Volume 3 Chapter 14 – The Noose

===================

Translated by Rain

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

===================

The young female butler entered the waiting room with steps as cautious as possible.

“…I pay my respects to the Eldest Young Master of the Main Family.”

Pretending she could not bring herself to lift her head, she bowed to the Eldest Young Master.

“Who are you?”

One of the maids, who had been huffing, asked her.

As she kept her head lowered, she stole a glance and saw the maid uniform of Pavilion of Perfect Enlightenment.

There was no need to pay mind to a mere maid.

Instead, she introduced herself to the Eldest Young Master.

“I heard you were looking for me. You may simply call me Butler Bang.”

The response came from the woman standing beside the Eldest Young Master.

“Did you say Butler Bang?”

Coldness could be felt in the woman’s voice.

“Yes, please call me that.”

She swallowed a curse inwardly.

‘To think she is merely the head maid of the Swordless One….’

Butler Bang knew Jeong-ah well through information from the Inner Courtyard.

She was a wicked woman who had wavered between the Second Young Master and the Third Young Master, and then fled to the Eldest Young Master’s side when things took an unusual turn.

‘This visit must have also happened because that bitch Jeong-ah instigated the Swordless One.’

Thanks to that, only she had been inconvenienced.

“Did you refuse the payment of Pavilion of Perfect Enlightenment?”

The voice of the head maid named Jeong-ah was low and heavy.

“Um… if it is a request for payment, are you speaking of the cost for the books?”

‘Troubling me over some book expenses that barely cost a few pennies.’

She was merely a second-class butler of the Inner Courtyard.

Thinking that the price of the rare books collected by Yeon So-hyeon was just a few pennies was a problem in itself, but it was a problem she herself did not realize.

Furthermore, to call it a payment ‘request’.

This attitude of hers showed that the Inner Courtyard was being privatized by its members.

“A request? Since when did the Inner Courtyard’s duty of handling expenses for a direct bloodline of the Main Family become a ‘requested matter’?”

Butler Bang hurriedly lowered her head further.

“Ah. I am sorry, Head Maid. I made a slip of the tongue for a moment….”

Jeong-ah snorted coldly without answering.

‘A low-born wench acting high and mighty just by relying on the Swordless One….’

Butler Bang suppressed her anger internally at her attitude.

“That is enough, so try explaining.”

“Yes, Eldest Young Master.”

When Yeon So-hyeon intervened, the head maid, who had been a thorn in her side, stepped back.

Butler Bang smiled inwardly.

Instead of pressing her immediately, he wanted to hear an explanation.

‘As expected of the Swordless One, even the way he speaks is soft.’

She appealed to Yeon So-hyeon in a tone as if she did not know what to do.

“…Because a problem arose with the documents like that, I was unable to grasp it properly.”

“Is that so?”

When Yeon So-hyeon asked in return, she nodded her head vigorously.

“Yes! That is correct! It is truly a matter I am apologetic to report!”

At this rate, with the Eldest Young Master’s personality, he would back down.

She decided that she should put an end to it at this point.

“I will summon that book broker again and handle it properly, so if you could forgive me just this once….”

She knelt down with a thud.

This was the moment where a few tears were needed.

“Please take pity on this lowly one’s situation and….”

Since she was already extremely resentful of being ignored by a mere maid from the Reception Hall, tears welled up naturally.

“Where do you think you are behaving so frivolously?!”

“Stop it this instant!”

The maids shrieked from the side, but she ignored them.

In any case, it was a matter that would end once she won over the Eldest Young Master, and she was confident in her beautiful looks.

If it was the Eldest Young Master, who was said to take only children with beautiful looks as maids recently, there was no way he would just ignore her tears.

“…Dear me. Are you crying over just this much?”

Sure enough, the Eldest Young Master clicked his tongue.

“I-I apologize, Eldest Young Master.”

She shed tears even more diligently.

“…Head Maid. Hearing what this child says, it seems clear it was a mistake. How about we let it go at this?”

It sounded like a request, but it was virtually no different from a gentle command.

‘It’s already over.’

It was anticlimactic.

Butler Bang let out a small sigh inwardly.

“…Since Master says so, I suppose it cannot be helped.”

Just as expected, everything seemed to go according to her thoughts.

“Then, lastly, I will only check the problematic documents she spoke of.”

“…!”

Butler Bang’s body froze.

“T-that is….”

“What is it now?”

It was all a lie, so how could such documents exist?

She quickly spun her brain.

“Since those documents had problems, they have all been incinerated now, making them difficult to find.”

It had a slight loophole, but the Swordless One and mere maids would not be able to find them.

“Is that so? Then it cannot be helped.”

As expected, the Swordless One was the Swordless One.

However, one of the maids beside him, whom she had regarded as just ordinary maids, opened her mouth.

“Really? If that is the case, there must be a document proving the incineration of the documents, so we can just verify that.”

“Head Maid, Il-ryeong’s words are correct. Since Master is of the direct bloodline, no matter how trivial the content, incinerating related documents requires the authorization of the person in charge.”

How did these maids, despite being mere maids, know about the document procedures that belonged to the professional domain of work?

“Then bring it immediately.”

She hurriedly lowered her head.

“P-please wait a moment!”

If she tried to continue lying any further, it could be dangerous.

Those maids were by no means ordinary people.

