I Became a Fallen Noble of Goguryeo

Chapter 43: Three Will Come (2)

My maternal family’s surname was Nak.

Tracing back to the founder, it went all the way to the era of King Daemusin.

When King Daemusin waged war against Northern Buyeo, King Daeso’s cousin defected to him.

King Daemusin, noting that this cousin had stripe-like patterns (Nakmun, 絡文) on his back, bestowed upon him the surname Nak and granted him a place in the Yeonna Tribe.

Since then, the Nak Clan had been passed down continuously… but, as could be seen from my present state, it was hardly a great family compared to its history.

Goguryeo people… no, anyone in all of Korean history—did they know even one person with the surname Nak?

I did not.

No matter how much I racked my brain, all I could recall were the sixty camels starved to death by Wang Geon, and camels had nothing to do with the Nak surname.

Thus, the present Nak Clan merely owned a tiny village near Domestic Fortress as its tax village and wandered around as minor Nobles or Attendant Officials, nothing more than a humble family.

My great-uncle Nak Sangtae, head of this Nak Clan, had now come looking for me.

“Why have you come here?”

Honestly, I wanted to say, “With what face have you come here?”

If no one else had been watching, I surely would have.

When the Rebellion of Chugun and Segun ended, and my mother barely survived and wished to return home… this so-called main house rejected her, saying they did not want to fall out of favor with the Pyeongyang Faction.

Because of that, my young mother had to work herself blind sewing, just to raise me.

Was that all?

Even when the Grand King’s hunting party came out later, the Nak Clan still refused to take my mother back in.

The first time, fine.

That could be seen as a choice to avoid family annihilation.

But the second time?

Wasn’t it simply because they were already ruined and did not want to feed another mouth?

And now suddenly, when I was no longer “another mouth” but rather a Royal Son-in-law… and when I thrived in the Gukjagam… only then did they want to put their spoon into my bowl.

“…Ondal, I am sorry. I know exactly what you are thinking.”

Nak Sangtae said.

“I bow my head and apologize. But still, we are family, are we not? If family treat each other coldly, would not your grandfather—my younger brother—be grieved?”

“Well, I think Grandfather was more grieved that the main house abandoned his daughter, don’t you?”

“That… you say that only because you do not know the family’s situation.”

Oh, I don’t know?

Yet compared to my mother, who sewed until she nearly went blind, you looked like you had eaten and lived well enough.

I wished he would scrape some of that meat off his bones before saying such things.

“…So, what is the reason you have come?”

“Middle Head of the Ministry of Carriages, Go San. Speak to him on our behalf. My son—your cousin—shoots very well and rides well too, yet he refuses to accept him into his faction.”

Ah, so it was a request for influence.

That was surprising.

Go San, once Chief Envoy of the Ministry of Carriages, had recently ridden Grand King Go Yangseong’s special promotion policy to rise to Middle Head of the Ministry of Carriages, thus gaining the right to participate in the Jeja Council.

Already popular within the Domestic Fortress Faction, he had, through this promotion, firmly established himself as one of its central figures.

Thus, I naturally thought Go San had sent Nak Sangtae, who lived near Domestic Fortress, to sway me… but it seemed my guess was wrong.

Instead, it appeared Go San had recognized Nak Sangtae for the worthless man he was and had refused to take him in.

That was why Nak Sangtae had come begging me to be his bridge to Go San.

‘I quite like this.’

I had only ever seen Go San from afar, yet in this moment, I felt some fondness for him.

‘Had Nak Sangtae been sent by Go San… I would have found it difficult to reject him outright.’

But since Nak Sangtae had even been refused by the Domestic Fortress Faction, I had nothing to hesitate about.

I jerked my chin toward the Gukjagam gate.

“Leave.”

“…What?”

“I said, leave.”

At that, Nak Sangtae’s face shifted every passing moment.

“Ondal, please….”

“You must help us, or our family will perish!”

“Our family still has about twenty tax villages… and your ancestors’ graves are also there!”

He pleaded, clung, and persuaded.

