The Ruler of Darkness

Book 8: Chapter 14

Luoyang Sword House. Residence of the Third and Fourth Young Ladies.

“The Lee family was destroyed…?”

The clothes fell from the hands of the Third Young Lady, Yeon Da-eun.

“…By my eldest brother?”

She had been excitedly choosing an outfit, thrilled at the thought of meeting her eldest brother.

“They weren’t all killed off, but…”

The head butler of the residence spoke in a calm tone.

“The Lee family no longer exists in this Luoyang.”

“…….”

“Sister! According to the report just now…!”

At that moment, the door burst open and the Fourth Young Lady, Yeon Da-hye, entered.

In her hand was a brief report received from the Luoyang Sword House’s intelligence department.

“…Judging by your expression, you’ve already heard.”

The Third Young Lady slowly nodded.

“…The gist of it.”

She began reading the brief report handed to her by the Fourth Young Lady.

Though it was just a single page, her gaze slowed as she read further down the report.

“…The Lee family head is missing. Possibly eliminated by the Eldest Young Master.”

The Third Young Lady, Yeon Da-eun, bit her lip.

“The Gong family is behind the disappearance of the Lee family’s current officials. It’s understood they are openly abducting and detaining the officials.”

The report contained such heavy content that it was hard to believe it was just a single page of paper.

“If the Gong family’s goal is to spread shock and fear, it’s expected that the tortured bodies of officials will be found throughout Luoyang in the future.”

She read the last line of the brief report.

“This conflict is predicted to intensify further in the future….”

The Fourth Young Lady, Yeon Da-hye, slowly approached and put her hand on the Third Young Lady Yeon Da-eun’s shoulder.

“Sister….”

This massive family was entangled with the rough, dark desires of countless people, as vast as its size.

That darkness was so deep that it didn’t easily allow even siblings to meet.

‘Of all times for the head of the business support unit to be away…’

The head butler of the residence, who had served their deceased mother and now served them, inwardly swallowed a sigh and spoke.

“…Young Ladies. This is exactly why I strongly advised against this meeting.”

He didn’t avoid the gaze of the two who were like his own children.

“Right now, you are about to step onto a battlefield of a scale you’ve never experienced before.”

He suppressed his emotions and didn’t hold back his advice.

“Since Lady Ha passed away, the Ha family’s influence in the Sword House has become insignificant. But still, many people in and outside the residence, starting with this old man, serve you two as their masters.”

At those words, the Third and Fourth Young Ladies gritted their teeth.

Until now, even when some of the Sword House’s business support unit they belonged to lined up behind the Second Young Master.

They had thought it was just an extension of the political struggles they had always seen within the family.

But today.

In just half a day, a powerful Luoyang family that had been building its power since the previous dynasty was destroyed.

And they were told this was just the beginning.

“I understand well that you expect familial affection from the Eldest Young Master, but there’s also a strong possibility that the Second Young Master’s side might ‘misunderstand’ if you two meet with the Eldest Young Master.”

The old head butler finished saying what he had to say for the sake of the two.

“I hope you also haven’t forgotten that you are responsible for all those who follow you.”

His words ended, but neither the Third nor the Fourth Young Lady spoke.

A heavy atmosphere, ill-fitting with the bright room decorated to reflect the young ladies’ tastes, pressed down on them.

“…Head butler. Please give us a moment.”

“Of course.”

He went out into the hallway and closed the door.

The head butler stood his ground in the empty hallway, quietly looking down, maintaining a consistently respectful attitude.

After time passed rather slowly.

The door opened.

“Sister.”

The Fourth Young Lady, Yeon Da-hye, tightly held her twin sister’s hand and nodded to her.

“Head butler.”

“Yes, Young Lady.”

The Third Young Lady, Yeon Da-eun, continued speaking to the head butler.

“Your advice was very helpful.”

“We have made our decision.”

The Fourth Young Lady took over.

“We will meet our eldest brother.”

“But it’s not just to feel familial affection.”

“We are going to meet Young Master Yeon So-hyeon.”

At those words, the head butler’s eyes widened.

“You mean…?”

They voiced the reasoning behind their carefully considered decision.

“We are not pleased with the current state of this family. This family is clearly going in the wrong direction right now.”

The name of the world’s greatest family only served to showcase the wealth and power of the Luoyang Sword House.

This twisted and rotten family was getting worse by the day.

“If the Second or Third Young Master becomes the family head, this family will become even more terrible than it is now.”

“Perhaps those two wouldn’t hesitate to push the entire family into civil war in the process.”

“The family might even fall because of it.”

“Until now, we’ve kept retreating, one step after another, making various excuses.”

They nodded simultaneously with firm resolve.

“We will no longer quietly wait for this family to change.”

“Now we will move to change this family ourselves.”

Though their power and influence within the Luoyang Sword House was weak, their determination was firm.

“For that purpose, we will meet our eldest brother – Young Master Yeon So-hyeon.”

“We will meet Young Master Yeon So-hyeon and confirm his will and goals.”

“And if he wants the same kind of Sword House that we do.”

“We will join hands with him and lend our strength.”

The head butler looked at the twin sisters as if he was seeing something dazzling.

The 14-year-old children who had seemed like mere girls until just moments ago were no longer there.

“Our eldest brother is still standing up and fighting on his own even after all those long years.”

Yeon So-hyeon breaking his seclusion and moving strongly enough to clash with the Second Young Master had ultimately had a big impact on them as well.

“Now we will move too.”

“This is our will.”

Like butterflies shedding their cocoons, these two were reborn in this moment.

The head butler knelt on one knee before them.

“I receive my masters’ orders.”

With respect and reverence.

