Chapter 376
The Youngest Son of the Eunhae Trading Company Chapter 376
Chapter 376. The Palace Head (3)
His eyes wavered at my words.
“Oh, good. How much is this all?”
“That's because...”
Your mouth is dry and your throat is parched, isn't it?
Of course.
You're about to lose everything you've worked so hard to steal.
“Let's see... Wow, there's a Yeongdan too? This Yeongdan is very expensive.”
“...”
As I continued to speak, the expressions of those around me grew darker.
That's because I noticed that Head Escort's face was turning pale.
Hmm, I should stop teasing him. He's going to faint.
“Anyway, you got a windfall.”
I handed the ledger to Seo Woo-mu and said.
“Find everything written here and bring it to my office.”
“Yes, sir.”
Just as Seo Woo-musha and the other bodyguards were about to go find the items listed in the ledger,
“I'll kill you!”
Jeon Il-ho lost his mind, drew his sword, and rushed at me.
Clang!
However, his sword was blocked by someone else's sword.
“Huh?”
It was my Master.
“Jeon Il, Head Escort.”
He flinched at my master's voice. There was genuine qi in that voice.
“Tell me the truth. Whose ledger is that?”
“...”
“Jeon Il, Head Escort!”
Jeon Il flinched at my master's rebuke and took a step back.
“That's...”
Unlike earlier, he hesitated.
That alone made the situation clear.
“I... That is... I...”
“Jeon-il!”
Master's shout continued.
Thud.
Unable to withstand Master's momentum, Jeon-il collapsed on the spot.
Even I felt a tingling sensation, so there was no way he could withstand his Master's momentum.
“Please tell me it's not true.”
Jeon Il looked around.
He closed his eyes tightly and let out a deep sigh, avoiding eye contact.
Realizing that it was already over, he bowed his head and replied.
“I'm sorry.”
At his answer, his master closed his eyes tightly.
His expression showed betrayal and hurt.
It turned out that the person who had been working with him toward the goal of rebuilding Seolpung Palace had actually had other intentions.
There was no way he wouldn't be hurt.
Even though he knew his master would be hurt, he revealed the truth now because it would cause even greater damage later.
And the hurt would be even greater.
“Since when?”
“About ten years...”
“Since you became Head Escort.”
“...”
“The reason... Huu.”
The master gasped for breath. Then he splashed water on his face and asked him.
“What is the reason?”
“That's... Well...”
“What is the reason? Tell me!”
I could feel deep anger in every word the master uttered.
“I thought there was no hope. I thought there was no hope of rebuilding Seolpung Palace.”
“...”
Master gritted his teeth.
How could Master not know that?
Nevertheless, it was Master's position to walk the thorny path of rebuilding Seolpung Palace.
Before they knew it, the atmosphere around them had changed as if they were at a funeral.
It was filled with grief and misery.
Not only Master, but all of the disciples of Seolpung Palace had thought about this.
It was a goal that everyone knew was difficult.
However, they were encouraging each other to keep going, but then that Jeon Il poured cold water on them.
I don't like this atmosphere.
“No hope?”
At my words, everyone's eyes turned to me.
With heavy footsteps
I walked up to Jeon Il, the Head Escort, and said.
“Who decided that?”
“Because that's the reality!”
“Reality... That's funny.”
I chuckled.
“Of course, the reality is bleak. So what? Who are you to decide the future of Seolpungung?”
“....”
“The future is not set in stone.”
Yes, the future is not set in stone.
If the future were set in stone, then the end of the path I am walking now would be the same miserable death as my past life.
The future of this life will be different from the future of my past life.
I clenched my fists.
This is also a promise I made to myself.
“The future can change at any time.”
By saving Mrs. Hong Geum-so this time, I was able to confirm that once again.
“And if you!”
I picked up the ledger from the hand of the warrior Seo Woo standing next to me and said.
“If you hadn't embezzled the large sum of money recorded in this ledger, Seolpung Palace would be in a much better situation than it is now! Your selfishness! Your greed! Your arrogance in deciding that there was no hope! You have destroyed the hope of Seolpung Palace!”
