Royal Coup d'État - Chapter 54

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

Episode 54
The detectives shuffled into the office and exchanged greetings. Normally, this space would have belonged to them, but with Seon’s presence, they couldn’t help exchanging uncertain glances.
In the meantime, Seon was able to pick out familiar faces. Unexpectedly, there were two of them.
Tae-o slipped quietly behind Seon and whispered. Each time he spoke, a gentle breeze tickled her hair.
“An specializes in vehicle-related matters, so I put in a special dispatch request, and he was happy to join. However, I couldn’t exclude someone from the Commissioner’s office entirely, so I brought along Yoon—someone I can keep under control.”
Tae-o’s explanation made the situation clear enough.
Even though Yoon always acted sharp-eyed, he seemed to be the type who obeyed power readily, so keeping him nearby wouldn’t be a great loss. He was the perfect card to play in order to bring someone like An, the one who had suggested the vehicle inspection.
Seon’s gaze now fell on the remaining person. A woman detective, scratching the back of her head as if embarrassed, was dragging a metal chair toward them.
The contrast was striking—Seon with her long hair down to her shoulder blades, worn in a half-tie to convey femininity, and this female detective in a blue flight jacket, jeans, and a short cut.
“Ah. Here. I suppose you haven’t met her before.”
As Seon found herself unable to speak at the sight of this woman so different from herself, her lips hovering uselessly in the air, Tae-o smoothly guided the conversation forward. The unfamiliar title he used sounded awkwardly out of place in his somewhat excited tone.
Seon smiled and looked in the direction Tae-o indicated. It was an expression she’d worn countless times, yet the smile that played on her lips felt somehow off.
“Hello!”
She bowed deeply at the waist with bold energy, her manner brisk and lively.
“I’m Gyeongwi Seon Heejoo, and I’ve just joined the Crown Prince Accident Investigation Team!”
“She might look a little scattered, but even though I’ve had her since the Detective Division, her work is sharp and solid.”
With Tae-o’s added explanation, Seon nodded slowly and extended one hand. Heejoo stretched out both arms and grasped Seon’s hand eagerly, then dipped her head in a bow.
“It’s an honor to meet you.”
The role of royalty was multifaceted. Welcoming those citizens who looked upon her with admiration was part of her duty.
Seon swallowed her discomfort and replied with composure.
“The honor is mine. You look about my age, and I hear you’re quite capable too—I’m really looking forward to working with you.”
“Ah. Since you’re twenty-seven, Heejoo is probably a year older.”
Tae-o’s earnest supplementary explanation irritated her for reasons she couldn’t quite understand. Seon’s lips trembled slightly.
Had she been so isolated that she’d only seen Tae-o, cut off as he was? Why did normal interpersonal relationships and communication between other people feel so unfamiliar and uncomfortable? Seon’s smile wavered.
“Come on, let go already. Your hands are going to leave marks on her.”
“I collected your photos so hard when I was young! My grandmother’s a huge fan of the Emperor too. I’ve loved the royal family since childhood, truly.”
“Save the fan talk for your computer at home.”
Tae-o flicked Heejoo’s forehead with his finger. Only then did she release his hand and rub her forehead, leaving Seon unsure what expression to wear.
As Seon watched him joking and teasing with his teammates, her gaze was completely trapped, as if caught in a snare. It was as if she were seeing for the first time that Tae-o was the kind of person who could make that expression. The way he naturally blended in with others, his eyes bright and knowing how to laugh, made him seem like an entirely different person from the Tae-o who’d always been at her side.
The unfamiliar and eye-catching aspects of his behavior kept nagging at her. Not wanting to let her complicated emotions show, Seon forced a smile.
“Shall we start the briefing?”
“Yes.”
He didn’t usually seem particularly perceptive, but Tae-o subtly acted as though he understood what lay beneath Seon’s surface.
After settling the still-gleaming-eyed Heejoo, seating Yoon and An in metal chairs in turn, he pulled over the whiteboard that had been mounted on one wall.
The wheels of the whiteboard rattled over the uneven floor as it approached, filling the office with sound. The pens in the storage compartment clattered noisily against each other.
Yet that noise seemed to calm Seon, who had been unsettled. It was better to keep her mind occupied with work. If too many strange thoughts accumulated, even something going well could go wrong.
