For two full days, Minhyuk could not take his eyes off Haejoo, who lay unconscious in a deep sleep.
Haejoo had been moved directly to the hospital under ironclad security, where he received comprehensive examinations and treatment.
Among the areas struck by the Prime Minister, the interior of his mouth and nasal passages were riddled with inflammation, and the severe bruising and swelling on his cheeks required separate medical attention.
Furthermore, the inflammation caused by the fractures in his wrists and fingers was highly problematic.
Although he had been given medication and treated immediately at the time, the proper medical prescriptions had not been carried out due to the Prime Minister’s cold neglect, forcing the doctors to monitor his condition over time.
Moreover, various parts of his body that had been kicked were covered in so many large and small bruises that the doctor was left completely speechless.
On top of everything, he had miscarried.
The doctor estimated the pregnancy to be around five weeks, deducing that by timeline, the baby had been conceived on the very first day of their mutual rut and hit.
His uterus was already weak to begin with, and in such a debilitated physical state, the combination of severe psychological shock and the immense physical beating became the direct cause of the miscarriage.
Minhyuk’s own shock was similarly beyond words.
On the other hand, suppressing the rebellion proceeded smoothly.
The Chief Court Eunuch located the assassination squad prepared by the Prime Minister and eliminated them.
Then, disguising his own men as the assassination squad, he allowed the Prime Minister’s planned events to proceed.
Having also caught wind of the Prime Minister’s movements to seize control of the military, Minhyuk had formulated an operation in advance through meetings with military officials.
Far more people than expected had already flipped to the Prime Minister’s side.
However, because Minhyuk possessed undeniably solid physical and circumstantial evidence, he suppressed them in a single blow and filled their vacancies with his own people.
They entered the palace pretending to be the Prime Minister’s men and followed Minhyuk’s instructions.
Minhyuk kept a close eye on the Prime Minister’s movements from outside the palace to ensure public sentiment did not waver, taking great care to prevent any harm to the citizens.
Furthermore, he arrested the Prime Minister’s associates and family members who were waiting outside on charges of high treason, and he also located Hanbin, whom the Prime Minister had captured and hidden away.
Hanbin had suffered no small amount of hardship for defying the Prime Minister’s command to stand at the forefront of the rebellion, and he had been at a total loss, unable to find a loophole to escape.
The claim that Hanbin was with his military unit had been a lie.
He had been dragged away by his grandfather, and his body was just as damaged and exhausted as Haejoo’s.
Just as he could no longer endure the extreme pressure from his grandfather, who was using Haejoo as a hostage, Minhyuk had found him.
Because of this, Hanbin was actually resting and receiving treatment at the very same facility.
Minhyuk worried that Hanbin would completely lose his mind once he heard the news about Haejoo.
“Your Majesty, the Chief Court Eunuch has sent word that you should not worry about matters outside,” Hyunwook informed him in a rigid, stiff tone, his head lowered.
His arrogant attitude and manner of speech were severe enough that it wouldn’t be strange if he were disciplined immediately, but Minhyuk couldn’t bring himself to do so.
“Did you meet Daeho?”
“Yes, Your Majesty. I did not know that my father was also aware of this matter.”
Hearing Hyunwook claim he hadn’t known, Minhyuk let out a hollow chuckle.
If Daeho hadn’t known, how could Kang Hyunwook possibly be standing here right now?
“It was precisely because Daeho knew everything that you were able to stay by Haejoo’s side. Do you think your father would be crazy enough to leave his son all alone in the palace in total ignorance? When you are the son he treasures so dearly?”
“What will happen to the Daebin Palace Saga now?”
Minhyuk looked at Hyunwook with a bewildered expression at his anxious question.
“What do you mean, what will happen to the Daebin Palace? Once he receives all his treatment and leaves…”
“I don’t mean it like that. I mean, now that his entire family has been locked up for high treason, what is going to happen to the Saga? The other ministers will certainly not sit still. A political reporter broke this story, the media has started making a massive fuss, and the entire world is going to find out.”
