1440 - Chapter 4

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Chapter 4
In Eum had been about to remark that the bleached hair was obviously an affectation, but he pressed his lips shut at the sight of Yeon Su. After such an arduous Shamanistic Initiation Ritual, even a father as indifferent as he could not bring himself to voice reproach.
Moreover, In Eum was caught in admiration, comparing the Yeon Su who had left just after reaching adulthood with the man before him now.
He had grown into a handsome youth in whom his own features and those of Yeon Su’s mother were well-mingled. The boy had shed all traces of childhood and returned as a man.
‘That woman had exquisite looks, at least.’
Watching Yeon Su, who had inherited his mother’s refined beauty, In Eum felt a subtle pride stirring in his chest.
That eye-catching hair should have looked strange on him, yet somehow it suited him perfectly. This too was not entirely displeasant.
Though born outside wedlock, he carried the Baek name. There was satisfaction in having raised him from childhood. The saying was true—blood always runs inward.
Yeon Su allowed In Eum to scrutinize his face and form without protest, his gaze moving freely across every inch. He pretended not to notice, instead savoring the tea’s fragrance in silence for a moment.
He had long understood that In Eum harbored a certain fondness for his appearance—the vile desire of a man directed toward the face of Yeon Su’s mother, which he so closely resembled.
Yeon Su waited for the moment when In Eum’s attention would waver, when his guard would slip. And then he spoke.
4
“My long years of training have finally concluded. Since I could not undergo the Shamanistic Initiation Ritual while remaining within a hereditary shaman family, I had no choice but to leave home. Now that I have accumulated a measure of spiritual cultivation, I have returned as swiftly as I could. I wish only to become of use to the father who raised me, however humbly, with the divine power I have gained.”
As Yeon Su spoke these words and offered a respectful bow, In Eum watched with evident satisfaction. The moment he heard the word “home,” a faint smirk crossed the face of Mi Ju, his wife, kneeling behind them—and In Eum cast her a sharp look of warning.
Yeon Su, head still bowed, caught every nuance of the exchange. Yet he remained in a posture of perfect obedience until In Eum commanded him to raise his head, moving as if suspended in ritual reverence.
In Eum’s satisfaction deepened, and he let out a pleased hum of laughter through his nose.
“Of use, you say. Well then—do you have any concrete ideas in mind?”
It was not Yeon Su but Yeon Hyeong who answered.
“Father! Surely you’re not thinking of teaching that creature our family’s Secret Technique?!”
The interruption came in a tone bristling with displeasure—a voice full of resentment and utterly devoid of courtesy. In Eum made a sound of disapproval, a slight grunt of annoyance, but Yeon Hyeong pressed on without the slightest sensitivity to the rebuke.
“That is knowledge meant only for the eldest son of the family, isn’t it? How could you teach such precious methods to some vagrant who rolled in from nowhere—and to someone like him, with only half our blood?!”
“Ahem!”
At In Eum’s louder clearing of his throat, Yeon Hyeong’s words finally ceased. The moment his mouth snapped shut, In Eum fixed him with a piercing stare.
“And what of your own training? Your work of late has been singularly inadequate. Complaints keep reaching me that it takes far too long for matters to reach completion!”
“…Father.”
“Why do you visit the Curse Vessel so frequently? The work isn’t even finished, yet the flesh hasn’t returned—so why?! Lately I hear from those below that you handle that thing almost like a brute. Don’t tell me you’ve been bewitched by that uncanny creature? It’s meant solely for the purpose of drawing out curses and nothing more……”
“Father!”
Yeon Hyeong’s face flushed crimson, and he began to splutter. He glanced sideways at his wife, who knelt behind him.
“No one said any such thing! I use it only as much as necessary. There’s been so much work lately, that’s all!”
In Eum regarded the stammering Yeon Hyeong with narrowed eyes. Having occasionally partaken of the Curse Vessel himself, In Eum had witnessed firsthand how brutally Yeon Hyeong handled it.
