Chapter 34
“I don’t want people gossiping later about why soone 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 . 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 beco stronger, so his words stirred them further.
At that mont, Ak Seol-ah appeared.
Because the others had used movent 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 seed to be siding with him.
Pushing her way through the crowd, Ak Seol-ah shouted,
“The person who saved was that young warrior! The one who tried to dishonor was this man! He grabbed my wrist, tried to humiliate , and even tore my clothes! When I resisted, that warrior tried to slap , but the young warrior here stopped him by catching his arm. Even then, he worried I might feel ashad and gave 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 so 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 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 sternly and fairly.”
Hearing those words made the warriors of the Tenth Division feel even guiltier.
anwhile, Ho Jo-yeong appeared. He had been strolling around the clan grounds and ca 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 co 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 soone 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 ti 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 aningful glance. He was a perceptive man. Though not always so, this ti he seed to grasp the situation imdiately.
He tugged Seo Mugyeom’s arm, wanting to talk sowhere 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 sothing 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 so ti.
“What will you do now, Mugyeom?”
“This turned out well, actually. He was soone 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 sothing 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 seed as though Pyo had already expected his visit.
“You caused quite a stir. I thought you’d handle this quietly when the ti ca.”
“I intended to, but circumstances forced my hand.”
“I see. Tell everything.”
Seo Mugyeom began explaining, and Pyo Inhaeng listened with a grave expression.
“This isn’t sothing 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 an, to kill him through another’s blade.”
“Yes. That would be best. He’s already wary of 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?”
“? 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 soone 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 anyti.”
“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 an Seo Mugyeom owed him any rcy.
He wanted to tornt Un Jongak with everything he had.
Un Jongak, alone in his room, stared at him in disbelief.
“Why did you co here? What nonsense are you planning to spout this ti?”
“Why so jumpy? Are you afraid of ? 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 sothing 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 sche.
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 eting Seo Mugyeom had brought him the greatest crisis of his life, if he could just win him over, it could beco 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 mber 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 sothing useful.
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