Chapter 279: Unwanted Plan (3)
I felt as if the three imperial family members had decided to drive me crazy.
I had begun to resent the Emperor. I had also even begun to resent Kim Hyunsung, the lovely returner, who had given me this ordeal.
I didn’t know when it started, but I felt like he had already appointed the Second Princess as the Empress. Of course, it wasn’t a hopeless situation for the First Princess, but I thought this case was probably decisive.
As he mentioned earlier, it must be fine to at least make the First Princess live safely.
The problem was that the old psychopath’s plan included me.
‘If I have thoughts, would I want to make a living with that?’
The moment I accepted that, at least a few necks would be cut off.
It would be difficult to stop Jung Hayan that had been quiet these days, and Cha Hee-ra was also likely to be uncomfortable.
I bet, if I set up a living in the north with the First Princess, the next day, she would be found as a cold corpse. I would know exactly who would be her killer.
No, going to the northern part with her in the first place was no different from being distant from the central power.
‘I have to refuse, no matter what.’
“Your Majesty.”
“Hohoho.”
“That… Thanks for the offering… As you know, I am…”
“Ahhh. The wizard attendant and the Queen of the Red Mercenary can be tolerated.”
“That… What do you mean…?”
“It’ll be too much to say not to meet people who you are already meeting. Hohoho. Charlia’s jealousy is so severe that you will have a hard time. Yes. Probably so.”
‘It’s not something that you can talk about while laughing…’
Upon seeing him saying that with a bright smile, it certainly did seem that this old man was senile.
Now was not the time to be considerate of his mood.
“I’ll… have to think about it over time, Your Majesty.”
“Right. It’s an important matter, so you’ll need to be prepared, Honorary Bishop Lee Kiyoung. I can understand.”
“No matter how I think, it’s a burdensome proposal… Of course, I am grateful for your Majesty’s proposal, but honestly, I can’t judge if I’m the right person for Her Majesty Charlia.”
“Too much humility is poisonous. Hohoho. Honorary Bishop Lee Kiyoung has nothing to lack. Yes. Absolutely. Who would call our son-in-law lacking? Think carefully. Of course, as it is premature, the conversation we had today, the other people…”
“Yeah. They won’t know anything.”
“Right. It’s really late. You can go. Oh and… I understand your feelings, but I hope you answer as soon as possible.”
“Yes, Your Majesty. I will give you an answer after careful consideration.”
“Yes. You should.”
“Then, I’ll be leaving. Your Majesty.”
“Okay. Go, Honorary Bishop Lee Kiyoung.”
‘Shit.’
As soon as I turned away from the Emperor, a curse came out of my mouth.
Somehow, this imperial group not only bothered me, but it seemed that they were conspiring to destroy my life.
Until now, I’d been through annoying situations many times, but among them, this was surely the worst. I had to find a way out of this somehow.
In the first place, it was troublesome that my movements were limited, as I could not know exactly why Kim Hyunsung told me not to make the Second Princess the Empress.
Simply put, his request was too much.
I was grateful to him for taking my abilities into high account, but making the lunatic First Princess the Empress is impossible no matter what bullshit I do.
He even gave a restriction saying that I cannot pull Charlotte to the rock-bottom completely, so it felt like my hands were empty.
Charlia was a difficult opponent to fight with a huge burden.
‘I’m stressed.’
Naturally, I went to find the returner.
I had to stop by my room, so I quickly walked in and opened the door, and I saw Jung Hayan lying on the sofa in a strange position.
She was ridiculously wearing the outerwear that I had taken off on her face, and it seemed better not to think about what she had been trying to do.
“Is it Hayan?”
“O-o… Oppa? Y… You came back?”
“Yes. It seems like it’s been a while….”
“Yes… Yes.”
As she opened her mouth in a voice of embarrassment, she hurriedly squeezed the outerwear covering her face to the side and sat up.
She looked very embarrassed that it was so unlike her.
It seemed that it would be better to change the topic for Jung Hayan, so I had no choice but to choose a good topic and open my mouth.
“Lindel is the same, right?”
“Yes. Er… Research is also paying off. And… Deokgu is doing well, and …and the new Han Sora… and Yoo Ahyoung… and … both Ahn Ki-mo and Chang-ryul have completed attacking rare-grade dungeons.”
“That’s fortunate. Oh, let’s talk a little bit later. I have something to do now. And Hyunsung-ssi…”
“It seemed like he’d be coming in late today. I-I think Hyunsung-ssi is also very busy these days. Hyejin said… that recently even she could hardly see Hyunsung’s face.”
