Royal Coup d'État - Chapter 38

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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 38
The British delegation had kept Prince Ui-gu’s attention so thoroughly that two days had passed without incident, but the remaining time loomed as a problem.
For some reason, Tae-o hadn’t reached out since the conference. All Jo Seon could do was check her Mobile Phone at intervals, waiting for notifications that would never come.
At least the turmoil inside the palace had quieted somewhat. As if something momentous was gathering on the horizon, neither her father nor mother had sought her out since that day’s storm had passed.
According to the palace attendants at Byeol-gung Palace, her mother had been going back and forth to the hospital to assist the Crown Prince’s consort, while her father—though he had duties of his own—seemed preoccupied with running about here and there.
Neither of them was particularly passionate about Imperial Court matters, though, so they might simply be wandering intentionally to distract themselves.
Either way, it suited Jo Seon. She had no desire to invite further trouble.
“For this quarter’s budget surplus, have it transferred to the orphanages. Though with the funeral, I doubt much will remain.”
“Yes. It seems we’ll have little left compared to last quarter. Since it may be tight to send to all our regular donation recipients, I thought we might want to review the list.”
“If we give to some and not others, it will look odd. Even if the amount is small, I think it’s best to divide what we can among all of them.”
As Jo Seon finished speaking, the chief administrator of Prince Ui-gu’s household bowed and withdrew, saying he would return with revised documents.
“Sigh……”
Even during the National Mourning Period, Jo Seon’s duties remained unchanged.
Her mother, an actress by training, had never been particularly skilled at managing a royal household. Her father, unwilling to pressure someone without talent, had passed the management of domestic affairs to Jo Seon once she came of age.
Since she had always taken it for granted, it wasn’t difficult—but at times like these, when there was so much else to worry about, it felt somewhat heavy. Jo Seon stretched and sighed again.
Buzz. Buzz.
As if someone were watching her compose herself, her Mobile Phone began to vibrate. She quickly straightened her posture and brightened the screen.
[Tae-o]
The saved contact name flashed urgently across the incoming call notification. The corners of Jo Seon’s mouth lifted slightly.
“Mm.”
She loosened her throat, which had somehow grown tight, and took a sip of the water before her. The clear, cool liquid soothed her throat.
After taking a deep breath, Jo Seon lightly pressed the answer button.
“Hello.”
―Could I see you for a moment?
Tae-o’s voice came through urgently at her response.
Something’s wrong. Jo Seon bit her lip.
“All right.”
―I think it would be best to meet quietly. I’ll send you the address.
After the brief exchange, Tae-o hastily ended the call. The ear that held the phone was now filled only with silence.
* * *
Jo Jeon-wi had gone to pick up an outfit for tomorrow’s Imperial Court banquet, and all the trusted attendants, including the nursemaid, had remained in Jincheon.
Under normal circumstances, she would never venture out alone in such a situation. But in her haste, she’d spoken without considering the circumstances—and she had no intention of retracting her words. She refused to be treated as the sort of royalty who couldn’t move about without someone’s help.
“We’ve arrived.”
Jo Seon stepped out of the taxi in jeans, a gray hoodie, and a black baseball cap pulled low over her head. As the orange taxi pulled away from the parking lot, she looked up at the apartment building.
An old, weathered apartment complex that looked to be at least thirty years old. The address Tae-o had sent her was nowhere she had ever expected to go.
‘Even so, calling me to his own home is a bit much, isn’t it?’
She thought this as she walked toward the building he’d indicated. There had certainly been impulse in coming all the way here. If Jo Jeon-wi found out about this, she’d have a fit.
And if she were photographed visiting a man’s home alone like this, it would be a major scandal. Though, given that the Imperial Court tended to marry young, if the article broke, the adults would probably welcome whispers about a twenty-seven-year-old’s prospects. Still.
She didn’t like the thought of becoming embroiled in a scandal involving Tae-o. Jo Seon gripped the brim of her cap and pressed it lower as she ventured deeper in. Cameras were everywhere these days.
For a building of its age, the elevator moved swiftly. Sixth floor. The top floor of a six-story building.
“Phew.”
Standing before the apartment Tae-o had indicated, Jo Seon took a deep breath. Even knowing there was no one around, she glanced nervously about. Once she’d steeled herself, she pressed the doorbell long and hard.