I turned my head and looked at everyone.
“Do you also think that Seolpung Palace has no future?”
Not only the disciples of Seolpung Palace, but also the Head Escorts remained silent.
I said firmly.
“If you think so, then that will be the case. However, if you believe that Seolpung Palace will prosper in the future, then that will also be the case.”
I continued.
“Which side are you on?”
“....
”I will bet everything I have on Seolpung Palace.“
”Why?“
Head Escort Ha Cheol asked me.
”Why do you think so?“
”That's obvious.“
I pointed at myself with my thumb.
”I am the Palace Head. Would I let the place where I am the Palace Head fall into ruin?"
“Hahahaha!”
Ha Cheol-du burst out laughing at my words.
“I see why my daughter thought so.”
Huh? What did my second sister-in-law say?
Kung!
Ha Cheol-du bowed deeply to me and said, “Ha Cheol, the guardian of Seolpung Palace! Greetings, Palace Head.”
The head of the Changinpyeonggu also bowed deeply to me.
Next, the head of the Changin Escort Agency also bowed to me.
“Ho-beom Yoo Seong! I greet you, Palace Head.”
So the head's name was Yoo Seong.
Perhaps prompted by the actions of the two, the others also bowed to me one by one.
After confirming that everyone had bowed to me, I turned my head to look at my Master.
Tack!
I clasped my hands together and said to my master.
“Disciple Eun Seo-ho awaits your orders.”
My master nodded at my words.
“I, Kwak Myeong-hyun, Palace Head of Seolpung Palace, hereby appoint disciple Eun Seo-ho as the Junior Palace Head!”
I smiled.
Just like that, I officially became the Junior Palace Head of Seolpung Palace.
Now all that remained was to deal with Jeon Il.
Master approached Jeon Il.
Pababak!
Then he struck him with his hand.
“Guh!”
Jeon Il spat blood.
“I have taken away your martial arts skills. The martial arts of Seolpung Palace are not for someone like you.”
There was not a trace of warmth in Master's eyes as he said this.
“Lock him in prison. We will punish him later.”
“Yes!”
In an instant, he lost his martial arts skills and all his inner arts, and he became a pitiful sight.
He was dragged away by other warriors.
I handed the ledger to Master.
“Please take this, Master. This belongs to Seolpunggung.”
My master took the ledger, thought for a moment, and then asked me.
“How did you get this?”
“Oh, that...”
I smiled shyly and replied.
“It's a secret.”
But I'm worried that Master will grab me by the back of my neck when he sees what's written in the ledger.
The Head Escort really stole a lot yesterday.
* * *
“Ugh!”
A moment later
In the governor's office, Kwak Myeong-hyun was looking at the ledger that Eun Seo-ho had handed him when he suddenly grabbed the back of his neck without realizing it.
This was because the amount he had eaten was enormous.
“Heh heh. Heh heh heh heh.”
The governor laughed hollowly, unable to find the words.
“Phew, if it weren't for the Young Master, or rather, the Palace Head, the damage would have been enormous.”
“It's a good thing we found out about this now.”
Following Ha Cheol, the Head Escort continued.
“By the way, you are very talented. How did the Palace Head know something that even we didn't know?”
Kwak Myeong-hyun answered that question.
“It was probably because I was blinded by my position as an insider. And although he is my disciple, the young prince has extraordinary insight.”
As he said this, a slight smile appeared on Kwak Myeong-hyun's lips.
Seeing this, the national leader and Ha Cheol, the head of the palace guards, looked surprised.
After Seolpung Palace was destroyed, it was rare to see a smile on Kwak Myeong-hyun's face.
The pressure of becoming the Palace Head and rebuilding Seolpung Palace had robbed him of his leisure and happiness.
The two who remembered his childhood felt sorry for him.
However, recently, he had begun to smile little by little.
They knew who was responsible for that.
That's why they were so grateful to Eun Seo-ho.
“By the way, what are you going to do with the former Head Escort?”
