Volume 1 Chapter 5 – Glimpses of the Past

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Translated by Rain

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

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After the Eldest Young Master Yeon So-hyeon drove out the servants.

The Inner Yard Administration Department, which held all responsibility for those who could be called ‘subordinates,’ was turned upside down.

Conflicts over where the responsibility lay, the issue of who to newly assign, and even the decision regarding the punishment of the servants driven out by the Eldest Young Master.

An intense argument back and forth followed.

In the end, the Head of the Administration Department, whom the Eldest Young Master had directly designated, stepped forward.

As he dismissed the sluggish meeting, quietness could finally return to the meeting room.

“Phew……”

A long meeting table.

Although everyone had left their seats, the middle-aged Head of the Administration Department, sitting in the most senior seat, was holding his head, which was full of white hair.

“Although I knew that such a thing would eventually happen……”

In Pavilion of Perfect Enlightenment, the quarters of the Eldest Young Master, there was no person to manage the subordinates.

Moreover, it was under the Eldest Young Master, whose temperament was mild.

How could he, the Head of the Administration Department of the great Luoyang Sword Family, not know that the subordinates would someday cross the line?

“At least it is fortunate that the Eldest Young Master did not accuse the servants of disobedience or betrayal……”

If he had done so, it would not have ended as a mere problem of the Administration Department, and it was clear to see that the entire Sword Family would eventually be turned upside down.

“……Ugh.”

As was his habit, he reached into the drawer and chewed on dried herbs that were said to be good for an aching stomach.

The place where dozens of people who made some name in this wide Central Plains came and went even in a single day was indeed the main family of the Luoyang Sword Family.

In such a place, the task of leading the subordinates could not help but always cause an aching stomach, but recently, it was exceeding the limit.

All of that was indeed because of the ‘successor issue’ of the Luoyang Sword Family.

Even though he chewed and swallowed the herbs beyond the allowed amount, the pain did not ease.

“……In the end, the time when it was safe to just watch has passed.”

The complexion of the Head of the Administration Department became much calmer, and his eyes shone brightly.

The Head of the Administration Department, who controlled his mind, called over a maidservant and whispered in her ear.

Turning his eyes from the sight of the maidservant bowing deeply and withdrawing, he fell into deep thought again.

* * *

After a moment, the Head of the Administration Department welcomed a maidservant with a warm smile in his office.

“Head of the Administration Department, the heavenly maid Jeong-ah offers her greetings.”

“You have come.”

Although the woman called Jeong-ah was merely a maidservant, her beauty was outstanding.

As she set foot in the room, it was to the extent that one felt the room had temporarily brightened up from that beauty.

Her long hair, like ebony, was neatly tied down, and her flawless, pure white skin seemed to flow with luster.

Her rich eyelashes made her large and clear eyes stand out even more, her nose was cute yet high, and her lips, slightly painted with rouge, were plumply swollen.

Yet, instead of those plump lips feeling seductive, they were drawing a calm smile.

“Have you been well during this time?”

And what caught the eyes more than anything was indeed her pupils.

The color of her irises was light, to the extent that her pupils looked golden beyond brown.

Those pupils, harmonizing with her beauty, created an exotic and mysterious charm at first glance.

Yet her eyes were deep, preventing anyone from daring to consider her a light woman.

“How can a person in a position like mine hope to be without trouble? Still, I am somehow maintaining my health.”

“Anyone you ask will say that health is the best. This girl, seeing that the Elder is healthy, feels a much lighter heart.”

The sight of the woman called Jeong-ah bowing deeply to the Head of the Administration Department while offering greetings was indeed the manners of a subordinate.

Yet even with such manners, her elegant grace could not be hidden.

Even with a maidservant uniform, her beautiful color did not fade in the least.

On the lips of the Head of the Administration Department, a smile of pride in her was drawn.

Jeong-ah was a child he had personally taken in from the street in the past.

And now, to him who had no children, she was a precious existence like his own flesh and blood.

“……Jeong-ah.”

“Yes, Elder.”

Jeong-ah found it curious that the Head of the Administration Department called her and could not easily bring up the main point.

