Chapter 174
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 174
Chapter Title: The King's Return
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To Danjong, who had truly become king, the world looked new. He saw the power struggles among the ministers and the gazes of Kim Jongseo and Grand Prince Suyang. In the midst of it all, he realized that the cold water lapping at his feet was not the weight of his own burden.
Late at night.
In his bedchamber, the one place in this vast palace where he could reveal his innermost thoughts, he spoke to Eunuch Kim, whom he trusted more than anyone.
“The Left State Councilor is recommending his own people for vacant positions, and my uncle Suyang is insisting on excessive rewards for his followers.”
The cold, dark water was a warning, telling Danjong that there were traitors who coveted his throne. It was an instinct born of a man who was born a king, raised as a king, and had now become one.
Eunuch Kim looked at Danjong with a pained expression.
“...Your Majesty.”
“The Left State Councilor has served since my grandfather’s reign and still holds power as a regent minister. He would not wish for a change of kings.”
Despite it being his own affair, Danjong remained composed.
“I must be wary of my uncle Suyang.”
Having truly become king, Danjong came to this conclusion.
His conclusion was swift, but Grand Prince Suyang’s actions were swifter.
Kim Jongseo, who had not anticipated such a rapid move, was defeated, and Grand Prince Suyang and his rebels stormed the palace. The cruel stench of blood reached all the way to Gangnyeongjeon Hall. While even Eunuch Kim had gone to fend off the traitors, the screams grew closer.
‘They’re coming.’
Danjong bit his lip.
The door to his chamber burst open with a crash, revealing Grand Prince Suyang, a blood-drenched sword in his hand.
The movie theater fell silent. The audience, captivated by the tension between the two, seemed to have forgotten to breathe. As if secretly witnessing a moment in history, they kept their mouths tightly shut, fearing that a single word might break the fragile standoff.
Grand Prince Suyang snarled, baring his teeth.
“Listen well. I will not kill you.”
He spoke as if chewing on each and every letter.
“I will frame today’s events as a righteous purge and ascend the throne legitimately, so no rumors will follow.”
Grand Prince Suyang grabbed Danjong by the collar. Seeing the look in Danjong’s eyes—a look that said, *you are still nothing but a traitor*—Suyang roared.
“No matter how much you get on my nerves, I have no intention of becoming a traitor by killing you, so stop provoking me! Lee Hongwi!”
For a moment, Danjong’s eyes wavered.
Just one day.
The coup that turned the heavens upside down was over.
Grand Prince Suyang seized all the key government posts. The sight of him bestowing rewards upon his loyalists stood in stark contrast to the despairing Danjong. The regent ministers were dead, and even Grand Prince Anpyeong, Suyang’s check against power, had been sent into exile.
Before Danjong could even make a move, Grand Prince Suyang had blocked every path.
To eliminate the influence of Consort Hyebin of the Yang clan, a royal consort of King Sejong whom Danjong relied upon, Suyang arranged for Danjong to marry the daughter of his own man, Song Hyeonsu. There was much opposition, as the mourning period for King Munjong was not yet over, but Suyang paid it no mind.
And that was not all. On Grand Prince Suyang’s command, Consort Hyebin Yang, Grand Prince Geumseong, several other members of the royal family, court attendants, and officials were all branded as criminals and exiled.
“Please take care of yourself, Your Majesty.”
“You too, Court Lady Choi… You too must stay healthy…”
When Danjong finally shed tears, they all turned their heads to hide their own, for they knew this exile would not have a good end.
In the end, after sending away his precious people one by one, Danjong made a decision. He would step down from this position before more people were hurt.
Below Gyeonghoeru Pavilion.
At Danjong’s command, Grand Prince Suyang and the ministers gathered.
A heavy atmosphere hung in the air, as if they sensed what was coming. Danjong looked at the bowing Grand Prince Suyang and the civil and military officials, and opened his mouth.
“Having inherited the great work of the former king at a young age, and residing deep within the palace, I was ignorant of matters both within and without, and thus many troubles have befallen the nation.”
He could not bring himself to utter words like “vile faction” or “traitors.” The people who had died or been exiled trying to protect him were not such people.
At Danjong’s words, the remaining loyal subjects choked back their tears.
Grand Prince Suyang and his followers bowed their heads, hiding their expressions.
“To stop any further strife, I have decided to pass this heavy burden to my uncle Suyang.”
*So, let this be the end of it, Uncle.* Whether he understood Danjong’s unspoken words or not, Grand Prince Suyang simply prostrated himself and shouted.
“Please retract your order! Your Majesty!”
Seeing Grand Prince Suyang weeping false tears, Danjong’s expression darkened further. What a truly remarkable uncle he was.
The ministers also cried out for him to retract the order. How many among them truly meant it? Danjong’s face clouded over.
Seong Sammun, who had brought the royal seal, sobbed uncontrollably. Beneath the quiet Gyeonghoeru Pavilion, it seemed only his cries spoke for Danjong’s heart.
Biting his lip, Danjong lifted the royal seal with a trembling hand and passed it to Grand Prince Suyang.
“Please, please lead this country well.”
At those words, Grand Prince Suyang’s face hardened. A sharp glint shone through his fake tears. He was annoyed that Danjong thought of the country before himself. Even that benevolent heart felt like the “king’s composure” that he himself lacked, and it made his stomach churn.
The eyes of the man who had been king met the eyes of the man who had become king.
And so, Grand Prince Suyang became king.
A mere three years. After the grand coronation ceremony that changed the skies of Joseon, Danjong moved his residence. At Danjong’s final words, King Sejo laughed so hard it seemed Gangnyeongjeon Hall would collapse.
“A sage king? A sage king, you say! Fine! I will be a sage king! But not to you, Lee Hongwi!”
