Thus, the relationship between Lotus Courtesan House and the Eunhae Merchant Group was severed, and Lotus Courtesan House signed a contract with another merchant group.
Then, a month later, we heard the news that the House Master had changed.
The House Master had died suddenly.
A voice brought me out of my brief recollection.
"You've arrived?"
At that moment, a servant from Lotus Courtesan House ran out and bowed his head.
Father said to him,
"I am Eun Gil-Sang, Leader of the Eunhae Merchant Group. Is House Master Baek present?"
"Pardon? Um, well…"
The servant hesitated, glancing toward the direction of the House Master's office.
Instead of waiting for a reply, Father headed directly toward the office.
Following behind were me, Chief of Internal Affairs Yoo So-Ak, and members of the Silver Wind Squad.
Not everyone needed to go, so the Pavilion Masters of Breeze Pavilion and Sunset Pavilion remained behind at the merchant group.
Soon, we arrived at the House Master's office.
A guard stood at the door, and as Father approached, he asked,
"Who are you?"
"I am the Leader of the Eunhae Merchant Group. Is the House Master inside?"
At that moment, a voice came from within.
"Let them in."
The guard quickly opened the door, and we entered.
A man with an oily face and a slightly bulging belly greeted us.
His name was Baek Bok.
He was the House Master of Lotus Courtesan House.
"What brings the Leader of the Eunhae Merchant Group all the way here?"
"I've come to collect what is due."
"Excuse me? Due?"
"As of today, your payment for the goods has been overdue by a full year."
"What are you talking about? Payment for goods? When have we ever done business with you?"
Just as expected, House Master Baek played dumb shamelessly.
At his brazen lie, Father and Chief Yoo let out dry laughs.
"It seems you've come down with dementia, House Master. And at such a young age…"
At Father's words, House Master Baek shouted angrily.
"What kind of nonsense is that!"
"Then how have you completely forgotten all the goods we've delivered up to now? We even made a delivery just a month ago."
"Delivery! I told you, there's no such thing! If you claim there was, at least bring a delivery confirmation. You come here demanding money like this—are you the one who's senile?"
"A delivery confirmation, hmm… that…"
At Father's troubled expression, I nearly burst out laughing.
Such skilled acting—indeed, Father was truly a born merchant.
"If you keep making such a scene, I'll call the guards! Leave at once!"
It seemed he was certain we didn't have the confirmation documents, seeing how confidently he acted.
Just as expected.
"Chief Yoo, I think I forgot to bring that document?"
"I expected as much and brought it myself."
Chief Yoo took out a document from his robes and held it out.
"Here is the delivery confirmation."
"..."
"And here is the contract as well."
"..."
Seeing the documents, House Master Baek froze on the spot.
Coming to his senses, he hurriedly checked the documents.
They were indeed the delivery confirmations he had signed. The contract matched what he had previously seen.
It was real.
"H-How is this possible?"
"Why such a face?"
"Y-You said they were burned!"
"What are you talking about?"
"There was a fire at the Finance Pavilion recently, and the documents stored inside were all destroyed. Among them were the ledgers related to the Lotus Courtesan House…"
"Yes, there was a fire."
Father chuckled as he responded.
"But it only scorched the floor a little. So, the documents related to Lotus Courtesan House's deliveries are perfectly intact."
Then, tapping on the delivery confirmation on the table, he continued,
"Like this one. Believing baseless rumors… not befitting a House Master."
It was true.
There had been a fire.
But that fire was one we intentionally started.
To spread the rumor that a fire had occurred.
We also spread the false story that the documents related to Lotus Courtesan House were burned.
In short, House Master Baek had fallen neatly into our trap.
Father gathered the documents and handed them back to Chief Yoo, who then pulled out another document and presented it.
"Then, as per the contract, from today, Lotus Courtesan House belongs to our Eunhae Merchant Group. Please sign here."
Tap.
"T-This can't be!"