A single political reporter had leaked the story that Minhyuk had intended to handle quietly.
Because there had been actual military movements, it was no longer a matter that could be ignored or swept under the rug.
The Prime Minister’s crimes were being broadcast on the news daily, and the public’s fury grew hotter by the day.
This was entirely inevitable, as a portion of what the Prime Minister had been planning was exposed to the public.
The Prime Minister had drawn up a plan to replace the Emperor, draw a rigid line between the nobility and ordinary citizens, and establish a distinct systemic discrimination between classes.
He had attempted to implement absurd measures, such as imposing discrimination on inter-class contact or employment, and even resurrecting the hereditary servant system depending on the situation.
Because this had been leaked and exposed through the media, public sentiment had no choice but to explode.
Rallies were being held every single day, voicing protests against the unreasonable discrimination heavily skewed toward Alphas and nobles.
In short, the Prime Minister had committed the useless atrocities, and Minhyuk was left to clean up the aftermath.
Voices of discontent had initially erupted toward the Daebin Palace as well, given that he shared the Prime Minister’s bloodline.
However, once reports were released stating that the Daebin Palace had miscarried his child due to the severe abuse inflicted by the Prime Minister, the public’s grievances toward him subsided.
For two days, the entire nation had been completely upended, and even the foreign press was in a continuous frenzy, creating a situation where the Emperor had no choice but to step forward.
“The Daebin Palace’s position will remain unchanged. Haejoo has absolutely nothing to do with the Prime Minister. If anything, he is a victim. He will never be deposed for such a reason.”
In fact, Minhyuk intended to use the very abuse Haejoo suffered at the hands of the Prime Minister as a justification to elevate Haejoo to the position of Empress.
Thanks to Minhyuk’s meticulous preparations, the civil rebellion had been wrapped up without any major accidents or casualties.
Had it not been for that, the entire nation would have plummeted into utter chaos.
Since the credit belonged entirely to Minhyuk, who had maintained his center and judged the situation flawlessly, he used that leverage to strike a deal with the officials: leave Haejoo alone.
Naturally, all the conditions favored Minhyuk, and he believed that this, too, would not fail.
“That is Your Majesty’s perspective, but we do not know what kind of choice the Saga will make.”
“…What are you talking about? What choice would the Daebin Palace make?”
“Your Majesty, have you forgotten? You utilized the Daebin Palace Saga. Without giving a single thought to the Daebin Palace Saga’s feelings, you handled everything entirely as you pleased, thinking only of yourself. You did it to the point where you would have absolutely no right to complain even if the Daebin Palace Saga’s feelings for you have completely cooled down.”
“Stop right there. You are overstepping your bounds. That is a matter between the Daebin Palace and myself.”
“Is it only a matter between the two of you at times like this?”
Minhyuk looked up at Hyunwook, who continued to speak defiantly without backing down.
Hyunwook did not appear intimidated in the slightest as he drove his point home.
“You judged everything entirely on your own and utilized him until you got the result you wanted. You cannot possibly be ignorant of the fact that the Daebin Palace was desperately trying to protect Your Majesty from the Prime Minister. Even though you knew, even though you watched it all happen, you did absolutely nothing and simply utilized the Daebin Palace Saga.”
“…You…”
“Because if the Saga moved in total ignorance, it would distract the Prime Minister’s attention, allowing Your Majesty to carry out your plans in total comfort.”
Unable to refute a single one of Hyunwook’s words, Minhyuk turned his head away to conceal his deep discomfort.
“From the Daebin Palace’s perspective, he was thoroughly utilized by the person he trusted most deeply. His heart has been wounded and his pride shattered, so he will likely never be able to trust Your Majesty again in the future. Because of how much he liked Your Majesty, the fact that he can no longer trust you will make things incredibly painful for him.”
Under any other circumstances, Minhyuk would have reprimanded him, asking who he thought he was to step up and talk back so presumptuously.
