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Chapter 10
Of course, she had to choose someone from the Geum family’s side. But if she did that, rumors would spread everywhere that she had bowed her head before Geum Seolha.
Madam will punish me for sure!
It was a dead end.
Watching Hong Yeongryeong try to appear calm while clearly growing more and more restless, Geum Seolha took a step forward.
Hong Yeongryeong instinctively almost stepped back, then hurriedly corrected her posture and stared at Geum Seolha.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Young Lady.”
Geum Seolha flexed her fingers as she looked at Hong Yeongryeong, who was desperately trying to dodge the question with a forced smile.
“I think you’re mistaken about something, Madam.”
“Pardon?”
“Do I look like some timid, quiet little child? I hear my dear cousins practically flee in terror whenever they see me.”
Geum Seolha deliberately let out a sigh and loosened her hands. Hong Yeongryeong watched her nervously.
What’s she planning to do now?
“Has word spread that I obediently endure my cousins’ bullying?”
“W-Well, I’m not quite sure what you mean…”
“It’s simple. I’m even worse than the rumors say—a complete brat. My cousins walk on eggshells around me because I’ve practically torn their heads off.”
The blunt tone with which she stated the truth clashed bizarrely with the contents of her words.
Silence fell over the area.
“But since you seem unaware of that and dare to behave so insolently, I might as well give you another demonstration.”
Geum Seolha discarded any pretense of dignity.
Borrowing authority from bloodline only worked if one had popularity or real power to back it up.
It’s not completely ineffective, but it wasn’t as effective as I’d hoped.
Then the next choice was obvious.
I’ll pull out as much hair as the blood Yoon Eunseol shed.
Geum Seolha’s hand shot out and firmly grabbed Hong Yeongryeong’s hair.
Throwing away all concern for appearances, Geum Seolha smiled brightly.
“Was it amusing, scheming against a child less than half your age?”
“You misunderstand! It’s all a misunderstanding!”
Someone tried to stop her by grabbing Geum Seolha’s arm.
“Oh dear! My arm is about to break!”
At Geum Seolha’s outrageous act of feigning injury, everyone recoiled in shock.
Regardless of all the rumors surrounding her, Geum Seolha was still a direct descendant of the Geum family and the eldest grandchild of the Geum Family Head.
As everyone hesitated, Geum Seolha tightened her grip on Hong Madam’s hair.
“Ahhh! Young Lady! It’s a misunderstanding! Please! Let go of my hair!”
Geum Seolha tightened her grip even further.
At this point, she truly felt like a tyrannical delinquent.
Not that it’s very different.
Considering the circumstances, she was the one who had been wronged.
This isn’t bad, actually.
Until she gained real power, this sort of intimidation would help protect Yoon Eunseol and Ha Dowoon.
“I-I was wrong!”
Hong Yeongryeong cried out desperately as clumps of hair fell with every struggle.
But Geum Seolha remained unimpressed.
Looks like she still has some spirit left.
After all, she was claiming it had been a mistake rather than admitting wrongdoing.
Then again, someone favored by her aunt—the true ruler of the inner household—needed at least this much backbone.
Good. That’s enough for today.
Geum Seolha released her grip.
Still struggling blindly, Hong Yeongryeong lost her balance and fell flat onto the ground.
Geum Seolha’s expression didn’t change at all.
The memory of Yoon Eunseol’s condition earlier still made her heart sink.
“Do you still have nothing to say to me?”
“I… seem to have been mistaken.”
“I’m sure you were. But is that all?”
Geum Seolha casually flexed her fingers.
Apparently, the original Geum Seolha had been quite skilled at grabbing people’s hair.
This isn’t difficult at all.
Maybe muscle memory was helping.
Besides, Hong Yeongryeong turning pale and retreating every time she moved her fingers was strangely entertaining.
“I was wrong!”
“Madam Hong needs to study the family laws properly if she intends to stop making idiotic claims that the rules of the inner household are above family law.”
Hong Yeongryeong nodded frantically, looking completely out of her mind.
I’ve planted a warning, but…
It wouldn’t last forever.
I’ll need to act again before then.
This was about the most chaos Geum Seolha could cause for now.
She had bought herself some time before making her next move.
Now it was time to leave.
“My health isn’t very good, and my personality isn’t particularly pleasant either.”
The look on Hong Yeongryeong’s face clearly said you don’t say.
Geum Seolha narrowed her eyes.
