Chapter 107
Chapter 107
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 107
Chapter Title: Hanyang Great Fire (5)
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I opened my eyes and saw an unfamiliar ceiling.
It sounded like something straight out of an internet novel or comic protagonist's lines. But sure enough, the first thing I saw upon waking was a ceiling I didn't recognize.
My entire body ached terribly, throbbing with a burning pain.
"I guess I did push myself too hard."
Truth be told, I'm the kind of person who doesn't even exercise for 30 minutes a day.
It might seem unbecoming of the guy who made King Sejong the Great climb Bukaksan Mountain for two hours daily, plus horseback riding and archery... but...
This isn't shameful at all for a subject.
Our officials are supposed to earnestly advise the king that certain things are for special occasions only and he mustn't indulge, no matter what.
And even if you scrutinize it, I'm positively saintly compared to the others.
Those guys zealously increase their wealth by eating beef during droughts while petitioning that His Majesty mustn't do the same—it's a daily occurrence.
Skipping some exercise is nothing compared to that.
"But this full-body soreness is way too painful. And why's it burning like this? It stings so much... I might actually die like this."
While suppressing the fire, I dashed around heedless of flying embers or debris.
So naturally, I got scorched all over.
No wonder my body was covered in burns.
But what the heck is this covering me right now?
In Joseon, they don't cover people with red silk blankets.
'No way... this isn't what I think it is, is it?'
Shin Suk-ju, who loved reading books just like King Sejong and even begged the other Hall of Worthies scholars to cover his shifts so he could read.
While on night duty, he dozed off, and King Sejong personally draped a red silk Gonryongpo over him.
I finally realized what the garment covering me was, and I couldn't help but cry out.
"Argh!"
Crimson red silk, with golden thread embroidery of a round dragon pattern on the shoulders and back.
In Joseon, there's only one such garment.
The Gonryongpo, which only the king may wear.
Before my brain could issue any commands, my body moved on instinct.
I carefully folded the Gonryongpo and laid it out on the blanket where I'd been lying, then bowed deeply toward it.
Modern folks might not get it, but for a Joseon man, it's the proper thing to do.
"I am infinitely grateful, Your Highness!"
I needed to change into my official robes quickly and return the Gonryongpo to His Highness.
But I'm no prime minister; a lowly Grade 4 like me can't just request an audience at will.
Should I have a palace eunuch deliver it...
No, before that, there's something more urgent: I need to check my condition.
I fell asleep and woke up in an unfamiliar place, covered by the 'Gonryongpo.' That's the fact.
Putting it all together led to one conclusion.
I was so focused on putting out the fire that I collapsed the moment I heard it was extinguished.
And someone brought me to the palace.
As I pieced this together, someone entered the room.
An elderly man in red official robes looked me over carefully and spoke.
"There, are you coming around now?"
"Yes, I am. Is this the palace?"
"It is. While you were exhausted from fighting the fire at Angukbang, an order came down to bring you here for treatment. That's why I've been looking after you until now."
"Thank you, Royal Physician."
The royal physician examined my body here and there before saying,
"The burns have healed somewhat. Faster than I expected. It seems you've taken to heart what you said about keeping the body clean to prevent illness, and maintaining such hygiene has greatly helped."
"Is that so?"
"His Highness specifically ordered me to examine your condition most meticulously. Given such a great favor... once word spreads that you've awakened, he'll likely come to see you soon. Prepare yourself. Ah, but for Censorate Investigator Kim of the Office of Special Counselors, this is nothing... I suppose I've said something unnecessary. Rest well now."
Waking up to find the Gonryongpo on me, and now the king is coming to see me—could you rest easy in my shoes?
No, forget that; it doesn't matter.
With the great fire in Hanyang, who knows how many have died.
How much property damage, how many left homeless on the streets.
And amid the chaos, plenty of thugs and ruffians looking to cause trouble...
Thinking about it all makes my body ache even more, but my heart aches worse.
I sent Gyeol to the Han River area, so she's surely safe... but you never know.
