173 – 34. The agitator of the finals
Kim Woo-sung was not a dull person. Personally, I thought he was rather quick-witted.
Therefore, no matter how much he had the reputation of being a collateral royal family member or a job holder, he was able to retain a certain amount of power within the imperial family, no matter how small.
Because the royal family is a place where secret struggles and political fights take place on a daily basis, Kim Woo-sung came to a great realization.
The so-called art of living in the world.
No matter how much you pursue it, there is nothing lacking.
“Senior Kim Woo-sung, please raise your head.”
“Thank you for your kind words! But I personally cannot raise my head in front of God Kim Woo-sung, a close friend of His Highness the Crown Prince!”
“What are you talking about?”
“The crime of not daring to recognize His Highness the Crown Prince’s close friend, the crime of trying to exploit him in an unreasonable way, and the crime of trying to influence the intentions of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and the Princess! This is something that no royal family member who is steeped in the glory of the imperial family should ever do. “It’s a serious crime!”
“……Hmm.”
“So, please accept my apology for being a disloyal bastard!”
Boom. Bang. Bang.
He, who had a job, put his forehead on the floor with all his heart, and soon the floor cracked and blood poured out.
Although the bitter pain and the foreign object lodged in the wound were painful, Kim Woo-sung did not stop his apology.
It was after Namgoong Min got up from the wheelchair that he stopped committing self-harm.
“Senior Kim Woo-sung.”
“I’m not someone who deserves to be called that high!”
“No, at this moment, we are Namgoong Min from the first year and Woosung Kim from the second year, so shouldn’t we respect them?”
“……!”
At first glance, a voice that is infinitely kind and gentle.
But Kim Woo-sung, who realized what was going on, broke into a cold sweat.
‘I will look at it from the perspective of an academy student…’ … ?’
Not the position of the crown prince’s close friends and collateral royal family, but the position of the first and second year academy students.
That is no different from saying that I will stand here as a first-year student at the academy, not as a close friend of the crown prince.
What that means is that he will not accept Kim Woo-sung’s apology for what he did from the position of the ‘royal family’──
‘What the f*ck!’
No. That is absolutely not enough.
This incident was a fight between the first and second years of the academy, and a mere collateral royal family member messed with the crown prince’s close friend.
If things end here as an academy student, it is obvious what will happen to Kim Woo-sung as the ‘royal family’.
‘I won’t kill you right away, but…… !’
It will probably end with personal punishment for Kim Woo-sung and reduction of the faction. ‘Now’ is the word.
After that, it is clear that he will be branded as someone who dared to mess with the crown prince’s close friend, and will not be able to make a sound within the imperial family.
No, it is heavenly luck to be able to stay in the imperial family for that long. I’m sure he’ll be relegated to a corner somewhere…… !
Politics is extremely complex and profound, so you should not take what the other person says at face value.
So, all Kim Woo-sung can do is.
“Please, please! Please take away my anger!!”
“What do you mean by anger? Don’t you know that the poisoned arrow and the threat to my parents were all my lies?”
“Absolutely not! I dared to use a poisoned arrow! I tried to win in the finals by threatening Namgoong Min’s parents!”
Of course, Kim Woo-sung never did anything like that, but he had to shout out that it was all his intention.
No, Kim Woo-sung was already brainwashing himself into thinking that he had done it.
If he admits everything, his reputation in the Academy will fall into ruin. Maybe he should be expelled.
But it doesn’t matter.
Instead, he received ‘sufficient’ punishment, so at least he will not be kicked out of the imperial family.
Most of what you have built so far will collapse, but it will not fail at all!
‘Academy 1st year…… Namgoong Min.’
At best, he messed with a first-year fortune teller, and everything he had built his entire life was ruined. Cliques, trust, friendships, influence, money, everything.
Of course I was upset. I also heard resentment toward Namgoong Min.
But.
‘…… Mother.’
There is something his majestic mother always taught him. Avoiding invisible landmines is the quality of a true politician.
Kim Woo-sung was good at avoiding visible landmines (Kim Seong-il, Kim Eun-ha), but he just couldn’t avoid the invisible landmine (Namgoong Min).
Because his shame about his own incompetence was greater than his anger and resentment toward his opponent.