Ding—
Before the bell had even finished ringing properly, she heard the electronic lock disengage from inside.
The Tae-o who appeared in the suddenly opened doorway looked far lighter than usual. Dressed in matching gray sweatpants and hoodie, he quietly opened the door wider and stepped aside to let her in.
The moment Jo Seon removed her shoes in the entryway, he closed the door and strode across to the living room before she’d even changed into slippers. His manner was hardly that of a host. Urgent, rather.
The answer was waiting in the living room. A few documents laid across a glass table—she could sense their significance.
“I should offer you something to drink.”
Uncertain where to begin, he moved his feet restlessly back and forth. Yet his gaze remained fixed on the documents on the table.
Jo Seon walked slowly into the living room and sank onto the leather sofa. She removed the cap that had been pressed low against her face, leaving a faint imprint on her forehead. She fiddled with the mark as she set the cap beside her.
“Never mind. Why don’t we talk about what’s urgent?”
“Yes, let’s.”
Tae-o answered crisply and reversed course from the kitchen, stopping beside the sofa where she sat. He picked up one of the documents. The thin paper trembled slightly in his fingers.
The answer’s in there. Jo Seon’s eyes gleamed as she took the paper he offered.
“Detailed test results……”
Reading the name printed at the top, Jo Seon methodically began to scan through the findings.
Much of it was written in symbols and medical terminology difficult for her to parse.
But there was one part she could read clearly. As her eyes took in those characters one by one, her face filled with shock.
“This—what does this mean?”
“Just as well I didn’t bring you that drink. If you’d been sipping while reading, you might have choked.”
“Inspector Tae-o. Just a moment.”
Jo Jeon-wi’s bewildered gaze dropped back to the paper. She read it again and again, but the words never changed.
The meaning of the letters written there was unmistakable. Her heart hammered so violently she could hear nothing else. She clutched her chest with her free hand.
Tae-o leaned against the armrest of the sofa and reached over to take the autopsy results back from her. Only the brief touch of his calloused palm against her soft fingers anchored her to reality.
“Please, try to stay calm and listen.”
Tae-o’s voice dropped lower than usual, heavier with gravity. That deep resonance that seemed to weigh down the entire room was familiar yet different from the side of him she knew. It was a sign that the situation was grave.
“We found a positive drug reaction in the Crown Prince’s body.”
“So that means the psychoactive drug written here…….”
“It’s a type of sedative. It’s primarily administered to patients with high anxiety, but it’s also used as an anesthetic.”
Tae-o continued his explanation calmly, glancing at her repeatedly as if worried she might become agitated.
To honor his effort, Jo Jeon-wi tried to steady herself. But as his account lengthened, her breath only grew more ragged.
“While anesthetics do involve medication, it’s extremely unusual for such a high concentration to remain in a deceased person’s body. Judging from the blood test results alone—they exceeded the recommended daily dose for an adult male—it’s possible that far greater amounts were administered at the time.”
“Then when the incident occurred, my uncle…….”
“He would have been unconscious. Even if he had been awake, all his tissues, including muscle, would have become insensitive. He would have had no way to escape.”
She bit down hard on her lip to suppress the tears that threatened to spill over. Jo Jeon-wi drew a shaky breath and tightened her abdomen.
“How could this. How could…….”
She had been certain that once the autopsy results came back, she could defeat Prince Ui-gu. Perhaps she had found the answer she was looking for.
But she had not anticipated that the Crown Prince’s death would hurt this much. It was unbearable. The Imperial Court sickened her.
Tae-o regarded her with an inscrutable expression for a moment, then exhaled slowly and deeply.
For all her attempts at strength, she looked like a drenched sparrow. When he saw her shoulders trembling faintly, he felt a sudden urge to hold her and comfort her.
Royals—the kind who took their place atop others for granted, who lorded over the world with smug certainty. Yet she, positioned in such a place, was breaking down before him, her emotions laid bare and raw. Seeing her crumble brought him no satisfaction whatsoever.
Tae-o extended his arm and placed his palm over the back of her hand. They were not so close that he could hold her and soothe her, but surely they had come far enough for this small comfort? He pressed her fist gently into his palm.
“I am truly sorry.”
Even Tae-o’s clumsy reassurance helped her. As if his austere, sometimes cool comfort were the only rope anchoring her to the world, Jo Jeon-wi did not let go of his hand.

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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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