Chapter 798: There Is No Forgiveness, Regional Military Commissioner.
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 798: There Is No Forgiveness, Regional Military Commissioner.
Tremble, tremble, tremble.
Lee Geom-han’s entire body began to shake uncontrollably.
An overwhelming, inescapable terror had seized his very soul.
‘W-Why?! Why is the Commandery Princess here?!’
He couldn't understand it. He couldn't fathom why Princess Gyeonghwa was in this place.
She was supposed to be in closed-door meditation, focused on stabilizing her internal energy after a bout of Qi Deviation. So how could she possibly appear here in Jinan?
‘Could she... could she be a fake?!’
But Lee Geom-han immediately shook his head. One might be able to mimic her appearance, but the sheer majesty of a true ruler was something that could never be faked. He knew this all too well.
The woman standing before him was a born sovereign—a ruler who stood above tens of thousands.
"You certainly are slow to move. Do you not see me?"
Princess Gyeonghwa’s voice, cold as ice, pierced his ears. She was rebuking him for failing to offer a proper greeting despite being face-to-face with her.
"I... I pay my respects to the Commandery Princess!"
At the sound of her voice, Lee Geom-han scrambled to his feet. He immediately bowed low, realizing the gravity of his disrespect.
"Enough. Raise your head. Receiving a prostrate bow brings me little joy."
"I... I am deeply sorry... I was so flustered that... I committed a grave discourtesy."
Lee Geom-han lifted his head, cold sweat pouring down his face as he spoke with extreme caution.
"Is that all?" Princess Gyeonghwa asked, staring him down.
"......I beg your pardon?" Lee Geom-han replied, his expression one of feigned ignorance.
"I asked if that was the only discourtesy you committed."
Princess Gyeonghwa’s eyes narrowed into a sharp glare as she spoke.
Flinch.
Lee Geom-han shuddered under her gaze. The moment their eyes met, he felt a crushing pressure, as if thousands of needles were pricking his skin.
"I... I do not know... Please... enlighten me..."
Lee Geom-han barely managed to squeeze the words out, struggling against the pressure weighing down on his body.
"You were saying some rather interesting things earlier," Princess Gyeonghwa said with a chilling smile.
‘N-No... did she hear the conversation?!’
Lee Geom-han’s face turned deathly pale.
"Did you not say that with status and power, one can do anything?"
"T-That... well... you see..."
"And did you not claim that there isn't a single person in the Five Military Commanderies, the Eastern Depot, or the Embroidered Uniform Guard who hasn't taken your bribes?"
".....It's a misunderstanding! Princess!" Lee Geom-han cried out desperately.
"A misunderstanding, you say... Every word came from your own mouth, so how can you call it a misunderstanding?"
Princess Gyeonghwa’s cold eyes glittered.
"T-That is... I was merely blustering! I just... I made up things that didn't happen to scare him!"
Lee Geom-han began to make excuses frantically. He was gripped by the terrifying realization that if he didn't fix this, his head might roll.
"Then why were you trying to scare that man?"
Princess Gyeonghwa pointed toward Sun-woo, who was standing calmly to the side.
"That man... he is a traitor who harmed the Vice Regional Military Commissioner and the Assistant Regional Military Commissioner, both officials of the Imperial Court! I feared he might harm me as well, so I blustered excessively to protect myself!"
Lee Geom-han began to spin his tale, naturally disparaging Sun-woo in the process.
"Is that so?"
Princess Gyeonghwa gave a noncommittal response. She then turned her gaze slowly toward Sun-woo.
"Are you a traitor?"
"I am not."
"Then why did you harm the Vice Regional Military Commissioner and the Assistant Regional Military Commissioner?"
"They drew their swords first. I merely responded to survive."
Sun-woo spoke in a calm, steady tone. Hearing this, Princess Gyeonghwa slowly turned her gaze back to Lee Geom-han.
"That is what he says."
She asked the question with a look of feigned curiosity.
"It's... it's all a lie! He was the one who attacked first! Princess! Please do not be deceived!"
Lee Geom-han’s voice rose in a desperate shriek.
"Regional Military Commissioner."
Princess Gyeonghwa looked at him and spoke.
"You are a terrible liar."
A cold smile spread across her lips.
"...W-What do you..."
"Do you truly think I am asking because I know nothing?"
".................."
