Chapter 27

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The expedition against the bandits was planned to take at least two weeks, meaning the clan head had been scheduled to be absent for at least that long—but he’d returned barely three days after setting out, which definitely wasn’t a good sign. The servants in Whiteguard Hall were cautious as a rule, but today they barely even dared to make a sound.
Inside was Baengri Paehyuk, sitting with his eyes closed. Next to him was Euigang, who was wearing an indecipherable expression, and Jang Seokryang, who had just raised himself from his kneeling and was now standing by with his eyes lowered to the ground.
More people started to pour in: Euimook, Euiran, Myung, Pyo, and Ak, in that order. Once he sensed that everyone was present, without opening his eyes, Paehyuk addressed his aide. “You may leave.”
Jang Seokryang departed with a bow of respect. Sensing the clan head’s mood, Euimook and Myung knelt before him as soon as they entered. The bewildered twins awkwardly followed their lead, but Euiran kept her head held high, her eyes filled with rage.
Lord Baengri’s eyes remained closed for a long while before he opened his mouth. “Euiran, you seem to have much to say. Speak.”
Out of their father’s sight, Euimook pulled at her sleeve in an attempt to stop her, but Euiran ignored him as she faced down her father. “Father, you have to do something about that Namgoong Wan of the Namgoong clan.” Euigang lifted his eyes from the ground to gaze at his sister. Euiran simply scoffed at his sudden attention and continued, “That man was outrageously rude. How dare he come into the Baengri clan compound and look down on my sons, who have Baengri blood running through their veins!”
Her father’s eyes remained closed. “He looked down on your sons?” he asked slowly.
“He did!”
“How?”
“He said that Pyo and Ak couldn’t even lift a sword and told them never to show their faces in front of him again. Do you know how much that hurt them?”
Lord Baengri finally opened his eyes, turning his fearsome gaze upon the twins. He then slowly asked, “And why do you think Namgoong Wan acted as he did?”
“How should I know? I don’t see why he would have any reason to treat my children that way!” When Euiran’s eyes met Euigang’s, she held her head even higher. The gatekeepers that day had all been hired by her mother. The only so-called witnesses were Namgoong Wan and Baengri Yeon: Between Myung, the twins, and the gatekeepers, the two were outnumbered. What could Euigang do if they simply denied everything? All they had to do was argue that those two were conspiring to frame the others.
Euimook said out of frustration, “Euiran. Please, just stop.”
The clan head turned toward the twins once more. “Baengri Pyo, Soh Wuak, what do you think of what your mother just said?” Neither of the twins answered. “Very well. If neither of you will say anything, then let me ask you this: what happened with the peonies?”
The twins jolted, and Euiran gritted her teeth. That brat Yeon must have run her mouth—or maybe it was that bastard, Namgoong Wan! She shouted, “Father, what’s so important about those peonies? Ask the gatekeepers! They’ll tell you that it was that Baengri Yeon who offered to give the flowers to my boys first.” Euiran angrily continued, “What gives Lord Wan the right to interfere in our clan’s affairs over a little prank? This is no different from the Namgoong clan looking down on the whole Baengri clan! And you, Euigang, how could call such a barbarian your friend—”
“Shut your mouth!” Her father’s hands trembled with fury as he squeezed the arms of his chair.
Euiran shrank back momentarily at his roar, but when she saw her sons, she remembered the moment of their humiliation once more and felt her earlier anger bubble up again.
Euimook quickly interfered just as she was about to argue back, covering her mouth and bowing his head toward their father.
Lord Baengri shouted, “Just who do you think was acting mannerless, thoughtless, shameless, and senseless here!” Unable to contain his rage, he slammed down on the arms of his chair. “Ask the gatekeepers? Those dunces spilled everything to Aide Jang before I even got to them!” Euiran’s face turned pale, and the twins ducked their heads. “I send them to school to study, and all they do is harass their sick cousin and act out in front of the deputy head of the Namgoong clan!”
No, perhaps it was fortunate that it had been Namgoong Wan, rather than anyone else. After all, as Euigang’s friend, he wouldn’t air the Baengri clan’s dirty laundry in public.
“I have to do something about Lord Wan, you say? Just how low do you intend to drag our family name?” Lord Baengri roared. He took a deep breath.
Where had it all gone wrong? Paehyuk glared down at his daughter who was still fuming, refusing to own up to her misdeeds.