Gwak Myeong-hyun sighed at the prince's question.
“We can't just throw him out. With no one knowing who destroyed Seolpunggung, throwing out the former Head Escort would be creating a dangerous situation.”
“You're right. We still have to hide our identities, so we can't do that.”
“Then there's only one conclusion.”
Kwak Myeong-hyun washed his face and stood up.
“I will finish this myself. We can't let others get their hands dirty with the blood of our comrades, can we?”
* *
As I spent time at the Changin Escort Agency, evening fell.
Several people came looking for me, and as I chatted with them, time flew by.
I had already eaten dinner, so it was time to head home.
As I was walking with that thought in mind, I felt something strange and looked up.
Then I saw someone familiar sitting on the roof.
It was my Master.
I thought about pretending not to see him, but he looked sad.
Oh well.
I told Pal-gap and the bodyguards to wait for a moment, then climbed onto the roof.
“Why are you here?”
“Ah, Young Master, you're here.”
“I'm just the Young Master, why are you calling me ‘Young Master’?”
“It's a little difficult to explain.”
I sat down next to him and said, “Do as you wish.
Whether you add ‘Young’ or not, it doesn't change the fact that I am your disciple and the Young Master, does it?”
“That's right.”
My master replied and drank the liquid from the bottle.
“It's not alcohol, is it?”
The prohibition on alcohol hasn't been lifted yet...
“It's honey water.”
Come to think of it, my master always carried a bottle of honey water with him and drank it.
The drink he gave me before was also honey water.
“Do you know why I drink honey water instead of alcohol?”
I knew he didn't want an answer, so I just listened quietly.
“On the day Seolpung Palace fell, I drank alcohol to celebrate completing my mission. Because of that, I returned late.”
“....”
“If I hadn't drunk alcohol, and had arrived just one day earlier... Seolpung Palace would not have been destroyed. At the very least, we would have known who the enemy was.”
Master held up the bottle.
“That was when I made my decision. I would not drink alcohol until Seolpung Palace was rebuilt. This honey water is a symbol of that decision.”
“...”
I listened silently to my master's words.
“But then I realized there was a good thing about drinking. It makes me feel better when I'm depressed.”
My master said that and let out a deep sigh.
“Prince Hoo.”
“Yes.”
“I beheaded the Head Escort today.”
I bit my lip.
Actually, I had guessed as much. I could smell the pungent scent of blood on my Master.
“To be honest, I gave him a dagger and told him to take his own life. But he... he clung to me. He said he was sorry and begged me to give him one more chance. But he was a danger to others. For the safety of the others, I had no choice but to kill him.”
My Master looked at me.
“This is what the Palace Head must do. Are you ready to take on this responsibility?”
“I...”
But before I could even begin to speak, my Master continued.
“To be honest, I didn't want you to become the Palace Head. I didn't want you to walk this thorny path.”
I could feel my Master's love for me.
He loved me as much as he loved his own sons.
“But now things have turned out like this.”
I sighed.
Master...
What if you get drunk from the honey water?
Of course, what made Master so emotional right now was what happened today.
It wasn't because of the honey water.
“Huh... I've said too much. You may go now.”
My master's face had returned to its usual expressionless state.
He is a very strong man, my master.
“And thank you for today. For everything.”
“You're too kind.”
I climbed down from the roof and said to Pal-gap and Ho-ui.
“Let's go.”
“Yes.”
At that moment, my Master called me from the roof.
“Oh, I forgot to give you this.”
My Master threw something at me, and I caught it.
“This is...”
“It's the Palace Head's badge.”
When I held it in my hand, I realized that I had truly become the Palace Head.
“Thank you. I'll be going now.”
With the Junior Palace Head's badge in my pocket, I set off again.
Behind me, I heard my Master's voice.
“Tomorrow morning, I will teach you a new sword technique. Be prepared.”
“What?”
Without thinking, I turned around and asked.
“Tomorrow will be even harder than today.”
Master.
If it's harder than today...
I might die.
For a moment, I wanted to return the junior palace master's badge.