House Master Baek resisted fiercely, but Father didn't pay him any mind.
"A contract is a contract."
"Y-You think I'll just sit here and take this?!"
He shouted toward the outside.
"Seize these people immediately!"
At his shout, the door slammed open.
Bang!
"Gasp!"
But the ones who entered were not Lotus Courtesan House's guards.
It was Go Ilpyung, Chief of External Affairs of the Eunhae Merchant Group.
In his hand was a sword.
"The outside has already been dealt with."
"Well done."
Realizing what was going on, House Master Baek collapsed on the spot.
But I felt no sympathy for him.
He was merely paying the price he owed.
.
.
.
House Master Baek had no choice but to sign the contract handing over all rights to Lotus Courtesan House to the Eunhae Merchant Group.
Seeing that, the disgrace I had suffered at his hands in a previous life seemed to wash away.
Nearby, Lotus Courtesan House's employees stood in a row, nervously eyeing the Silver Wind Squad warriors.
'Huh?'
For a moment, I doubted my own eyes.
I had spotted a man standing there, trembling.
I was unsure at first because of the bruise on one side of his face, but looking closer confirmed it.
'T-That guy!'
The young man wearing a scholar's hat was Seo Soochang.
According to my memory, he wasn't with this pavilion but was Chief Manager of another courtesan house.
He had turned around a loss-ridden establishment with his exceptional ability.
That place would go on to become one of the top three courtesan houses in Hubei.
The reason I knew so much about him was because I had once tried to recruit him.
He had politely declined my offer.
Even when I approached him again, he said the House Master there had saved his life, so I had no choice but to give up.
Yet here he was, of all places.
Suppressing my surprise, I approached him.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Eun Seoho, third son of the Eunhae Merchant Group."
"Ah, y-yes. I'm Seo Soochang, Chief Manager of Lotus Courtesan House."
"So you're the Chief Manager. May I take a look at the financial ledgers of this pavilion?"
At my words, he glanced at House Master Baek.
Slide.
I stepped in front of him and said,
"Lotus Courtesan House now belongs to our Eunhae Merchant Group. The contract has already been signed."
"…Understood."
After a brief moment of hesitation, he nodded.
With Father's permission, I assigned four warriors from the Silver Wind Squad to accompany him.
We had to be prepared for the unexpected, and there also seemed to be a lot to carry.
Soon, Chief Manager Seo and the warriors returned, arms full of documents.
I began examining the documents.
"..."
From the thoroughness of the ledgers, it was clear all loyalty had already vanished.
That meant he could potentially be brought over to our side.
It didn't seem like House Master Baek had really saved his life after all.
"Hmm…"
Looking through the financial records, it was clear that once House Master Baek took charge, the finances had worsened rapidly.
And soon after, the flow of funds started to look suspicious.
"This, this, and this. Strange."
At my words, Chief Manager Seo flinched.
"Could he have been embezzling?"
"..."
Having experienced all manner of schemes, analyzing these records was easy for me.
No matter how cleverly they were written, I knew all the tricks.
He probably embezzled funds and ran an illegal gambling den.
But did he make money?
Of course not. Running an illegal gambling den isn't easy.
Which is why the ledgers looked the way they did.
Chief of Internal Affairs Yoo, who had been looking over the financial ledgers with me, raised his head and looked at me.
"What is it?"
"It's nothing."
At that moment, something strange caught my eye.
An expense recorded not long ago.
They were suddenly constructing a pavilion out of nowhere!
No matter how I looked at it, it didn't make sense.
"What's this about?"
"Ah, that pavilion was ordered by House Master Baek."
At those words, I looked at House Master Baek. He averted his gaze to avoid my eyes.
Suspicious.
Right now, the situation was difficult enough just running the place, let alone building something new.
And yet, they were suddenly constructing a pavilion?
There was definitely something going on.
"House Master Baek. Why are you building a pavilion?"
"That pavilion is, uh, for the servants to stay in."
