Volume 4 Chapter 3 – The Worst-Case Assumption

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Translated by Rain

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

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A moment later, the door closed firmly, and all the chief strategists moved to the front seats and sat down.

The old man sat in a chair hastily prepared on the platform and looked down at them.

“I am just on my way back from attending the elder-class meeting directly hosted by the Lord.”

Although the elder of the Luoyang Sword Family referred to the Second Young Master as the Lord, no one in this place found it strange.

“Since the matter is what it is, unlike usual, you could not join that meeting, so please understand.”

The strategist of small stature hastily waved his hands.

“Aigo, not at all. Understand? Your words are too excessive.”

“Elder Son. May I say a word?”

“I permit it.”

Han Myeong-hwi spoke cautiously.

“If the information strategists can access is restricted, our overall vision becomes lacking. And if there are many stages in progressing work, immediate response becomes difficult.”

The strategists did not show signs of dissatisfaction, but they sided with Han Myeong-hwi in silence.

Elder Son smiled gently.

“Is that not why I have come directly to be with you now?”

Han Myeong-hwi bowed his head.

“That is a matter to be grateful for, but as the Lord’s influence has grown significantly lately, signs that the organization is becoming rigid are being captured.”

Elder Son nodded, stroking his white beard.

“So, for the sake of innovation, you want me to pull you up to a higher position?”

“…I know it is greed, but…”

“Rather than dismissing it as greed, is it not a fine ambition? Ambition is always a wonderful driving force that moves us.”

Elder Son, who had a benevolent impression, laughed heartily.

“I understand your hearts well, so please understand our situation a bit too.”

Beneath his long white eyebrows, his deep pupils were staring directly at Han Myeong-hwi.

“Even the main family secrets that you already know are enough to trouble us as it is.”

Han Myeong-hwi’s back instantly became damp with cold sweat.

It was time to back down.

“…I am sorry for spouting nonsense at a point when time is of the essence.”

“Not at all. Not at all. Such talk is welcome anytime.”

Elder Son asked the small-stature strategist.

“Could this old man also know how far the discussions of our excellent strategists have progressed?”

“Yes. We, the strategists, have reached an agreement to some extent that the incident in the Inner Courtyard is the first foundation for the moves the Eldest Young Master will continue, and we were in the middle of discussing future countermeasures.”

“Outstanding as expected!”

Elder Son clapped his hands and nodded in satisfaction.

“However, the direction of the discussion is pointing toward too many places, so there is a need to narrow it down. May this old man suggest a direction?”

“We will listen closely to Elder Son’s words.”

All the managers bowed their heads at once.

“Haha, thank you.”

Elder Son pulled up a chair and sat down.

“Now. Regarding the Eldest Young Master, assume what the worst-case situation we must absolutely block is.”

When everyone kept silent, Elder Son opened his mouth again.

“How about thinking of it this way? If you were the Eldest Young Master, you would devise what action would be the most efficient strategy, right?”

Han Myeong-hwi was the first to open his mouth.

“…If I were the Eldest Young Master, I would try to utilize the Sword Family’s Golden Seal in my possession to the maximum.”

“Indeed. The Sword Family’s Golden Seal is an object that symbolizes the infinite power of the main family’s Family Head.”

Strategist Choi also opened his mouth.

“However, wielding the Sword Family’s Golden Seal entails a very great risk. There is a possibility of being accused of abuse of authority by competitors at any time.”

That is why Yeon So-hyeon merely used it for paying for paper prices or book prices.

He had never used the Family Head’s official seal for grand matters all this time.

“Exactly! If so…”

Other strategists also began to chime in one by one.

“To use the Family Head’s official seal at will in the current state, there must be a grand justification. The power holders of the Sword Family will not easily accept it.”

“Is there a need to convince everyone in the first place? If he just gathers enough power…”

“Even if he puts forward the Family Head’s official seal to gather power, how much would gather?”

“Then, rather than gathering power, he should use the Family Head’s official seal to solidify the situation.”

“As mentioned earlier, in the end, he can gather power by stepping on the line to expand his scope of activity and spreading his reputation.”

“Then after gathering power…”

“But until the successor selection, there is sufficient time…”

The discussion continued intensely.

And when the discussion had progressed sufficiently, Elder Son raised his hand to calm them down.

“Now, let this old man tell you if what I understood is correct.”

The gaze of the crowd gathered on Elder Son.

“First, the Eldest Young Master uses the loophole in the seclusion order to build up his reputation through internal and external activities.”

He unfolded two fingers.

“Second, based on the reputation and power gathered in that way, he puts forward the Family Head’s official seal to claim that he is the legitimate Acting Family Head of the Sword Family.”

Three fingers were unfolded.

“Obtaining the support of Family Head loyalists like the Inner Courtyard, he bypasses the successor selection stage and solidifies his position as the Acting Family Head.”

He looked at the crowd.

“How is it? Is what I understood correct?”

Everyone was silent.

It was not because Elder Son’s assumption was wrong.

It was because the strategy they had created was so shocking.

For a while, only soft sighs came out occasionally.

“Ahem.”

The strategist of small stature barely made a voice, breaking through the suffocating silence.

“…Although we must be prepared for a large-scale civil war with opposing factions like our side or the Third Young Master’s side several times.”

Elder Son replied.

“Ten years. Would someone who has been in seclusion for nearly ten years not have at least that much resolve when they are about to come out into the world now?”

Another strategist also opened his mouth with a dry cough.

“Is it not a vague expectation that the Family Head loyalists will follow the Eldest Young Master with only that much justification…?”

Elder Son smacked his lips.

“They are out of their minds more than anyone you have ever seen. You must not try to understand them with logic.”

