At my words, Pavilion Member Ah spoke.
"Ah, no! If I betray them…"
"Mr. Ah, you've already betrayed the Eunhae Merchant Group. So what difference does one more betrayal make?"
"..."
"And betraying them now is, in a way, atoning for your betrayal of the Eunhae Merchant Group."
I looked him straight in the eye and asked,
"And do you really think they'll keep their promise?"
"..."
At my words, Pavilion Member Ah's eyes wavered wildly.
He's beginning to grasp the fate awaiting himself and his family.
But this is all he has left to cling to now.
"Mr. Ah, you know, right? The two things our Eunhae Merchant Group values most."
At my question, he nodded and answered in a trembling voice.
"People, and trust."
"Yes, that's right. So, you don't trust us?"
"..."
"Then this is serious. Pavilion Member Ah of the Eunhae Merchant Group, not trusting the group."
I asked again,
"Has your monthly pay ever been delayed?"
"…N-no."
"And have you ever been denied a vacation?"
"Never."
"And even so, you can't trust us?"
A brief silence followed.
Pavilion Member Ah cautiously asked,
"Can you really… protect my family?"
He was speaking at length now.
It meant he was beginning to be persuaded.
I felt gratitude for my father and ancestors who had built up trust over the years.
Because it was thanks to that trust that my words were working now.
"Yes. I promise. We will protect your family."
Pavilion Member Ah's family is innocent.
But Pavilion Member Ah himself is not.
Whatever the reason, he is an attempted arsonist.
Still, since the arson didn't actually occur, there was room for leniency.
"That fuse stick. Hand it over to me."
"..."
"Hurry."
At my repeated urging, Pavilion Member Ah handed over the fuse stick with trembling hands, and I took it.
I let out a quiet sigh of relief and stroked my chest inwardly.
Just then, members of the Silver Wind Squad entered the archive room.
"Young master, are you alright?"
The man standing in front of the Silver Wind Squad asked me. I recognized him too.
His name was Jeong Chung.
One of the squad leaders of the Silver Wind Squad.
A man who would later become the vice squad leader.
Though I was somewhat pleased to see him, I hid it and nodded calmly.
"Yes. I'm alright."
I spoke to Yeo Chang-Ui in the back.
"But you arrived much faster than I expected."
"That's because your expression looked so grave when you ordered us to call the Silver Wind Squad. So I requested support as quickly as possible. But… why is Ah Seung…?"
I glanced at the trembling Pavilion Member Ah beside me and said,
"He's an attempted arsonist."
"What?"
Everyone looked surprised at my words.
Squad Leader Jeong Chung quickly regained his composure and shouted to his squad members.
"Arsonist! Restrain him!"
"Yes, sir!"
I spoke to Squad Leader Jeong Chung.
"He's an important witness. So please don't treat him roughly. Also, send members of the Silver Wind Squad to protect Pavilion Member Ah's family."
"What?"
At my request, Jeong Chung tilted his head, confused, and I continued.
"I made a promise."
At my words, Pavilion Member Ah's eyes turned red with tears, and he began sobbing.
"Where is your family now? Please tell us."
***
Eunhae Merchant Group's Small Conference Room.
Inside were members of the Eunwol Pavilion of the Eunhae Merchant Group.
Merchant Group Leader Eun Gil-Sang, Chief of Internal Affairs and Finance Pavilion Master Yoo So-Ak, Silver Wind Squad Captain and Chief of External Affairs Go Ilpyung, as well as the Pavilion Masters of Breeze Pavilion and Sunset Pavilion.
These five made up the Eunwol Pavilion.
Eun Gil-Sang let out a sigh and spoke.
"What in the world happened…"
At his words, Yoo So-Ak, the Chief of Internal Affairs, replied.
"Still, it's a relief beyond measure. If that place had caught fire… I don't even want to imagine."
You could feel the rage in Yoo So-Ak's expression as he spoke.
Seeing that, the others involuntarily shuddered.
