ATPnovel Chapter 270 : The Weight of a Head of Household
Chapter 270 : The Weight of a Head of Household
Right after properly dividing the legacy left behind by Myriad Gold Manor—Jin Seong-un and Lee Seowon left the chaotic banquet hall without a trace of hesitation.
“Chief Steward Lee, shouldn’t you go see your family before leaving?”
Lee Seowon flinched slightly.
He was a man who could carry out what needed to be done without emotion—but this matter alone could not be handled purely with reason.
“Honestly… I’d rather not.”
For once, he showed a rare emotional side.
A man who believed in reason and rejected emotion revealing such a reaction meant that, at some point, Jin Seong-un had become someone he was comfortable with.
Jin Seong-un nodded.
“We’ll be heading back to the inn soon. If you truly don’t feel like it, you can leave without seeing them… but if it were me, it would keep lingering in my mind.”
“…It would. They are family, after all.”
At that moment—
Jin Seong-un suddenly turned his head, sensing a gaze from afar.
A man stood there quietly, looking at them.
The moment he saw his face, Jin Seong-un immediately realized he was Lee Seowon’s family.
Their features weren’t particularly similar, but the same sharp, sensitive aura resembled him greatly.
“Is that your father?”
“…Yes.”
Jin Seong-un bowed slightly toward him.
“Does he resent me?”
The man’s gaze didn’t seem favorable.
Was it because he had destroyed what originally belonged to the Lee family?
Or because he had drawn his son into a dangerous inn?
As Jin Seong-un pondered—
Lee Seowon gave an unexpected answer.
“He respected the Ha family. Not just him—everyone in the Lee family did. They said those people were the ones who let us live and eat.”
“They’re the ones who took Myriad Gold Manor.”
“They never thought it was ours to begin with. The people of our family are weak. If they acknowledged the loss, they’d have to fight the Ha family. They’re afraid of that.”
Jin Seong-un nodded, though he couldn’t quite understand.
He was not someone who lived with fear.
“Anyway. Go talk to him. He’s your father.”
“…I will.”
Lee Seowon approached his father with a reluctant expression.
They exchanged a brief conversation before walking off together.
In the process, his father glanced at Jin Seong-un with a glare—but when their eyes met, he flinched and looked away.
“……”
For some reason, Jin Seong-un felt like he was stealing someone else’s child and smacked his lips awkwardly.
---
The Archive Hall of Myriad Gold Manor.
Once filled with countless ledgers and records—
It was now empty.
The Murim Alliance had confiscated everything to investigate its ties with the Demon Cult.
“I didn’t realize it was this spacious.”
Lee Seowon looked around.
Without the packed bookshelves, it seemed twice as large.
His father simply watched him in silence.
Lee Seowon felt suffocated under that gaze.
It was always like this.
The Lee family never spoke first.
They avoided everything.
They feared even acknowledging that Myriad Gold Manor had been taken from them.
Lee Seowon found that shameful.
Especially after meeting the fathers of Seomun Ak and Moyong Hyeon.
Those men were brave and decisive.
Though he knew it was irrational, he couldn’t help comparing them.
“Do you have something to say?”
“Is that how you speak to your father after so long?”
“…Do you remember when I snuck into this archive? When I searched the ledgers for the secrets of the Martial Palace?”
“I do.”
His father looked uncomfortable.
“You didn’t protect me. You brought Ha Joo-myeong to me and put me in danger.”
“I did it because I was worried. I feared you would get involved in something worse.”
“He killed the External Chief Steward. If his mood had been worse—or if he hadn’t been interested in our Innkeeper—he would have killed me too.”
“……”
“Father, you….”
You drove me to death.
The words nearly escaped—but Lee Seowon stopped.
He looked at his father’s face.
It was the same as always.
Weak eyes, drooping brows, no confidence.
He had always hated that expression.
Yet now—
He saw something new.
Shame.
His father was ashamed.
No—
He always had been.
‘Why didn’t I realize?’
He didn’t know.
Maybe because he had always been within the family.
