Volume 3 Chapter 15 – Blind Money

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Translated by Rain

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

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An office located in the deepest part of the Inner Courtyard Main Hall.

In this place, a low-grade brazier and the like could not be found.

Nevertheless, the office was as warm as a spring day, which was thanks to the heavy desk located in the center of the office.

Into the tabletop of the desk, which was huge enough for two grown men to lie down and sleep, a Hot Sun Stone was embedded, emitting a warm heat.

When the days grew hotter, a Cold Ice Stone would be substituted into the tabletop in place of the Hot Sun Stone.

From the window where the sun shone through the private garden, a subtle fragrance was drifting out.

It was a scent originating from the various bonsai of fragrant wood lined up along the window.

They were bonsai enshrined carefully in celadon, said to be rare even in the Haedong Kingdom.

A pair of obsidian scissors decorated with mother-of-pearl was delicately trimming the bonsai.

The hand holding the scissors was wrinkled and aged, yet the skin was extremely smooth, and not a single callus could be found.

“…The Eldest Young Master, in person?”

“Yes, the Eldest Young Master is currently meeting with the Fourth-class Butler in charge of Pavilion of Perfect Enlightenment.”

The obsidian scissors broke.

It was because his composure was shaken.

To begin with, it was a material unsuitable for trimming extremely hard fragrant wood.

Looking at the broken scissors, the old man clicked his tongue.

“Dear me….”

It was not because he regretted the scissors, which were worth the price of a decent piece of art.

He was displeased that his own composure had been disrupted.

The gaze of the middle-aged man who was reporting turned toward the scissors.

“It is a work of a master craftsman, so it is a pity.”

“Is that so…?”

The old man discarded the broken scissors.

There was not a single shred of regret in that action.

“But there are plenty of scissors.”

The old man opened the drawer of the desk.

Inside, obsidian scissors of various shapes were stored in an orderly fashion.

Each and every one of them was an artwork made by a renowned craftsman.

“If needed, I can just obtain more. No matter how expensive these are, they are merely replaceable items.”

The middle-aged man quietly listened to the old man’s words.

“Therefore….”

The old man closed the drawer.

“As long as my hand is not hurt, and the bonsai is not damaged, it is enough.”

It was a meaningful statement.

“I will keep that in mind.”

When the old man stretched out his hand, the middle-aged man politely handed him a cane.

Subsequently, he assisted him in putting on his coat.

“I will step away for a moment, so handle things well.”

The middle-aged man bowed his head deeply.

“Yes, Chief Manager.”

Only the middle-aged man remained in the place the old man had left.

His gaze turned toward the wooden box where the old man had discarded the scissors.

Inside that wooden box, it was full of broken scissors.

“There are plenty of scissors, is it….”

At his waist, as many as seven gold tassels were glittering as they caught the sunlight.

* * *

“A fine fragrance. Excellent.”

Yeon So-hyeon said, enjoying the aroma of his teacup.

“…I am deeply honored.”

Butler Jeon of the Third Rank, who belonged to the Inner Courtyard Protocol Office and had showed up in a hurry, bowed his head.

Yeon So-hyeon snorted.

“The tea leaves are what is good, so why are you honored?”

“….”

The protocol butler shut his mouth and retreated.

“Mhm. They are tea leaves from Mount Wuyi in Fujian. In Mount Wuyi, there are many families that produce excellent, famous tea.”

Instead of the silent third-class butler, the triplet maids nodded.

“As expected, no one can match Master’s knowledge of tea.”

“I have also heard of Mount Wuyi.”

Yeon So-hyeon opened his mouth as if he had suddenly remembered.

“Come to think of it, speaking of the famous tea families of Mount Wuyi, surely the Seomun Family was among them, right…?”

His gaze turned toward Butler Seomun, who was sitting opposite him.

“Is that so?”

“Come to think of it, I think I have also heard of it.”

“Isn’t Mount Wuyi the territory of the famous Evil Tyrant Heaven?”

Between the maids who responded innocently, Yeon So-hyeon nodded his head.

