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Chapter 4
“This way.”
The attendants flanking me guided me upward, higher and higher still.
Their destination was the very top floor of the family estate: an old traditional Korean house built in the Joseon-era style.
The closer we got to that familiar sight, the more I felt like puking up everything inside me.
‘Even the air here pisses me off.’
This was the domain of the direct bloodline of the sadaebu—the ruling aristocratic class.
And at the same time… it was also where I once knelt with my head to the floor, begging for my life.
I stood there in the empty courtyard, unsure how much time had passed.
“You’re here.”
A cold voice rang out, and a man stepped forward.
He wore a white traditional overcoat with a faint blue shimmer leaking from its fabric.
Just the act of him walking made every hair on my body stand on end with sheer pressure.
And as if flaunting his position, he had followers from other noble households trailing behind like decorations.
This was my half-brother, Kim Hyunwoo.
Firstborn of the Andong Kim clan, and without question, the heir to this entire house.
“Young Master. We’ve arrived.”
“As ordered, we’ve brought Young Master Chang-woon here. As per the investigation, the matter of the embezzled family funds—”
“Enough.”
Kim Hyunwoo raised a hand, silencing the attendants. He didn’t speak further.
He simply stared at me with those same cold eyes, eyes that looked just like our father’s.
But only for a moment.
“Unbelievable. A powerless failure still dares to look at me like that?”
With that single line, a crushing wave of aura pressure slammed down on me.
KUUUNG—!
“Kh…!”
The pain in my shoulders was enough to make them feel like they might shatter any second.
Someone like me, with not even a sliver of aura, couldn’t endure it for long.
THUD—
One knee hit the ground under the pressure.
Only then did he speak again, as if now I was finally in a position to listen.
“I’ve heard the news. Zero aura output. The first ever incompetent to be born in our Andong Kim clan.”
“……”
Of course. It was never really about the money.
Even after Kim Hyunwoo finished talking, I didn’t respond.
There was no point. It’s not like he would’ve actually listened.
When I didn’t react to being called incompetent, Kim Hyunwoo scowled and kept going.
“Our Andong Kim clan is a noble house chosen to carry out the will of King Gwangjo. We were tasked with sealing the Rifts spreading across the North and the Islands, and with saving Joseon from collapse.”
I couldn’t help but sneer inwardly at those words.
‘Yeah. When I was a kid, that voice used to scare the hell out of me.’
The way he spoke, like my very birth was some kind of crime.
Like my existence itself was a sin.
Back then, that voice inspired fear.
But not anymore.
Now, the only thing I felt was a deep, suffocating disgust.
‘Carrying out King Gwangjo’s will? Sealing the Rifts and protecting Joseon? What a load of bullshit.’
If it were someone like Father, no, someone like Minister Kim Junghun, that old fossil, I might believe it.
But this guy? There’s no way he’s thinking anything that noble.
Because I knew.
Kim Hyunwoo.
I knew exactly what kind of ambitions that arrogant brain of his was filled with.
And I knew what kind of disaster that delusion would cause one day.
“A useless piece of trash with no aura was born into a prestigious bloodline. And even so, Father had the mercy to spare you…”
But whether he went on or not didn’t really matter to me.
Even as I was lost in thought, Kim Hyunwoo kept talking.
“You bring in outsiders without reason. You act like the family’s funds are your personal bank account.”
“……”
“A bastard child and an incompetent at that, you think you can throw your weight around like you’re someone important?”
Kim Hyunwoo paused briefly, then swept his cold gaze over me one last time.
“Someone like you has no place in our family.”
RUMBLE…
The weight behind his words, like a formal sentence being passed, crashed down on my shoulders. The pressure grew heavier by the second.
A pain that crushed through my body.
And through that pain, came the ghost of my former self. The voice of the man I once was, from another life.
‘I’m sorry for being born without aura. I’m sorry I betrayed the family’s expectations…!’
‘Please, just once… Just one more chance! I’ll do anything for the family, anything! I’ll devote my life to it, so please…!’
‘Screw that.’
Clenching my jaw, I forced myself upright through the suffocating pressure.
I would never bow my head to these bastards again.
I wouldn’t grovel like a frightened mutt in front of these arrogant, decaying noble scum, nobles who’d collapse like a sandcastle the moment revolution touched them.
“Kneel. Right now. Beg the family for forgiveness. Cancel every stupid thing you were trying to do, and live the rest of your life like a ghost—”
“Then go ahead and kill me.”
At that, Kim Hyunwoo’s aura stopped in an instant.
I glanced up.
And sure enough, his eyes had widened like he’d just seen something unbelievable.
“…What did you say?”
“I said, go ahead and kill me. Spill the blood of a bastard child born between a noble and a servant right here, in the ancestral home that boasts 200 years of history. I’m sure His Lordship Kim Junghun will just love that. Don’t you think, Young Master?”
