The Ruler of Darkness

Book 1: Chapter 13

“…But from now on, you are the front contact person. You are to wait indefinitely at the front gate.”

“Wha?!”

The mysterious martial artist raised his head and looked at Yeon So-Hyeon.

“The main gate has facilities that the previous liaison servants used. Use them as your accommodation,” Yeon So-Hyeon spoke, not paying any mind to him. “The access privileges go as far as the residence. Don’t forget.”

His words implied he was officially making him an errand gopher.

“Ma, Master?”

That, too, in front of the main gate, indefinitely.

“Why?” Yeon So-Hyeon interjected before the unidentified martial artist could reply. “If you don’t like it, try doing as you please this time too.”

“…….”

That was too heavy a statement for him, who was nothing more than ‘a mere martial artist’ to handle. At least in this place, he had no choices available.

“……I will obey Grand young master’s order.”

The Grand young master didn’t even respond, instead turning his gaze towards Jung-ah.

“Why are you still standing there?”

“I will be on my way, Grand young master.” Without the slightest hesitation, she bowed deeply and retreated with a backward step.

* * *

“We have a guest here, and this is your reception?!”

A burly man, larger even than robust soldiers, bellowed these words upon seeing as soon as he saw Jung-ah.

Jung-ah read him through her ‘eyes’ and bowed in greeting. 

“……Nice to meet you, my name is Jung-ah.”

The 3rd-stage warrior showed no intention of accepting Jung-ah’s greetings. He snorted and spoke, “Guide me inside. I need to meet your master.”

‘……Insane b*stard.’

Jung-ah sighed inwardly.

The surrounding guards only looked on with interest, clearly showing no intent to help.

“Grand young master has not granted you permission for entrance.”

“What……?!”

Jung-ah cut him off deliberately. “If you have business with him, say it here.” Her eyes were calm, her face devoid of any emotion.

Such was the esteemed demeanor, akin to reverence, that visitors at the guesthouse experienced, particularly from a receptionist who had earned the moniker ‘Ice Flower’ among her peers at the establishment.

And obviously, her provocative actions led the burly man to explode.

“This insane wench……?!”

With one step towards the main gate,

The moment he stepped into the boundary of the main gate,

“Halt.”

There wasn’t even the sound of swords being drawn; just like it had been from the beginning. In an instant, the expert guards maintaining the main gate aimed their swords at the muscular man in unison.

“Wh, what?”nove(l)bi(n.)com

The man stumbled back in surprise.

Then, from behind, the captain of the guards (who had also become Yeon So-Hyeon’s gatekeeper) sighed and warned him.

“This is a high-security area. To pass through here on your own, you need at least a first-class security clearance or……”

He didn’t bother hiding his irritation as he spat out. “……F*ck, anyway, none of this applies to you, so stop wasting our time,” he cursed, his eyes flaring. Then, he added, “This is your last warning.”

“Ah, I understand.”

The man raised both hands to show he was not hostile. At this, the guards sheathed their swords again and stepped back, resuming their roles as spectators.

The guard captain leaned against the gate and sat down right there. And began resting his arms against his hair once again.

“Hmm, hmm.”

The burly man, who decided to leave them alone as long as he wasn’t allowed in, coughed a few times and decided to focus solely on Jung-ah.

“You must come with me to meet the Third young master.”

It was an aggressive demand, but his momentum had noticeably waned.

Jung-ah didn’t budge an inch, rejecting his demand outright.

“My stay is not determined by the Third young master.”

The burly man scoffed at her, “That’s none of your business. You’re just a servant, who are you to argue?”

Even though his words were derogatory, Jung-ah did not blink an eye and replied, “I am just informing you of the rules of this household.”

“That’s enough, the rule is that if the Third young master summons you, you go. Let’s move.”

He stretched out his huge hand, and Jung-ah naturally took a step back.

“This wench……?!”

When Jung-ah stepped back, he found himself unable to grab her without stepping inside.

“My name is Jung-ah.”

He flinched, twitching his toes.

Just one step.

With just one step, he could have twisted off the head of that boastful woman. However, it was impossible to ignore the unidentified experts looking at him with amused faces.

“I’ll see if you can be so arrogant in front of …… the Third Young Master, I’ll definitely witness that.”

The sound of him grinding his teeth echoed eerily.

“It would be best to behave until then. TheThird young master hates using items that others have touched.”

Jung-ah slightly bowed her head in greeting. “I won’t see you off far.”

He spat on the ground and turned around.

Watching him recede into the distance, Jung-ah wanted to simply sink down where she stood. The aura emitted by the 3rd-stage warrior was so fierce, it was not something a commoner with no internal energy could withstand. However, she stood firm without a single shudder, to the very end. Partly because she didn’t want to show weakness to anyone, but mostly because another guest was approaching the main gate.

“Humph.”

“Urgh.”

The middle-aged man who crossed paths with the 3rd-stage warrior scoffed quietly, while the latter also scoffed out loud. Simply from that encounter, it was easy to guess the identity of the middle-aged man.

“I am the steward responsible for Second young master’s Ho-won residence (Lake Pavilion).”

“I am Jung-ah, this maid serving Grand young master, greets the steward of Ho-won.”

He opened up a fan (even in the middle of winter!), and looked at Jung-ah disapprovingly over the fan.

“What a brazen girl. I have nothing to say to you, guide me to your master quickly.”

