The teacup that had been warm was now cold.

Under normal circumstances, Woon Seorin would have brewed a fresh pot — but right now, she had no attention to spare for tea.

The Four Black Dragons had returned after roughly fifteen days, and delivered their report.

The assassin attack.

She had anticipated some kind of reaction, so that hadn’t surprised her.

The Black Dragon Guard uniforms.

She hadn’t expected them to go that far — but it didn’t particularly worry her. She had enough faith in the Four Black Dragons to know they would handle it.

What she had not anticipated at all——

Was him coming back.

Which was why she had been sitting here, lost in thought, for so long.

‘Why? Why on earth? Did I read him wrong?’

She didn’t know.

The proposal she had extended to him had been sincere. If he had shown any ‘will’ at all, she was confident she could have bought herself considerable time by using him. But in the course of their conversation, she had understood clearly — he had no intention of accepting her offer.

Which was why she had pivoted to using him as bait, to flush out the rats inside the Dark Alliance.

And yet here he was, back.

The best possible outcome for Woon Seorin — and precisely because of that, something about it nagged at her.

She couldn’t reach a conclusion. She shook her head and pulled herself back to the present.

Only then did she notice her own lapse.

“Oh. I’m sorry. I left you standing there while I got lost in my thoughts.”

Bae Seokjin, standing before her, offered a faint smile.

“It’s fine. It wasn’t very long.”

Woon Seorin held out a folded letter.

“Cheongeum tracked down the base of operations for the assassins who attacked the Four Black Dragons. It’s in Jiangsu Province.”

Cheongeum was Woon Seorin’s personal intelligence network — answerable to no one, not even the Black Dragon Woon Clan. Hers alone.

Their martial ability was nothing to speak of. But in the collection and transmission of intelligence, they were without equal. She had built them that way from the start.

Bae Seokjin unfolded the letter and read.

“Remote location.”

“An ordinary small village, on the surface.”

“The assassins in disguise?”

Woon Seorin shook her head.

“We haven’t confirmed that much. It’s possible assassins have blended in and settled there under cover. But we’re setting that assumption aside.”

“Is there a reason?”

“The biggest reason is that we don’t have time. Depending on how we use his return, we may be able to buy some — but I can’t place too much faith in something that uncertain.”

Bae Seokjin’s expression went rigid.

He had already guessed the order she was about to give. Woon Seorin read his face and added:

“That said — it’s not without basis.”

“What basis?”

“That village. No children, apparently.”

“……!!”

“Not a normal village.”

Woon Seorin took a sip of the cold tea and continued.

“You’ve only just returned, and I’m already sending you out again. Find whoever is behind the assassins. But if you can’t——”

Her expression turned cold.

“If you can’t find them — erase it. All of it.”

Bae Seokjin bowed his head.

“Understood. Then——”

He moved toward the door.

Outside, the sound of commotion.

Bae Seokjin clicked his tongue quietly and turned back to Woon Seorin.

“I’ll see what that is.”

“Please.”

Bae Seokjin stepped out quickly. Woon Seorin sank back into her thoughts.

“Well, well. The esteemed Four Black Dragons. Heard you’ve been on quite the little trip?”

A group of over a dozen men approached the front of the Military Advisor’s hall.

Yoo Geonwoo, who had been waiting outside for Bae Seokjin, gave them a single indifferent glance and looked away.

The man who had spoken seemed well used to that response. A full sneer spread across his face.

“My, my. As lofty as ever, White Dragon. Beneath you to acknowledge a lowly Black Dragon Guard warrior?”

Thud.

The man stepped right up to Yoo Geonwoo, craning his neck to look up at him.

“What’s the matter? Cat got your tongue now that your big sister isn’t here to protect you?”

Yoo Geonwoo looked down at him with all the expression of someone watching paint dry.

And then — kept ignoring him.

That finally cracked it. The man’s face twisted.

“Hmph. To think a street rat somehow clawed his way into the Black Dragon Guard. Ahh. I suppose the rumors are true — Song Biryeong, that woman, must have——”

Shhk! Grab!

“Gkh——!”

Shing! Shhing! Shing!

The men behind him drew their swords in unison.

Yoo Geonwoo had closed his hand around the man’s throat.

