1440 - Chapter 5

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 5
The reason he managed to grow up as a human being, despite learning resignation at such a tender age, came down to only two things.
The belief that his birth mother loved him. And beyond that, the memory of those tender hands that would soothe away his pain whenever he fell ill with Divine Affliction.
Yeonsu smiled. A bright, guileless smile that betrayed no trace of malice.
“I understand it was no easy decision to give me that name. And that it was Father’s affection.”
“Mm.”
“Since I received my Divine Mandate at twenty, I have thought of nothing but this day. To train properly, to become a true Divine Servant, and to aid Father with this Divine Power.”
Having spoken thus to Ineumm, Yeonsu immediately turned his gaze toward his half-brother.
“I assure you, I have no intention of coveting the family’s secret arts. Please don’t take offense.”
Yeonhyeong couldn’t hide his displeasure as his accomplished half-brother regarded him steadily.
That bastard with common blood who always outperformed him in every measure. The one whose body had grown so much taller despite all the torment and starvation. But worst of all was this: no matter how much he hurt him, Baek Yeonsu never wept.
From the moment that five-year-old Yeonsu had crossed the threshold of this house, Yeonhyeong had wanted him gone. Calling some brat only three years his junior his brother never felt real. The boy seemed nothing but a threat to his own position as the heir apparent.
And that hadn’t changed.
But Yeonhyeong forced his anxiety down and smiled back. There was no profit in misbehaving here and falling from Father’s favor. His twisted lips curved asymmetrically.
“Of course. You’d never dare. I’ve known your place since you were small.”
As he sneered at Yeonsu’s childhood, forever one step behind, Ineumm cleared his throat from the side. Yeonhyeong withdrew with an air of innocence, saying nothing more.
5
“Very well. From now on, divide the incoming commissions between you two. I’m curious to see what you’re truly capable of, Yeonsu.”
“Yes, Father. I won’t disappoint you.”
Ineumm rose from his seat, quite pleased to accept Yeonsu’s bow. And yet his hand reached toward his eldest son. Just moments ago he’d scolded him about overusing the Misfortune-Bearer, but after all, he was his one and only firstborn.
As Ineumm’s large hand stroked Yeonhyeong’s head, even the bristling young man relaxed his rigid posture a little.
Right. He was the true heir of this house anyway—what was there to worry about? Even now, Father’s hand reached out to him with affection. That half-Baek was merely a tool. Rough goods to be used and discarded, like that “thing” in the Annex. The thought eased his mood considerably.
As Ineumm and even Miju rose to leave, only Yeonhyeong, his wife, and Yeonsu remained in the vast Main Hall.
Yeonsu maintained his seat with a demeanor that suggested he would not dare rise until his half-brother did.
After watching him for a while, Yeonhyeong loosened his posture and dropped the remaining confection into his mouth.
“Say—will I have to split that Misfortune-Bearer freak with you now too?”
At his words, Yeonsu laughed softly.
“Does my brother begrudge the creature? I hadn’t realized mingling bodies with some grotesque entity of unknown nature was such a pleasant affair for you.”
Unlike moments before when Ineumm was present, the words carried a subtle barb. But dull-witted Yeonhyeong failed to grasp it quickly. He merely cast a sidelong glance at his wife behind him before throwing out a remark.
“Ridiculous. Who said I begrudged anything? It’s not as if I lack for women.”
Then, irritably brushing cake crumbs from his lap, he rose and left. His wife carefully stepped around the mess of scattered crumbs and followed him out.
Watching their retreating figures, Yeonsu barely suppressed a smirk.
According to the information he’d gathered beforehand, Yeonhyeong kept several mistresses in addition to his legitimate wife. His half-brother scattered his seed about like an animal in rut, and it was depressingly familiar—exactly like their father.
Yes, don’t even covet that. It would be far too presumptuous.
Yeonsu caught himself at the smirk leaking through and, with a click of his tongue, lifted the tea cup again. Just then, he heard footsteps from directly behind him.
“Your room has already been put to other use. I can’t return it to you.”
It was Miju.
Miju, who attended to Ineumm’s bed, had found a moment to return to Yeonsu.
She was always like this. In Ineumm’s presence, she maintained an air of not discriminating openly, but the moment he looked away or left the room, she seized the chance to torment Yeonsu.
Yeonsu thought it fortunate that his sardonic expression was hidden by the cup. When he set it down and looked back at his stepmother, his face had shifted to its customary humble mien.
“Very well, Mother.”
The word “mother” from Yeonsu’s lips caused Miju’s expressionless face to crack slightly. This woman had never been able to bear that title.
“…So either go outside to live, or—”
“No, I will stay in the Annex.”
“The Annex…?”
Miju’s lips twitched.
The Annex held “that thing”—the creature that had walked alongside the founding of the Hereditary Shamanic Order of the Baek Family, that had endured more than a thousand years without shedding a single hair, that still wore the exact face it had worn a thousand years ago.
Miju and even the household servants all regarded it as an odd and grotesque presence, unwilling to linger long in the Annex. But now this illegitimate child, gone for five years yet possessed of all the household’s secrets, was saying he would simply live in the Annex without hesitation….
“….”
Miju’s eyes narrowed. Measuring what scheme lay hidden behind Yeonsu’s words.
Even under that piercing gaze, Yeonsu maintained an innocent expression and answered as though he knew nothing.
“I am one who has received divinity. I need my own Divine Shrine, separate from the family prayer hall. If a bastard thought to be long gone suddenly appears in the house and establishes a lavish shrine, it would look unseemly to outsiders, wouldn’t it? I have no wish to draw attention like my brother does. Besides, I’m hardly in a position to do so.”
“….”
“So a quiet corner where few venture would suit me well. Mother, you needn’t concern yourself with my meals or daily living. You may continue as you always have.”
Rising slowly from his seat as he spoke, Yeonsu caused Miju’s head to tilt back. She was displeased by the illegitimate son’s return—broader-shouldered and taller than when he’d left.
It was absurd. After all, she’d never intended to see to his meals anyway. Just as she hadn’t when he was small.
Miju turned away with an inward sneer.
“Fine. You’ll manage just fine on your own. You always did scrounge for scraps outside when you were a boy, didn’t you?”
Recalling the teenage Yeonsu, who managed to feed himself somehow despite her withholding meals, Miju shook her head and departed with a bitter laugh on her lips.
Yeonsu watched her small, sinister silhouette retreat and smiled along with her departure.
***
The first floor of the Annex.
The man who had spent the night trapped in smoke from burning mugwort finally opened the back door himself come morning to air out the room.
As the acrid haze that had filled the space flowed out into the open, the headache that had threatened to split his skull eased gradually.
He was neither a Vengeful Spirit nor an Evil Spirit, so there was no need for them to burn mugwort—but they couldn’t hear what he said, so he had no choice but to let them do as they wished.
It was quiet. The man confirmed, as always, that no one remained in the Annex, then threw the back door wide open, letting sunlight pour into the room. When the bright, yang-infused light filled the space, he felt his depleted energy beginning to recover from the day before.
He looked down at his bruised and chafed arms.
It had already been a hundred years since he began bearing the Misfortune of the men in this house in their stead. His recovery abilities remained unchanged, yet therein lay the problem—that very unchanging nature. Because of this mysterious power, the Baek Family had no intention of ever letting him go. Nothing had improved.

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