My voice dripped with insolence, each word deliberately scraping at his pride.
Maybe he never imagined I’d talk back like that.
Kim Hyunwoo stood there for a moment, stunned.
Then, his expression twisted in fury.
“…You really have gone insane, haven’t you?”
With a chilling rage, the surrounding aura thickened like a storm about to break.
“Urgh…!”
“Y-Young Master Hyunwoo, please! Not here—in the center of the ancestral residence…!”
Even the attendants who had been lining the courtyard were frozen in fear from the sheer pressure.
At the same time, Kim Hyunwoo drew his hwandogae* from his waist.
One step. Then another.
He closed the distance until he was right in front of me, looming like a demigod.
“This is your final chance. Bow your head and beg for your life, or right here and now—”
“But you know,” I interrupted, coolly, “isn’t it odd?”
Too bad for him.
Compared to the monsters I faced in my past life, this kind of aura was nothing.
Compared to the bloodlust of the heroes who beheaded bastards like you, this kind of pressure was child’s play.
“I know I’m a lowborn. I know I’m incompetent. Better than anyone.”
“…What?”
“But the right to dispose of trash like me… doesn’t that lie with the family head, His Loardship Kim Junghun, not you, Young Master?”
“……!”
For the first time, a different emotion crossed Kim Hyunwoo’s face.
Not hatred. Not contempt.
Confusion.
I didn’t miss the moment.
And I kept pushing Kim Hyunwoo further.
“Even so, Young Master, you ordered the family’s finance team, mere staff of the household, to personally drag me here. You threatened to spill lowborn blood on the ancestral home, and worse, you dared to unleash your aura inside this sacred residence. Isn’t that… curious?”
I pulled at the thing he desperately wanted to hide.
His true intentions.
“When I look at you… it almost feels like you’re pretending to be the head of the Andong Kim clan yourself.”
“Y-Young Master Chang-woon!”
“That’s outrageous…!”
“Did I say anything wrong?” I asked, feigning innocence. “If I did, please correct me. After all, I was born from lowly blood. It’s hard for someone like me to properly tell right from wrong.”
Kim Hyunwoo clenched his jaw and moved his lips, clearly scrambling for something to say.
But no sound came out.
Of course not.
He never expected me, the bastard who always groveled at his feet, to throw this kind of tantrum right back at him.
Much less, that I’d drag his dirty little thoughts out into the light for everyone to see.
‘Oh, you want to bring up family law to force me to kneel? Then I’ll just respond in kind—with that same family law.’
Just as he finally opened his mouth to speak…
…I didn’t give him the chance.
I cut in, voice sharp and deliberate, pressing forward before he could regain control.
“Summoning a family member, commanding those with official duties; those rights belong to His Loardship Kim Junghun, the clan head.”
I straightened up, locking eyes with him.
And in that moment, standing under the crushing waves of his aura, I spoke clearly and without faltering.
“So for you to summon me like this… with all due respect, it’s improper.”
If you’re the successor, then act like one.
But why are you already pretending to rule the house?
The one who doesn’t know his place… isn’t that you?
Kim Hyunwoo’s eyes reddened, blood vessels visibly flaring.
“Shut. Your. Mouth.”
Gotcha.
My taunt hit home, and the moment it did, he snapped. He gritted his teeth, and his aura surged even stronger.
It was heavy enough to darken the sky.
They weren’t exaggerating when they said his aura was one of the most powerful in Joseon’s history.
“You think I was asking whether I’d spill your blood on this sacred ground? Never mind that. I won’t even need to.”
KWA-RUNG!
Thunder cracked across the sky. His raging aura burned hot, like it could reduce me to ashes at any moment.
“There won’t be anything left of you but a pile of charred bones where you stand.”
‘Oh? Then shut up and do it already.’
Cutting down some brat who hadn’t even reached twenty? That should be easy for you, right?
Even as my hair stood on end from the tension, I forced a smirk and kept chipping at him.
“What’s the matter? Can’t seem to summon your glorious aura unless I shut my damn mouth first?”
“……!”
Right as Kim Hyunwoo was about to explode—
“Enough.”
KUUUUNG—!
A deep, heavy pressure swept through the courtyard.
Everyone dropped to one knee on instinct, overwhelmed by the sheer weight of it.
It didn’t match Kim Hyunwoo’s power in raw output, but the precision was in a league of its own.
Kim Hyunwoo’s aura vanished instantly.
Startled, he whipped around—and his eyes widened.
“F-Father…!”
There, standing behind him—
Was the true head of the Andong Kim clan.
Kim Junghun.
*****
“…!”
“……….”
A dense silence fell over the courtyard.
The storm of Kim Hyunwoo’s fury.
The tension in the air.
Even the mockery laced through my own words…
All of it vanished.
Only a suffocating stillness remained.
Everyone stood frozen in place, holding their breath, afraid to even move under his gaze.
“…How utterly disappointing.”
