Chapter 175

Once the Audience Chamber of the Emperor, now it belonged to Victoria.

I was spending time here with my fiancées.

It wasn’t to coordinate the marriage schedules.

If it weren’t for the drug war, we would have already held the imperial wedding, with time to spare. But there was an issue to resolve first: Ending this war.

Since I sent Cheon-ja, the scales of the battle have indeed tipped in our favor. If the officials of Chinguk are in their right minds, continuing the war would be highly improbable.

Still, I couldn’t afford to let down my guard until things were truly settled.

“What will you do if Chinguk continues to resist, Alan?”

Siena asked while sipping wine. Her legs crossed beneath the black dress, she idly played with her silver hair, looking no different than usual.

However, there was something different—her expression. Siena didn’t have a sneer on her face, nor did her eyes narrow. This wasn’t an expression anticipating doom—it was something else.

“What do you think I’ll do?”

“You know too, don’t you?”

“I know, but I still ask. Shouldn’t your sister know as well?”

I was about to retort that your sister knows enough, but ended up simply nodding.

And then I spoke.

If Chinguk doesn’t heed my advice, more deaths will follow.

Already, many have died. Over 5 million doses of fentanyl have been consumed in Chinguk alone, and this figure is based on my own estimates—I don’t know the true number or how it’s been used.

Adding those who died in jails and those who killed each other out of fear of fentanyl rumors makes the total impossible to measure.

“I want to end it here.”

At Siena’s words, I merely nodded again. It wasn’t me who responded but somebody else.

“I feel the same.”

It was Victoria.

Currently, two reports lay before her.

Reports intended for the Emperor, who had been roaming outside the state under the guise of inspection for months on end.

One report was to be presented if Chinguk accepts our offer. The other if they reject it and choose to escalate hostilities.

For all his negligence, the Emperor was still the Emperor.

“…No matter what, our father should be here in the Imperial Palace for important moments. He can’t keep wandering outside the state like this.”

Victoria sighed quietly.

She seemed to want to report to our father that everything was finally over.

The Emperor left the palace due to the conflict with Chinguk. Even if we conclude this war in victory, he won’t necessarily step out of his addiction. But at least he can stop wandering outside the state.

Victoria must be tired by now. But unlike Siena, she hasn’t lost her resolve.

“According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, there have been 25 villages that suffered damage due to morphine… Some areas will face significant harvest losses this year. In some villages, most of the young men are addicted to morphine.”

“…”

“Because of this, some people will endure a brutally cold winter, and others will have to buy food at exorbitant prices. It’s a fact that I want to put an end to this war quickly in order to take care of them… But.”

If they choose escalation, I won’t back down.

Victoria muttered softly.

Already, her hand rested on her Heroin wheel-lock pistol—a habit she displays whenever she’s uneasy. To calm herself, she looked at me faintly smiling.

Siena took the rare initiative to pour wine for her elder sister.

“Here.”

“Wait, did you…”

“No cocaine. No heroin or phenylacetone either.”

“Thanks.”

Victoria nodded submissively to her sister. But after barely touching the wine, she set the glass back down—not out of distrust towards Siena but because as a state official, she couldn’t afford to become intoxicated. It was indeed such a situation.

Only a decision from Chinguk could remove Victoria’s hand from her pistol.

***

The prison of Daeli.

An old man, over seventy years of age, sat alone in a cramped jail cell.

Grand Secretary Han Hokeung.

In the previous emperor’s reign, he served as a high-ranking official, eventually reaching the position of Grand Minister. Now retired, he devoted himself to caring for his youngest son, whose health had deteriorated.

But now he was also a prisoner, accused of involvement with the opium from Gang-hon-san.

The decree from Cheon-ja was clear: All family members of those involved with Gang-hon-san would be punished.

Yet Han Hokeung was treated with exceptional lenience.

His title of Grand Secretary was maintained, and while his family was placed under house arrest, they hadn’t been harshly treated yet.

This wasn’t out of respect for his past as Grand Minister.

Rather, it was because the consequences of executing him would be too severe for Cheon-ja to handle, so he was merely imprisoned.

“His Majesty worries deeply.”

Stopping his reading, Han Hokeung sighed.

As a prisoner, he could only meet with judicial officials, yet he had his own understanding of the outside situation.

A renowned old man who confessed to baseless accusations—Han Hokeung, though he didn’t think much of himself, expected that many others would be inspired by his act. The students of the National Academy must have petitioned by now, and officials may have resigned in protest.

Even burdening the Cheon-ja with this was a punishable offense.

Still, Han Hokeung had no other choice.

Without someone acting to stop the Cheon-ja, countless innocents would perish. Rebellions against tyranny would increase, and the people would lose their trust in the government. He couldn’t stand by and watch the country’s foundation crumble.

