The Ruler of Darkness

Book 3: Chapter 20

Court Lady Bang sat in front of a small table, trembling as if she were a leaf in the wind.

The room, which had no heating, was cold, but her shivering was due to more than just the temperature.

From the moment the Central Inspection Department appeared, she had been completely out of sorts.

Dragged here and there, isolated alone, and then brought to this room.

Still, she remembered the emergency procedures.

In fact, amidst her confusion, she had been reciting the emergency procedures repeatedly.

Another chair opposite the table indicated that someone would soon enter to start the interrogation.

When the door burst open, she jumped from her seat.

“Gosh, why is it so cold in here?”

A man with a pleasant face started to enter, then shouted to someone outside.

“Hey! How can you forget to put a brazier in here? Someone could freeze to death!”

Court Lady Bang quickly scrutinized the man’s appearance.

“And in this dark room without a single oil lamp, what are they thinking?!”

He was carrying nothing with him.

Not even the usual writing brush and ink, nor any documents to pressure her with.

“Oh dear, sorry about this. Our folks may seem thorough, but as you see, they have such careless aspects.”

“…Oh, it’s alright.”

He sat down opposite her with a genuinely apologetic expression.

Then, through the opened door, personnel in red clothes brought in a brazier.

The room instantly became warmer.

A few oil lamps were also brought in, brightening the space.

“Guys, this lady looks too cold. Go get her a warm cup of tea. And you, take off your coat for her.”

“Yes.”

A red coat was placed on her shoulders, and soon a steaming cup of tea was served in front of her.

The door closed.

She was confused.

The emergency procedures she had been reciting were becoming increasingly irrelevant to the situation.

“Here, have a cup of tea to warm up. Don’t catch a cold.”

“Th-thank you…”

The man gestured towards her with a friendly smile.

“Now, Miss Bang of the Bang family, let’s chat and kill some time.”

“Pardon?”

Her brief confusion at his words gave way to a hearty laugh.

“Ah, look at me. I haven’t even introduced myself.”

He pulled his chair closer.

“I am Hwabok, who once owed a favor to the elders of the Bang family in the main house.”

“Aah…”

She exhaled a sigh of relief.

A warm and friendly smile spread across Hwabok’s face.

* * *

“So, you claim to know absolutely nothing about all this? No suspicions or guesses?”

Court Lady Seomun nodded calmly.

“That’s correct. I am unaware of these matters.”

The special investigative officer conducting her interrogation spread out documents on the table.

A single oil lamp on the table dimly illuminated the room.

“Even with all this evidence?”

She averted her eyes.

“I don’t know.”

He leaned towards the table.

“Look here, isn’t this the budget allocated by the Elder Council to Wongak Pavilion for this year?”

“Yes.”

“And here, it states that the entire budget was paid to His Excellency, the Grand Young Master.”

“I see.”

He picked up a document.

“But in reality, it appears that less than half was actually paid to His Excellency, the Grand Young Master, doesn’t it?”

“That seems to be the case.”

“Were you unaware of this?”

“I was not aware.”

“Then, let’s move on to a different topic for a moment.”

He withdrew smoothly.

“Is it permitted to allocate the budget originally designated for the Inner Court to a specific direct descendant in the form of money?”

“Yes.”

“To this large an amount?”

“There is no specific amount defined in the internal regulations of the court.”

“What happened?”

“I only know that as the number of successors who refused to serve the Inner Court increased, a decision was made in the past to allow this by those above.”

“By successors who do not serve theInner Court, you mean the Grand Young Master, the 2nd Young Master, the 3rd Young Master, the 4th Young Master?”

“Yes.”

“So, you are not aware of the details of that decision as it was a matter for the higher-ups.”

“Yes.”

He gathered the documents.

“Do you know what allegations you are currently facing?”

Court Lady Seomun narrowed her eyes.

“Allegations? I thought this was just an inquiry as a person of interest?”

He smirked.

“Did you think the Central Inspection Department only conducts inquiries?”

“….”

“Manipulation of ledgers, double-bookkeeping, embezzlement…”

He began listing the charges while looking her in the eye.

“And treason.”

At the word ‘treason,’ steward Seomun jumped up.

“What are you talking about?! Treason?!”

As she stood up shouting, he sat back, looking incredulous.

“Are you not aware of the situation you are in?”

“What situation?!”

His gaze turned towards her.

“Are you saying you don’t know the status of the person whose money you and the other subjects of investigation have been meddling with?”

“….”

The Yeon family had tampered with the money of that direct descendant.

They manipulated the ledgers, embezzled some, and decided on the use of the budget at their discretion.

These were clear acts of treason.

She slumped into the chair, her legs giving way.

“I… I…”

Her face was a picture of despair.

Then someone lightly knocked on the door and entered.

“Are these the statements?”

“Yes.”

The door closed, and he began flipping through the documents, speaking up.

“To be honest, I’m quite astonished myself.”

He sighed.

“How could you commit such a serious crime and handle it so carelessly?”

He shook his head.

“And by mere low-ranking people of the Yeon family?”

She was unable to say anything.

He started skimming through the statements, reading only the necessary parts.

—“…At first, the entire budget was given to His Excellency, the Grand Young Master, and then he began to incur additional expenses.”

He turned a page.

—“…So, the budget allocated to Wongak Pavilion was reserved to cover those additional expenses.”

Another page turned.

