The Heavenly Demon Who Reigns

Thump-.

Soyeon Sang slammed his knee with his palm as if he were excited.

Although a rather loud sound was made from his knee due to the strong slam, Soyeon Sang looked at Cheon Myeong as if it didn't matter and said.

"Did such a thing happen while I was away!"

Cheon Myeong had pretended not to see the hiding Soyeon Sang and had first entered the Socheongak, then had called Mihwa and had told her to tell Soyeon Sang that it was okay to come back now.

And just now, Cheon Myeong had told Soyeon Sang about the incident where someone had attacked him.

'He's excited, as expected.'

He had expected to some extent that Soyeon Sang would react like this if he told him this.

After all, Soyeon Sang was his escort.

Although it was not his own will, since an assassin had broken in while he was away, wasn't that a failure to fulfill his duty as an escort?

So Cheon Myeong understood why he was so excited.

"Don't worry. I took care of the assassin, and I'm safe like this."

"That's not the problem! As expected, it was a mistake for me to have left the Socheongak. No matter how much you told me to leave, I should have stayed by your side as an escort..."

"..."

To be honest, even when Soyeon Sang was at the Socheongak, there had been an assassination attempt on him.

What had stopped it was none other than Baekjo, who was in the birdcage.

In a way, Baekjo was doing a much better job as an escort than Soyeon Sang.

'I'll have to keep this a secret.'

If he told him this, Soyeon Sang would blame himself for being worse than a bird.

If that happened, his pride as a martial artist and an escort would be greatly diminished.

Since Soyeon Sang was already doing well enough, Cheon Myeong did not want to diminish Soyeon Sang's pride.

"I was the one who sent you out. You're in a position where you can't refuse my orders, right?"

"That's true, but..."

"So don't blame yourself."

"..."

As Cheon Myeong said that, Soyeon Sang had no choice but to accept those words.

But inwardly, he was vowing to strengthen his duty as an escort in the future.

"By the way... did you kill the assassin who attacked you, Young Master?"

"Yes."

Seeing that there was not even a scratch on Cheon Myeong, was the assassin's skill lacking? Soyeon Sang had thought at first.

However, looking back at Cheon Myeong's skills, it seemed that he could easily subdue a decent assassin.

Moreover, although he didn't know who the person who had sent the assassin was, since that person would not know Cheon Myeong's true skills, there was a high probability that he had not sent an assassin with incredibly outstanding skills.

'But still, to subdue an assassin...'

Hearing the story, it seemed that he had secretly entered at night.

Did Cheon Myeong perhaps continue to suspect the existence of an assassin and had been on guard?

If he had not had such a sense of vigilance, he would not have noticed the assassin's presence while sleeping.

Or had Cheon Myeong already reached a level where he could always feel most of the presences around him?

Although Soyeon Sang did not know exactly what the answer was, he thought that both were amazing.

"I was going to keep him alive and find out who was behind him, but he committed suicide before I could do anything."

"Behind..."

That's right. No matter how much he had taken care of the assassin, the person who had sent the assassin was still alive.

Only when he found that person and took care of him could Cheon Myeong be said to have escaped the threat of assassination.

"What did you do with the body?"

"I took care of it as quietly as possible. That will be able to shake up the guy behind him."

"Then... I will secretly investigate the person behind him."

"That's okay. I've already ordered an investigation."

"What?"

"Since Hong Yeorin is conducting the investigation, let's wait for now."

As Cheon Myeong said that, Soyeon Sang couldn't help but be surprised.

The matter of solving the Socheongak's budget before, and the matter of ordering Hong Yeorin to investigate this time.

What kind of magic on earth had Cheon Myeong used to win Hong Yeorin's favor?

Since Soyeon Sang did not know the detailed circumstances, he had no choice but to think so.

'That Hong Yeorin listened to the Young Master's words not once, but twice?'

Soyeon Sang knew well what kind of person Hong Yeorin was.

That's why the fact that she had helped Cheon Myeong in succession like this was even more unbelievable.

And at such a short interval.

At this point, wasn't it at a level where Hong Yeorin could be said to be completely smitten with Cheon Myeong?

'Did Hong Yeorin also feel something from the Young Master?'

Just like him, Hong Yeorin might have also felt something from Cheon Myeong.

That's why she's helping him like this.

Although the reality was that it was because of Body Enhancement Pill, Soyeon Sang couldn't help but be impressed inwardly by the fact that Cheon Myeong had received Hong Yeorin's recognition.