If it was a story that he, a high-ranking official of the Luoyang Sword Family, could not easily bring up, it would absolutely not be a light matter.

She just sat quietly in her seat, quietly lowering her eyes and waiting until he brought up the business.

“……Phew.”

The Head of the Administration Department let out a deep sigh at that sight.

Would the decision he was trying to make really be right?

No matter how much he thought about it, he could not know the result immediately.

“……What is your age this year?”

“I am twenty-one this year.”

Indeed, she was a woman at a flower-like age.

“Do you know the reason why I kept you only in the Reception Hall while treasuring you, and did not find your master?”

“This girl is foolish and does not know the deep intention of the Elder well.”

In fact, there was no way she did not know the deep mind of the Head of the Administration Department.

However, since she had been trained to close her eyes, close her ears, and close her mouth regarding the things happening inside the Luoyang Sword Family, she had avoided the answer.

The Head of the Administration Department read such thoughts of Jeong-ah and was pleased.

“Because I regarded you like a daughter, I tried to be careful and careful again in choosing your master.”

“This girl is always grateful for the deep thoughtfulness of the Elder.”

Jeong-ah bowed deeply, containing her gratitude.

But instead of receiving that gratitude, the Head of the Administration Department called her to sit close.

And instead of speaking, he raised a brush and began to write down his thoughts.

Although he had issued a strict order beforehand to not let anyone approach near his office, he was a man who had grown old in long administration life.

In the middle of the Luoyang Sword Family, where masters overflowed, talking in a small voice was by no means a secret talk.

‘The Second Young Master is suitable as a ruler of a sect, but he is too clear-cut in matters of profit and loss and skilled in calculation, possessing a cold temperament.’

The administrator paused his brush for a moment and scanned the surroundings once more.

‘The Third Young Master is outstanding in martial arts and has many martial artists who follow him, but he is violent in temperament and greedy, making him a dangerous figure. The Fourth Young Master has at least become the most human, but his age is too young and those who follow him are still few. He is a figure far from the position of the Young Patriarch.’

Jeong-ah was startled at the content the Head of the Administration Department wrote down with a single stroke of his brush.

He was a man who had served the Luoyang Sword Family for a long time only with loyalty.

However, if words evaluating the Young Masters leaked out in such a sensitive period, it was natural that he would face severe punishment.

Even at Jeong-ah’s surprised look, the Head of the Administration Department did not stop his brush.

‘The young ladies of the main family are all figures of good personality. But the young ladies’ maidservants are the responsibility of the Inner Yard Director. Even among the children he raised personally, he selects and picks them directly. Even if I dare to want to recommend, there is nothing I can do.’

It was natural to manage the vicinity of the daughters of a prestigious family as if thoroughly bleaching it.

The Head of the Administration Department moistened his drying lips with cooled tea.

‘Naturally, I was not even considering the Eldest Young Master. That person is currently in confinement.’

The movement of the brush, which had been writing text without hesitation up to that point, stopped.

The Head of the Administration Department, who hesitated for a while, bit his lip, and his brush began to move again.

‘Do you know why the Eldest Young Master is called the Swordless Man?’

Jeong-ah carefully held another brush.

‘First, it is because the Eldest Young Master did not hold a sword and has no talent in martial arts, and……’

Second, it was because he could not show an appearance suitable for the next family head.

Even so, was he not in confinement for almost ten years now?

There were other rumors besides that, but there was none she considered credible.

As she put down her brush, the Head of the Administration Department raised his brush.

‘As an answer to that, from now on I will tell you the hidden story.’

His fingertips trembled, and his hand movements in writing text became even faster.

‘It is a matter of more than ten years ago.’

It was clearly a story that should not leak out far more than the stories before.

Jeong-ah focused even more and followed the tip of his brush.

‘Most of the main family think that the Eldest Young Master has no talent at all in martial arts and has never held a sword, but in fact, it is not so.’

“……!”

Without realizing it, Jeong-ah’s mouth opened slightly.

‘I was in that place on the day the Eldest Young Master first held a sword.’

He continued the hidden story of that day.

