Chapter 65 - A Loophole

"It's a strange thing, isn't it?"

"What is?"

"The constellation power I absorbed. I've had a hell of a time dealing with it."

Ever since cutting down the Serpent That Connects the Ends, Limon had struggled with the remnants of starlight that had seeped into his body. Gaining the constellation's power wasn't bad, but he couldn't control it at will, and the intense sense of something foreign inside him caused no end of discomfort.

"At worst, I'd been prepared to shut myself away and train."

Sword training was his only option, and progress was so slow that, at that rate, it would have taken ten years.

"That would have been a problem..."

"It would. Our whole plan to take over the Seven Dragons Society would have gone down the drain."

"No. If you shut yourself away, Sword Lord, I'd be left all alone the moment we got married."

"That's what you meant by a problem?"

"What could be a bigger problem for a bride-to-be?"

"Tch. Well, I found a solution, didn't I?"

"Yes. Thank goodness for that."

While Limon was wrestling with the problem, an unexpected solution had presented itself: the Violin of Deepest Black he'd acquired at the amusement park with Li Qingyu. More precisely, playing it.

"I never imagined that cursed instrument would help dissolve the constellation's power."

"Neither did I."

The moment the cursed violin forced him to play, Limon had felt it clearly: the remnants of starlight that had sat immovable inside his body like stone were beginning to dissolve, like a lump of salt caught in a downpour.

"I'm glad I can control the constellation's power a little now, but..."

"Is something bothering you?"

Li Qingyu tilted her head. Limon answered with a dissatisfied look.

"I finally got a constellation power I can use properly, and all it does is let me disguise myself."

"It seems a waste to call a disguise art that rivals the Hundred Faces Shedding Style 'all it does.'"

Li Qingyu wore an odd expression.

The young man named Lee, whose appearance Limon assumed for his lessons with Julia, was his disguise. Playing the Violin of Deepest Black had dissolved the fragments of starlight and made the transformation possible. Perhaps because the power came from a fragment of the serpent that dealt in lies and deception, the disguise did more than alter his appearance. It could even interfere with how others perceived him. A single mole on his face could make him seem like another person; a white coat alone could make him look like a doctor.

It was the pinnacle of disguise arts. An actor could play a thousand roles with it, and an assassin could infiltrate anywhere. It was a dream ability.

Limon, however, was unimpressed.

"It's still just a disguise. I'm no clown or assassin. What use is an ability like that to me?"

"You use it readily enough when you meet Julia."

"Only because she'd run away before teaching me a thing if she saw my real face."

The bluebird perched on his head snickered at that.

["And yet you still sent two teachers running on their first day. That just shows your true Team Leader presence shines through even a fake face..."]

THWACK!

["Ow! Why did you hit me?"]

"You've got some nerve butting in while adults are talking."

["I'm an adult too!"]

"That was in your last life. You've still got baby down on you. Don't pretend you're an adult."

["Oh, come on! If I've got an adult's mind, I'm an adult! Besides, I'm a bird now. Give it a few months and I'll be grown up anyway!"]

"Sure. Go eat a few more worms, then."

Li Qingyu smiled as Yu Na-gyeong raised her wings and squawked furiously at Limon, who continued teasing her.

"Anyway, it's already been a week, and Julia is still here. I'm glad the lessons seem to be going well this time."

"..."

["..."]

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing. The lessons are going well. Yes. Very well."

["Team Leader, at least wet your lips before you..."]

"Bluey, an animal's job is to eat. Here, have plenty of this."

["Mmph! Mmmph!"]

Limon stuffed cookies into her beak, silencing her and eliminating the witness in one stroke. Leaving Yu Na-gyeong flapping her wings before collapsing in a twitching heap, he turned to Li Qingyu, who was tilting her head, and asked, "So why did you come looking for me? You wouldn't interrupt my training just to ask how the lessons are going."