The strategist who was racking his brains spoke up.

“…For now, it is an assumption that holds true only if there is a talent on the Eldest Young Master’s side who can devise such a strategy.”

Elder Son looked at him.

“I guarantee that the Eldest Young Master has the ability to sufficiently establish this strategy alone. Perhaps the Eldest Young Master can draw out all the processes to create the result all by himself.”

Once again, a colossal shock swept over the strategists.

“Are you saying that he is on the same level as the Grand Strategists of the Left and Right on the Third Young Master’s side…?”

“Probably.”

The strategists’ mouths shut.

Elder Son smiled bitterly as he looked at them.

“There is a reason why figures like me, who know the past Eldest Young Master, have not told you stories like this until now, so please understand.”

“…We have also heard secret rumors or hidden stories a few times.”

“You probably thought the rumors about the Eldest Young Master’s past were merely exaggerated stories, but they are not.”

Now, everyone could not easily open their mouths.

Han Myeong-hwi, who had his eyes tightly closed, opened his mouth with difficulty.

“…Although all this discussion started from the report I wrote.”

“It was an exceptionally excellent report. The Lord also said he admired it several times.”

Even at those words, Han Myeong-hwi had no excited look at all.

“Thank you, but right now I just feel like denying it first. Is there no possibility that the logic I wrote was merely an excessive overinterpretation, and the series of events was just a coincidence?”

Elder Son nodded.

“Since the Eldest Young Master is also a being ruled by the providence of the universe just like us, there is no way there are no coincidences in his life. However…”

He wore a bitter smile.

“There is no coincidence in his actions.”

“But with only his track record revealed so far…”

Elder Son raised his hand.

“According to what I heard, the Eldest Young Master requested an investigation into the entire Inner Courtyard at the Joint Investigation Headquarters. Although it was rejected.”

“…So he was thinking of making the incident even larger.”

“He must have wanted to announce that he has returned to more people, in a grander way.”

Han Myeong-hwi also fell silent in the end.

“Now do you all understand why I told you to assume the worst-case scenario?”

There was no reply.

However, Elder Son knew well that it was not because they had despaired.

For true strategists were those who did not stop scheming to escape alive, even while a sword was digging below their necks.

While they were lost in their own worlds, racking their brains, Elder Son opened the door and left the Great Meeting Room.

When he returned, he was with a group of maids.

They quickly distributed cold tea and refreshments to the strategists and left the Great Meeting Room.

Han Myeong-hwi gulped down a cup of cold tea in one go, tilted the kettle, and gulped down another cup.

“…If the Eldest Young Master is such a worst-case opponent, we must not give him a ‘piece’ to move in the first place.”

Strategist Choi nodded while munching on refreshments.

“If all strategies assume the possession of the Family Head’s official seal, we must take the Family Head’s official seal away.”

“Or strip him of his qualifications as a successor in the first place…”

Elder Son assisted them with a smile.

“We cannot dare to touch the Sword Family’s Golden Seal, the symbol of the Family Head, directly. The same goes for the successor qualifications. If so, what should be done?”

The strategist of small stature tilted his head.

“…Assassination?”

“Regardless of whether it is successful or not, unlike before, it is a method with too much burden at this point. The Third Young Master’s side might accept it, but most of the main family will react with great opposition.”

Another strategist opened his mouth.

“Under the current circumstances, can the Eldest Young Master’s seclusion order be touched at the Sword Family’s Council of Elders?”

“How would it be touched?”

“The Council of Elders is also a ‘law-making organization’. How about making a clear regulation regarding seclusion taking this opportunity?”

Han Myeong-hwi stood up abruptly.

“That is right! Due to the Eldest Young Master’s actions this time, we have sufficient justification!”

Elder Son nodded.

“So it means confining him inside Pavilion of Perfect Enlightenment in the first place, not providing any pretext to put forward the Family Head’s official seal. Good! Exceptionally excellent!”

Other strategists also began to point out issues in succession and jump into establishing countermeasures.

“However, unexpected variables might exist in this process.”

“First, there is a possibility that the Family Head’s official seal itself will become a variable.”

“If so, a countermeasure for that will be needed.”

“There is something you need to know about that.”

Their meeting continued without hesitation, and only ended when it was deep night before they knew it.

“Well, everyone worked hard until this hour.”

As Elder Son, who was still full of vigor, began to clap, the strategists whose physical strength had hit bottom also began to clap along.

“This old man is extremely pleased to have established a scheme to block the worst-case situation after hearing your opinions. If so, you all take some rest.”

He picked up his coat that he had taken off and the documents.

“This old man will go to report this scheme to the Lord now. Well then.”

Everyone stood up limply with tired faces and greeted him.

“…Elder Son.”

It was Han Myeong-hwi who followed behind him just as he was about to open the door and leave.

“Oh, Strategist Han. Do you still have business?”

“By any chance…”

Han Myeong-hwi’s exhausted but piercing gaze directed toward Elder Son.

“The countermeasure we set up today. Was it not already brought up in the elder-class meeting held today?”

“…What are you talking about now?”

Elder Son laughed loudly and patted his shoulder.

“Do you think old folks like us could even imitate such an excellent scheme?”

Elder Son walked out laughing as if it were absurd.

As the door closed, Strategist Choi said from behind, slumped on the floor.

“…What an obvious lie.”

Throwing the same topic to groups with different characters and combining the results that come out of them.

That way of making perfect preparations for a plan was a method they also enjoyed using against their subordinates.

“The frustrating part is…”

The strategist of small stature muttered, wiping sweat with the hem of his clothes.

“The work that took all of us more than half a day, those old men did in a mere one shichen.”