MTL NOVEL Chapter 19
This garment… it’s something I used to enjoy wearing during the early rounds.
It was given to a kid when I protected hundreds of them from the Blood Cult’s Twelve Archbishops.
Due to the sheer number of such incidents, I don’t recall everything clearly, but I remember this one child faintly.
A kid with distinctive black hair and golden eyes.
Who would’ve thought that kid was Gayoung Jin?
“Uncle, what are you thinking about?”
“I was a little surprised.”
“What about?”
“That there are still people who like me, the Sword Sage Namgung Cheolbin.”
“Hee, so I’m your only follower now, huh?”
“How can the lord be the follower of a retainer?”
“Why not? It happens all the time.”
From the first time she saw me, Gayoung Jin must’ve figured out I was the Sword Sage.
That’s why she treated me so warmly, I guess.
Thinking back now, her kindness makes sense, even the “…successful…” stuff she kept saying.
“Uncle.”
“Yes?”
“Does it bother you that I treat you as Uncle Sword Sage?”
“To be honest, it’s a name I’ve discarded.”
“I thought so. So that’s why I pretended not to know.”
There was such consideration hidden there, was there?
If it hadn’t been for finding my clothes in her room, I might’ve never known.
It wasn’t necessarily a bad thing though.
“Still, it does feel good.”
“Huh?”
“I thought no one in the world cared about me, but here’s someone who still supports me.”
Truthfully, there’s no specific reason for me to hide who I am.
It’s just that I didn’t want to get caught up in the remnants of my past.
But if those remnants are supportive, it changes things, doesn’t it?
“Hehe, there must be quite a few. Even if they don’t step forward, there are a lot of people who still like you, Uncle. The world is vast, after all.”
“Perhaps, but I haven’t seen such a person in the last three years.”
“Who knows? Maybe there are people out there like the one in front of you right now.”
Jin Gayoung confidently puffed her chest as she spoke.
Yeah, as she says, you never know.
The world is vast. Perhaps, as I live, I’ll meet someone who still supports me.
Though I have no intention to reclaim the name I’ve discarded, there’s a faint glimmer of hope.
“But, Uncle?”
“Yes.”
“Can you look over here once?”
“Huh?”
Unexpectedly, as I turned my head, a scene I hadn’t anticipated unfolded.
“Thank you so much for saving my life.”
Jin Gayoung knelt and bowed deeply to me.
“That favor of yours, which may have been nothing to you, was something I thought of every day… I just had to say it.”
With utmost sincerity, she showed respect and reverence that could be seen in her eyes.
“…Finally, I’ve successfully thanked Uncle.”
Her signature way of speaking brought a smirk to my face.
Now, I’ve gotten so used to her “…successful” that not hearing it would make me feel uneasy everyday.
“But, does that mean I’m now the only person in the world who knows your true identity?”
Getting up from her kneel, Gayoung Jin asked with high anticipation.
“Seems so. Congratulations, Miss.”
I lie because I didn’t want to shatter her expectations.
“Hee, I’ve become someone special to Uncle.”
“You were already someone special to me, Miss.”
“…Is that so?”
“Of course.”
Even with the age difference, I wonder if I should say this to a woman who is already in love with someone else.
But why is her face turning red?
Some impudent fantasies are creeping into my mind.
“Miss, it’s time to enter the Jin clan meeting.”
“Yes~ I’m going now!”
At Byul Rak’s call, Jin Gayoung hastily finished her makeup and rose from her seat.
She appeared more mature today than ever.
“Are you fully prepared?”
“Are you talking about preparing to deal with uncle?”
“Cough, cough! Hmm… Even without anyone watching, isn’t that too straightforward?”
“There’s no one else who I can reveal my true feelings to, Uncle. Please understand.”
After the revelation of Byul Rak knowing Jin Gayoung’s identity, they had grown closer than before.
To Byul Rak, she was the one who liked him, and for Jin Gayoung, he was an admired figure she had long desired to meet, so the change was only natural.
“What do you plan to do at the Jin clan meeting?”
“You’ll see with your own eyes. I worked hard on preparation, so telling you now would ruin the fun, right?”
“Jin Gwangwoo will not be an easy opponent.”
Byul Rak deliberately withheld information about Jin Gwangwoo and Jin Yeryeong.
That was why he was slightly worried about Jin Gayoung.
Of course, with the crucial evidence he possessed, he was only “slightly” worried.
“Uncle doesn’t have a monopoly on information.”
“…Do you have spies then?”
“If Uncle had given me information about uncle’s faction, I wouldn’t have needed spies.”
“That… I judged it better not to interfere in Miss’ revenge.”
“I understand, so I don’t blame you. Uncle’s help would’ve only felt meaningless.”
“I thank you for your understanding.”
“Ho, didn’t I tell you not to say that? I said I’d repay you for the rest of my life, so why does Uncle keep saying thank you?”
“Understood, I’ll be careful.”
While chatting, the two arrived at the meeting room.
Byul Rak opened the door first and stepped aside to let Jin Gayoung enter.
By now, he was almost a counselor.
Thud.
The heavy atmosphere settled in the meeting room with Jin Gayoung’s footsteps resonating.
Byul Rak’s footsteps quietly followed behind her.
