078. Side Story 03. Glorious Days (Part 2)
“Your Highness, the prince is still far too young. Surely His Highness the King’s younger brother should…”
At that time, the boy’s elder brother did indeed have a child. But that child was merely a toddler, only just learning to walk.
There was no way the country could be entrusted to someone of such tender years, so the boy willingly shouldered the responsibility himself.
The fate of their house, after all, rested entirely on the wars of conquest his elder brother had begun.
“Very well. From this day forth, I shall lead you.”
Even so, there was still hope then. Once his nephew grew up, he could pass on the throne to him.
And when that day came, he would be able to return to the life he had once desired. Whether as the king’s brother or as the king’s uncle, it would make little difference. He could step away from the center of power, assist in governing the realm with sincerity, and live quietly—without leaving much of a trace.
Then, once more, he could resume the course of life he had planned for himself. He only needed to wait a few years…
With that single hope, Ja Cheong-ryeong endured the role of monarch, a role completely ill-suited to his temperament.
His sister-in-law, who carried on his brother’s legacy, sought endless war, which wearied him. Yet since it was ultimately for the sake of the nephew who would inherit the throne, he found it hard to oppose her too strongly.
“When the Crown Prince grows older…”
“Silence! How dare you utter such words when His Majesty is ruling so well?”
“But is not the Crown Prince the rightful heir?”
“Rightful heir, you say? His Majesty Ja Cheong-ryeong is on the throne this very moment! What place is there for such talk of legitimacy?”
The problem was this: even if he himself had no attachment to the throne, it was meaningless if his retainers refused to see it that way.
His nephew’s growth would take far too long. In the meantime, courtiers began to argue over who was more fit for kingship—his late brother’s son, Ja Hong-won’s boy, or the reigning king, Ja Cheong-ryeong.
It was an excruciating situation for him. He always intended to pass the throne to his nephew, but while sitting on the throne himself, he could hardly tell his retainers not to support him.
So instead, he emphasized only one thing—that his nephew was also his heir. To ensure a smooth succession, the boy had even been formally adopted and granted the title of Crown Prince.
But the ministers quarreled even over this.
Some interpreted it as proof that he was safeguarding the prince’s legitimacy. Others claimed it was a veiled warning—that since the prince was heir to the king, the succession would not happen until much later.
Still, he believed he could manage the discord—if only he had enough time.
But then the incident occurred.
“Your Majesty, the Crown Prince has suddenly passed away.”
Though granted the title of Crown Prince, his nephew had been living in a private residence due to various circumstances. Suddenly, the boy was dead.
And it happened precisely when his sister-in-law had returned from the battlefield.
What must it feel like, for a mother who rarely even saw her child, to have that very child die before her eyes? To console her, he rushed immediately to her residence.
At that time, his bond with his sister-in-law was stronger than with any other relative by blood. He governed the realm as king, and she waged conquest abroad.
But when he arrived to share in her grief, she said to him instead:
“Now all our worries have vanished, Your Majesty. You need not fret.”
At that moment, lightning struck his mind with sudden clarity.
Why had his nephew died precisely when his sister-in-law returned? Why had she suddenly left the battlefield, where she seemed rooted, to come back home?
She had returned to kill her own son.
Even generals on the battlefield were splitting into factions. With division and discord rife, unity was impossible. If his authority faltered, domestic governance would falter too.
Thus, she deemed the survival of the nation her late husband left behind more important than the life of her own flesh and blood. To her, fulfilling her husband’s dying wish by unifying the nation outweighed everything else.
When he realized this, his whole body trembled. With the most legitimate heir now gone, was there any chance left for him to step away from the throne?
Even if he had passed the throne to his nephew, strife would have followed. But to find an heir of even lesser legitimacy than the dead boy and hand the throne over? The nation would surely be plunged into chaos.
And would his sister-in-law allow that? Not in the slightest. If she could kill her own child for the sake of centralized power, then disposing of a younger brother-in-law would be nothing.