That was because Yoo So-Ak hated being disturbed in his sleep more than anything.
If there was a valid reason, he could accept it, but the one responsible would still have to face his wrath.
"Ahem, ahem, still, young master Seoho has done a great deed."
Go Ilpyung quickly brought up the topic to shift the mood.
As the Chief of External Affairs of the Eunhae Merchant Group, he also led the Silver Wind Squad and handled external problems.
He was such a powerful martial artist that people said the heavens trembled with a single slash of his sword, calling him Heaven-Shaking Sword.
He was also the martial arts teacher of the brothers Eun Jeong-ho and Eun Jinho.
At Go Ilpyung's words, Eun Gil-Sang cleared his throat.
"Ahem, ahem, though he is my son, I must admit, he deserves praise."
"But… how did the young master even know to stop this incident?"
The Breeze Pavilion Master asked.
His name was Jeok Byeongcheol.
A quiet middle-aged man who didn't like standing out.
He managed the entire internal affairs of the merchant group meticulously, and without him, the group wouldn't function properly—his voice carried weight.
In response, the Sunset Pavilion Master replied.
"We've heard the general situation, but not the details…"
Sunset Pavilion oversaw product selection, distribution, and all business-related operations.
It was the flower of the Eunhae Merchant Group.
Its Pavilion Master was a middle-aged woman named Yeon Dami.
A heroine who overcame countless obstacles as a woman and helped the Eunhae Merchant Group reach its current heights.
At their words, Eun Gil-Sang spoke.
"The parties involved will be here soon. We can ask them then."
Just then, it was announced that Eun Seoho and Yeo Chang-Ui had arrived, and the door opened.
The two of them greeted the five with proper courtesy.
Eun Gil-Sang returned their greeting and offered them seats, which they took.
"First of all, I want to thank you for this matter. Thanks to you, we avoided a disaster."
At Eun Gil-Sang's words, Yeo Chang-Ui waved his hands in denial.
"All I did was call the Silver Wind Squad."
"That alone is a great deed. Now that I think of it, I'm curious. How did you notice that the tea had a sleeping agent and avoid drinking it?"
To that question, Yeo Chang-Ui answered,
"That was thanks to Young Master Eun Seoho's keen insight."
At that reply, Eun Gil-Sang turned to Eun Seoho and said,
"Yes, I had heard that you were the one who stopped the incident. What exactly happened?"
"Yes, Father. I'll explain."
After taking a slight breath, Eun Seoho began to speak.
"Today, I was assigned to night duty in place of a Pavilion Member In Dae-Soo. So I went to Sammi Restaurant for dinner with Pavilion Member Yeo Chang-Ui and then returned to the night-duty room. But something felt off."
"What was off?"
"First, the lantern in the night-duty room was lit. As both you and Chief Yoo know, because the Finance Pavilion has many flammable materials around it, we are trained to always extinguish any lights when leaving the room."
At Eun Seoho's words, both Eun Gil-Sang and Yoo So-Ak nodded.
Eun Gil-Sang had experience handling Finance Pavilion affairs himself, and Yoo So-Ak was its current Chief of Internal Affairs, so both were aware of this.
However—
'Normally, would someone immediately find that suspicious?'
'It is true that it's a habit among the Finance Pavilion staff, but to notice it after just ten days?'
The people there subtly glanced at one another. And they realized they were all thinking the same thing.
Eun Seoho continued his explanation.
"Also, there was a strange mark left on the lid of the teapot. On closer inspection, it looked like an ink-stained fingerprint."
"And what's strange about that? If someone else had tried to pour some tea, they could've touched it."
"If that were the case, then the stain would've only been on the handle and the top of the lid."
Eun Seoho mimed the motion of pouring tea as he spoke.
"When pouring tea, you press the lid gently to keep it from falling off—you don't grab it like this."
"Ah!"
"So that means the lid was opened… and you usually only open it when there's no tea left, right?"
"That's right."
"But since the tea is brought right before night duty starts, it should never be empty. Which means someone deliberately opened it."
