I felt my mood sour.
Why was she making such a fuss just to pick a fight with Escort Guard Lee Pil?
It was probably because she was feeling uneasy.
But… what exactly was making her so anxious?
Escort Guard Lee Pil responded firmly.
“Do not misunderstand. I have not the slightest intention of returning to this clan.”
“How am I supposed to believe that? You clearly came back to block my son’s future…!”
“I have no intention of blocking my brothers’ paths. If anyone blocks his path, it will be himself.”
“What… What did you just say?”
“I believe we are done here. I’ll be going.”
Escort Guard Lee Pil turned his back without hesitation.
“Y-You! Stop right there! I said stop!”
But he ignored her and headed toward the annex where we were staying.
I quietly watched her stomp her feet and scream in frustration.
“That brat… Suddenly showing up like this… He still hasn’t come to his senses. Maybe he needs to chew on some broken glass a bit more before he wakes up.”
At that, I chuckled.
I’d suspected that Escort Guard Lee Pil had been bullied with things like glass shards in his food back when he lived in the Tang Clan.
But to think it was true?
And the culprit… was his own aunt?
Wow…
I barely held back from letting out a string of curses.
Fuming, she stormed off.
Only then did Palgap, who had stayed silent, speak.
“Escort Guard Lee Pil is… rather pitiful.”
“I feel the same.”
After thinking for a moment, I told Palgap.
“I think… we’ll have to delay visiting Uncle’s house for a few more days. There’s still something I need to take care of.”
“Could it be…?”
“Yeah. You guessed it.”
Not only would I make sure nobody could lay a hand on Escort Guard Lee Pil anymore… but I was going to make them apologize for what they did in the past.
.
.
.
That night.
I approached Escort Guard Lee Pil.
“Can we talk for a moment?”
“Of course.”
We walked to a quiet, secluded spot where no one was around.
After confirming there were no eavesdroppers, I spoke softly.
“I saw your conversation with… the woman who was once your aunt.”
“Ah…”
Escort Guard Lee Pil lowered his head, looking uncomfortable.
“You saw me acting disgracefully. I apologize.”
“No. Knowing the circumstances, there’s nothing to apologize for. In fact… I heard something I couldn’t overlook.”
“What is it?”
“After you left, that woman said… ‘Maybe he needs to chew on some broken glass a bit more before he wakes up.’”
“…”
His expression instantly hardened.
“That comment… made a lot of things click for me. Like your unusual eating habits. When you lived here… they mixed shards of glass into your food, didn’t they? That’s why you were always hungry.”
He sighed heavily… then nodded.
“You’re right.”
“How… How could anyone calling themselves family…!”
“Family, huh… They never saw me as family. That’s probably why.”
“Even if you weren’t family… that’s still unforgivable.”
Hearing that, he gave a bitter smile.
“I’ve decided. I won’t let anyone in the Tang Clan lay a hand on you ever again. And… you will receive a proper apology.”
I had asked to speak with him to get his permission for what I was about to do.
No matter how much I was doing it for his sake… he was the one directly involved.
At the very least, I needed his permission… no, his acknowledgement.
“That won’t be necessary. I’m fine.”
I shook my head firmly.
“Escort Guard Lee Pil, you are my escort. Which means… you’re my person now. And I’m not the kind of person who stands by while others harm or insult someone under my protection.”
“…”
“I can guarantee this… They’ll never stop. No matter where you go, they’ll keep finding ways to mess with you. That’s not something you can just ignore.”
“…That’s true.”
“And seriously… food with glass shards in it? No matter how long ago it was, that’s the kind of thing that leaves scars. Wounds that linger in your heart forever.”
“…”
“Do you really… not want an apology?”
He stayed silent for a moment.
Then spoke heavily.
“I… I do want an apology.”
His emotions surged.
“And… I want to ask them. What did I do wrong? All I did was be born… All I did was follow the clan’s orders to learn and train. Why did they do this to me? Did they hate me that much? I want to ask them… even just once.”
I smiled.
“Then… I’ll remember that.”
I didn’t plan to stop at just getting an apology.
