Two days after the incident, Gibyeong stood in front of a window, gazing at the garden and his people attending to it. He was in a meeting when the church attacked his home, and by the time he arrived with reinforcements, it was already too late. He lost a lot that day. His children suffered grievous injuries, the lesser families working at that time bore numerous casualties, the love of his life died, and his princess fell back into a coma.
Gibyeong let out a heavy sigh as he pulled out a cigar from his inner pocket. A shorter man wearing a grey suit widened his eyes upon seeing the cigar in his patriarch's hands.
"Gajang-nim, you're smoking again?"
Gibyeong looked at the rolled-up poison between his fingers for a moment before placing it between his lips.
"Do you have a lighter?"
The man in the grey suit slightly bowed and pulled out a silver and gold lighter from his inner pocket and lit Gibyeong's cigar.
The Bam family's patriarch took a deep breath, held it in for a few seconds, and slowly opened his mouth. The smoke trickled out of his jaws like liquid before rising to the air.
"How's Gongju-nim?"
Gibyeong asked in an exhausted tone as he cleared his throat.
"Gongju-nim is still asleep despite her injuries has long recovered. During observation, her daily meals have helped subside the intensity of her tattoos, which is a good sign. I believe Gongju-nim would wake up in a few days."
"And the twins?"
"They're steadily recovering. Gun-in woke up earlier this morning but went back to sleep immediately after learning that Gongju-nim is safe and resting."
"The rest?"
"I've already sent appropriate compensation to the related parties and your heartfelt regret for the incident. Although most of them are grieving, I've convinced them to recuperate in the North. They should be back in perfect condition in three months."
"Do they know?"
The man in the grey suit paused for a moment as he took a deep breath before answering.
"No. It's only known within the council."
"And those present?"
"I already took care of it."
"Mmm. . ."
Gibyeong suckled his cigar deep and puffed out a dense smoke.
"Reports?"
"Unfortunately, we can only go so far without Gun-in and haven't found anything as of late."
"Then continue to proceed as planned. Ensure to compensate the other houses afterward."
"Understood."
"What about the council?"
"They still feel the same. Most elders think it's time for the South to attack the church after what they've done. They believe it's time for Gongju-nim to take on her father's mantle, especially after witnessing how she cleaned up the battlefield."
"Hmm. . ."
Gibyeong waved his hand and sent the man away. The man exited the room with a bow and left Gibyeong on his thoughts.
He took another puff from his cigar, only to cough, before heading back to his executive chair. As Gibyeong placed his cigar on the ashtray on the side, he laid his back on his seat and pinched the bridge of his nose, desperately trying to hold his tears.
"I guess I still can't handle a smoke, can't I, Yongseo. . .?"
---
Two weeks later, Gibyeong finally dared to face the public and held a press conference, revealing the death of his wife and the church's supposed sins. He ended the event with tear stains on his cheeks. With the sniffling Gun-in and the red-eyed Jeonsa behind him, Gibyeong headed straight for their car, but before they arrived, a man with a lean build wearing a black suit stood in their path. He had long blonde hair tied to a low ponytail with a woman following behind him.
"The carriage for stuck-ups is on the other side."
"You should be glad I even bothered to come."
A few seconds passed as the two sides faced off in silence. It wasn't until Gibyeong pinched the bridge of his nose and let out an exhausted sigh that the 'tense' atmosphere broke. The older man stepped forward and brought Gibyeong to a hug before whispering in his ear.
"I came as soon as I heard. I'm sorry about Yongseo; she was a wonderful woman."
"Hyung. . . Let's talk at home."
When the two parted, the older man went past Gibyeong and brought the twins into a tight hug. Muffled sniffs and comforting whispers were heard behind him, making Gibyeong crack a small smile.
Once they arrived in the Bam family estate, Gibyeong led his Hyung in one of the main drawing rooms to entertain the guests. With tea and snacks on the table in front of them, the older man broke the silence.
"How's Gongju-nim?"
"Still asleep. Based on Gun-in's data from Gongju-nim, she should still be absorbing the blood she gathered from the incident. According to his calculations, she should be up in another week unless something unprecedented happens."
"Unprecedented?"
"Mm. Trauma, for example. Psychological states can actively affect quirks. If she refuses to wake up, then there isn't much we can do."
