origin. Do you not know that once the young masters are angered, moving the position of someone like you, who is no different from a household slave, will be no difficult matter?”

He shouted at Jeong-ah, spittle flying from his mouth.

“You will only be able to run wild while relying on that hollow First Young Master, who has neither power nor faction in the main family, until then!”

At his words, Jeong-ah finally burst into laughter.

She knew what her master had done.

She knew what he was capable of doing.

At that ringing laughter, the Howon steward was momentarily flustered.

“T-this wench has finally gone mad…!”

Jeong-ah abruptly stopped laughing and cut off his words.

“Dealing with the likes of you, who do not even know Master’s true nature, is nothing but a waste of time, but…”

She took one step forward.

“There are several things you have misunderstood, so this head maid shall personally instruct you.”

For an instant, golden light flashed in her eyes, and the Howon steward, feeling a chill, took two steps back.

“First, it is not that I hope Master will protect this head maid. It is that this head maid serves and protects Master.”

When she took another step forward, the Howon steward hurriedly retreated two more steps.

“And second…”

An uncanny smile settled on her lips.

“This head maid is no longer some household slave who cannot decide her own position. This head maid’s status is…”

She placed her hand on the hilt of the sword at her waist.

“A warrior.”

For an instant, the Howon steward thought he saw her pupils narrow vertically.

Before he could even reflect on what he had seen, he did not even realize that he had collapsed onto the ground.

“U-uh…?!”

As everyone looked at him with mocking smiles, a hearty laugh rang out.

“How laughable! A mere maid who used to deal with guests thanks to her beauty suddenly claims to be a warrior!”

It was the Three Peerless Warrior, who had been standing with his arms crossed.

“If you are a warrior, then your position is certainly no longer the issue. A warrior has the right to choose and serve a lord.”

Despite his hearty laughter, he was clearly furious.

“…But if you have dared to falsely claim the title of warrior and insult it, then you must be prepared to pay the price, yes?”

He gripped the hilt of his sword tightly.

At the same time, a ferocious aura surged from his body.

It was killing intent fierce enough to make the maids step back for an instant.

“Woman, if you consider yourself a warrior, then you know, do you not…?”

In the past, when facing the Howon steward and the Three Peerless Warrior, Jeong-ah had retreated to the main gate and benefited from the Special Unit members’ presence.

And the Jeong-ah of now smiled coldly and stepped outside the main gate.

“In the Sword Clan, the status of warrior is not something that is given. It is something one earns for oneself.”

At her words, the Three Peerless Warrior gave a crooked smile.

“You know that well. Then this Three Peerless Warrior shall personally test just how sharp the sword of a wench who used to charm guests with her beauty truly is.”

The ones who were instead flustered by the scene were the Special Unit members.

One Special Unit member hurriedly spoke to a nearby maid.

“The head maid must have something she believes in to step forward, but the Third Young Master’s Three Peerless Warriors are not opponents who can be looked down on.”

The maid remained calm.

“We know. In the Third Young Master’s personal guard, the title Three Peerless is given to those who have mastered three of the five sword forms of the main family’s sword art, Sword Heart Sword Cry.”

Another maid picked up the explanation.

“We have only just managed to make a single sword form our own, so how could we possibly look down on a Three Peerless Warrior?”

At their words, the Special Unit member struck his own chest in frustration.

“Then why are you not stopping the head maid?”

At his words, the maid shook her head.

“By ‘we,’ I meant the maids of Wongakjeong.”

At her words, the Special Unit member’s eyes widened.

“Then the head maid is…?”

The maids merely smiled.