“Lord Joo Mun-gyeong has sent word asking that you visit his estate.”

This was the first message that Jeha received upon returning to the Merchant Guild from the Pleasure House.

He immediately felt irritation rise within him.

Exhaustion weighed heavily on every part of his body.

He didn’t want to lift a finger.

He had lost count of how many times he had held Gayu in his arms that night.

He had never imagined that his body could surrender to desire so many times.

Yet this request could not be ignored.

Not when it came from Joo Mun-gyeong.

If it hadn’t been a matter requiring absolute discretion, the man would never have asked Jeha to come in person.

“Tell them I’ll visit late this afternoon. I need some rest first.”

“You truly should rest.”

Gia studied him with amusement before speaking more cautiously.

“You look completely exhausted.”

After a brief pause, Gia asked the question that had clearly been weighing on his mind.

“But if the Joo family asks for additional investment, what do you intend to do, Master?”

Jeha glanced back at him.

Though Gia’s face remained expressionless, the concern in his eyes could not be hidden.

A faint smile touched Jeha’s lips.

“Then I’ll tell them it’s time to find another business partner.”

That was the truth.

The Joo family had used the money of the Garyong Merchant Guild to amass their current power.

However, Jeha had no intention of investing any more.

He had already got what he wanted.

“Master Wi, as always, you are dazzlingly handsome.”

Joo Mun-gyeong addressed the man sitting opposite him, his voice excited.

His eyes remained fixed on Jeha.

In response to the unexpected remark, Jeha’s eyes crinkled slightly at the corners.

‘What exactly is this old snake trying to say?’

“You flatter me.”

“And the matter I requested previously—the removal of the Jin family’s traces. Is it proceeding smoothly?”

Joo Mun-gyeong hesitated for a moment before speaking, as though he wanted to mention something else first. Lifting his teacup, he asked his question in a casual tone.

Jeha nodded, showing little interest.

“Yes, I’ve already sent men to Daeju, the ancestral homeland of the Jin family. Their ancestral graves, main estate, and all remaining properties are being dismantled and destroyed. Before long, not a single trace of them will remain.”

Human cruelty truly seemed to know no bounds.

Joo Mun-gyeong was not content merely to sl*ughter every male member of the Jin family and execute or enslave the women.

Now, he intended to erase even the memory of their existence.

This was why Jeha had sent men to Daeju, where the Jin family’s ancestral grounds and estate were still standing.

Then again, memories often gave rise to unnecessary sympathy.

Perhaps it was better to cut such things off at the root before they took hold.

In any case, the fate of the Jin family was not his concern.

“With Master Wi overseeing it, there is nothing for me to worry about. Of course. Hahaha.”

“I doubt that is the reason you asked to see me.”

Jeha’s smile disappeared.

His voice turned sharp.

Joo Mun-gyeong had been skirting around the real issue since the beginning of their conversation, and Jeha was losing his patience.

There was something else bothering him as well.

Ever since he arrived.

A woman standing beside the pond, some distance from the pavilion.

No.

The problem was not the woman herself.

It was who she reminded him of.

Her graceful manner.

Her large, expressive eyes.

Every time he looked at her, he saw another face in his mind.

It was a face that he desperately wished would stop haunting his thoughts.

Caught off guard by Jeha’s blunt question, Joo Mun-gyeong laughed and shook his head.

“I truly can’t hide anything from you, Master Wi.”

He chuckled.

“You’re right. I would hardly trouble a busy man like yourself over a trivial matter such as that.”

His gaze drifted toward the woman standing by the pond.

“The truth is, I wished to speak to you about her.”

Jeha followed his gaze.

Joo Mun-gyeong’s eyes softened as they rested on their target.

There was an unmistakable affection in them.

Warmth.

Concern.

A deeply human tenderness.

For a man known throughout the capital as a cold and ruthless power broker, it was an unexpectedly gentle expression.

“She is a clever and beautiful child.”

Pride filled his voice.

