"Have you ever been to the Imperial Palace?"
"How could I have such fortune?"
"Right. Ordinary people usually live their entire lives without even stepping on the threshold of the Imperial Palace."
"Have you been to the Imperial Palace, Divine Beggar?"
"Mm."
Guwangqushen said with a forlorn expression.
"I went."
"What was the Imperial Palace like?"
"I don't know."
"Pardon?"
Sagan looked at Guwangqushen with a confused expression. He had clearly answered that he'd been to the Imperial Palace, yet now he said he didn't know what it was like. What did this mean?
Others might be bewildered by such a nerve-wracking place as the Imperial Palace, but for Guwangqushen, a member of the Beggar's Sect who made his living through information, it was impossible that he wouldn't properly remember the information and impressions of a place he had visited.
"The impression I received was… well, damp and humid, tense… and stiff."
"What are you talking about?"
"Want to know?"
Guwangqushen said forlornly.
"No, you'll find out. You need to know. Since this is also something Wei Yan-ho caused, you need to know."
Sagan began to feel uneasy for some reason.
"What on earth happened at the Imperial Palace?"
"Well…"
Guwangqushen scratched his head vigorously.
"It was really unexpected."
"Yes."
"Wei Yan-ho didn't cause any trouble and stayed put."
"Oh?"
"It was a perfect match. If it were others, being told to spend seven days and nights just in a room would make them restless enough to cause trouble, but for Wei Yan-ho, spending seven days and nights in a room was easier than lying down to eat porridge and pick his teeth."
"That would be the case."
"Instead, I heard later that Wei Yan-ho was absolutely thrilled."
"Thrilled?"
"Actually, since that guy emerged in the martial world and got caught by Wei Jeong-han the Great Hero, he hasn't been able to rest properly. He had some rest at the level we think of, but where would that guy be satisfied with such things? He's the type who would say he's still tired even after sleeping for two straight months."
Sagan nodded vigorously.
"So what would it be like to tell such a guy to lie in bed, not go outside, and quietly receive his meals?"
"…It would be good."
"Right. It was absolute heaven, he said, heaven."
Guwangqushen twisted his face.
"But I should have known."
"Known what?"
"Fortune and misfortune originally come together."
"…"
"Especially in Wei Yan-ho's case. Isn't he the guy who brings disasters wherever he goes? Still… well, I didn't know. I really didn't know. I really had no idea it would turn out like that."
"I don't understand what you're saying, Divine Beggar."
"Usually Wei Yan-ho does things that others don't do."
"That's right."
"I thought that was still done within certain limits."
"…"
"It wasn't just me. Everyone thought so. Otherwise, we would have run away immediately. But everyone thought in a corner of their minds, 'That guy seems completely insane, but maybe when you look closely, he might be a little less insane.'"
Sagan's face turned pale.
"That was wrong. He wasn't just an insane guy—he was a completely insane guy."
"…"
"Not knowing that was everyone's mistake, everyone's."
Guwangqushen shook his head back and forth.
***
"You've returned!"
Lee Wang-ya stared blankly at the many people waiting at the main gate.
"Why is everyone outside?"
"In case something happened…"
"Good grief."
Lee Wang-ya was about to say something, but the questions came faster.
"Where is Yan-ho? Don't tell me he's already locked in the Thunder Prison?"
"Thunder Prison! Yan-ho is currently waiting in the Imperial Palace's guest reception hall for his moment to meet His Majesty. Meeting His Majesty is not such an easy matter. No one knows how long it might take."
"Ah… that's a relief."
"But why are all your outfits like that? What's with those bundles?"
Wei Jeong-han glanced at Lee Wang-ya and opened his mouth.
"It's still fine. Put the luggage away."
As soon as the words fell, those who had been outside shouldered their bundles and went inside.
"Heh heh heh…"
Lee Wang-ya, who realized that those bundles were packed in case they needed to flee if something went wrong, let out a hollow laugh.
"They say martial people live by loyalty, but that saying seems wrong too. Here their comrade might be in danger, yet they're trying to save themselves and slip away."
At those words, which contained a slight hint of contempt, Wei Jeong-han shook his head.
"That's not the case, Your Highness."
"What's not the case? Are you going to deny what I saw with my own eyes?"
"If they were alone, they would never have packed their bags. But if they become entangled with Yan-ho here and incur the Imperial Family's wrath, the damage would also return to their own sects."
"Hmm…"
Wei Jeong-han smiled gently.
"Loyalty is important, but it's not something that should be maintained while causing harm to unrelated sects and disciples."
"You're called the Righteous Hero Sword, aren't you?"
"Yes, Your Highness."
"Are you certain that if they had no affiliations, they would have remained here for your son?"
"Of course."
"You see people too easily."
Lee Wang-ya looked at the Righteous Hero Sword with somewhat pitying eyes.
"Humans move for profit. You may be intoxicated with the romance of the world called the martial world, but the martial world is also a place where people live. When they think only harm will come to them, humans coldly draw the line. If you live intoxicated with such fantasies, someday you'll face a big mishap."
"With all due respect, Your Highness."
Wei Jeong-han smiled bitterly.
"I've already experienced to the bone that the martial world is not a place to find romance."
Lee Wang-ya quietly observed Wei Jeong-han, then showed an interesting expression. There was a slight tinge of regret in Wei Jeong-han's tone. Such regret was not something that could be feigned by someone who hadn't experienced deep despair.
