The Ruler of Darkness

Book 2: Chapter 25

“No, giving all these gifts…”

“It’s nothing. I hope everyone has a wonderful day!”

The young man in silk garments waved at the special forces guarding the main gate of Wongak Pavilion and entered the temple.

Each of the special forces members waved back, all sporting cheerful smiles on their faces.

Strangely, they all had small jars of alcohol attached to their waists.

“Why are you all refusing the alcohol the captain is offering?”

Life-Stealing Devil King handed over the jar of alcohol he had received as a gift to a colleague.

“…I thought, even if we don’t draw our swords right now, we should at least prevent them from rusting.”

Although his words were mysterious, the special forces member who received another jar seemed to be fine with it.

* * *

Medicine King was walking along the forest path of Wongak Pavilion.

He had just had lunch with the residents of Wongak Pavilion.

“Oh, who is this? Is it not Medicine King?”

As the young man in silk garments bowed deeply, Medicine King was taken aback but returned the greeting.

“Oh, it’s nice to meet you. But I am in a hurry…”

“Aha, in that case, I will make sure to pay you a visit next time.”

“Sure. Well then.”

“Yes, please take care, Medicine King-nim.”

After passing the young man, the Medicine King muttered to himself.

“…Who is he to know me?”

* * *

“Who are you, loitering around Wongak Pavilion?!”

After the unidentified monks, a seemingly naive young man was wandering around. Il-ryeong stopped him.

“Stop right there!”

The triplet maidens, who had seen the fiery Yeon So-Hyeon last night, were guarding the entrance to the forest path.

“Is he an intruder?!”

“Identify yourself!”

Receiving the news, the other two of the triplets, Yi-ryeong and Sam-ryeong, quickly appeared and surrounded him.

A tall figure with a delicate build.

The man in silk garments, who was far from threatening, gave a bright smile upon seeing the triplets.

“Ah, you must be the maids assigned to Wongak Pavilion from the Special Unit of the Steward Department! Nice to meet you!”

“Uh? Nice to meet you?”

Il-ryeong, who poked Sam-ryeong in the side, yelled,

“How do you know about us?!”

The man in silk garments answered, seemingly puzzled.

“Ah? Isn’t it common knowledge among departments, that the trainees from the Special Unit are famously exceptional?”

Although their ‘special training’ was confidential, their existence wasn’t a secret. The young man was not wrong.

“We’re famous? Hehe.”

Il-ryeong poked the boasting Yi-ryeong waist and asked the young man in silk garments.

“… Did you, by any chance, come from the Steward Department?”

At that, the young man in silk garments shook his hands.

“Ah, no, I am…”

That’s when Jung-ah, who had understood the commotion, approached.

“If a guest has arrived, you should be thinking of inviting them in, not creating all this fuss!”

Jung-ah’s soft scolding made the triplet maids shrink back instantly.

After giving them a piercing look, Jung-ah greeted the man in silk clothes.

“Welcome to Wongak Pavilion. May I ask from where…”

Just then, the young man in silk clothes clapped his hands and pointed at Jung-ah.

“Ah! You must be the one called ‘Il-hwa’ (‘One Flower’) and ‘Bing-hwa’ (‘Ice Flower’), the very maiden in question!”

Jung-ah nodded her head nervously.

“Yes, it seems I am the person you are talking about…”

The man in silk bowed his head deeply towards Jung-ah.

“My, I heard you became the head maid of Wongak Pavilion. Congratulations!”

“Ah, yes. Thank you.”

The man in silk looked around with exaggerated motions and whispered to Jung-ah.

“So that’s why 2nd young master and 3rd young master couldn’t keep their composure. You really are a ‘peerless beauty’).”

Jung-ah’s eyebrows twitched.

At the same time, the triplets shouted.

“How dare you! Are you making light of our head?!”

“That’s a secret only a few people know!”

“Let’s imprison him at once!”

As the triplet maids’ eyes blazed and they began to advance, the man in silk hastily raised his hand.

“Uh, uh! I’m not suspicious! I’m Yeon Ha-eung, a low-ranking official in my family!”

A moment later, the triplets exclaimed in unison.

“Yeon family?!”

***

“A high official in charge of ceremonies in the outer court?!”

The position of the young man who identified himself as Yeon Ha-eung wasn’t a low-ranking position at all; rather, it was quite high.

With a friendly smile, he scratched the back of his head.

“It’s nothing big. Because I am a direct descendant of the Bang-gye family, I’ve managed to secure this honorary, albeit superficial position.”

“A direct descendant?!”

“Well…, I’m not sure if you know, but the GaeBong Yeon family…”

“The GaeBong Yeon family?!”

The faces of the triplets were turning grim.

Yeon So-Hyeon, who had put down his tea cup, raised his hand.

“Quiet down. Like he said, being a high official is merely an honorary position. Besides, he often shows up at social gatherings in Luoyang, acting foolish, so don’t mind him.”

His words were true.

“That’s right, that’s right.”

Though it was a frank statement, Yeon Ha-eung just laughed with a friendly smile.

“By the way, So-Hyeon hyungnim.”

[TL/N: Hyungnim is a respectful way of saying elder brother] 

When he started to speak softly, Yeon So-Hyeon clicked his tongue.

“Why do you always call me So-Hyeon hyung-nim?”

With a friendly smile, he responded.

“If I call you ‘Grand young master’, it doesn’t sound intimate, right? We’re distant relatives after all, so I’ll call you ‘elder brother’.”

