novelraw Chapter 58 : Chapter 58
Chapter 58 : Chapter 58
Chapter 58 - Seems a Bit Overrated
A family of a certain size is bound to have a butler.
And usually, the number does not exceed one.
Because the position of butler itself was created to manage the various affairs of the family as one.
But right here.
For the Yi Family Clan that dominated Yiliang County, the situation was different.
As the scale of the merchant group was vast and the number of subordinates it commanded easily exceeded a hundred, one butler was not enough.
The Yi Family Clan’s Butler Yi, So Hyeon.
The reason he was called Butler Yi was because the master he served was the second young master, Sedong.
“Is the young master the same as ever today?”
“Yes, he is.”
“Hoo…… I am worried.”
Another wrinkle was added to his already wrinkled forehead.
Butler Yi, So Hyeon, let out a soft sigh at the servant’s answer.
‘He has rarely gone outside since that day…….’
In his mind, a boy with a round and cute face comes to mind.
The second young master, Sedong.
The second son of the family head, and a person who had recently been causing So Hyeon much concern.
From the beginning, the butler's heart towards Sedong was never at ease.
Because an inexplicable variable would arise in every business venture Sedong pursued.
It was impossible for So Hyeon, who had worked at the Yi Family Clan for decades, not to notice what Biyoung had grasped just by hearing the situation.
But because of the status of the person carrying out the sabotage, he could not carelessly speak of it.
How could one easily mention the suspicion that the elder son was obstructing the work of the younger son?
“This won’t do. I must see the second young master in person today.”
The second young master had changed.
Since ‘that day’ that Butler Yi recalled.
Since that day, the number of times Sedong went out of the house had drastically decreased, and he had been cooped up in his quarters, engrossed in one thing.
One thing.
That was martial arts training.
‘As if possessed, he just keeps repeating the same movements…….’
Martial arts training was not necessarily a bad thing.
It was meaningful just to build up stamina, and there was no law saying that the son of a merchant family could not learn martial arts.
It was good to see his small and soft physique becoming firm.
For some reason, he was also forcing down the Three-Eyed Snake Soup every day, which he had always refused to eat.
The problem was that Sedong was only doing martial arts training day and night.
As a son of the Yi Family Clan, he should have a great interest in the affairs of the world and periodically build rapport with business partners.
Moreover, was he not on the verge of the Awl Selection Period right now?
To be cooped up at a time when he should be most active, the heart of Butler Yi, who served the second young master, was burning.
‘What on earth did that child say to Sedong.’
The day that Butler Yi recalled was the day Biyoung had visited the Yi family.
What first caught So Hyeon’s eye was his handsome appearance, rare in recent times.
It was as if a master painter of the era had personally drawn the facial features on his flawless white skin as a canvas.
Although So Hyeon, who was over sixty, had seen countless faces, he was a handsome man who could still make his eyes widen.
But it seemed there were no perfect people in the world.
He had an unparalleled appearance, but his personality seemed somewhat angular and twisted.
The way he sometimes reacted like a little old man also felt strange.
The biggest problem was that after Biyoung’s visit, Sedong’s way of behaving had completely changed.
No.
Could personality be contagious?
If you're going to be strange, you can live strangely on your own, but why did you have to turn the sincere second young master into a good-for-nothing…… no, make him strange?
It was the moment when So Hyeon, who felt he could not let it go on, was about to get up and go to Sedong.
“Elder Butler.”
The servant who had just checked on Sedong’s condition called Butler Yi.
“What is it.”
“There is someone causing a disturbance at the main gate.”
“A disturbance? Did you say a disturbance?”
So Hyeon tilted his head and asked back.
This was not a village cloth shop or an inn, so how dare someone cause a disturbance at the main gate of the Yi Family Clan?
Besides, if it was such a disturbance, the guards stationed at the main gate could just take care of it.
It was not something that needed to be reported all the way to him, the butler.
“Yes. At first, we tried to send him away politely, but he was a person who simply would not listen. Moreover, one of them kept insisting he was a benefactor of the Yi family, so we wish to confirm the fact.”
“A benefactor? Did he say a benefactor?”
“Yes. I also thought it was nonsense, but he said it so firmly……”
How many people would unreservedly call themselves a ‘benefactor’ of the Yi family?
So Hyeon recalled a few faces in his mind.
And he cross-referenced to see if any of them had the personality to senselessly barge in like this without any consideration.
‘There is……!’
There was.
Just one person.
One who combined all those possibilities.
“By any chance, did he say his name was Biyoung?”
At that, the servant's eyes widened like lanterns.
“How did you know?”
“So it is.”
Butler Yi’s face became troubled.
Sedong’s condition had already become strange after his last visit.
However, Biyoung was officially a benefactor acknowledged by the family head.
He really did not want to let him in, but he had no justification to turn him away.
“I will go out myself. You are not to tell the second young master about this yet.”
“Understood.”
I don’t know what it is, but I hope it passes quietly.
Butler Yi, So Hyeon, let out a sigh and came out of his office.
It would not take much time for him to realize how futile his wish was.
***
“Do we really have to see blood?”
“Wh-what do you mean?”
“You don’t get it even when I tell you. Then we have to see blood.”
“Do you think you can get away with causing such a ruckus at the main family?”
The guards protecting the main gate were arguing with a visitor.
Although it was called an argument, the guards' temples were already moist with sweat.
It wasn't that they lacked confidence in their skills.
It was just that the man in front of them looked too murderous.
He had an appearance that would not seem strange at all if he were to pull out a dagger from his clothes and attack at any moment.
