My Kingdom My Love (K-drama)

Chapter 48

The first night in her new chambers Iseul could hardly sleep. Her grandfather had bowed to her in silence before he left. There had been troublesome lines on his forehead, but he had not uttered another word.

She knew Nari was nearby, but on the other side of the paper-thin doors were also a dozen court ladies and a little further several men of the Royal Guard. The reason she couldn't sleep wasn't because she didn't feel safe. She was Wonhwa after all. The kings sword hung on a pedestal only a few feet away. Even if anyone would sneak past the guard and the court ladies, she was fairly certain she could hold her own.

The look on her grandfather's face when he left her that afternoon made her alternately feel guilty and satisfied, but also wasn't the reason she hadn't been able to fall asleep yet. It was the anticipation she felt when she thought about Jae-sung that kept her eyes wide open and her heart beating fast.

Now that she was queen it would be a lot harder for him to come and talk to her without having anyone notice. Should she call for him? Should she let Nari deliver a secret message? But then the next problem would arise. What should she say to him? It had been his plan to ignore her and win over the hearts of the officials. Maybe she just had to trust him to fulfill that plan.

However that still didn't made it easier to fall asleep. She tossed and turned all night long and in the morning the head lady clucked her tongue when she saw the dark rims under her eyes. Iseul was grateful for the skilled hands of the court lady that applied her makeup.

She had been told the council convened every day, to discuss matters of state, incoming petitions, punishments that had to be given and many other things. From her attendance at the council meetings when the king was still alive, she knew that luckily not all meetings took all day.

After breakfast the took her time to make sure she looked the part and when she walked over to the throne room, butterflies fluttered against her rib case.

However, when she entered the throne room from the special entrance on the side, she was met by a council in chaos. Her grandfather stood in front, his arms waving frantically while he strained his voice trying to be heard. Jae-sungs father stood with his arms crossed, but she was unsure if he sided with or against the prime minister. Several of the other ministers were shouting. Iseul heard words like 'unfair selection' and 'not fit to rule'. It didn't take long for her to understand she was the topic of their heated discussion. From her spot behind the headboard she could see and hear everything, they hadn't noticed her yet. Her eyes scanned for Jae-sung. She found him near the back of the hall. His arms were crossed, like his father's, but he didn't look very concerned. With a creased brow Iseul wondered why he didn't defend her. Shouldn't he be the one standing in the gap for her?

When she moved, she saw he caught sight of her, but when she moved further to the edge of the ornate carving of the tree he vehemently shook his head. Immediately she skirted back. What was he planning?

She watched from her hiding place as he called over a servant and gave the boy an order. The servant hurried away. Jae-sung nodded to a few lower ministers who asked him a question, but the men in front ignored what happened at the back. After a few minutes, in which Minister Go interfered with something her grandfather said, Iseul saw the servant return and report something to Jae-sung.

He looked up at her and this time he nodded. Iseul braced herself and walked to the spot in front of the throne.

As soon as the ministers saw her, they became still and for a moment dropping a needle could be heard. She looked at her grandfather, but instead of smiling, he looked away. The expressions of the men in the hall were so various that she had trouble focusing. She was glad when Minister Go finally stepped forward.

He bowed and said with a solemn voice: "Your Majesty, there has been concern after the sudden passing of the king, that there has not been sufficient time to prepare Her Majesty for the heavy task that awaits her."

Iseul tensed. It was a subtle way of telling her he did not have faith in her capabilities. It did not help much that in her heart, she agreed with him. She was curious what the solution was that the ministers who opposed her had come up with and so she asked: "What would you have me do, Minister Go, to alleviate that concern?"

She allowed her eyes to wonder over the faces all the way to the back, where Jae-sung stood with a determined look. It kind of hurt her feelings it was his father who made the objection, but she also understood. Minister Go would have rather seen his son on the throne.

To make it obvious she had absolutely no plan of relinquishing the place she had fought hard for, she sat down. A move that nobody misunderstood.

She knew the ministers threaded on thin ice, because it was treason to demand abdication without a good reason. Was their lack of faith in her sufficient reason to oppose her? Would she be able to stand strong on her own when the entire council was against her? Minister Go took a small step back. He seemed to wait for the others that had been shouting to suggest anything that sounded like a plan. It made Iseul feel only slightly better.

Her heart was pumping her blood through her body at an alarming rate. She felt feverish and sweaty and the throat was dry. She wanted to look at Jae-sung and beg him to help her, but that would defy the very point she was trying to make. The men in front of her didn't believe she could rule the country on her own, so she had to prove to them that she could.

It was difficult to swallow, but she managed and suddenly her eye fell on a pile of petitions. She balled her hands to fists, lifted her chin a fraction and said: "Is there any particular reason you were voicing your concern, or can we move on to the task at hand? There have been many serious and unexpected matters this council had to attend to these past few months. I cannot believe it has been beneficial for the people we serve. By the look of the way the petitions have accumulated we have a lot of work to do. I suggest we get to it."

Nobody moved and nobody spoke, until the prime minister took a step forward and cleared his voice. Iseul looked at him and for the first time didn't recognize her grandfather. His face was so serious, his expression so grave. She had always believed his integrity and scrutiny were what made him the best minister a country could have. But now that those abilities seemed to be pointed against her, her confidence wavered.

"Your Majesty," he sounded tired and Iseul felt her heart constrict. "Nobody doubts your desire to do right by our kingdom. I, more than anyone, believe you to one day be a great monarch. However, for the good of the kingdom, we must consider the fact that it has only been a few months since Your Majesty's preparation began. All we suggest," he made a gesture with his arm to include the other ministers, most of them were nodding, "is that, for now, you leave the decisions with us, while Your Majesty focuses on increasing knowledge to become not only a passionate queen, but also capable of ruling the country in the same way all sovereigns before have done. With wisdom based on intensive studies. We fear the people might not subject themselves otherwise."

Iseul understood the threat in his words. Not so much the people would protest, but to have predominance over the military could be at stake. With all her might she wished she could simply nod. But to do so meant to surrender and she already knew that if she relinquished power now, she would never get it back.

As if the very military she thought off just now, had heard the words of her grandfather, the double doors flew open and four representatives of the two different military factions marched inside. For a moment Iseul found it difficult to breath.