Chapter 41
The Youngest Son of the Eunhae Trading Company Chapter 41
Chapter 41. The Jaegal Family (3)
I couldn't tell him that I had seen it in the future, so I made up a story.
“I'm a bit of a genius, you see.”
“Are you sure you won't tell anyone?”
“Of course. I don't want to get involved in any trouble.”
“That's good. I won't have to go to any trouble.”
I smiled bitterly.
The image of the childish Miss from a moment ago was nowhere to be found.
The Jaegal Clan's Miss Yu was now closer to the image of the woman I knew.
Sharp yet polite...
Was this Miss who played the role of a brainless madwoman?
When I realized that, I suddenly felt a chill.
“By the way, why are you doing this? Is it for your family? Or is it for your own survival?”
“If it were simply for my survival, I wouldn't bother with such a troublesome thing. I could just pretend to be dead.”
“It's for your family.”
Suddenly, I remembered the harsh words I had said to her earlier.
Ah...
I was overcome with guilt. It wasn't her who should apologize, but me.
I quickly clasped my hands together and apologized to her.
“Please forgive me for my rudeness earlier when I said you would destroy your family.”
“There's no need. At that time, it was natural for me to say that. I should be the one apologizing.”
“What?”
“I picked a fight for no reason. When all eyes are on you, causing a commotion is the most effective tactic.”
She smiled brightly.
“In fact, after hearing Mister's words, I am even more determined to save my family. To be honest, I was a little tired.”
I was stunned by her smile.
She was a woman who could smile like that...
I asked Miss Jegal Yu-ah.
“But why did you come all the way here to duel with me?”
“Actually, I have something official that requires me to stay indoors. My grandfather said that even if I broke my arm, it would be fine, so there would be no harm to Mister.”
I immediately understood her answer.
With a broken arm, she would have to stay indoors, but at the training ground, someone might stop her before she could do that.
That was why she had come to this deserted place.
“Please forgive me for trying to use Mister Gong.”
“It's fine.”
“Next time you see me, please pretend you didn't see me or ignore me.”
“I understand.”
“And thank you for coming here alone.”
So she revealed her true feelings to me because she thought I was alone.
But that's not true.
There's a shield over there...
It was strange that I could see her hiding, but I couldn't sense her presence at all.
Was she like that in her previous life?
I didn't think it was necessary to mention the shield, so I kept my mouth shut.
Then she held out her left arm.
“Then may I ask you for one more favor?”
I sighed and asked.
“Can I really break it?”
* * *
It was morning.
After eating breakfast and resting for a while, I was summoned by Chief Administrator Yu and headed to the residence of the Grand Minister.
Fortunately, this time we were able to reach the Grand Minister's residence without any interference.
The Grand Minister was staying in a separate building, but it was not what I had imagined.
Do ordinary separate buildings have such large pavilions, ponds, and gardens?
“Hahaha! I've been waiting for you.”
“Thank you for inviting me to such an honorable place.”
Chief Administrator Yoo seemed to have adjusted to the scale of the Jegal Family and bowed calmly.
I followed suit and bowed as well.
“You have prepared a nice place. Come this way.”
Chief Administrator Yu and I followed the Clan Head, and we sat down at a table set up in a pavilion with a good view of the pond and garden.
“First, I must apologize to you.”
The Clan Head looked at me and said, and I had a guess as to why.
“I heard that Yoo-ah went to see you last night and asked for a duel. I didn't think he would actually go, but he did.”
“I think I should be the one apologizing.”
“Ah... Are you talking about Yoo-ah's broken arm?”
“I'm very sorry.”
“I was the one who told him to break his arm. You have nothing to apologize for.”
“I am truly sorry.”
I apologized to the Clan Head, but in truth, I had no reason to apologize.
No matter what I did, how could I have broken Miss Yu's arm?
“It's fine. I'm sorry. Let's not talk about that anymore... Do you like the scenery here?”
“It's a very charming place.”
The Clan Head smiled at Chief Administrator Yu's words.
“I really like this place. What do you think? Would you like to compose a poem about your impressions of this place?”
“My skills are poor, but I'll give it a try.”
Chief Administrator Yu thought for a moment, then opened his mouth and recited a poem.
The Clan Head and I closed our eyes and savored the verses.
“Thank you for listening to my poor poem.”
“What are you saying? I actually love poetry, so I invite many guests here to recite their poems. And among them, yours is by far the best.”
The Taesangga showered Chief Administrator Yoo with praise.
His eyes were completely captivated by him.
I could believe they were soulmates.
The Grand Chief Administrator and Chief Administrator Yu exchanged poems, and before they knew it, they were in agreement.
“You! Where have you been all this time?”
“I am the one who should be apologizing. Meeting you today is like a refreshing rain in my dry life.”
But the problem was me.
I didn't really like poetry.
I was forced to be listed as a co-author in Chief Administrator Yu's poetry collection.
Because of that, I was invited here to talk about poetry with them, and I felt like my face was going to cramp up.
I'm going crazy.
Meanwhile, the teapot was empty, and the maid brought more tea.
Then, dried jujubes were served with the tea.
The Clan Head poured the tea himself and drank from the cup.
“The tea is different.”
The Clan Head smiled and replied to my comment.
“I don't like drinking the same kind of tea, so I like to change it often.”
“I see. Is this tea called Bae Jung-myeong?”