“Had she been born a man, I would have entrusted her with great responsibilities.”

A sigh escaped him.

“And yet…”

His gaze lingered on his niece.

“Her fiancé died of illness before they could marry.”

A shadow crossed his face.

“It has already been five years since then.”

“And she has remained alone ever since.”

“…”

It was unexpected.

In any other family, such a situation might not have seemed unusual.

But this was the Joo family.

Even after losing her fiancé, there would have been no shortage of men eager to marry her.

The fact that she had remained unmarried for so long was surprising in itself.

Was Joo Mun-gyeong asking him to find her a husband?

“Of course, she received countless proposals.”

A trace of pride entered Joo Mun-gyeong’s voice.

“Her beauty and intelligence have been famous throughout the capital for years.”

“…”

“And yet she rejected every one of them.”

He smiled faintly.

“She said she had no desire to enter a marriage without affection.”

“…”

Seeing no reaction from Jeha, Joo Mun-gyeong narrowed his eyes slightly and let out a low sigh.

“However…”

His gaze drifted toward his niece.

“It seems she has finally given her heart to someone.”

Jeha’s eyes followed immediately.

The woman was already looking at him.

There was no hesitation in her gaze.

She made no attempt to hide her feelings.

A strange certainty settled over him.

‘Surely not…’

“Yes.”

Joo Mun-gyeong smiled knowingly.

“You’re correct.”

His niece’s eyes remained fixed on Jeha.

“It seems she has set her heart on you, Master Wi.”

“…I see.”

A sigh escaped him before he could stop it.

Joo Mun-gyeong paid little attention to his reaction and continued speaking.

“After seeing you at the marketplace not long ago, she suffered greatly over it.”

Amusement flickered across his face.

“After all, the entire capital is filled with rumors that Master Wi has no interest in women.”

He chuckled softly.

“So she kept her feelings to herself and suffered in silence.”

For a moment, Jeha’s gaze drifted elsewhere.

Then it settled again, cold and unreadable.

His eyes were clear.

Empty.

He simply looked at Joo Mun-gyeong without saying a word.

“But after hearing that you were the one who purchased the first night of the Jin family’s daughter after her fall into slavery, she finally gathered the courage to come to me.”

His expression remained unchanged.

“She sought me out herself.”

“This is all rather sudden.”

At last, Jeha spoke.

“I know.”

Joo Mun-gyeong nodded immediately.

“I am well aware that this is a sudden conversation.”

Then he leaned forward slightly.

“But Master Wi, perhaps this is not such a bad thing.”

A calculating gleam entered his eyes.

“In fact, it could be the best possible outcome.”

His smile widened.

“The Joo family and the Garyong Merchant Guild could become one.”

“A rare opportunity, wouldn’t you agree?”

Jeha let out a quiet laugh.

He couldn’t help it.

Who exactly would benefit from such an arrangement?

From making him the Joo family’s nephew-in-law?

Jeha drew a slow, measured breath.

The calm surface of his emotions began to ripple like a sea just before a storm.

Then, little by little, the storm began to build.

Joo Mun-gyeong watched the man in front of her slowly close his eyes.

When he opened them again, an unfamiliar fire burned within them.

“I believe you’ve misunderstood something, Lord Joo.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“I invested in your affairs because my calculations indicated there was profit to be made.”

Jeha’s voice was calm.

“And I have already received all the profit I expected.”

The warmth vanished from his expression.

“So I have no intention of making any further investments.”

“Master Wi!”

“I am a merchant.”

His gaze remained steady.

“I conduct business. Nothing more.”

“…”

“There are still matters left unfinished.”

Jeha rose slowly.

“When those matters are concluded, we can discuss the final settlement.”

“So…”

The frost finally descended upon Joo Mun-gyeong’s face.

“Do you truly have no intention of standing with me?”

His eyes grew cold.

“You won’t regret this?”

Seeing that Jeha was not going to change his mind, the frustration on the man’s face turned into something far more dangerous.

