Cho Igyeom was waiting in his office, sipping tea.

The moment Seo Woojin walked in, he jumped up and gave an exaggerated cupped-fist salute.

"Oh my, our Alliance Lord! Have you been well? Huh? Though, by the look of you... you'd think you'd been rolling around in the dirt..."

Seo Woojin waved the greeting off.

He dropped into his chair.

"Well, a lot has happened. So what brings you here?"

Cho Igyeom made a small, pleased sound and broke into a silly grin.

"Hahaha. The young lady asked a favor of me."

"A favor?"

"Yes. Since there's an inauguration to hold, she asked me to take charge of the preparations. So I came to ask how big you'd like it. The young lady wants it as grand as possible, but the Alliance Lord might feel differently."

Cho Igyeom was in full flow when he flinched and quickly changed course.

"Ah! Of course, I think the same as the young lady. You've become the new sky of the dark path, after all. Isn't it only right for everyone to celebrate the day? Yes. That's what I think. Even if the Dark Alliance's budget falls short, if we come together as one and each family contributes a portion of its wealth, it could be very grand indeed..."

He showed no sign of stopping. Seo Woojin raised a hand.

With the other, he rubbed his forehead, pained.

"Enough. Please stop talking for a moment."

"Ah. Yes."

Only when Cho Igyeom fell silent did the headache start to ease.

Seo Woojin heaved a sigh and shook his head slowly.

"Keep it reasonable and within budget. It doesn't need to be grand. At least half the Seven Families aren't happy I'm Alliance Lord in the first place, are they?"

"Ah. Yes. Understood."

But Cho Igyeom made no move to leave.

"Was there something else?"

Cho Igyeom nodded.

"Well, it's about the men who gave false testimony for Cheon Doyun the other day."

"Yes."

"Their families were in much the same position as the Baek Clan. The Cheon Clan had been squeezing them and had something…