From that day forward, he abandoned the dream he had clung to. To step away naturally from the throne and live the peaceful life once reserved for him—such a luxury was no longer permitted.
The factional struggles ended. With no other choice, all the retainers pledged their loyalty to him.
With no way back, the army followed his sister-in-law’s command and carried out campaigns with flawless unity.
The nation grew rapidly. And for the rest of his life, he threw himself into mediating between newly annexed regions and those who had long served his family.
It was work that demanded his very life, but somehow, he managed it. Even the constant fear dulled over time.
Eventually, it even began to feel like a tolerable life.
After all, he had become a king with unmatched power. If things continued as they were, might he not even claim the imperial title? It was far from the life he first desired, but it was hardly a bad one.
His life veered off course once again with the death of his sister-in-law.
“Your Majesty, Her Highness the Queen Dowager has passed away.”
Had she fallen in battle, it might have been expected. But they said it was disease.
To prevent contagion, the local generals did not even send her body home intact.
She was cremated there, and only her ashes returned, to be buried with her husband. And when that happened, he did not even feel sorrow.
Instead, he worried only about the future.
Such explosive expansion had been possible first because of his brother, and then because of his sister-in-law—the living war god, whose presence alone was overwhelming.
What would happen now that she was gone?
They could not stop waging war. All the neighboring nations still gnashed their teeth at them. To halt conquest now would invite rebellion even in the territories already subdued.
Yet how could they continue as before? Without the war god, could they still uphold an unbroken record of victory?
It was a true dilemma—damned if they did, damned if they didn’t.
“It has been some time, Your Majesty.”
It was then that she reappeared in his life.
Yi Baek-ryeon, former head of the Yi family. During his absence, she had stepped down, married, and then returned to him.
Once, she had declared loyalty to his house impossible. Now, with her own lips, she swore allegiance and promised to do anything for him.
And he… Ja Cheong-ryeong knew she could do it.
The years they had shared told him as much. Yi Baek-ryeon had taught him not only tea ceremony but countless other things—tactics and strategy included.
To him, who could not fully grasp how remarkable his brother and sister-in-law were, she explained their tactics and strategies with ease, though she had never met them face-to-face.
Thus he knew she possessed talent. Though unproven, no one else among his retainers could resolve the crisis.
“I appoint Yi Baek-ryeon as Grand Commander. She shall lead the campaign to subdue the western states. All of you are to obey my command and support the new commander.”
So he entrusted her with the fate of the nation—and she saved him.
The other nations, who had bided their time after the war god’s death, were crushed by despair at the rise of a new one. Unlike his sister-in-law, who accepted no surrenders, the new commander welcomed them.
“Those who bow their heads willingly must be employed well, Your Majesty. If they see that obedience to you is more beneficial, they will not rebel.”
She proposed a policy of broad acceptance, and he embraced it. Gradually, the nation, once stitched together haphazardly, became unified.
“Now, Your Majesty, you must declare yourself Emperor.”
Once the nation stabilized, his ministers urged him to become emperor. They reasoned that ascending higher than a king would crush the morale of remaining states.
He was ready to accept, when Yi Baek-ryeon added another suggestion:
“Your Majesty is still unmarried. The timing is perfect. You should ascend the throne as Emperor and take a wife as Empress alongside you.”
It was sound advice. At the time, Ja Cheong-ryeong was thirty years old. To remain unmarried until then was already unthinkable.
And yet, because it was Yi Baek-ryeon who spoke those words, he felt deeply betrayed. How could she? How could she say that to him?
He had always believed there was something between them.
Though she had married by the time they reunited, that was a matter of circumstance.
He, already on the throne, had given her no certainty, no promises. Time had slipped away. Surely it had been too difficult for her to wait endlessly. And once married, divorce and remarriage to him was hardly possible.
Even so—how could she speak of his marriage? Yes, as a loyal minister, it was natural advice. But between them, was it really only such a relationship of sovereign and vassal?
For that reason alone, he rejected her proposal.