So he had no choice but to pray and pray again and again to ask for mercy.
Has it been more than 5 minutes since Kim Woo-sung hit his forehead?
As the blood hardened little by little and stuck to the ground due to the physical abilities of the job holder, Namgoong Min, who had been silent all this time, opened his mouth.
“Prince Kim Woo-seong.”
“…! Yes!!!”
Not senior Kim Woo-sung, but Prince Kim Woo-sung.
It was only a few letters of change, but it meant a world of difference.
“Are you curious about the true meaning of this matter?”
“Sosin is deaf and blind and knows nothing! Please allow me to remain deaf and blind for the rest of my life!”
“Aren’t you really curious? How did I end up in this situation? Why did I frame such a false accusation on the prince, who was my first encounter?”
“My ears were deaf and I couldn’t hear!”
“I see.”
Once again, silence where you can’t even breathe.
My throat was sore from shouting until I was hoarse, but Kim Woo-sung didn’t even move.
But even with my forehead stuck, I could tell one thing.
Namgoong Min is now raising his body.
“Prince Kim Woo-seong.”
“No! How could a close friend of His Majesty the Crown Prince treat this light-blooded person?”
“This is a message from His Highness the Crown Prince. Even if you say you are deaf, I hope you will hear it clearly.”
“───Yes.”
Kim Woo-sung immediately got down on one knee in an attitude of loyalty and supported Namgoong Min, who stood proudly in front of him.
It was natural to show respect to the messenger who brought a message from the next emperor and crown prince.
“His Royal Highness the Crown Prince said, Kim Woo-sung, a collateral royal family member, is a very talented person who has formed his own power due to his outstanding talent and quick sense.”
“It’s an honor!”
“What’s more, he dominates and controls the grades of the Romance Academy, so he is clearly the blood of the royal family of the Korean Empire and has outstanding abilities.”
However.
“Unfortunately, due to my lack of knowledge, I was unable to recognize my closest friend, the bravest fortune teller in the world, and the person who helped me the most when I rightfully inherited the throne.”
“……Yes.”
“I was angry at this and tried to kick him out, but my close friend, my fortune teller, and my public servant earnestly requested that Kim Woo-sung was a talented person who could be of use.”
“Oh, oh…!!”
“To the collateral royal family, Kim Woo-sung, who hears these words, I am the direct royal family of the great Korean Empire, the richest blood, and closer to the throne than anyone else. You, Kim Woo-sung, were my close friend, my fortune teller, and my contributor until you graduated from the academy. Helping will be the way to forgive your sins.”
“Long live! Long live! The richest blood, long live His Highness the Crown Prince!! God Kim Woo-seong follows His Majesty the Crown Prince’s wishes!!”
Boom! Bang! Bang!
Kim Woo-seong, who bowed three times along with the three cheers, quietly bowed his head, ignoring his torn forehead.
The crown prince’s orders were delivered, so he just obeyed them.
“Prince Kim Woo-seong.”
“Namgoong Min, I have complied with the wishes of His Highness the Crown Prince. I will serve Namgoong Min as my master for the next two years, until I graduate from the academy. Please treat me comfortably.”
“Okay, I’ll do that. However, be sure to act like a second-year romance academy prince and a prince in front of others.”
“I will follow your orders!”
“Good.”
Kim Woo-sung bowed his head towards Namgoong Min and quietly closed his eyes.
Help Namgoong Min for the remaining two years.
Kim Woo-sung didn’t mind even though the person who had reigned over someone, even though he was a member of the royal family, was reduced to a mere servant of a fortune teller.
Rather, I accepted it willingly.
‘This is an opportunity.’
Obviously, the word ‘meritorious service’ was included in the prince’s message earlier.
So, it means that Namgoong Min is a top contributor who helped the crown prince win in the power struggle between the crown prince and the emperor.
‘In other words, it’s a golden copper cord!”
He created his own faction, but in the end, the places he could advance to were limited due to his position as a collateral royal family. That was also something my mother always lamented.
But what if you can win Namgoong Min’s favor by enthusiastically helping him for two years? What if Namgoong Min, who will be appointed to the imperial family after graduating from the academy, tips the crown prince about Kim Woo-sung?
