Part 50 - A Word With Legs
"Ah, you really shouldn't be giving us gifts like this."
"It's nothing. Everyone, have a pleasant day!"
The silk-clad young man waved to the special task agents at Wongakjeong's main gate and headed inside.
Every one of the agents wore a bright smile as they waved back.
Each of them had a small jar of liquor tucked under an arm.
"What's the matter? Why is everyone refusing the booze the captain's offering?"
The Sword of Stealing the Ghost handed the gifted liquor jar to a colleague.
"...Even if we're not drawing our swords right away, I figured we ought to at least stop them from rusting any further."
It was a remark no one could really make sense of, but the agent who ended up with an extra jar didn't seem to care.
***
The Medicine King was walking along Wongakjeong's forest path.
He'd only stopped in briefly—just long enough to share lunch with the people of Wongakjeong—before setting out again.
"Goodness, and who might this be? Isn't this Elder Medicine King?"
The silk-clad young man snapped into a deep bow. Caught off guard, the Medicine King returned the greeting.
"O-oh. Good to see you. But I'm in a bit of a hurry to—"
"Ah, in that case, I'll be sure to visit properly next time and pay my respects."
"So be it. Then."
"Yes. Elder Medicine King, please take care on your way."
After he'd walked quite a distance past the young man, the Medicine King muttered to himself.
"...Who was that, and how did he know me?"
***
"And who are you, loitering around Wongakjeong like this?!"
After the unknown old monks, now there was some dazed-looking young man hanging about as well. One of the twins, Il-ryeong, stepped forward to stop him.
"Freeze right there!"
Having seen Yeon Sang-hyeon furious last night, the sisters had been taking turns guarding the entrance to the forest path.
"Are you an intruder?!"
"State your identity!"
At a voice transmission, the other two—I-ryeong and Sam-ryeong—appeared in an instant and surrounded him.
Tall and slender, the silk-clad man looked nothing like a threat. When he saw the triplets, he broke into a radiant smile.
"So you're the maids assigned to Wongakjeong from the Steward's Office's Gap-Class Special Unit! It's a pleasure to meet you!"
"Huh? A pleasure to meet you?"
As Sam-ryeong reflexively greeted him back, I-ryeong jabbed her in the side and shouted.
"How do you know who we are?!"
The silk-clad man answered in flustered confusion.
"Huh? Aren't Gap-Class Special Unit trainees famous everywhere? They're known for being exceptional—even by the Steward's Office's standards—so who wouldn't recognize you?"
Their special training was classified, but their very existence wasn't a secret, so he wasn't exactly wrong.
"We're famous? Hehe."
Il-ryeong jabbed I-ryeong—who was puffing up proudly—and asked the silk-clad youth.
"...Did you come from the Steward's Office?"
The young man waved his hands quickly.
"Ah, no. I'm—"
Just then, Jeong-a approached, having grasped what the commotion was about.
"If a guest has arrived, you should be thinking about welcoming him inside. What is all this noise?"
At Jeong-a's low scolding, the triplets immediately shrank back.
Jeong-a shot them a single sharp look, then greeted the silk-clad man.
"Welcome to Wongakjeong. Might I ask where you—"
At that moment, the young man clapped his hands and pointed at Jeong-a.
"Ah! You must be the young lady who served as the receptionist—Ilhwa—and was also known by the name Ice Flower!"
Jeong-a nodded, looking less than thrilled.
"Yes... I believe I am the person you're referring to, but…"
The silk-clad young man bowed deeply to Jeong-a.
"I heard you became Wongakjeong's Head Maid. Congratulations!"
"Ah… yes. Thank you."
With exaggerated gestures, he looked around, then leaned in and spoke to Jeong-a in a lowered voice.
"So that's why the Second Young Master and Third Young Master couldn't keep their dignity. You truly are a peerless beauty."
Jeong-a's eyebrow twitched.
At the same time, the triplets shouted.
"You wretch! Are you making jokes at the Head Maid?!"
"That's a secret very few people know!"
"Let's bind him at once!"
As the triplet maids advanced with fire in their eyes, the silk-clad young man hurriedly waved his hands.
"N-no! I'm not suspicious! I'm Yeon Ha-eung, and I hold a lowly post in the main family!"
A moment later, the triplets cried out in unison.
"Yeon?!"
***
"You're a protocol adviser for the outer court?!"
Yeon Ha-eung's position—once he revealed his name—wasn't a "lowly post" at all. If anything, it was fairly high.
With an affable smile, he scratched the back of his head.
"It's nothing. Since I'm a direct-blood descendant from a collateral branch, it's only an honorary appointment—just an empty title I managed to snag."
"A direct-blood descendant?!"
"Uh… not sure if you'll recognize it, but the Kaifeng Yeon Family—"
"The Kaifeng Yeon Family?!"
The triplets' faces drained of color.
Yeon Sang-hyeon set a hand out dismissively, having already set down his teacup.
"Enough. He's right—an 'adviser' position is nothing but an honorary post. Besides, this one is just a loafer who shows his face at every single social gathering in Luoyang."
That was true.
"Exactly, exactly."
It was blunt, but Yeon Ha-eung merely went "Haha", and laughed like a harmless man.
"Anyway, Hyung-nim Sang-hyeon."
As he addressed him warmly, Yeon Sang-hyeon clicked his tongue.
"Why do you always call me Hyung-nim Sang-hyeon?"
Yeon Ha-eung smiled with easy familiarity.
"If I call you 'First Young Master', doesn't that sound cold? We're distant relatives, aren't we? So I call you Hyung-nim."
In his late twenties, Yeon Ha-eung always wandered about with a grin, as if he had no pride at all.