“Indeed.”

Evil Tyrant Heaven was none other than the maternal relative faction of the ‘Second Young Master’.

He looked at Butler Seomun, who had an uncomfortable look.

“Do you perhaps have a relation to that Seomun Family?”

“…Right now, this time might be a leisurely period for the Eldest Young Master, but for our Inner Courtyard, it is a very busy hour.”

“Is that so?”

At her words, Yeon So-hyeon shrugged his shoulders.

“Then let’s get to the main point.”

He pushed the tea, of which he had only enjoyed the aroma, toward Butler Bang, who was sitting next to him.

“You, just drink this.”

“I-I am terribly sorry, but….”

Yeon So-hyeon stroked the head of the trembling woman, making her shut her mouth.

“Why did you not pay for the books?”

Butler Bang opened her mouth in a hurry.

“I-It was all my fa—”

Yeon So-hyeon tapped the teacup placed in front of her.

“I told you to just drink this.”

His gaze turned toward Butler Seomun.

After meeting that gaze head-on for a moment, Butler Seomun let out a small sigh.

“…Isn’t it merely a book expense? I will personally step forward and settle it.”

“I asked why you did not pay the book expenses?”

The triplets chattered among themselves.

“That’s true. That butler is giving an irrelevant answer.”

“Moreover, she is shameless, not even offering an apology to Master.”

“How does a mere fourth-class butler have such thick skin?”

They whispered, but there was no one in this quiet waiting room who could not hear their voices.

All at once, the faces of the butlers on Butler Seomun’s side turned red and blue with anger.

They wanted to storm out of their seats right away, but this was a moment they had to endure.

They had never imagined that the Swordless One would bring up the name of the Inner Courtyard Chief Manager.

Butler Seomun grit her teeth and replied.

“…If you require it, I will offer an apology right this instant.”

Yeon So-hyeon rested his chin on his hand and looked at her.

“When did I tell you to apologize?”

The triplets whispered again.

“He asked why she didn’t pay the book expenses, so why is she only giving strange answers?”

“I don’t know why she keeps talking about other things.”

Sam-ryeong wore a spiteful smile as she looked at Butler Seomun.

“Continuous irrelevant answers, could it be because she is from the Seomun Family? A ‘Seomun’ irrelevant answer?”

At the childish and nonsensical joke, Yeon So-hyeon merely chuckled.

However, being mocked by a mere maid was something Butler Seomun could not tolerate.

“How dare a mere maid…!”

Just as she was about to spring up from her seat, Jeong-ah, who had been quiet, opened her mouth.

“Do you dare to raise your voice in front of the Eldest Young Master of the Main Family?”

With her hips hovering in the air, Butler Seomun could neither sit back down nor stand up completely.

Her face flushed with anger and humiliation.

Just then, Yeon So-hyeon slammed the table.

“Ah! You are acting really frustratingly. Didn’t I ask why you didn’t pay the book expenses?!”

Butler Seomun exploded.

“Of course it is because the Eldest Young Master took all the budget allocated to Pavilion of Perfect Enlightenment from the Inner Courtyard!”

“Surely the budget I received cannot be all of it?”

“What are you saying?! That is all of it!”

Yeon So-hyeon laughed.

“Without leaving even a handful of budget, you gathered all the budget allocated to me and gave it to me?”

“Are you insulting the Inner Courtyard right now?!”

Jeong-ah stared at her intently.

“Master. It is a lie.”

At her words, the butlers who had been holding back stood up abruptly.

“A lie?!”

“Do you have proof?!”

“How dare a low-born maid of no origin?!”

Jeong-ah did not even blink an eye.

“Do you have proof?”

One of the butlers pulled out a ledger from his bosom.

“This is the ledger for Pavilion of Perfect Enlightenment!”

“That is…!”

Butler Seomun quickly raised her hand, but Il-ryeong was faster in snatching the ledger from the butler’s hand.

“Master, here is the ledger.”

She politely presented the ledger to Yeon So-hyeon.

“Now, shall we take a look?”

