Chapter 13 – The End of a Troublemaker

Chapter 13 – The End of a Troublemaker

“It's really not. This is just, I fell while trying to get something from a high place…”

As Sawol mumbled while pulling down his sleeves, a sigh escaped me before I knew it.

“Sawol… Do you think I'm a fool? I'm asking who did this.”

“………”

Unable to even answer, his shoulders were completely hunched, perhaps because my angry appearance was unfamiliar to him. Pitying that sight, I suppressed my anger and spoke in an intentionally light voice.

“Torong says she's hungry.”

“…Pardon?”

As Torong's name popped out of my mouth out of nowhere, only then did he slowly raise his head.

“So tell me quickly. If the kids' meal is late, they drool when they look at you.”

“……Young Master, you know your personality is really bad at times like this, right?”

“Yeah. Do you know how many teeth Torong has?”

“Really…”

Sawol, who gave me a look that wasn't hateful, chuckled. As the heavy atmosphere relaxed a bit, I slowly lowered my head.

“Will you tell me now?”

“Aey, really. I was just scolded a bit. You don't have to worry about it. More than that, how was the exam? If I had known you wouldn't be able to come for ten days, I would have packed something for you then. You weren't sick anywhere, right?”

“Can't you tell me who did it?”

Who on earth could it be? Who silenced this chatterbox? When I asked again without letting it slide, his downcast eyes were gradually filled with sorrow.

“…Even if someone did that, how could I possibly say it? They are undeniably blood relatives who share the same blood as you, Young Master, and I, I…”

He spoke rapidly as if snapping, but he couldn't even finish that and trailed off. At his tearful voice, my mouth felt bitter.

I knew the rest of the words that Sawol could not bring himself to say.

Sawol was an orphan. A child who had been abandoned outside the gates of the Outer Castle on a day in April. It was said that inside the arms of Sawol, who was wrapped in the colorful silk that courtesans enjoyed wearing, there was a piece of a dark green robe belonging to a Tang Clan warrior. In other words… the child born between a Tang Clan warrior and a courtesan was none other than Sawol.

His parents existed but were unknown, so it was the same as not having them. Thus, he was a child who had not even received a family name, which was merely a single word. Therefore, the words he could not bring himself to spit out must be about family, and his own situation of not being family.

But I had never thought that way even once. From the moment I saw Sawol, who held my confused hands tightly when I opened my eyes in this place, crying out loud and telling me not to worry because he was here…

“You are my family. Who here is closer to me than you?”

At the firm voice without a single shred of hesitation, Sawol, who had looked anxious like a lost child, deeply lowered his head.

“No, Young Master… Why, why do you say such embarrassing things so casually…”

The rims of Sawol's ears, as he mumbled in a crawling voice, turned red.

Only after coaxing and soothing him a few more times like that could I hear what on earth had happened. It seemed that while I was away, a few warriors who had been curious about what Tang Hae-soo and I were doing in the annex called Sawol out. They seemed to have chosen an easy target since they did not have the courage to ask Tang Hae-soo directly.

“…So, they told me to tell them everything about what the Young Master is doing lately…”

“You should have just told them.”

There was nothing to hide. When I furrowed my brow, wondering if he had tried to hide it, Sawol suddenly spoke in a voice that asked why I was saying such an obvious thing.

“Of course I told them everything, what power do I have? But, but… catching fish, catching spiders… When I said that, *sniffle*… they scolded me, saying I was lying. I was really treated unfairly…”

Oh, I see…

All kinds of sorrow that had been suppressed until now burst out, completely mixed together. It was understandable that he felt wronged. This was because training was done separately with Tang Hae-soo at the Small Training Ground, and with Sawol, I had mostly only done hunting and gathering combined with personal training.

But they thought Sawol was making fun of them. I pulled Sawol, who must have been sorrowful for ten days in the annex where neither I nor Tang Hae-soo was around, and sat him down on the bed.

“You have a fever. Lie down for a bit.”

His eyes, asking what about me that I was laying him down, were transparent. Even in the midst of this, he was fully occupied with worrying about me.

“Yongyong also says she's hungry… I'll go by myself today, so you rest.”