‘I still cannot forget. The appearance of him holding the sword for the first time and taking the starting stance.’

He moistened his lips, which were drying up, with cold tea.

Jeong-ah waited anxiously for his brush to move again.

‘That appearance, that was the appearance of a sword master who had already reached the realm. I could not even breathe from the momentum emanating from him.’

“……!”

A sword master, a master of the sword.

It was a term referring to one who established a school with the sword.

It was not talking about the level of internal energy, such as how many sixty-year cycles, which gossips easily chatter about.

It was a realm referring to establishing one’s own world by transcending intent and form with the sword.

Yet, to describe a child holding a sword for the first time as a sword master.

‘I was ordered by the Family Head at the time, that is, the current Grand Family Head, to keep silent about that matter. For some reason, after that, even the Eldest Young Master himself did not hold a sword.’

“……?!”

It was a story that transcended Jeong-ah’s imagination.

‘And secondly.’

It was a counterargument to the evaluation that he could not show an appearance suitable as the next family head.

‘Until the Eldest Young Master went into confinement, what the closest aides of the Family Head at the time feared most was indeed the Eldest Young Master.’

Jeong-ah felt as if thunder and lightning were striking in her head.

‘Although it is a matter only a very few remember now because there was not much the Eldest Young Master progressed in his own name at the time.’

His brush moved without rest.

‘There will be those who remember his name even in the Imperial Palace now.’

What on earth had the Eldest Young Master, who was merely a child at the time, done that his name was transmitted even to the Imperial Palace?

Controlling her confused emotions, Jeong-ah raised her brush.

‘What is the reason you are telling me such words?’

It was a story that should not leak out under the current situation of the family.

The Head of the Administration Department sighed greatly.

‘The Second Young Master and the Third Young Master are now in earnest demanding to have you. It seems a competition has started between the two.’

“……Ah.”

Originally, Jeong-ah was one who was counted as the first flower among the Reception Hall maidservants and received the attention of all visitors.

To the extent that there was even a laughable incident where a direct descendant of a prestigious family fell for her and proposed.

Even that was a big matter at the time.

However, for the two people who received the most attention as the next Young Patriarch in the family to compete over her was a story on a different dimension.

Jeong-ah, who was momentarily at a loss, bit her lip and raised her brush.

‘Do you wish for me to go to the Eldest Young Master?’

Instead of an answer, the Head of the Administration Department wrote down in detail what happened at Pavilion of Perfect Enlightenment, the quarters of the Eldest Young Master, today.

‘Has the Eldest Young Master’s temperament changed?’

The Head of the Administration Department tried to nod at her question, but shook his head again.

‘I do not know if it is correct to say it has changed. I would dare to say instead that this incident is rather suitable for his original temperament.’

‘If so……?’

‘Perhaps. Perhaps, he has made up his mind.’

It was a judgment worthy of the Head of the Administration Department of the Luoyang Sword Family, which was called the First Family of the Central Plains.

‘And if he is the Eldest Young Master I remember……’

His eyes flashed.

‘……The successor structure of the Sword Family will surely change greatly in the future.’

The Head of the Administration Department looked at Jeong-ah’s face for a moment and bit his lip.

Although mature beauty was blooming on her face, in his eyes, only the face of the girl who was just cute was reflected.

‘The judgment is yours. But.’

The Head of the Administration Department, who stopped the brush, looked at Jeong-ah.

Jeong-ah also raised her head and faced the Head of the Administration Department.

Her eyes, which anyone would find hard to find fault with.

Deep in those pupils, which reminded one of gold eyes, the secret of herself, which only the Head of the Administration Department and Jeong-ah herself knew, was located.

‘If it is that eye of yours, you will be able to judge more quickly than anyone whether the Eldest Young Master has truly made up his mind differently.’

The brush was placed on the inkstone.

Only silence was full in the office.

He gathered all the papers used to share the written conversation, and slowly, sheet by sheet, meticulously threw them into the brazier.

* * *

After a moment, a maidservant who left the office of the Head of the Administration Department busily headed somewhere.

Toward her new quarters.