The Ruler Of Darkness - Chapter 607



Only Noblemtl

Episode 607

Part 7: Three-way Encounter

“The weather has gotten a lot colder. I guess it’s fall.”

“… … .”

Despite the Archduke’s smile, the Chief Inspector General simply glared at him with a stiff expression.

“Your Highness.”

The foreigner had an embarrassed expression on his face and pretended not to know.

Beyond that, I couldn’t find the words to say.

And the chief of the department was looking at him with a glare.

It meant that he had informed the Archduke of this meeting.

“… … .”

As the head of the household shook his head, the head of the household looked away from him and gritted his teeth.

but.

Yeon So-hyeon smiled faintly, not paying attention to their exchange of glances.

“I don’t know what these old people are doing without even properly preparing for insulation.”

He is slow, leisurely.

He continued speaking, walking in their direction.

“If we continue to make noise outside like that for too long, I’ll hold a funeral for the two old men before our father gets up from his seat.”

“… … !”

As Yeon So-hyeon began to approach, it was an instinctive reaction for Hak-un-hyeong, the head of the household, to take a step back.

And almost.

Naewon General, who was on the verge of taking a step back like Oewonju Hakunhyeong, revealed this.

“There’s one thing I need to correct from what I said earlier, Your Highness.”

Yeon So-hyeon stood in front of the garden trees near them and asked over their shoulder.

“What is that?”

“I said that Grand Duke Yeon So-Hyeon was the same as I knew from the past….”

The chief of staff replied in a growl.

“I should correct that by saying that he has become so sly and cunning that I want to kill him.”

At the expression of wanting to kill, the head of the household, Hakunhyung, was surprised.

“…Commander-in-Chief!”

“Haha!”

He burst into a loud laugh and swung his hand, which was condensed with the energy that had become tangible.

“… … ?!”

The head of the household, Hakunhyung, flinched.

But Yeon So-hyeon’s hand was not aimed at them.

Kaka kakak…!

In an instant, a well-kept garden tree was torn to pieces.

“… … !”

The technique was so quick and clever that to the eyes of the head of the household and the chief of the household, it looked like nothing more than a single stroke.

“Archangel…!”

The chief of staff shouted at Yeon So-hyeon in a chilling tone.

“This is the innermost garden reserved exclusively for the head of the household! How dare you…!”

If it had been a normal opponent, I would have trembled and fallen to my knees just from the momentum.

But the opponent was Yeon So-hyeon.

“hmm…?”

He picked up a piece of wood the size of firewood and spoke nonchalantly.

“Father is lying comfortably in a warm room, so what could be the complaint?”

“Your Highness-!”

“-furthermore.”

Let Yeon So-hyeon use her internal power to cut off the chief of staff’s shouts.

Phew…!

spurt.

The piece of wood he was holding in his hand was making a strange sound, emitting steam, and drying up.

It was the moment when the freshly cut raw tree became completely dried firewood.

“… … !”

“… … !”

When the two were embarrassed by the completely new technique, Yeon So-hyeon smiled slyly and said.

“Besides, Father would have preferred to burn down a single tree in the garden for firewood rather than see his two most loyal retainers on the verge of death from a cold.”

And flames rose from the log.

It was the Samadhi True Fire (三昧眞火) that could be easily seen in this large family called the Luoyang Sword Family.

“… … !”

“… … !”

But the eyes of the head of the external circle, Hakunhyung, and the head of the internal circle grew wide once again.

This was because the Samadhi Evolution had already sprung up from the firewood that had been thrown on the ground.

“Okay, both of you, sit down.”

Yeon So-hyeon sat down comfortably on a piece of wood that was cut into a wide, chair-like shape, and extended her hand to the two people as if to invite them.

“… … .”

“… … .”

A small sigh escaped from their mouths as they checked behind him according to his gesture.

Before I knew it.

The same pieces of wood that Yeon So-hyeon sat on, to be exact.

I was there, behind them.

It could be assumed that it was something made up of empty space.

That too was a harmony beyond anything they had ever seen before.

“What are you doing?”

Yeon So-hyeon clicked her tongue as she threw the firewood into the fire without touching it.

“At your age, more than anything, you need to protect your knees.”

“… … .”

“… … .”

The head of the external circle, Hakunhyeong, and the head of the internal circle were unable to properly respond to Yeonseonhyeon’s joke, and instead sank deep into their hearts as they watched him.