And at the same time, an overwhelming emotion.

As expected, trusting Cheon Myeong was an excellent choice.

"Young Master, I will follow you."

"Huh?"

What's wrong with this guy?

Cheon Myeong couldn't help but be bewildered as Soyeon Sang suddenly prostrated himself and said that.

And after looking down at Soyeon Sang for a moment, he said as if something had come to mind.

"Ah, it's okay. I'll completely forgive you for secretly eating meat without me at that time."

"...What?"

This time, Soyeon Sang raised his head with a bewildered face.

"Come to think of it, I was petty. For something like that."

"..."

"Let's just pretend it never happened between us."

Cheon Myeong said with a smile to Soyeon Sang.

And looking at that smile, Soyeon Sang thought.

'As expected, the words that it was okay at that time were all lies...'

The petty Cheon Myeong who had kicked him out because of meat, and the Cheon Myeong who had the charm to attract Hong Yeorin.

Soyeon Sang felt that he would be confused about which of the two was the real Cheon Myeong.

* * *

Swish- swish-.

The sound of a broom sweeping the yard was heard at regular intervals.

Just by listening to the sound, it seemed that she was sweeping diligently, but in reality, it was impossible to tell whether she was cleaning or just pretending to clean.

"..."

Mihwa was sweeping with a dazed face.

Since a while ago, the broom had been sweeping the same spot over and over again.

The ground in that spot was slightly dug in from how much she had swept, and as if she had not noticed that fact at all, Mihwa continued to sweep mechanically.

'Something seems ominous about the Socheongak these days.'

Although Mihwa's body was sweeping, her head was completely thinking about something else.

Mihwa's attention was focused on a corpse that had been in Cheon Myeong's room a few days ago.

She had gone to Cheon Myeong's room because she had heard a loud noise in the middle of the night, and there was a mysterious corpse there.

Mihwa had almost screamed when she had discovered the corpse, but since Cheon Myeong had covered her mouth, she had not screamed.

So the only people who knew about the corpse were Cheon Myeong and Mihwa, who had been there at the time.

Since Cheon Myeong had told her not to tell the other two, among the servants, only Mihwa knew that fact.

'What on earth was that corpse...'

Although it seemed that Cheon Myeong knew something, he had not given Mihwa a detailed explanation about the corpse.

However, judging from the circumstances, Mihwa could guess that the corpse was an assassin who had come to assassinate Cheon Myeong.

The fact that he had secretly entered Cheon Myeong's room in the middle of the night, and the night clothes that the corpse was wearing.

If that wasn't an assassin, what was it?

So although she was almost certain, she had not bothered to ask Cheon Myeong about that fact.

'Where did the Young Master go with that corpse?'

Cheon Myeong had told Mihwa to keep this a secret and had gone out with the corpse on his back.

Since he seemed to have come back empty-handed, hadn't he hidden the corpse somewhere?

Of course, since she had not asked about this either, it was just Mihwa's guess.

'...Should I ask?'

It seemed that Cheon Myeong was now being threatened by someone.

Mihwa was deliberating on whether to ask Cheon Myeong about this in detail or not.

Of course, she wanted to be of help to Cheon Myeong as much as she could, but since Cheon Myeong had not told her first, wouldn't it be rude to ask first?

Since those two thoughts were contradicting each other, Mihwa's mind was now quite complicated.

"Phew..."

The answer that did not come out even after deliberating for several days.

Only a sigh came out.

"Is anyone there!"

At that moment, a voice was heard from outside the main gate.

Since the voice was quite loud, Mihwa was startled and dropped the broom, and only then did she realize that she had been sweeping the same spot over and over again.

"I'm out of my mind..."

For now, she decided to take care of this later, and the main gate was first.

Hearing the sound, it seemed that a guest had come to the Socheongak, so Mihwa hurriedly approached the main gate.

Creak-.

Mihwa hurriedly opened the door.

Then, quite a few people were standing outside the door.

And Mihwa, who had discovered those people, couldn't help but be flustered.

'What on earth are these people?'

For so many people to come to the Socheongak at once.

It seemed that this was the first time for Mihwa to have such a case at the Socheongak.

Swish-.

At that moment, a woman walked out in front of Mihwa.

Because of that, Mihwa's gaze naturally went to that side, and even if it hadn't been for that, it seemed that Mihwa's gaze would have gone to that woman.

'She's gorgeous...'

It seemed that she was covered in luxury from head to toe.