Lee Geom-han’s face turned ashen. He realized then that she knew everything. She had heard it all—every word of the conversation between him and Jang Sun-woo.
She had given him a chance. A chance to confess the truth.
And he had kicked that chance away, blinded by his desperate need to cover his tracks.
"Your sins are great, Regional Military Commissioner," Princess Gyeonghwa said, her eyes freezing over as she stared at him.
"Not only did you bribe the institutions of the Imperial Court, but you also attempted to frame an innocent citizen as a traitor to destroy him. This is an insult to His Majesty, who appointed you as an official, and a betrayal of the Empire."
Tremble, tremble, tremble.
Lee Geom-han’s entire body shook. As she listed his crimes one by one, an unbearable sense of dread filled him.
"Furthermore, you attempted the foul deed of lying to me to cover up your crimes. How can you say your sins are not great?"
"I... I am sorry... Princess... Please... please... please... forgive me... I beg of you..."
Thud.
Bang.
Lee Geom-han threw himself onto the floor, slamming his forehead against the ground in a desperate plea. Now that everything had been exposed, he felt that begging was his only option.
"I have judged that you lack the proper qualifications to serve as the Regional Military Commissioner in charge of a province. Therefore, I hereby strip you of your rank. Furthermore, all the wealth you have accumulated through corruption shall be confiscated and returned to the Empire."
Princess Gyeonghwa ignored his pleas for mercy and continued her decree.
"I am sorry! I am sorry! Please, have mercy! Please! Please!"
Thud, thud, thud, thud.
Lee Geom-han slammed his head against the floor repeatedly, begging for forgiveness. His position as Regional Military Commissioner, his fortune amounting to tens of thousands of nyang—it was all on the verge of vanishing in an instant. How could he not beg?
"I refuse! There is no forgiveness for one who attempted to deceive me until the very end!"
Princess Gyeonghwa spoke with a resolute expression. This man had troubled Sun-woo. How could she possibly show mercy to such trash? It was out of the question.
"Princess! If my wealth is confiscated and my rank is stripped, I am a dead man!"
Lee Geom-han wept as he begged. Throughout his career as Regional Military Commissioner, he had accumulated countless grudges. He had framed numerous political rivals and sent them into exile; he had levied his own private taxes on the wealth of great merchants to line his pockets; and he had extorted astronomical sums from the ruffians of the Wicked Way Alliance.
Yet, no one had dared to voice their grievances. His power as the Regional Military Commissioner had been a shield that protected him.
But to be stripped of his office now? It was no different from being told to go out and die.
"Why should I concern myself with your circumstances?" Princess Gyeonghwa asked coldly.
"You are truly heartless! How can you say such a thing...!"
Lee Geom-han looked at her with a wounded expression.
"I am a member of the Imperial Family, with a status far higher than yours. Furthermore, I am a Grand General, holding a rank far above yours. Was it not you who said that with status and power, one can do as they please? What exactly is the problem?"
Princess Gyeonghwa threw his own words back at him with a look of feigned confusion.
"................"
Lee Geom-han was speechless. It was exactly what he had said.
"Furthermore, you have committed one more unforgivable sin."
"W-What... what is that?"
"You have shown hostility toward the Imperial Family with words that are too foul to repeat."
"That... that cannot be... Hostility toward the Imperial Family?! Me?!"
Lee Geom-han asked in bewilderment. Hostility toward the Imperial Family? What on earth did that mean? He was a man who feared and revered the Imperial Family more than anyone. How could he have shown them hostility?
"Did you not say it yourself? That you would exterminate the Three Clans of anyone associated with Jang Sun-woo? That if it were a man, you would sever his limbs and hang him, and if it were a woman, you would sever her limbs and throw her to the soldiers as a plaything?"
Princess Gyeonghwa’s voice was chillingly calm.
"How... how can those words... be considered hostility... toward the Imperial Family?!" Lee Geom-han asked, still unable to understand.
"Jang Sun-woo is my husband. How can that not be considered hostility toward the Imperial Family? You spoke of exterminating not only me but the entire Imperial Family!"
Princess Gyeonghwa’s voice erupted in a shout, her eyes burning with rage.
"................"
Lee Geom-han’s jaw dropped in sheer horror. The shocking truth, something he had never even imagined, left him speechless.
Jang Sun-woo...