But I replied: I don’t want to, I won’t, get lost.

“You brat!”

Nak Sangtae exploded into an easily recognizable ‘extreme rage’ state.

“No matter what, I am your elder and head of the family. How dare you be so insolent! Do you not even know the proper order between young and old?”

Proper order, huh?

Not bad for a Domestic Fortress Faction man—had he studied Confucian classics?

I could tell what he was aiming for.

In this era, one earned scorn if they neglected their family.

But the place was wrong.

“Ondal, what is going on here?”

“Why so noisy?”

“Ah, perfect timing.”

Just the right people had arrived.

“Since a year ago, I have cultivated friendships here with the sons of the Gukjagam.”

I said to Nak Sangtae, looking straight at him.

“That one is the Grand King’s son, and that one is the Prime Minister’s son.”

“…What?”

At the sudden mention of the very giants at the top of Goguryeo’s hierarchy, Nak Sangtae was dumbfounded.

But this was only the beginning.

People had gravity; where one person gathered, others tended to gather as well.

“What is it? What happened?”

“Is Maeng Sap fighting again?”

“It wasn’t me; it was Ondal.”

“Ondal is fighting? Him?”

After that, sons of the Southern Division Leader like Go Jaemu and sons of the Western Division Leader like Maeng Sap, and noble scions from both the Domestic Fortress Faction and the Pyeongyang Faction gathered in threes and fives at the Gukjagam.

Good, the scene was set nicely.

I shouted in front of them.

“Fellow students, seniors, listen! I was just discussing the proper order between the high and the low!”

Normally one ought to fold a fan while saying such things, but since I had no fan I slipped my dagger in and out to make a sharp sound.

“Oh—something’s about to start?”

Indeed, Goguryeo—this worked better.

I told the full story that had occurred between Nak Sangtae and me: my abandoned mother and how he had shamelessly come asking afterward.

“…So you expect me to help a family member who had ignored us for thirty years and even changed their surname, and now comes asking that we aid the clan—why would I help that?”

When I finished speaking, I looked around at the students.

The result spoke for itself.

Goguryeo was a noble society, and nobles prized reputation above all else.

“…Does this make any sense?”

The first to rise was Crown Prince Go Daewon.

He was the final boss from the very start.

“You spoke of proper order between high and low? As much as those below owe loyalty to those above, it is equally important that those above care for those below. One who abandons loyalty yet speaks of loyalty—how can such a leech exist?”

Go Daewon valued loyalty above all; naturally he could not help but be inflamed by this situation.

Moreover, the fact that they tried to put a spoon into my bowl as a Royal Son-in-law meant they were scheming to get closer to the royal house.

From Go Daewon’s perspective, he would not want a man like that to cling to me and fawn at court.

Yeon Taejo spoke calmly as well.

“…I share the same view. Had they shown even a little concern in the past it might be different, but doing this now makes it impossible to tell if they are even fit to be called men.”

Yeon Taejo had dismissed Nak Sangtae’s testosterone.

Go Jaemu’s critique followed.

“I doubt he even read a proper classic; Ondal isn’t even of the Nak surname, is he?”

That was the opinion of the Pyeongyang Faction friends.

So did the Domestic Fortress Faction defend them?

They opposed them.

“Are you even human? You abandoned your blind niece and now you come to suck blood from her son? Don’t smear the Domestic Fortress name—get out!”

“The Nak clan’s spirit has fallen to the ground; there must be a reason they look so degraded.”

“Middle Head Go San didn’t accept that man for nothing; truly, he has an eye for people.”

Rather, the Domestic Fortress Faction yelped louder still; ah, it was a clamorous uproar.

Especially Maeng Sap, who was about my friend and leader among the first-years of the Domestic Fortress Faction, was most enraged.

He approached Nak Sangtae.

“Nak Sangtae, I am Maeng Sap, son of the Western Division Leader.”

“Yes, yes, you are a noble sir!”

“Draw your blade. Fight Ondal.”

“…What?”

“Duel him!”

“B-but I cannot duel; my leg is bad.”