Since I was stirring things up anyway… they were going to face real consequences. Only then would it be a genuine apology.
After finishing our conversation, I returned to my room and started thinking.
How could I solve this cleanly… and satisfyingly?
Before long, my eyes lit up.
I had a good idea.
.
.
.
The next day.
I went to see the Clan Lord.
And made a request.
“There may still be accomplices connected to the Blood Venom Fiend, Bae Dugap. I’d like to assist by conducting interviews with the clan members to help identify them.”
“I know you have a reason beyond what you’re saying. Speak. What is it you’re really after?”
As expected… the Clan Lord wasn’t easy to fool.
It was better to be honest.
“Truthfully… someone’s been persistently harassing my escort, Escort Guard Lee Pil.”
I explained the full situation.
The Clan Lord quietly stared at me.
“You probably aren’t too keen on bringing more chaos into the clan while things are already a mess… just for my sake.”
“…”
“But… if we don’t untangle this mess now, it’ll only cause bigger problems later.”
“…”
“I’m prepared to write the agreement document right now. The one stating that you’d grant me assistance.”
At that, the Clan Lord shook his head.
“There’s no need. You… are a truly good master.”
“Huh?”
“I’m glad… I’m glad Lee Pil finally found a place where he can feel at home.”
A faint smile crossed his face.
“You’re right. If there’s a tangled mess, it should be unraveled. And it’s not like blood will be shed over this… So let me sing a tune to match the tune you’ve started.”
“Thank you.”
With his permission… and now with full justification… I started meeting the clan members one by one.
The sixth meeting was with the woman who had been Escort Guard Lee Pil’s aunt—Madam Go-yeon.
I brought Palgap, Escort Guard Lee Pil, and Escort Guard Seo Wu with me.
Since the Clan Lord had already notified everyone in advance… there was no need to explain why I was here.
“W-Welcome…”
Madam Go-yeon hesitated for a moment when she saw Escort Guard Lee Pil standing behind me.
“Please, come inside.”
“Thank you.”
But she wasn’t the only one who reacted to seeing Escort Guard Lee Pil.
Even the maids and servants flinched when they saw him.
I glanced at Escort Guard Lee Pil, and his face was stiff as stone.
We entered the reception room, and he quietly said to me.
“Those maids and servants are still working under my aunt.”
“…”
“When my mother passed away… I was raised under her care. Those people… they were the ones who tormented me alongside her.”
I quietly listened to his words.
“In some ways… they were worse than her.”
So my guess had been right.
They weren’t just passive bystanders. They actively participated in tormenting him.
Even if Madam Go-yeon had ordered them… if they’d had even a shred of compassion, they could’ve softened it.
Or at least lied and said they had.
But since they were also blood relatives of the Tang Clan… they must’ve vented their anger toward other members of the family onto Escort Guard Lee Pil with Madam Go-yeon’s permission.
That’s why… they were worse than her.
I debated between two options.
The first was… letting the maids and servants suffer for this.
The second… was sparing them.
Up until now, I’d thought punishing them might be excessive since they were simply following their superior’s orders.
But after seeing their reactions… and hearing Escort Guard Lee Pil’s words… I changed my mind.
I went with the first option.
I subtly raised one finger for everyone to see.
Palgap and the two escort guards nodded.
Just then, the door opened, and Madam Go-yeon entered, followed by a maid carrying tea and snacks.
The maid placed a cup of tea and three pieces of snack in front of each of us.
“It’s truly an honor to have the benefactor of the Tang Clan visit my humble home. So… what would you like to ask?”
“Nothing much. Just here to pass the time with some casual conversation. Haha.”
I smiled as I drank tea and chatted about random things.
True to what we’d discussed beforehand… Escort Guard Lee Pil didn’t touch the snacks.
“Escort Guard Lee Pil, are you leaving your snacks untouched?”
“Yes.”
“Then… may I have them?”
“Please do.”
I picked up the snacks meant for him… and ate them.
“Ugh…”
I suddenly grabbed my chest as if in pain.
Palgap, startled, asked in a panicked voice.
