Chapter 45
The Truth (5)
『 Translator – Divinity 』
“Why are you so late?”
Master’s curt voice greeted me as soon as I entered.
While I was trying to gauge Hwa-ryeon’s mood, I decided to take this opportunity and immediately sat down, starting to explain what had happened last night.
First, I showed them the gambling house ledger I had carefully tucked away and informed them of Head Steward Im’s innocence. Namgung Hyeon looked particularly relieved.
“That’s great. Now we have something to tell the head steward’s wife.”
“Right? Ah, and… there’s a bit of a problem with what happened next…”
“What happened next? What…?”
I then told them about the massacre Sa Gong-chan, the Heavenly Radiance Squad Leader, had committed at the gambling house and his attempt to silence everyone.
Everyone was furious after hearing this.
“That despicable…!”
“How could someone…”
“Those guys aren’t martial artists! They’re nothing but harmful beasts!”
Seol-i’s last words, in particular, resonated with me.
Harmful beasts… a very fitting expression.
“Don’t worry. They won’t be harming anyone anymore.”
“Huh? What do you mean… Don’t tell me?”
I nodded at Hwa-ryeon, her eyes wide.
“I killed them all, so they won’t be doing that again.”
Harmful beasts needed to be eliminated in advance.
“……”
“……”
A sudden silence fell over the room.
Soon, Namgung Hyeon cautiously asked,
“So you’re saying… you defeated the Heavenly Radiance Squad Leader?”
“Yes, and the five subordinates with him. The gambling house was in a terrible state, so the news will probably spread throughout Hefei by today.”
“……”
Despite my confident assertion, there was a hint of disbelief in Namgung Hyeon’s expression.
Our young master had never seen me fight, so his reaction was understandable.
The rest of the group simply nodded without any objections.
“So, what happened next?”
“I only kidnapped Jo Un-chil and brought him here. If I had left him alone, he would have been found dead in some back alley. I was late because I was interrogating him.”
At my words, Hwa-ryeon’s expression completely returned to normal.
It seemed she was no longer angry.
I breathed a sigh of relief, and then Namgung Hyeon’s heavy voice reached my ears.
“…Then would you tell us? About the interrogation.”
“Ah, yes.”
I revealed all the information I had obtained through the interrogation.
That the information about the escort missions had been leaked by Jo Un-chil.
That the objective behind the head steward’s assassination and the armory fire was no different from the escort mission sabotage.
And that he didn’t know what their true objective was.
“Why are they so obsessed with weakening the Namgung family’s forces? What do you think?”
At my question, Namgung Hyeon shook his head with a look of frustration that surpassed even mine.
“…I don’t know. It’s too much of a hassle for their objective to be simply driving us out of Hefei. Just what is their goal…”
“Gaga…”
Miss Seol comforted Namgung Hyeon, who was agonizing over the situation.
The atmosphere remained heavy for a while, and then a sudden sound broke the silence.
Growl.
“…Huh?”
Everyone’s eyes turned towards the source of the sound.
The source was Seol-i’s stomach.
“Eek…”
Seol-i’s face flushed red as she desperately tried to cover her stomach.
Ah, so that sound came from there?
I couldn’t help but laugh at Seol-i’s extremely embarrassed reaction.
“Pffft…”
“Don’t laugh!”
“S-Sorry… Keke.”
I suppressed my laughter, ignoring Seol-i, who was shouting at me.
I sneaked a glance at Seol-i, and she was glaring at me with what she probably thought was a fierce look.
Seeing that, I almost burst out laughing again and desperately turned my head away.
Don’t laugh. I can’t laugh. If I laugh, she’ll sulk for three days.
Clap clap
Miss Seol, seeing the tense standoff between Seol-i and me, clapped her hands to gather everyone’s attention.
“I’m also feeling hungry. Shall we continue our discussion after breakfast?”
It was a thoughtful and mature response, subtly letting Seol-i know that her stomach growling wasn’t something to be embarrassed about.
Thanks to that, Seol-i, who had been on the verge of exploding, regained her composure, and the others, who had been tense, were able to have breakfast with slightly lighter hearts.
Of course, that atmosphere was quickly shattered by the arrival of an unwelcome guest.
“Young Master.”
“Hmm? What is it?”
After breakfast, Namgung Hyeon asked the maid, who had a panicked expression, why she had come.
At her answer, everyone’s faces hardened.
“Th-The magistrate suddenly came for a visit. Lord requests the Young Master’s presence in the main hall…”
The magistrate.
The one who had tried to cover up Head Steward Dam’s death as a suicide, the one who was highly likely to be involved in Paecheon Fortress’s conspiracy, had personally come to the Namgung family estate.
No matter how I thought about it, he couldn’t have come with good intentions.
We immediately headed to the main hall.