‘If you do well, seven ministers…… No! You can rise to the rank of a member of the imperial family! It’s quite possible!’
They say it’s a blessing in disguise.
I stepped on an invisible landmine and came close to death, but it turned out that there was gold buried under the mine.
As a member of the royal family of the Korean Empire, a politician, and a person in power, missing this opportunity was tantamount to making a fool of myself.
For that, I had to somehow show a good side to Namgoong Min.
“Well, can I now confess my sins in public?”
“That was my original thought, but not anymore.”
“Yes?”
“It’s the same with Deaf Unun, and I think you’re much more capable than I thought. It would be a shame to ruin your reputation at the academy like this.”
Nam Goong Min laughed and looked at Kim Woo Sung with cold eyes.
What happened to become Hwang Tae-cha’s close friend and closest aide, even though he was only a ?
Kim Woo-sung was proud of his actions, bowing his head and quickly apologizing again.
“What is the public opinion of second graders?”
“One-third are following me, but two-thirds seem to have turned their backs on me. Still, more than half would probably support me if I came forward myself.”
“What about the associates?”
“There are about five people. They are all people who followed me before entering the Academy.”
“You all managed to get into school?”
“Actually, there were more than 20 people, but everyone was eliminated, so there are only five.”
“Okay, who is the most useless of them all?”
“This guy is Cho Gyeong-jin. He is the nephew of the Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport’s Vice Minister. He has followed me since he was young and is very loyal but lacks ability.”
“How did you get into school?”
“Ah, when I say ability, I mean political ability. First of all, he is the most outstanding among , But he has the worst public opinion among his close associates due to his misbehavior both within the Cho family and at the Academy.”
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“Anything special?”
“If I hadn’t stopped him, he would have rushed to threaten Namgoong Min a long time ago.”
“It’s perfect.”
‘I’m sorry, Kyungjin.’
…… Actually, I didn’t feel very sorry. Because this is the guy I became friends with in the first place to use him as an outcast.
He was a friend since childhood and is still a very loyal person, but he was also an unpleasant person because his temperament did not match because he was hot-headed and short-tempered.
Still, Kim Woo-sung was grateful to Kyung-jin Cho from the bottom of his heart for being of such great service.
It also disappeared completely after a few seconds.
“Do you know roughly what I’m going to do?”
“I’m sorry, I’m not good enough…”
“No. To put it simply…It’s an offering.”
“What do you mean by sacrifice…?”
“That guy named Gyeong-jin Cho, isn’t he truly a vicious guy? How dare he change an arrow into a poisoned arrow without my master knowing, and secretly threaten someone else’s parents to scare me. When I think of that guy, I feel so wronged and resentful that I almost cry. .”
“Me too! Jo Kyung-jin, you guy…!!”
Far away.
Gritting his teeth, Kim Woo-sung looked at Nam Goong-min with an expression as if he was angry at Jo Kyung-jin, who had truly betrayed him.
Namgoong Min chuckled at him and continued his story.
“Even though it’s Gyeong-jin Cho’s fault, it’s still true that you threatened me, isn’t it?”
“That’s right! I apologize on behalf of my stupid subordinate!”
“It’s okay. Come to think of it, that Kyeong-jin Jo especially hates fortune tellers? Oh my god, is it possible that he spread an atmosphere of hatred for me within the second year…?”
“It’s definitely Gyeong-jin Cho’s doing! Don’t worry, Namgoong Min. I’ll catch that vicious traitor…!!”
“Be as flashy as possible, okay? I’ll come out at the right time, so don’t worry.”
“I follow your orders!”
“……Oh, and.”
Namgoong Min, who was about to leave the conference room as if satisfied with Kim Woo-sung’s sincere answer, suddenly turned around.
Although Kim Woo-sung still had his head down while answering, his high-quality suit was continuously soaked with cold sweat.
Namgoong Min whispered, as if he didn’t know his feelings.
“The Crown Prince is very concerned about something.”
“I will listen.”
“There cannot be two suns in the Korean Empire. One is already setting and one is rising.”
“……………….”
“It is natural to escape from the setting sun and join the rising sun… His Majesty the Crown Prince is concerned about those who have not been able to give up their attachment to the setting sun.”
“……………….”
“Tell your mother well.”
“……Yes!”