Chapter 34
Chapter 34
“I don’t want people gossiping later about why someone outside the Tenth Division interfered in this matter. So I believe it’s best for the warriors of the Tenth Division themselves to punish Seo Mugyeom here and now. Seo Mugyeom learned martial arts that weren’t taught by the Divine Martial Sect and used them to toy with me. Therefore, all of you should attack him together.”
Originally, Un Jongak had never shown courtesy toward the warriors of the Tenth Division. Yet suddenly, the Vice Leader of the Sixth Division bowed politely and spoke to them, which shook their hearts.
They had also thought it strange how Seo Mugyeom had suddenly become stronger, so his words stirred them further.
At that moment, Ak Seol-ah appeared.
Because the others had used movement arts to arrive quickly, Ak Seol-ah was far behind. Her face was flushed, and she was panting heavily, as if she hadn’t stopped running.
She was about to see what had happened when she overheard Un Jongak’s words—and was shocked. Moreover, the people she had brought along seemed to be siding with him.
Pushing her way through the crowd, Ak Seol-ah shouted,
“The person who saved me was that young warrior! The one who tried to dishonor me was this man! He grabbed my wrist, tried to humiliate me, and even tore my clothes! When I resisted, that warrior tried to slap me, but the young warrior here stopped him by catching his arm. Even then, he worried I might feel ashamed and gave me his own clothes. These are his clothes! If I were lying, why would I be wearing the young warrior’s clothes?”
The crowd realized then that they had been deceived by Un Jongak.
They were all bewildered. They had thought they knew Seo Mugyeom well enough, yet hearing Un Jongak speak had been like falling under some spell—they had believed every word.
It made them wonder if that could truly be only because of Un Jongak’s eloquence.
“Mugyeom… I’m sorry. I knew you weren’t that kind of person, but hearing such horrible things made me lose my senses.”
When one person apologized, the others followed suit one after another.
“No, it’s all right. I’m actually grateful. Rather than overlooking wrongdoing just because the offender was your comrade, you judged me sternly and fairly.”
Hearing those words made the warriors of the Tenth Division feel even guiltier.
Meanwhile, Ho Jo-yeong appeared. He had been strolling around the clan grounds and came when he heard the commotion. Shortly after, Pyo Inhaeng also arrived, followed by the eldest young master of the Ak Clan and the Clan Head himself.
“Seol-ah, what are you doing here? What’s with those clothes, and why is your hair so disheveled? You’re supposed to carry yourself with grace and decorum—what sort of indecent behavior is this!”
The Clan Head looked around and shouted at Ak Seol-ah.
In truth, her hair tie had come loose from running around frantically trying to bring help for Seo Mugyeom. A few strands had fallen loose, and her father scolded her upon seeing it.
Hearing that, Seo Mugyeom felt his chest sink heavily.
Did someone like the Clan Head truly not understand what had happened?
No—he probably did understand. He simply chose to ignore it.
Even the Division Leader turned away without questioning either Seo Mugyeom or Un Jongak and returned to his quarters. Since the Clan Head had no intention of exposing the truth, there was no point in pressing further then and there.
After all, what mattered to them wasn’t who was at fault, but how to deal with it—and they had plenty of time to do so.
Seo Mugyeom looked briefly at Ak Seol-ah.
She had tried to bear everything alone to avoid troubling her father, yet the Clan Head made it sound as though she had brought disgrace upon herself through improper behavior.
If he had been slapped while staying silent, he wouldn’t have felt half as bitter as this.
“Mugyeom, what happened?”
Ho Jo-yeong approached quietly and asked.
Seo Mugyeom wanted to check if Ak Seol-ah was all right, but she first bowed slightly and left the scene.
Ho Jo-yeong noticed the lingering look in Seo Mugyeom’s eyes and gave him a meaningful glance. He was a perceptive man. Though not always so, this time he seemed to grasp the situation immediately.
He tugged Seo Mugyeom’s arm, wanting to talk somewhere out of earshot.
“What happened?”
Seo Mugyeom had no reason to hide the truth from Ho Jo-yeong, so he told him everything that had occurred. As the story went on, Ho Jo-yeong’s eyes widened more and more.
“How could something like that happen? In the middle of the Ak Clan, of all places—he dared to do that to Lady Ak? Has he lost his mind? What kind of person does such a thing?”
Ho Jo-yeong raged for quite some time.
“What will you do now, Mugyeom?”