“What is the meaning of this!”
From behind the guards, an aged voice full of experience was heard.
Butler Yi, So Hyeon, had arrived at the main gate.
“Wh-what is this……!”
The scene before his eyes was even more bizarre than what So Hyeon had expected.
One man with a ferocious impression and a sword at his waist.
And behind him were a man who had been brutally beaten, and another man who was making a scowl as he carried him.
‘A murder? Or human trafficking?’
Whatever the reason, it was a troublesome matter to bring into the Yi family.
Especially that gangster-like bastard swaggering at the very front……!
Even without the man behind him who was beaten to a pulp, such a person could not be allowed inside the Yi family.
Butler Yi, So Hyeon, shouted at Uma in a sharp voice.
“I don’t know where you heard the information, but I know Young Master Biyoung’s face. What is your purpose in trying to set foot in the Yi family by impersonating Young Master Sedong’s closest friend? Depending on your answer, you will suffer a great misfortune.”
At that, Uma bared his teeth and smiled.
“It seems the people of this family all listen with their asses.”
Uma, who spat and uttered vulgar words, was, to anyone's eyes, nothing more than a ruffian from the marketplace.
It was just as So Hyeon, thinking there was nothing more to hear, was about to order his servants to call the escort warriors.
“Senior Brother! It’s settled!”
From a distance, a figure was running like a gale.
A thin tremor ran across the face of So Hyeon, who had been squinting at the figure.
“Y-Young Master Biyoung?”
A delinquent expression that contrasted with his exceptionally handsome face.
It matched exactly with the appearance of Biyoung he had seen before.
Then, did that mean the man in front of him was not lying?
“What are you looking at? I never once said I was Biyoung.”
Only then did So Hyeon realize his mistake and hurriedly bowed his head.
“I have been very rude. I thought an impersonator of Young Master Biyoung had appeared, so I…….”
“That’s what happens when you judge a person just by looking. I heard this is the most prosperous family in Yiliang County, but seeing the butler’s response, it seems a bit overrated.”
Although it was Uma who had uttered the swaggering and insulting words, So Hyeon could not dare to retort.
It was a clear mistake to have made threats based solely on a person's appearance.
Of course, it wasn't that he didn't feel it was unfair.
‘There’s a limit to how much of a delinquent a person can look……!’
He had an impression that made one feel they should check for weapons in the vicinity just by meeting his eyes.
A stubborn jawline, eyebrows furrowed together, and venomous-looking beady eyes.
Who could look at this man and not have a prejudice?
Moreover, there was even a person being carried on his back, beaten to a pulp.
It was unfair.
Unfair!
“Why are you so late? You said it would be quick.”
While So Hyeon was swimming in a swamp of confusion, Uma questioned Biyoung.
“I thought I could find it quickly, but the Yi Family Manor is bigger than I thought. It’s been a while, so I got a little lost.”
“W-wait a moment.”
So Hyeon, who felt something was amiss, waved one arm.
“Oh? Head Butler. Why are you here?”
“………….”
I’m here because you lot are causing a disturbance.
So Hyeon struggled to maintain his composure.
“Young Master Biyoung. I am glad to see you still look healthy. However, the words you just said……”
“Ah. The guards wouldn't let me in even when I said my name, so I went to see Sedong. To ask him to come and open the gate.”
“You mean Young Master Sedong? The young master is currently in his quarters……”
“Yes. I went over that wall and met him. It was hard to find because the building structures are all so similar.”
“So, that is…….”
So Hyeon stammered with a foolish face, unable to close his open mouth.
So, you mean you jumped over the main family's wall, entered without permission, and came and went as if it were your own home?
It was a mystery how he had jumped over the dizzyingly high wall, but it was an even greater mystery that he had not been caught by anyone while doing so.
What was most surprising was Biyoung’s mental state, nonchalantly chattering about having casually jumped over someone else’s wall.
Was this any different from the mind of a thief?
“But seeing you, Head Butler, I think I made a mistake.”
“Is…… that so?”
Yes.
Seeing my face, it seems you still have a shred of conscience left.
It was just when So Hyeon was entertaining such a thought.
“If I had known you would come out, Head Butler, I wouldn’t have had to go back and forth and hurt my feet. I just wasted my energy for nothing.”
“………….”
No…….
Not that kind of mistake.
Can’t you think of a more normal mistake?
You thief bastard!
‘He is a man I can’t possibly handle.’
It had been so since the first time he saw him, but the actions of this striking young man were so free-spirited that they were unpredictable.
“Biyoung!”
At that moment, a voice greeting Biyoung with a bright face was heard from inside the main gate.
“Hey! Sedong!”
Looking at it this way, it was just a beautiful scene of two young men meeting after a long time and catching up.
However, in So Hyeon’s eyes, one of them was no different from a little demon rising from hell.
“Who are these people? Huk!”
“It’s rude to be startled by someone’s face, Sedong.”
“S-sorry.”
“I vouch for them, so don’t worry. Can you spare a room for a moment? Out of sight of other people.”
“Of course. Don’t worry.”
Sedong’s large, round eyes, perhaps slightly frightened, kept stealing glances at Uma.
However, since he trusted Biyoung so much, there seemed to be no particular problem.
The four people, guided by Biyoung, passed through the main gate and went inside, and Butler So Hyeon had to watch their backs with a complicated expression that was hard to describe.
“Of all times, when the family head is away……”
I hope nothing happens.
Please.
So Hyeon could only pray and pray again in his heart as he watched Biyoung’s back.