"Ah, it's about the workaround I mentioned before."

"The workaround... You mean the one you mentioned when you asked me to take charge of a subsidiary?"

"Yes. I've finally finished preparing everything."

Limon looked surprised. "That was quick. I wouldn't have thought it was an easy problem to solve."

"It wasn't as hard as I expected."

"Really?"

"Yes. It turns out there are plenty of cases like yours in this country, Sword Lord, so I took a little inspiration from them."

"As far as I know, I'm the first person in this country to take the president hostage."

"Except for that part, of course."

Smiling brightly, Li Qingyu held out a small case. Limon opened it, looked inside, and made a strange face.

"... Princess, what's this?"

"Your business cards, Sword Lord. As you can see."

"They say I'm the head of Guardian, the firm responsible for security, protection, and auditing across all Leviathan subsidiaries."

The elegant cards flaunted their expense: gold lettering plated onto thin sheets of pure silver. Their claim about his position was even more extravagant than their material. Li Qingyu answered Limon's dubious look calmly.

"That's the subsidiary you'll be taking charge of from now on."

"... You said you'd looked at cases like mine?"

"It seems a lot of high-ranking officials in this country become outside directors at large corporations after they retire, or start their own companies and profit from their old connections."

"Princess, that's not profiting from old connections. That's a cushy appointment..."

"Is there a difference?"

"One phrase is longer than the other."

Limon gave up trying to explain the difference in connotation between those two complicated near-synonyms. Instead, he asked with a dubious look, "Princess, I told you I'm too busy training to do this sort of work. What am I supposed to do if you make me the head of a company with this much on its plate?"

"It's all right. No one will complain even if you don't do any work."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Limon looked puzzled. The elders had specifically demanded that he run a subsidiary and produce results. They, of all people, would never stand by while he did nothing.

Li Qingyu gave him a knowing smile. "Sword Lord, do you know what people call it when one organization handles security, protection, and auditing?"

"Overwork?"

"No. Putting the fox in charge of the henhouse."

"... What?"

Limon blinked. Then he grasped what she meant and asked in disbelief, "You want me to become the chief eunuch of the Eastern Depot?"

"That's a rather dated expression. These days, more people would call it being the power behind the throne."

"Either way, you're telling me to use the ruler's favor to control information and become the one who really holds all the power."

"No. But the elders and everyone else might think so."

"Hmm?"

Limon frowned. He tapped a finger on the table as he thought, then said, "So it's a bluff?"

"If you want to put it that way. No one in the clan would actually want you working hard in an organization like this."

"Of course not. They'd be handing a swordsman a sword."

The Eastern Depot that had once held sway over the martial world. The secret police of the Cold War, the FBI, and others like them. Throughout history, organizations that controlled information, handled security, and wielded investigative authority had exercised overwhelming power.

And if Limon headed one? To the Black Dragon Clan, he would look like a killer with a license to kill. Even if that killer was actually too busy to leave his room, anyone who didn't know that would be terrified.

"The more hostile you are to an oversight organization, the more you want it to be lazy in the first place."

"Isn't that how every tax office and prosecutor's office ends up corrupt?"

"Yes. The small difference is that we're starting out corrupt."

"That doesn't sound like a small difference."

"I'm sure it's just your imagination."

Limon regarded Li Qingyu's bright smile for a moment, then scratched the back of his head.

"I get that the less I do, the better. But are you sure that'll work? If I do nothing, they'll use it against me later."

The elders were already looking for an excuse to find fault with him. They might tread carefully for now, but once they realized Guardian was an empty shell, they would pounce.

"Don't worry. Even if you don't work, Guardian will."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means I've already made all the preparations."

"...?"

Li Qingyu smiled at his puzzled expression. Rather than explain, she said calmly, "Come in."

As if waiting for her cue, someone opened the door and entered, bowing politely to them.

"You called, Your Highness?"

"You know what you need to do from now on, don't you?"

