Potential Traitor (2)
The moment I saw it, I knew Lady Eom was trying to keep the Sapodae in check right now. From Yi Wan-yong's perspective, this was nothing more than a powerful minister trying to protect her own position. Yeah. Just like the military regimes of old or Taejo of Goryeo, who refused to relinquish military power even at the end of the dynasty.
Yi Wan-yong let out a quiet, scornful laugh in his heart. The imperial family that had driven the country into this mess was now throwing away a golden opportunity for real transformation. What a joke.
“Your Highness the Noble Consort, that won’t happen. If she had any such intention, she would have come down with the Russian army long ago. Why would a woman serving as Minister of Foreign Affairs deliberately throw away such a perfect chance?”
“That may be true, but…”
Lady Eom let out a deep sigh. That had indeed been the moment. The only time she could have sold out the country as a Russian puppet. Still, even so, this Ok Jin-seo—this person of unknown origin—was clearly a threat to the imperial family.
Above all, in Lady Eom’s eyes, Ok Jin-seo held no loyalty toward the imperial house. Having spent years at Gojong’s side sharpening her eye for the world, Lady Eom could see it clearly. Ok Jin-seo felt no allegiance to the Yi imperial family of the Korean Empire. Whatever her ultimate goal might be, to her, this country and its imperial house were nothing more than tools.
Moreover, she was a woman. And not even of noble blood. No, she was just some Ok with no known roots. A rootless wench who had seized the chaos to rise to the position of Minister of Foreign Affairs and now wielded diplomatic authority as she pleased. How could anyone not view her as a threat?
At this moment, the most critical aspect of state affairs—diplomacy—was being handled directly by that woman.
“Your Highness, the world right now is impossible to predict even one step ahead. The Japanese, who had been soaring just days ago, plummeted into the abyss and were abandoned in Yeonggili. Our empire has barely bought itself some time. If we waste that time obsessing over checking only Countess Ok, the Japanese could recover their strength and target us again. Above all, the Sapodae. The Minister of Foreign Affairs currently holds enormous influence over our Manchurian Army. If you strike down Countess Ok, you will naturally have to remove the Prime Minister as well. And if that happens, the entire Manchurian Army will fall into Russian hands. We could lose the recovered homeland we reclaimed since the time of Emperor Taejo. Consider the Rebellion of Yi Gwal during King Injo’s reign. Furthermore, half of the Manchurian Army consists of Han Chinese and Manchu troops. Do you truly believe that army can be controlled without the Minister of Foreign Affairs?”
This was no time to push too hard. While the imperial authority still had some guarantee, they should be satisfied with that and refrain from interference. Only then could the imperial family survive.
“Oh dear.”
Lady Eom bit her lip hard. Pitifully, she was caught between a rock and a hard place. It was all because the late emperor had died so suddenly, leading to this outcome.
“For now, let us simply observe the situation. If we try to eliminate the Manchurian Army faction now, viewing it as both internal and external trouble, it could lead straight to civil war.”
“Damn it.”
She could neither advance nor retreat. In the midst of all this, striking at Ok Jin-seo and Yi Beom-yun, the greatest contributors to the war, would only make things harder. For now, it seemed better to at least protect imperial authority.
“In any case, since the empire has won the war, Your Highness must safeguard His Majesty’s imperial dragon robe well.”
Protect the dragon robe well. This was a roundabout way of saying she should at least preserve the current emperor in case of unforeseen events. Of course, Yi Wan-yong had not said it out of sincere advice. He was simply mocking her. What could a woman who possessed nothing but the hem of her skirt possibly do to protect the emperor?
In the end, the hilt of the sword now rested with Yi Beom-yun and Ok Jin-seo.
“Naturally, that is my intention. As a minister who served the late emperor, you too, Minister of Education, must serve our imperial house well.”
Yi Wan-yong offered Lady Eom a faint smile. A properly mocking one.
Serve my ass.
In any case, the mandate of heaven for this imperial house had already ended. There was no reason to forcibly prop up the declining authority of the Yi clan. Even if they stubbornly maintained the Yi Empire, it would simply be devoured by some other country instead of Japan. In that case, wasn’t it better to be eaten by people of the same blood?