But he couldn’t do it. He simply couldn’t.
Not a single thing Hyunwook said was wrong.
Through the camera embedded in the eyes of the stuffed cat he had given Haejoo, along with the cameras installed in the living room and hidden in every corner of the palace, Minhyuk—who had been hiding a short distance away from the palace—had been fully aware of the situation.
Of course, Minhyuk was the only one permitted to view Haejoo’s room.
Because of the cryptic conversations with Hyunwook, and because he despised the thought of anyone else viewing Haejoo’s private spaces, he ensured no one else could lay a hand on that feed.
He had been unable to pull his eyes away from the screen, his heart in his throat out of constant fear that Haejoo might get hurt.
Watching Haejoo wait for him in a state of extreme anxiety had filled him with pity, triggering a powerful impulse to rush to his side right that instant.
He had wanted to pull him out of there countlessly many times.
However, Minhyuk absolutely required definitive evidence.
More than anything else, he needed evidence of the Prime Minister confessing to his crimes with his own mouth.
Therefore, despite his immense anxiety, he had simply left Haejoo there alone.
And that was when the disaster struck.
In the process of restraining Minhyuk as he completely lost his mind, raving that he would go to the palace immediately to retrieve Haejoo, the Chief Court Eunuch and several others had witnessed the scene on screen and had been left utterly speechless by the sheer brutality.
Just as desired, the Prime Minister had confessed his entire plan to Haejoo, and it had been recorded perfectly to serve as evidence.
Yet, the process had been far too agonizing. Minhyuk had locked eyes with the collapsed Haejoo.
Minhyuk, who had been watching the scene unfold through the doll’s eyes, had locked eyes with Haejoo as he collapsed onto the sofa, staring helplessly back at the doll. In that exact instant, Minhyuk’s mind had gone entirely blank.
And he had been unable to do anything.
But that, too, had been Minhyuk’s own choice, and he could not undo the situation now.
The only option left had been to press forward with the operation as quickly as possible.
Witnessing Haejoo’s condition in person had been far more gruesome than on screen, filling him with a burning urge to grind the Prime Minister’s bones to dust.
And then, Minhyuk had come to a realization: in Haejoo’s eyes, there was absolutely no difference between him and the Prime Minister.
“…Even so, I cannot let Haejoo go. I cannot give up on him. I just have to beg for his forgiveness. We can always have another baby. So…”
“Your Majesty. You say you can just have another baby? That… never utter such a horrific thing in front of the Gungju Saga. Not if you truly don’t want everything to be permanently over between you two.”
Hyunwook shouted at him, tears actively pooling in his eyes.
Because there was no one else giving him such a harsh reality check in this entire affair except for Kang Hyunwook, Minhyuk felt utterly suffocated.
The moment he discovered the Prime Minister’s treason, it became a situation where Minhyuk would be the one destroyed if he did not suppress it.
The Prime Minister had prepared to strike Minhyuk by putting his own life on the line, meaning Minhyuk had to prepare as well.
It had become a do-or-die situation where he could only survive by completely severing the roots to ensure the old man could never crawl back up again.
Because it was a grave matter that could shake the very discipline of the nation and potentially cause harm to innocent citizens, Minhyuk had decided to risk absolutely everything to capture the Prime Minister.
He had to mobilize every single thing necessary, and Haejoo happened to be positioned right there.
Furthermore, there was something Minhyuk had thought of far too lightly.
Though anxious, he had assumed everything would end without a major hitch and that Haejoo would ultimately understand his position.
He had planned to confess everything to Haejoo once it was over, telling him that there was nothing left to hold them back, and asking him to spend the rest of his life by his side.
He had taken everything regarding Haejoo far too lightly.
It was only after witnessing Haejoo being humiliated by the Prime Minister and miscarrying with his own eyes that he finally realized how profoundly wrong he had been.
Realizing that things would not be anywhere near as easy as he thought, wondering what on earth he was supposed to do now… Minhyuk’s heaviest agony had officially begun.
