A night with fine moonlight.

On a bench in the rear garden—where no one’s eyes could reach—two men sat over drinks, and both of their faces looked unusually bright.

“We don’t need a long talk. First, have a drink.”

“Sure.”

CLINK.

Cup met cup with a clear, beautiful sound.

Yeon Hojeong drained his cup in one clean pull.

“Ahhh!”

Refreshing.

For a moment, he set down the load hanging off his shoulders—and even the fatigue piled up inside him loosened and slipped away. His body felt light, the moonlight was perfect, and with a cup of liquor on top of it all, the whole world turned pleasantly drowsy.

Mo Yong-woo smiled faintly.

“You drink like a man.”

“There’s no chance of getting ambushed while I’m drinking.”

He said something murderous with a smiling face. Mo Yong-woo spoke with a stiff expression.

“Was it that hard?”

“It was... what it was.”

Honestly, compared to his Dark Emperor days, it wasn’t even that hard. A kill-or-be-killed fight was a kill-or-be-killed fight.

But the whole time, he’d had to keep his attention on the soldiers’ safety—and beyond that, he’d been searching every dark-path face, wondering if there might be someone he recognized from the past.

Maybe that was why. Every moment had drained his willpower. More than physical fatigue, it had been mental fatigue—the kind that keeps grinding even after you stop moving.

“It’s fine. From here on out, I think I can just shake it all off.”

Mo Yong-woo smiled.

“I don’t know what happened, but you look great. Good. That’s enough.”

Yeon Hojeong snorted softly.

“What I’ve been doing is obvious—but I can’t even imagine how you’ve managed to hold out over there.”

“...”

“Tell me how you’ve been. There’s no proper food here, so I’ll use that as my side dish while I drink.”

Mo Yong-woo let out a clear laugh.

Same as ever. And yet... something had subtly changed.

He felt more human than he used to. Mo Yong-woo liked that change in Yeon Hojeong.

He’d only met Yeon Hojeong a handful of times, but he was certain of one thing: Yeon Hojeong wasn’t a bad man. Mo Yong-woo truly believed that.

He’s a dependable younger brother.

Because he wasn’t a bad person? No—this wasn’t that.

Even if Yeon Hojeong were a monstrous villain, he felt like he’d still think of him from time to time.

Why? Was it because Yeon Hojeong was the one who’d made him snap out of his crouched, closed-in state?

No.

Starlight glittered in Mo Yong-woo’s clear eyes.

Brother Yeon has something that makes the people looking at him feel admiration.

Yeon Hojeong wasn’t like ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) the eldest son of the Yeon Clan of Green Mountain—famous for propriety and chivalry. Sometimes he was rough and radical. Sometimes he was soft, startlingly human.

Those opposing qualities gathered together and made Yeon Hojeong’s presence uniquely his.

Like someone with wings—once he moved, it felt like he could go anywhere, free as air.

“What is it? Do I have something on my face?”

“No. It’s just... seeing you after so long, I thought, ‘He really is a dependable younger brother.’”

Yeon Hojeong snorted again.

“Corny.”

“I’d like to drink with an even lighter heart, but it’s probably better to finish the work talk first, right?”

“Yeah.”

Mo Yong-woo explained in detail how he’d lived through the past months, what had happened, and why things had ended up like this.

Yeon Hojeong’s eyes widened.

“The Tang Clan?”

“That’s right.”

“What happened to the Central Plains Trading Company? Why the Tang Clan all of a sudden?”

“He must have decided the Tang Clan is better than the Central Plains Trading Company.”

“Hm.”

Yeon Hojeong creased his brow.

“If you’re assuming a faction war, yeah—Tang Clan of Sichuan is better than the Central Plains Trading Company. And the Tang Clan Lord is also a Councilor, so it’s easier to push things through during council sessions.”

Mo Yong-woo nodded.

“I think so too. But...”

He couldn’t continue easily.

Yeon Hojeong smiled faintly.

“What? You don’t like the idea of marrying someone you’ve never even seen?”

“That’s right.”

Mo Yong-woo let out a deep sigh.