“What’s wrong, Young Master?”
“My chest… suddenly… hurts… Ugh!”
Blood dribbled from the corner of my lips.
Seeing that, Escort Guard Seo Wu shouted in alarm.
“M-My lord! Are you alright? My lord!”
Escort Guard Lee Pil glared at Madam Go-yeon and shouted.
“What… What have you done?!”
Madam Go-yeon flailed her arms in panic.
“N-No! I… I didn’t! I didn’t do anything…”
At that moment, Palgap rushed outside and screamed.
“Help! Our Young Master is dying! Someone fetch a physician! Our Young Master’s been poisoned!”
Hearing this, the patrolling martial artists immediately summoned the physicians, and the incident escalated quickly.
When they heard someone had been poisoned, members of the Crimson Camellia Division arrived and arrested Madam Go-yeon along with the maids and servants.
Then… people from the Poison Division arrived, including Lady Tang Su-bin.
In the Tang Clan, poison-related incidents are handled by the Poison Division, not the Medical Pavilion.
“Benefactor, you’ve ingested Sweet Poison (甘味毒).”
Sweet Poison… a colorless, odorless toxin. The only sign of it is a distinct sweet taste.
It’s typically used… by lacing it into snacks.
That’s right.
This entire poisoning incident… was staged by me.
When I pretended to grab the snack from Escort Guard Lee Pil’s plate… I discreetly laced it with poison.
Of course… this wouldn’t have been possible without the assistance of Lady Tang Su-bin, who secretly acted under the Clan Lord’s orders.
Without her, how would I have known about Sweet Poison or gotten my hands on it?
“Fortunately… because you were wearing the special identification token, the poison didn’t spread throughout your body.”
Lady Tang Su-bin handed me a pill.
“This is the antidote. Please take it.”
“Thank you.”
I swallowed it… grimacing.
“Ugh… it’s bitter.”
“It’s medicine. Of course it’s bitter.”
She curled her lips into a quick smirk before hiding it again.
Honestly, the antidote was just a restorative pill.
Probably bitter because it had bear bile in it.
Escort Guard Seo Wu asked.
“Where exactly was the poison?”
“Only in this snack. No traces elsewhere.”
“But… that was Escort Guard Lee Pil’s snack…”
Escort Guard Lee Pil nodded.
“Yes. It was mine. But I didn’t eat it. My lord ate it instead.”
“Which means…”
I continued.
“Madam Go-yeon… tried to poison Escort Guard Lee Pil, didn’t she?”
“We should report this to the Clan Lord.”
.
.
.
I returned to the annex and lay on my bed.
My body… was perfectly fine.
In fact, I felt more energized than usual.
That restorative pill Lady Tang Su-bin gave me must’ve been really good.
But outwardly, I was still ‘recovering’ from poison.
Then…
“The Clan Lord is here.”
The door opened, and the Clan Lord stepped in.
He sat down beside my bed and said.
“Feigning illness… is still a kind of illness. Pretending like this must be exhausting.”
“Would you like some tea?”
“Just stay lying down. You are a patient after all.”
“I appreciate your thoughtfulness.”
“So… what is it that you need me to do now?”
“Convene a Punishment Assembly.”
At that, the Clan Lord chuckled.
“Do you realize something?”
“…?”
“This will be… the third Punishment Assembly since you arrived at the Tang Clan.”
“Is that… a lot?”
“Normally… we don’t even hold one a month.”
‘So yeah… that’s a lot.’
Then again… holding Punishment Assemblies too often would be a problem on its own.
.
.
.
The next day.
Palgap told me that notices had been posted everywhere since yesterday… announcing that the Punishment Assembly would be held this morning.
Madam Go-yeon had three children.
One of them was Squad Leader Tang Jun-ryeong from the Flying Blade Division.
I figured… surely one of them would come here to beg for mercy for their mother.
But no matter how long I waited… not a single one of Madam Go-yeon’s children showed their face at the annex.
Why… did her words from yesterday keep ringing in my ears?
‘Like mother, like son.’
–TL Notes–
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