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Chapter 26
From the moment construction began on the casino building, I stopped staying at the Andong Kim Clan main estate.
Instead, I lived in a private space I had set up in the basement of the building.
“Young Master Kim Chang-woon.”
It had been a long time since I last visited the Andong Kim Clan’s estate.
As I passed through the elegant wooden corridor and approached the central training hall, two gatekeepers blocked my way.
“I’m here to see Young Master Kim Hyunwoo.”
“You are not listed in today’s visitor log, sir…”
“Well, of course I’m not. Officially, I’ve never set foot here.”
As I said that and waited a moment, the communication devices worn by the guards flickered to life.
— It’s me. Let him in.
It was Kim Hyunwoo’s voice.
The sudden order made the guards swallow their breaths, but without another word, they opened the gate.
Inside, the space was nothing like the traditional hanok-style estate.
Alloy walls, sealed layer upon layer.
Shock-absorption systems were installed everywhere.
Specialized machines that could adjust aura-force waves, along with all kinds of measuring instruments.
This was the Andong Kim Clan’s pride: their exclusive training hall, permitted only for the family’s phase-ability users.
Boom—! Boom—!
The vibrations carried all the way to where I stood.
The closer I approached the center of the training hall, the stronger the impact grew.
And in the middle of those shocks and tremors stood Kim Hyunwoo, dressed in a snow-white training uniform, steadying his ragged breathing.
“Young Master Kim Chang-woon, this way.”
His escort, rather than Hyunwoo himself, guided me toward a rest area in the corner of the hall.
A maid served me tea. I tilted the cup slowly as I waited, and before long, Hyunwoo entered, now changed into fresh clothes.
“Unbelievable. I never thought you’d be the one to come find me first.”
“…”
I didn’t bother replying to his words. I simply took another calm sip of tea.
“I know full well you see me as a thorn in your eye. But surely, we can’t keep going like this forever, can we?”
Hyunwoo gestured with his chin, telling me to keep talking.
“I never intended to outdo you, nor have I ever aimed for anything within the clan.”
“Really? For someone saying that, your attitude toward the clan seems awfully insolent.”
“I was ambushed in the streets. My bodyguard nearly died. Wouldn’t it be stranger to act all affectionate?”
“…”
The ambush, orchestrated by none other than Kim Hyunwoo.
For a moment, he said nothing, then dismissed it as though he had no connection to it.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Of course. Not that it matters.”
And truly—it didn’t matter.
After all, I was the one who buried the incident myself. Thanks to that, I had gained the time I needed to build up my own power.
As I sipped my tea again, Hyunwoo, who had been studying me carefully, finally asked,
“If you’re not interested in succession, then what is it you want?”
There it was.
Feigning nonchalance, I set the teacup down.
“To survive. That’s all.”
“To… survive?”
“Yes. I don’t care about the great clans or their succession battles. I just want to live on my own terms.”
“…”
“And to do that, well… money is what matters most.”
Money enough to live freely, independently, without restraint.
Hearing the sincerity in my voice, Hyunwoo’s eyes narrowed.
“So after all that talk, what you want boils down to wealth?”
“Yes. That’s all I intend to pursue. Righteous cause, ambition—none of that interests me.”
“Heh.”
Hyunwoo’s gaze shifted.
Contempt. Mockery. And behind it, a hidden relief.
These noble clans were always the same.
They’d preach about virtue and disdain for wealth, all while hiding their own greedy desires deep inside.
“Fine. I’ll hear you out,” Hyunwoo finally said, as though he had come to a conclusion.
“What is it you want?”
“I have a project underway. I need you to fund it.”
“You mean the gambling den? I’ve no wish to be entangled in something like that.”
“You won’t have to sponsor it directly. Just provide the money.”
Of course, I had no intention of just taking his money.
Once word spread that the Andong Kim Clan had invested in the casino, none of the Joseon elites would dare lay a hand on my business.
“And what will I get in return?”
“A cause. A righteous justification.”
“…A justification?”
After pausing briefly, I spoke.
“The Pungyang Cho Clan—they’ve been relentlessly challenging the authority of the Andong Kim Clan.”
“…”
“I’ll give you the justification to crush them all.”
With those words, I handed him a data chip.
An unregistered, illegal chip.
Hyunwoo looked at it as if it were something foul, but I pushed it toward him again with a faint smile.
His face uneasy, he eventually checked its contents.
“This is…!”
His eyes widened like lanterns.
What I had given him was memory data extracted from Dok Go-seong’s brain.
Specifically, it was video evidence laying bare the crimes and depravity of Cho Seong-hwan, heir to the Pungyang Cho Clan.
“It seems Joseon is truly doomed. For nobles—who should be role models for all the people—to commit such heinous acts…”
“!”
“And it’s not just the Pungyang Cho Clan. Other families are entangled as well. For example…”
I lifted the same teacup I’d been drinking from earlier.
Not a mass-produced item from a 3D printer, but a teacup handcrafted by an artisan.
“The very same Minister Nam Dae-woon who gifted me this cup is also included in the client list.”
Crack.
As I passed along a few more noble names, Kim Hyunwoo clenched his teeth.
“For a supposed member of a prestigious family—one destined to lead the Joseon of the future—to wallow in such idiocy…!”
Yes, Kim Hyunwoo was a relic of corruption who monopolized power in Joseon, but he wasn’t the type of madman who committed crimes like this.
On the contrary, he held to the old noble mindset, one that valued the family’s honor and dignity above all else.
