Uninvited Guest

"From now on, you're the main gate messenger. Stand by at the main gate indefinitely."

"What?!"

The expert of unknown origin raised his head and looked at Yuan Zhaoxian.

"There are facilities the previous messenger servants used at the main gate, use those as your quarters."

Yuan Zhaoxian continued speaking without paying him any attention.

"Your access rights extend to everywhere except the residential areas. Don't forget that."

His words essentially meant he was going to officially make him an errand boy.

"F-First Young Master?"

One who had to wait indefinitely at the front gate, at that.

"What?"

Yuan Zhaoxian continued before the mysterious expert could answer.

"If you don't like it, feel free to do as you please this time too."

"..."

Those words were too heavy for him, who was 'merely an expert,' to handle.

At least in this situation, he had no choice.

"...I shall obey the First Young Master's command."

The First Young Master didn't even bother to respond and looked toward Jingya.

"What are you still standing there for?"

"I shall go and return, First Young Master."

Without any delay, she bowed deeply and backed away.

==

"When a guest comes here, is this how you treat them?!"

These were the first words shouted by a warrior who stood a head taller than even the strong men who claimed to be powerful.

While reading the other party with her 'Eyes,' Jingya bowed her head in greeting.

"...Pleased to meet you, I am Jingya."

The Three Supreme Warriors didn't seem to have any intention of accepting such a greeting from Jingya.

He snorted and said.

"Guide us inside. I must meet your master."

'...This lunatic.'

Jingya sighed internally.

The guards around them were clearly watching with interest, showing no intention of helping at all.

"The First Young Master has not granted permission for entry."

"What...?!"

Jingya deliberately cut off his words.

"If you have business with me, please state it here."

Though her eyes were gently downcast, her face showed no expression.

It was that very dignity that had earned her the title of Ice Flower among the reception hall's guests.

And naturally, at this behavior that was essentially a 'provocation,' the Three Supreme Warrior exploded.

"You crazy woman...?!"

As he took one step,

One step inside the main gate's boundary stone,

"Stop."

Not even the sound of drawing swords could be heard.

As if it had been that way from the start.

The experts dressed as gate guards uniformly pointed their raised blades at the Three Supreme Warrior.

"Uh, uh?"

The Three Supreme Warrior stepped back in confusion.

Then, the guard captain (who had now become Yuan Zhaoxian's messenger) who had been clutching his head from behind, sighed and warned him.

"This is a special control zone. To pass through here arbitrarily, you need either level 1 security clearance or..."

He revealed his teeth, not hiding his irritation.

"...damn it, anyway, this doesn't apply to you, so don't get cocky."

His eyeballs gleamed.

"That's the end of the warning."

"Ah, understood."

The Three Supreme Warrior raised both hands to show he had no intention of hostility.

At that, the guards resheathed their swords and stepped back to become spectators again.

The guard captain just leaned against the door frame and sat down.

And started pulling at his hair again.

"Ahem, ahem."

Seeing their attitude that they wouldn't care as long as he didn't enter, the Three Supreme Warrior cleared his throat a few times and decided to focus only on Jingya.

"You must come with me to the Third Young Master."

Though it was a violent request, his momentum had visibly decreased.

Jingya refused his words without even nodding her head.

"The Third Young Master does not decide my whereabouts."

The Three Supreme Warrior sneered at her.

"That's not for you to decide. How dare a servant girl like you argue?"

Though his words were demeaning, Jingya answered without even blinking.

"I merely stated the main family's rules."

"Enough, when the Third Young Master calls, following is the rule. Let's go now."

He extended his pot lid-like hand, and Jingya naturally stepped back.

"This wench...?!"

When Jingya stepped back, he couldn't grab her without stepping inside.

"My name is Jingya."

He got worked up and his toes twitched.

Just one step.

With one step, he could grab that pretentious woman's neck.

But it was impossible to ignore the mysterious experts who were watching with amused faces.

"...We'll see if you can act so proud in front of the Third Young Master, I'll definitely see that sight."

The sound of grinding teeth echoed eerily.

"Until then, you'd better watch how you behave with that body of yours. The Third Young Master hates using things others have used."

Jingya slightly bowed her head in greeting.

"I won't see you off far."

He spat on the ground and turned away.

Watching him leave, Jingya wanted to collapse right there.

The pressure the Three Supreme Warrior had been emitting was so fierce that it wasn't something an ordinary person with no inner power could withstand.

But she stood straight until the end without the slightest trembling.

While she was determined not to show weakness to anyone, more importantly, another guest was approaching the main gate.

"Hmph."

"Hah."

The middle-aged man who encountered the Three Supreme Warrior let out a quiet snort, and the Three Supreme Warrior snorted loudly.

Just seeing that, one could easily guess where this middle-aged man had come from.

"I am the steward responsible for the Second Young Master's Lake Garden."

"I am Jingya, the maid serving the First Young Master, greeting the Lake Garden's steward."

He opened his fan (in the middle of winter!) and looked at Jingya with disapproving eyes from behind it.

"What impudence. I have nothing to say to you, quickly guide me to your master."