"The servants and maids from the Tea Room wouldn't have ink on their hands…"
Eun Seoho's grandfather, Eun Chibong, was extremely meticulous when it came to tea.
Thanks to him, the tea business flourished.
Not only that, he even created a Tea Room within the merchant group and hired specialists to manage and research tea professionally.
That practice continues to this day, and those working in that Tea Room are always required to maintain cleanliness.
Eun Chibong's belief was that if those who handled tea were unclean, it would affect the taste.
And if someone failed a surprise inspection by Eun Chibong, they'd face severe consequences.
That's why the Tea Room staff are obsessive about washing their hands.
So, for one of them to touch the lid with ink-stained fingers? Impossible.
"So that's how you figured it out?"
"Yes. Then, when I poured the tea and examined the cup, I noticed a strange white powder mixed inside. So I secretly wrote a note to Pavilion Member Yeo Chang-Ui telling him not to drink it, and we pretended to fall asleep."
"Hmm…"
"While pretending to sleep, someone quietly ran toward the document archive. So I asked Pavilion Member Yeo Chang-Ui to call in the Silver Wind Squad."
"I see."
Eun Gil-Sang and the others nodded.
But their inner thoughts were all different.
'He's my son, but truly astonishing!'
'How astute.'
'The future of the merchant group looks bright indeed.'
'A young master with real promise.'
'A person like him ought to learn martial arts…'
Eun Gil-Sang continued.
"Then why did you personally go after the culprit?"
At that question, Eun Seoho instead looked puzzled.
"Isn't it obvious that I should? I'm the son of the Merchant Lord, and the successor of the Eunhae Merchant Group."
That answer stunned all five seasoned veterans into silence.
It was an answer they hadn't expected at all.
Eun Gil-Sang soon regained his composure and cleared his throat.
"Ahem, ahem. I understand your sentiment, but it was too reckless. What if he had been armed?"
"Even so, how could the heir of the merchant group just sit back and watch such a disgraceful event unfold within the group?"
Eun Seoho cautiously added,
"But it's also true that my actions caused you worry, Father. I apologize."
"Alright, just be more careful next time."
"Yes. And unexpectedly, the man had another fuse stick. So I had to calm him down with the promise that we'd protect his family. Honestly, the gambling debt was his fault, and trying to commit arson was also his wrongdoing, but his family is innocent."
Eun Seoho bowed his head again in apology.
"I'm sorry for making such a decision without your permission, Father."
"No. You did well."
Eun Gil-Sang replied.
"As you said, his family is blameless. And it's fortunate that you negotiated and prevented a fire. I heard oil had already been poured? If a fire had started… just thinking about it chills my heart."
At his words, everyone nodded.
The place Ah Seung Pavilion Member had tried to burn was the Red Bookshelf within the archive.
That was where the truly critical documents were stored.
In other words, documents that could not be copied.
Among all trading documents, the most important are contracts and delivery confirmations.
Those documents bear the seals of both parties involved.
They were used not only to confirm the authenticity of the trade, but also as proof of the transaction itself.
Eun Gil-Sang picked up a document in front of him.
"Lotus Courtesan House, huh…"
Lotus Courtesan House was originally one of the smaller courtesan houses, but rapidly grew thanks to the advice of Eun Gil-Sang's grandfather.
It had transformed into a Courtesan House and brought in many talented art courtesans.
Thanks to that connection, the Eunhae Merchant Group and Lotus Courtesan House had maintained a supply relationship for decades.
But that relationship was now nearing its end.
"The master of Lotus Courtesan House must have been desperate. To commit such a deed."
At those words from Chief of External Affairs Go Ilpyung, Chief of Internal Affairs Yoo So-Ak burst out angrily.
"Instead of pulling something like this, she should've used that time to find the money to pay her dues!"
At that moment, Eun Seoho cautiously stepped forward.
"Um, Father. I have a question."
"What is it?"
"You mentioned the money for the transaction… Has there been a delay in payment?"