—”There’s mention of retaliation here. The Grand Young Master took the budget and then used the Inner Court’s money at his discretion, which angered them. So, they took more of His Highness’s budget as a form of revenge.”

Another page was turned.

—”And when no one raised an issue about it, they started taking more and more of the budget.”

He gave up reading the statements any further.

“Are you out of your minds? What does the budget of Wongak Pavilion have to do with the Grand Young Master using the Inner Court’s money?”

He slammed the table.

“Wasn’t the entire property of the Inner Court intended for the family head and his direct descendants?”

She just stared blankly at him.

“Didn’t you foresee this would happen? Didn’t you think the Grand Young Master could bring about such a situation? Really, those seasoned in the famed Inner Court…”

“…Yes.”

“What?”

“I didn’t know. I was unaware.”

“You didn’t foresee this happening?”

“No.”

Her blank gaze turned towards him.

“…I didn’t expect the Grand Young Master to act like this.”

* * *

Inner Court Main Building,

Central Inspection Temporary Investigation Headquarters.

“I’m back〜.”

The door opened, and Hwabok entered, waving some documents.

“Did Court Lady Bang confess?”

Central Inspection Department Chief, Dokgo Yayeon, looking down at the documents on the large desk, asked.

“Yes, she neatly admitted to all the charges.”

He placed the documents on her desk.

“Good work.”

“It wasn’t much. Just like twisting a child’s wrist, you know.”

“Indeed.”

He shrugged his shoulders.

“Overwhelming evidence and testimonies, and even the methods were sloppy.”

He smacked his lips.

“It seems this wasn’t an issue worthy of our involvement from the start.”

No response came.

Dokgo Yayeon just continued to review the documents.

“…Well, what can we do? We have to follow orders from above. It was a direct command from the Chief of the Inspection Department, right?”

“Don’t test me.”

“…Ah, yes. My apologies.”

He scratched his head.

“It seems the Grand Young Master was greatly underestimated. For the Inner Court, which should closely monitor the direct descendants, to treat him this way.”

He whispered so others wouldn’t hear.

“…Even if the opponent is ‘a swordless man’.”

She answered indifferently.

“Those who underestimated him so, that’s why they collapsed so easily.”

“That’s true.”

He clapped his hands.

“By the way, how did your investigation of the Grand Young Master go?”

“It went well.”

He nodded.

“Of course. After all, he was the one who filed the complaint, so it makes sense he’d cooperate.”

He rummaged through the documents on her desk.

Dokgo Yayeon spoke to him.

“You won’t find it, the Grand Young Master’s testimony isn’t there.”

“Really?”

There was no response.

“Well…”

He stroked his short beard, pondering to himself.

“Even if the Grand Young Master is not treated well by the main family, involving a direct descendant in the investigation records could lead to unpredictable consequences later.”

Again, there was no response.

He leaned against the desk, smacking his lips.

“I’ve always wanted to face the Grand Young Master myself.”

He smiled.

“I heard the Grand Young Master was quite famous back in the day. Scanning through the Inspection Bureau’s records, his name came up quite often. Of course, I couldn’t see the details with my position.”

Leaning forward, he asked in a low voice.

“Have you heard any rumors that the Grand Young Master might end his seclusion?”

“Yes.”

His eyes flashed dangerously.

“Aren’t you interested in investigating the truth behind those rumors? Being related to the orders of the Supreme Family Head, isn’t it something we should look into?”

There was no response.

He smacked his lips.

“Or if you prefer, you could assign the task to me…”

“Hwabok.”

As her white eyes turned towards him, he quickly straightened up.

“Yes, Chief.”

He was overly sharp and knew too well that when the Chief looked at someone with ‘that gaze,’ it was extremely dangerous.

“You’ve been doing very well so far. Bringing you to the Central Inspection Department was a decision I’ve felt rewarded for.”

“Thank you.”

He remained at attention, grinning slightly.

It was rare for his cold-blooded superior to offer praise.

But her next words instantly dampened his spirits.

“So don’t try to crawl into a place where you might end up dead.”

“…Yes.”

Despite his response, the subordinate clearly couldn’t comprehend her warning. The Central Inspection Department Chief sighed softly.

“It means don’t thrust your head into matters without understanding what kind of situation you’re getting into.”

Her words were almost the same as what Yeon So-hyeon had said to Kang Ho.

He asked cautiously.

“…Are you saying that matters related to the Grand Young Master are that dangerous?”

After a moment of silence, she spoke.

“That is a lesson I learned directly from the Grand Young Master a long time ago, and later realized its importance. Don’t forget it.”

“…Yes, I will keep it in mind.”

Considering that his usually reserved superior was bringing up a story from the past, it was indeed something to be mindful of.

She glanced at him briefly with her pale eyes, then lowered her gaze to the documents.

“…The situation within the Inner Court is simple, but the budget that has leaked outside is too much for us to handle alone.”

“Is that so?”

She sighed softly.

Everything was unfolding just as the Chief of the Inspection Bureau had directed and mentioned to her.

“…It’s not a piece we can handle on our own.”

“Then, we should request assistance.”

He picked up his coat.

“Please do.”

“It’s no trouble.”

Humming a tune, he started towards the door but then stopped.

“…Chief?”

“Yes?”

Blinking, he asked her.

“That lesson you learned back then, you’re referring to before the Grand Young Master went into seclusion, right? If so, how old was the Grand Young Master when he gave that teaching?”

There was no response.

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