The 21st Century Grand Grand Duchess in the Royal Academy - Chapter 28

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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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A Twenty-First Century Grand Duchess in the Royal Academy
New Face
While the entire nation celebrated the birth of the King’s firstborn son, I was drowning in the swamp of overtime work, my mind elsewhere.
Two years ago, I had joined Castle Electronics as a regular employee, and recently I had declared my independence. I requested that the beauty business be separated into its own subsidiary so I could develop it further.
I had come to realize that it was difficult to demonstrate my abilities at Castle Electronics, where my father’s trusted executives were entrenched.
Watching my father move people without exerting himself, I thought: I too need people who will become my hands and feet.
That’s why I was poring over resumes late into the night, searching for talent who would help me build a kingdom called Castle Beauty.
After selecting a few promising candidates to interview personally, I picked up a red colored pencil and made my own marks.
An X meant they were hopeless—no intention to meet them. A triangle meant they were ambiguous—no intention to meet them. A checkmark meant I was uncertain but willing to meet them.
Out of hundreds of resumes, I would personally review only the dozens that the HR team had filtered. Among those, only nine people received checkmarks.
“What does the star mark mean?”
Go Team Leader from HR asked carefully. Out of the dozens of resumes, only one bore a star mark.
“Oh, that’s Jang-won.”
“Pardon?”
“It means I’m eager to see them. I’m curious about them.”
“Ah, I understand.”
And so I decided to meet with ten applicants.
But most of the applicants I met with such anticipation were disappointing. If they lacked experience, I would have hoped they at least had guts, but most people couldn’t give proper answers to my questions.
Those with extensive experience were also problematic. They couldn’t hide the nuance of looking down on me as a young representative. It was as if they thought I was merely a figurehead and that they would be the ones making crucial decisions.
Many others harbored different intentions—the desire to use Castle Beauty as a stepping stone to move to other subsidiaries of Castle Group. I couldn’t say that was wrong, but they weren’t the people I needed.
As I grew weary, the final applicant appeared. Dressed in a suit but wearing sneakers—
“Hello, I’m Do Hye-jung.”
She was the person I had marked with a star.
“You graduated this year.”
I smiled as I reviewed Hye-jung’s record of graduating from an Ivy League school with high honors.
“But why did you come back? It seems like you could have worked in America.”
The typical answer to such a question would be about vision—something like wanting to apply skills developed abroad to one’s home country.
But Hye-jung’s answer was somewhat impressive.
“Because you’re here.”
“Me?”
“Yes, CEO Sung Hee-joo.”
My eyes sparkled with interest.
“I’m not that famous a person.”
“You are famous. As the mad dog of Castle Group.”
…
My eyes, which had been smiling, turned lethal. Go Team Leader, sitting beside me, broke into a cold sweat, unsure what to do.
“Go Team Leader.”
“Yes, CEO.”
“Leave.”
“Yes, CEO. Do Hye-jung! Why aren’t you getting up already?”
“No!”
“Yes, yes?”
“Do Hye-jung stays. Go Team Leader, you leave.”
Go Team Leader looked at Hye-jung with sympathy, but finding no other way to help her, he rose from his seat.
With only Hye-jung remaining, I resumed the interview.
“Is being famous as a mad dog your reason for applying?”
“I said my reason was that the CEO is here.”
I raised my eyebrows and burst into laughter.
“Then let’s hear it. Why does my presence here become your reason for applying?”
“America still has racial discrimination.”
Hye-jung continued in a measured voice.
“And among them, Asian women are the easiest targets.”
“….”
“There are only two ways to fight back against that. Be trampled or bite back.”
“You bit back?”
“Yes.”
Hye-jung nodded with confidence as she answered.
“You really hate losing, don’t you?”
“Very much.”
“So you wouldn’t mind if I did something crazy to win?”
“If it’s a method to win… wouldn’t it be acceptable?”
Watching Hye-jung answer with a completely serious face, I smiled with satisfaction. She said every sentence on her resume appealed to her—she was from my year.
“Then let me ask one last thing.”
“Yes.”
“I have a terrible personality. Would that be okay? I don’t want to waste my affection on someone who’ll quit because they can’t handle it.”
This time too, Hye-jung grew thoughtful without a hint of a smile.
“Do I perhaps look like I have a good personality?”
At that innocent question, I couldn’t suppress my laughter. Not only did she not back down in front of me, but she even had excellent self-awareness. I couldn’t help but want her.
“You’re hired.”
Though the decision seemed somewhat impulsive, Hye-jung showed no surprise whatsoever. As if she’d known this would happen, she simply asked without emotion, “When should I start?”
From then on, Secretary Do was always by my side.
“Yoon, stop crying now.”
Yoon Irang repeated her attempts to soothe the child. The crying of an infant not yet a hundred days old was so relentless it felt like her ears would bleed.
“Queen Consort, might I hold the child?”
The Father-in-law, watching his daughter struggle, extended his arms. The child who had refused to stop crying gradually settled in his embrace.
“Young Master Wan seems to recognize his grandfather.”
“I’m grateful he recognizes his father at least.”
Though exasperated that her son didn’t recognize his own mother, Yoon Irang’s face never lost its smile.
Even as she did her utmost to become a perfect queen consort, she had always feared she might not produce an heir. Though she knew it wasn’t something effort alone could accomplish, the anxiety remained.
And then came Wan. The birth of the one who had completely soothed Yoon Irang’s anxious heart.
“How has Your Majesty been faring of late?”
Father-in-law ventured the question with careful deliberation. Hwan’s demeanor upon hearing news of the child had been a beacon of hope for every Palace Maid, including Yoon Irang. In truth, Hwan had demonstrated markedly positive changes across numerous fronts.
Each day he made effort to expose himself to sunlight for a set duration, and he strove not to neglect his prescribed medicines. The frequency of his drinking had visibly diminished. Even Yoon Irang, who harbored no expectations of Hwan whatsoever, found herself moved by his dedication.
Thus everyone within the Palace believed: the child soon to be born was surely a blessing incarnate.
Yet the moment the infant arrived, circumstances veered toward an unforeseen direction. More precisely, it began the instant the word “Crown Prince” was spoken. Unlike a century prior, the Royal Family kept no secondary consorts—a fact taken for granted, which proved to be the crux of the problem.
When Yoon Irang’s brothers began calling Yoon the Crown Prince, Hwan—
“It is I who shall determine whether my son possesses the mettle to become king.”
He answered with a chill that bordered on humiliation. And with that, everything unraveled once more. Like a sandcastle painstakingly constructed only to crumble, the descent was precipitous.
“It is not well.”
Yoon Irang shook her head in reply. Since bearing Yoon, Hwan had visited the Central Palace daily; now, for several days, he had ceased to appear. The numerous authorities of the Central Palace that had been transferred to the Crown Prince Residence under the pretext of requiring rest during pregnancy had yet to be restored.
“Would it not be wise for Her Majesty to petition him directly?”
“It would only breed resentment.”
“No man abandons the woman who has borne his child.”
“Your Majesty is a king before he is a man.”
“Her Majesty is the mother of the heir before she is a woman.”
“….”
As Yoon Irang fell silent, bereft of words, Father-in-law returned the infant to her arms. The sleeping child’s face was serene.
“Reclaim all the authorities that have been placed under the Crown Prince Residence. Her Majesty’s power shall become the heir’s power.”
“….”
Yoon Irang’s expression darkened. At that very moment, she recalled Hwan’s drunken words about ceding the throne to Prince An.

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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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