The Ruler of Darkness

The elder Yeom of Luoyang Sword House once said to his subordinates,

“The Grand Young Master was not belittled for being weaponless, but was called weaponless because he endured the belittling.”

***

“Call the Inspection Bureau,” Yeon So-Hyeon instructed.

“Please hold on a moment, Grand Young Master!” Court Lady Seomun implored.

“Clear the way! Did you not hear our lord’s directive?” a group of three urged.

“Wait just a moment, Grand Young Master! Why this sudden urgency?” Some of the servants shouted, standing in his path.

Court Lady Seomun questioned, “If you make such a sudden move…?”

“And if I do?”

Court Lady Seomun exclaimed, “The Inspection Bureau?! Summoning the Inspection Bureau for a mere book fee?!”

“If you won’t answer when asked, what can I do?”

“You want to bring in the Inspection Bureau without understanding the repercussions?”

“What repercussions?”

“Would the Inspection Bureau really get involved over a few books?”

“Then why are you blocking me?”

“That’s…,” Court Lady Seomun hesitated, irritated by Yeon So-Hyeon’s nonchalant demeanor. “You intend to disrupt the entire Inner Court?”

Yeon So-Hyeon chuckled. “Do you believe you speak for all of the Inner Court?”

“Grand Young Master, if you call on the Inspection Bureau over such trivial matters, the entire inner Inner Court will grow hostile towards you!”

Yeon So-Hyeon observed his surroundings and shook his head, “By hindering my maidservant from executing my instructions, by avoiding a straightforward inquiry about a book’s fee, and by neglecting to greet me during my visit, your hostility is already apparent.”

Court Lady Seomun clenched his teeth. “Don’t you understand that this hostility will only grow?”

Yeon So-Hyeon sighed, “…Your actions are truly noteworthy.”

It seemed no words would affect the Grand Young Master anymore.

Court Lady Seomun turned to Jung-ah, “Young lady, stopping now would truly be in your master’s best interests.”

Jung-ah, with an unwavering demeanor, responded, “Carrying out my master’s wishes is in his best interest.” Her cold stare met Court Lady Seomun’s eyes. “What has the Inner Court taught you that you’d challenge our master’s orders with your mere rank?”

Court Lady Seomun felt the weight of her words.

“What is the Inner Court involved in that they’d dare intimidate the direct heir and Grand Young Master of this family?”

“…”

The Inner Court functioned primarily to serve the head of the household and his direct heirs. Every member inducted into the Inner Court was taught this foremost lesson.

“Do you mean the Inner Court will be hostile to their own master, who is a direct descendant?”

“…I didn’t say that. What I did say was that the Grand Young Master’s deeds might stir resentment within the Inner Court. You should pay closer attention when listening, young maiden” he corrected. Court Lady Seomun, momentarily disconcerted, proved to be no pushover.

Either way, the water had already spilled.

“Whether you quibble over words or pick arguments, it doesn’t matter to me,” Jung-ah responded with a chilly grin. “It’s already too late.”

“…What do you mean?”

Court Lady Seomun’s thoughts raced.

“Is it possible…?”

Suddenly, a hesitant voice echoed from the corridor.

“Uh, may I interrupt…?”

The voice trembled.

“Who’s there?”

Upon Court Lady Seomun’s command, the attendants obstructing the hallway moved aside.

The trio before him also stepped away.

“Um, I’ve come from the Inspection Bureau…,” a timid figure came forth, appearing more like a young boy, looking somewhat out of place in the formal attire of the Inspection Bureau. As everyone’s attention focused on him, he continued, avoiding direct eye contact, “I serve as an Investigative Officer with the Inspection Bureau.”

The young man, slightly embarrassed, scratched his head, “Yes, I completed my probation last year.” Adjusting his slipping glasses, he continued.

“Who asked you? Show us your badge from the Inspection Bureau,” the gatekeeper frowned.

“Ah, my apologies…”

He fumbled through his sleeves.

“Huh?”

Only after searching the opposite sleeve and inside his clothes did he finally take out his badge.

“He—here…”

Accepting the badge with a doubtful look, one of the servants passed it to the gatekeeper. “Inspector Kang Ho?” he read.

Shyly smiling, the young man confirmed, “That’s me, Kang Ho. Just call me Inspector Kang comfortably.”

The tension finally eased, and the gatekeeper chuckled.

“It looks like they’ve sent someone fitting to investigate the book fee.”

Kang Ho chuckled.

“I apologize. We have to investigate if there’s a complaint. It’s a procedure…”

The other servants also relaxed.

The gatekeeper smiled.

‘The Inspection Bureau wouldn’t jeopardize our relationship over something as trivial as a book fee.’

Kang Ho then inquired, looking around the room, “Is the person who lodged the complaint present?”

Yeon So-Hyeon raised his hand, signaling, “That would be me.”

Kang Ho jumped up. “Ah! Grand Young Master!”

He hurried over to Yeon So-Hyeon and bowed respectfully.

“I, Kang, who is employed in my family’s business, pay my respects to the Grand Young Master on behalf of my family!”

His gestures were both formal and flawlessly executed.

“Dispense with the unnecessary formalities. Here’s the evidence related to the complaint. Take note of it.”

Jung-ah extended the ledger book detailing the finances of Wongak Pavilion.

“Take it.”

“A-ah, thank you.””

