Chapter 13
The members of the Imperial Family did not disperse and disappear simply because the meeting of the Association of Royal Relatives had ended.
The reason they had gone to the trouble of coming all the way to the Imperial Palace was obvious.
They weren’t interested in the Crown Prince’s recovery.
They were interested in quickly finding the next heir to the throne and swearing a new oath of loyalty.
When will the next Crown Prince be appointed?
Their dark faces were filled with sinister smiles.
Not a single one of them doubted that Grand Prince Uigoo would become the next heir.
“The Crown Prince has no heir, so things are going to be noisy for a while.”
“Even if Grand Prince Uigoo is the rightful heir, public opinion is bound to make a great fuss. What a troublesome matter. Since the Crown Prince had no heir anyway, they should have designated Grand Prince Uigoo as his successor long ago.”
“If His Highness the Crown Prince is incapable of recovering anyway, wouldn’t it be better to simply strip him of his position as Crown Prince and hand it over to Grand Prince Uigoo?”
The members of the Imperial Family began attaching themselves to Grand Prince Uigoo one by one, as though they were eager to fill an empty seat.
The smugness was visible beneath Grand Prince Uigoo’s genial smile as he laughed heartily.
Of course he’s excited.
Seon snorted and rose from her seat.
Outside Gyeongchunjeon, the few members of the Imperial Family who had chosen to return home had gathered together, each engaged in conversation.
Seon surveyed them from the steps of Gyeongchunjeon.
Prince Gongchin, the other elderly members of the Imperial Family, and their children.
Even in a decaying Imperial Family, there were still people who maintained the fundamental principle that they had to remain loyal to the Emperor.
Seon looked down at their serious faces.
The concerns reflected in those grave expressions didn’t seem all that different from her own.
The next heir will be Grand Prince Uigoo.
Even if she had anticipated that this would someday become reality, the feeling of having that future suddenly right before her was far more dreadful than she had imagined.
“Are you going back to the detached palace?”
“Yes.”
Dong had followed her outside without her noticing and lightly tapped her shoulder.
Seon looked around Gyeongchunjeon one last time before nodding.
Seeing the dozens of members of the Imperial Family clinging to Grand Prince Uigoo made her even more exhausted.
“It looks like there are even more members of the Imperial Family on his side now.”
Watching Grand Prince Uigoo smile happily made Seon lose her appetite.
She completely withdrew her gaze and sneered.
“Even the people who stood in line behind His Highness the Crown Prince while he was alive are now all joining Grand Prince Uigoo’s side.”
“Indeed. When did Yeongcheon Jeong join that group? I thought he was taking a different path from his father.”
“The Crown Prince is no longer here. His attempt to push his own son forward as an adopted heir failed, so it seems he’s going to try something else.”
Seon spoke coldly.
To ordinary people, being a member of the Imperial Family might seem like an extraordinary privilege.
In reality, however, the status was practically temporary by nature.
No matter how much of a descendant of the Emperor someone was, all benefits were cut off once they reached the fourth generation.
In other words, anyone who called the previous Emperor their “great-grandfather” was no longer considered a member of the Imperial Family.
There hadn’t been many cases like that until now, but as time passed, the number of children who were born to Imperial Family parents yet weren’t themselves members of the Imperial Family was increasing.
This was especially true of children born to collateral members of the Imperial Family, such as Dojeong or Bujeong like Dong, after they married.
So it wasn’t entirely strange that some people were becoming desperate.
Wanting their grandchildren or children to remain safely within the definite boundaries of the Imperial Family was simply a fundamental human desire.
“Even so, seeing them giggling and joking around at a time like this…”
“Do you really think the Crown Prince’s accident matters to them right now? They’re probably just waiting to see what scraps fall into their hands.”
Dong answered with a sigh.
“I hear Grand Prince Uigoo’s temptations are becoming increasingly sweet.”
“Did you hear something?”
“He apparently said he’s going to push for a revision of the Imperial Family Act. It seems he wants to maintain Imperial Family status through the Emperor’s great-grandchildren as it is now, and then create a separate class after that.”
“What? How is Grand Prince Uigoo supposed to do that?”
Seon gave a hollow laugh.
“The people Grand Prince Uigoo has put the most effort into building connections with are members of the National Assembly. He has made connections without distinguishing between the ruling and opposition parties. If he’s even brought up revising the Imperial Family Act—the very thing that would be the greatest temptation for my cousins—then he may already have reached some kind of agreement with them.”
“Ah. I’m suddenly feeling so disillusioned.”
Seon muttered as she twisted a strand of her hair around her finger.
“What does it matter if I cover all my official duties by myself? Seriously. While Grand Prince Uigoo goes around making all sorts of requests and pulling strings outside, they’re all following him around like ducklings, trying to stay on his good side, and then they criticize me for being rigid and inflexible.”
This time, Dong couldn’t even comfort her.
Everything she said was true.
And now that the throne was practically within Grand Prince Uigoo’s reach, there was no reason to expect the situation to improve.
“If that man becomes Crown Prince, maybe I’ll just go study abroad too.”
“What would be different about studying abroad? Unless you go on a full scholarship like I did, you’ll still just be spending Imperial Family money in the end.”
“Ah. That’s true.”
Seon laughed bitterly.
There were dozens of Imperial Family members who had studied abroad.
Dong standing right in front of her was one of them.
Of course, only a handful of people had gone abroad early because they were genuinely talented and intelligent like Dong.
Most had simply gone overseas to enjoy life, like Prince Gyeongan.
“Then how about defecting instead? Or I could meet a foreign man, marry him, and obtain citizenship there.”