“I want to go too…”

“Do you know how many teeth Yongyong has?”

When I spoke teasingly, he frowned his face, which had become hot after crying for a long time, and quickly turned over.

Sawol, who had his back turned, grumbled that he hadn't tried to deceive me, but just hadn't wanted to talk because he was worried about me. In Sawol's eyes, I was still the weak Young Master. I wanted to readily tell him that it was not so, but in truth, I had never fought with any warrior other than Tang Hae-soo, so I refrained from being overconfident.

It was something that would be known soon anyway.

***

I changed out of my dirt-soiled clothes and left the annex.

‘No matter how much they treat human lives like those of flies and their human rights sensitivity is completely shattered… how could they make that young kid like that?’

Sawol was the same age as me, but to me, he was naturally a young younger brother who was half my age. As I recalled his wrist stained with bruises, my expression gradually grew cold.

After walking for a long time through several gates, the wall of the Great Training Ground appeared.

I chewed over the names of the three people I had barely obtained by claiming that I 'was not going to confront them, but just trying to avoid them myself if we met.' Sawol stubbornly kept his mouth shut, worried that I might go and start a fight, but he ended up falling for the threat that I wouldn't be able to avoid them either if he didn't tell me.

“Oh, Young Master! What are you doing here?”

While I was glaring over the wall, a familiar voice was heard. Turning my gaze, a young warrior whom I had run into coming and going was approaching while waving her hand happily.

“The Young Clan Leader hasn't come yet. Ah, did you perhaps come to see me~?”

The name of the warrior who smiled brightly even while knowing that could not be the case was Tang Yu-hwa. Having a friendly personality, Yu-hwa radiated a gentle atmosphere just like her name. While the majority of people passed by pretending not to see me even if we ran into each other, Yu-hwa always called my name and welcomed me warmly whenever she saw me.

“I came to look for someone. But I don't know what they look like.”

“Who is it?”

Hearing the names with a face full of curiosity, Yu-hwa hung onto the wall, looked around, and then called me.

“Do you see over there? Under the shade of the tree.”

Following her fingertip with my gaze, I saw three warriors sitting together under a tree on the opposite side of the training ground. When I nodded to show I understood, Yu-hwa stealthily asked a question.

“But what brings you here? Did something happen by any chance?”

“No, I just have something I'm curious about. Thanks for letting me know.”

“That's a relief then… If possible, please avoid them. Those older brothers have rather rough tempers, so everyone is careful.”

Yu-hwa glanced around and whispered softly. Seeing that she gave me a warning even though she must have seen them much more often than I did, it seemed that the three of them acted similarly not only to Sawol but to others as well.

I sent Yu-hwa back, telling her to finish her training, and after a moment, I called out the three who were under the tree.

***

“Hello, older brothers.”

Seeing the three walking out while looking around, I felt like swearing right away, but I put on the mask of a member of society and greeted them first. When they saw my face, they frowned immediately, clearly having guessed the reason I came here.

“…What brings the Young Master here?”

The three who strode forward were more than a span taller than me. Seeing that sight, I felt their shamelessness was all the more remarkable. So… three huge guys played the bully against just one Sawol, is that it?

I pulled up the corners of my mouth as much as possible. It would be troublesome if I couldn't control my temper and got angry right away, and these guys tried to wiggle out of it.

“Well… I came to see you because it seems the child I am keeping made a mistake.”

“Ah, that.”

When I bowed my head slightly, they exchanged glances and looked down at me with even more confident faces. Then, the warrior standing at the very front, Tang Jae-shin, spoke.

“I thought you came to confront us. Yes, while the Young Master was away, that fellow Sawol behaved so rudely that we gave him a bit of an education.”

“……”

“Since a fellow who doesn't know manners even resorts to lies, if we left it alone, it would lead to tiresome things for the Young Master as well. Knowing that, how could we pretend not to know? I have thoroughly corrected his behavior, so do not worry.”

“So, you are saying that you older brothers are indeed the ones to whom Sawol made a mistake, correct?”

Because I needed to hear a clear answer, I asked one last time.