“I’m apologize, but the Grand young master is not receiving guests.”

“What…?!”

Tendons stood out on the hand that held the fan.

“Are you babbling nonsense even after knowing that this steward has come on behalf of Second young master?”

Jung-ah responded without changing her complexion. “I am truly sorry.”

The steward’s eyes narrowed behind the fan.

Without leaving the main gate and maintaining her stance, Jung-ah conveyed much more than any words could have expressed.

“…I thought you were just a fool, but you’re also a shameless wench.”

Jung-ah didn’t respond to the stewards’ harsh whispers, filled with fury.

He averted his gaze from the unresponsive Jung-ah and greeted the captain of the guards who was sitting on the floor.

“You must have had a hard time.”

From his tone, it was clear that he had sensed that something was amiss. 

Even though she had no internal energy, she showed that she had not obtained her position as a maid through simple flattery.

“By any chance, is it certain that Grand young master is not accepting visitors, as this child says?”

The guard at the front shrugged in response to his question.

“We don’t know.”

“Ah, is that so? Do anyone of you know?”

The captain of the guards, who had been scratching his head during that brief moment, briefly glanced at Jung-ah. Jung-ah flinched momentarily under that gaze, but didn’t avoid it.

“Well, if none of you know, there’s nothing that can be done.”

The steward of Ho-won pulled a letter from his pocket and showed it, continuing his sentence. The seal of the Second young master was clearly stamped on the envelope of that letter.

“As a person responsible for delivering the Second young master’s letter, I have to inevitably…”

At that moment, the captain of the guards stood up with a sigh.

“Grand young master is not accepting guests.”

The steward of Ho-won’s long eyebrows twitched. “…Is that so?”

The captain of the guards wet his lips and said, “I myself have just been reprimanded over this very issue and am on my way out.”

“Ah…”

The steward Ho-won stroked his thin beard. “This has become quite troublesome.” He paused briefly to gather his thoughts, then sighed, “Well, there’s nothing to be done then.”

Jung-ah reached out to accept the letter from the Second young master, extended by by the man. However, the steward did not let go of the letter held in his hand, instead, he looked towards the guard captain.

“Could you perhaps ensure that this child properly delivers the letter?”

The guard captain made a face showing a clear lack of enthusiasm, then reluctantly nodded his head. “I will do so.”

Only then did he release his grip, allowing Jung-ah to take the letter.

“… Remember this well.” He looked down at Jung-ah with a gaze as cold as a viper’s and spoke in a quiet voice. “No matter what schemes you concoct with your little brain, in the end, you’re in the palm of the Second young master’s hand.”

Then he turned and bid farewell to the guards, leaving the area.

“Steward of Ho-won, I won’t send you off too far.”

In response to Jung-ah’s farewell, he returned only with a snort of laughter. As soon as he was far enough away, one of the guards shrugged his shoulders.

“Such an… assh*le.”

“Indeed.”

After that, they all nodded towards Jung-ah.

“The young miss has great courage.”

“Hmm, hmm. We may not know the whole story, but seeing her standing up so bravely is admirable.”

A language that didn’t quite fit the guards.

“Thank you for your kind words.”

But Jung-ah took that as a good sign. They had acknowledged her not for her false guards, but sincerely as individuals in their original status. After exchanging greetings with them for a moment, Jung-ah took a shaky step, hiding her trembling body.

“Hey, wait a moment.”

It was none other than the guard captain.

“… Do you have something to say to me?”

The man who followed her to the forest path spoke to her in a low voice, “The Grand young master has never forbidden visitors. Isn’t that right?”

Jung-ah bit her lip for a moment.

“While he has not explicitly stated so, in my opinion…”

He raised his hand to stop her from speaking further. “You know as well as I do, I don’t bear any good will towards your Grand young master.”

“……”

“Still, the reason I’m saying this is because it’s hard to ignore the difficult situation a child of my daughter’s age is in.”

Jung-ah bowed her head.

“I will keep that in mind.”

He sighed for a moment, blaming his broad meddlesome nature, and finally continued speaking, “You know that the Grand young master can protect you but hasn’t, right?”

At his words, Jung-ah showed an uncomfortable expression.

“… I am just a maidservant.”

He waved his hand dismissively. “No, no. It seems there’s some misunderstanding. The meaning of my words is different from what you suspect.” He scratched his head roughly as he spoke, “Having spent my entire life with a sword, I’m terrible with words. But living as a warrior has given me some insight.”

His gaze turned towards Jung-ah.

“Are you trying to dedicate your loyalty to Grand young master? Or are you trying to protect yourself? When I saw you second-guessing the Grand young master’s thoughts earlier, I started thinking this.”

It was like being struck by lightning.

Jung-ah froze in place.

“The Grand young master could have outed them with just one word. So, why didn’t he?”

She could not muster any response.

Seeing her reaction, the guard captain gave a bitter smile.

“I’ll take my leave then.”

Only then did Jung-ah come back to her senses and asked him hastily. “Will you not need to confirm if I deliver the letter?”

He was already turned around and heading towards the main gate.

“No, no. You figure that out. I need to figure out how to get away from that Grand young master of yours as soon as possible.”

And then disappeared in a blink of an eye.

However, Jung-ah, who turned in the opposite direction, could not move easily. The words left by the guard captain were still lingering in her mind.

‘Are you trying to dedicate your loyalty to Grand young master? Or are you trying to protect yourself?’