“I understand wanting to leave, but shouldn’t we first take care of the work that’s been assigned to us?”
Dong patted Seon’s shoulder as he spoke.
His voice was heavy with exhaustion, much like Seon’s own.
Unlike Seon, who took on all sorts of official duties despite not having a formal position, Dong was the chairman of the Imperial Cultural Heritage Foundation.
Judging purely by their workloads, he was no less busy than Seon.
Of course, that was also thanks to irresponsible members of the Imperial Family dumping their work on him or adding even more responsibilities to his plate.
“You still have to deal with the work you’ve been given right now.”
“The investigation, you mean.”
The atmosphere of that day came flooding back into Seon’s mind, making her head ache.
She bit her lip.
“At the very least, His Highness the Crown Prince shouldn’t have to leave this world with an injustice hanging over him.”
“If you need my help, tell me anytime. I feel responsible too.”
Guilt seeped into Dong’s expression.
The Crown Prince had been scheduled to visit Suwon Hwaseong that day.
Since the Imperial Cultural Heritage Foundation was responsible for managing Hwaseong, Dong seemed to feel a certain degree of responsibility.
Tsk.
Seon clicked her tongue softly.
“Princess!”
Just before gloom could completely consume them, a voice called out.
Seok-cheol came running from the direction of the waiting room prepared for the aides.
Seon glanced at Dong before descending the stairs to meet him.
Seok-cheol was always composed, so seeing him running like this was clearly unusual.
“What is it?”
Seok-cheol briefly caught his breath, then looked around before lowering his voice.
Seon instinctively lowered herself as well and listened closely.
“His Majesty is asking for you.”
“Right now?”
At his words, Seon slowly looked toward the inside of Gyeongchunjeon.
She couldn’t see much from below the stairs.
If Grand Prince Uigoo finds out about this, he’ll have a fit.
As Seon turned her gaze away from Gyeongchunjeon, Seok-cheol emphasized his words once more.
“The Chief Palace Eunuch came and delivered the message personally. It would be best if you went now.”
“Yes, Seon. Go quickly.”
Dong had already followed Seon down the stairs.
Since the meeting itself had included a request that members of the Imperial Family refrain from entering Daejojeon, it was clearly unusual for the Emperor to summon Seon.
Seon nodded and instinctively looked around once more.
That was when her eyes met those of Grand Prince Uigoo as he emerged from Gyeongchunjeon.
Seon tried to avert her gaze as though nothing had happened, but Grand Prince Uigoo had already noticed her.
“Lady Cheongyang. You haven’t left the palace yet?”
There were thorns hidden in the question.
Seon placed both hands near her navel, smiled brightly, and bowed her head.
“I was just about to leave.”
“You should come and go at appropriate times. You shouldn’t be poking your nose into all sorts of unnecessary places.”
Grand Prince Uigoo glanced over Seon, Dong, and even Seok-cheol in turn before giving a small laugh.
It was impossible not to realize that he was comparing them to the numerous members of the Imperial Family gathered around him.
Even so, Seon smiled.
She was someone who had spent her entire life waiting for the right moment.
Ever since she was seven years old, from the moment those black shoes walked away from her.
For someone like her, enduring this brief moment was hardly difficult.
“I’ve actually been quite worried about you. I heard His Majesty told you to join the Special Investigation Team for Imperial Family Cases.”
Grand Prince Uigoo slowly shook his head.
Even though he made it look as though he was concerned for her, his words were ultimately meant to trample her down.
How utterly detestable.
“I am merely carrying out the duty Grandfather entrusted to me.”
“Still. Do you really think a job like that is easy? Nothing will go according to your wishes.”
Ah.
The anger she had been swallowing finally caught at the tip of her chin.
Grand Prince Uigoo spoke with such confidence that it was as though he knew everything that had happened in the National Police Agency’s conference room.
As though everything was already within the palm of his hand.
As though there was nothing she could do.
“How about it? Should your second older uncle help you?”
“What do you mean?”
At Seon’s somewhat stiff question, Grand Prince Uigoo smiled brightly.
“I mean those team members who are making things difficult for you. I’ll replace them for you. Shall I replace the people recommended by the Saheonbu? Or should I replace the people from the police?”
Ha!
Seon barely managed to maintain her smile.
She pressed her lips together harder to keep them from trembling.
Where did Grand Prince Uigoo’s arrogance that he could replace the people assigned to the Special Investigation TF come from?
He must have been so confident because he really could do it.
Seon was powerless before Grand Prince Uigoo.
She had neither the authority to change the members of the TF nor the power to take control of the investigation.
But at the very least, she had defiance.
She had the stubbornness and perseverance to cling to his trouser leg if necessary, simply to prevent things from going according to Grand Prince Uigoo’s wishes.
“It’s fine. I only need to carry out the task entrusted to me.”
She answered that way and looked straight at Grand Prince Uigoo.
His eyes were about half the size of Seon’s and narrow at the corners, staring at her like a snake preparing to swallow her whole.
Seon widened her eyes as well, refusing to back down.
“Since Grandfather is calling for me, I’ll take my leave.”
For a moment, a crack appeared in Grand Prince Uigoo’s expression.
When she was simply keeping something hidden, she didn’t want anyone to notice.
But when something could be used as a weapon, there was no reason to refrain from using it.
“His Majesty called for you? Why?”
“How could I possibly know His Majesty’s intentions?”
Seon smiled leisurely and bowed her head again.
Grand Prince Uigoo merely clenched and unclenched his fist repeatedly.
In the end, he did not stop Seon.
