Royal Coup d'État - Chapter 17

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 17
Lying in the Duty Room’s cot, Tae-o felt as though he’d been bewitched. Whenever he tried to recall what had happened yesterday and today, the memories blurred. The Crown Prince’s death, the Special Investigation Task Force meeting, and Cheongyang County Lord Lee Seon.
He grabbed the baseball that had been rolling across the Duty Room floor for who knew how long and tossed it toward the ceiling. The ball flew straight but fell before reaching it, landing back in his palm. He’d hoped the meaningless motion might buy him some time to collect his thoughts, but even that proved impossible.
“Tomorrow morning at five o’clock, I’ll come to this place.”
Her calm voice echoed in his ears.
He felt pathetic—staying in the Duty Room without even clocking out, just to match her timing. He couldn’t explain why her words kept pulling him along like this.
Yet he couldn’t deny the fact that she kept coming to mind.
Those fingers, smooth as silk; that skin, flawless upon close inspection; the sweet fragrance that had wrapped around her body. There was nowhere his eyes wouldn’t follow.
The imperial family had always been a headache to him. They caused accidents constantly, yet showed no remorse—instead, they hunted for legal loopholes and wriggled away like loaches. Running a simple background check required navigating multiple agencies, and whatever grand connections they maintained with higher-ups resulted in constant pressure; even a routine summons for questioning became difficult.
A warrant was practically impossible. Unless an imperial was deeply implicated, the police would grow tired and abandon the investigation altogether.
Whenever Tae-o saw them, he thought they were contemptible. What was so grand about the bloodline they were born with? Why did they swagger and boast about it so relentlessly? Every citizen of the Republic of Korea ought to follow the law, yet they treated it as if it didn’t apply to them.
While he usually avoided troublesome matters, if given the chance, he’d have liked to attend an anti-monarchy meetings. There was no such thing as a truly imperial imperial in this country.
‘But my thoughts were different, weren’t they.’
He lay with his arm as a pillow, staring into the dark ceiling.
Cheongyang County Lord Lee Seon. Honestly, he barely knew her.
The imperial family members Tae-o usually remembered caused trouble. The kind who frequented clubs in Cheongdam-dong, the kind who sparked abuse-of-power scandals.
By contrast, Seon seemed almost obsessively upright. Like an unbending bamboo, straight and unwavering.
And that smile of hers. She smiled broadly with her mouth, but her eyes held no emotion whatsoever. The warmth she’d shown him was the opposite of what lived behind those eyes—her gaze was full of coldness.
That was why Tae-o was curious about Seon. The sadness that sometimes glistened in her eyes when she thought of her late grandfather, the disillusionment that flickered when other imperials were mentioned. Those things were curious, but what he really wanted to know was how far she was willing to go.
‘I’m a detective, after all. It’s natural.’
He shut his narrow, sharp eyes tightly and rationalized.
If the Crown Prince’s death involved the Imperial Family as Seon suspected, she couldn’t be ruled out either. A true detective must harbor suspicion toward everyone. So his desire to know her, he could tell himself, was part of the investigation.
Tae-o reached toward the ceiling. His thick, callused hand reached toward it, fell away, then reached again. He stared at his own hand for a moment, then clenched it hard.
If he lived moderately, without great passion, drifting with the current, a life of smooth sailing awaited. He could simply trample these obstacles underfoot. Even knowing that, he was ablaze with idle curiosity.
He couldn’t say exactly whether it was the detective’s passion that had died long ago, or some shallow pity for the bereaved family, or simple curiosity about Lee Seon herself.
* * *
The car carrying Seon was already parked in front of Police Headquarters at 4:50 a.m.
She’d left Byeolgung Palace at 4:30. Both palace and headquarters sat on Jongno, so Changdeokgung was practically next door—but in a life that had never been late once, she needed at least ten minutes of buffer to feel at ease.
Watching the second hand of her wristwatch tick past, Seon reached for the car door handle the moment it turned 4:59. Impatience was setting in.
She’d told Tae-o, standing before him with ease, speaking as though he had no choice but to come, that she’d pick him up at five. But what if he didn’t show?
He’d never given her a straightforward yes. He always asked questions, and she answered. She’d convinced him as best she could, but that didn’t mean she could trust him completely.
“I’ll go check inside,” Seok-chul said quietly.