The man’s face was going crimson, his breath cut off. His companions had their blades out and looked ready to move — but one look at Yoo Geonwoo’s eyes nailed them in place.

Yoo Geonwoo let out a quiet sigh and brought his mouth close to the man’s ear.

“Do you know why I don’t usually take the bait when you pull this kind of thing? Because it’s obvious. I can see exactly what you’re after.”

“Gkh — ghkk……”

Whether the words were even registering through the pain was unclear. The man writhed, slapping frantically at Yoo Geonwoo’s wrist.

Yoo Geonwoo paid it no mind and continued.

“So why am I reacting now, you ask? Because I have nothing left to hesitate over. Whatever you’ve prepared — we can handle it. All of it.”

The corner of his previously flat mouth curved upward.

“And do you know what that means? It means I could kill you right here, right now, and it wouldn’t matter. We were going to end up fighting anyway — no point being careful about it. Don’t you think?”

Deep in the man’s bloodshot eyes, genuine fear began to take root.

The fear of death.

“What in the hell do you think you’re doing!!”

Whoosh!

Thud!

“Gkh — ghkk! Cough, cough!“

Bae Seokjin’s voice, sharp with anger, cut in from behind.

Yoo Geonwoo released the man and turned.

“Just entertaining myself.”

Bae Seokjin glanced at the man crumpled on the ground, still hacking and gasping, then spoke.

“Held out longer than I expected.”

Yoo Geonwoo shrugged.

“Like I said — entertainment. Don’t some children torment insects just for something to do?”

Bae Seokjin swallowed the sigh that tried to escape him and turned to the men standing there at a loss.

“If you’d rather this doesn’t get bigger — know your place.”

It was a quiet voice. Nothing more.

The men went pale and nodded repeatedly.

“Y-yes, sir.”

“Take him and go.”

“Yes, sir!!”

As the men retreated, Bae Seokjin finally let out a low breath.

“They’re being open about it now.”

Yoo Geonwoo smirked.

“Expected, wasn’t it? If you think back to them trying to use assassins to go after the Young Lord — they’ve decided they’re done holding back.”

“Hm. Not easy, not knowing clearly who the enemy is.”

“Hehe. Though that’s nothing new for us, is it? When was anything ever easy?”

Bae Seokjin laughed quietly and nodded.

“True. That’s the fate of the Four Black Dragons, I suppose.”

He held out the letter Woon Seorin had given him.

“Our next target. We leave this evening. Get ready.”

Yoo Geonwoo scratched his head like a man being asked to do one thing too many.

“I haven’t even made it to the pleasure house yet.”

“That’s an order.”

Yoo Geonwoo clicked his tongue softly and started walking.

“Yes, yes. Following orders — also apparently our fate.”

Bae Seokjin watched him go and let out a long breath.

There was something about Yoo Geonwoo today — some sideways tilt that hadn’t quite righted itself — that made him look, somehow, like a bomb about to go off.

But there was nothing Bae Seokjin could do about it.

Same as always.

All he could do was stand behind them, quietly, and watch over them.

“Young Lord — the Military Advisor is here to see you.”

At the handmaid’s words, Seo Woojin allowed a faint smile.

He had expected her to come. He wasn’t surprised.

“Mm. Send her in.”

The handmaid withdrew to pass along the message. Woon Seorin stepped inside with composed elegance.

She stood looking at him without a word.

Seo Woojin’s smile deepened slightly as he ran a hand lightly over his own face.

“What. Is there something on my face?”

His ease made Woon Seorin’s brow furrow.

He’s changed.

If he had carried himself like this from the very beginning, she never would have let him go so easily. This kind of composure — the unhurried, settled kind — was what people with something up their sleeve tended to show.

“You came back.”

A direct question.

“I told you, didn’t I? This would be good for both of us.”

Woon Seorin studied him for a moment longer, then took the seat across from him.

Without missing a beat, Seo Woojin reached for the teapot and filled her cup.

“I think you’ll like it. I had it prepared in advance — in case you came.”

“You anticipated I would?”

“Hehe. A man who’s going to become the Dark Alliance Lord ought to have at least that much awareness, don’t you think?”

Woon Seorin let out a short, hollow laugh.

“A man who’s going to become the Dark Alliance Lord……”

Seo Woojin tilted his head and asked casually.

“Have you changed your mind?”

