The face was said to be a window into the mind. Unless one’s mental picture of oneself steady, it was impossible to change one’s facial expression such that it came out naturally right immediately. That’s why he opted to control every muscle in his face instead.

It was a method that sprung into his head, and he decided to go with it. The ruler of darkness granted him the ability to control his body. But in the end, without his extraordinary memory, he would not have been able to use it.

People’s facial expressions changed constantly, into an infinite number of different ones, depending on the circumstances. And yet, in that little moment, he managed to recall and seemingly master every single one of them.

“Great…” After one final check, he opened the door and stepped out into the yard.

“Ah!?….” Uncontrollably, he let out an exclamation.

It was the sunshine.

The sun’s warmth made him forget about the darkness’s coldness.

Mindlessly, he walked in the middle of the yard barefoot.

“Mr Archduke, are you awake?” In greeting, the servants who were cleaning the yard bowed deeply toward him. After all, he was Mr. Archduke, the lovely young man who had never raised his voice at them and had always overlooked the slight transgressions they had committed.

The young scholar paid no heed to the servants. He didn’t seem to care at all that they were there.

He just stood there, arms outstretched, eyes closed, taking in the sunshine. Like a tree that had waited a thousand years for a beam of sunlight.

“Mr Archduke…?” The servants, finding his behavior strange, asked. And still he made no reaction. 

At the sight, the servants exchanged shocked glances.

It was strange. Normally, no matter what the Archduke did, they would just ignore it and move on.

Gulp!

But this time, for some reason, the servants’ hands were dripping with cold sweat. It was something only subordinates who served strict masters would experience.

At some point, while the discomfort continued, the Archduke’s mouth opened. “Bring all servants under my command to me.” 

Hearing his voice, the servants took a step back, shocked. It was clearly the same as yesterday, but somehow fundamentally different.

It was a voice that no servant could dare to go against.

“Yes?! Ah! All right!..”

The servants who came to their senses began to run as fast as they could. They scattered in a shipshape manner and hastened to summon the other servants from every nook and cranny.

“What’s the matte…?”

“What? What’s going on?”

The summoned servants gathered one by one, rambling with blatantly annoyed expressions. Perhaps, if it hadn’t been for the urgent tone of the servants who delivered the order, some of them wouldn’t have shown up at all.

What those gathered there saw, was a strange sight of the Archduke, standing barefoot on the floor, spreading his arms out in the sunlight.

An unexpected sight met the eyes of those assembled there. The Archduke, standing barefoot on the floor, arms stretched wide in the sunshine.

The gathered servants began to whisper to one another in low tones.

“That nobleman must have gone insane, doesn’t he, given that he never leaves his room?”

“Ahh man……, I was enjoying a lovely snooze, but then..Khgh”

Among them, the older-looking one, who seemed to be forty, clicked his tongue loudly. “How can the Archduke of the Luoyang Sword Clan turn out…”

In their eyes, the Archduke enjoyed a ‘comfortable’ and ‘easy’ life. They spent a long time with him. He never pressured or reprimanded them. All of their requests were fulfilled.

Furthermore, there were exceedingly few things to do in comparison to the size of his residence, the Pure Silver Garden Pavillion. Since guests didn’t come, there was no need to polish every nook and cranny several times a day. The enormous garden, which required a lot of effort, was mostly tended by the Archduke himself. And since Archduke used just a few sets of clothing, even the most laborious washing was no big deal.

In this way, the servants of the Pure Silver Garden Pavilion, the residence of the Archduke, have been careless and negligent.

Actually, the scorn for him was freely shown throughout the clan, referring to him as the swordless.

Even if his status was such that lowly people like them would not dare to disregard it, the problem was that they had gotten such a close look at his nice personality.

“Hmmmm…”

“Hmph.”

They were first dissatisfied with the Archduke’s actions, who summoned them in a hasty way. But, before they knew it, silence fell over the place, as if a mouse had perished.

It wasn’t as though they’d been hushed. Much like the first servants. They gradually stopped talking crap. They gradually refrained from tacky movements. Gradually, they grew anxious.

“…….”

“…….”

In the end, only a terrible sense of desolation and ominous stillness remained in the place. And no one dared to break it.

They were, unbeknownst to themselves, already dominated by the atmosphere flowing from the Archduke.

“Has everyone shown up?” The odd situation lasted until the Archduke opened his mouth.

“What?! Yes, that’s right. Everyone has gathered.”

He didn’t even glance at the agitated servants. “As of now, you are no longer required at the Pure Silver Garden Pavillion. Report to the butler right away and request a new assignment.”

The voice was low and weak. But it was clear to everyone’s ears.

“That, what… … ?!”

“Archduke!”

At his words, everyone protested, nervously bending their heads.

“What are we going to do if you kick us out so suddenly?”

As soon as one or two of them worked up the nerve to shout, the others joined in.

“What the hell should we tell the butler?”

“Everyone will look down on us!”

“Archduke!”

Everyone raised their voices in unison, denouncing the Archduke’s decision.

“Ha-ha-ha-ha,” 

Then came a chuckle, breaking through their loud voices. It was, of course, the Archduke’s laugh, mocking the situation.