“This turned out well, actually. He was someone who needed to be dealt with sooner or later. Now that it’s clear he deserves death, it’s better this way.”
“I see your point. Still, shouldn’t we report this to the Division Leader first? It’s not something I can handle myself.”
Ho Jo-yeong urged him to go.
After talking things through, Seo Mugyeom felt he could speak more clearly before the Division Leader.
When he went to see Pyo Inhaeng, it seemed as though Pyo had already expected his visit.
“You caused quite a stir. I thought you’d handle this quietly when the time came.”
“I intended to, but circumstances forced my hand.”
“I see. Tell me everything.”
Seo Mugyeom began explaining, and Pyo Inhaeng listened with a grave expression.
“This isn’t something we can delay. A man who would commit such an act cannot stay among us. Who do you think should take care of it? If you wish, I’ll grant you permission.”
“I don’t mind either way. But perhaps it’s better if we don’t dirty our own hands. We could let the enemy do it for us.”
“You mean, to kill him through another’s blade.”
“Yes. That would be best. He’s already wary of me after our earlier clash. If I don’t do it, you would have to—but if word spread that the Division Leader killed Un Jongak, it wouldn’t reflect well on you.”
“It would indeed be best to borrow another’s sword… but that’s easier said than done. Do you have an idea?”
“I’ll have to think about it.”
Then it struck him—this was precisely Un Jongak’s specialty. A man who had always dug traps beneath others’ feet was now about to fall into one himself.
“Are you nervous?”
“Me? I don’t think so.”
“No, you don’t seem nervous. Still, I suppose I asked the wrong person.”
Pyo Inhaeng gave him a sidelong glance, as if he had more to say.
“What is it, Division Leader?”
“Lady Ak is someone under our protection. Don’t grow too attached to her. You’ll travel together to the Imperial City, but you’ll part ways after that—and you’ll never see each other again. Others would probably understand that without being told, but you’re young and inexperienced. I felt I should warn you.”
That remark truly caught Seo Mugyeom off guard. Pyo Inhaeng, who rarely cared about anyone’s feelings, was worrying about him. Seo Mugyeom felt grateful.
“I’ll keep that in mind. Thank you for the advice.”
He replied, but Pyo Inhaeng’s face didn’t soften. It was as though he thought it was already too late.
He clicked his tongue softly.
If emotions could be controlled by will, no one would ever die of lovesickness.
“I trust you’ll handle things well, but if you need my help, speak anytime.”
“Yes, Division Leader.”
Embarrassed to discuss such things before him, Seo Mugyeom’s voice trailed off awkwardly.
“Go and rest now. We leave early tomorrow.”
“Yes, Division Leader.”
Leaving the Division Leader’s quarters, Seo Mugyeom headed for Un Jongak’s room.
Un Jongak surely didn’t want to face him again—but that didn’t mean Seo Mugyeom owed him any mercy.
He wanted to torment Un Jongak with everything he had.
Un Jongak, alone in his room, stared at him in disbelief.
“Why did you come here? What nonsense are you planning to spout this time?”
“Why so jumpy? Are you afraid of me? Ah, well—you have every reason to be. But there’s no need to tense up so much. I won’t hit you unless you do something wrong.”
“…!”
Un Jongak was so dumbfounded that he could barely speak. Yet after what had happened, he couldn’t simply lash out either.
While alone earlier, he had gone over everything that had happened between them—and realized it hadn’t been a coincidence at all.
As much as he hated to admit it, Seo Mugyeom was undeniably stronger. If he didn’t accept that truth, he’d fail at any future scheme.
Un Jongak decided it would be better to win Seo Mugyeom over than to oppose him.
Only the two of them were present, and there was no need to worry about anyone overhearing. Even if Seo Mugyeom later told others, Un Jongak was confident in his ability to turn people to his side.
He was skilled at lying—a born actor. When he looked pitiful, people pitied him and believed his every word.
He had known since childhood that he could easily deceive others and had used that talent to get whatever he wanted. Though meeting Seo Mugyeom had brought him the greatest crisis of his life, if he could just win him over, it could become a blessing in disguise.
“All right. I’ll apologize for earlier. I was too careless. I’ve already gone to apologize to Lady Ak, and she kindly accepted it. I’m sorry for disappointing you as a senior member of the Guardian Ten Division.”
Seo Mugyeom didn’t believe a word Un Jongak said. Still, he didn’t bother stopping him. If the man insisted on talking, he might as well say something useful.