Yeon Ha-eung, in his late twenties, always laughed like someone who didn’t have a care in the world.

For a moment, after listening to Yeon Ha-eung praising the tea leaves of Wongak Pavilion, Yeon So-hyeon tapped the table with his finger.

“Shall we get to the main point?”

Yeon So-hyeon looked into his eyes.

“You must have come all the way here because you’ve heard something, right?”

Yeon Ha-eung clapped his hands.

“By the way, elder brother So-Hyeon. Have you scheduled an appointment to meet with 4th young master?”

Jung-ah’s eyebrows twitched again.

The eyes of the triplets narrowed.

It was just this morning that Yeon So-Hyeon had corresponded with the 4th young master through Medicine King.

But how did this suspicious man know that?

Yeon So-Hyeon waved his hand at the maidservants again.

“Don’t worry about it. Bi, the guy said he’d meet with me, so he must have bragged about it to his underlings.”

Bi was the 4th young master’s name.

“Yes, that’s correct. The 4th young master’s maids were all so busy they looked like they’d die.”

No matter how much 4th young master bragged to his underlings, this was an internal matter within the 4th young master’s faction.

But how did this man know about it?

Yeon So-Hyeon sighed softly at the sight of the maidservants casting suspicious glances at Yeon Ha-eung.

“‘A rumor without legs travels a thousand miles,’ right? This guy’s nickname is ‘Word with Legs’. Some also call him ‘Rumor on Legs’.”

“Haha, Rumors on Legs. That’s exactly my nickname.”

“Such a nickname you’ve got.”

Yeon So-Hyeon shook his head at the man’s boastful talking.

“So.”

Yeon So-Hyeon asked him again.

“What worries you about the 4th young master and me meeting?”

Yeon Ha-eung shrugged.

“Worry? I’m just your humble younger brother who always respects and follows you, elder brother So-Hyeon …”

Yeon So-Hyeon cut him off.

“Are you worried I’ll break the alliance?”

“Break the alliance?!”

Yeon Ha-eung jumped up.

“No, I meant to say, it’s a bit worrying to see you, who dislike turmoil, planning to associate with the 4th young master, who is right in the middle of the succession dispute.”

“It’s none of your business, is it?”

Yeon Ha-eung quickly nodded.

“Of course. Yes, I spoke out of turn. Hehe.”

He hastily changed the subject.

“By the way, a book broker from the merchant association you deal with apparently faced humiliation in the inner court today.”

“Really?”

That was a matter from just an hour ago.

He truly lived up to his name, Rumors on Legs.

“Ah, elder brother So-Hyeon. Haven’t I told you? If you direct the invoices to me, I’ll take care of everything. Then those poor merchants would suffer less.”

Yeon So-Hyeon chuckled.

“Your concern isn’t for the merchants, but rather that friction between me and the inner court may escalate, isn’t it?”

He shook his head hastily.

“No, how could the inner court dare to have friction with you, elder brother? Do such disrespectful people exist?”

“Got anything else?”

“…A servant of Elder Yeom died last night after being beaten by him. It seems Elder Yeom was furious.”

“Is that so?”

“Weren’t you planning to dismiss your escort unit and walk on the streets of Luoyang? It seems the captain of the escorts who was assigned to you has ultimately been replaced.”

“And?”

After biting his lip for a moment, he cautiously opened his mouth.

“The 2nd young master and 3rd young master seem to be very uncomfortable due to elder brother So-Hyeong’s treatment. It appears that a few maids who were attending to your bedroom have died.”

He deliberately avoided making eye contact with Jung-ah.

“I see.”

Upon hearing So-Hyeon’s indifferent response, his expression became despondent.

“Elder brother So-Hyeon… why have you been so harsh these days?”

He spoke earnestly to Yeon So-Hyeon.

“Wasn’t it you, elder brother So-Hyeon, who once said to enjoy life while being content with what’s given?”

Through her keen intuition, Jung-ah could feel Yeon Ha-eung’s sincere concern towards the Grand young master.

Yeon So-Hyeon looked at him.

“No longer.”

“So, elder brother, from now on…”

He lifted his face with a foolish expression.

“Yes?”

“From now on, I will also not just be content with what’s given.”

Yeon So-Hyeon leaned back in his chair with a smile.

“So now you too should cooperate with me.”

Yeon Ha-eung trembled.

“Ha-ha, what are you saying? I have no idea what you mean, seriously…”

Yeon So-Hyeon gestured, and sensing the atmosphere, the triplets promptly stood up.

“Come, young lord. This way.”

“From now on, we will start a small project together.”

“Have you ever heard of building an information network?”

Being grabbed by the triplets, Yeon Ha-eung cried out.

“Sa, save me!”

“A man of many talents, impressive upon hearing.”

“Very useful young lord indeed.”

“Ho-ho, you don’t have to be that scared.”

The triplets chuckled and dragged him away.

“Elder brother So-Hyeon! Brother!”

Yeon So-Hyeon waved at him.

“From now on, cooperate nicely with them. Nothing bad will happen to you.”

As he was being dragged away, his face turned gloomy.

“…If elder brother says so, I must follow.”

He gave up and was dragged away by maids who were barely half his height.

Jung-ah poured hot water into Yeon So-Hyeon’s teacup and said,

“He’s an interesting man.”

Yeon So-Hyeon chuckled.

“He will be of great help in the future.”

He unfolded the letter he had received from Medicine King, sent by the 4th young master.

A gentle smile appeared at the corners of his mouth.

“That guy Bi. His excitement is palpable even from here.”

~End of Volume 2~