I tried calling Joo Minhyuk again, but he still didn’t answer.
The phone, which had at least been ringing before, now only played a woman’s automated voice stating that the subscriber could not be reached.
The hand gripping my phone trembled violently.
Just then, Hyunwook, who had been scouting outside, rushed back in.
“The atmosphere outside is strange, Haejoo.”
“You need to get out of here right now.”
I pushed Hyunwook’s back, urging him toward the exit.
Hyunwook knit his brows and turned back to look at me.
“What’s wrong with you? Where do you expect me to go? I’m telling you the situation out there is bizarre. There’s no way I’m leaving you behind…”
“That’s exactly why I’m telling you to leave! Something is definitely wrong. I can’t reach His Majesty at all. You heard what that old man said earlier. It… it feels wrong. That man has clearly done something.”
“If you already know that, how can you tell me to go anywhere? Leaving you behind.”
“That is exactly why you have to leave!”
I raised my voice at Hyunwook, who kept insisting on staying.
He had to leave now.
My grandfather, who hadn’t shown his face even once, suddenly entered the palace the moment Joo Minhyuk was gone.
To make matters worse, Joo Minhyuk is currently unreachable, and my grandfather heavily implied that something has happened to him.
My heart was pounding and the uncertainty was suffocating, but I knew I had to save the person next to me first.
I had to get Hyunwook out of the palace.
I was desperate for news about both Joo Minhyuk and Hyung, but I needed to handle what was within my power first.
I would dismiss the court servants from my quarters, send Hyunwook away, and only then think about my own safety.
Understanding the gravity of my words, Hyunwook’s face contorted into a deep grimace.
I didn’t care if he was upset. He had to leave if he wanted to live.
“You should still be able to leave right now. You aren’t royalty. Once you’re out, go straight to your parents.”
“I’m not leaving you.”
“You have to! You said yourself the atmosphere is strange! I know it too, everything is incredibly bizarre right now! Go out and look after your family. And you need to take care of Seojoo once you’re out, right? I just have a terrible feeling about this. I don’t think you’ll be able to leave tomorrow.”
At my warning that he might not be able to escape by tomorrow, Hyunwook looked at me and collapsed onto the sofa.
Watching him sit there with his head in his hands, a sense of urgency washed over me.
Though nothing was confirmed and I had no idea what my grandfather had done, one thing was absolutely certain: staying with me would put Hyunwook in grave danger.
“Haejoo. I am your bodyguard. Privately, we are friends, but publicly, I was tasked with the personal security of the Daebin Palace, and His Majesty explicitly ordered me to take utmost care of you. I am going to uphold that order. I will fulfill my duty.”
“Kang Hyunwook!”
Frustrated, I yelled at him.
I wanted him to be safe more than I wanted him to protect me.
Nothing was more important to me than that.
It was impossible to say that Hyunwook’s death in our past life was entirely unrelated to me.
Back then, I had influenced his demise and left him to meet his end all alone.
That knowledge had always lingered as a heavy burden on my conscience, which was why I wanted to treat him better and cared for him so deeply in this life.
I couldn’t let him die like that again.
In this life, he was born as the loved and cherished son of a prominent, wealthy family.
His future was bound to be brilliant, and above all, he had met Seojoo.
He could love freely here without having to walk on eggshells like in our past life.
That was the kind of life I wanted Hyunwook to live.
As for me, even if it was short-lived, I had received so much love and been so truly happy that I wondered if it was even possible to feel this at peace.
Those memories alone were enough.
Any problems that followed could be figured out slowly after sending Hyunwook away.
I just needed to find out what happened to Joo Minhyuk, the Empress Dowager, and everyone who had accompanied them.
But of all times, the person who had seized control of the palace at this very moment was my grandfather, and unfortunately, it seemed he had no intention of leaving me in peace.
That was precisely why Hyunwook had to leave. So that he could live.
“Haejoo. Seojoo will live his own life. There must be a reason why he doesn’t remember us. Right now, you are more important to me. If I return without fulfilling my duties, my father will absolutely furious, but even putting that aside, I am going to protect you no matter what.”
“…I think Grandfather did something to His Majesty. I don’t know if his life is in immediate danger or if he’s just injured, but the fact remains that he is currently in peril.”
Without a word, Hyunwook walked over to the window to scan the outside. His expression was unusually solemn. After observing the grounds for a moment, he turned around slowly and spoke in a very low voice.
“I think you’re right; something definitely seems to have happened to His Majesty. He had been quite tense lately. Just as you pointed out, he mentioned that the Prime Minister’s movements were far too quiet. That’s why he planned to dig into it properly after wrapping up the Empress Dowager’s schedule in the United States.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. But I didn’t expect him to just openly march into the palace like this. Think about it. His Majesty released articles about going to the States and cleared his schedule. He left alongside the Empress Dowager. A week after his departure, the Prime Minister shows up, and His Majesty is unreachable.”
Hyunwook explained, carefully piecing together the timeline of events.