Because of that, Mihwa's gaze had gone to the woman for a moment, but rather, since the luxury was excessive, she was about to turn her head, not knowing where to look.

However, before that, the woman spoke to Mihwa first.

"Is Young Master Cheon Myeong inside?"

The woman who was asking Mihwa was Hong Yeorin.

Of course, Mihwa did not know Hong Yeorin's face.

Since Mihwa's range of action was only the Socheongak and its surroundings, would she have had contact with Hong Yeorin?

Since it was normal for someone who was not of a high enough status to not even be able to see Hong Yeorin's shadow, it was natural that Mihwa did not know Hong Yeorin's face.

However, looking at Hong Yeorin's attire and the people standing in a line behind her, Mihwa could guess that she was a person of high status.

"For what reason have you come..."

So Mihwa's tone was polite, but at the same time, there was also a sense of vigilance towards Hong Yeorin.

Especially since there had been such an incident recently, a sense of vigilance had arisen even more at the fact that an outsider was looking for Cheon Myeong.

As Mihwa expressed such an emotion, the man standing next to Hong Yeorin shouted.

"How rude! To answer the question of the Head of the Finance Hall with a question!"

"..."

"Do you want your head to fly off in this place right now!"

Hearing the man's words, Mihwa's two eyes widened.

Although she did not know Hong Yeorin's face, Mihwa also knew what kind of place the Finance Hall was.

But for the person in front of her now to be the head of the Finance Hall, she was a person of a higher status than she had thought.

"I-I'm sorry!"

Mihwa hurriedly apologized.

Then, Hong Yeorin raised her left hand in front of the man as if to block him.

"Stop it. What is this commotion in the place where the Young Master is."

As Hong Yeorin said that, the man bowed his head and retreated.

And Hong Yeorin, lowering her hand, looked at Mihwa without a word.

Mihwa, seeing this, realized that Hong Yeorin was waiting for the answer from before.

"Ah... if it's the Young Master, he is inside now, but he is doing something else."

Cheon Myeong was probably training right now.

However, Mihwa could not tell Hong Yeorin that fact as it was.

Because Cheon Myeong had told her to keep it a secret that it was also known to the outside.

Since that had come to her mind as she was speaking, Mihwa had spoken to Hong Yeorin in a roundabout way.

"How long will he take?"

"Uh... probably about an hour..."

"Then I will wait inside."

Hearing that, the people behind were surprised inwardly.

From the beginning, when Hong Yeorin had said she would visit the Socheongak, they couldn't hide their surprise, and now she was saying she would wait for an hour until Cheon Myeong finished his business.

If Hong Yeorin's one hour was converted into money, a huge amount would surely come out.

But since Hong Yeorin was saying she would use that time solely for Cheon Myeong, the people who knew Hong Yeorin on a regular basis couldn't help but be surprised.

"Then will you do so?"

"Yes."

"Then please follow me."

Saying that, Mihwa cautiously turned her body, and Hong Yeorin told the people to wait outside and followed her inside.

'I'm nervous.'

This was the first time she had received a guest of such a high status.

If she were to make a mistake to such a guest, it would surely cause harm to Cheon Myeong as well.

Thinking so, Mihwa couldn't help but be nervous.

"Wait."

At that moment, Hong Yeorin called Mihwa from behind.

'W-what is it?'

Did she make a mistake?

Mihwa turned to Hong Yeorin, nervous.

"What is it..."

"You, what kind of cosmetics do you usually use?"

"...What?"

"It's a type I've never seen before, it's so natural, as if you're not wearing makeup."

Hong Yeorin said, looking at Mihwa's face from side to side as if she were appraising it.

'W-what is it?'

As Hong Yeorin asked an unexpected question, Mihwa was flustered.

But since she had asked a question, it would be rude not to answer.

Mihwa maintained her composure and answered.

"I'm not wearing makeup..."

"What! Where are you lying now!"

"L-lying..."

"You're saying your skin is that clear without makeup?"

"It's true... why would I lie about something like this?"

"..."

As Mihwa said that, Hong Yeorin immediately closed her mouth.

And as if she were quite offended, she said to Mihwa.

"I understand... guide me again."

"..."

What on earth was that?

Although Mihwa had that thought for a moment, she decided to guide Hong Yeorin to the reception room again.

"As expected, age..."

Although such a voice was heard from behind, Mihwa tried hard to ignore it and looked only ahead.

(End of Chapter)