“In the world as it is now, how many people build love first and marry after? I never imagined I’d be free of that stiff kind of relationship. But...”

“Because of Mo Yonggun?”

“...Yes.”

The two of them intended to drive Mo Yonggun out, someday.

But Mo Yonggun was trying to join hands with Dang Gwan, the Tang Clan Lord. In other words, he meant to become a political community with the Tang Clan.

If the Tang Clan couldn’t be excluded from removing Mo Yonggun...

Then Mo Yong-woo would have to cut down not only his elder brother, but also his wife’s family.

“Worth worrying about.”

Yeon Hojeong didn’t say Mo Yong-woo’s resolve was halfhearted, didn’t say he shouldn’t have joined hands with him without that level of commitment.

Because it was, genuinely, a problem that deserved hesitation. And Mo Yong-woo having that kind of humanity was part of why Yeon Hojeong had decided to raise him into the Alliance Leader’s seat.

“Honestly, I was surprised even when the talk came up about the Central Plains Trading Company’s eldest daughter. I never thought he’d try to grasp a new force through me.”

“Using marriage between great houses to solidify a power base has been a common method since ancient times.”

“I know. I understand it. But when the target becomes me, of course it turns into something I can’t help agonizing over.”

Yeon Hojeong shook his head.

“I’ll say it plainly. It’s a useless worry.”

“A useless worry?”

“You haven’t even met the Tang Clan’s daughter yet, have you?”

Mo Yong-woo looked flustered.

“Of course not. But my brother and the Tang Clan Lord will force it through one way or—”

“They won’t.”

“Hm?”

Unlike Mo Yong-woo’s starlit gaze, Yeon Hojeong’s eyes burned like the sun.

“The Mo Yonggun I know—when he’s faced with a forced choice, he never throws away his own man.”

“...!”

“Mo Yonggun meant it. If you don’t like the Tang Clan’s daughter, he’ll break the match.”

“Of course. I think so too.”

“Then what is there to agonize over?”

Yeon Hojeong bared a grin.

“Put down the heavy burden of ‘a union between clans.’ First, just meet her.”

“...”

“Even if you meet, the two families aren’t going to push ‘let’s marry immediately’ the moment you sit down, are they? It’s literally just meeting.”

“Th-that’s true, but...”

“Why? You want to move fast the moment you see her?”

“B-Brother Yeon!”

Mo Yong-woo’s face turned red. Just thinking about it embarrassed him.

Yeon Hojeong snorted. What an innocent man.

“Don’t load yourself down. It’s just one person meeting another. If you start stapling meanings onto it, it’s nothing but desk-theory. You know the saying—better to see once than hear a hundred times.”

Mo Yong-woo sighed again.

“Brother Yeon is right. Maybe what makes me uncomfortable is that the meeting itself doesn’t have a pure intent.”

“How many people meet with ‘pure intent’? When I went to see you, was my intent pure?”

“...”

“That’s how it is. It’s better to throw away thoughts like ‘this is different’ or ‘that one is okay.’ Of course, there are things you can’t compromise on.”

“Haa.”

He’d come to a good place, but somehow he kept sighing. A bitter light settled on Mo Yong-woo’s face.

Yeon Hojeong refilled his cup.

“Then change how you think.”

“Hm? Change how I think—what do you mean?”

“If you don’t like the Tang Clan’s daughter, fine. But if you do like her, then what?”

Mo Yong-woo’s expression turned serious at once.

“Then I absolutely must not marry her. For her sake—and for mine.”

Yeon Hojeong smiled strangely.

“Proper. Romantic. But you need to widen your thinking a little.”

“What do you mean?”

“Why can’t you just make her completely your person?”

“...!!”

“You like her, so you give up? Don’t make me laugh. If you like her, move the way your heart wants. And if you go through with the marriage? Great. That’s good.”

Mo Yong-woo’s mouth fell open.

“Think about the aftermath later. You’re already dying inside, hiding your real heart under your brother’s shadow. I don’t think it’s a bad thing to ease that fatigue by facing someone you love.”

“...If.”

“Hm?”

“If she takes a severe shock, what then? No—she will. She certainly will.”

Yeon Hojeong’s eyes flashed.