“Since he left four days after the articles about his departure were published, that gave the Prime Minister more than enough time to plot something.”
‘More than enough time to plot something.’
My grandfather had been constantly watching for an opportunity like a hawk, and he had seized the perfect moment.
He wasn’t the type to just sit quietly.
It was highly likely he had mapped out Joo Minhyuk’s schedule well in advance.
In this vast palace, among so many people, could it be that there wasn’t a single person on the Prime Minister’s side?
Just as Hyunwook said, whether he plotted it upon hearing the news of the departure or orchestrated it through a spy, it was blatantly obvious that the Prime Minister was behind this.
“What do you think Grandfather meant by what he said earlier?”
“Which part? That the Emperor has to be alive for him to either cherish you or abandon you?”
“Yeah. If that old man really caused an incident, what is his plan for what comes next? I mean, regarding the vacant throne. Is he aiming for the Emperor’s seat himself? A man who already has one foot in the grave?”
Yes.
Given his foul disposition, let’s assume he found Joo Minhyuk an eyesore and had him killed.
What did he intend to do after that?
Had he actually calculated his next move?
“Either the Prime Minister takes the vacant throne himself, or he installs a puppet. It’s one of the two. It would take quite a long time to prepare for either, though.”
If the Emperor is absent, an emergency system is activated.
Government affairs are handled accordingly.
Does he plan to make his choice during that period?
At any rate, his devious, wretched intentions were impossible to fathom.
The only certain thing was that I wouldn’t be making it out of here alive.
“But why is it so eerily quiet, as if nothing is happening? For someone attempting to seize power by watching for an opportunity… it’s impossible to know what that old man is thinking.”
Indeed.
It was far too quiet.
Perhaps my grandfather intended to handle everything in complete secrecy to quietly claim his prize.
“Maybe he intends to follow the official procedures first. Since His Majesty is away, the Prime Minister—who essentially acts as the Prime Minister of the State—will become the acting authority. Next, he will look for His Majesty’s royal signet and the state seal. Whether through forging documents or something else, once the royal signet is pressed, the subsequent steps won’t be difficult. Then, after securing the palace, the entire country will…”
My voice trailed off as I rattled off events that sounded like a novel as if they concerned someone else.
Whether the Emperor was dead or alive, things absolutely could not go according to that old man’s wishes.
It occurred to me that the real reason that man had entered the palace might be because of the royal signet.
The Emperor’s personal signet, the ‘Oksae’, and the state seal, the ‘Guksae’.
These were the most crucial seals used when royal approval was required for laws and the constitution.
Pressing the royal signet was equivalent to issuing an executive order for bills passed by the National Assembly and the ruling party.
In the Republic of Korea where I used to live, the head of state would sign and the state seal would be affixed, but here, the state seal is applied first and the final royal signet is used to validate it.
That was how monumentally important those items were.
But where on earth were they right now?
There was no way Joo Minhyuk would travel with them in his possession.
There must be a safe, but no one except the Emperor knows its location.
I obviously had no idea, and as far as I knew, even the Empress Dowager was kept in the dark.
Perhaps Chief Court Attendant Kim Yul might know?
The old man had likely come to locate it.
I had to find it before the Prime Minister could get his hands on it.
“Haejoo. Shouldn’t we first find out what kind of state His Majesty is currently in?”
“I can’t get through to his phone. It was ringing at least, but now it’s completely turned off. I know which hospital in the US he went to, but…”
“Then let’s try contacting them directly.”
BOOM!
Just then, a tremendous crash reverberated through the air, followed by the piercing screams of the court ladies outside my quarters.
As Hyunwook jumped to his feet in front of me, startled by the sudden explosion, the sound of multiple footsteps approaching simultaneously echoed from a distance.
Someone was heading directly this way. Was the Prime Minister returning?
Who was he bringing with him this time?
I tried my best to appear unfazed, but my heart hammered violently against my ribs as cold sweat broke out across my skin.
The sheer lack of information about the current situation only amplified my terror.
If only I could know for certain what kind of crisis had struck and what the exact situation was.
Therefore, no matter who was coming through those doors, I intended to demand a clear explanation of the situation.
The footsteps that had charged toward my quarters—sounding as though they would smash everything to pieces at any moment—abruptly halted outside, and a voice called out to me.
“Your Highness Daebin Palace. I have a matter to discuss with you. I would be grateful if you could spare me a moment of your time.”
Hyunwook shifted into an even more defensive stance at the sound of that gruff male voice.
Watching his tense silhouette from behind, I took a step forward.
“Haejoo!”
“It’s fine. Just follow behind me.”
Strangely enough, the fear began to melt away.
My pounding heart and trembling hands steadied themselves, as if regaining perfect composure.
To survive this, I had to remain more rational than ever before.
I had to stay alive to discover what had become of Joo Minhyuk.
As the Emperor’s sole consort, I was currently the highest-ranking individual present in this palace.
Bearing my position in mind, I refused to let myself show even a single tremor of fear.
