Inside the imperial palace of Great Yan.
“Your Majesty!
Please reconsider!”
Numerous officials knelt before the Emperor, repeatedly pleading with him.
“Those treacherous villains are merely trying to drive a wedge between Your Majesty and Lord Grand Warden!”
“We all know that Lord Grand Warden seeks neither fame nor fortune!”
“The only thing he truly cares about is the twelve fragments!”
“Those people are deliberately targeting his one weakness!
Their intention to plot against him has already become obvious to everyone!”
“Nonsense!”
Another group of ministers immediately voiced their opposition.
“Those fragments are nothing more than contingencies left behind by Sui!”
“Who among you can guarantee that a mere wandering swordsman truly possesses loyalty toward Great Yan?!”
“How can you be certain he hasn’t submitted to Sui’s will and merely staged an elaborate performance to deceive us?!”
As the arguments grew increasingly heated and the situation threatened to descend into chaos, the Grand Tutor finally intervened.
“Silence!”
His voice was not particularly loud.
Nevertheless, it carried an extraordinary authority that instantly silenced the entire hall.
“My ministers, I am already aware of this matter.”
The Emperor sat upon his dragon throne, his expression solemn and imposing.
“Yet despite all your arguments, not one of you has presented any substantial evidence.”
“Who among you can truly claim to know Minister Yu’s intentions?”
“Your Majesty, I have a proposal.”
At that moment, an official who had never previously participated in the discussions surrounding Hongyu stepped forward.
“Great Yan has recovered vast stretches of lost territory, so much that our administration is already struggling to manage it all.”
“During my previous time at the Sui Regulator, I learned that Jie, the fifth fragment of Sui, possesses a divine authority that could help resolve this problem.”
“Why not send her to the newly recovered territories?”
“It would also provide an opportunity for her to demonstrate her loyalty to Great Yan…”
…
“Hey, are you really that confident these ambushes will be enough to eliminate one of those giant-beast fragments?”
“Heh.
As long as she actually comes, we can guarantee it.”
“And what happens afterward?”
“If she dies there, how are we supposed to explain it to the Emperor?”
“Isn’t that obvious?”
“We simply report that the giant beast Jie had displayed rebellious intentions and attacked the soldiers of Great Yan in the recovered territories.”
“Then, acting decisively, I exercised my military authority and ordered her execution.”
“Something along those lines.
It’s not exactly difficult to come up with an explanation.”
“But…
what about the Grand Warden?”
“Haah.
That Grand Warden doesn’t seem particularly impressive to me.”
“How many years has it been since he last appeared in the imperial capital?”
“The last time you heard one of those ridiculous legends about him, you were probably still running around in split-crotch trousers!”
“And besides, they’re just legends.”
“One man possessing the strength of an entire army?”
“Heh.
Do you seriously believe that nonsense?”
“More importantly, even the Grand Warden has to provide evidence before accusing anyone of wrongdoing.”
“And as for the evidence…”
“He wasn’t even there.”
“How could he possibly know what really happened?”
…
…
…
“Yu!
Come set off firecrackers with me!”
That particular morning, Hongyu was awakened by Nian crawling into his bed and making a tremendous amount of noise.
The girl had squeezed herself so close that there was practically no space left between them.
She planted her hands on either side of Hongyu’s head and stared directly into his lifeless eyes with her beautiful purple ones.
‘It really is…
just like Big Brother said.’
‘I can’t sense even the slightest emotional fluctuation from Yu…’
‘If Sister Ling hadn’t woken me up when she went out this morning, and I hadn’t suddenly decided to sneak into Yu’s room and surprise him, I might never have noticed.’
‘Come to think of it…’
‘Why does Sister Ling wake up so early every single day?’
“Nian, don’t you think it’s getting a little crowded in here?”
Hongyu finally reacted and closed his eyes.
But just then, another bulge beneath the blankets began to move.
A head emerged from underneath.
The sudden appearance startled Nian.
“Nian, this is all your fault.”
“Yu woke up before I even had a chance to sneak away.”
“S-S-Sister Ling?!”
Nian pointed at her with a trembling finger.
“Why are you sleeping in here?!”
She sounded utterly incredulous.
All this time, Nian had assumed that her eldest sister went out early every morning to buy wine.
After all, where else could Ling possibly be getting that seemingly endless supply of alcohol?
(Hongyu: “I’m the one buying it.”)
But before Nian could recover from her shock, yet another small head poked out from beneath Hongyu’s blankets.
The newcomer rubbed her sleepy eyes and complained in a drowsy voice.
“Nian…
you’re too loud…”
“DUSK?!”
‘What the hell have you two been doing behind my back?!’
Nian froze.
Then she gritted her teeth and made a decision.
She promptly burrowed beneath Hongyu’s loose outer clothing.
‘Fine!
If that’s how you’re going to play, don’t blame me for doing the same!’
“Yu, I want to sleep a little longer too!”
Nian’s voice came out muffled as she settled against Hongyu.
His oversized clothing bulged around her.
And then she noticed a faint, pleasant fragrance.
‘It…
actually smells pretty nice…’
A hint of pink appeared on Nian’s cheeks as she grew a little lightheaded.
Meanwhile, Ling’s eyes widened in alarm at her younger sister’s behavior.
She immediately grabbed Nian’s exposed tail and began pulling.
“Nian!
Get out of there!!”
“No way!”
Nian refused without hesitation.
“Sister Ling, you’ve got some nerve telling me what to do!”
She immediately turned the accusation back on Ling, pointing out how unfair it was for her eldest sister to sneak off and monopolize Hongyu.
Ling was left momentarily speechless.
Meanwhile, Dusk simply rubbed her eyes, hugged Hongyu’s arm, and shifted into a more comfortable sleeping position.
