The Ruler of Darkness

Book 1: Chapter 17

“Master, I’ve prepared everything.”

[T/N: Jung-ah has started addressing our MC here as master instead of ‘grand young master’]

Jung-ah, having prepared for the outing, wore a radiant smile.

She donned the single-layered robe she wore when she first arrived at Won Pavilion, with little more attention paid to her makeup than usual. Yet, because she was inherently so beautiful, even this slight change was dazzling.

“Is that your best?”

But Yeon So-Hyeon seemed dissatisfied.

“……Are you not pleased?”

Honestly, dressing up to this extent was almost taboo in the reception hall where she usually greeted guests.

“As a maidservant serving the Grand heir of the Luoyang Sword House, it’s quite lacking,” he said, while wearing a simple white robe with no name, in stark contrast.

“Gatekeeper!”

At Yeon So-Hyeon’s call, the middle-aged man who was ‘the gatekeeper’, ‘the messenger of Won Pavilion’, and ‘the expert of unknown origin’ trudged forward grumbling.

“No matter how grand your position is, young master, what does a gatekeeper even do? My name is…….”

“Quiet, Gatekeeper. Stop your nonsense and go get a women’s outer robe from any of the servants of the inner court. The highest grade.”

The inner court was a division that served the head of the family and his direct descendants.

“……What did you just ask for?”

A grinding sound came from the gatekeeper’s teeth.

Yeon So-Hyeon chuckled. “If you don’t jump and get it right now, you’ll be demoted from a gatekeeper to a dung-carrier of Won Pavilion.”

The gatekeeper felt his face turning beet red in humiliation. He had dedicated his life to the Luoyang Sword House. He may have semi-retired now, but he was still dutifully carrying out his mission in the house’s main headquarters. In the past, he had fought countless battles in areas where the house’s influence did not reach, and his life had been threatened just as many times.

How many enemies of the school had he defeated so far?

But now, this grand heir, a shame and a subject of contempt for the house, was mocking him.

“Still not going?”

At the sight of the nonchalantly turning Yeon So-Hyeon, the gatekeeper gritted his teeth and applied his light-foot technique, heading out of Won Pavilion.

“Ah…!”

At the gatekeeper’s sudden disappearance, Jung-ah was taken aback.

Even her ‘eye’ had lost track of him for a moment, a testament to the superlative light-foot technique.

There wouldn’t be many in this vast Central Plains who could demonstrate such skill.

“Damn it……

That was the gatekeeper’s display of prowess.

But he did not feel satisfied.

Instead, he was overcome by discomfort at the cold sweat trickling down his forehead.

‘What was that look in his eyes……?’

The fact that he had utilized his light-foot technique was almost an impulsive reaction. The moment he saw the turning Grand young master’s gaze, he reflexively jumped out of his spot. His instinct, honed from many near-death experiences, sensed a threat to his life and reacted. Although he managed to get away quickly using his light-foot technique, he felt as though those eyes were still following him.

‘That was the look of a madman. A truly mad one. How can a guy who just stares at books all day have it……’

The forest path came to an end.

The main gate of Won Pavilion came into view.

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‘Yes, just bear with it a little longer. I’ve requested a formal change in assignment, just a little longer.’

But what he had to endure did not end there.

* * *

A while later, in Won Pavilion.

“……They refused.”

“What?”

“They refuse to cooperate.”

The inner court, responsible for serving the direct descendants of the family, had rejected the Grand young master’s command.

The Grand young master’s face, looking incredulous, was somewhat amusing, but it was he who had faced the refusal firsthand.

“Why?”

The gatekeeper shrugged his shoulders. “Grand young master, I think you would know the reason better.”

They made several excuses, but all were nonsense. Ultimately, they did not want to cooperate with Won Pavilion where an undeserving person resided.

“……This is absurd.”

Yeon So-Hyeon grabbed his forehead and stared blankly into space, while Jung-ah bowed her head in disappointment.

“What will you do?”

The gatekeeper’s question was strangely provocative, but Yeon So-Hyeon remained surprisingly calm.

“There’s no choice.”

Jung-ah, who had been watching the situation, took this as an opportunity to intervene.

“We’ve wasted enough time, so we should depart now……”

However, when she saw what Yeon So-Hyeon took out of his sleeve, her words gradually faded and stopped.

“I’d forgotten because it’s been a while.”

At first, the gatekeeper looked dumbly at the object in Yeon So-Hyeon’s hand, then his jaw dropped.

“That, that is……?!”

Yeon So-Hyeon approached a nearby pavilion and picked up a brush. Then he wrote a letter in a single stroke.

[Bring the clothes.]

It was an outrageous letter without formality, courtesy, or anything of the sort. However, his handwriting was so magnificent that both Jung-ah and the gatekeeper, who had been watching dumbfoundedly, couldn’t help but let out a small gasp.

Bang!

Before the ink had even dried, Yeon So-Hyeon stamped the letter.

Then the majestic seal, reading “Supreme Sword under the Heavens,” appeared on the letter.

“Here. Take it.”

Yeon So-Hyeon roughly folded the letter and handed it to the gatekeeper.

“…….!”

The gatekeeper abruptly sprang forward, heading straight for Yeon So-Hyeon. Once there, he knelt on both knees and took the letter with both hands.

“Your, your command!”

His hand trembled as he received the letter.

“What are you doing? Go on.”

“Your command!”

Before Yeon So-Hyeon had finished speaking, the gatekeeper had disappeared.

“Master, is that what I think it is…?”

Yeon So-Hyeon, sitting on the railing, held up the object in his hand.

“This?”

“Yes, that’s what I’m referring to.”

Yeon So-Hyeon smiled with a slight grin.

“Ah, that’s right. The household seal.”

