Chapter 36
I looked at the young lady with an aggrieved expression, only to suddenly stiffen.
The young lady’s body had lurched violently.
“My lady!”
I hurried over and supported her. The young lady, leaning against me and gasping for breath, suddenly jerked her head up.
When I flinched, the young lady hurriedly asked,
“Y-You, are you all right?”
“Pardon?”
“Are you, are you hurt anywhere? That bastard charged at you. How dare that wretch, who deserves to be torn apart limb from limb, point a sword at you…”
“My lady?”
“I should have stopped him, but I foolishly fell victim to the drug… I have to get revenge even now. I’ll gouge out those disgusting eyes, cut out his tongue, sever the tendons in all four of his limbs, and turn him into a cripple…!”
“My lady, my lady!”
I hurriedly hugged the young lady, who was about to lunge forward while she was at it. Then, while she hesitated, I quickly rattled off my words.
“I’m fine. I’m not hurt anywhere! I used the skills I developed from wrestling around with you, my lady, and dodged him, so I didn’t get hurt at all… Wait, but are you all right, my lady? You were definitely drugged, so how did you even get here…?”
But I couldn’t bring myself to finish my sentence. Because while habitually checking the young lady over, I noticed it.
The sight of blood dripping from her hand…
“B-Blood…!”
At my horrified cry, the young lady slowly turned her head and muttered,
“…If I hadn’t done this, I felt like I was going to lose consciousness. That bastard was charging at you with a sword, and if I lost consciousness too, I didn’t know what would happen to you…”
“My lady…”
I gazed at the young lady with deeply moved eyes. Then I screamed inwardly.
‘That doesn’t mean you have to cut your own hand!’
Just as my head was spinning from the young lady’s sheer badassery, her body staggered again. Finally coming to my senses, I first tore off part of my sleeve and wrapped it tightly around the young lady’s hand. Then I spoke as gently and soothingly as I could.
“Let’s go to the apothecary first. No, if you’re uncomfortable, stay at Sonangwon. I’ll hurry and bring the physician here. Even if it hurts a lot, please bear with it just a little longer. I’ll hurry as much as I can…”
For some reason, the young lady had gone quiet and obediently nodded.
I supported the young lady and left the flower garden.
At the entrance to the flower garden stood Brother Im and another warrior, but whatever drug they had been given, the two seemed to have lost consciousness while standing.
I tried waking Brother Im just in case, but it was useless. No matter how much I shook him and shouted, Brother Im didn’t budge.
‘What kind of potent drug did they use?’
In the end, I had no choice but to give up on Brother Im and take the young lady to Sonangwon.
After that, I was busy running around.
First, I went to Physician Jeong. After hearing a rough account of what had happened, the physician’s face turned pale. He hurriedly packed his bag and ran toward Sonangwon.
The next person I went to find was the Chief Steward.
As it happened, the Chief Steward was with the Manor Lord. The two welcomed me warmly at first, but their expressions immediately hardened when they saw the blood and dust caked all over my clothes.
“Did something happen?”
“Well…”
I told them everything that had just happened.
The longer I spoke, the darker their expressions became, and when I finally reached the part about the young lady getting hurt, the Chief Steward slammed his hand on the table and stood up.
“How could anyone commit such an outrageous act! Even though we treated him with the utmost courtesy as a guest of the Thunderblade Sect…!”
“…”
“My lord, we cannot let this matter slide. That man has already been causing trouble throughout the manor, and everyone has been complaining about him. And now he dares to go this far? We must hold him properly accountable!”
“I know.”
I shuddered.
The Manor Lord’s voice had become chillingly cold, almost to the point of being unfamiliar.
“This matter is not merely an insult to Ari, but no different from showing contempt for the entire Xiao Family Manor. I will not stand idly by and let this pass. I will formally protest to the Thunderblade Sect. If the Thunderblade Sect attempts to evade responsibility, they will have to be prepared to make an enemy of our Xiao Family Manor…”
The Manor Lord’s eyes flashed.
“They will have to pay the proper price.”
At the Manor Lord’s words, the Chief Steward nodded as though it were only natural.
“Your words are entirely correct.”
“For now, go to Sonangwon and check on Ari’s condition. I will send a letter to the Thunderblade Sect and follow you immediately afterward…”
A little while later, the Chief Steward and I left the Manor Lord’s study. Before leaving, I thought about the Manor Lord’s grim expression and secretly mused,
‘This is going to become a much bigger problem than I expected.’
***
Fortunately, the young lady’s condition wasn’t bad.