"I see. That would be quite the problem indeed."
"Mm."
"And Seonchim?"
Gibyeong let out a sigh as he took one biscuit from the table and ate it.
"She took it the hardest. She hasn't left the inner house ever since the incident. She's been attending after Gongju-nim while training in the basement while Jeonsa joined her after recovering."
"You know she can't be there."
"You won't be able to reject her either if you were in my shoes after what happened. Yongseo was the only reason why she wouldn't take my seat, and now that she's gone, she's been pouring all her attention to Gongju-nim."
"What about Jungsu and Dae-Jung?"
"She said she's settled everything with her family after what happened and it isn't like Jungsu can do anything about Seonchim whenever she decides onto something."
"Ahh, right, she runs a matriarchal family, after all."
With the superficial conversation out of the way, Gibyeong immediately went straight to the point as he brought his cup to his lips and took a sip.
"How much do you know?"
The edges of the other man's lips crept up as he took one biscuit from the plate on the table.
"Just as much as the report. You know I abolished the spy network in the South when I took over the North. I trust your ability to protect Gongju-nim in this generation. But it seems the Pope got one over you."
Gibyeong flinched upon hearing his older brother's criticism. He placed his cup back on the table before increasing the pressure in his voice.
"Are you implying that I'm inadequate in protecting Gongju-nim, Daeijang-ssi?"
"Ssi? Aren't you quite serious, Gibyeong? I didn't mean it that way. Gongju-nim's safety isn't only yours to bear; it's our entire clan's. We live to serve Gongju-nim, remember? Although I took Sunhyeol as my surname, our families come from the same ancestors who have pledged our entire lineage to the Braedens. This loss affects not only the South but the North as well."
"Is that why you brought someone?"
"A lot of 'someone' actually. In respect to the Bam's traditions that only the patriarch's descendants can serve Gongju-nim, I brought some members of my family to be Gongju-nim's attendants."
"The patriarch of the North having a kin is not part of our traditions."
"Adopted."
"I see. How many?"
"Three, including this child."
With a motion of Daejang's hand, the woman with blue hair standing behind him took a step forward and bowed.
"It's my honor to meet the Bam family's patriarch. I'm named Eol-Eum, Gajang's second adopted child, and will be one of Gongju-nim's new attendants."
"Where's the other two, Hyung-nim?"
"Sightseeing. I can't bring those two in unless you allow me to."
For the first time in two weeks, Gibyeong revealed a small smile as he leaned back on the sofa.
"You're awfully too nice for a Northerner, Hyung-nim."
"And you're annoyingly too strict for a Southerner, Gibyeong."
Daejang responded with a smile. He was relieved that his brother fared better than he had thought. It wasn't easy for any of them to lose a family member, especially those unrelated to their true purpose. Although he's worried about his little sister, as long as she focuses on the family instead of revenge, things shouldn't go out of hand.
"What are your plans now? The elders in the North are growing anxious about whether you can keep the church in check. The council's unanimous decision is to move Gongju-nim to the North until you can control the church again. I can only hold them off for so long when they're united like this."
"I'm taking care of it, don't worry. I'll make sure the Pope will pay for what he's done."
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Gibyeong declared resolutely with a metaphorical fire burning in his eyes.
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With Daejang's adopted children added to the Gongju-nim's residence, the inner house experienced a minor lodging issue. Because of the Bam family's traditions on who can serve Ambrosia, only two servant rooms are available for use. Although the rooms are a little spacious for one person, they would get cramped should more than one person use them.
With Jeonsa and Seonchim already occupying the rooms, the additional personnel would naturally have nowhere to sleep. As they were afraid that building more sleeping quarters would disturb their princess and their pride as children from respectable families stopping them from sleeping anywhere else, Jeonsa suggested a duel to choose the arrangements.
Seonchim, being their aunt, and Gun-in locking himself up in his lab, were naturally excluded from the selection. In the garden behind the house, Jeonsa stood faced off Eol-Eum while two of the remaining two of Daejang's adopted children watched on the side.
"Let's have a fair fight, Jeonsa Unnie."
"I won't hold back just because you're from the North, Eol-Eum, so don't you dare pull back your punches either."
"Yes, Unnie."