Even now, his wish remained the same.

“His Majesty, please, cease.”

For Cheon-ja to rediscover his sense and resolve the crisis.

Punishing the anonymous denouncers,

Removing corrupt judicial officials who extract confessions through torture,

And seeking diplomatic solutions to resolve the conflict with the Britannia Empire.

Han Hokeung despised the foes from the West, but this was a battle they couldn’t possibly win. Choosing the wrong battlefield, wasn’t it like having a toddler attempt to fight a master at their peak? Starting things too hastily…

“No. What good would it do now?”

There was still hope if Cheon-ja retracted his unjust decree.

At the very least, the killings must stop.

It wasn’t about preserving his own body. If stopping the Cheon-ja’s tyranny meant sacrificing his aged form, he would willingly do so. He would comply with any punishment, even an order to commit suicide.

Thus Han Hokeung prayed repeatedly within himself.

And then…

“An order to immediately release Grand Secretary Han Hokeung has been received.”

A faint smile appeared on Han Hokeung’s wrinkled face.

Acknowledged for trafficking Gang-hon-san, and even confessed to it in front of all officials, now getting a pardon? What could this mean?

It must be that Cheon-ja has decided to overturn the wrong decision and end the chaos.

“It’s done! It’s over!”

Upon this rare good news, Han Hokeung clenched his fists and stood up.

Still, amidst his joy, there was a point of confusion.

“Hold on. Was it said to be an edict?”

“…Yes. It’s not an edict from His Majesty but rather a decree from Her Highness, the Empress Dowager.”

“Why?”

“The Great Hall awaits… You’ll understand when you see.”

Why did the Empress Dowager get involved?

Did she judge the situation too severe? Or, was it perhaps due to a request from Princess Gyehye or Princess Gyewon?

Since he was imprisoned, he had no exact knowledge.

“Let’s find out now.”

With a strange feeling creeping in, Han Hokeung put on the official attire handed to him by a clerk and headed towards the main hall.

However, a peculiar scene awaited.

“Her Highness, the Empress Dowager?”

For some reason, an auxiliary throne was placed next to the empty main throne, and Empress Dowager sat there.

Empress Dowager presiding over a court session? Why?

Han Hokeung hesitated for only a brief moment.

A petition quietly handed to him by a chamberlain detailed every misdeed of the Cheon-ja.

“…”

With a gaunt expression, Han Hokeung bowed, awaiting the Empress Dowager’s command.

An emergency appointment to the cabinet secretary was granted to Grand Secretary Han Hokeung. He was tasked with handling the aftermath of the persecution instigated by Lady So Aeungha’s jealousy and envy towards Lady Kang Nahheon. Furthermore, he was to encourage reintegration of officials who had refused to participate in government proceedings.

A symbolic move to leverage his status as a victim of false accusations to achieve something.

“Understood, Your Highness.”

Han Hokeung suppressed his sorrow and stepped into his position.

Though faced with the threat of wrongful execution, he had suddenly been reinstated. He was internally unsettled.

He didn’t want to die but now wasn’t the time to shirk responsibility.

…

A long time later, the Empress Dowager finally issued her proclamation.

“The reckless behavior of His Majesty was due to the scheming of Lady So Aeungha.”

“Lady So Aeungha, favored by the Emperor, was filled with jealousy against Lady Kang Nahheon, leading her to falsely accuse others. Later, when she failed to attract His Majesty’s attention, she went on to accuse and kill more innocent individuals.”

“His Majesty, lacking in wisdom, could not see through her treachery. Instead, he was manipulated by her and ordered the execution of the innocent. Finally, she conspired with disloyal palace attendants, inducing His Majesty to indulge in drugs and engage in promiscuity. Furthermore…”

The Empress Dowager listed unspeakable incidents, establishing her own basis for regency.

This was already being distributed across all the cities, prefectures, and counties of Chinguk.

Emperor Tang Yeon-cheol.

To make known the atrocities of this Emperor who had caused over thirteen thousand deaths and driven away even the most loyal officials. Concurrently, to expose the misconduct of the concubine who had rendered the Emperor dependent on drugs and gravely ill.

This was an announcement that the current Emperor was a tyrant and incompetent ruler.

Not all officials readily agreed. The authority of the Emperor was absolute.

But their discontent was quelled by the Empress Dowager’s seemingly powerless words.

“Our Majesty is begging for drugs. Come and see if you dare.”

The news that the Emperor, who survived narrowly, was wheezingly pleading for drugs from the eunuchs. That the Emperor who supposedly condemned over thirteen thousand in the name of Gang-hon-san had ultimately succumbed to addiction.

“Ah!”

Officials broke down and wept uncontrollably.

Their cries subdued after half an hour.

An order was issued much later—an order to request “negotiations” with the Britannia Empire.

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