“You refuse even a duel? What the hell!”

“Die!”

“Commit seppuku!”

Without distinction between Domestic Fortress and Pyeongyang factions, they hurled daggers at Nak Sangtae.

They were pleading—please stab his throat quickly and kill him.

The fact they stopped short of throwing at me showed how restrained they had been.

‘Nak Sangtae… might be better than me.’

I had worked for years to unite the Domestic Fortress and Pyeongyang factions, yet Nak Sangtae, by his own ugliness alone, had instantly drawn their unity.

Maeng Sap asked.

“What will you do, Ondal? He says he cannot duel.”

“I have no intention either. What honor would come from killing such an old man? I’d only earn the stain of acting out my temper.”

I approached the fallen Nak Sangtae.

“Leave.”

“L-leave?”

“And… do not go looking for my mother. You might get yourself killed.”

With that said, Nak Sangtae rolled and fled; he had no choice.

“Argh! I can’t stand it! I’ll give him one!”

“Catch him! Grab that bastard!”

The students, furious at Nak Sangtae’s shameless behavior, lunged forward to beat him.

* * *

Nak Sangtae felt dizzy.

‘…This is really a big problem.’

This did not end merely with a beating.

Just look at who had insulted him: the Crown Prince, the Supreme Chancellor’s son, the Southern Division Leader’s son, and the Western Division Leader’s son.

He had tried to step into politics for the sake of the family… but instead, it looked like he had doomed the clan to ruin.

Even the escorts he had brought along must have thought it was hopeless, for they stole his horse and fled while he slept.

“They should have left the horse at least!”

At this, Nak Sangtae ground his teeth.

‘Why did Go San of the same Domestic Fortress Faction not take me in, and why did Ondal, of my own family, give me such terrible humiliation?’

Had he been in a normal state, he might have wondered, ‘Am I the problem?’

But if he had that kind of thought, he never would have gone looking for Ondal in the first place.

The only thing Nak Sangtae felt now was rage.

‘They are all tainted by Pyeongyang’s foul air.’

He was sure of it.

Go San, the students who had insulted him, Ondal that bastard—all of them had drunk the filthy water and air of Pyeongyang and forgotten what mattered.

Of course, Nak Sangtae himself had just run here and there to come to Pyeongyang, but when he did it, it was romance; when others did it, it was adultery.

Yet even Ondal had made a mistake.

‘He told me not to see his mother.’

That meant Ondal’s weak point was his mother, Nak Geum-hwa.

Moreover, he learned that Ondal had a reputation near Pyeongyang as a paragon of filial piety.

So all he had to do was wield the mother.

That child would surely remember the family’s grace.

If he seized the mother, what could Ondal do?

Whether Ondal was truly filial or whether he had built his reputation for success, if his mother were threatened, there was no way the brat could remain unmoved.

Thus, with this grand dream in his heart, Nak Sangtae walked three days and nights to reach Gomchon.

“Geum-hwa! Do you remember me?”

“…Who?”

“You do not remember? That is all my fault. It is I, I! Your great-uncle, Nak Sangtae!”

“Great-uncle…?”

Geum-hwa looked bewildered, and Nak Sangtae thought his judgment was correct.

“Do you know what I suffered at the Gukjagam?”

“You went to the Gukjagam?”

“Of course I did!”

Nak Sangtae said.

“That boy despised me greatly. But I understand. Since he is so filial, he must think you suffered because of me. No doubt his filial piety came from you. You must have deep devotion to the family….”

The mouth that had only fumbled before Ondal now moved smoothly before his niece.

“So, what you mean is… you want me to speak well to Ondal, to open the way?”

“Ahem, rather than open the way… if the clan prospers, would that not be good for Ondal too?”

“Leave.”

“…What?”

At Nak Geum-hwa’s words, Nak Sangtae was startled.

“Are you perhaps still holding in your heart the thought that I cast you out?”

“Ah, I suppose one could see it that way.”

“…What?”

Geum-hwa’s words did not mean she drove him away because he had cast her out, but because of his nature as a man.