The sword wound she had inflicted on herself wasn’t very deep, and because she had taken the antidote quickly, there were no problems with her body.
Above all, apparently the young lady had developed a resistance to this sort of drug. She had frequently suffered unfortunate incidents since she was young, which had caused her to develop a tolerance, so drugs didn’t work on her very well.
There was only one problem…
“You said the drug contained impurities?”
Physician Jeong nodded with a grim expression.
“It contained a very small amount of Manghoncho.”
I involuntarily blurted out,
“Manghoncho?”
“Yes. It is a poisonous herb that erases a person’s memories and reason. This amount should be fine, but if she were to continue taking this drug regularly, it would become a problem. She could even end up forgetting who she is…”
“…”
“I understand that this sort of drug is used by the Unorthodox Faction or the Demonic Cult when brainwashing hostages. How it ended up in Monghonyak…”
‘The Demonic Cult?’
When I froze at the sudden mention of those words, the Chief Steward, whose complexion had somehow turned deathly pale, muttered as though speaking to himself.
“…I’ll have to discuss this matter with the Manor Lord.”
The Young Sect Master’s interrogation took place the following day.
The Young Sect Master was kneeling in the middle of the main hall. His head was tightly wrapped in bandages, and his entire body was bound with ropes. He certainly didn’t look very well off, but he seemed to be in perfectly good condition otherwise.
“I’ve been wronged! I’ve been wronged!”
He was doing well enough to still be spouting things like that.
“Whether Miss Xiao took some strange drug or not, what does that have to do with this Young Sect Master? I know nothing!”
“…”
“And do you think this Young Sect Master has nothing to say? I merely tried to support the young lady because she was staggering in the flower garden! But she misunderstood me all on her own and brought this disaster upon me, so I’m so wronged I could jump out of my skin!”
‘He’s incredible. Seriously.’
Everything had already been exposed, yet he was still denying it?
What was more, he was spouting such detailed lies that anyone who didn’t know the truth might actually be fooled. It seemed like he had spent his entire time locked in that little room thinking up excuses.
Just as I secretly marveled at him,
“Young Sect Master.”
The Manor Lord finally stepped forward, apparently unable to listen any longer.
“There was someone else there besides Ari, was there not? The servant who attends Ari witnessed everything and reported it himself. How do you intend to explain that?”
But the Young Sect Master merely snorted.
“Hmph. How can the Xiao Family Manor Lord believe the word of that lowborn wretch? Isn’t it all the lies of some lowborn servant jealous of this Young Sect Master?”
‘W-What?’
“I suppose that lowborn wretch harbors improper feelings toward his master. Every time this Young Sect Master grew close to the young lady, his gaze was most unpleasant. Ah, could it have been you who drugged her as well?!”
‘You’re trying to pin this on me now?’
The Young Sect Master was now glaring at me, and I could only stare at him in utter disbelief, my mouth hanging open.
But the Manor Lord continued speaking calmly without being flustered.
“Young Sect Master, if you continue denying everything, you will only add to your crimes.”
“When did this Young Sect Master ever lie…!”
“Then how do you explain the Monghonyak found in your possession?”
“……!”
Perhaps he hadn’t thought of that. The Young Sect Master’s face instantly turned deathly pale.
“Young Sect Master, if you intended to cause trouble within our manor, you should have been more cautious. As things stand, is this not the same as looking down upon our Xiao Family Manor? You were openly carrying the drug on your person.”
“…”
“You even had the antidote with you. You must have arranged things so that you wouldn’t be poisoned while drinking tea together. Is that not so?”
“That, that is…”
The Young Sect Master stammered, apparently at a loss for words. But that only lasted for a moment.
Because he soon began shouting at the top of his lungs, his face twisted in anger.
“It’s all… it’s all that bastard’s doing! That bastard must have put the damn drug or antidote in his own clothes and framed me!”
‘Now he’s throwing a tantrum, too?’
“My lord, please render a wise judgment! Whose word carries more weight, mine or that lowborn wretch’s? How long has the friendship between our Thunderblade Sect and the Xiao Family Manor lasted?”
“…”
“And you would break that friendship over such a trivial matter? If my father were to hear about this, he would be deeply saddened. Surely…”
“Surely?”
A gruff voice suddenly rang out.
“……!”
The entire hall fell silent.
I turned toward the direction from which the voice had come.
The door opened, and someone strode into the main hall.
Looking at his imposing frame, twice the size of an ordinary man, I immediately knew who it was.
“What about this father?”
The arrival of Wang Gwan-cheon, the ‘Three Thunderous Blades’
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