Something bad could have happened.
I don't even know the damage to my house or my father-in-law's.
The more I think, the graver and darker it gets—then the door opened, and King Sejong himself appeared before me.
"Investigator Kim, how's your body feeling?"
"Thanks to the royal physician's excellent care, I'm fine. More importantly, I'd like to know about my family."
King Sejong laughed heartily at my words.
"Haha, indeed. People say you're a man who only knows the ancestral temple, state altar, and the common folk whether asleep or awake, that even stabbing you wouldn't draw a drop of blood. But you're human after all."
Fifty percent of why I devote myself to Joseon is to be a husband Kim Gyeol won't be ashamed of.
Once we have kids, fifty percent for her, and maybe twenty percent of the rest to be a father they won't be ashamed of.
I'm human too; I can't live putting Joseon unconditionally above family.
"Your wife, Kim Gyeol, is safe. Your other household members are safe as well. Your father-in-law Kim Man-deok is unharmed too. Fortunately, your house escaped the flames. But Kim Man-deok's house caught fire."
Both he and I keep most of our wealth in warehouses far from Hanyang.
Land prices here are too high to build storage for all that rice and goods.
So even if his house burned, it shouldn't be a massive financial loss.
"......I'm sorry, Your Highness."
King Sejong tilted his head, puzzled at my sudden apology.
"I knew Hanyang's growth would bring more unsavory elements. I informed not only the Ministry of Public Works but the Capital Governorate in advance. Yet because I didn't push harder, more firmly..."
Until I collapsed, I staked my life solely on extinguishing the fire.
I deliberately ignored the wails and cries of those losing children, family heads, parents, siblings.
I shut out the groans and sights of those burning to death.
It was unavoidable if I wanted to save even one more person.
Still, those tragedies linger in my mind.
As I told His Highness, if I'd pushed just a bit more firmly, even if a great fire struck Hanyang, we could have surely reduced the property and human losses compared to now.
"I still don't know how many died, how many were injured, how much housing and property was lost. But I know many suffered greatly. I didn't start the fire, but because I was negligent in my duty, this happened."
"No. It's not your fault. All this stems from Our own lack of virtue."
Tears welled in King Sejong's eyes.
"I saw it. A man engulfed in flames, dying in agony. People dazed at losing homes and property. Families wailing over loved ones lost to the blaze. Among them, a woman who fled her house with her body ablaze."
"......"
"She'd clutched her child to her breast, desperate to save it somehow... but the child I saw was already suffocated by smoke, lifeless. I couldn't bring myself to tell her the child was dead."
Earthquakes, floods, fires—all calamities too horrific for humans to endure.
Experiencing the fire firsthand and facing the victims drove it home.
We must never let such a catastrophe happen again.
"So I took the child from her, promising to save it. Then she breathed her last."
"How can such tragedy befall the world?"
If there's one modern 21st-century law I despise, it's that arsonists who try to kill multiple people can't be automatically sentenced to death.
That bastard sets a fire to kill people, and if no one dies, he might even get probation. Does that make any sense?
"Your Highness, I believe this fire is no different from treason."
"Treason..."
"We don't know their intent in setting Hanyang ablaze, but it could have burned the ancestral temple and state altar, utterly toppling the nation's foundation. If that's not treason, what is?"
King Sejong nodded at my words.
"Because I failed in my duty, so many of Hanyang's people perished. I am a criminal who has greatly sinned against the ancestral temple and state altar."
I am neither the Capital Governorate Governor responsible for Hanyang nor a Capital Governorate official.
In other words, I bear no responsibility for the disaster from neglected safety management.
"Please allow me to atone for my sin, even a little."
King Sejong shook his head vigorously in denial.
And declared,
"You bear no sin. The sinners are the traitors who set the fire, and Us, the king of Joseon who did not heed your words."
"Your Highness."
"We command Censorate Investigator Kim Dae-bung of the Office of Special Counselors."
"I shall obey your royal command."
King Sejong commanded me.
"Punish the rebels."