"Servants' quarters?"
"T-The old ones are getting run-down…"
He stammered, making excuses.
Someone who even embezzled the money meant to pay the Eunhae Merchant Group is suddenly worried about the servants' living conditions?
Yeah, right.
You have to know who's worth believing.
After thinking for a moment, I asked Father,
"Father, may I step out briefly?"
"Where are you going?"
"I'd like to take a look at that pavilion they're supposedly building."
Perhaps sensing something, Father nodded without hesitation.
"Very well. Go ahead."
"Yes."
I spoke to Chief Manager Seo.
"Could you show me the pavilion under construction?"
"Yes. I'll guide you."
With two bodyguards, I followed Chief Manager Seo toward the construction site.
We arrived quickly at the newly built pavilion.
From the outside, it looked ordinary, but there were no workers in sight.
"It seems the workers haven't arrived yet."
"Well, we were told not to bring any workers in until tomorrow."
"Is that so?"
I tilted my head as I stepped into the half-constructed pavilion.
Flinch—
I hadn't walked more than a few steps before I ran into someone.
'There was no presence at all!'
Dressed in black and wearing a mask, the person was clearly suspicious.
"...!"
"Who are you!"
One of the bodyguards moved to shield me, while the other drew his sword and charged to subdue the masked figure.
The masked man also drew his sword to counter.
Clang! Clang clang!
Swords clashed several times.
Bang—!
Suddenly, a smoke bomb exploded.
The masked figure had set it off.
"Young master, get back!"
At the bodyguard's warning, I quickly retreated.
"I'll pursue them!"
The bodyguard who had clashed swords shouted and took off in pursuit.
Leaving the chase to him, I approached the spot where the masked figure and the bodyguard had fought.
'Huh?'
A strange scent suddenly reached my nose.
It was like the scent of orchids. I asked those around me,
"Do you smell something strange?"
"A scent?"
"Could it be the smell of the wood? It's still under construction, after all."
"I don't smell anything."
Apparently, I was the only one who could smell it.
'Strange.'
But I didn't dwell on it for long. One of the bodyguards found something.
"There's something here."
He pointed to what looked like a door in the floor—one that could be lifted open.
That must have been the reason the masked figure was here.
I turned to Chief Manager Seo.
"What is this?"
"I'm not sure either. I only know that it leads underground and that it was ordered personally by House Master Baek."
Suspicious.
"We'd better open it."
At my words, one of the bodyguards spoke.
"Just in case, I'll stay on alert."
Though my sensing told me no one was down there, you could never be too careful.
Especially after what just happened.
At that moment, Chief Manager Seo stepped up quickly.
"I'll open it."
While the bodyguard stood guard with his sword drawn, Chief Manager Seo lifted the door.
A passageway leading underground came into view.
Then the bodyguard who had pursued the masked person returned.
"I'm sorry. I lost them."
As expected.
The masked person was a master, to the point I hadn't even sensed them.
Still, I hadn't stopped the bodyguard because it would have been hard to explain why.
Also, since the masked man focused on fleeing, I had assumed the bodyguard wouldn't be harmed.
"It's fine. There's no helping it. We'll head down and check it out. Please keep an eye out to see who comes."
"Understood."
We descended.
It was fairly spacious, and already largely complete.
There were several rooms, and in one of them, we found something unusual.
A symbol drawn on the wall—something like a mix of clouds and peach blossoms.
'This is… the Dowoon Merchant Group?'
Without a doubt, it was the crest of the Dowoon Merchant Group.
I couldn't help but laugh inwardly.
Why?
Because the Dowoon Merchant Group served as a subordinate group to the White Heaven Merchant Group.
This meant the fire at the Finance Pavilion was the work of the Dowoon Merchant Group—in other words, the White Heaven Merchant Group was behind it.
Now I finally understood who the nameless merchant group that took over Lotus Courtesan House's dealings after breaking off with us was.
It was the Dowoon Merchant Group.