Curse Vessel or not, it was no human thing. To misuse it beyond its intended purpose risked unforeseen complications.
Yet In Eum understood, to some degree, the addictive pull. He could see why his son had become so fixated on it.
Yeon Su watched the exchange, lowering his gaze to hide the cold hardening in his eyes. To calm the turmoil rising in his chest, he brought the teacup to his lips and took a long sip. He closed his eyes as if savoring the fragrance, gathering himself, then set the cup down with a deliberate, audible clink.
This was the moment—when In Eum’s displeasure with his eldest had been laid bare. This was when Yeon Su should press forward.
“Father. I, too, wish to be of service to the family, alongside my brother.”
At that, In Eum turned his gaze from Yeon Hyeong to Yeon Su.
Unlike moments before, when Yeon Su had kept his head lowered, he now met In Eum’s eyes directly, his gaze steady with quiet confidence. The sight struck In Eum as altogether more masculine, and his heart stirred.
“Are you saying you wish to learn our family’s Secret Technique now? Our secret method?”
“No, Father.”
The immediate reply caught In Eum off guard, and even Yeon Hyeong, who had been chewing snacks with visible displeasure, looked at Yeon Su again. Yeon Su met their stares evenly, his tone one of careful humility threaded through with genuine confidence.
“I have already accumulated Spell Techniques of my own—skills honed over years of climbing mountains across the realm and performing prayers. Of course they pale before the Ritual Method passed down through the Baek Family for more than a thousand years, but I am confident I would prove no liability.”
Curse Practitioner.
That was what the men of the Baek Family had long called themselves.
Their family’s original calling had faded more than two centuries ago. It was well over a hundred years now since they had begun making their fortune through the practice of curses.
To them, the title held no shame—it was a mark of achievement and wealth. There remained no one among them with conscience enough to feel ashamed of the Spell Techniques and names they had brought wholesale across the sea.
Yeon Su smiled inwardly.
‘Curse Practitioner’ indeed—a magnificent title. Yet here they stood, these low-grade Curse Workers who couldn’t even manage a single arrow sent their way and had to borrow power from better men.
Outwardly, though, he wore the face of a bastard who understood his station—humble, appropriately modest. In Eum was quick to respond.
“You know, don’t you, that I never entered your name into the Family Register?”
“Yes, Father.”
“And yet you still wish to be of service to this family?”
A glimmer of suspicion flickered in In Eum’s gaze. He was no easy mark, this patriarch.
Yeon Su felt it—the difference between In Eum and Yeon Hyeong became apparent the moment he showed even the slightest deference. Where Yeon Hyeong rushed to mockery at the first sign of submission, In Eum grew cautious. Low-grade Curse Workers they might be, but the bearing of a household master could not be dismissed.
Yeon Su adjusted his posture with deliberate precision. He brought his knees together tightly and knelt in a position that bordered on servile. Yet his broad, squared shoulders and upright spine lent even that posture an austere, almost beautiful composure.
From that position, Yeon Su addressed In Eum.
“You gave me the name ‘Yeon,’ Father, despite my not being true blood of this family.”
As he spoke, the memory surfaced—of himself as a boy, entering elementary school, gazing at the name tag that read ‘Baek Yeon Su.’
—Don’t forget that I gave you the Generation Character of the Baek Family’s fiftieth descendant. It means you owe me your loyalty.
A crude father, speaking of loyalty to an eight-year-old child. Yet Yeon Su had learned early what his place in this household was meant to be, and he had bowed in gratitude then as he did now.
And there was Mi Ju, pinching him slyly as she passed, unseen by In Eum.
―A child born of a ghost—a shameless wretch not even registered in the Family Register.
It was then that Yeon Su understood the truth: In Eum had dragged him to this house by force, yet had never entered his name into the Family Register as a true son.
And he was tired of it all—tired of his father preening over giving him a generation character while keeping him in such a wretched place, tired of his stepmother taking out her cruelty on a small, defenseless child because she had nowhere else to put her malice.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————