“Go wait in my bedroom.”
“What kind of nonsense is that? There’s no telling what the Prime Minister might do.”
Hyunwook practically leaped to his feet at my instruction to go into the room.
However, if Hyunwook remained here, it would be difficult to draw out my grandfather’s raw agitation.
I intended to carefully needle the old man to gauge his reaction and uncover the truth.
Whenever my grandfather flew into a rage at me, his true intentions slipped out.
Should I call it the moment he unmasks himself?
At any rate, when it was just the two of us, he was uniquely violent and reckless.
His hidden nature always surfaced in front of me.
Because to him, I was insignificant and an easy target.
Moreover, now that Joo Minhyuk was gone and I was left entirely on my own after acting so bold under the Emperor’s protection, the old man would be thrilled to gloat and expose his true colors.
I had to use that moment to find out if he had truly harmed Joo Minhyuk.
“You understand, right? So you absolutely cannot come out. We have no choice if we want to know whether Joo Minhyuk is alive or dead. Go inside and record everything… and.”
“And what? Why?”
Seeing my hesitation, Hyunwook pressed anxiously.
Sigh.
This was something I really didn’t want to say out of sheer pride, but I needed to warn him in advance so he wouldn’t burst out in shock.
“…Even if you hear other noises besides our voices, do not come out.”
“What kind of noises?”
“Knowing that old man, he’ll probably use today to relieve all the stress he has pent up against me. I’ll be lucky if it ends with just a few blows.”
‘Is he going to beat me like a dog?’
I was slightly worried, but since it was something I had to endure anyway, it was better to ask what I needed to know and get it over with quickly.
On top of everything, his access to me had been completely blocked because of Joo Minhyuk, and I had just insolently summoned him here, so his fury must be hitting the roof.
He was a man who, above all else, could not tolerate anyone acting presumptuously toward him.
Therefore, it was blindingly obvious that he would resort to violence the moment he arrived.
It wasn’t as if I hadn’t been beaten by him before.
“Are you saying he’s going to hit you? No! Absolutely not! I cannot witness that. Have you lost your mind?”
“Don’t lose your temper. If you step in, you won’t be able to stay by my side anymore. That’s why I’m doing this. It’s obvious the old man will try to separate us. So do not interfere under any circumstances. I’m already anxious enough with His Majesty gone; if you are taken away too, I will truly lose my mind. It might have been different if I hadn’t heard all that talk about ambushes and disappearances…”
“…Fine. I’ll endure it as much as I can.”
“Don’t just endure it ‘as much as you can’—endure it until the very end. Unless you want us both to die and have to meet again in the next life. And don’t come out the instant Grandfather leaves; wait a few minutes before stepping out.”
The words of agreement came out of Hyunwook with immense difficulty, and he fidgeted restlessly as if in agony.
Soon, the sound of my grandfather approaching echoed from a distance.
I quickly pushed Hyunwook into the bedroom, turned off the lights, and sat on the living room sofa with a completely casual expression.
Feeling anxious, I tightly hugged the stuffed cat Joo Minhyuk had gifted me.
“It’s fine. I have a strong tolerance for pain. It’s fine. I can just tell His Majesty everything later. I need to make sure all the bruises are visible.”
While I was shaking my legs anxiously and repeating to myself that I was fine, the door suddenly burst open with enough force to shatter it.
‘Ah, it startled me!’
I was terrified.
Before me stood my grandfather, marching inside without even removing his shoes, his eyes flashing fiercely.
‘…Damn it.’
Was it a mistake to call him?
For the first time in a long while, a curse nearly slipped out from sheer terror.
But it was the only way to find out whether Joo Minhyuk was alive or dead.
Even so, just as I was about to stand up to greet him properly—
SLAP!
A tremendously sharp, stinging sound reverberated through the living room.
Simultaneously, my cheek flared with a stinging numbness so intense that I lost all sensation.
‘Madman, you could have at least given a warning before striking.’
“Agh!”
Before I could even process it, another agonizing blow struck my cheek, tearing a scream from my throat.
While I was dazed from the initial slap, my grandfather had followed up by throwing a fist directly into my face.
I didn’t usually scream when being beaten, but perhaps because it had been so long, the pain felt far more excruciating.
I clutched the stuffed cat tightly to my chest, as if it were Joo Minhyuk himself.
‘It’s fine. I just need to endure a little longer.’
It broke my heart and humiliated me to know that Hyunwook was witnessing all of this from inside, but there was no other way.
I could only pray that Hyunwook would keep his promise to me.
The strength of an Alpha fueled by pure rage was terrifying; by the time his relentless blows slowed down, my lips were split open and blood was pouring from my nose.
‘This is going to leave a massive bruise.’
Not satisfied with that, my grandfather began to savagely rain down open-palmed strikes onto my head.
‘Gasp! Joo Minhyuk, please come back quickly. Getting beaten after all this time hurts so much.’
Having sustained countless blows to my head and cheeks, my body finally gave out, and I collapsed sideways onto the sofa.
In the process, the doll slipped from my grasp and tumbled to the floor.
As I lay there bleeding, my eyes locked directly with the bright blue eyes of the stuffed cat.
For some reason, I couldn’t tear my gaze away from the doll’s eyes.
After staring blankly at them for a long moment, tears began to stream down my face.
I had resolved not to cry… but an overwhelming sorrow washed over me.
The sudden crisis dropping on my head was simply too heavy to bear. Was Joo Minhyuk truly missing?
The nosebleed wouldn’t stop, to the point where I couldn’t tell if what was pooling on my skin was blood or tears.
Like a desperate person reaching for a protective amulet, I stretched my hand out toward the fallen cat doll.
But seizing that exact moment, my grandfather stomped his foot heavily onto my hand.