And now he discovered that men who swore loyalty to him, who had even sponsored him, were engaging in such vile debauchery behind his back?
Of course, his eyes would burn with fury.
“This information was acquired in the lower districts of Hanseong, where the so-called lowborns gather and operate.”
“And with this information in my hands, I effectively hold the power of life and death over the nobles listed here.”
After thoroughly reviewing the data chip, Kim Hyunwoo quickly recognized the weight of its value.
This was the kind of information most nobles would never even look at, dismissing it as filthy.
But I had personally descended into that muck, rubbing shoulders with the lowborn to drag out every scrap.
This was not something any other patron could provide.
“While running my establishment, I intend to sell information to you, Young Master.”
Nobles who came to gamble.
Corporate heads.
Foreign envoys.
And the wealthy elite.
What they poured into the casino wasn’t just money.
With enough liquor, with enough drugs—secrets spilled out.
Dark scandals, hidden weaknesses.
Perhaps those were even more valuable than the wealth flowing through the tables.
“I want you to be my primary client. Since you’re of the same clan, it gives me confidence. And naturally, there’s plenty of profit to be made as well.”
“You mean to cooperate with me? You, of all people?”
“Of course. If you provide the money, there’s nothing I can’t do.”
Revealing money as my sole aim only seemed to strengthen his trust. A faint smile curved across Hyunwoo’s lips.
“There isn’t a thing about you I like… except for one.”
“And what is that?”
“You don’t call me brother. And you don’t call our father father.”
Twitch.
“You’ve heard it often enough, haven’t you? The lament of other noble-born bastards: ‘Unable to call father, father; unable to call brother, brother…’ When you think about it, isn’t it ridiculous?”
This bastard… scratching at me all of a sudden.
I kept my expression still and listened as Kim Hyunwoo continued in a leisurely tone.
“They’re given noble status, treated with privileges, and yet they still whine, seeking more than what they already have.”
“…”
“The fact that half their blood comes from commoners—it means nothing to them.”
Ungrateful brats, every last one.
Hyunwoo muttered, then went on.
“But you’re different. You know exactly where you stand. That much is clear.”
Finishing his words, Hyunwoo raised a hand to call his escort.
If I remembered right, his name was Ho-chul.
He whispered into the bodyguard’s ear. Ho-chul, wearing a black visor, nodded and immediately operated his interface—transferring money straight to me.
“Ha. Counting the number of zeroes is a job in itself.”
Truly befitting someone perched at the peak of the most powerful noble clan—his spending was no small thing.
“I accept your deal. If you obtain useful information, continue to report it to me. The more you help me, the greater your reward will be.”
“Thank you.”
Lowering my voice, I bowed respectfully, humoring Hyunwoo’s vanity. From the way he carried himself, it already looked as though he believed the clan was firmly in his grasp.
Well, no wonder.
The king’s body had been enshrined in the royal throne.
For Kim Junghun to personally show him that was a declaration that he recognized Hyunwoo as the clan’s successor.
At this point, with everything already set, someone like me wouldn’t even register as competition anymore.
But as I watched that arrogant display, I had to fight with all my strength to hide the laughter bubbling up.
Truly… I don’t know how to thank you enough.
The new establishment.
The loyal men who would run and maintain it.
And now, the investment of the Andong Kim Clan.
Thanks to you, I have everything I need.
A colossal revolution, one that would set the noble families ablaze.
The groundwork for that revolution was already being laid.
* * *
“Young Master.”
After finishing my deal with Kim Hyunwoo and stepping out of the main estate, I was greeted by Moo-yeong and Taewoong, who had been waiting outside.
“You’ve returned.”
“Yeah. But it looks like… there’s somewhere else I’ll need to go.”
“Somewhere else? Where to?”
The business with Kim Hyunwoo was already concluded. Where could I possibly mean now?
As Taewoong asked with a puzzled look—
“Senior.”
Moo-yeong, sensing something off, placed a hand on his sword’s hilt and called to him.
“Oh, here they come.”
Following his gaze, I saw a group of men approaching, their presence brimming with hostility.
“Are you Young Master Kim Chang-woon?”
“Yeah. That’s me.”
It was not a man dressed in Joseon’s traditional hanbok who addressed me, but one in a Western-style suit.
No artificial augmentations—just a clean body and an air of arrogance.
I didn’t need to ask whose dogs these were.
“Bodyguards of the Pungyang Cho Clan, hmm? What business do you have with me?”
“…”
Perhaps surprised I identified them so quickly, they exchanged glances before slowly bowing their heads.
“Our young master wishes to invite you to the main estate.”
“…Invite me?”
“Yes. He commanded that you be escorted swiftly and without inconvenience.”
At that, the rest of the bodyguards moved in, surrounding me.
“Young Master!”
“Easy, Moo-yeong. Put the sword away.”
I calmed Moo-yeong, who was a heartbeat away from drawing steel.
An ‘invitation,’ yet they sealed off every exit.
Forceful, heavy-handed, and utterly unsubtle… a style I knew all too well.
Cho Seong-hwan.
That lunatic always treated people like this.
“Today truly is a fine day. I’ve had the honor of meeting not one, but two distinguished gentlemen.”
With that, I allowed myself to be escorted into the vehicle prepared by the Pungyang Cho Clan.
I had already succeeded in placing the blade in Kim Hyunwoo’s hand.
Now only one task remained—
To place Cho Seong-hwan’s neck on the chopping block.
---The End Of The Chapter---
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