The low-pitched laughing, mixed with a strange metallic sound, scratched the listeners’ ears. It was a grotesque and eerie sound.

The servants’ heads raised. Their tongues stiffened. Their movements ended.

“…….”

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Their lips were shut, but the Archduke’s ominous laughter continued. Because the jeers were not intended towards the servants. He was sneering at himself.

How stifling and ignorant I was in the past.

He had believed that if he showed goodwill first, the other person would reciprocate with kindness. Even if the other person did not immediately react with good intentions, he was certain that his honesty would pay off one day. No, he’d wanted to believe.

After a while, the Archduke withdrew his chuckle and turned to them. His eyes no longer conveyed any emotion.

The servants shrank even more in the face of that glassy gaze.

“What is my last name?” He asked, motioning with a finger to one of the servants.

The terrified servant responded in shock. “Ah! Yeon, it’s Mr. Yeon!”

The Archduke, whose surname was Yeon, nodded his head, satisfied with the answer. “Right, and this clan, the Luoyang Sword Clan, belongs to the Yeon family.”

He then pointed out another servant and asked again. “What is my name?”

The person who was pointed out had no clue why and answered with a shudder. “Sohyeon!”

Yeon, whose first name was Sohyeon, asked another servant again. “What is the position of Sohyeon Yeon in this family?”

The designated servant swallowed dry saliva and responded. “You are the Archduke.”

Archduke Sohyeon Yeon smiled. But the smile was merely a form, devoid of emotions, and terrifying.

“Sure. I am Sohyeon Yeon, the Archduke of this family.”

It seemed as though a spark of fire was blazing from his eyes.

“So, what are you to rebel against that archduke?” He asked everyone this time, smirking. “Are you aiming to be the clan’s leader?”

At those words, all of the servants paused for a second before prostrating themselves on the spot. They were uneducated and stupid, but not so stupid that they didn’t see death approaching them.

“Ahh, forgive me!”

“Absolutely no rebellion!”

“How can low people like r……!”

Their neat servant’ uniforms dirtied. And even more so than the bare feet of Archduke Sohyeon Yeon’s naked feet, which they had mocked.

“Shhh…!” Sohyeon Yeon lifted a finger to his mouth. Then, the servants who had their heads buried in the ground stopped breathing.

“It’s my fault you’re lazy, so I won’t hold you accountable.” He cracked a bright smile. “So everyone, pack up your things right now and leave.”

The servants began thanking him as soon as he finished speaking.

“Ahh! Thank you!”

“Thank you, Archduke!”

He smiled twistedly as he gazed down on them. When he treated them infinitely well, all he got was backbiting and resentment. But when he squeezed them mercilessly, he received thanks!!

Human nature was just ludicrous.

Sohyeon Yeon quickly shifted his attention away from them. He didn’t throw out all the servants just to teach them a lesson; there was a more weighty reason.

With this, all of the unnecessary ‘eyes’ were removed at once.

Many of the Pure Silver Garden Pavillion’s servants were spies, reporting every action Sohyeon Yeon made to other factions within the clan.

He’d known about them before, but he’d disregarded them since he was apathetic about power.

It would have been easy for him to punish the servants who had the guts to report on their master’s actions, but he chose not to.

‘No need to beat the grass to scare the snake.’

There was no need to draw attention to himself. Not yet, at least.

“There, you.” He shouted at the first servant that entered his sight. The servant was trying his very best to get out of the Pure Silver Garden Pavilion in a hurry. His belongings didn’t seem to be properly packed.

When he saw Sohyeon Yeon gazing at him, he collapsed on the floor in a panic.

“Yes yes! Archduke! Please order me!”

While answering with his head on the ground, his luggage and clothes rolled on the floor. But neither he nor Sohyeon Yeon gave a damn.

“Tell the butler, no….”

Sohyeon Yeon’s eyes narrowed.

“Tell the head butler to select and send someone to help me.”

The Head Butler was someone in a position where the lower classes couldn’t even look him in the eyes. It was he who issued instructions to such a servant.

Evidently, the servant now realized who he had served, but it was too late.

“Yes, yes! All right, Archduke, I will keep that in mind.”

“And…”

His subsequent question was absurd.

“Where is the sun?”

“The sun… do you mean?”

The incomprehensible question of Sohyeon Yeon, who was looking up at the sky with a scowl, left the servant bewildered. However, he eventually did respond, “There, it’s floating over there. It’s blindingly white and so bright that it’s hard to even look at it.”

“Really?” After hearing his answer, Sohyeon Yeon tilted his head slightly. He then motioned for the servant to leave.

The servant bowed deeply in greetings and then hurried away.

“That much?” Looking up into the sky, Sohyeon Yeon could only see warm sunshine. The sun was nowhere to be found.

“Huuh! even the sun has turned its back on me?”

The words of the ruler of darkness were still ringing clearly in his ears.

[From now on, you will breathe in the darkness, strike down the sword of condemnation in the darkness, and become the reverend of darkness who punishes all the evil of the world!]

Kachti’s Notes:

 

Some changes:

Luoyang Sword Family = Luoyang Sword Clan

The ruler of darkness(Demon) = The ruler of darkness(Monster)

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