She could not fabricate words without knowing what kind of knowledge and background they possessed.

“I-I will bring someone who can offer an explanation right away!”

She retreated in a hurry.

From behind, the sound of the flustered Eldest Young Master calling out was heard, but she did not even look back.

* * *

“What did you say…?”

Butler Seomun of the Fourth Rank asked, but Butler Bang said nothing and just lowered her head.

It was because she knew that Butler Seomun was not saying it because she failed to understand.

“Hearing this, it seems clear that the girl named Jeong-ah fanned the flames from behind.”

The other butlers who heard her report together clicked their tongues.

“And there must be something about the maids who recently entered Pavilion of Perfect Enlightenment as well.”

“If things go on like this, it might get messy, but….”

Butler Seomun rubbed the corners of her eyes.

“By the way, is it certain that there is not a single speck of falsehood in the Eldest Young Master’s reaction that you conveyed?”

Butler Bang hurriedly bowed her head.

“O-of course! How could I dare to lie in front of Butler Seomun?”

Butler Seomun nodded.

Butler Bang was a child she had personally taught from one to ten.

And because she did not talk nonsense to cover up her own faults when she ruined a task, she was still a favored child.

“Does the Eldest Young Master’s reaction seem strange to you?”

“To me, it did not seem very different from the Eldest Young Master’s original personality.”

Their words were correct.

The reaction he was said to have shown was not much different from the Eldest Young Master they had known from before.

Even when someone committed a fault, the Eldest Young Master would ask for the reason first.

Even if it seemed like an intentional fault, he did not respond emotionally, nor did he escalate the matter.

Even when their side crossed the line until now, he had finished it by hitting back moderately.

Only.

The Eldest Young Master she saw when she visited Pavilion of Perfect Enlightenment because of the maid named Jeong-ah seemed somewhat different…

“…No. It is nothing.”

It must be because she was overly sensitive lately due to factions and whatnot.

The reaction he had shown back then had not changed in terms of his way of responding compared to before.

She stood up from her seat.

“In the end, I must step forward myself.”

The one who was clearly escalating the issue that had started with a payment for books was the Eldest Young Master’s side.

Since the maid named Jeong-ah had gained great power all at once, she must be running wild.

If so, she had to make that brat feel that power was actually a ‘double-edged sword’.

* * *

Butler Seomun led the butlers following her and showed up in the waiting room with a triumphant air.

Although her position was merely a butler, that was only due to the unique nature of the organization called the Inner Courtyard.

In reality, her status was close to the head of a small-scale organization within the Luoyang Sword Family.

“I greet the Eldest Young Master. You know who I am without me introducing myself, don’t you?”

The Eldest Young Master, who had been resting his chin on his hand as if bored, opened his mouth.

“Mhm. I know your face. Though I do not know your name.”

Her subordinates, whose feelings were displeased, coughed repeatedly.

In response to the sound of those dry coughs, Yeon So-hyeon’s maids snorted.

The head maid named Jeong-ah just stood quietly behind the Eldest Young Master.

Strength went into Butler Seomun’s hands.

“My name is….”

Yeon So-hyeon waved his hand.

“That is enough. I have not the slightest interest in your name.”

Instantly, Butler Seomun was lost for words.

‘This is not the Eldest Young Master I knew!’

Did that mean Butler Bang had told a lie that would soon be exposed?

Her gaze turned behind her.

Confirming that Butler Bang’s gaze was confused, she felt herself becoming confused as well.

“So… did you personally take these heavy steps to explain why you did not process my invoice?”

Butler Seomun was certain that something was going wrong.

Now was the time to retreat.

“No, Eldest Young Master. I seem to have mistaken something.”

She looked straight at Butler Bang.

“I do not know well what this child has done.”

She was trying to cut her tail.

Butler Bang bit her lip.

“The reason I came here is to leave this child’s disposal to the Eldest Young Master.”

As they sensed signs of her backing down, the rest of the butlers also acted swiftly.

They were already out in the hallway.

In the room, only Butler Bang remained with her head lowered, trembling all over.

Yeon So-hyeon walked toward her.

“…Dear me. Are you crying over just this much?”

It was a phrase she had already heard once.

He smiled and wiped the corners of her tearful eyes.

Butler Bang was startled.

It was because his hand was as cold as if it were frozen.

Butler Seomun turned around.

“Then, since I am busy with work….”

Just then, Yeon So-hyeon’s voice heard from behind her.

“Mhm. I wanted to hear an explanation from the person responsible for this matter, but it cannot be helped.”

She tried to ignore it and walk away.

“Then I have no choice but to ask the Inner Courtyard Chief Manager directly.”

His voice pierced through her greatest weakness.

The moment this story reached the ears of the Inner Courtyard Chief Manager, her disposal was as good as decided.

Just as she had done to Butler Bang, the Inner Courtyard Chief Manager would discard her.

Without even giving her any room to maneuver.

She turned around.

“…If it is about that matter, I think I am also fully qualified to explain it to you.”

“Really? Works for me.”

As if he already knew she would turn around, Yeon So-hyeon went and sat in the seat of honor.

He took Butler Bang’s hand and sat her beside him.

“Before that….”

When he smiled, his head maid opened her mouth.

“Since the Eldest Young Master of the Main Family has visited in person, how about serving a cup of tea?”