Jeha met his gaze and smiled faintly.

Not because he wanted to become an ally.

Nor because he wanted to become an enemy.

“Our guild has a saying.”

The smile remained on his lips.

“Excessive greed invites disaster.”

“…”

“Once the matters in Daeju are finished, I will visit again.”

He inclined his head politely.

“Until then.”

Although he was smiling, his eyes were colder than ever as he turned and walked away.

Joo Mun-gyeong neither stopped him nor saw him out.

After passing through the central gate and making his way towards the estate’s main entrance, Jeha suddenly noticed someone waiting for him — a woman.

A woman.

She was standing before the gate, breathing heavily as though she had run the entire way.

It seemed that she had taken a shortcut through the estate to intercept him.

A flicker of displeasure crossed Jeha’s face.

“Master Wi.”

“What is it?”

He had wanted to avoid this conversation.

However, now she was standing directly in his path, he could no longer ignore her.

Her brown eyes shone steadily.

Without hesitation.

Without fear.

Even at first glance, she was clearly a bold and determined woman.

Then again, she would need courage of that caliber to make a request of Joo Mun-gyeong himself.

“Am I truly that lacking?”

“Miss.”

“Hye-ryeong.”

Jeha sighed softly.

“I cannot accept your feelings.”

“Why?”

The question came immediately.

“Is it because I was once engaged?”

“Of course not.”

His reply was courteous.

Yet there was something cold hidden beneath it.

“Even if you had already been married, someone in my position has no right to reject you for that reason.”

A flicker of tension crossed Hye-ryeong’s face.

But Jeha had no intention of softening his words.

In fact, it was better for both of them if he did not.

“There are two reasons.”

“…”

Anxiety filled her expression as she waited for him to continue.

“The first is simple.”

His voice remained calm.

“I have no desire to marry.”

He looked away briefly.

“I have no intention of taking responsibility for another person’s entire life.”

A bitter smile touched his lips.

“It’s difficult enough managing my own.”

“I don’t need someone to take responsibility for my life.”

“And the second reason.”

Hye-ryeong flinched when he cut her off before she could finish speaking.

Her lips pressed together.

“If I ever do marry…”

His gaze settled on her.

“It will be someone I love.”

The words were firm.

“I have no interest in a marriage formed for mutual benefit or political convenience.”

For the first time, pain flickered openly across Hye-ryeong’s face.

“I can try.”

Her voice trembled slightly.

“I can make you come to love me, Master Wi.”

She looked at him as though refusing to give up.

Jeha’s eyes widened slightly.

He had thought she was bold.

But he had never imagined she would be this bold.

“Then please…”

Hye-ryeong’s voice did not waver.

“Give me a chance.”

“Have you ever been in love?”

“…Pardon?”

The question was completely unexpected.

For the first time since approaching him, uncertainty flickered across her face.

The confidence that had never once faltered was shaken by confusion.

“If love were something that could be achieved through effort alone…”

Jeha’s voice was calm.

“Then there would be no reason for it to hurt.”

His gaze drifted somewhere far away.

“No reason for it to leave a person suffering.”

A faint bitterness touched his expression.

“Love is wanting to run away and still being unable to leave.”

His eyes darkened.

“It’s feeling as though it might kill you and still being unable to let go.”

A brief silence passed between them.

“What I want…”

His voice lowered.

“Is that kind of love.”

“…”

“And that is why…”

Jeha looked directly at her.

“It cannot be you, Miss.”

With those merciless words delivered through impossibly beautiful eyes and lips, he stepped past her.

Hye-ryeong remained standing where she was.

Motionless.

Watching him leave.

“Did you really have to say it like that?”

The question was accompanied by a sigh.

Gia fell into step beside Jeha as he left the Joo estate.

He had never intended to eavesdrop.

However, he had been waiting for Jeha in the servants’ quarters near the main gate.

Consequently, he had no choice but to overhear their entire conversation.