Realizing her mistake, Hong Yeongryeong hurriedly fixed her expression.
“Yes! Of course!”
“If my meals become inadequate again, or if the brazier isn’t properly maintained through the night, I think I’ll become very angry.”
In other words:
If I catch you skimming supplies again, today’s incident will seem mild.
Hong Yeongryeong immediately understood and stiffened.
Geum Seolha tilted her head with amusement.
“When I get angry, I sometimes lose my reason.”
“……”
“And when I lose my reason, I grab people’s hair.”
“……”
“Fortunately, I don’t take my anger out on innocent people. Isn’t that reassuring?”
Her gaze swept over the servants who had given false testimony.
They flinched and slowly stepped backward.
“But if something like this happens again, I might lose my reason once more.”
Geum Seolha smiled—a smile that looked strangely out of place on her face—as she brushed the tangled strands of hair from her fingers.
The motion itself was insignificant.
But everyone present had witnessed the disaster she had just caused.
They understood its meaning perfectly.
“Actually, never mind. If you’re curious, feel free to try it again. Something interesting might happen.”
Having finished what she came to do, Geum Seolha turned and walked away.
As she departed, whispers spread among those who had witnessed everything.
“Wasn’t the Young Lady supposed to stay secluded in her residence all the time? Since when was her temper so fiery?”
“Is that really the issue right now? She looked ready to skin someone alive if this happened again!”
Servants who had long suffered under Hong Yeongryeong’s arrogance spoke with unconcealed satisfaction.
Meanwhile, those who had benefited from their closeness to her—and who had been deeply involved in this incident—turned deathly pale.
“The Young Lady’s temperament… doesn’t seem ordinary.”
“It felt like she was memorizing our faces. What are we supposed to do?”
“She never said anything before, so why now?!”
As they indignantly complained despite being the guilty party, several elderly men watching from a distance trembled.
“I feel as though I’ve just witnessed something terrifying.”
“Elder Gongsun, did you see it too? Perhaps my old eyes are failing me.”
“Why… why…”
The old man’s voice rose in horror.
“Why has a child appeared who is the exact copy of the Family Head’s damned personality?!”
The shout was almost hysterical.
The reactions of the other elders were no different.
“That shameless silver tongue! That willingness to use any means necessary while constantly scheming! Isn’t that exactly Geum Chung, that lunatic?!”
“I was relieved none of his descendants took after him! Damn it! I’m packing my bags immediately! Even old and softened by age, Geum Chung is still impossible to deal with! And now another one just like him? Absolutely not!”
The elders of the Geumrin Merchant Group, who had accompanied Geum Gangseok since his youth and knew his entire history, nearly jumped out of their seats.
“There’s no need to panic so much. She may have inherited the personality but not the talent.”
That would solve everything.
As long as they didn’t have to work with another person like that.
Still, something about the situation felt unsettling.
“The way she thinks is exactly like him.”
“If she doesn’t have talent for business, then she’s probably hiding some even more suspicious tricks.”
“E-Elder Gongsun! Get a hold of yourself!”
The others hurriedly caught Elder Gongsun as he suddenly clutched the back of his neck and collapsed.
They clicked their tongues.
“Then again, if I had to work with Geum Chung that lunatic again, I’d rather die.”
There were things one could only say because one didn’t truly understand them.
Working alongside Geum Gangseok was one of those things.
Though they grumbled endlessly, the elders couldn’t take their eyes off the direction in which Geum Seolha had disappeared.
Their expressions were filled with unease and foreboding.
Then someone spoke.
“What does business talent matter? Her meridians are ruined. She can’t even practice martial arts.”
“Elder Go!”
“Isn’t that simply the truth?”
Elder Go coldly continued.
“The leader of the Geumrin Merchant Group must be capable of wielding the Geumrin martial arts. No matter how exceptional one’s business talent may be, there are no exceptions to that rule.”
The other elders’ expressions hardened.
They shot him reproachful looks.
The day Geum Seolha’s body was damaged beyond repair, preventing her from practicing martial arts any further, was also the day she lost her parents.
And the Geumrin Merchant Group lost the proud young heir couple.
“You should choose your words more carefully, Elder Go.”
“I merely recited the regulations.”
Elder Go answered icily.
His gaze drifted toward the direction Geum Seolha had gone.
It felt as though a new wind was beginning to blow.
Whether that wind would bring profit or disaster, however, was still impossible to tell.