"I apologize, but the First Young Master is not receiving guests."

"What...?!"

The veins bulged in his hand holding the fan.

"You dare say this even knowing I come on behalf of the Second Young Master?"

Jingya answered without changing her expression.

"I truly apologize."

The Lake Garden steward's eyes narrowed behind his fan.

From Jingya's appearance and attitude as she stood without leaving the main gate, he grasped much more than could be conveyed in a few words.

"...I thought you were just impudent, but you're a shameless woman too."

Jingya gave no response to his quiet muttering filled with anger.

He turned his gaze from Jingya who showed no reaction, and greeted the guard captain who was sitting on the ground.

"You must be having a difficult time."

From his tone, one could tell he had noticed these people were not ordinary.

Though he had no inner power, it showed he hadn't obtained his steward position through child's play.

"By any chance, is it certain that the First Young Master is not receiving visitors, as this child said?"

At his question, the guard at the front shrugged his shoulders.

"We don't know either."

"Oh my, is that so? Is there anyone who does know?"

In that brief moment, the guard captain who had been clutching his head briefly directed his gaze at Jingya.

Jingya flinched slightly at that gaze but didn't avoid it.

"Oh my, if no one knows, then what can be done?"

The Lake Garden steward took out a letter from his breast pocket and continued speaking.

The Second Young Master's seal was clearly stamped on the envelope of that letter.

"As one responsible for delivering the Second Young Master's letter, I must regrettably..."

At that moment, the guard captain stood up with a short sigh.

"The First Young Master is not receiving guests."

The Lake Garden steward's long eyebrows twitched.

"...Is that so?"

The guard captain wet his lips and said.

"I myself am just coming from being reprimanded over that very issue."

"Oh my..."

The Lake Garden steward stroked his thin beard.

"This is troublesome."

He organized his thoughts for a moment and clicked his tongue.

"Then there's nothing to be done."

Jingya tried to take the Second Young Master's letter he held out.

But the Lake Garden steward didn't release his hold on the letter and looked at the guard captain.

"Could you perhaps verify that this child delivers the letter properly?"

The guard captain made a very reluctant expression but nodded grudgingly.

"I shall do so."

Only then did the Lake Garden steward release his grip and allow Jingya to take the letter.

"...Remember this well."

He looked down at Jingya with viper-like eyes and spoke in a low voice.

"No matter what thoughts you turn in that little head of yours, you're ultimately in the Second Young Master's palm."

Then he gave his greetings to the guards and turned to leave.

"Lake Garden Steward, I won't see you off far."

All that returned to Jingya's greeting was a snort.

Soon after he had gone far enough, one of the guards shrugged his shoulders.

"...What unpleasant fellows."

"Indeed."

Then they all nodded their heads to Jingya.

"Young miss has quite the spirit."

"Mm-hmm. Though we don't know the circumstances, seeing such dignity was admirable."

It was a manner of speaking that didn't suit guards.

"Thank you for your kind words."

But Jingya rather considered this a good result.

Because they had genuinely acknowledged her with their true identities, not as fake guards.

After briefly exchanging greetings with them, Jingya barely managed to move her feet while hiding her trembling body.

"Hey, wait."

It was none other than the guard captain.

"...Do you have something to say to me?"

Having followed her to the forest path, he spoke to her in a low voice.

"The First Young Master never actually forbade visitors, did he?"

Jingya bit her lip for a moment.

"Though he didn't directly order it, I thought..."

He waved his hand to stop her words.

"As you probably know, I don't have any good feelings toward your First Young Master."

"..."

"The reason I'm telling you this is simply because seeing a child about my daughter's age in a difficult situation bothers me."

Jingya bowed her head.

"I will take your words to heart."

He sighed briefly, blamed his own excessive meddling, but finally continued speaking.

"You understand that the First Young Master could protect you but didn't, right?"

At those words, Jingya showed a troubled expression.

"...I am merely a maid."

He waved his hand.

"No, no. There seems to be some misunderstanding, my words mean something different from what you're thinking."

He scratched his head roughly and said.

"Having spent my whole life with the sword, my way with words is terribly lacking. But living as a warrior has made some things visible to me."

His gaze turned to Jingya.

"Are you trying to pledge loyalty to the First Young Master? Or are you trying to protect yourself? When I saw you earlier, presuming the First Young Master's thoughts, that's what I wondered."

It was like being struck by lightning.

Jingya's body froze in place.

"The First Young Master could have driven them away with a single word. Why do you think he didn't?"

She couldn't give any answer in the end.

Seeing her like that, the guard captain gave a bitter smile.

"Well then, I'll be heading back."

Only then did Jingya come to her senses and quickly asked him.

"Don't you need to verify that I deliver the letter?"

He was already turning back toward the main gate.

"No, no. Handle that as you see fit. I need to figure out how to get away from that First Young Master as quickly as possible."

He disappeared in an instant.

But Jingya, who had turned in the opposite direction, couldn't easily move her feet.

The guard captain's parting words wouldn't leave her mind.

'Are you trying to pledge loyalty to the First Young Master? Or are you trying to protect yourself?'