'I thought he was a fool…'
It seemed the title Righteous Hero Sword wasn't given for nothing. Well, where in the martial world would you find someone without a story?
Lee Wang-ya felt curiosity arising toward Wei Jeong-han as a person. Not as Wei Yan-ho's father, but as Wei Jeong-han the martial artist, the Righteous Hero Sword.
"Even knowing all that, you believe they would naturally act that way?"
"That's right."
"Don't you think that's foolish?"
Wei Jeong-han smiled gently.
"Of course."
"Foolish?"
"Yes."
"Heh heh heh heh heh."
Lee Wang-ya burst into hearty laughter.
"Are you saying that knowingly performing foolishness is chivalry?"
"It's not chivalry."
"Then?"
"That's called righteousness."
Lee Wang-ya looked at Wei Jeong-han with sharp eyes.
"Following righteousness?"
"Before a blade is held to one's throat, there is no righteousness, no reason. Discussing loyalty with those who have endured long wars is an empty and absurd thing."
"You know well."
"That's precisely why righteousness is more necessary."
"What do you mean by that?"
"Because I have seen it. Those terrible times. If someone has lived through an era when tripping a comrade beside you to throw them under the enemy's spears and blades to save yourself was natural, they come to know how much that absurdly empty thing called loyalty makes people human."
"So…"
Lee Wang-ya nodded.
"If it were naturally so, it would have no value worth pursuing. It has value because it's difficult to maintain. If I first practice righteousness and reason, someone will follow it, and thus the world progresses little by little. If I don't believe in others' loyalty, how can I speak of loyalty to others?"
'Wise words.'
Bitter. But correct.
It sounds like the idealism of a desk scholar, yet strangely experience and regret are soaked into it.
'He's worthy of high position.'
Indeed, the magnificent title Righteous Hero Sword wasn't given for nothing.
"I'm learning greatly today."
Lee Wang-ya nodded deeply.
In the past, when looking at Wei Yan-ho, he had thought he'd definitely like to see who the father of such a monster-like fellow was, but now Lee Wang-ya was admiring Wei Jeong-han in a completely different sense than before.
'With such a father, he could raise Wei Yan-ho.'
The direction was different, but Wei Yan-ho was definitely an extraordinary person. Most parents wouldn't be able to handle such a child. Yet seeing him still dragging Wei Yan-ho around, this man's caliber was apparent.
"Don't you resent me?"
"Why should I resent you?"
"My bringing Wei Yan-ho to His Majesty might bring great misfortune to you."
Wei Jeong-han smiled gently.
"How could someone who believes in others' loyalty not believe in his own child's righteousness? I don't believe Yan-ho is that kind of child. If he receives great rewards, I'll buy you a drink."
"Indeed, Wei Yan-ho's father…"
As Lee Wang-ya was speaking, his eyes narrowed strangely. He had discovered a bundle placed at Wei Jeong-han's feet.
"You?"
Following Lee Wang-ya's gaze down to confirm his own bundle, Wei Jeong-han quietly pushed it aside and smiled awkwardly.
"Whose is this here… Heh heh."
"…"
When Lee Wang-ya looked at him with sullen eyes, Wei Jeong-han grew serious.
"Your Highness."
Wei Jeong-han spoke in an utterly serious tone.
"Do you know what one lesson I gained from surviving that long war?"
"What?"
"It's simple. Those who should live must live. If you get uselessly involved and die together, that's also a loss…"
"Damn it, you rascal!"
Lee Wang-ya threw the pipe in his hand at Wei Jeong-han. Wei Jeong-han deftly dodged Lee Wang-ya's pipe and smiled.
"Isn't that how all people live?"
"Now I truly understand what 'like father, like son' means. Go inside and rest."
"The conversation isn't finished yet."
Lee Wang-ya turned his head with a stern face.
His voice had changed from before. Wei Jeong-han was now looking at Lee Wang-ya with a stern face.
"Being born a man and dedicating oneself to the country is natural, but my child is still young. He's not a man yet—he's a martial artist."
"…What do you want to say?"
"You're taking and using a child who isn't even mature yet as you please according to your needs. Even if you're confident it's for a great cause, not just anyone can be sacrificed for a great cause."
Lee Wang-ya's face hardened slightly.
Right now, Wei Jeong-han was poking at his sore spot.
"I'm someone who thinks loyalty to the country is necessary for a man. However…"
Wei Jeong-han's eyes gleamed coldly.
"The moment my child is sacrificed in the name of the country, I will no longer wish to be a man."
Lee Wang-ya looked at Wei Jeong-han without saying anything.
"…What should I say to you?"
"Words are unnecessary."
Wei Jeong-han returned to his gently smiling expression and turned around.
"When that moment comes, I won't need to have conversations with Your Highness anymore."
Watching Wei Jeong-han enter the house, Lee Wang-ya let out a sigh.
"Righteous Hero Sword…"
It's laughable.
That man wasn't someone who should be called the Righteous Hero Sword.
'He's more like a demon.'
Lee Wang-ya shook his head and moved toward the house. Just as Lee Wang-ya was about to cross the main gate, he turned his head to look toward the Imperial Palace.
After looking at the Imperial Palace silently for a long while, Lee Wang-ya shook his head and walked inside the gate.