Chapter 17 - Going Out
"Master, I have finished preparing."
Jeong-a smiled brightly after completing her preparations for going out.
She was wearing the same simple outfit she had worn when she first arrived at Wongakjeong, and had merely put a bit more care into her makeup than usual.
And yet, perhaps because her natural beauty was so exceptional to begin with, even that slight change was dazzling to the eyes.
"Is that really the best you can do?"
Yeon Sang-hyeon looked displeased.
"...Does it not meet your satisfaction?"
Honestly, dressing up even to this extent was practically taboo in a place like Wongakjeong, which served guests.
"As a maid attending the First Young Master of the Luoyang Sword Clan, that's far from sufficient."
…Said the man himself, who was dressed in nothing more than plain white cotton clothing.
"Gatekeeper!"
At Yeon Sang-hyeon's call, the middle-aged man—who was the guard captain of Wongakjeong's main gate, its main-gate liaison, and an unidentified master—approached while grumbling.
"No matter how much you're the First Young Master, calling me 'gatekeeper', really. My name is—"
"Quiet, gatekeeper. Stop the nonsense and go to the inner court to fetch women's outdoor clothing. The finest quality."
The inner court was the department responsible for attending the clan lord and the direct bloodline.
"...J-just what did you say?"
The sound of teeth grinding escaped the gatekeeper's mouth.
Yeon Sang-hyeon let out a snort of laughter.
"If you don't hurry back right now, you won't be the gatekeeper anymore—you'll be Wongakjeong's shit carrier."
The gatekeeper felt his vision turn red.
He had devoted his entire life to the Luoyang Sword Clan.
Though he was now half-retired, he was still carrying out the duties assigned to him at the main house.
In the past, he had fought countless real battles outside the reach of the Sword Clan's authority, crossing death lines as numerous as those battles.
How many enemies of the Sword Clan had he cut down?
And yet this so-called First Young Master—the disgrace of the clan, an object of contempt—was mocking him.
'Hiding behind your father's orders, wasting your days doing nothing…!'
"Why are you still standing there?"
At Yeon Sang-hyeon's casual glance back, the gatekeeper clenched his teeth and activated his movement art, heading outside Wongakjeong.
"Ah…!"
Jeong-a let out an unconscious gasp of admiration at the movement art so swift that his figure vanished in an instant.
It was a transcendent movement art that even her eyes momentarily lost track of his position.
In this vast Central Plains, how many people could display such movement art?
'Damn it…'
That movement art had been the gatekeeper's own show of force.
Yet even after that, he felt no relief at all.
Instead, the cold sweat running down his forehead filled him with intense discomfort.
'What was that look…?'
In truth, activating his movement art had been little more than an instinctive reaction.
The moment he saw the First Young Master's gaze as he turned away, he had reflexively leapt from the spot.
A veteran of countless death lines, he had instinctively sensed a threat to his life.
He had managed to escape immediately afterward by using his movement art, but even now it felt as though that gaze was still following him.
'That was the gaze of a madman. A truly insane bastard. How can someone who does nothing but read books all day have eyes like that…'
The forest path was ending.
The main gate of Wongakjeong came into view.
'Just endure it a little longer. I've already submitted a formal request for reassignment. Just endure it.'
But his troubles did not end there.
***
A short while later, at Wongakjeong.
"…They refused."
"What did you say?"
"They said they won't give it. They're refusing to cooperate."
The inner court—responsible for attending the direct bloodline—had rejected the First Young Master's order.
The First Young Master's dumbfounded expression was almost amusing, but the one who had been rejected face-to-face was the gatekeeper himself.
"The reason?"
The gatekeeper shrugged.
"I think, First Young Master, you know the reason better than anyone."
They had given several excuses, but they were all nonsense. In the end, it simply meant they didn't want to cooperate with Wongakjeong, where the Swordless resided.
"…Absurd."
Yeon Sang-hyeon pressed a hand to his forehead and stared into the air, while Jeong-a merely lowered her head in confusion.
"What will you do?"
It was a strangely provocative question, but Yeon Sang-hyeon remained unexpectedly calm.
"There's nothing to be done."
Sensing her chance, Jeong-a carefully interjected.
"We've already been delayed, so perhaps it would be best to depart now—"
But her voice gradually trailed off and stopped when she saw what Yeon Sang-hyeon pulled from his sleeve.
"It's been so long, I forgot."
The gatekeeper, who had been staring dumbly at Yeon Sang-hyeon's hand, felt his jaw drop open.
"Th-that is…?!"
Yeon Sang-hyeon approached a nearby pavilion and picked up a brush.
Then, in one fluid motion, he wrote a letter.
'Bring clothes.'
It was a ridiculous letter, devoid of formality or etiquette.
Yet his handwriting was so remarkable that both Jeong-a and the gatekeeper, watching blankly, let out unconscious murmurs of admiration.
Bang!
Before the ink had even dried, Yeon Sang-hyeon stamped the letter with what he was holding.
A majestic seal bearing the words "The World's One Sword" appeared on the paper.
"Here. Take it."
Yeon Sang-hyeon roughly folded the letter and handed it to the gatekeeper.
"...!"
The gatekeeper was shocked out of his wits and rushed forward.
He dropped to both knees on the spot and received the letter with both hands.
"Y-Your command!"
His hands trembled violently as he held the letter.
"What are you doing? Go."
"Your command!"
Before Yeon Sang-hyeon even finished speaking, his figure vanished.
"M-Master… surely that was…?"
Yeon Sang-hyeon leaned against the railing and raised what he was holding.
"This?"
"Yes. That, Master."
Yeon Sang-hyeon grinned.
