Royal Coup d'État - Chapter 22

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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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Chapter 22
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Sun sat on the couch at Byeol Palace, studying her Tablet. Pleasant sunlight poured across the screen. She shielded her eyes with one hand and absorbed the case file she’d already read countless times.
There was no new information, but she reviewed the material again and again. To win a war, one must know the enemy well. Sun had a temperament that demanded she commit everything to memory—it was simply how she was made.
Across from her sat Seok Chul, who had been absorbed in his constantly buzzing Smartphone since earlier. He continued moving his fingers as if messaging someone, and at last he spoke.
“It appears Yi Gu Daegun has begun to move. There’s been a development at the Police Department.”
“Not entirely unexpected. And?”
Sun’s response prompted Seok Chul to adjust his glasses. The motion was hurried, the bridge pressing upward with urgency.
“Inspector Kwon has been transferred to standby status from his original post in the Criminal Investigation Division. The pretext is—”
“That he should focus exclusively on the TF Team. In effect, they’re pressuring him.”
It was transparent strategy. The most convenient technique for applying pressure: ordering him to concentrate solely on TF Team meant severing his other hands and feet. Anyone becomes sensitive when their livelihood is at stake. Even an elite like Kwon Tae-o, riding the fast track to promotion, would be no exception.
Sun had decided to join hands with Tae-o and considered how best to employ him effectively. That didn’t mean she trusted the man named Kwon Tae-o.
Trust was a far more complicated matter than one might think. Even if Tae-o obeyed her wishes now, she couldn’t blindly believe he’d do so to the end.
The method Sun had proposed was Autopsy. After those results came back, Tae-o might very well turn his back on her—she always had to keep that worst-case scenario in mind.
Especially now, when her uncle was so doggedly pursuing a relatively defenseless civilian.
“Unfortunately, there’s nothing I can do about it.”
At times like this, one had to be all the more detached.
Sun had neither the connections nor the authority to move the Police Department. Though an Emperor stood as a sturdy pillar behind her, it wasn’t a card to be played hastily. If she carelessly sought her grandfather’s help, she might very well ruin everything instead.
When Yi Gu Daegun had stepped into the arena like this, it would actually be better to yield on at least one point. If she blocked every attack, his resentment would only deepen.
“Of course, you must do nothing whatsoever.”
Seok Chul’s reply was equally firm.
“Rather… it seems the inspector has grown rather bitter.”
Seok Chul waved his Smartphone as he spoke. Sun’s eyes narrowed as she peered at the screen. So that’s who he’d been messaging with all along—Tae-o, apparently.
The sky-blue screen was crammed with white and yellow messages. The higher proportion of white indicated Seok Chul’s point was well taken: Tae-o was indeed bitter.
“Have the two of you become close?”
Sun asked the question while staring blankly at the screen. Seok Chul frowned as if he’d heard something he hadn’t.
“No.”
“You seem quite friendly.”
Sun replied flatly and turned her attention back to the Tablet. She’d seen the case report more than ten times by now. If Seok Chul bothered to chitchat, he should at least send her a new report. Nursing a grievance that couldn’t reach Tae-o, she swiped the screen again.
Tap, tap, tap. Seok Chul finally stilled his fingers and tucked his Smartphone away. When he resumed speaking, Sun lifted her head.
“Besides that, there’s one piece of good news and one that’s rather grim.”
“That last part was the good news?”
“Well, they cut off Inspector Kwon’s limbs before cutting off yours, so it’s good news of a sort.”
How strange that they thought so similarly. Watching Seok Chul suppress a cough, Sun wondered if she’d inadvertently revealed her own true thoughts.
“Then let’s hear the good news.”
“As I expected you would say.”
Seok Chul shrugged as if he’d anticipated her answer.
“The Jong Chin Hoe schedule has been confirmed. Tomorrow. Gyeong Chun Jeon.”
Tomorrow. Sun’s eyes turned cold.
It had been several days since she’d had an audience with the Emperor. If Tae-o were truly a capable inspector, he would have secured the Autopsy details by now. Discussion of specific methods hadn’t begun yet, but she couldn’t move on her end until Tae-o had made some progress on his.
“That’s rather tight.”
“An Autopsy physician has been secured. The problem is how to transfer the body from the Temporary Mortuary at Su Hak Won Hospital to the National Forensic Service.”
Sun nodded in agreement.
There were doubtless multiple factors contributing to this traffic accident, but insufficient Crown Prince security was a cause that couldn’t be ignored. Because of it, all remaining Crown Prince security detail was stationed throughout Su Hak Won Hospital, and reporters and YouTubers had gathered in scattered clusters hoping to catch a final glimpse of the Crown Prince.