Eol took a deep breath as she slightly bowed towards Jeonsa. A dense white fog escaped her mouth as she exhaled that gathered around her arms. Her blue eyes then took on a darker hue as the white mist solidified into ice. Just like that, Eol dashed towards Jeonsa with a clenched fist covered with ice. Anticipating that the ice would spread upon contact, Jeonsa twisted her body to dodge while sending her reinforced punch towards Eol-Eum's side.
Eol-Eum barely covered her side in time for protection as she slid back upon impact, but not without leaving Jeonsa's fist frozen. Jeonsa clicked her tongue as she rushed ahead, not giving Eol a chance to recover as she made use of her frozen flesh to reinforce her fist further.
Expecting that Jeonsa would rush in once more, Eol-Eum ducked and attempted a leg sweep. Having no time to change directions, Jeonsa reinforced her legs to parry Eol-Eum's feet and changed the trajectory of her punch from a straight to a downward hook.
Eol-Eum leaned back and rolled to the side to avoid Jeonsa's heavy blow that left a small crater in its wake. She then sent three icicles to Jeonsa at high speeds, which Jeonsa easily dodged by lowering her torso. As the icicles passed through her hair, Jeonsa rushed once more towards her opponent, ignoring the increasing weight of her frozen limbs.
The small girl with yellow hair and drilled ponytail, who was watching on the side while leaning on the taller red-haired man, commented on the ongoing fight.
"Neh, neh, Oppa, wouldn't this get out of hand soon? Jeonsa Unnie is strong since she could push Eum Unnie to this extent without using much of her quirk aside from reinforcement."
"Mm, any more than this and that battle junkie would forget the rules and go all out."
"Then shouldn't we do something about this?"
"And become ice statues? Besides, if we win, we get to use Jeonsa Noonim's room and stay at the same place as Gongju-nim and serve her better."
". . . I suppose."
"Look, it's almost over."
After conjuring an ax made of ice, Eol-Eum brought her blade above her head and brought it down with both arms with a drunk smile. Jeonsa raised her frozen arm that had thickened because of the ice to meet Eol-Eum's attack. With the blade an inch away from cutting through her limb, Jeonsa pushed herself forward to pin Eol's ax in place. She then sent her free hand straight to Eol's face to deal a heavy blow.
Eol could barely place her arm between her and the incoming fist, causing Jeonsa's attack to pierce through her defenses. She stumbled a few paces back as she lost focus in maintaining her weapon's form. But before she could regain herself and continue fighting, a voice ended their mock battle.
"Enough. Jeonsa lost. You kids can have the room."
Eol-Eum was startled at the sudden announcement that she darted her gaze towards her opponent. Jeonsa stood firm with ice covering half of her torso towards her limbs. Her arms wore ice gauntlets that were different in size, while her left leg looked like a big block of ice. A deep gash tinged with red was apparent on her right arm as the frost slowly crept from her shoulder towards her neck.
Behind Jeonsa was their aunt, Seonchim, wearing a white and blue hanbok walking towards them.
"With the amount of control you have over your quirk, you'll do well in serving Gongju-nim. Jijin, Hwajae, take Eol-Eum and treat her wounds."
The three were surprised at Seonchim's sudden appearance, but they still obediently followed her orders despite Eol-Eum's silent objections.
Once the three were out of sight, Seonchim headed towards the stiff Jeonsa and placed a hand on her frozen shoulder. With the activation of her quirk, the ice covering her niece slowly turned water and slid down her body.
"That was reckless of you. If you wanted to kill yourself that bad, I could've sent you a more painless death."
". . ."
"Not even a thank you?"
"Thank you, Seonbae-ssi. . ."
"C'mon, you can't enter Gongju-nim's house looking like that."
Jeonsa morphed her arm into steel gauntlets to keep them in place as she followed Seonchim towards their primary residence. Although Seonchim had her speculations of her niece's current mental state, she still has no choice but to wait for her to open up on her own accord. She's in no position to question Jeonsa when she herself is in a much worse state than she is.
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The atmosphere surrounding the Bam family had been growing heavier by the day. With Ambrosia still sleeping despite recovering for a month, the Sunhyeol and Bam elders grow restless. Gibyeong knew what the elders wanted, and he knew that he would have to make a decision soon. Despite losing his beloved wife recently, Gongju-nim would always take priority.