“Oh! You know it well. Are you knowledgeable about tea?”
“I learned a little from the Trading Company.”
“Still, it's impressive that you can tell the type of tea just by tasting it.”
“Thank you.”
“By the way, that poem...”
Then the topic changed to poetry again, and the two began to immerse themselves in their own world.
Excuse me?
It's already been over an hour.
By the way, this is the first time I've seen Chief Administrator Yu so happy.
What...
Why did a person who could smile like that live such a life?
Suddenly, my mouth felt bitter.
As I listened to the two of them talk and slowly savored the tea, the teapot was empty before I knew it.
When the maid brought more tea, the Grand Master looked at me with interest.
“Would you like to try guessing the name of the tea again, young Mister?”
“I'll give it a try.”
I politely accepted the teacup poured by the Grand Master and took a sip.
This was also a tea I knew.
“This is Green Beauty.”
The Grand Master smiled happily at my answer.
“That's correct. Actually, these are all my favorite teas.”
“Thank you for treating us to such teas.”
“You are my dear friends, so it is only natural.”
The Taesangga's eyes were filled with love as he looked at Chief Administrator Yoo.
Is it really that good?
Perhaps because of the Jaegal Clan's tradition of valuing knowledge, or perhaps because of his own hobby, the Taesangga greatly enjoyed poetry.
Even though he was the head of the martial arts clan, he was quite knowledgeable about poetry.
Therefore, he had many connections not only with martial artists but also with scholars.
If he spoke so highly of Chief Administrator Yu, his reputation among scholars would increase.
And the Jaegal Clan would become a powerful backing for Chief Administrator Yu.
However, that would only be possible if the Taesangga remained alive.
For some reason, my mouth felt dry, so I ate a dried jujube.
The sweetness lingered in my mouth.
As expected, eating something sweet made me feel better.
I reached for another jujube. At that moment, I couldn't help but stop.
Wait, jujube?
Something bothered me.
In the future I experienced, there was an incident related to jujube...
At that moment, I remembered the names of the teas I had drunk.
Baejungmyeongwol.
Nokmiin.
And the first one I drank, Hwajo Cheong-eum.
I bit my lip slightly.
Was the Grand Prince poisoned?
In the future I experienced, about fifteen years from now.
An incident that shook the world occurred.
The death of the empress.
She was about to be buried as a mere soldier, but the emperor, who loved the empress so much, could not let it go.
He ordered that there be no suspicion surrounding her death.
Perhaps it was because he couldn't let her go just like that.
However, that regret led to an unexpected discovery.
The cause of the empress's death was poisoning.
Hwangjo Cheong-eum, Bae Jung-myeong, and Nokmi-in.
Poison was mixed into these three teas, but when they were mixed together, the poison did not appear.
This was because they were perfectly balanced.
However, when the balance is broken, something goes wrong.
The poison in the jujube is what breaks that balance.
When eaten separately, they were just delicious tea and delicious jujubes.
However, the problem was that they were consumed in order over the course of a day.
Even if consumed for a day or two, there would be no noticeable effect.
It takes at least a year of consistent consumption for symptoms to begin to appear.
That is why even the physicians were unable to determine that it was poison.
They suffer slowly and eventually die.
Naturally, the cause of death is listed as illness.
The name of this poison is Mugaksu (無覺藪).
Like its name, which means “a swamp that one does not realize they are sinking into,” it is a terrifying quadruple poison that slowly drags people to death over time.
No one knows who created this poison, but it can be said that it was the work of a genius.
Shouldn't that talent have been used for something better instead of this?
So this poison started being used at that time.
What should we do?
I looked at the face of the Clan Head.
Judging from his complexion, he does not seem to be severely poisoned yet, and considering when he died, it should not be impossible to find an antidote.
After this poison became known to the world, physicians discovered an antidote.
I also know the antidote.
Most merchants are honest, but there are also many who use underhanded tactics.
Therefore, I had to always be careful not to fall victim to the tricks of my opponents, and I had to master the antidote as well.
The Chief Administrator will be very sad when the Grand Master dies.
He finally found a kindred spirit.
He may die of grief, and then my father will be sad too.
I sighed.
No matter what, I couldn't just pretend not to see someone dying right in front of me.
To be honest, I had hesitated a little before coming here.
The Jaegal Clan had been in charge of the Martial Alliance's military for generations, so I didn't think it would be easy to have a good relationship with them.
However, there was something that didn't sit right with me.
Even when the Jaegal Clan collapsed, and even after it collapsed, the Martial Alliance only offered formal condolences.
They did not actively help or clean up the mess.
That was why I came here, to see for myself and make my own judgment.
Who could it be?
Who would do such a thing...
Could it be that Miss Jaegal Yu-ah already noticed these movements and is pretending to be ignorant?
That was highly likely.
At that moment, a maid announced that lunch was ready.
This was my chance.
“Where did you get this tea?”
“Why do you ask?”
Hiding my true intentions, I replied,
“It has a very deep aroma. So I was curious to see how it was made and learn from it.”
“Hahaha! You are young and enthusiastic!”
“I am sorry.”
“Not at all. It is commendable to want to learn from something excellent.”
He smiled and continued.
“It's no big secret, so I'll let you see how it's done.”
“Thank you very much.”
“We'll do that later. Let's eat first.”
After the meal, we planned to continue exchanging poems.
However, things did not go as planned.
“We have uninvited guests.”