His Majesty's Shameful Secret

There's a saying: to catch a tiger, you must enter the tiger's den. No—wait. In this case, "to hide a tree, hide it in the forest" fits far better.

Right now, I was thinking about hiding a tree in a forest.

In other words, I was considering registering a fixed nickname on the Alternative History Gallery—the very fountainhead of the rumors about my identity.

If I can pull the mask on properly, I can smother every last scrap of this nonsense!

Seize the gallery's public opinion, and no one would bother trying to unmask some random web novel author. I wasted no time writing an anonymous post.

Hmm. The reaction was still lukewarm. But if I kept at it, I could eventually bring the gallery back to normal.

Just as I was about to shut off my phone, a title snagged my eyes.

Ah, fuck. I'm screwed.

Of all things, they found the master's thesis I'd written before I became a web novelist—something even I had completely forgotten.

Originally I never planned on being a web novelist. I intended to keep studying history at university the whole way through. It was only that a novel I'd written as a hobby during my master's sold decently enough that I switched tracks.

The thesis content itself wasn't particularly flashy. Knowing the "original history" might help a writer, but it was hardly a special advantage for a researcher.

The problem was that my thesis took a position completely opposite to the current imperial family's.

This Korean Empire—where somehow a guy like me had become emperor—treated Manchuria and Danamo (Taiwan in the original history) as "mainland" and officially described their acquisition as "pioneering."

Of course, "pioneering" was just the pretty word for land seized after thrashing the Qing in the Qing–Korean War, and everyone ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠knew it. The forced relocation, conscription, and massacre of indigenous minorities under the banner of "civilization" during that process were also facts.

In the modern era, the Government of the Korean Empire acknowledged this dark history. The Imperial Family, however, had never officially recognized it and had simply papered over it. In today's Korean Empire, the ethnic makeup of Manchuria and Taiwan was over ninety percent Korean or mixed with indigenous peoples, with only ten percent remaining as minorities—so there was no real need to air the dirty laundry.

First... let's find a way to quietly let this pass.

Attendant Kim had already left for the day, so bringing it up in the morning wouldn't be too late.

Chief Eunuch Kim Insu had taken far too many shocks of late.

The greatest had been the imperial family's sudden plane crash, and he still hadn't fully recovered from that. But the most recent shock was the newly ascended emperor himself.

In every way, His Majesty was a man with no real ties to the previous imperial household—different, for better and for worse.

I had heard from the agents that His Majesty had been something of an idle gentleman during his private years, but still...

In the scramble to find a successor to the throne, the agents of Jeguk Ikmunsa hadn't been able to conduct a truly thorough investigation of His Majesty—though of course they should have, given that he hadn't been a direct descendant raised in the palace. The relevant reports had only notes like "rarely leaves the house," "mostly visits the nearby convenience store and study rooms," and "conduct appears unproblematic." What he did in the online world rather than the real one remained unknown.

Only after His Majesty revealed he was a web novelist had they finally pieced together that there had been income separate from the royal pension during his private years.

(In truth, this too could be chalked up as a kind of operational gap left by the plane crash, which had claimed so many of the palace's veterans.)

At any rate, knowing every move His Majesty made was the chief eunuch's sacred duty.

After clocking out, Kim Insu searched for Author Lee Myeongbok on his tablet. Of course he couldn't dare read His Majesty's writing while lying down, so he got up—but kneeling to read it also felt wrong, so he sat at his desk in proper posture.

"My Korean Empire is not like this...? Heh. Truly a provocative title."

Had anyone but His Majesty written it, Kim Insu would have mistaken the author for a republican—or at least a hardline parliamentaryist.

Still, His Majesty clearly had literary talent; the prose went down smooth. Smooth enough to keep him reading until dawn.

"Mm... still, I am tired. Shall I read the rest after I sleep?"

That was when it happened.

—Bzzzt—

A phone that, under normal circumstances, should not have rung at this hour. He had set it to ring for only three sources: Jeguk Ikmunsa, His Majesty the Emperor, and the Prime Minister.

Kim Insu answered without a moment's hesitation.

The caller was the Director of Internal Affairs at Jeguk Ikmunsa.

"What is it?"

"A thesis His Majesty wrote during his private years is currently trending online. It describes the Manchurian region and Danamo as having been colonies."

"Has any press outlet run a story yet?"

"No, sir. No formal articles yet."

"Request an embargo from every news organization. Tell them we'll have an official position sorted within a week and to wait. Anyone who breaks the embargo should know they'll never set foot past the threshold of Gwanghwamun again."

"Yes, sir. Understood."

—Click—

The call ended at once.

Kim Insu scrubbed a dry hand over his face.

A master's thesis... Of course they should have reviewed it, but the shortage of veteran personnel had left operations running poorly, and the discovery had come late.

"Haa..."

It seemed tonight he would have to operate not as chief eunuch, but as Director Kim Insu of Jeguk Ikmunsa.

The next morning—at an hour when I ought to have been leisurely writing the next chapter—I heard through Attendant Kim that the Prime Minister had suddenly requested an urgent audience.

The Prime Minister... Before I landed in this seat, I never thought I'd have any reason to meet the man in my life. Funny how that works.

"Your Majesty. Prime Minister Park is a man one can hardly call a pro-imperialist. Not a republican, but he does enjoy meddling in imperial affairs."

"I seem to recall hearing something about him talking of financial audits of the Imperial Household Administration."

"Today's conversation will almost certainly concern the master's thesis Your Majesty wrote during your private years. Should any such talk arise, I believe it would be best to respond firmly."

"Understood."