At last, his voice cut through the air.
Kim Junghun began walking, slowly, deliberately, toward both me and Kim Hyunwoo.
SLAP—!
And without a second’s hesitation, he struck Kim Hyunwoo across the face.
“F-Father, I can explain—!”
Even in the face of his father’s wrath, Kim Hyunwoo tried to speak.
But—
SLAP—! SLAP—! SLLAAP—!
Three more harsh strikes followed.
He said nothing after that. Just hung his head in shame.
“How immature. How vulgar. How utterly disgraceful.”
Kim Junghun’s voice was like steel.
“Kim Hyunwoo. What lies ahead of you are the old monsters who’ve clung to the top of Joseon for decades—and their equally twisted heirs. The halls you’ll walk into are nests of vipers where every smile hides a blade, and every word is an act of war.”
“……”
“And you? You couldn’t even control a flicker of personal emotion. You dared to unleash your aura here, in the heart of the family estate? And you call yourself the heir of the Andong Kim clan?”
“I lacked foresight. Please, punish me, Father.”
“If you’re going to lie, at least manage your expression properly. You want to enter the royal court, and you can’t even school your own face?”
“…My apologies.”
After unleashing his storm of scolding, Kim Junghun finally turned in my direction.
‘No—that’s a lie.’
He wasn’t really looking at me.
He was looking past me, at the staff who brought me here.
And at the lackeys who trailed behind Kim Hyunwoo like obedient dogs.
“Everyone, leave. The noise is unbearable.”
“Y-Yes, sir!”
“O-Our apologies, my lord!”
With that, the staff began heading toward me, likely to escort me away.
But I couldn’t just go without at least asking.
“His Lordship!”
I called out to Kim Junghun with a light, casual voice.
“A new bodyguard and a bit of spending money. I assume those aren’t things I need special permission for?”
“……”
His back still turned, he tilted his head just enough to glance at me from over his shoulder.
He stared for a moment in silence…
…then turned back around and walked off into the mansion.
That was answer enough: Do whatever you want. I don’t care.
To him, the funds I had pulled, whatever I spent on a bodyguard, were probably less than a beggar’s spare change.
Not even worth a second thought.
Step. Step.
As soon as Kim Junghun disappeared, Kim Hyunwoo stormed toward me, his face twisted in fury.
“You worthless trash. You dare mock me in front of Father? I swear, I’ll never let this go—”
“You should listen to your father, Young Master. What happened to managing your expression?”
“Kh…!”
Maybe he finally realized continuing this would just embarrass him further.
Kim Hyunwoo clenched his jaw, turned his head away, and said nothing more.
And with that, our lovely little sibling chat came to an end.
****
Not long after, the staff escorted me back to my room.
The moment the door closed—
THUD—
The aftereffects of being exposed to the aura pressure hit me like a collapsing building.
My body, which had been wound tight with tension, finally loosened, leaving me no choice but to collapse to the floor.
“Haaah… Huff…! Hahhh…”
“Young Master Chang-woon!”
“I’m fine! Just… give me a second. I really—I really am okay…”
No, I wasn’t okay at all.
That was my first real confrontation with my brother.
That oppressive, suffocating aura pressure—
The kind of force that felt like it could tear me limb from limb at any moment.
‘I thought I’d be fine since this is my second life… but to think I’d still be shaking like this…!’
And yet, even as my body trembled uncontrollably, deep down…
…I felt strangely… liberated.
“Ha… Hahaha… Hahahahaha…”
I did it.
Even on my own.
Even with this powerless, useless body—
—I was able to stand my ground and talk back to that arrogant aura-blessed bastard.
‘Kim Hyunwoo…’
And then the image popped into my mind—Kim Hyunwoo, standing before Kim Junghun, getting slapped across the face, being scolded like a child.
‘You’ve got it good, huh? Getting scolded by Father and all…’
If he’s lifting his hand to discipline you, it means he intends to raise you.
If he’s yelling at you, it means he’s acknowledging you as his son.
No matter which way you look at it, those were things I had never been given, not even once.
“…Tch.”
What’s the point of sulking about it now?
I shook my head, casting off the emotion bubbling up inside.
Anger, fear, joy, sorrow…
I wasn’t some bipolar patient. What was I even doing?
“Taewoong.”
“Yes, sir?”
“Sorry, but could you get me a glass of water? And… I have one more favor to ask.”
“A favor?”
“Yeah. A favor.”
I forced myself up from the floor, body limp and heavy from exhaustion.
“That allowance I gave you. Set a little aside and help me buy something. As soon as possible.”
I’d rattled Kim Hyunwoo hard. There’s no way someone with that personality would let it go.
Especially considering the kind of things he did to me in my last life…
“I don’t think we’ve got much time left.”
[TL: Hwandogae (환도): It’s a traditional Korean saber, shorter than a katana, curved. ]
---The End Of The Chapter---
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