Hongyu, still only half-awake, stared blankly at the chaos unfolding around him.
‘…Huh?’
‘What on earth is going on…?’
Before long, Hongyu’s entire room had descended into utter pandemonium.
“Ahh…
It’s so noisy…”
In the kitchen, Shu was preparing breakfast alongside their youngest brother.
Hearing the commotion, she turned to look toward Hongyu’s room.
“Have they gone to bother Sir again?” Shu asked, sounding puzzled.
Meanwhile, their youngest brother seemed to have already guessed what was going on.
He wisely chose to remain silent.
‘Sixth Sister, I don’t think this is as simple as them disturbing Sir’s sleep…’
‘Third Sister, Ninth Sister, and Eleventh Sister might have actually spent the entire night sleeping in Sir’s bed…’
Of course, the twelfth sibling kept those thoughts to himself.
However, as breakfast was finished and there was still no sign of anyone emerging from Hongyu’s room, he began to feel increasingly uneasy.
‘Seriously, Sisters, what the hell are you doing?!’
‘Sister Shu is…
She’s about to…’
“I’ll go call them for breakfast.
Little Brother, could you set out the chairs?”
With that, Shu headed toward Hongyu’s bedroom.
“We’re doomed.”
The words slipped out of the youngest brother’s mouth.
Fortunately, Shu didn’t hear him.
She opened the door.
And the smile on her face froze.
…
“Hm?
Why aren’t Sir, Ling, Shu, Nian, or Dusk at the breakfast table today?”
Wang casually picked up a boiled egg, looking somewhat surprised.
“Isn’t Nian usually the most enthusiastic about eating?
Where did everyone go?”
“Shh!
Shh!
SHH!”
The youngest brother hurriedly interrupted him.
Just eat!
Eat your breakfast!”
…
…
…
“Lord Grand Warden, this is an imperial decree from His Majesty.”
Around noon, Hongyu received an urgent summons back to the imperial palace.
He was rather surprised.
Although he occasionally handled paperwork as part of his duties at the Sui Regulator, receiving a formal imperial decree directly from the Emperor was something that had never happened before.
“Minister Yu, over the past several years, I have recovered numerous territories lost during the Great Hunt.
However, the laws of Great Yan have yet to be properly implemented in certain reclaimed regions.”
“I have been informed by my ministers that Jie, the fifth of Sui’s fragments, possesses a divine authority suited to resolving this problem.”
“Therefore, by the authority vested in your position as Grand Warden, I hereby command that Jie be dispatched to the recovered territories of Great Yan.”
“Thus decrees the Emperor.”
‘Jie?’
‘Hasn’t she already been going to the Sui Regulator on her own and helping the officials there whenever she has free time?’
‘Great Yan’s recovered territories, huh…’
“Understood.
Please inform His Majesty that the Grand Warden has received his decree.”
Hongyu accepted the imperial edict.
Then, without wasting another moment, he flew straight toward the Sui Regulator.
Upon arriving, he grabbed Jie, who was busy handling paperwork, and immediately carried her back toward his residence.
Jie barely had time to react.
One moment, she was sitting at her desk.
The next, the entire world seemed to spin around her.
By the time she regained her bearings, she was standing outside Hongyu’s house.
And Hongyu was still holding her by the collar.
“Sir?!”
Hongyu waved his hand dismissively before calling Wang over.
“Wang, would you be interested in helping Jie and me handle the paperwork at the Sui Regulator?”
Wang pointed at himself.
“Me?”
Hongyu nodded.
‘It seems there are still certain people in the imperial court who believe anyone outside their own kind should be eliminated.’
‘And those people have been reaching their hands a little too far.’
‘It has been quite some time since I last visited Great Yan’s borderlands.’
‘Apparently, a few little kittens have started believing that tigers aren’t particularly frightening.’
‘Perhaps it’s time to cut off a few of those filthy hands.’
‘Haaah…
Shuo, you really picked the perfect time to leave.’
‘Oh well.
I doubt there are many idiots foolish enough to target someone like you, considering you’ve inherited most of Sui’s divine authority.’
‘I should focus on taking care of things here.’
Hongyu removed the silk bandages that had remained wrapped around his eyes.
A faint blue-gray glow shimmered in his pupils, leaving delicate trails of light.
“Jie, you’re coming with me to Great Yan’s reclaimed territories.”
“There are some rather troublesome insects plotting to harm you.”
“But don’t worry.
I’ll remain hidden nearby.”
“Leave your safety to me.”
His voice was quiet, yet an imposing presence began radiating from his body.
This wasn’t the usual performance he put on to imitate emotions.
For the first time in a long while, the man who could barely experience feelings found a faint spark of genuine anger rising within his heart.
Wang stared in astonishment as Hongyu voluntarily removed the silk covering his eyes.
A thought suddenly occurred to him.
‘Big Brother…’
‘Sir really does have emotions after all…’
‘It’s just that those emotions seem to reveal themselves when it comes to us.’
“Perhaps I never should have agreed to Sir’s request that day…”
Looking at the mountain of documents piled upon his desk, Wang, who had long since become the Grand Warden himself, couldn’t help sighing.
He cautiously glanced around the room.
After confirming that nobody was about to enter, he quietly retrieved the Go board he had hidden away.
Then he began entertaining himself with a game against himself.
“Lord Grand Warden, you’re slacking off again.”
A woman’s voice suddenly rang out behind him.
Cold sweat immediately broke out across Wang’s back.
He turned around.
Standing there was the brown-haired Cautus assistant he had personally hired, wearing a pleasant smile.
She calmly confiscated his Go board.
“There’s still plenty of work to do.
You can’t take a break just yet.”
Looking at the smiling rabbit-eared woman, Wang felt as though he were about to suffer a heart attack.