Euiran had always been compared to Euigang growing up. Perhaps things would have been different had she been as far apart in age from Euigang as she was from Euimook, but being similar in age, the two could not escape comparison from the moment they held their first swords. To Euiran, Euigang was an insurmountable obstacle, and this instilled a deep sense of inferiority in her.
As a fellow warrior, how could Paehyuk fail to understand the helplessness of a warrior who’d been measured up against another all her life, without once being able to defeat him? So he’d looked the other way no matter the trouble she caused throughout the years, never punishing her with more than a light scolding. But for his silent condonation born of pity to have led to this moment...
Paehyuk’s eyes darkened with regret as he stared at the twins sitting next to Euiran. He would not sit idly by and watch as she ruined her children’s futures as well. He now said resolutely, “No need to draw this out. I cannot leave the children in your care any longer.”
Euiran couldn’t believe her ears. “Father? What do you—?”
“You have three choices,” Paehyuk interrupted her. “Ak might have inherited Baengri blood, but he is a child of Soh. I cannot do with him as I please, so send Ak back to your husband’s house, and Pyo to the Temple of Discipline. If you do, you will be allowed to remain here.”
Euiran froze in place, her eyes bulging. The Temple of Discipline was no ordinary temple. It was a hermitage where residents were required to adhere to a strict schedule dictating their sleep, waking, mealtimes, rests, and even bathroom breaks. No one could keep servants, and each resident had to make their own meals, do their own laundry, and make their own beds, all while practicing ascetic self-cultivation. It was a place where delinquents from distinguished families were often sent to be reformed.
“The second option is for you to accompany Ak to the Soh clan, leaving Pyo here, but you would be barred from returning to the Baengri clan until Pyo reaches adulthood.”
“W-wait—”
“I’m not done!” Paehyuk cut her off once more, pointing an accusing finger at the twins. “Lastly! You may take the children and leave. I’ll make sure you never have to worry about starving or having a roof over your heads. But should you choose to leave together, know that neither you nor your children will ever see me again.”
These last words left Euiran in a state of stunned disbelief. “F-Father... Y-you’re joking, right? That’s ridiculous.”
“If you have made your choice, then by all means, keep talking!”
Trembling uncontrollably, Euiran turned to face Euimook with tears in her eyes. But it was no use. Her older brother merely lowered his head in apology. “N-no. How... How could I possibly abandon my children?” she sobbed, gathering the twins into her arms. The warmth of their mother’s embrace tipped the frightened twins over the edge, and they burst into tears as well, begging their grandfather for forgiveness.
Paehyuk’s expression didn’t change.
Euiran, who’d been clutching her children and rocking back and forth, suddenly lifted her head and crawled toward Euigang, grabbing his sleeve like a lifeline. “Euigang. Euigang! I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry. Please, please, say something to Father.”
Euigang, who had kept silent all this time, turned his gaze onto the crying twins. They were mere children as well, only a year older than his daughter. But before he could decide on a course of action, Paehyuk shouted, “If you have any shame left in you, don’t think for a second that Euigang will speak on your behalf! No matter what he might say, it won’t change my mind!”
Crack!
As he slammed his hands down onto the armrests of his chair once again, the wood gave way under the force.
“Soh Wuak, Baengri Pyo. This is just the last straw.” Paehyuk gazed at them with cold eyes. “Euigang’s hands are full taking care of his sick daughter, and yet he offered to make time to spar with you and to oversee your training. But what did you do? Did either of you pay him a single visit?”
Euigang’s face fell somber.
“All you two did was seek out disciples wary of your background to bask in empty flattery under the guise of sparring! Your martial skills haven’t improved at all. The third level of the Effortless Elevated Technique? Ha!” Paehyuk laughed ironically. “You wasted all your effort on finding new ways to bully your younger cousin. You think it’s easy to reach that level? Don’t make me laugh. What could you possibly learn with that sort of attitude? I’m going to take this opportunity to break you of your bad habits!”
Euigang averted his eyes. In the end, he said nothing. Euiran weakly let go of Euigang’s sleeve and fell to the floor weeping. Paehyuk looked down at her indifferently, then turned his gaze toward Myung as if to say he was next. Myung, who’d broken out into a cold sweat at the events unfolding before him, quickly ducked his head.
“Baengri Myung, I had high expectations of you.”
“Forgive me, Grandfather.”
“Do you know what you’ve done wrong?”
Myung was just about to recite the speech he’d memorized when a servant called out through the door, “Lord Baengri, Young Miss Yeon has arrived.”

Chapter end