‘The Archduke’s realm is….’

‘Have I really reached the same level as those supreme beings…!’

Through their excellent intelligence, they had heard reports that King Namgung Je of the Sword and Empress Hwangbo of the Imperial Family had acknowledged his realm.

“… … .”

“… … .”

But, right before my eyes like this.

It is amazing to see with one’s own eyes a glimpse of the incomprehensible realm displayed by a person who is not even close to a weakling.

It was enough to arouse another emotion in them.

“Haa… What are you guys doing?”

Yeon So-hyeon sighed as she looked at the two people still standing tall.

“If I roast some meat over a wood fire, will you come and sit around?”

* * *

“what…?”

Among the warriors guarding the innermost part of the residence of the head of the household, there were warriors directly under the Naewon (內院).

They were an organization created directly by the royal family when the power of the organization that was originally in charge of protecting the family was dispersed due to the protection of the Supreme Council.

and.

The captain of the guards, the leader of the guards, could not hide his embarrassment.

“Fireworks were observed in the direction of the lord’s garden…?”

“Yes…! It’s impossible to confirm for sure since there’s a restraining order in place, but probably. Reports came in from the scene that it was something like a wood fire…!”

“Wood fire…?”

Burning firewood in the garden of the Luoyang Sword Master.

That was ridiculous.

“Yes, what would you like to do…?!”

at that time.

Another bodyguard came running into the office.

“Just now, a direct order arrived from the Commander-in-Chief…!”

He shouted without even having time to catch his breath.

“As of now, and until further notice, all access to the garden is prohibited, ‘no matter what happens…!”

“The Director General of the Royal Household…?”

The captain of the guard who had been muttering like that suddenly stood up from his seat.

“Crazy. This can’t be done. I have to go and find out what’s going on with him myself…!”

At that moment, the royal guard who had brought the order from the commander-in-chief quickly stopped him.

“No…!”

“…what?”

When the bewildered chief looked at him, the bodyguard also could not hide his bewilderment and shouted urgently.

“This order came from the very garden of the master. And according to the order just now, the garden of the master is currently-!”

“-No matter what happens, you’re not allowed to enter, ha…!”

The captain of the guard slumped back down, clutched his head, and said:

“… Add additional warriors to the waiting position towards the garden. Double them…”

* * *

“… … .”

The commander of the inner court used the lantern that the head of the outer court, Hakunhyeong, had brought to send a signal to the guards directly under the inner court, and then returned to the bonfire.

He had issued an absolute restraining order, but still.

The gaze looking at Yeon So-hyeon sitting by the fire was so cold that it almost froze.

“I asked you earlier.”

Yeon So-hyeon smiled at the chief of the internal affairs department, then turned her head and spoke to Hak-un-hyeong, the head of the external affairs department.

“Even in this situation, why is the Chief of Staff avoiding me?”

today.

There were more questions that Oewonju Hakunhyung wanted to ask Yeonseonhyeon than ever before.

However, he decided that right now it was more important to match Yeon So-hyeon’s rhythm.

“… Yes.”

“That’s right….”

Yeon So-hyeon playfully replied, throwing more firewood into the bonfire.

“Director Naewon, that old man. He’s a narrow-minded bastard-.”

“-Trust.”

but.

Yeon So-hyeon’s joke was cut off by the commander himself, who approached the bonfire.

“Trust that has been broken can be rebuilt.”

He continued speaking, glaring at Yeon So-hyeon with deep-set eyes filled with wrinkles.

“Once it has collapsed, it can never return to its former perfect form.”

Oewonju Hakunhyeong looked at the two people and asked in a soft voice.

“…What happened?”

“Outer circle.”

Yeon So-hyeon opened her mouth while looking at the burning bonfire with a bitter smile on her face.

“Do you know about the Sword Family Golden Seal?”

“… Of course.”

It was such an easy question for the head of the Luoyang Sword Society that it made him question it.

“This is the family seal that symbolizes the head of the Luoyang Sword Family.”

Yeon So-hyeon’s questions continued.

“Then. That head of the household was once mine?”

It was such an easy question again.

“I know.”

“Then, that was the one that was passed down to me after my father collapsed?”

This time.

I was a little more careful with my answers.