With a heavy heart, Gibyeong held a council meeting with the Bam elders inside the largest conference room in their compound. The twins, together with Seonchim, her son Dae-Jung, Daejang, and his adopted daughter Eol-Eum also attended the gathering. With all elders now in their respective seats with two attendants each, Gibyeong finally began their conference as he took the highest seat in the middle.
"Before anything else, I'd like to express my gratitude for your attendance today, especially elder Chida, who came from Japan, and elder Mogpyo, who was busy with matters in China."
"There's no need for thanks, Gajang. This meeting is for the family after all."
"Elder Chida is right, Gajang. Anything goes when it comes to family. But that said, I'd like to express my sincere condolences regarding Yongseo and apologize for not being here during the funeral."
Mogpyo stood from his seat and bowed a perfect 90 degrees. The rest of the elders, together with their attendants - including Daejang and Seonchim - stood up and followed suit.
". . . Everyone, take a seat. Let's begin the meeting."
Despite the lack of expression and his monotonous tone, everyone knew the pain he was going through. No words would be enough to express his grief, and the elders knew it. After their heartfelt condolences, the elders and attendants took their seats and regained composure, ready to address the more pressing issue that could decide the immediate future of their clan.
When Ambrosia woke up after her century-long coma, both councils agreed to give her time to integrate into society. After she bridges the gap between her era and the present, she will become their matriarch who will unify Korea and bring their clan to the top.
The Bam family thought they could still control the church while helping their princess get back to society, but they knew they needed to speed up their timeline after the incident.
Despite coming from the same ancestor, the cold war between the North and South families has worsened ever since then. With the North arguing for Gongju-nim to move in the North and the South insisting that they could control the church with Ambrosia taking her rightful place, both clans are already on the brink of an internal war.
Seeing that everyone had settled down, Gibyeong took a deep breath and wore the aura befitting a patriarch.
"I understand that all of you are growing restless with how the Bam family should proceed after what happened. Today, we will decide the South's next course of action, especially since the current patriarch of Sunhyeol in the North is with us today, Daejang Hyung-nim. Before we begin, I would like to get an insight on the North's current stance."
Daejung, wearing his usual black and red hanbok with gold designs, took a sip from the coffee in front of him before speaking.
"As you all know, Gongju-nim was kept in the South as a unanimous decision from our ancestors since the weather conditions in the North are harsh. It wouldn't be until Gongju-nim comes of relative age would she take Sunhyeol under her wing and lead both clans to prosperity. But because of the church's attack, the elders in the North are starting to question the Bam family's capabilities to serve Gongju-nim properly. With that said, the Sunhyeol council insists the Bam council turn over Gongju-nim's custody to us."
"And then what? Force Gongju-nim to suffer through those extreme weathers? Forgive my impudence, Daejang Gajang-ssi. But, I hope you remember that the climate in the North is either desert heat, blizzard cold, or stormy rains. There is no way we would allow Gongju-nim to go through any of that."
"Elder Dokki, I understand your concerns, but it's been more than a century since the Sunhyeol clan took over the North. Despite the harsh weather, we've built artificial places that have regulated conditions for Gongju-nim to live in comfortably."
"Gongju-nim is just fine in here. Regardless of the facilities, the travel itself would be uncomfortable for Gongju-nim. As per our ancestors' decision, Gongju-nim will stay in the South until she comes of relative age. Instead of bickering on where Gongju-nim should stay, shouldn't we be discussing how to make the church pay? They dared to attack Gongju-nim's residence in broad daylight!"
With elder Balg-Eun reminding them what the church did, the elders began to hurl curses towards them, especially the templars. The issue regarding Gongju-nim's living arrangements was unspokenly ignored, which made Daejang let out a resigned sigh.
With the elders getting noisy, Gibyeong raised his hand for everyone present to see.
"That's enough. I understand your concerns, and I have heard them. Although we have made a mistake and allowed the church to attack Gongju-nim, we can't let them get away with it. Despite this, we also can't wait for Gongju-nim to recover and force her to lead us. Not only is she not mature enough to take the matriarchal seat, but the church is also our responsibility as her retainers. If we can't even deal with the church despite being on each other's throats for the past century, can we even call ourselves as Gongju-nim's retainers?"
The conference immediately silenced upon hearing Gibyeong's statement. Although they have admired the Braedens and have pledged their undying loyalty to their princess, both families take pride in their positions as Ambrosia's retainers. How could they have their princess deal with minor matters when she aims for much grander things?