“Ah, the Honorable Lady has arrived. Let’s begin.”
“Wait, just a second.”
When Jin Gayoung stopped an elder from starting the meeting, he showed a somewhat irritated expression.
“Why is uncle seated in the head chair without it being determined?”
“Is this about the seat? Well, as you can see, there were no seats left, so there was no choice.”
Jin Gayoung’s gaze swept through the meeting room.
Each of the council members had occupied two seats by spreading their legs or sitting cross-legged.
An openly defiant attitude.
“Hmmm? So where is this ‘Honorable Lady’ supposed to sit?”
“Oh, my, I didn’t think of that. Don’t worry. A seat will be prepared soon enough.”
Clap, clap.
When Jin Gwangwoo clapped his hands, two servants brought a wooden chair and placed it in a corner or an otherwise ignored position.
It was a prepared action.
“Hmm?”
Jin Gayoung looked at Jin Gwangwoo with a faint smile, and he pointed to the chair as if asking her what was the matter.
He doesn’t tell her to sit directly.
Seeing this, Jin Gayoung frowned and smiled even more.
“During my absence, it seems the Taewon Jin family fell into the hands of this old fox.”
Of course, even this level of scheming wasn’t unexpected to her.
“Let’s break his neck first.”
“Mother, I never thought Uncle would prepare something like this for me.”
“Prepare? I should thank you for your meticulousness.”
“Should I? Since Uncle has been occupying the main seat for me and even prepared such a chair, I was almost deeply moved.”
“…What?”
“Apparently, there’s no one else like my uncle that cares for me.”
Clack, Clack.
Jin Gayoung confidently walked through the glares directed at her, stopping beside Jin Gwangwoo.
As his face reddened and then paled, she leaned into his ear to whisper loudly enough for everyone to hear.
“Ah, is it because Uncle is old that it’s hard to stand? Should I help you up?”
“Ah, no… What are you saying right now…”
“Hey, you should stand up and give me your seat. Tell me, are you really planning such an obscene act of seating the ‘Honorable Lady’ in a chair like that?”
Jin Gayoung’s more audacious responses to Jin Gwangwoo’s implicitly indecent moves.
Although none of the people present, including her, believed Jin Gwangwoo had set up the seat for a devious purpose, it was difficult for anyone to argue with Jin Gayoung’s statements.
Of course, it was difficult, not impossible.
“Lady… Gayoung…! What have you been saying since just now!”
“I’m pretending not to hear you. Should I repeat it? Uncle occupied the main seat for my sake, which truly moved me…”
“Honorable Lady! Aren’t your words too harsh already!”
One of the council men stood up and challenged her.
Jin Gayoung countered with an expression of complete innocence.
“What’s wrong?”
“How can you sit someone of the main house, an elder, in such a disorderly position! You have no manners!”
“Hmm, is that so?”
“Don’t play dumb! Do you think such a shallow trick will work?”
“That’s true, but…”
Her innocent smile disappeared.
The innocent young girl who existed until just now was nowhere to be seen.
“Isn’t it unreasonable for the Honorable Lady of the main house to sit in such a disordered position, as said by the head just now?”
“Oops…”
“Answer me. Between the Honorable Lady and the elder, who is higher in the family hierarchy?”
In terms of status and honor, elders would obviously rank higher.
But, in an ‘official setting,’ there’s nothing more important than the hierarchy of position.
Knowing this, the man could not answer and only hesitated.
“Are you not going to answer?”
“That, that…”
The man glanced at Jin Gwangwoo, who had hinted to Gayoung earlier by pointing at the chair.
Understanding his intention, the man bowed deeply and painfully spoke.
“I… will take that seat…”
“Huh? What did you say? It was too quiet to be heard clearly.”
“I’ll take that seat…! Please, Honorable Lady, take my seat…”
“Only now are we ready to start the meeting.”
The man shuffled toward the fragile-looking chair and sat down while Jin Gayoung sat cross-legged in the chair he had vacated.
Having just witnessed the humiliation of their leader tricked by Jin Gayoung, none of the council members dared to intervene.
“Alright, then, let’s start the first Jin family meeting with the return of the head of the family.”
And thus, in a chilling atmosphere, the Jin family meeting began, forming a three-way battle between Jin Gayoung, Jin Gwangwoo, and Jin Yeryeong.
“…Alright, then everything is settled.”
“Yes, ‘acting’ head.”
“Take good care of me going forward, uncle.”
The Jin family meeting flowed smoothly as Jin Gwangwoo had stated.
Jin Gayoung became the acting head, and Jin Gwangwoo was appointed as the temporary head until her coming of age.
Jin Yeryeong was absent from the decision, but she remained silently without saying much.
“That’s… what I expected?”
Until Jin Gayoung stood up, both hands gripping the table.
“Regardless of whether he’s acting head or not, there’s work we need to do.”
“Huh? Acting head, what do you mean by that…”
Staring at Jin Gwangwoo, who insisted on adding “acting” to her title, with evident dissatisfaction, Jin Gayoung pulled out a piece of paper from her robes.
“I conducted a financial audit.”
The serene smiles of Jin Gwangwoo and Jin Yeryeong began to stiffen from this point.
*