Empress Handbook

Chapter Fourteen | Rebirth

"Yeoreum, you finally woke up," Jaehwan cries.

Yeoreum hastily plasters a smile on her face. "Dad, how come you came so quickly?"

"Yeoreum, my poor daughter." Jaehwan sighs as he sits on the stool next to her bed. "I was getting checked for my heart downstairs when Mr Min told me I could see you, so I raced up here."

"Are you well?" Yeoreum gulps at his tremoring hands. He looks so much feebler than she last saw him. He was capable of cooking a decent Gwinyong dinner a couple of weeks ago, but now he can barely speak without losing his breath.

"Yes, they have been very nice to me." Jaehwan nods before another sigh escape him. "Empress Dowager kicked me out of our new apartment that night. If it weren't for your friend Dakyung who allowed me to stay with her family for the night, I would've frozen to death. The next day, the health department raided our restaurant and closed it for unsanitary procedures without any warnings. When I had a chance, I tried to call Gyowool to tell him the situation. Gyowool didn't pick up, so I called the tutoring academy he was supposed to be at, but they told me that he wasn't enrolled for this semester even though I gave him the money to pay for this semester's tuition. I have no idea what happened to Gyowool. I just hope those bastards from the Imperial Family won't hurt him."

Yeoreum forces a smile. "Gyowool will be fine. Yoongi-ssi said that the Imperial Family won't hurt him."

Jaehwan reluctantly flits his eyes away. "Right, Yeoreum. Don't get too worked up over this, but have you heard about what is happening with Princess Jungwol?"

"Jungwol? No, I haven't heard anything about her case yet."

"The thing is...the police announced there is no evidence to suggest it was a homicide and closed the case. The two young girls' bodies have been returned to their families, and the Imperial Family announced they will hold a private funeral for the princess."

Yeoreum widens her eyes. "What? That is impossible. How did you find out about all this? Did the police look into Yoon Yoojung's phone?"

"It's been on the news for a while now. Also, the police never mentioned anything about the phone or recordings."

Yeoreum flicks on the television and switches to a news broadcast channel. Soon, Taehyung's face appears on the screen, along with a black-and-white photo of Jungwol behind him. The headline Angelic Emperor Addresses the Nation Regarding the Recent Tragic Events rolls across the screen on an alarming red banner.

"Good morning, the people of the Empire of Korea. This year is not a year I will be able to look back with undiluted happiness, and I suspect I am not the only one who feels so. Despite the unsettling nature of recent events, I hope all comments made regarding them are done so respectfully and responsibly. Empress Yeoreum is my wife, I love her deeply, and I wish for hurtful, crude suspicions made upon her disappearance to stop. I trust Empress Yeoreum. I pray for her to return safely and healthily."

A series of camera flashes flicker across the conference room to capture Taehyung's sincere bow.

"Additionally, following the closure of Princess Jungwol and Miss Yoon Yoojung's case, I have decided to adopt Princess Jungwol as my daughter and granted her the posthumous name Princess Junseongmyung of Empire of Korea. She will be buried at the Imperial Tomb of Hwareung, conforming to my bloodline. It is a decision I believe Yeoreum will approve of since she was incredibly fond of Princess Junseongmyung."

Taehyung bows again, and the screen eventually cuts to the commenters in the main newsroom. They commend Taehyung's decisions and name Yeoreum to be the nation's first one-month Empress even though Taehyung reiterated the importance of respectful comments mere moments ago.