The Buddha had said, paper wrapped around incense smells sweet, and paper wrapped around fish reeks of fish.

And this man was fish.

Rotten fish, at that.

A man who hindered rather than helped his nephew’s path to success.

If Ondal had cast out Nak Sangtae for Geum-hwa’s sake, then Geum-hwa cast out Nak Sangtae for Ondal’s sake.

“Leave. That is all I have to say.”

Hearing this expulsion order, Nak Sangtae once again failed to control his anger.

“You wretch, have you gone mad? Remember what the clan has done for you!”

Nak Sangtae even drew his blade, but Geum-hwa only laughed in disbelief.

“And what did you do for me?”

Such a threat did not even register as a threat.

Her life had been harsh, and that harsh life had hardened the calluses on her hands and feet.

Her hands and feet were no doubt tougher than Nak Sangtae’s own by now.

“No matter how I think of it, I received nothing from you. Even while my father lived, you only demanded things from him. Even joining the Rebellion of Chugun and Segun, was that not at your urging?”

“Y-you…!”

“Now I am truly curious. What exactly have you ever given me?”

“Ungrateful wench!”

The moment Nak Sangtae jumped to his feet—

“Young lady! What is happening?”

The door burst open, and the village head of Gomchon, Munso, entered.

Nak Sangtae shouted.

“How dare a beggar barge into a noble’s house at will!”

Nak Sangtae was a Domestic Fortress noble who lived off tenant farmers called Haho in his tax villages.

Those Haho could not even squeak before a noble.

But unfortunately, this was not Domestic Fortress—it was Pyeongyang Fortress.

“What is this bastard?”

Munso, who had run in and overheard enough to guess, quickly grasped the situation.

He knew the man was a noble.

But so what?

Gomchon, the treasure trove of Pyeongyang, was now personally protected by the Grand King, and high nobles’ underlings often came by to ask about farming methods.

Munso too had met high nobles several times, so he would hardly be intimidated by the Nak Clan, who barely survived shuffling around as Nobles or Attendant Officials.

And above all—

“I am a Junior Elder, you know? I am a Doctor, a Doctor.”

Munso had been granted the rank of Junior Elder for his contributions to agricultural development and had become a Doctor of Goguryeo.

It was common in Goguryeo to appoint outstanding specialists as Doctors.

Nak Sangtae was taken aback.

“You… you are a Junior Elder?”

“The silk hat is uncomfortable, so I left it at home… but yes, that is what happened.”

“Ha! Truly Pyeongyang! Of course! When the likes of you lot gain office and make a racket, Goguryeo ends up in this state!”

In terms of rank, Munso was above Nak Sangtae, yet Nak Sangtae shouted without a care.

At this, Munso grinned and said.

“As you say, my father was a commoner, my grandfather was a commoner, and I am a man who shot up like lightning. But beware, sir. When the noise grows loud at night, tigers come.”

By now, Nak Sangtae should have recalled Ondal’s warning.

Ondal had not said, “I will kill you” if he went to see his mother.

He had said, “You will die.”

Munso soon gathered the villagers.

One of them asked.

“Shall we summon Yeombu and the Royal Army?”

“Why stop with a hoe what you can stop with a rake…. They must be busy enough guarding the Princess.”

Saying this, Munso casually pointed to a plow a farmer was holding.

“That plow of yours. Its end has many prongs. Perhaps I am getting old… but to my eyes, it looks just like a tiger’s claws.”

And so, the next day.

Nak Sangtae was found dead, blood pouring from his side.

Still, as he was nominally a noble, the Royal Army came in person and used all their biological knowledge to investigate.

“Looking at the torn wound, anyone can see it was a tiger.”

“Indeed. I have lived forty years in the mountains, and I can tell—it was a tiger.”

With the state of the corpse and the testimony of experts combined, the tiger was quickly judged to be the culprit.

“Tsk, tsk, I told him to beware the tiger.”

Munso stroked his beard as he looked at Nak Sangtae’s corpse.