Chapter 127: No Rest for the Wicked (Ag-In-Egeneun Hyusig-i Eobsda)

I had just settled down after a long day with the Prince in another brothel close to ihwaru since I still didn't want Hui-Jae to know anything about me after the Liadong War after her blatant betrayal. I was barely alone for 10 minutes before a very angry Seon-Ho can bursting in the room and demanding that we have a talk, and a very serious one at that. I couldn't help but to roll my eyes, thinking hat maybe he was just angry in the moment and that he would have a chance to calm down. And boy, was I wrong. "Well? What is the mater with you? And how did you even find me here?" I asked him in a dull tone but he was still in his stubborn phase of ignoring me just to get my attention, and I wasn't about to give him the satisfaction of giving him the reaction that he wanted from me.

"Do you have any idea what that brat of a sister of yours is up to now?" He was intent on blowing up my eardrums, which also blew away any chance that I had of ignoring him. "My sister is being educated and working, despite my constant objections. But she isn't a child anymore, and she has clearly gotten more stubborn overtime. If we weren't torn apart, then I could have a lot more influence in her life, as I should. But the last time we were together, she was 16 and now she is turning 21. I can't pester her too much, if I do, she will just run further and further away from me." I could see the resentment on his face and I was somewhat satisfied to see that. "Are you kidding me right now? You would get a heart attack when you couldn't find her at home after we trained and you just sent her off alone!" "Well, it's not like I've got much of a choice now is it! Remind me again, who exactly got me involved with the damned prince in the first place? And how? For how many years!" I couldn't help but to seethe as I was getting just as flared up as Seon-Ho was.

"If I wasn't forced to do what I did then believe you me, I would have taken my sister somewhere far away so we could forget the past and start over again. But now the Prince won't let me go and I have no choice but to have her in various people's care in my place when I am gone. Besides, I also have to send her to an etiquette place before marrying her off. The madame-in-charge is a contact of one of Chief Park's acquaintances so I have no choice but to put my trust in that, since I am now bound to the palace thanks to you and your father." I spewed out bitterly before trying to eat, but obviously Seon-Ho couldn't even give me a few minutes peace to give me that.

"You've never given her this much attention before, I wonder what spell my sister cast on you to act like a total maniac without reason." "Cut out the nonsense, your sister isn't the only thing I'm here for." "Well if you're here for me, can you at least give me the decency to eat in peace first? I'm starving." I had been dreading this moment ever since I returned to my sisters side and I only had brothels to keep her in since our home was practically falling apart around our heads. I wasn't happy about it either since the damned Prince took us men away from the village with every opportunity he could, and I could tell at once he was trying to distance myself and Seon-Ho from each other since we were on opposite sides in the palace court. The Emperor had always feared his Third Prince Yi Bang-Won as did the entire nation. But Seon-Ho still refused to let go of Yeon and even worse, he did legally have rights over her that he was holding over her head just like how he always kept his sword besides him even in his sleep. I had hoped that after what my sister was forced to do to keep me safe, that they would back off of Yeon and give us the space we needed to heal, but from what I was constantly hearing from Hwa-Wol, Seon-Ho bad began to personally stalk her himself instead of getting his little gang of youths to do it for him. And then he had basically kidnapped her in front of everyone in the brothel the night before Yeon was about to start her education like he owned her. Who the hell was he to have an issue with Yeon staying there when I had said nothing about it? He didn't mind going there almost everyday himself for the past 4 years but he couldn't stand Yeon being as progressive as she was? Everyone in the brothel loved Yeon as everyone normally did, even the ice cold madame who picked on Hui-Jee mercilessly couldn't bare to treat my sister in the same fashion and ended up accommodating her more than she had done to anyone else. She had never suffered any mistreatment from anyone and I accidentally found out that was giving the kisengs a way out by giving them lessons on housekeeping to attract potential husbands. She had done nothing but good in that place and I made sure no man could get to her, so what exactly was Seon-Ho's problem? I had never even raised my voice to my little sister, so who was he to just take her however he pleased? She wasn't a damned possession of his, they had a sibling relationship that I hoped he would remember when he gave me that ridiculous option to marry her off to him.

"Are you not going to eat then? It would be a crime to waste all of this food like you alway said and I know that you haven't eaten yourself." "Just what the hell do you want from her? From me? Just focus on your new status in the palace and leave my sister to me! We have 4 years to make up for in case you haven't noticed…" "and you will never get that chance being the prince's dog who takes you on these long walks outside the village for weeks at a time. For what? To rebel against his father and take his throne against him? Have you even thought of Yeon and what will happen to her? She has already courted the interest of the palace and becuase of your famous father, the princes will soon swoop down on her and try to take her for themselves just for her sheer intellect alone to have a political alley. They may even take her as a concubine at best, and I know how your father felt about that. What will you do if the prince who can't let go of you will sink his claws even further into you by asking you for your sister to become his concubine? I know you have heard the terrible rumours about his princess consort and the sins she has committed against her husband's concubines out of jealousy? Making them barren, threatening there families into rescinding the marriage offers, using her family in court to go against anyone and everyone that threatens her precious husband who won't even cast her a glance? Do you really want to put Yeon in that environment or would you rather leave her in my care when you are away? Because I will not have her frequent brothels where everyone and anyone can find her and do god knows what to her? I can give her a good home, hell, I can even transfer as many properties as you wish to her name and give her a good allowance where she will want for nothing at all? I can even sign over half of my wealth to you in compensation for everything I was forced to put you through, starting with your father's home that I know for sure Yeon doesn't want to leave behind. I can have people fix it up and give it to Yeon as present so she will always have that property to return to as she wishes."

My jaw almost hit the floor with every single offer he was giving me; this man was the stingiest person I had ever met when it came to money since he always had his allowance from his father, and here he was offering to give me almost half the amount of a fortune just for my sister? He was willing to give her properties? Money? Not even many noble wives had anything like that in their own names at all and Seon-Ho was willing to give it to Yeon? Just what on earth had she done to him? Who was this man in front of me? He wasn't the uptight and rigid man that I knew for my entire childhood who only spoke about power and ambition and his grand plans in the palace. He was now taking of marriage? The mere term would have him choking on his glass whenever I teased him about it and now here he was pampering my little sister in front of my own eyes with things that even I could not give her because the prince was not giving me any time to be with her as her big brother. I had yet to gift her jewellery that she made me promise I would make with my own hands back when I worked as a blacksmith to support us, I had yet to give her a dowry since the officials that charged my father left us with nothing at all and I personally wanted to pick out her wedding dress when I eventually married her off since i was the one who had raised her myself.

But as much as I never wanted to think about my baby sister courting the attention of men, I could not deny that was Seon-Ho was saying did make sense after all. Yeon had always hated the palace ever since our father's death to the point where I knew she would never in this lifetime forgive me if I handed her over to a prince for marriage despite the obvious benefits that she would reap from it. But I was a self-raised man and the very lats thing that I wanted was to reap the rewards that were offered to me on a silver plate in marriage when I had aways worked myself for everything that my family needed. And Seon-Ho knew that, that was why he was tactfully offering to give Yeon everything she needed to survive even before I gave her to him, if I did anyways.