“He might have overslept, wouldn’t you say?”
“No. I should go. Looking too much like the other imperials would only hurt my position.”
She already bristled at bringing her advisor along. If she’d sent Seok-chul in her place and Tae-o had a change of heart, it would be a disaster.
“Just check the main lobby.”
“What if Captain Kwon genuinely doesn’t come out?”
Seok-chul asked, his voice harder to mask his anxiety. Seon was considering the worst scenario too.
“Then I’ll enter the Palace alone.”
Seon answered bitterly. However much she’d officially joined the investigation team, what she alone could offer was suspicion. She couldn’t formally request warrants or argue for expanded investigation. The Emperor could only do so much for her. That was why Tae-o’s help was essential.

“I’ll do what I can on my own. That’s what Her Majesty would want.”
Veins rose in her grip on the handle. Her knuckles turned white from the force, then she let out a short breath.
The moment she pulled the handle and opened the door, a gust of dawn wind struck her face. Autumn had grown sharp, no longer tolerating heat, existing with cold insistence. As the wind brushed her cheek and she opened her eyes again, the now-familiar musk scent pricked her nostrils.
“Ah.”
From the front seat, Seok-chul let out a sigh of relief.
Seon looked up at him without agitation, calmly. Tae-o, standing at the door, appeared sleep-deprived, a bit worn.
He stood with his arms crossed, regarding her with a slanted posture.
“You’re not going?”
At Tae-o’s irritated question, Seon raised her eyebrows, then lowered them slowly in a nod. She then shifted to the seat behind the driver’s. As the space opened, Tae-o naturally climbed into the car.
The moment the door shut, the limousine glided smoothly away from Police Headquarters. Just past five in the morning. Jongno Road was still quiet.
Seon showed no desire to sit close to Tae-o, positioning herself tight against the window behind the driver, maximizing the distance. Seeing the gap between them, Tae-o clicked his tongue briefly and crossed his legs. Seok-chul, who’d been watching the entire time, interjected bluntly.
“When meeting His Majesty, you’ll need to show more deference than this.”
Tae-o’s sharp gaze traveled through the rearview mirror to Seok-chul. It was the kind of look that made criminals’ legs go weak—the stare of the Grim Reaper himself. But Seok-chul, who’d spent years in the Palace, wasn’t about to back down.
“The Imperial Family has protocol.”
“You’re expecting me to follow all of it?”
Tae-o scoffed dismissively.
“Tell those noble imperial lords and ladies to mind their manners. Don’t demand it of someone like me.”
“Chief Won is referring to your bearing when you meet His Majesty.”
Sun, who had been resting her head against the cold window, added her thoughts. Long eyelashes rose and fell as though they might swallow her eyes whole.
“His Majesty rarely meets with ordinary citizens, but he’s not a difficult man, so you needn’t worry too much. Though you should remember that he’s quite elderly.”
“Come now……. I have at least that much sense. Are you worried I’ll behave like an uncouth fool in front of someone in their nineties?”
No matter how little affection he held for the Imperial Family, he hadn’t lost his basic sense of decency.
Even Tae-o, unfamiliar with the royal house, knew how revered the Emperor was, how much he’d contributed to modern history. And he certainly understood that an elderly man could suffer greatly from even a small shock—that what might seem trivial could become poison. The Emperor was ninety-one, after all.
Beyond that, the Emperor was bereaved. He was an unfortunate father who had lost his son only yesterday, carrying a burden of grief far heavier than Sun’s.
Tae-o was no psychopath. The Emperor was as human as anyone else under heaven. In circumstances like these, Tae-o always took care to choose his words, to make the effort to think from the perspective of the bereaved. It was part of his work as a police officer.
“I’m relieved you’ll do that.”
Sun answered with a shrug, as though surprised.
Just what kind of impression was he giving her? Did he really come across as some ruffian with no manners whatsoever?
Tae-o studied his reflection in the glass window and sighed. Ever since meeting Sun, every other day felt like it wasn’t truly him.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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