His form of address for the Third and Fourth Young Ladies changed from “Young Ladies” to “Masters.”

They now knew their responsibilities, understood the weight of them, had decided where to go, and had the will to point in that direction.

The qualities as rulers they had held for a long time were beginning to awaken.

“If the masters desire something, it is the duty of us servants to fulfill it even if we must throw away our lives like blades of grass.”

The twin masters smiled at him.

“Now then, please choose outfits for us that won’t shame the Ha family.”

He laughed heartily.

“Of course.”

As he picked out various outfits, he spoke to them in a subtle tone.

“This old servant has heard some news about the Eldest Young Master.”

“News about our eldest brother?”

“What is it? What is it?”

The infinitely loyal and equally capable head butler had his own information network within the Luoyang Sword House.

It was thanks to the power of this network that he had already grasped the outline of the information around the time the Fourth Young Lady received the brief report from the intelligence department.

“I’m not sure how reliable the information is, but from what I hear.”

He said with a smile.

“The Eldest Young Master you’ve been longing to meet might soon be visiting the Sword House.”

***

Luoyang Sword House’s Special Grade Closed Training Ground.

The Guard Commander who had been in charge of the Eldest Young Master’s protection last night was reporting to his direct superior, the Guard Chief.

After hearing the full report, the Guard Chief asked him again.

“Are you absolutely certain about what you saw?”

Her eyelids trembled slightly.

“Yes, I’ve double-checked several times. It’s certain.”

He answered with conviction.

“The true form that the Eldest Young Master displayed last night was undoubtedly the true form of the Former Family Head.”

He was the same Guard Commander who had been staring, as if entranced, at the traces of that true form Yeon So-hyeon had left in the temporary command tent in the Valley of Sin last night.

“…Yeon So-hyeon. Not only has that child hidden his martial arts until now.”

The Guard Chief, who was Yeon So-hyeon’s aunt and the Former Family Head’s older sister, raised her hand to hide her astonished expression.

“You say he has mastered that ‘monster’s’ unique martial arts…?”

Her words, referring to the Former Family Head, her own younger brother, as a monster, were filled with a deep awe towards the incomprehensible, creating a great distance.

“Hahaha!”

The one who burst into hearty laughter beside her was none other than the Second Young Lady, Yeon Seo-rin, known as the Thousand Clothes Unbound.

“That’s just like him. To think he’s mastered father’s sword that no one else has even dared to attempt until now!”

Her teacher and aunt, the Guard Chief, turned around upon hearing those words.

“You knew that child had the talent to handle internal energy?!”

Despite her teacher’s thunderous shout, Yeon Seo-rin nonchalantly shrugged her shoulders.

“Didn’t you know, teacher? I thought everyone knew.”

Her teacher’s gaze sharpened at her glib words.

“What did you say?!”

Yeon Seo-rin scratched her head.

“Talent for internal energy? Aptitude for martial arts? Isn’t that something everyone can see just by ‘taking a glance’?”

What kind of world does this once-in-a-generation genius, known as the Thousand Clothes Unbound, see?

At those words, both the Guard Chief and the Guard Commander felt momentarily speechless.

“…….”

Yeon Seo-rin, who had been living as if she knew nothing but martial arts until now, once again nonchalantly passed over revealing what she knew to those around her.

“…Yeon Seo-rin.”

There was no way Yeon Seo-rin couldn’t read the emotion in her teacher’s eyes.

“Wow! If So-hyeon has mastered father’s sword, I guess I won’t have time to rest either!”

In her heart, she was thinking something else.

‘So-hyeon, spread your wings wide. Then even fools who can’t understand things of a different class won’t be able to miss your wings covering heaven and earth.’

Yeon Seo-rin relaxed her shoulders and turned back towards the training ground.

“…….”

The Guard Chief’s face trembled slightly as she looked up at the distant sky, recalling the image of her younger brother, the Former Family Head.

‘That monster’s eldest son has finally….’

Was it jealousy, hatred, regret, or pain contained in that expression?

‘Is he trying to block my path just like his father…!’

She shifted her gaze to Yeon Seo-rin’s retreating back.

‘This time, I will definitely win! My disciple will become the best in the Sword House, in this Central Plains!’

***

Valley of Sin.

Young Master – Fourth Young Master Joint Business Headquarters.

Fourth Young Master Yeon Bi’s office.

“The Lee family has been exterminated?”

There was a boy bursting into laughter so strange it was almost eerie.

Old Lady Gwak, leaning on a cane and the Fourth Young Master’s closest aide, corrected his words with a wry expression.

“Not quite exterminated, but the family has disappeared…”

Fourth Young Master Yeon Bi paid no attention to such words.

“Stupid fools! Dull-witted idiots!”

It seemed like he wasn’t even listening.

“This Luoyang is teeming with foolish people! Showing their teeth without recognizing the true master of this city and our main house who will become the eldest brother!”

He shouted, holding up high the Crescent Moon Pavilion’s report detailing the Lee family’s destruction process.

It was a proud record of victory filled with blood and death.

“This is our war, and this is the power of the lord we follow!”

The close aides gathered there, except for those dispatched on missions, bowed their heads.

“The Cheong family and the Gong family are charging ahead like this, we can’t fall behind!”

He slammed his fist on the desk.

“Tell everyone to approach their assigned tasks with the determination to bury their bones in them!”

Only thirteen years old.

The force and killing intent emanating from this small boy were so strong it was hard to believe.

“We can’t be pushed back by those who suddenly rolled in!”

The boy’s loud voice echoed throughout the office.

“Those of us who carry the blood of Sichuan must be the ones standing closest to our eldest brother!”

His close aides unanimously responded to their lord’s morale-boosting cry.

“Loyalty!”