“And if I have?”

“Then it’s a pity.”

Woon Seorin’s brow twitched.

He had definitely changed. She couldn’t read him at all.

She wrapped her hands around the warmth of her cup and asked more directly.

“Why did you come back?”

Seo Woojin paused briefly, then answered with a question of his own.

“Why did you let me go?”

“……!!”

Seeing Woon Seorin’s expression harden, Seo Woojin was certain.

The Four Black Dragons had genuinely intended to let him walk.

“That’s quite the look. It wasn’t difficult to figure out. I saw the bodies of the assassins Yoo Warrior had dealt with — and with ability like that, he would have noticed immediately if I’d tried to run. I already knew firsthand what the Four Black Dragons were capable of. Ah — and admittedly, seeing Yoo Warrior’s face when I came back was a bit more surprised than usual. That helped confirm it.”

Woon Seorin shook her head and sighed.

“A clumsy slip. For the Four Black Dragons. Though calling it a slip feels a bit harsh.”

“Let’s say I was lucky.”

“Fine. I asked first, but I’ll answer first. Why did I let you go? Simple. As I said before — without ‘will,’ you’re useless to me. At the time, you looked less like a future Alliance Lord and more like someone desperately itching to flee Hangzhou at the first opportunity.”

Seo Woojin nodded.

“I wasn’t careful enough back then. I thought I was hiding it.”

“Consider it bad luck. I’m the one who noticed — anyone else might not have.”

Hearing his own words turned back on him, Seo Woojin laughed in spite of himself.

Quite the woman, he thought. She hated to lose.

“Hehe. So — because you couldn’t feel that ‘will’ in me, you decided to let me go?”

“Yes. That’s why I gave you the lure role instead.”

“Ah. The assassins.”

“Thanks to that, I confirmed one hypothesis and flushed out at least a few of the rats.”

Seo Woojin smiled faintly, the edge of it a little rueful.

He had guessed as much — but knowing he had been used as bait didn’t sit particularly well.

“Now answer my question. Why did you come back?”

Seo Woojin was quiet for a moment, sipping his tea.

He had thought it over at length.

What answer would actually satisfy this woman?

Any ordinary lie would never work. He could feel that just from a few minutes of conversation.

“Why did I come back…… Would ‘because I found my will’ be enough of an answer?”

“Then I’d have to ask why you found it.”

So Seo Woojin made a decision.

“I didn’t know until now — but it seems I have an enemy.”

To go straight through.

“……An enemy?”

The word was heavy. Seo Woojin’s face remained perfectly calm.

“There was someone who bore a deep grudge against my grandfather. And that person killed my parents.”

“Then……”

“Yes. The only lead I have points here. The Dark Alliance.” He paused. “That’s why I found it. The ‘will’ to become the Dark Alliance Lord.”

Even Woon Seorin — who was never at a loss for words — couldn’t find any immediately.

The truth of it?

She could see it plainly with one glance. The killing intent settled deep behind his eyes was too genuine to doubt.

‘……Is this dangerous?’

Hatred was an excellent source of fuel.

Wielded well, it could be a very useful blade.

But——

What if Seo Woojin was something other than what she had taken him for?

What if there were aspects of him she hadn’t yet seen — aspects she couldn’t handle?

That blade would end up cutting its wielder.

A double-edged sword.

Looking at the Seo Woojin before her now — changed as he was — that concern felt more real than before.

Could she use this sword without cutting herself?

‘No. This kind of hesitation is a luxury I can’t afford. I have to use him. There’s no other choice.’

From the moment his group had left Hangzhou, she hadn’t sat idle. She had never stopped chasing the real Young Alliance Lord’s trail, driving her informants relentlessly.

And found nothing. Not a single trace. As if the real Young Alliance Lord had never existed to begin with.

‘And there’s no guarantee that even the tail I’ve managed to grab leads all the way up to the body.’

This was the moment to keep every possibility open.

If she had nothing in hand — then creating a variable no one expected was her best move.

Woon Seorin raised Seo Woojin’s cup to her lips and drained it in one go.

Thud.

And for the first time — a deep, genuine smile settled at the corner of her mouth.

“You’ve studied the information I gave you before you left, I trust?”

It was the first moment their ‘will’ had ever pointed in the same direction.

(End of Chapter 9)