Royal Coup d'État - Chapter 42

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

Chapter 42
Gyeong-an Gun’s face drained of color. He knew well enough that he was no help to his father—he could barely manage his own affairs.
The Royal Kinship Council meeting? He’d attended only because his father dragged him there, and he hadn’t really paid attention. From the midpoint onward, he’d been dozing against a pillar in the corner, so he had no idea what conclusion had been reached.
Gyeong-an Gun’s throat began to tremble. Across the way, even Seon could see his adam’s apple bobbing visibly. Disapproving of such meekness, Ui-gu Dae-gun’s eyebrows shot upward like mountains and tilted askew.
The Emperor, who had orchestrated this whole affair, wore nothing but a smug smile.
“Gyeong-an Gun?”
The Emperor called him again. Gyeong-an Gun forced his dull, unfocused eyes to brighten as he looked toward his father. But before his effort could take hold, the Empress added a word.
“I hear it would be best to get Min’s thoughts on this. Was there anything unusual at the Royal Kinship Council meeting?”
When both grandparents turned their questions toward him, cold sweat began trickling down Gyeong-an Gun’s temples.
“I, well… that is…”
The more Gyeong-an Gun’s words trailed off, the uglier Ui-gu Dae-gun’s expression became. If the boy had been the main character of this story, he would have spun out honeyed words long ago with ease—but sadly, his son lacked such talent.
Min’s eyes, which had been darting left and right in search of help, finally fixed on Seon. Watching Seon shrug so casually, Min’s face crumpled with distress.
His older brother lacked responsibility and refused to acknowledge obligation, but he rarely showed sharp edges. Seon smiled subtly.
“Brother seems to have difficulty remembering things. How inconvenient.”
“You made a special effort to attend court to observe the meeting, didn’t you? When I look at Gyeong-an Gun like this, he truly shows no wit at all.”
As the Empress clicked her tongue, Ui-gu Dae-gun’s head whipped toward Seon. Perhaps unable to actually glare at his mother, he leveled a look at Seon bristling with lethal intent.
“Wasn’t Gyeong-an Gun merely attending in an observer’s capacity?”
In the end, unable to ignore his son’s desperate plea for help, Ui-gu Dae-gun opened his mouth.
This time, neither the Emperor nor Empress blocked him. Just as Ui-gu Dae-gun possessed skill in charming people with words, so too did the Emperor and Empress understand when to gracefully step back.
“What I wish to convey is the stability of the Imperial House. We must not allow greater chaos in this sudden situation following my elder brother’s passing, must we?”
Ui-gu Dae-gun spread both arms forward, then placed one hand upon his chest and spoke with affecting sincerity. It was nauseating.
As Seon watched this display, she felt eyes upon her once more. The Emperor’s.
‘So Grandfather truly means to use this gathering as a test.’
“Since you mentioned chaos from the beginning of the meeting, might I ask you a question?”
‘If this is what Grandfather wants. If I can protect the Imperial House from Ui-gu Dae-gun with this single act. If I can seize the Imperial Throne thereby.’
Seon spoke gently. At merely one remark from his niece, Ui-gu Dae-gun lost his composure, his eyes opening with savage ferocity.
“I told you not to interrupt adult conversation!”
“Now, now!”
The Empress’s reproof followed. From a body that was tall but slender for a woman her age came a voice far deeper and more commanding than one would expect—and Ui-gu Dae-gun snapped his mouth shut. Yet he did not withdraw gracefully. His gaze toward Seon remained poisonous.
“Where is this child out of place? Everyone here is grown, and every person here is qualified.”
“Your Majesty!”
“Make less of a fuss. You’re giving me a headache.”
The Empress exhaled a shallow breath and pressed her palm to her forehead. As she squeezed her eyes shut and furrowed her brow, the Emperor’s eyes narrowed as well.
Even as both parents made their displeasure plain, Ui-gu Dae-gun still seemed aggrieved. It was perhaps that he was the one scolded when it was the two of them who had bickered.
Even as Seon felt the weight of that stare, she smiled serenely. She even popped a mandarin segment into her mouth and chewed deliberately, visibly delighted at watching Ui-gu Dae-gun’s smile grow ever more twisted.
“Please do not take my loyalty lightly.”
Ui-gu Dae-gun spoke with glistening eyes, as though he were the tragic hero in some tale. He had mocked actresses’ daughters for relying on pretty faces and acting out of turn—yet his own performance was far more skilled.
“Is this not a matter on which the State and Ancestral Shrine depends?”
“If we don’t quickly appoint the next Crown Prince, will the ancestral shrine and state altar crumble? Is heaven itself angered so that earthquakes strike and tidal waves drown our nation?”
Under normal circumstances, she would not provoke him to this degree. But with Grandfather and Grandmother’s silent approval, there was nothing she could not do.
Moreover, the two of them seemed to be watching Ui-gu Dae-gun’s irritation with evident enjoyment. Since only her parents seemed uncomfortable in this gathering, there was all the less to hold her back.
Seon wished to show something.
That the small child who alone survived that accident had grown into this. That she would never meekly surrender the Imperial Throne to her uncle.
