After finishing my conversation with Muk Yeon and selecting the members for the mission, I headed straight to Elder Il.
I needed to brief him about the situation and our plans.
âSo, youâre saying youâre heading to Sichuan?â
I nodded.
âYes. It seems that way.â
âYou sure keep yourself busy.â
âIt just turned out like this.â
Elder Il let out a dry chuckle.
Instead of returning to Shanxi, I now had to detour to Sichuan.
No wonder he found it amusing.
âI wonât stop you if thatâs what you want, but⦠are you sure about this?â
ââ¦Hmm.â
His words carried weight.
âThe other elders might give you trouble.â
I was supposed to be preparing to take my seat as the Young Lord soon.
Yet here I was, running around as a unit commander instead of focusing on family matters.
It was natural for the elders to protest.
âIâll manage somehow.â
I didnât take it too seriously.
Even if they raised objections, it wouldnât cause a huge disturbance.
The only real concernâ
âWhat do you think, Elder? Should I just head straight to Shanxi instead?â
I valued Elder Ilâs opinion more than most.
His insight often pointed out things Iâd overlook.
After a brief pause, he replied,
âYouâve already decided, havenât you? Asking now wonât change much.â
â...â
He wasnât wrong.
âDo as you wish. Youâll bear the consequences, after all.â
He didnât sugarcoat it.
Even I knew this wasnât the ideal choice.
I frowned slightly, and Elder Il caught it.
âWhatâs that face for? Donât tell me you expected me to clean up your mess?â
âOf course not. Not that youâd do it even if I asked.â