The eunuchs standing outside trembled at his cold words.
The audience members also covered their mouths, completely engrossed in the film. Lee Jiseok? Lee Seojun? Grand Prince Seongnyeong? Royal Physician Heo? None of them came to mind. There was only Danjong, and there was only Grand Prince Suyang.
“…They have failed, Your Highness.”
“I see.”
Danjong listened to the news brought by Eunuch Kim.
The final attempt at a restoration had been foiled by Kim Jil’s betrayal. Sejo was personally torturing those involved. Perhaps because Sejo did nothing to stop it, the news continued to flow in.
“Seong Sammun was said to be dignified, Your Highness.”
“I see…”
“Park Paengnyeon reportedly called him ‘Master’.”
“*Sob*…”
Even under brutal torture, Seong Sammun did not bow his head. Park Paengnyeon addressed Sejo as ‘Master,’ a title beneath a king. In front of the traitor, the six ministers showed not a shred of shame.
Moved by their loyalty, Danjong wept and prayed for the souls of the dead.
“Demote the King Emeritus to Prince Nosan and expel him from the palace!”
Sejo’s order came down, and Danjong was to leave the palace for Yeongwol. Fear bloomed on the face of Danjong, who had never once stepped outside the palace walls in his life.
In the far-off land of Yeongwol, Danjong met the common people. One of them was Kangdol, a man who lived in a village near Yeongwol. Sneaking past the guards, Kangdol would visit Cheongnyeongpo, and the stories he told of his village were Danjong’s only solace.
But that small happiness did not last long.
At the sight of Danjong seated before a bowl of black poison, Lee Miyeon and Park Seongah burst into tears.
Without a single word, his expression alone conveyed the complexity of his heart. *He won’t run away, for the sake of his people.* Was there anything more tragic?
Danjong smiled gently and looked up at the sky.
“…Haven’t I done well enough?”
At that one line, sobbing finally broke out across the theater. All efforts to stifle the sounds to avoid disturbing others were washed away.
Ah.
*You did well. Of course, you did.*
*You tried so hard. You really did.*
With nothing else she could say, Lee Miyeon could only cry for the Danjong who wasn't crying himself. What if this good child had remained king?
What if he had lived a little longer? Though it was long in the past, the thought wouldn't leave her mind.
Amidst the audience’s weeping,
The camera slowly pulled away from Danjong as he reached for the bowl of poison. It showed the weeping Eunuch Kim and Kangdol, and the village people prostrating themselves in the direction of Gwangpunheon Pavilion. The children Danjong had saved and tried to protect ran about, laughing and playing, oblivious to it all.
Below, the landscape of Yeongwol came into view. Here, the king who had longed for his palace and his family met his end.
He was only seventeen years old.
The camera, looking down upon the land, caught sight of an official on horseback. Even as the sun set, he urged his horse on, crying “Hiyah, hiyah!” until he entered the capital city. The official relayed a message to a royal guard, who then relayed it to a eunuch.
As King Sejo was about to enter Gangnyeongjeon Hall, the eunuch approached and whispered in his ear. Sejo’s lips twitched. He tried to force down the corners of his mouth, but he could not stop the smile from spreading.
Finally, finally, he was dead.
The ember that would surely have burned Sejo to ashes one day was finally extinguished. Now, he was truly the rightful king. A king whom no one could defy.
“Hahahaha!”
In the end, unable to contain himself, Sejo burst out laughing for the first time in his life, as if pouring out all his pent-up emotions. It felt as though a lifetime of inferiority complex was exploding.
The booming laughter echoed from the speakers, reaching the audience. The viewers, who had been weeping over Danjong’s death, felt a sudden, chilling emptiness. To laugh like that at someone’s death was utterly horrifying. It was unjust. They wished someone, anyone, could right the young king’s wrongs.
His laughter subsiding, Sejo stepped into Gangnyeongjeon Hall with a look of satisfaction. He strode confidently toward his bedchamber. The camera, which had been following him from behind, caught something falling from the sky.
It was a tiny, white snowflake.
The camera, which had paused for a moment, resumed following Sejo.
Sejo walked down the corridor and flung open the door to his bedchamber, which had been brightly lit with candles prepared by a court lady. This was the king’s sanctuary, a place only a king could inhabit.
The look of satisfaction on Sejo’s face slowly began to change.
Lee Miyeon, who had been glaring at Sejo with resentment, noticed the shift. So did the rest of the audience.
Sejo seemed to have forgotten how to breathe. The corners of his mouth, which had been turned up in a gentle smile, stiffened and then slowly drooped downwards. His half-smiling eyes widened, and then widened again until they could get no larger. The healthy color drained from his face, leaving it a deathly white.
Sejo’s face began to tremble.
His hands, his feet,
his legs, his body,
all began to shake as if caught in an earthquake.
“Lee… Hongwi…!”
At Sejo’s scream-like cry, the audience members, who had been beating their chests in frustration, clapped their hands over their mouths.
The camera did not show the inside of the chamber, focusing only on a part of the room and Sejo himself. And yet, the audience felt it. The eerie strangeness within, the absolute terror that Sejo was experiencing. They shuddered at his expression and the sinister atmosphere that emanated from within the chamber.
The dead king had returned.
As the true king returned, all the emotions that had burst forth now swelled to double, triple their size, binding Sejo like thick chains. Sejo, no, Grand Prince Suyang, collapsed to the floor as if his legs had given out.
“This… This can’t be…!”
The camera filming him slowly pulled back. It moved down the corridor, now showing the bedchamber from outside Gangnyeongjeon Hall.
Snow was falling.
It fell as if mourning the death of a king.
Two shadows were cast upon the paper-screen door.
A small, seated shadow, and a large, cowering shadow.
It was the dead Danjong and the living Suyang.
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