The media could be dismissed as external concerns, but the real problem lay with the Eekwisa guards positioned throughout the hospital.
“I’ll need to meet with the Crown Princess.”
At the thought of the Crown Princess’s face, a dull ache bloomed in her temples. My poor aunt. Since she’d lost her only son, her body and spirit weakened, and she’d existed only in the Imperial darkness like a wilting flower. Now she’d lost her husband as well.
She hadn’t moved a step from the Temporary Mortuary, and she alone was the master of the Eastern Palace with the power to control the Eekwisa.
“The Crown Princess has always cherished you, but—”
“I know it won’t be easy. Uncle isn’t here now, and the Crown Princess is in no state to think clearly.”
Sun rose with a groan. She set the Tablet on the side table and began to pace slowly through her room. The soft sound of her slippers dragging against the floor echoed in the quiet space.
“That really is bad news.”
After pacing back and forth in her modest room a few times as if organizing her thoughts, Sun reached the window and stopped. The warm sunlight, almost scorching, seemed to dissolve her anxious interior.
Seok Chul, watching her, cleared his throat. It was an attempt to clear the air.
“I haven’t mentioned the other piece of bad news yet.”
“That statement right there is the worst part of all.”
Sun leaned against the window frame and muttered. She exhaled a short breath, then tilted her head slightly.
“The topic for this Jong Chin Hoe gathering is related to Succession Rights.”
“What?”
At the unexpected words, Sun’s brow furrowed. Her wrist, supporting herself against the windowsill, tensed.
Succession Rights are the hottest topic drawing attention right now. If word gets out that the Jong Chin Hoe is discussing Succession Rights at this gathering, it’ll draw every ambitious schemer within a hundred miles.
Public interest in the new Imperial Authority will be high too, so the press will descend like vultures. But when it comes to Succession Rights, the matter itself was inherently disadvantageous to me.
“Sun. You’re the one who needs to become Emperor.”
Those words, spoken not long ago, still echoed in my ears. What possible intention could the Empress have had? Why open the Jong Chin Hoe with such a dangerous subject? Why gamble with such risk?
Seok Chul, observing the confusion written across my face, cut in.
“Your Majesty has surely given this thought. Word is that Gong Chin Wang led a delegation—Gyeong Chin Wang, Chang Myeong Gun, Young Chang Gun—all the loyal factions have paid their respects to Your Majesty.”
The Emperor was a seasoned politician. He would never set in motion anything that would disadvantage him. I was simply yet to discern his intent. I pressed my temples with both thumbs and exhaled slowly.
That day, the Emperor’s shocking declaration—I hadn’t breathed a word to anyone. I’d judged my frail parents weren’t ready to hear it yet, and even speaking of it to Seok Chul, my most capable aide, felt too burdensome.
Could I truly become Emperor? Was I the sort of person suited to the throne?
I’d never thought myself the makings of a great Emperor. But one thing was certain: Yi Gu Daegun was not Emperor material.
To stop him, if it came to that…….
Yes. My thoughts could stretch only this far for now. Anything beyond that wasn’t mine to resolve or decide at this moment.
Seok Chul, watching the conflict play across my features, waited a moment. Then, not long after, he brought reality crashing back.
“The news itself that a Jong Chin Hoe session on Succession Rights will be held—it’s not necessarily bad, Your Majesty.”
“What? Then there’s something worse than this?”
“No, rather…… The subject is so sensitive that Yi Jeong Daegun will certainly not attend.”
“Ah. So I have to go.”
I rubbed my forehead and muttered under my breath.
My father, who lacked spine, always avoided confrontation with my second uncle. His absence from the last Jong Chin Hoe session stemmed from that same cowardice.
This time, with a subject as volatile as Succession Rights, he’d be doubly determined to skip—anything to avoid catching stray sparks. But I couldn’t afford to be absent from something this crucial. I had to ensure at least one voice on my side sat in that room and kept matters from flowing entirely as they wished. It was something my father couldn’t be counted on for, and Young Pyeong Do Jeong, the only other person I could trust, held too low a rank. The Emperor had surely made some arrangements of his own, but I too needed to prepare in my own way.

“I need to think this through.”
This Jong Chin Hoe session existed to retrieve the Crown Prince’s body. If I was bound to the session and couldn’t move freely, I’d need a capable ally to help Kwon Tae-o get the body out.
Between the mounting problems closing in on me, my head throbbed with a dull, sticky ache.

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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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