“I hear the Prime Minister is recently pushing for women’s suffrage.”
As he left Seokjojeon, Yi Wan-yong muttered quietly to himself. The moment Yi Beom-yun, who could be considered Ok Jin-seo’s greatest patron as the Gando Administrator, became Prime Minister, he immediately began advocating for women’s rights. In other words, he was clearly backing Ok Jin-seo.
If so, the answer was already clear. Since she was a woman, a restoration of absolute monarchy through a reverse-gender revolution would be difficult. In the current situation, it was more likely they would establish a military government similar to the old military regimes of previous dynasties. After that, it would probably become a constitutional monarchy or a republic.
Moreover, she was the de facto leader of the Manchurian Army, the empire’s strongest force. Rather than becoming her enemy and losing his head, it was far better to align himself with the Manchurian Army faction.
Choi Jae-hyung, who had grown even more powerful in the Primorsky Krai through military supply businesses during the Russo-Japanese-Korean War and by taking over various Japanese enterprises, met with Viceroy of the Far East Bezobrazov.
“Hmm, so President Choi is arranging a meeting with Countess Ok?”
“Yes. Countess Ok is not merely skilled in combat and diplomacy. She is the very person who designed this airplane.”
Bezobrazov frowned at Choi Jae-hyung’s words. How could one woman be so knowledgeable about combat, diplomacy, the military, and even weapons? Was she really a woman? Just how brilliant was her mind? When he thought about it, it seemed she really must have studied in Europe. It was proof that even an Oriental could reach the level of an honorary white if they received a European education.
“I am not unaware that she is a woman favored by His Majesty the Tsar. But is she not still a subject of the Korean Empire while serving as a servant of the Tsar?”
If she acted purely as a noble of the Russian Empire, Bezobrazov could fully accept her. After all, she had saved the Tsarevich and was regarded in Russian aristocratic society as a mysterious Oriental noblewoman. But wasn’t Countess Ok more loyal to the Korean emperor than to Russia?
“She was originally Korean, so what can be done? Please take that into consideration. Still, thanks to Countess Ok, haven’t you struck it rich, Your Highness?”
“Ahem. That is true.”
That was an undeniable fact. In any case, he had reached his current position thanks to Countess Ok. He could not simply ignore that, and Countess Ok was also a warlord of Gando.
“She is the one who saved His Highness the Tsarevich. Wouldn’t it be good for Your Highness to build a close relationship with her? Moreover, Gando, which can be called her territory, is deeply connected to you as well, is it not?”
In short, wouldn’t it be better if they got along with each other?
“There is logic to that, but is it worth it?”
Still, it felt somewhat uncomfortable. If nothing else, they were both recipients of the Tsar’s favor. And even though Countess Ok remained in Korea, the Tsar still cherished her. Hadn’t he even accepted the armistice proposal because of her?
“Recently, the Germans have been contacting Countess Ok. They probably see that if they win her over as an ally, they could strike at Russia’s Far East. But what if, because of this, Countess Ok becomes displeased and hands the technology over to them?”
If this military technology fell into German hands? Wait, wouldn’t that be quite bad? If Germany obtained this technology, would they really sit still? Or, given their aggressive nature, would they try to expand? The German Empire was rising with terrifying momentum these days. If such people obtained a weapon like this, they might avoid a two-front war by dealing with one side first.
“Then this airplane could go over to them?”
“Yes. This is merely a demonstration model.”
Whichever country acquired this military airplane first would gain a decisive advantage in war. If it went to Germany or Britain instead of Russia, what would happen? Before that, even the Far East would be endangered by Countess Ok. From what he heard, her army possessed such overwhelming combat power that numbers were practically meaningless. From the Russian Empire’s perspective—having already suffered losses to the Far East forces during Bloody Sunday—there was no reason to create such an enemy. Only a horrific future could be seen.
In any case, although they had never met face to face, if Bezobrazov had ruined the war, the creditors would have torn him apart, tasted him, and enjoyed him at their leisure. Even with preparations, the Russian situation could at best be considered a draw. But the woman named Ok Jin-seo who suddenly appeared had taken care of everything. Of course, even those preparations had been filled thanks to Ok Jin-seo, but still. At the very least, he had to prevent her from harboring resentment.