With the atmosphere much calmer than earlier, Gibyeong relaxed back in his seat and took his coffee from the table.
"Sanyang, report."
"As you wish, Gajang-nim. Although our attempt to make the church a public enemy didn't yield as many results as we'd hoped, their image still took damage, especially since the Templar Saint is still out of commission."
Sanyang, Gibyeong's right-hand man, operated the enormous screen at the end of the room and began his report.
"We were able to sway 3% of public opinion in our favor while about 7% are now having doubts on the church's reliability. With this, phase one of the plan is complete. As you can see in the briefs presented to you, our next step would include the deployment of the dark hounds and cause systematic chaos, while the ghost unit would lead Operation Mimic and take over the church. After rigorous research and extensive planning, the Strategy Department came up with this proposal that would last ten years at most. Although there are other strategies we could use that would yield immediate results, we expect them to cause more than necessary damage and entail heavier risks. I believe I speak for everyone when I say that we wouldn't want Gongju-nim to rule over some ruins."
Murmurs echoed among the elders as they read the documents in their respective tablets. After a few seconds, a woman with pink braided hair tossed the tablet back to the table with a humph.
"We can't wait for ten years to get what they owe, Sanyang-nim. What proposal do you have that can give us results in the least amount of time with lesser risks?"
Sanyang internally sighed in exhaustion as he expected such a request from the elders. In a practiced manner, he turned towards the screen behind him and clicked a button from the mini remote in his hand.
"Operation Dokkaebi. We would need the cooperation of the North to aggressively distract the church while an elite team would perform suicide missions in the flank. It would cause severe unrest among the masses, but commencing Operation Mimic on the side would lessen the damage."
"Operation Dokkaebi isn't part of the proposals you presented, Sanyang."
"Sunhyeol Gajang-ssi, it's because I didn't dare be presumptuous and included the North without your permission."
"Mm."
While the elders discussed the proposal's viability, Seonchim suddenly stood from her seat, catching everyone's attention.
"I'll lead the Dokkaebis."
"Seonchim?!"
"O-Omma?!"
"Gibyeong Oppa, give me full authority over the team's composition."
"Seonbae-ssi, allow me to join the Dokkaebis as well."
Seonchim and Jeonsa's sudden requests caused the entire room an uproar. The elders and their attendants rose from their seats, trying to dissuade the two from pulling through their plans. Despite the chaos surrounding them, Seonchim never broke eye contact with her older brother. Reading the determination in her younger sister's eyes, Gibyeong knew his sister wasn't asking for permission. She will surely carry out the operation with or without his consent.
"How long do you need?"
"Half a year. We'll eliminate the rest within the following three months, and the Yulyeongs can take over."
"Abuh-ji, you can't possibly be considering Ja-mae's proposal?! We just lost Omma, and now you're consenting Ja-mae's suicide?!"
"Hyung-jae, this has nothing to do with you, so stay out of it! Those bastards have to pay for what they did!"
"But not like this!"
With the conference room now in chaos, Dae-Jung, who had been silently observing from the side, remembered Yongseo's funeral. Instead of his aunt's picture, the image of his mother motionlessly laying inside her coffin burned in his mind. In that instant, Dae-Jung stood from his seat, slammed both his hands on the table. He then screamed his objections from the top of his lungs.
"NO! I DON'T WANT OMMA TO DIE! Please, I beg you, Gajang-ssi, don't let Omma go! It was my fault! Everything is my fault! So, please! I'm begging you, Omma. Please don't go! Send me instead! I'll kill all those bastard--"
Because of Dae-Jung's scream, everyone's attention focused on the mother and son. Seonchim flinched at hearing his son's words that she looked at him with eyes not filled with their usual love but with indifference.
"Dae-Jung, what do you mean? What did you do?"
Seonchim asked in a threatening manner as she stared holes at her son.
With tears streaming down his cheeks and snot dripping from his nose, Dae-Jung spoke the words no one in the room could ever dream of hearing.
"I. . . I was the one. . . the one who gave the church information on, on the missions. . . Everything is my fault; it's my fault why Ajuhma died. . .!"
With those words, not only Seonchim but everyone in the room flared in wrath.
"What?"