Or maybe he had grown after leaving.
Either way—
There had always been something more.
Lee Seowon’s expression hardened.
This man had endured shame his entire life.
Why?
As a man—how had he endured it?
Questions piled up.
And they led to one answer.
“…For the sake of the Lee family?”
He knew what the Ha family was like.
If the Lee family had revealed their intentions—
They would have been crushed.
Only then did he realize—
Unlike him, his father had no Jin Seong-un.
Silence fell between them.
A father whose lifelong shame had been exposed.
A son who had resented him his entire life.
The vast empty hall made the silence heavier.
“…Anyway, it’s all over now. Live however you want. There’s nothing to fear anymore.”
“You’re leaving again?”
“Yes. I’m the Chief Steward.”
He immediately regretted his words.
He remembered what he had once said—
* If you’re so afraid, at least aim for Chief Steward. Why live like this forever?
His father had remained a mere clerk.
“…I’m leaving.”
With that, Lee Seowon turned away.
At that moment, he despised himself.
He had hated his father’s cowardice—
Yet now, he too was running away.
His father watched him go—
But said nothing.
---
Lee Seowon returned to Jin Seong-un.
The conversation had been short.
“Did it go well?”
“Yes. I feel much better. Let’s head back. There’s a lot to do.”
He spoke briskly—but Jin Seong-un remained still.
“Chief Steward Lee.”
“Yes.”
“I’m not trying to boast, but as a martial artist, I can see things others can’t. Your heart is racing. Your breathing is uneven. Your eyes are trembling. Even your steps feel heavy.”
“…That’s a bit too much observation.”
Lee Seowon coughed awkwardly.
Jin Seong-un remembered the Merchant King’s words—
A leader must ease his subordinate’s heart.
“Your family is skilled in reading and managing records. I can see that just from you.”
“…You flatter me.”
“The Martial Palace remains. If you’re willing, let your family take it.”
Lee Seowon froze.
His mind immediately imagined it.
‘They’d live happily there.’
Free from fear.
Free from shame.
Living among knowledge.
But—
“No. It’s your spoils. We don’t deserve it.”
“It’s mine. I decide how to use it.”
“…You’re stubborn.”
“When needed.”
Lee Seowon realized—
He couldn’t win.
“…Then… could you tell them instead? I just drove a nail into my father’s heart… I can’t go back.”
Jin Seong-un blinked.
So this man—
Was human after all.
But—
“No. I’m afraid of your father.”
“…You fought Myriad Gold Manor alone and you’re afraid?”
“All fathers are scary.”
“…Unbelievable.”
Lee Seowon sighed.
But he turned back.
Because he had to.
---
Jin Seong-un waited.
This time—
Much longer.
He realized—
Just as he had ended his battle—
Lee Seowon was ending his own.
Finally—
Lee Seowon returned.
His expression, breathing, steps—
All back to normal.
A calm, sharp, weary—but resilient man.
“Let’s go. Home.”
“Yes. Home.”
They walked side by side.
Ahead—
Carriages.
Seo Yu-gyeom and Hwa Yeon-seol whispered awkwardly.
Seomun Ak and Moyong Hyeon were being scolded.
“Son, never return home. You belong at the inn.”
“…Is that praise?”
“Son, thanks to you, our clan can now rise through scholarship.”
“…That’s good…”
“You’ll stay at the inn for life.”
“…I’m the eldest son though?”
“I’ll arrange something.”
“….”
Jin Seong-un approached.
“You’re like my son.”
“Come to my clan instead.”
Arguments began.
Hwa Yeon-seol intervened.
“I’ll visit the inn instead.”
The two patriarchs glared at her.
She smiled calmly.
Jin Seong-un felt burdened—
Then turned.
Lee Seowon’s father bowed to him.
He bowed back.
No words—
But the meaning was clear.
Take care of my son.
“….”
Jin Seong-un realized something.
Three sons.
One younger brother.
All entrusted to him.
They were all children before their families.
And suddenly—
The weight of a head of household settled upon his shoulders.