“Then you take all of her resentment.”

“...”

“You aren’t meeting her to gain the Tang Clan’s power, or for the Mo Yong Clan. You’re meeting because things turned out like this. At least for you, there’s no intent to hurt her at all.”

“...”

“And if it still bothers you, then after you meet her tomorrow, you tell them you won’t marry her. That’s all.”

In the end, it meant: meet first, decide after.

Mo Yong-woo stared at Yeon Hojeong for a moment, then smiled bitterly.

“I’m sorry. I’m the older one, and I showed you something pathetic.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Hm?”

Yeon Hojeong snorted.

“I’ve never acknowledged you as my older brother. And you calling me your younger brother—that’s just you calling me whatever you want.”

“What?”

Mo Yong-woo stared at him, then burst into loud laughter.

“Hahaha!”

That clear laughter filled the night sky.

Suddenly, he realized he couldn’t remember the last time he’d laughed this freely. It genuinely felt like the anxiety and worry that had been sitting in his chest were being blown away all at once.

After laughing for a long while, Mo Yong-woo spoke evenly.

“It’s about time we settled forms of address. Call me ‘older brother.’”

“No.”

“Why? I know I’m lacking, but at least I’m confident I can remain your dependable older brother.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. I’m not going to take some pathetic guy as an older brother when he’s groaning over romance.”

“Everyone fumbles at first.”

Yeon Hojeong looked at Mo Yong-woo silently, then turned away and drank.

“Haah. Refreshing.”

Mo Yong-woo cleared his throat in embarrassment.

“I was just trying it on. If you really hate it, I’m not going to force sworn-brother nonsense—”

“Go meet the Tang Clan’s daughter properly tomorrow.”

“Hm?”

“Keep this version of yourself, and go meet her well. Don’t stammer like an idiot and say something stupid.”

Under the pouring moonlight, Yeon Hojeong’s eyes glowed with a mysterious light.

“Go meet her like a man and come back. Then I’ll call you older brother.”

Mo Yong-woo’s face brightened.

“Don’t worry. Even if I look like this, I do have a manly side—”

“You don’t.”

“I do! What do you take me for?”

“Who knows? A half-wit who doesn’t know how to use the talent he was born with?”

“Hey. That’s no way to talk to your older brother.”

“Shut up.”

Mo Yong-woo let out a rolling laugh.

It was a good seat. A truly good seat. Mo Yong-woo felt, from the bottom of his heart, that it was a blessing he’d come to Yeon Hojeong tonight.

And so several rounds of drinks went by.

“So—have you seen everyone who’s going into the Demon-Sweeping Corps?”

“I have.”

“How were they?”

Mo Yong-woo’s eyes shone.

“Every one of them was exceptional.”

“I figured. Mo Yonggun must’ve put real effort into it.”

“And there’s something I need to discuss about that part.”

“What? How to rein your subordinates in?”

“I’ll handle that myself, so don’t worry.”

“You’ve got a weird kind of punchiness in moments like this. Fine—what do you want to discuss?”

Mo Yong-woo said seriously,

“I need to take one of my little brother’s ‘pieces.’”

Yeon Hojeong’s eyes glittered.

“You want me to hand you a move?”

“I think I have to.”

“Hm.”

“As for our side—”

“It’s fine. You don’t have to say it.”

“Even so, shouldn’t you hear it?”

“I can tell without hearing anything about your relationship with Mo Yonggun. And if I know too many details, it’ll just confuse me. When I meet Mo Yonggun later, it could make me slip.”

“Hm. Understood.”

“You’re doing fine, right?”

“I believe so.”

“Then that’s enough. Keep doing what you’ve been doing.”

Yeon Hojeong rubbed his chin.

“One ‘piece,’ huh... What should I hand over that Mo Yonggun will like?”

“You don’t need to force it. I just thought it was time to stamp my presence into him.”

“If you’re going to show your presence, it’s better to hand over something fairly thick—without crossing the line into suspicion.”

In that instant, Yeon Hojeong’s eyes flashed. An idea had struck him.

“When is the Demon-Sweeping Corps scheduled to deploy?”