***
After the entrance ceremony ended.
Yeon Dohwa did not stay long at the celebration.
Although she had only just returned from the Imperial Family, the first thing she said to Yeon Hwi-cheon was brief.
“Follow me.”
At those words, Yeon Hwi-cheon’s shoulders stiffened. But he soon regained his usual gentle smile.
After giving the people who remained around them a light nod, he followed his mother as though nothing had happened.
The two of them headed to the detached quarters Yeon Dohwa used whenever she stayed at the main family residence.
Once the door closed, the laughter and words of congratulations from outside instantly faded into the distance.
A chilly atmosphere characteristic of a room that had been left empty for a long time lingered inside.
Yeon Dohwa walked to the seat of honor, removed her dark robe, and handed it to an attendant.
Fatigue was evident from her long journey, but there was not the slightest disorder in her appearance or posture.
“Mother, I’m glad you returned safely.”
Before the attendant could do so, Yeon Hwi-cheon picked up the teapot and filled her cup himself.
“You must have had a long journey from the Imperial Family to the main residence. Did you encounter any inconvenience? If I had known in advance that you were returning, I would have gone to meet you myself.”
Yeon Dohwa did not answer.
Yeon Hwi-cheon forced himself to maintain his smile as he placed the teacup before her.
“You must be quite tired, so it would be best for you to rest first. I’ll also have a meal prepared separately for you.”
But there was still no response.
As the silence lengthened, Yeon Hwi-cheon’s smile gradually stiffened.
Then Yeon Dohwa finally spoke.
“Bring me the switch.”
The atmosphere in the room froze.
Yeon Hwi-cheon’s hand, which had been lowering the teapot, stopped in midair.
The attendant waiting nearby also raised his head as though to make sure he had heard correctly, but when he met Yeon Dohwa’s chilly gaze, he hurriedly bowed.
“Yes, my lady.”
As the attendant left the room, all traces of ease disappeared from Yeon Hwi-cheon’s face.
“Mother.”
He cautiously asked while trying to maintain his smile.
“Why have you ordered the switch to be brought?”
Yeon Dohwa’s gaze slowly turned toward her son.
“Are you asking because you truly don’t know?”
Her voice was low.
But the coldness contained within it made Yeon Hwi-cheon’s throat bob slightly.
He quickly racked his mind.
He recalled one by one everything he had done recently that might have displeased his mother.
Failing to answer properly after Yeon Baekyu returned.
Failing to show the level of achievement expected of him at the medical academy lately.
Meanwhile, Ryeonghwa had placed first in the Ip-gwan Examination and had even received the needle case the Family Head had used for so many years.
But he had no way of knowing how much his mother already knew.
Yeon Hwi-cheon lowered his brows as though he had been wronged and took a step closer.
“If there is something I did lacking, please tell me. I need to know what I did wrong in order to correct it, don’t I?”
Yeon Dohwa quietly studied her son’s face.
It was a kind and upright face that would have deceived almost anyone under ordinary circumstances.
But she showed no reaction whatsoever.
“Your recent achievements have fallen short of my expectations.”
Yeon Hwi-cheon’s eyes wavered for an instant.
He immediately dropped to his knees.
“I was wrong.”
An apology came before an excuse.
He knew what his mother hated most.
“I let my guard down for a moment this time. I will not disappoint your expectations again.”
Yeon Dohwa did not move.
“You let your guard down?”
A faint sneer crossed her lips.
“While you were letting your guard down, a seven-year-old child placed first in the Ip-gwan Examination.”
Yeon Hwi-cheon lowered his head even further.
“Ryeonghwa merely displayed unexpected talent. She is still a child who hasn’t even properly begun her lessons, so soon…”
“Then you should be even more ashamed.”
Yeon Dohwa cut him off.
“That child hasn’t even received formal lessons yet. And her body is not healthy either.”
Tap, tap.
Her slender fingers slowly tapped against the table.
“Even such a child has advanced farther than you.”
Yeon Hwi-cheon’s hand slowly curled into a fist atop his knee.
His nails dug into his palm, but he did not show the slightest sign of pain.
“I’m sorry.”
“What good is apologizing to me?”
Yeon Dohwa said coldly.
“If you lack something, then fill that gap.”
At that moment, the attendant returned carrying a long, slender switch.
Yeon Dohwa silently held out her hand.
The moment the switch fell into her grasp, Yeon Hwi-cheon’s complexion turned pale.
He had worked countless times to earn his mother’s recognition.
He had studied harder than anyone and behaved like the proper successor at every moment.
He had cut back on sleep and smiled even when he had no desire to, all so he would not fall even a single step behind his mother’s expectations.
But Yeon Hwi-cheon knew.
What mattered to his mother was not the process.
In the end, what he had to show was the result.
“Roll up your trouser legs.”
Yeon Hwi-cheon’s lips trembled slightly.
“Mother, I will make up for this. This time…”
“Do not make me say it twice.”
The brief warning fell.
Yeon Hwi-cheon could no longer speak.
With trembling hands, he grabbed the hem of his trousers.
Slowly rolling up the fabric, he revealed his slender calves.
Yeon Dohwa lightly tapped the floor with the tip of the switch.
Tap.
Even at that small sound, Yeon Hwi-cheon’s body flinched.
“Stand straight.”
He slowly rose and grasped the edge of the table.
His head was lowered, but the gaze fixed on the floor had already grown cold and still.
Yeon Dohwa raised the switch.
“If you wish to become the successor of Yakryeong, remember this.”
Whoosh—!
The sharp sound of the switch cutting through the air rang out.
“You must be outstanding enough that you will not be shaken no matter who appears.”
Smack—!
The dry crack of the strike echoed through the detached quarters.
Yeon Hwi-cheon gripped the edge of the table with all his strength.
His body pitched forward for an instant, but he bit down hard on his lips to keep himself from making even a single groan.
“If you felt that your position was in danger because of one seven-year-old child…”
The switch rose again.
“That is not the child’s fault.”
Smack—!
The second strike split the silent room.
A vivid red mark appeared across Yeon Hwi-cheon’s calf.
“You are the one who is lacking.”
Yeon Hwi-cheon slowly lowered his head.
His eyes glistened with tears from the pain, but what dwelled within them was not sorrow.
It was cold, deep hatred.
“……I will remember.”
But instead of his own shortcomings, an entirely different name surfaced in his mind.
Terminally ill Yeon Ryeonghwa.
He had thought she was an insignificant child not even worth paying attention to.
Yet that child had placed first in the Ip-gwan Examination and was smiling with the needle case belonging to his grandfather—the very thing he had wanted so badly—held in her arms.
While receiving all of his father’s and grandfather’s affection.
As though she were taking away, one by one, the gazes that should have been directed at him.
‘Yeon Ryeonghwa…’
Yeon Hwi-cheon clenched his teeth.
***
After finishing her conversation with her son, Yeon Dohwa did not rest for even a moment before heading straight to the Family Head’s study deep within the main residence.
Standing before the thick ebony doors, she straightened her collar once before quietly knocking.
Knock, knock.
“Come in.”
A low, heavy voice came from beyond the door.
Creak.
When she opened the door and entered, a rich medicinal fragrance wafted gently through the air.
One wall of the study was completely filled with books and medical texts, while a large ebony desk stood in the center.
Yeon Baekyu, seated behind it, lowered his brush and looked at his daughter.
His usually blunt expression softened ever so slightly.
“You’re here.”
“Yes, Father.”
Yeon Dohwa bowed respectfully.
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