And that she would see shackles placed on those filthy hands that took away her beloved person, whatever the cost.
“If we rush to appoint the next successor and unsavory rumors arise instead, what then?”
“Rumors, you say?”
Seon smiled brightly and brought one finger to rest upon her lips. With elegance as fresh and delicate as a cherry blossom newly bloomed, even the anxiously fidgeting Ui-jeong Dae-gun and his wife found their eyes drawn to their daughter.
“The rumor that the Imperial House has something to hide, and therefore is not even mourning the Crown Prince, only hastily disposing of the matter.”
Boom.
As if a great stone had fallen upon Hyangwon Pavilion, a tremendous sound reverberated. Ui-gu Dae-gun had struck the table with his fist.
Ui-jeong Dae-gun and his wife, as well as the Emperor and Empress themselves, felt their pupils dilate to their limits. The sound waves resonating through the sudden silence made it seem as though only Ui-gu Dae-gun and Seon existed in this space, isolating them from all else.
Ui-gu Dae-gun’s lips quivered as he appeared to suppress words wanting to spill out.
Seon’s uncle was such a person. Though he appeared light as air, his calculations were sharper than anyone’s. Even now, with fury blazing across his features, he was no fool unable to guard his tongue before his parents.
“Your visits to the Police Bureau have only honed your gift for slander.”
“Slander, you say? I merely concern myself with the voice of the common people.”
‘If you flinch now, won’t that be an admission of your guilt?’
Watching the niece regard him with such bright, clear eyes, Ui-gu Dae-gun revealed nothing of his thoughts. He stared at Seon with eyes grown dark and heavy with shadow.
“Should the Imperial Succession carry even a single disqualifying reason, will the reign of the next successor run smooth? I too simply wish to prevent chaos in the Imperial House.”
“Stabilizing that position quickly is how we protect the Imperial House.”
Between Ui-gu Dae-gun and Seon, invisible sparks flew. A gap that would never be bridged. And at the Emperor’s lips, the corners rose slightly upward.
“The Crown Prince’s Posthumous Name hasn’t even been decided yet.”
“That can be settled quickly enough.”
“The Crown Princess still holds her position as Crown Princess. First, we must observe proper courtesy toward my predecessor.”
“We should discuss and settle the treatment of the former Crown Princess as soon as possible.”
“How can we observe proper courtesy by rushing through it like that? No one is chasing us from behind, and I don’t even see a reason why we should.”
“Whether you understand or not hardly matters.”
Ui-gu Dae-gun spoke with the tone of one shutting down argument. Seon merely shrugged her shoulders without the slightest concern. It was only her parents who seemed to read the room in that moment. Even Gyeong-an Gun merely watched the two of them clash with interest, showing no particular anxiety—as if he’d resigned himself to letting things unfold as they would, and he wasn’t especially taking his father’s side either.
“Ahem.”
It was the Emperor who brought the sparring to an end.
Seon quickly closed her mouth and offered a composed smile. A hollow laugh escaped from Ui-gu Dae-gun’s direction, followed by the sound of muttering, though she paid it no mind.
“I have personally determined the Crown Prince’s Posthumous Name.”
“How wonderful. To think that you yourself composed it, Father—your brother will be overjoyed.”
Believing that the Emperor had taken his side, Ui-gu Dae-gun’s cheekbones rose visibly.
Seon watched the Emperor’s face in silence. The smile from moments before had vanished, replaced by an expression of perfect composure.
Yet there must have been a reason for mentioning the Crown Prince’s Posthumous Name at this particular moment. Seon fixed her gaze on her grandfather, searching for that reason.
“I intend to announce the Posthumous Name tomorrow through a press conference. It is, after all, an essential procedure for the Crown Prince’s funeral.”
“A most discerning judgment, Your Majesty.”
Believing that his father would move according to his wishes, Ui-gu Dae-gun replied with uncharacteristic meekness.
For the briefest instant, Seon felt the corners of the Emperor’s mouth tremble slightly. What came next would be the true matter at hand. She straightened her posture and leaned in to listen.
“Tomorrow the British Crown Prince departs. You, Gyu, will take charge of his farewell. We wouldn’t want the distinguished guest to feel uncomfortable from having different people attending him on the way out, so see that everything is handled properly.”
“Yes, Father!”
Ui-gu Dae-gun answered in a bright voice. His tone was remarkably cheerful, as if he’d become a seven-year-old child.
“And the press conference…….”
The Emperor’s head turned slowly. With his movement, the eyes of Ui-gu Dae-gun and the others followed. At the end of that gathered gaze stood none other than Seon.
Seon did not flinch beneath the eyes bearing down on her. Living as a member of the royal house had taught her this posture: never show weakness in any circumstance. Especially when faced with enemies, one must always appear composed.
“Do you think you can manage it?”
“If you entrust it to me, I will undertake anything.”
Seon answered in an unwavering voice. A resolve rang through her words—a vow that no trial would break her.

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