“… That part was exposed by the former chairman of the Supreme Council, the elder of the Sword Lord Guan Gu Seon Wi.”

“then….”

Yeon So-hyeon looked straight at Hak-un-hyeong, the head of the household, across the bonfire and asked.

“Past. Do you know who gave me that seal?”

“…no way?!”

It was impossible for a person like Hakunhyung, who was as good as a foreigner, to not notice this at this point.

His gaze was directed at the old man, the chief of the Naewon, who was still standing there.

“Did the Chief of Staff deliver the seal of the household to the Grand Duke?”

The chief of staff didn’t have an answer, but Yeon So-hyeon slowly answered.

But he nodded definitely.

“exactly.”

Knock, knock.

The firewood that Yeon So-hyeon had dried using a mysterious method began to burn, steadily transferring warmth to the old man’s cold body.

but.

In that short conversation, Hak-Woon Hyung, the head of the household, realized what had happened in the past and felt bitterness all over his body.

“… the chief of staff.”

He asked in a broken voice.

“At that time. I gave the seal of the household head and asked the Grand Duke. As the Grand Duke of the family, as the successor personally acknowledged by the Supreme Head of the Family, I asked you to fulfill your role as the acting head of the household, right?”

“exactly.”

Yeon So-hyeon’s voice was calm.

However, Wonju Hakunhyung could feel the heavy emotion buried deep within that calm voice.

“But, His Highness would have refused.”

“That’s right. If I had made a move at that time, this family would have split into several factions and immediately entered a state of civil war.”

“Was there any such threat from the emergency meeting?”

“There was.”

“but….”

The eyes of the head of the external circle, Hak-un-hyeong, glanced at the head of the internal circle, who was still standing silently.

“Given his temperament and personality, the Chief of Staff would never have accepted the Archduke’s choice.”

“Well, of course it was.”

Yeon So-hyeon laughed heartily, shaking her shoulders.

“At that time, he shouted to me, “Even if more than half of this family dies and more than half burns down, I must absolutely cut all the rebels to pieces. But…”

Yeon So-hyeon’s eyes suddenly became sad.

“I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t bear to see everything my father and mother had cared for and loved die and burn.”

Oewonju Hakunhyeong leaned forward and looked at Yeonseohyun with a pitiful gaze.

“Your Highness… .”

But then.

“no.”

A person who had kept his mouth shut until then.

The chief of staff stepped forward and opened his mouth as if he could no longer listen.

“Other people would all accept that reason and move on. Some would even sympathize. But I…!”

He supported himself with one hand on his cane and raised the other, pointing at himself and shouting.

“Not this old man, Your Highness…!”

His voice towards Yeon So-hyeon grew louder.

“Your Highness, you possess extraordinary abilities that cannot be compared to those of us old people…! I have seen those abilities clearly since you were young…!”

The voice of the old loyal subject sounded like it was being torn apart.

“If it were you, you could have done it…! You could have done it…! If it were you, who moved behind the scenes and caused a bloody war without anyone knowing when you were young…! You could have killed and punished all those villains with minimal damage…! But…!”

Ugh, ugh.

How long has it been since the Director-General of the National Intelligence Service showed his emotions like this?

The head of the household, Hakunhyung, looked at him with blank eyes.

“But you didn’t… .”

The chief of staff spoke to Yeon So-hyeon in a hoarse voice.

“Your Highness, you have broken my trust.”

“… … .”

for a moment.

Yeon So-hyeon, with her mouth shut, looked up at the sky.

While they were talking.

The night sky was covered with thick, dark clouds, and not even the moonlight could be seen, let alone the stars.

“…so.”

A bitter voice came out of Yeon So-hyeon’s mouth.

“Why don’t I come back now…?”

“Didn’t I tell you, Your Highness…?!”

The chief of staff immediately waved his hand.

“Trust once broken will never be broken again-!”

“-yes.”

Yeon So-hyeon cut off the chief of staff’s speech.

“That is the original sin of this Yeonseonhyeon.”

And at the same time he took out a white object from his bosom.

The head of the external affairs department, Hakunhyung, and the head of the internal affairs department were able to immediately recognize the object.

“Archangel…?!”

“That mask…?!”

Yeon So-hyeon smiled bitterly as he showed them the white mask that symbolized the Dark Heavenly Lord under the black sky.

“And this is my atonement.”