After listening to his stream of praise about Wongakjeong's tea leaves for a while, Yeon Sang-hyeon tapped the table with a finger.
"How about you get to the point?"
Yeon Sang-hyeon looked him in the eye.
"The fact you came all the way here means you picked up something again, doesn't it?"
Yeon Ha-eung clapped his hands.
"Speaking of which, Hyung-nim Sang-hyeon—have you set an appointment to meet the Fourth Young Master?"
Jeong-a's eyebrow twitched again.
The triplets' eyes narrowed.
Yeon Sang-hyeon had exchanged a letter with the Fourth Young Master through the Medicine King—just this morning.
So how did this suspicious man know?
Yeon Sang-hyeon raised a hand to the maids again.
"I told you not to mind it. That brat Bi must've gotten excited that I agreed to meet him and went boasting to the underlings again."
Bi was the Fourth Young Master's name.
"Yes, yes, that's right. His maids all looked busy to death."
Even if the Fourth Young Master had bragged to his people, it was still internal business within his camp.
So how did this man know it so well?
As the maids stared at Yeon Ha-eung with suspicion, Yeon Sang-hyeon let out a small sigh.
"Don't you know the saying, 'A word without legs travels a thousand li'? This one's nickname is 'A Word With Legs.' Some even call him a 'Legged Rumor'."
"Haha, Yugakpungmun. That is this humble one's sobriquet."
"Sobriquet, my foot."
Yeon Sang-hyeon shook his head at how proudly he said it.
"So."
Yeon Sang-hyeon asked again.
"What about my meeting with the Fourth Young Master worried you enough to come here?"
Yeon Ha-eung waved his hands.
"Worried? Not at all. This humble one is merely a younger brother who has always respected and followed Hyung-nim Sang-hyeon—"
Yeon Sang-hyeon cut him off.
"Are you worried I'll break my seclusion?"
"Break your seclusion?!"
Yeon Ha-eung yelped, startled.
"N-no—it's not that. It's just… Hyung-nim hates upheaval, yet you're planning to associate with the Fourth Young Master, who's right in the middle of a succession struggle. That's why I spoke up."
"My brother's affairs are none of your business."
Yeon Ha-eung nodded quickly.
"Of course. You're right. It wasn't my place. Hehe."
Then he hurriedly changed the subject.
"By the way, it seems the book broker from the merchant group you deal with was put through the wringer in the inner court again today."
"Is that so?"
That had happened barely a shijin ago—only a couple of hours.
He truly lived up to the name Legged Rumor.
"Hyung-nim Sang-hyeon, didn't I tell you? If you just put the bill in my name, I'll handle everything for you. Then those poor merchants won't have to suffer so much, will they?"
Yeon Sang-hyeon snorted.
"You're not worried about the merchants. You're worried my friction with the inner court will keep growing, aren't you?"
Yeon Ha-eung shook his head vigorously.
"Not at all! The inner court daring to have friction with Hyung-nim Sang-hyeon—can there be anything so blasphemous?"
"You've heard something else, then."
"...One of Elder Yeom's stewards was beaten to death by Elder Yeom last night. He seems to have flown into a rage."
"Is that so."
"And… did you perhaps go out into Luoyang's streets after dismissing your escort unit? It seems the commander in charge of your escort detail was finally replaced."
"And?"
Yeon Ha-eung bit his lip for a moment, then opened his mouth cautiously.
"It seems the Second Young Master and Third Young Master are extremely displeased… because of your Head Maid. A few maids who attended them in bed appear to have died."
He deliberately didn't look toward Jeong-a.
"I see."
At Yeon Sang-hyeon's calm reply, Yeon Ha-eung's face crumpled.
"Hyung-nim Sang-hyeon… why have you been so sharp-tempered lately?"
In an earnest tone, he pleaded with Yeon Sang-hyeon.
"Wasn't it you who always said we should be content with what we're given and enjoy life?"
With her Dragon Eyes, Jeong-a could feel the sincerity in Yeon Ha-eung's concern for the First Young Master.
Yeon Sang-hyeon looked at him.
"Not anymore."
"Then, Hyung-nim—from now on, at least—"
Yeon Ha-eung lifted his face with a dumbfounded expression.
"...Pardon?"
"I said I won't be satisfied with only what I'm given anymore."
Smiling, Yeon Sang-hyeon leaned back into his chair.
"So you, too, will cooperate with me from now on."
Yeon Ha-eung began trembling.
"Haha… what are you saying? This humble one doesn't understand at all—"
At Yeon Sang-hyeon's gesture, the triplets—reading the room—shot up from their seats.
"Now, now. Young Master, this way."
"From here on, we'll be starting a small project together."
"Have you ever heard of building an information network?"
As the triplets seized his arms, Yeon Ha-eung screamed.
P-please, spare me!"
"A Legged Rumor? The moment we heard it, we were impressed."
"You'll be a very useful Young Master."
"Hehe, you don't need to be so scared."
The triplets giggled as they dragged him away.
"Hyung-nim! Hyung-nim!"
Yeon Sang-hyeon waved at him.
"From now on, cooperate obediently with them. Nothing will happen to you."
Being hauled off, Yeon Ha-eung made a miserable face.
"...If it's Hyung-nim's words, then this humble one must follow."
In the end, he gave up and disappeared, dragged along by maids who barely reached half his height.
Jeong-a poured hot water into Yeon Sang-hyeon's teacup again and said.
"He was a strange one."
Yeon Sang-hyeon chuckled.
"He'll be very helpful."
He unfolded again the reply from the Fourth Young Master—received through the Medicine King.
A gentle smile formed at the corner of his mouth.
"That brat Bi… I can see how excited he is from here."
The Ruler Of Darkness — Book 3