“That is correct. Not even knowing the grace of being taken in… and making the Young Master seek forgiveness on his behalf, tsk… I wonder if I should have disciplined him more harshly.”

“…………”

I did what?

Because I was so dumbfounded that I kept my mouth shut, the three of them even sighed and went on and on with nonsensical words. At any rate, since it was indeed these three bastards, I also slowly started setting the stage.

“Um, I think there is some misunderstanding. I did not come to apologize.”

“What do you mean? Then why?”

Seeing them furrowing their brows as if they couldn't understand the reason, they seemed to think I had really come to apologize. Aren't they the owners of a truly unbelievable way of thinking? To grab and beat up Sawol, who was minding his own business, and then even expect an apology from me.

I intentionally put on a troubled expression and cleared up their misunderstanding.

“Well, since Sawol… didn't see all of my training, there were things he didn't get to mention. I catch frogs too.”

“What on earth does that…”

“Well, sometimes I catch snakes too.”

“………”

“…Ha.”

As the expressions of the three hardened at the subsequent words, laughter almost burst out of me without my realizing it. Sawol and I had only spoken the facts exactly as they were, so it was hilarious to see them acting as if they had been subjected to some great mockery.

“Young Master. What are you doing right now?”

“I am answering since you asked a question. Oh, and if you have any questions in the future, you may ask me directly. I am not of a temperament to look down on people just because they are of a collateral bloodline.”

A great family. Especially in the bloodline-centered Sichuan Tang Clan, the distinction between the direct lineage and the collateral lineage was distinct. Since I was the son of the Family Head, they could not treat me carelessly at least in my presence, so even if it was only on the surface, those absurd words and tones of theirs could be considered as showing respect.

Therefore, when such words came out of the mouth of someone they used to look down on…

“…It sounds to me like you have something else you want to say.”

It was not difficult to guess that such a reaction would come.

Tang Jae-shin, a collateral lineage warrior, glared at me with clenched fists as if his pride had been wounded. A tendon on his jaw bulged out, suggesting he was even clenching his teeth. Without delaying any further, I brought up the main point.

“I think it was a rather excessive action for a minor misunderstanding, so how about you apologize? Sawol looks very upset, so my heart feels very heavy.”

Gathering all of my remaining patience, I barely lumped their evil deeds under the word ‘misunderstanding.’ Up to here was the best I could do. However, unfortunately, Tang Jae-shin was far more indecent than I had thought.

“Are you telling me right now… to bow my head to a mere servant?”

“Yes.”

“Ha… I cannot do that. Even if it was a misunderstanding, it is impossible for a warrior of the family to seek forgiveness from a servant!”

I was dumbfounded by the arrogant attitude that even if he made a mistake, it was the servant's fault. Oh, so that's how it is?

My remaining patience finally hit rock bottom, and looking straight into the eyes of Tang Jae-shin who was spouting bullshit as naturally as breathing, I spoke.

“Now that I hear it, you are right. Is the Jianghu not a place where the strong are respected? It is only natural for the weak to show respect to the strong.”

“……?”

When I changed my attitude in an instant, Tang Jae-shin frowned deeply with a face showing he could not understand.

I curved my eyes into a gentle smile and delivered the final blow.

“So I will ask. Are you, senior brother, indeed a strong person to whom I should show respect?”

“You…!!”

At the equally indecent question, Tang Jae-shin raised his fist with a face that looked ready to explode, but he could not bring himself to strike.

Warriors of the Tang Clan could not inflict injury on each other for personal reasons rather than a spar.

Tang Jae-shin, who lowered his hands and ground his teeth so hard that a grinding sound could be heard, muttered in a low voice. Since I, whom he had always looked down upon, had openly ignored him by asking 'aren't you weaker than me,' his grand pride could not let him let it go.

“Young Master. Can you… take responsibility for this situation right now?”

“There is no reason I cannot.”

“Then, show me the answer to your question not with words… but with results.”

“Go ahead if you want.”

At the indifferent reply, Tang Jae-shin paused for a moment as if suppressing his anger.

“……I request a spar with the Young Master of the Great Sichuan Tang Clan.”

Finally, the words I had been waiting for flowed from Tang Jae-shin's mouth.