***
Despite hurrying, only Namgung Hyeon was allowed inside the main hall; the rest of us were stopped.
Even though we were helping with the Namgung family’s affairs, we were still outsiders.
It was only natural.
We had no choice but to wait outside the main hall for the three of them to finish their discussion.
“The magistrate personally visiting the estate… What could he want?”
“I don’t know. But one thing’s for sure, it can’t be anything good.”
“…What is it?”
“If I knew, would I be standing here like this?”
Seol-i and I didn’t have to wait long.
In less than a quarter of an hour, a dignified man in official robes, escorted by guards, strode out of the main hall.
So this was the magistrate of Hefei?
He had a plump face with greed clearly written all over it.
The magistrate left the estate with hurried steps, not even sparing us a glance.
Why was he leaving so soon? What did they talk about?
I tilted my head in wonder and looked back at the main hall, and just then, Namgung Hyeon came out.
“……”
His face was dark.
I didn’t know the details yet, but it seemed like it wasn’t good news.
“Everyone, Father requests your presence.”
And the family head was personally requesting to see us.
This wasn’t good.
We followed Namgung Hyeon to the office in the main hall.
There, the Namgung family head sat slumped in his chair, his face etched with worry.
“Brother Namgung, what’s the matter?”
“Ah, Brother Yeo. You’ve arrived.”
The Namgung family head gave a weary smile as he saw Master, then immediately explained the reason for the magistrate’s visit.
“…A duel tournament? Did you just say duel tournament?”
“…Yes. They said Paecheon Fortress and our Namgung family will hold a duel tournament to determine who is qualified to be responsible for the peace of Hefei, and further, the entire Lu’an Prefecture.”
A duel tournament.
As soon as I heard those words, I realized the whole truth.
This was it. Paecheon Fortress’s objective.
All the troublesome and time-consuming schemes like the escort mission failures,
the head steward’s assassination, the armory fire, all of it to drain the Namgung family’s funds, it was all for this.
To officially defeat the Namgung family, who had been the dominant force in Anhui Province for generations, in front of everyone and completely strip them of their influence in Anhui.
That was their true objective.
“…This is absurd.”
Meanwhile, Master seemed unable to accept the magistrate’s declaration.
“The Namgung family has protected this land for generations, how can they just arbitrarily…”
Despite Master’s words, the Namgung family head remained silent with a grim expression.
Master, at a loss for words at his sworn brother’s reaction, soon seemed to have a good idea and spoke again.
“That’s right. Let’s talk to the Regional Commander. There’s no way the Regional Commander would tolerate such a preposterous situation…”
“…He has already given his approval. He summoned me yesterday and criticized the current situation in Hefei. It seems he’s also leaning towards their side.”
“What…?”
Paecheon Fortress’s scheme, which had taken a whole year to prepare, was truly flawless.
This time, Master was truly speechless, and silence fell over the office.
I thought for a moment, then asked the Namgung family head a question.
“Have the rules of the duel tournament been decided?”
“No, not yet. He told me to come to the county office later to discuss it with Paecheon Fortress.”
“Hmm…”
Master, seeing me lost in thought after hearing the family head’s words, suddenly asked,
“Do you have an idea?”
“It’s not that I have an idea, but it’s a bit strange.”
“What do you mean?”
At Master’s continued questions, I voiced my thoughts.
“Who is the strongest martial artist among the Paecheon Fortress forces currently in Hefei?”
“That would be the Heavenly Radiance Squad Leader.”
“But that Heavenly Radiance Squad Leader died by my hand last night. It doesn’t make sense that they would bring up the duel tournament so quickly after losing their strongest fighter.”
“Ah…”
Everyone let out a gasp of realization at my words.
This duel tournament could be seen as a matter of life and death for the Namgung family.
Naturally, the Namgung family head, who was one of the few remaining forces and the strongest among them, would have to participate himself.
Paecheon Fortress wouldn’t be unaware of that.
If this duel tournament was indeed Paecheon Fortress’s plan, then the Heavenly Radiance Squad Leader was highly likely to be their main force against the Namgung family head.
But that Heavenly Radiance Squad Leader was dead.
Wouldn’t it make sense for them to secure another force capable of facing the Namgung family head before bringing up the duel tournament?
“Or do they have another hidden expert?”
Namgung Hyeon immediately refuted my mumbling.
“That’s unlikely. If an expert at the level of the Heavenly Radiance Squad Leader had entered Hefei, it wouldn’t be this quiet. Rumors would have spread long ago.”
“Then what is it?”
Everyone fell into deep thought.
But in the midst of all this, there was one person who couldn’t follow the conversation.
“Wait, what are you talking about? The Heavenly Radiance Squad Leader is dead?”
“…Ah.”
Come to think of it, hadn’t we said anything to Namgung family head yet?