"Yeah. That's right. The clan lord's official seal."
For someone who rarely showed her emotions, Jeong-a's face turned pale.
"The Sword Clan Golden Seal!"
It was a seal and extraordinary object that symbolized the sole absolute authority of the Luoyang Sword Clan.
Seeing the physical object alone was astonishing—but to use it for the command to fetch a maid's clothes?
"B-but how is it that you possess such a thing, Master…?"
Yeon Sang-hyeon looked at her as if asking what kind of question that was.
"My father is in that condition. Then who else could possibly hold it, other than the First Young Master of the main house?"
That was undeniably true.
"B-but still, to use something so precious to order the retrieval of my clothes…?!"
"Don't worry."
Yeon Sang-hyeon chuckled, returned the Sword Clan Golden Seal to his pocket, and tucked it back into his sleeve.
"I've used it for pointless things like this since long ago."
In truth, he added silently, it could only really be used for pointless things.
"If I don't use this, no one cooperates properly."
He laughed.
"Well, I use it when buying books, when buying paper and brushes—just that kind of item."
Jeong-a wanted to faint on the spot.
***
After that, everything proceeded swiftly.
The Sword Clan Golden Seal, a sacred object of the Luoyang Sword Clan, had been personally bestowed upon the clan lord by the Emperor of the time.
No one in the Luoyang Sword Clan was foolish enough to interpret the words 'Bring clothes' literally when they were stamped with the clan lord's official seal.
The first to appear was the inner court's female steward.
Behind her, more than a dozen inner court maids followed in disciplined formation.
After them came strong attendants carrying large chests on their backs.
The chests were lined up across the courtyard, and when their lids were opened, dozens of women's outfits, shoes, and accessories were revealed.
Every single item was of the highest quality.
And Jeong-a, dragged away by the inner court maids, was transformed like Hang-Ah of the Moon Palace in no time at all.
"Hm. This should be sufficient."
When Yeon Sang-hyeon nodded, the inner court's female steward gave a short command.
"Withdraw!"
"If you'd cooperated from the start, this would've been easier for everyone…"
Yeon Sang-hyeon clicked his tongue at her, but she ignored him completely, offered a formal salute, and departed.
When the people withdrew like a receding tide, only the chests and their contents remained behind.
"What are you doing?"
At Yeon Sang-hyeon's words, the gatekeeper, who had been avoiding his gaze, grimaced.
"…What do you mean?"
Yeon Sang-hyeon silently rummaged through his sleeve.
"A-alright, I get it, stop!"
Shuddering, the gatekeeper walked toward the chests.
Complaints like "That precious object being handled so carelessly—it's unthinkable" could be heard, but Yeon Sang-hyeon paid them no mind.
"Do you like it?"
Jeong-a was gazing into a full-length mirror placed in the courtyard.
She tried to maintain her composure, but could not hide the faint flush on her cheeks.
"…It seems beyond my station."
Yeon Sang-hyeon shrugged.
"You came to Wongakjeong, and I started moving."
His tone was light, but the meaning behind it was not.
"You'll be wearing clothes like that more often from now on."
Jeong-a's ebony hair swayed gently in the breeze.
At that moment, she realized—
This breeze, now flowing leisurely from the west, would eventually return as a violent typhoon.
"…Yes, Master."
Resolve settled into Jeong-a's eyes.
***
"…Do you truly not require an escort?"
Yeon Sang-hyeon smiled at the sight of the Luoyang Sword Clan's escort unit blocking his path.
"I told you, it's fine since I have this fellow."
He pointed to the gatekeeper, who stood there with an expression like he'd eaten shit.
With his already fierce appearance twisted further, he looked like a demon incarnate.
Liaison, errand runner, and now escort.
There was no way he could be in a good mood.
"By order, we must obey the First Young Master, but without the escort commander's approval—"
Yeon Sang-hyeon cut him off.
"Yes, yes. Just report it however you like."
"But we—"
In the end, it was only after Yeon Sang-hyeon pulled out the Sword Clan Golden Seal once more and hastily issued another written order that they finally withdrew.
"Who's that guy in guard uniform?"
"No idea. He looks like a master. Guess he'll suffer in our place today."
Freed from the duty of escorting the Swordless through the streets, they didn't even bother hiding their joy.
Jeong-a stepped forward at the sight, but Yeon Sang-hyeon raised a hand to stop her.
"That's enough. We still have a long way to go."
Even so, they were stopped again at one of the Luoyang Sword Clan's rear gates.
The guards blocked them, citing that they had not received authorization from above for the First Young Master to go out during the day.
Jeong-a's anger naturally exploded as she scolded them with blazing intensity.
Caught between the First Young Master and the guard unit leader, the guards themselves were the pitiful ones.
"Haha, we haven't even departed yet, and already so many amusing things."
Naturally, the only one enjoying it was Yeon Sang-hyeon.
The gatekeeper, meanwhile, looked at him with eyes filled with utter exhaustion.
'Just what kind of person is this First Young Master?'
The man who had mercilessly pressured him yesterday—what was that?
The man who occasionally revealed madness-filled eyes—what was that?
And the man before him now, seemingly devoid of pride—the embodiment of the Swordless—what was that?
Yet amid all this, there was one thing he could be certain of.
'I must be transferred as soon as possible!'
And so—
One maid, who looked like Hang-Ah of the Moon Palace yet held the lowest status in the group.
One unidentified master, who looked like nothing more than a Luoyang Sword Clan guard.
And one First Young Master of the Luoyang Sword Clan, who looked like a handsome Scholar attending a young lady, yet harbored an ancient monster within.
That strange group finally set foot into the city of Luoyang.