“This is driving me insane. Hah, I’ve been properly caught.”
Since she had gone and developed something like this, there was no choice.
“Instead of thinking that way, look at it positively. If you work together with Countess Ok, both of you enjoy exceptional favor from His Majesty the Tsar. Wouldn’t that be good for Russia?”
Indeed, even from Bezobrazov’s perspective, this military airplane didn’t look bad. If they could secure it first, they would possess that much more advanced technology.
“Hmm. Certainly, if we develop this first, we could suppress Britain as well. Ha, very well. I’ll listen to you since you’re President Choi.”
“Thank you for making a wise decision.”
At this point, there was nothing to be done. It did feel somewhat wrong to try to recruit a woman from a small Eastern country, but if he thought of her as a ‘Russian Countess,’ it wasn’t so bad.
Kim In-soo and Nam Sang-deok, who had now become my closest aides, were once again chirping away like sparrows in front of me. If our factions split like this, it was going to be a huge problem.
“Isn’t it rather unusual that the Germans sent a prince?”
“They sent one before as well. But this time, the purpose is clear.”
To think something straight out of a historical drama would actually happen. Hmm. Still, a German prince being sent was quite unusual. Just how important did they consider us? Or were they seriously doing this because of me alone? I couldn’t tell which it was.
“Could it be that the Germans are trying to attach a prince to you, Excellency? If they have so many princes, couldn’t they spare the sixth one or so?”
The sixth prince would be an incredibly young kid. Probably a total brat. I hadn’t seen him in person, but the vibe was obvious.
“Are they trying to marry me off because I’ve reached marrying age?”
In other words, they were trying to set me up with a prince? For real?
“Yes. It’s not entirely impossible, is it?”
Marrying age. Well, with this body, that was inevitable. After all, this body functioned as a woman. But no matter what, there was no way the German Empire would send a prince just for that. I had zero intention of filming some romance story.
“Those white bastards would really send one of their own imperial family members to a yellow monkey?”
Even in the future, there had been racial discrimination. Here, it was even worse. And they would send a prince to someone like me? Would any white man really marry his son to a monkey female? Tsk. Yeah, that still felt off.
“If they want to marry me, they’ll have to offer at least one whole country. A country big enough for me to live comfortably, play around, and never work for the rest of my life.”
Being a woman was definitely a huge debuff, but on the other hand, if I could use it, I was willing to do so. If some guy offered to devour the entire Manchurian plains, turn this country into an advanced nation, and let me live a life of pure leisure in exchange for marriage, I wouldn’t necessarily refuse. Of course, once he outlived his usefulness, I’d swallow him whole too.
The me who had lived in that apocalyptic world missed that kind of lazy daily life. The reason I spoke so lightly like some frivolous woman was simply because everything was nothing more than a means to me. Living in that pathetic world destroyed any sense of ethics. There had been a madman who sat alone in an empty theater, staring at a blank screen and ranting like a lunatic. There was a guy who studied history nonstop in a library with no food. There were idols who threw their bodies at biker gangs. It was a world that drove people insane.
I could use anything for survival, but there was no one in this era who could truly satisfy me. Even if Edward VIII suddenly fell for me and offered the entire British Empire, or if Hitler went crazy and handed over the Third Reich, or if that Georgian butcher Stalin offered up the Soviet Union, I still wouldn’t accept. Britain was an old, tired lion, and the idea of a man with questionable sexual function gave me the creeps. As for the predecessor of Russia—the red commies that would one day be called an African nuclear state in the future—they weren’t even worth mentioning.
“A whole country, huh. That would be difficult.”
When I read foreign newspapers, they called me an honorary white, said my appearance was closer to Western than Eastern, and so on. But even they probably wouldn’t consider marrying into this side.
“It’s better to live alone. I already have so much to do right now. I can’t afford to be tied down to a family, giving birth and raising children.”
Honestly, it was impossible. At least for the current me, living leisurely like a normal woman was out of the question. Even now, the pro-imperial faction and the Manchurian faction were divided. In this situation, if I suddenly built a family and stepped back? It would cause problems in every sense. Besides, Japan’s ambitions had not ended yet.