Kang Ho, with visibly shaking hands, received the book, his face flushing as he glanced at Jung-ah.

“Would you prefer to sit here?”

“How about some tea?”

“Do you require anything else?”

Hearing the trio’s queries, Kang Ho’s cheeks deepened in color.

“No! It’s inappropriate for the complainant’s side to offer such hospitality!”

He refused the trio’s offer and quickly sat down.

The rest of the servants crossed their arms and snickered.

‘Sure. A rookie fresh out of training, try as hard as you can to look good. It won’t matter.’

The gatekeeper watched with a cold smile as the rookie Inspection Investigator quickly flipped through the ledger.

‘He seems to be pretending to investigate, but he can’t stall for time. So, he’s just acting like he’s checking the ledger.’

Grand Young Master Yeon So-Hyeon, who was sitting at the top, asked him,

“Is your grandfather well?”

To this, Kang Ho chuckled while nodding his head and his glasses slipped again.

“Yes, he’s as usual. Just a few days ago, he was chastising me for not replying to your letters.”

He continued perusing through the ledger as he spoke.

“I wonder what he thinks of his humble grandson who only serves in the family…”

Yeon So-Hyeon laughed, “Weren’t you the one who topped the palace exam? A grandson who declined an official post to become a swordsman in Luoyang, surely you’re receiving special treatment.”

Kang Ho became shy.

“How do you know so much about my circumstances?”

“Your grandfather keeps bragging about his eldest grandson in all the letters he sends me.”

Yeon So-Hyeon looked at him and smiled. “If he knew that you started as a trainee in the Inspecttion Office because you refused special treatment, he’d immediately send a horse to bring you back home.”

“Ah, Your Lordship. Such things should not be the case…”

Even so, his gaze could not leave the swiftly flipping pages of the ledger.

“Why are you so worried? The person who is soon to be ninety years old still goes hunting with the royal family’s relatives.”

“What worries me is not that, but the fire that may be lit under my own behind¹.”

He suddenly realized and tensed his body.

“Ah, ah. I have acted too casually before Your Lordship.”

“Haha. It’s fine. Your grandfather and I are almost like friends; what harm would it do if his grandson acts a bit informal?”

In that spectacle, in that conversation, the Court Lady Seomun and other servants felt that something was amiss.

Before they could even respond to that unease, Kang Ho closed the ledger.

“I have completed the verification.”

He cautiously opened his mouth, aware of the surrounding atmosphere.

“Is there anyone who would like to comment regarding this report? If this place is uncomfortable, we can move…”

Seomun, the steward, stepped forward.

“Rather, tell us what the results of the investigation are.”

He was uneasy about how the Grand Young Master was flaunting off his connections.

Therefore, he wanted to move on to a ‘predetermined conclusion’ as quickly as possible.

“Eh? Then, considering that there may be a formal investigation against the complainant and witnesses…”

“Wait!”

Court Lady Seomun interjected.

“A formal investigation? If this is just an investigation about book fees, then it should be nothing more than a simple verification process. What are you talking about a formal investigation for?”

Kang Ho shrank back.

“Uh, well… there are some inconsistencies…”

“Inconsistencies?!”

The servants chimed in.

“Is it possible that the investigator is approaching this case with personal feelings?”

“I don’t want to say this, but after hearing the earlier conversation,, we cannot deny that we suspect the investigator’s intentions.”

Kang Ho’s glasses slid down.

“Ah? Eh? That’s not the case…”

Seomun slammed the table.

“What do you mean ‘that’s not it’? Is this not an investigation related to the book fees?”

Yeon So-Hyeon clicked his tongue.

“Who said this investigation is related to the book fees?”

“Eh…?”

Court Lady Seomun and the group of servants froze in their thought process

Ignoring them, Yeon So-Hyeon asked Kang Ho,

“So, what are the results after verifying the evidence?”

Kang Ho stuttered his reply.

“Er, that is. As far as this ledger is concerned, there are no issues.”

Court Lady Seomun shouted, “Then what’s the issue?!”

Re-adjusting his glasses, Kang Ho clarified, “The funds assigned to Wongak Pavilion in this ledger don’t match the figures I’ve confirmed.”

“…!”

Yeon So-Hyeon grinned. “Did you stop by the Inner Court’s office first? You’re late.”

“Ah, yes. Naturally, if I’m going to investigate, I prefer to begin at the source…”

“Lies! Who gave you the authority to access the ledger room?!”

At Court Lady Seomun’s outburst, Kang-ho tilted his head slightly. “Isn’t it prohibited to question an investigator about the identity of their informant?”

Seomun shouted as if enraged, “You! What exactly are you investigating right now?!”

Kang Ho nodded his head.

“That, I can reveal.”

His glasses slid down again.

“I have been dispatched to examine the necessity of an audit due to allegations of the embezzlement of the budget allocated to Wongak Pavilion, as decided by the Elder Council of Luoyang Sword House.”

“A budget audit…?!”

“Embezzlement?!”

He pushed up his glasses.

“In my opinion as an audit investigator, there is a considerable amount of specific suspicion, and the charges are quite substantiated. Therefore, I judge that the current situation is very serious…”

Over the rim of his glasses, his eyes met those of Court Lady Seomun and the other servants.

“As of this time, I hereby declare in the name of the audit department that all personnel involved in this investigation are not allowed to leave the main building of the Inner Court until further notice.”

1. Potential repercussions.[↩]

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