"Yes."

Tall, with short-cropped hair, a slender build, and a smart business suit, the newcomer had a neat face and cool eyes. At a glance, her androgynous looks made it hard to tell whether she was a woman dressed as a man or simply a rather pretty man. She turned slightly and bowed to Limon, regarding him with dark blue eyes as cold as ice.

"Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Wei Ling. As of today, I've been appointed your secretary, Sword Lord."

"... Secretary?"

Limon looked at her as though she'd just said something absurd. Li Qingyu spoke lightly.

"You're the head of the company now, even if only in name. I thought you should have at least one aide."

"I don't need one."

"You'd be wise to accept. A capable aide can help in all sorts of ways."

At the implication in her words, Limon narrowed his eyes. He looked from the smiling Li Qingyu to the stony-faced Wei Ling and asked, "Such as?"

"Well, it depends. She could advise you on business matters or take care of a few simple tasks for you."

"... That sounds like, depending on the circumstances, I could dump all the company's work on her."

"Oh, I suppose you could."

Li Qingyu looked startled, as if the thought had never occurred to her. Limon gave a disbelieving laugh at her brazen performance.

"So I hand her all the work, serve as a figurehead, take credit for the results, and devote myself to training?"

"There's no need to look at it so negatively. Hiring an excellent subordinate and delegating work effectively is a skill in itself."

"That's nonsense incompetent bosses invented to steal their subordinates' credit."

Limon marveled anew at Li Qingyu's audacity.

'So that was your plan all along?'

No wonder she'd so readily accepted the elders' condition that he run a subsidiary and produce results. She had clearly intended from the start to assign him a subordinate capable enough to produce results even with a monkey in charge.

"But she'd have to be more than ordinarily capable to get results even the elders couldn't argue with."

"You needn't worry."

Before Li Qingyu could answer, Wei Ling spoke in a chilly voice. She met Limon's eyes with an icy stare and said flatly, "I won't cause you any trouble through a lack of professional ability."

"Oh? Is that so?"

There was open hostility in her voice, so sharp and straightforward it was almost refreshing. The corner of Limon's mouth rose. He glanced at Li Qingyu.

"You can trust her. Of everyone in our clan, Wei Ling is the person I trust and rely on most."

"And you're sure you want to give her to me as my secretary?"

"The matter is that important."

Open relief appeared on Wei Ling's face. Her expression was still cold, but the easing of her tension was plain to see. It lasted only a moment.

"Of course, if she isn't to your liking, I can replace her. What do you think?"

"...!"

Wei Ling went pale. Limon let out a quiet chuckle. He had a fair idea why Li Qingyu wanted to assign him a woman who was openly hostile to him, but he didn't point it out. Instead, he turned to Wei Ling.

"Can I call you Wei Ling?"

"Yes."

"Good. I'll ask for your surname later, then."

"You will never hear me give you permission to use my alias, either."

"We'll see about that."

Wei Ling's cold reply made it clear she resented even hearing him say her name. Rather than get angry, Limon chuckled as though he'd found an amusing new toy. Then, as if a thought had just occurred to him, he said, "Oh, and ask me anytime you need advice. I may not know much about stealth, but I can teach you a thing or two about swordsmanship."

Whether she liked him or not, she was now his aide. He could do that much for her, Limon said with easy nonchalance. Then he gave her a mischievous look.

"Wei Ling of the Voidless Advancing Sword Style."

"..."

Chao Wei Ling, formerly the princess's bodyguard, had been removed from that post and appointed Limon's secretary. She said nothing. She only glared at him as though she wanted to stab him in the back then and there.

Chao Wei Ling's face was cold. Limon Aspelder wore a fierce grin. Watching the two of them exchange utterly different looks while the bluebird choked on cookies, flapped helplessly, collapsed, and twitched, Li Qingyu smiled.

"I'm glad the two of you are getting along so well."