Even Jung-ah, who rarely revealed her emotions, turned pale at the sight.

“The Sword House’s Golden Seal!”

It was a symbol and relic representing the absolute power of the single person in possession of absolute command in the Luoyang Sword House. Just seeing the actual seal was astonishing, but to think it was being used to order a mere servant to fetch clothing.

“How… How could you have it, Master…?”

Yeon So-Hyeon looked at Jung-ah as if he didn’t understand what she was saying.

“My father is ‘in that condition’, who else could have it other than me, the rightful heir?”

It was a valid point.

“But to use something so precious to order my clothes…?!”

“Don’t worry.” Yeon So-Hyeon chuckled, put the Sword House’s Golden Seal back into his pocket and stored it in his sleeve. “I’ve used it quite often for unimportant matters.”

In fact, it could only be used for trivial matters, he added.

“If I don’t use it, there’s nowhere that would properly cooperate.”

He laughed loudly.

“Well, it’s just a thing I use, even when buying books, paper, and things like brushes.”

Jung-ah wanted to faint on the spot.

* * *

After that, everything moved quickly.

The ‘Sword House’s Golden Seal’, a relic of the Luoyang Sword House’s head, was a relic bestowed directly to the family head by the emperor of the time. No one in the Luoyang Sword House would interpret the ‘bring clothes’ written on a document marked with such a seal literally.

First to appear was the head maid of the inner quarters.

Following her in impressive fashion were about ten maids from the inner quarters.

Behind them was a line of strong servants, carrying large chests.

The chests were lined up in the courtyard, and when the lids were opened, dozens of women’s clothes, shoes, and accessories were revealed. Nothing was missing, and all of them were top-quality items.

Jung-ah, led by the inner maids, was transformed as elegantly as the Moon Goddess in an instant.

“Hmm, this should be enough.”

As Yeon So-Hyeon nodded, the head maid of the inner quarters briefly shouted, “Withdraw!”

“If they had cooperated willingly from the beginning, it would have been easier for both of us…”

Yeon So-Hyeon stuck out his tongue at her, thinking, ‘What a pain every time.’

But she didn’t react to Yeon So-Hyeon’s words, gave a respectful bow, and moved on. With the departure of the group like the ebbing tide, the chests and their contents were left behind.

“What are you doing?”

At Yeon So-Hyeon’s words, the gatekeeper’s face scrunched up as he avoided his gaze. “…What do you mean?”

Yeon So-Hyeon didn’t answer and rustled in his sleeve.

“Ah, I got it, stop it already!” the gatekeeper exclaimed, and moved towards the chests in irritation. “How can you handle such a precious thing so casually?” he grumbled, but Yeon So-Hyeon didn’t care.

“Do you like it?”

Jung-ah was looking into the full-length mirror placed in the courtyard. She tried to keep her composure, but she couldn’t hide her slightly flushed cheeks.

“…It seems inappropriate for someone like me.”

Yeon So-Hyeon shrugged his shoulders.

“You’ve come to Won Pavilion, and I’ve started to move.”

His tone was light, but the meaning it carried was anything but light.

“In the future, you’ll have more occasions to wear such clothes.”

Jung-ah’s jet-black hair swayed in the gentle breeze.

At that moment, she had a premonition.

This gentle wind, though currently blowing leisurely from the west, would eventually turn into a ferocious typhoon.

“…Yes, Master.”

A determination settled in Jung-ah’s eyes.

* * *

“…Do you really not need an escort?”

Yeon So-Hyeon smiled at the sight of the Luoyang Sword House guards blocking his way.

“I have this fellow here, so it’s alright.”

The ‘gatekeeper’, with a face like he’d swallowed something foul, was standing in the direction Yeon So-Hyeon pointed to. On top of his menacing appearance, his arrogance made it seem as if there was no need for any evil spirits. From being a messenger to a runner and now an escort. It was impossible for his mood to be good.

“We’re obligated to follow your command, Grand young master, but without the Escort Commander’s permission…”

Yeon So-Hyeon cut off the escort’s words.

“Yeah, yeah. Go report as you see fit.”

“But we…”

It was only after Yeon So-Hyeon took out his seal and wrote another makeshift order that they finally backed off.

***

“Who is that guy in the guard’s uniform?”

“I don’t know. He looks like a master, though. Seems like he’s going to have a hard time instead of us today.”

Having escaped being the ‘commoner escort of the Swordless One’, the other guards didn’t mask their relief.

Seeing them, Jung-ah tried to step up, but Yeon So-Hyeon raised his hand to stop her.

“It’s okay, we have a long way to go.”

But they were stopped again at one of the back gates of the Luoyang Sword House.

The guards stopped them because the ‘Grand young master’ was going out during the day without permission from ‘above’.

And naturally, an angry Jung-ah scolded them fiercely. It was unfortunate for the guards who were caught between the Grand young master and the commander of the guards.

“Haha, we haven’t even started and it’s already so fun.”

Naturally, the only one who found this amusing was Yeon So-Hyeon.

And the gatekeeper was staring at the amused Yeon So-Hyeon with bored eyes.

‘What could possibly be swirling within the mind of this so-called Grand young master?’

What about the image of the Grand young master who was relentlessly driving him yesterday, the glimpse of the Grand young master with that intermittent mad gaze in his eye?

Then, what about the image this Swordless person showing today—the image of utter humility, akin to a common man?

But even in the midst of all this, there was one thing he was certain of.

‘I must transfer as soon as possible!’

In the end,

One woman who looked like a palace maid but was the lowest in rank among the group.

One man who looked like a Luoyang Sword House’s guard, but whose identity was unknown.

And one of the heirs of the Luoyang Sword House, who looked like a handsome scholar serving a lady, but who held a monstrous power within him.

This peculiar group then set foot into the city of Luoyang.