“Let’s begin.”
Tae-o, having positioned the whiteboard at the far end opposite Seon, picked up a marker. After spinning the round, short marker around on his finger, he flicked the pen toward An.
“Yes.”
An caught the pen with both hands in a practiced motion, stood, and moved to the front of the whiteboard.
Scratch—
As An set up, Tae-o slowly turned back to Seon, dragged out the chair to his right, and dropped into it. He could have sat in front of the whiteboard.
Tae-o glanced at Seon’s face, then his gaze returned forward. Now she noticed every moment of his attentiveness toward her. She had come to understand that his deliberate return here, protecting her, was his way of showing consideration.
“Let me begin the briefing.”
An started his presentation before Seon could sink into further reverie.
Several photographs were now affixed to the previously blank whiteboard with magnets.
“These photos were taken during the vehicle inspection. The front bumper was severely crumpled, making some things difficult to discern, but we were able to determine other facts clearly.”
An traced circles over the second and third photographs with a red laser pointer, sweeping it back and forth.
“What you’re looking at is the Throttle Valve. It’s the mechanism that operates whenever the accelerator pedal is moved.”
In one of the photos An indicated, the car’s hood was crumpled and hanging half-open; in another, there was a close-up of several metal parts. For Seon, who didn’t even have a driver’s license, figuring out which one was the valve An was describing was a difficult task.
As Seon squinted at the photos, Tae-o leaned toward her.
“There. The round one.”
He lowered his voice to a whisper, careful that no one else would hear. Seon gave a brief nod in thanks.
“There was an abnormality in this Throttle Valve, but it was difficult to determine whether it was caused by the accident. To be safe, we sent the damaged ECU for recovery, and we were able to secure some data.”
An seemed to be making an effort to explain in terms as simple as possible.
Except for Yoon, who came from the same Traffic Division, everyone had only scant knowledge of automobile accidents.
Watching Heejoo raise her hand, ask questions, and take notes provided some reassurance. The last thing she wanted was to sit here alone looking foolish.
“Through analysis of the recovered data—specifically the Throttle Opening Rate and Pedal Input Record—we confirmed that the Engine RPM was abnormally elevated and sustained at the time of the accident.”
“So the collision with the truck wasn’t a coincidence at all?”
Heejoo raised her hand again and posed the question. An nodded, confirming her inference.
“That’s correct. The engine RPM was already abnormal before the collision with the truck, and it shows a consistently increasing trend. Furthermore, if you look at this photograph, you can see that the Brake Line has been severed. We can’t rule out the possibility that the accident caused it, but……in this situation, that would be the less likely scenario.”
A red laser pointer traced toward the photograph affixed to the edge of the Whiteboard.
Under the sudden flood of information, Heejoo’s mind lost its grip. Even though the explanation had been simplified, unfamiliar terms still swirled through her head in chaotic torrents.
Tae-o’s gaze fell on Heejoo’s hand, which clutched the pen but scarcely moved. After studying her for a moment, Tae-o tapped the desk firmly, drawing everyone’s attention back to the matter at hand.
“So you’re saying a vehicle kept accelerating due to a Throttle Valve malfunction, met the truck head-on, and even if the driver wanted to brake, the severed Brake Line made it impossible to stop?”
Tae-o’s summary was lean and direct. The jumbled information stacked neatly into place, and suddenly it all clicked in Heejoo’s mind.
“Yes, precisely.”
An nodded.
Heejoo stared at Tae-o’s face for a moment, then pressed the capped end of her pen against the back of her hand, sharpening her focus. This was the moment when the thread of the Crown Prince Accident might finally unravel.
Her wandering thoughts snapped back to the detectives’ exchange when she caught something Tae-o said under his breath.
“What if, anticipating that the driver would try to avoid the collision no matter what, someone deliberately severed the Brake Line beforehand?”
Color drained from Heejoo’s face in an instant. Thump-thump. Her heartbeat thundered so violently it deafened her ears.
Methodical. Merciless. It echoed something she had witnessed twenty years before.

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