“Aaargh!”
A bloodcurdling shriek tore from my throat, surprising even myself.
‘I think my hand is broken.’
Because he had forcefully ground his weight into me while wearing hard dress shoes, the agonizing pain was instantaneous.
An intense torture crept in, making it feel as though the bones had been crushed.
‘Crazy old man. Why go to this extent? This is entirely an act of venting his rage.’
Sensing that I might actually die if this continued, I realized I had to put a stop to his violent episode immediately.
“Y-you… cough, cough.”
But the moment I tried to speak, the blood pooling in my mouth leaked down my throat, triggering a violent coughing fit.
I reached out with my uninjured hand to grab a tissue from the table, covering my mouth as I coughed.
Tears, mucus, and blood…
Hyunwook is probably losing his mind inside.
After haphazardly wiping away the blood with the tissue, I slowly opened my mouth.
My grandfather, who had been staring with immense satisfaction at my battered state, finally ceased his violence and seated himself on the sofa opposite me.
“…The moment people realize I have been reduced to this state right after your arrival at the palace, rumors will spread. Everyone will know exactly who did this.”
“Indeed. Everyone will know it was me. But what does it matter if they know? In fact, they will grow terrified. They will think, ‘If he can reduce the Emperor and the First Consort to such a state, he could easily kill me too.’ That is exactly what they will think.”
He smiled, looking thoroughly gratified.
‘Good for you that you’re so terrifying, you piece of garbage.’
Ah, my head was spinning. It was a miracle my teeth hadn’t been shattered.
Every time I drew a breath, the blood slid down my throat, bringing a sharp, metallic wave of pain.
“…What about Hyung?”
“That boy is likely stuck in the military. It is actually a relief that he is pinned down there, since he won’t be able to run away. Once I sort out these affairs, I will ensure he loses the use of his limbs. To think he forgot the grace of being raised by me, only to fall in line behind a green corporate boy? A brat who just happened to be born lucky into the imperial family, occupying that throne without having achieved a single thing?”
‘Don’t you dare lay a finger on Hyung.’
If he did, there was no telling what I might do.
But for now, I had to suppress it.
I forced my words out slowly, hindered by my rapidly swelling lips.
They were definitely split wide open.
“I want to hear the details of what I was told earlier. What do you mean His Majesty was ambushed? How did you find out?”
At my question, my grandfather narrowed his eyes and leaned his upper body forward.
His expression became intensely amused.
What was that? What kind of look was that?
“It seems you enjoyed quite a bit of fun with that young Emperor. The rumors of you two sleeping together were so loud they managed to reach my ears, but I never expected you to become this invested.”
Ha, I was utterly speechless.
No matter how much he lacked affection for his grandson, I never imagined he would utter such vulgar words to his own flesh and blood.
‘Enjoyed quite a bit of fun.’
Was that something a grandfather should say?
When I closed my mouth and silently waited for the answer I wanted, he tossed the words out as if granting a generous favor.
“I did it.”
“…What?”
“Why look so shocked? You asked because you already knew the answer.”
Of course, I had asked because I suspected it, but hearing it directly from his mouth made the shock cut much deeper.
To confess to his own crime so carelessly…
What was he going to do if I was recording this?
How could he confess so easily?
“Why? Are you surprised I told you so easily? This entire nation will belong to me soon anyway, so what could I possibly fear? Even if you try to leave some sort of evidence behind, it is entirely futile. Once this matter is concluded, I am even debating how to dispose of you.”
“…What matter are you concluding? What did you do to His Majesty? Where is he right now?”
“Who knows? I wonder if he is even drawing breath. I have been preparing to replace the Emperor for quite a long time. If only you had managed to bear a child, things would have been much smoother. ‘Tsk’, incompetent thing, unable to conceive even a single child…”
I didn’t even care about my grandfather’s sudden, sarcastic gibes.
What did all of that mean?
He had already been preparing to replace the Emperor even before I had consummated my marriage with Joo Minhyuk?
Replace him with whom?
“Don’t tell me you intend to take that seat yourself…”
“Of course not. Why would I willingly shoulder such a tedious burden? There are plenty of people capable of becoming the Emperor, my child. And that person will be entering the palace shortly. Ah, do not worry. Imperial blood flows through his veins as well.”
I don’t give a damn about that.
More importantly, if this man went as far as securing a substitute Emperor before making his move, did he really do something irreversible to Joo Minhyuk?
Is that why he stayed so quiet all this time? Just to orchestrate this foul plot behind the scenes?
My heart began to hammer frantically against my ribs with a mounting sense of dread.
“You certainly prepared in absolute secrecy. His Majesty seemed completely oblivious.”
“Naturally he didn’t know. I moved in total silence, while that green Emperor was so blinded by his infatuation with you that he couldn’t see what was right in front of him. Didn’t the two of you throw quite a pathetic spectacle? In the end, I was practically grateful to you. For completely distracting that brat.”
‘If you’re so grateful, why did you beat me like this? You monster…’
“His sudden departure for the United States was unexpected. I had heard the Empress Dowager was ill, but I never anticipated such an opportunity would present itself. I had been contemplating when to strike the Emperor, and such a perfect chance was beyond my wildest expectations. The luck of the Emperor vacating the palace for this long does not come easily.”
“And then?”
“Attacking the vehicle carrying the Emperor and the Empress Dowager was far too easy. So easy that even I harbored doubts. But the outcome was so flawless that the time spent doubting was a waste. He will not be returning alive. The car the Emperor was riding in was so riddled with bullet holes that it is entirely impossible for anyone to have survived.”
At my grandfather’s final words, the sheer shock completely paralyzed me, wiping away the very sensation of the physical pain I had just endured.