A mere wanderer who knew nothing but how to swing a sword...
Was the husband of the most noble and great woman in the world?
What kind of madness was this?
Lee Geom-han stared blankly into space, his mind a chaotic mess as he tried to process the information.
After a long silence, Lee Geom-han slowly stood up. He drew the sword from his waist, the sharp blade glinting in the light.
"What are you doing?" Princess Gyeonghwa asked, watching him.
"I wish to end everything with my own life."
Lee Geom-han pressed the blade against his throat. His eyes were filled with a grim resolve.
"I never intended... If I had known he was your husband... I would never have committed such a discourtesy... So please... let it end with me. I beg of you... my clan... my wife... and my children... please..."
He began to beg over and over again. Though unintentional, he had deceived and insulted the Imperial Family. He had dared to speak of exterminating the Three Clans of a member of the Imperial Family. He had to take responsibility.
If he didn't, not only he, but his entire clan would be branded as traitors. His Three Clans would be exterminated. Wiped out without a trace.
He had to stop it. He had to ensure it ended with his life alone, no matter what.
"How pathetic," Princess Gyeonghwa said with a sneer. "Do you truly believe your life is worth that much?"
She met his gaze with eyes that were utterly cold.
"Your life has no value. Even if you end it now, nothing will change."
"................Princess...... I beg of you.......... please...... please.... let it end with me...... I... I am begging you like this..."
Lee Geom-han pleaded, tears streaming down his face. He didn't care if his rank was stripped. His son or his descendants could enter government service later. He didn't care about his wealth. He could always earn it back.
But he could not stand to see his clan destroyed. Everything would be gone. The evidence that he had lived, the descendants who carried his blood, the centuries of his family's history—all of it.
So he could only weep and beg. Beg for mercy. Beg for his clan to be preserved.
Princess Gyeonghwa looked at Lee Geom-han with a flat expression. His face was a mess of tears and snot, and his entire body was trembling. He looked incredibly small and wretched for a leader who governed an entire province.
"You are seeking forgiveness from the wrong person. I am not the one you should be begging. It is my husband, whom you directly insulted."
Princess Gyeonghwa looked at him calmly.
"If my husband forgives you, I shall forgive you as well. And I shall clear you of the brand of traitor. However, if you do not receive his forgiveness, your Three Clans shall be exterminated."
Her sharp eyes flashed.
"I... I understand!"
Hope flickered in Lee Geom-han’s eyes. He immediately turned his head to look at Sun-woo, who was standing quietly to the side.
"Th... That..."
Lee Geom-han slowly opened his mouth to offer his apology.
"......I'm sor—"
But the words wouldn't come out easily. Deep in his heart, the thought that Sun-woo was still just a lowly wanderer remained.
"I... I am sorry..."
Finally, Lee Geom-han managed to squeeze the words out in a voice as small as a crawling ant. His face was flushed with shame.
"For what?" Sun-woo asked. He was asking what exactly he had done wrong.
"I... I failed to recognize the Imperial Son-in-Law... and due to a misunderstanding... I committed a great discourtesy....... It was by no means intentional... and if the Imperial Son-in-Law had informed me of this fact beforehand..... I would never have done such a thing..... I am truly sorry for causing you concern unintentionally... If you give me a chance, I will conduct myself with more prudence in the future..."
Lee Geom-han rambled on with his apology.
"Do you know something?"
Sun-woo spoke in a calm tone after listening to the apology.
"Wh... What is it?"
"Do you know which words should never be included in an apology?"
"W-What do you mean?"
"They say you should never use phrases like 'unintentionally,' 'misunderstanding,' 'it wasn't deliberate,' 'I'll be careful in the future,' or 'it's not just my fault.'"
"Do you know why?"
".....I do not."
"The moment those words are included, an apology loses its inherent function. it devolves into a mere excuse filled with evasion and the shifting of blame."
Sun-woo continued with a gentle smile.
"And yet, Regional Military Commissioner, you used every single one of those words in your apology."
Sun-woo’s eyes began to glint sharply. Seeing that look, Lee Geom-han’s complexion turned pale. He realized he had made a mistake.
"There is no forgiveness, Regional Military Commissioner."
Sun-woo looked at Lee Geom-han with a cold expression. And as he met that gaze, Lee Geom-han’s face turned a sickly, dark hue.