Yeon So-hyeon opened the ledger with a beaming smile.

And then, he asked Butler Bang, who was sitting next to him.

“Butler Bang. Is this ledger the real ledger?”

Butler Bang nodded her head in a hurry.

“Yes, yes. That is correct. It is the real ledger.”

“Is that so? Then let’s take a look.”

As Yeon So-hyeon began to flip through the ledger, Butler Seomun sat down with a smile instead.

The other butlers also snorted and sat down.

After a moment.

Seeing how Yeon So-hyeon was flipping through the ledger rapidly, everyone sneered inwardly.

‘Really, what kind of way is that to look at a ledger.’

‘He needs to match the calculations, but he is only busy turning pages.’

‘Ha! Looking at it now, he just wanted to show off in front of the maids.’

Yeon So-hyeon closed the ledger.

“Mhm. According to this ledger, there are no problems.”

At those words, Butler Seomun and her butlers all smiled inwardly.

“Is it settled now?”

“No.”

At Butler Seomun’s words, Yeon So-hyeon shook his head.

“This is merely a ledger for the amount spent on Pavilion of Perfect Enlightenment by the Inner Courtyard. This cannot even be called a proper ledger to begin with.”

Butler Seomun’s eyebrows twitched.

“Is that so?”

“Yes. Therefore, I must personally enter the Ledger Archives of the Inner Courtyard.”

At Yeon So-hyeon’s words, she snorted.

“The Ledger Archives of the Inner Courtyard? Isn’t the Eldest Young Master overestimating himself too much?”

Il-ryeong chimed in.

“When the Eldest Young Master of the Main Family commands, do you dare debate his qualifications?!”

Beside her, another butler clicked his tongue and intervened.

“Wench. You too, do not misunderstand. The title ‘Eldest Young Master’ is merely his status; the Eldest Young Master, who is currently in confinement, holds no position in the Main Family.”

“Therefore, it is only natural that he has no qualification to demand matters that correspond to the secrets of the Inner Courtyard, is it not?”

Yeon So-hyeon tapped the ledger.

“Then I must go and ask the Inner Courtyard Chief Manager directly.”

Butler Seomun smiled.

“Please do so. In any case, the Inner Courtyard Chief Manager will not authorize the Eldest Young Master’s entry into the Ledger Archives either.”

It was true.

Separate from the fact that the Inner Courtyard Chief Manager might discard her for making things troublesome, there was no way he would open the Ledger Archives where the ledgers of the entire Inner Courtyard were kept.

“Then it cannot be helped.”

Yeon So-hyeon showed his two hands.

“If that old man heard that I came all the way here, he wouldn’t remain in his office anyway.”

Jeong-ah asked him.

“Then will you stop here?”

“Yes. It seems this is as far as we can go.”

‘It’s over.’

At those words, Butler Seomun and her butlers smiled.

“Eldest Young Master.”

Butler Seomun stood up from her seat and bowed to the Eldest Young Master.

“I will take this opportunity to offer my apologies to the Eldest Young Master for the things that have happened until now.”

Her butlers all stood up and likewise offered polite bows.

Butler Bang also stood up in a hurry and knelt down.

“I apologize to the Eldest Young Master.”

Butler Seomun spoke to Yeon So-hyeon in a gentle voice.

“From now on, I will personally step forward to ensure that no unpleasant incidents occur because of the Inner Courtyard.”

She smiled softly.

“Therefore, how about letting this matter rest here…?”

Yeon So-hyeon cut her off.

“No. It is frustrating, really. An apology is not what is needed; I asked why you didn’t pay the book expenses?”

“….”

Faced with the Eldest Young Master’s childlike conduct, Butler Seomun and her butlers could not find words to speak.

Yeon So-hyeon sighed as he looked at them.

“You do not give a proper answer even when I ask, and there is a limit to me finding the answer directly, so what can be done about this matter.”

He turned back to Jeong-ah.

“Head Maid, summon the Inspection Department.”

The Inspection Department.

Everyone’s movement stopped.