“Is Hyejin in the room right now?”
“Yes. We ate together and came back.”
“If it’s okay, can you call her?”
“O-Of course!”
If Kim Hyunsung was away, I had no choice but to ask his deputy, Cho Hyejin.
In order to hide her embarrassment, Jung Hayan ran outside, and after a while, she showed up with Cho Hyejin.
It had been a long time since I saw Jung Hayan as she had many things to do in Lindel, but it had been even longer with Cho Hyejin.
This also indicated how busy I’d been, so I felt a bitter taste in my mouth.
Jung Hayan took a seat on one side as if she had no intention of leaving Cho Hyejin and me in this room, and Cho Hyejin bowed as usual and sat in front of the table.
“It’s been a while, Hyejin.”
“Yes. Long time no see, Vice Guild Master.”
“Are you not moving with Hyunsung recently?”
Cho Hyejin’s expression became very dark at the words I said.
She came to the capital as his attendant, but that guy was moving alone, so it was not unreasonable for her to feel ashamed as this would make one feel like she was not doing her responsibilities as his second-in-command.
Cho Hyejin nodded quietly as if my prediction was correct.
“Er… Yes. That’s right. The Guild Master seems to be focusing on his personal work these days…”
“I see.”
“Yes. Come to think of it. I had a message from the Guild Master to Kiyoung-ssi.”
‘I knew it.’
“Please tell me right away.”
“That… he’s asking even though it’s hard… he said he would finish his work as soon as possible and come back and join you.”
“… …”
Naturally, there was nothing I could say.
I wasn’t expecting a solution, but I couldn’t agree with his words to make me wait.
‘The bastard.’
Of course, the Emperor’s health had not yet deteriorated to a dangerous extent.
If he knew roughly when the Emperor was going to heaven, it made sense that he was expecting this fight to drag on a little longer. Still, even now, considering that my political position was being ruined, I couldn’t afford to remain still.
As I had many fears, I had no choice but to think about could possibly happen.
Still, the timing had been struck by the Emperor’s words. This would be a good time for the Second Princess to completely annihilate us.
Perhaps Charlotte would openly promote a meeting with the First Princess and me.
It would be seen as a good opportunity to send two people she doesn’t want to see in exile simultaneously, so even if I were Charlotte, I would actively push the two of us.
I was now a little more stressed than before. My voice began to sound annoyed, even to me.
“Excuse me, do you have no idea what Hyunsung is doing?”
“No. I also don’t know what he’s doing right now. However…”
“Yes.”
“He seemed… to be looking for someone.”
“Someone?”
“Yes. A person. The Guild Master also seemed not to know who he was looking for. Unusually, even if I were a little farther away, I would always attend a social party like a masked ball with him… It felt like he was looking around more sensitively than usual.”
“Ah…”
“I offered to see if I could help, but he shook his head. After he said that it would be more comfortable to move alone…”
“He started going to places where Hyejin’s gaze couldn’t reach.”
“Yes. That’s right. I’m just sorry for not being able to fulfill my responsibilities. I should have been an attendant who can be a little more helpful…”
“No. No. It’s not Hyejin’s fault, so you don’t have to blame yourself. Perhaps he’s doing this for something else. Yes. Definitely.”
‘Is it important?’
I knew from the beginning that he would not be just playing around. This meant that this was an urgent event for Hyunsung. I could bet that this person would play an important event in the future.
‘I have to understand.’
It was annoying to have my position narrowed, but what Kim Hyunsung was doing now was more likely to be more important than just getting a political position.
‘I still have a lot of time. Right. It is correct to understand.’
As mentioned earlier, the Emperor’s health was normal. I still had time to change this situation.
‘Okay. That’s right. He has to work out more important things first.’
But gradually, my annoyance began to get the best of me.
Of course, I could understand that he was having a hard time, too, but I had to think about whether he had been neglecting me too much.
If the house’s head neglected the house and started to wander around, the house would eventually fall into shambles.
All I needed right now was a word of comfort and some warmth, but he was still busy running around.
It was official – I was very much annoyed. I doubted this feeling of resentment would ever disappear.
I wonder what the hell was going on for him to leave me altogether.
‘So that’s more important. Okay, that’s it.’
I didn’t know if it was because of my anger towards the imperial family, but I was gradually becoming disappointed with Kim Hyunsung.
‘Shall I just ruin everything…?’
The condition that the Second Princess couldn’t become Empress.
If I were to get it right, it didn’t matter as to what would happen.
‘Yes… Let’s turn it over.’
I started to smile.