Empress Handbook

Chapter Fifty-Eight | Fireworks and Untied Shoes

The car stops at the Front Courtyard instead of Jungyong Palace. Taehyung looks at Yeoreum with a wide grin.

"Do you want to have a walk?" Taehyung says, much more energetic than before. After making the announcement, he feels as if he hurled away a hefty block of iron his shoulders have been burdened with since birth.

"Sure," Yeoreum utters. "You gave me a tour of the Castle when I was going to marry you. You should give me another tour now that I'm going to divorce you."

Taehyung chuckles. "Sure."

Taehyung wraps his arm around Yeoreum's waist and heads towards the Imperial Living Room, where their first tour started.

"I wanted to end the Imperial System myself," Taehyung utters, gazing at the lounges his family never sat on together. "There are too many disgusting things below the surface, and there is no point in scrutinising where everything went wrong. It is perhaps the most dignified way to stop this mess."

Yeoreum notices the sadness in Taehyung's eyes and quickly clings to his arm, disrupting his thoughts with her affection.

"Was everyone on Cheonji Island okay?"

"My mother tried to kill the people on Cheonji Island before she died, but luckily the person we sent to infiltrate the place worked with Seohee to save everyone. Right, Seohee told Hoseok she has something to—"

"I don't want to see her," Yeoreum cuts in instantly. She already knows what Seohee wants to reveal—the person she has blocked on her phone—there is no purpose in seeing Seohee again.

"All right." Taehyung shrugs. "Do you blame me for not publicising everything the Imperial Family has done?"

"If it was my old self, yes. I would've stubbornly wanted to spit everything in the public's face, but as my current self, I don't see the point in dragging it all out in the open. As long as we save the people who need to be saved and recover the order, I think it's okay for us to leave some hope for society."

Taehyung smiles. "Thank you for saying that."

They amble down the smooth rock pavement that is basked in soft sunlight. The captivating hues and eye-catching extravagance are all still here, but the soul of the prestigiousness has slipped cold like the weather.

"You left Hoseok to explain the nitty-gritty things on purpose, right?" Yeoreum says.

Taehyung broadens his smile. After being together for this long, Yeoreum can read his mind, and he loves that about her.

"Why would you think that?"

"It's obvious. You wanted to turn that conference into an opportunity for Hoseok to showcase his abilities to future employers. There is no reason for you to make someone else deliver a report you wrote in your stead."

"Allowing Hoseok to shine is a part of my motivation. Moreover, the nation doesn't trust me anymore after they know I once cheated on you, so Hoseok's words are more effective than mine," Taehyung says, poking Yeoreum's elbow."The people really love you."

"They love everyone who holds less power than them," Yeoreum says. "What are you going to do after this?"

"I have a university degree, so I'll probably find a job and make a living like a regular person."

"But when did you get a university degree?" Yeoreum says, gasping. "You're not even fully twenty-three yet, and you served as the Emperor for six years. How did you get a university degree?"

"It's called finishing degree requirements faster than four years and remote learning," Taehyung says as he cocks his head. "Wait, it can't be that your nerd-ass self is suddenly attracted to me because I acquired a degree while having a full-time job?"