Ch.128128. AI, Ghosts, and the Royal Family

The AI was deleted, leaving only a cryptic message.

Levy felt a strange sense of defeat for failing to obtain the information Amon had requested.

‘I’m sorry, Lord Amon.’

She mentally apologized to Amon who had trusted her with this mission.

But her regret didn’t last long.

‘The operation isn’t over yet.’

She wasn’t foolish enough to let her remorse jeopardize the remaining operations.

She immediately began to move according to the next phase of the plan.

“The AI was deleted, but the contact logs remained. You should be able to identify the people involved in this incident with these.”

She printed out a list and handed it to the Crown Prince.

The Crown Prince examined the names on the list, identifying the accomplices in the assassination plot who were outside the palace.

“Hmm… so even the General was involved.”

Seeing his maternal grandfather’s name at the top of the list, the Crown Prince nodded as if he had expected it.

“It seems he was quite displeased with my efforts to keep the military in check.”

There was no particular anger or disappointment in his voice.

With the casual attitude and demeanor of someone handling routine business, the Crown Prince passed judgment on his maternal relatives.

“Death penalty for all of them.”

The Minister of Justice received the order and began assembling troops to carry out the sentences.

“We’ve secured the location of the Andong Kim family.”

“I’ve obtained permission from His Majesty to cooperate with the Air Force. Order a bombing if necessary.”

“Your loyalty is commendable!”

The Minister of Justice burned with determination to capture the traitors, even if it meant civilian casualties.

The Crown Prince nodded with satisfaction at his loyalty, then turned his attention back to Levy.

“It seems everything is finished. It looks like we won’t need Plan C.”

Plan C was a contingency for potential riots within the palace as a last desperate measure, but since the Crown Prince had such perfect control over the military and intelligence agencies, there wasn’t even a hint of such trouble.

Levy seemed to agree with the Crown Prince’s assessment and finally relaxed.

Her escorts, the Gingerbread Mage and the Ju Sunwoo-Sunhwa siblings, also eased their tension a bit.

The Crown Prince commended Levy’s contribution as the key player in this operation and granted her a separate palace.

“Rest there for the time being. While those ghosts are constantly targeting my sibling, you won’t be able to leave the palace anyway.”

At those words, Levy briefly glanced outside the palace.

Boom! Bang!

Soldiers were busily firing blank shots to drive away the ghosts that kept trying to enter the palace.

She made eye contact with a water ghost who was screaming with wet hair hanging down, and quickly turned her head away.

“Being chased by something like that should be never again.”

“Hmm? You want to be chased again?”

“???”

There was a brief misunderstanding due to a translation error in the Crown Prince’s device, but somehow they were allowed to stay in the palace.

Boom! Bang!

A few hours later.

While they were resting in the separate palace, using the sound of blank shots as white noise, Amon’s group finally joined them.

Unlike Amon who still looked fine, Sonia and Kathy showed clear signs of fatigue.

Amon requested a comfortable place to rest from the Crown Prince for his lovers.

“Very well. I’ll specially arrange for you not to hear those noisy bombardments.”

The Crown Prince willingly provided space for them to stay, even going so far as to renovate the separate palace.

At that moment, the Squinty-eyed Priest behind Sonia spoke in a voice that sounded like he was on the verge of death.

“Me… please…”

Amon thought of the Squinty-eyed Priest and made eye contact with the Crown Prince again.

“Do you happen to have a doctor in the palace?”

“That certainly seems necessary.”

***

Thanks to the Crown Prince’s hospitality, Amon’s group was able to rest and recover in the separate palace.

The cathedral basement was certainly not a place where one could rest comfortably, so the relaxation in the separate palace was more than welcome.

But while everyone else was resting, only one person couldn’t afford to.

A case this significant couldn’t possibly end so anticlimactically.

The fact that some could rest meant that someone else was working in their place.

And Amon had volunteered to make that sacrifice for his companions’ rest.

“Your Highness. I have a report.”

While everyone else was nodding off with a pleasant feeling of fullness after dinner, Amon was reporting the day’s events in the Crown Prince’s separate palace.

“We neutralized all the Sword Circle members at the cathedral.”

Thanks to the EMP that had significantly reduced their power, they didn’t need to exert much effort.

As a result, Amon and Kathy were able to neutralize the Sword Circle members without much difficulty.

But the problem came when trying to regroup.

“After subduing all the Sword Circle members and on our way here, we encountered assassins from the Killing Circle.”

“Since you’re reporting this, I assume there were some unusual circumstances.”

“Yes. They were all using Yodo.”

When he thought about it, it made sense.

How could terrorists without implants gain such notoriety in a world where implants were the default?

The answer lay in the Yodo.

“The quality of each individual wasn’t particularly high. But there were quite a lot of them.”

Because of this, even Amon and Kathy had trouble dealing with them.

Unlike with the Sword Circle, they didn’t need to spare these assassins, but they needed to keep some alive for information.

However…

“They all committed seppuku.”

Every single one of them, without exception.

Unfortunately, being humans without implants, they died instantly upon disembowelment, leaving no time for intervention.

And Amon sensed something strange about this series of actions.

“The seppuku itself isn’t the issue. But it’s clearly abnormal behavior for people possessed by Yodo to form an organization, pledge loyalty to someone, and take their own lives.”

As could be seen when Ju Sunhwa was possessed by Yodo, each Yodo has its own distinct personality.

They are cunning, selfish, and wicked.

Therefore, seeing such beings devote themselves to an organization and show loyalty was clearly an anomaly.

The Crown Prince nodded after hearing Amon’s report.

“I understand. I’ll be cautious about this as well.”

“I still have more to report.”

“Oh? What else?”

Amon continued by reporting what Sonia had experienced.

She had confronted demons of Goetia on a skyscraper rooftop.

Dealing with demons themselves isn’t difficult.

Mediocre demons enter eternal rest just by her spreading her wings.

But that battle was different.

“She said they seemed like demons, but not quite.”

Demons that should have been purified immediately charged at her without hesitation.

If they had been high-ranking demons like the ones they’d encountered before, it would have made sense.

But after fighting them directly, their ranks weren’t particularly high.

“Ranks 36, 50, 54…”

While the 36th rank might be understandable, none of the lower-ranked demons should have been immune to her abilities, which was clearly abnormal.

“She was skilled enough to handle it, but I’m reporting it as an unusual occurrence.”

Amon finished the report on Sonia’s behalf.

But the Crown Prince’s reaction was lukewarm.

“I see. Good work. But I don’t think you needed to report the demon issue to me. That’s Vatican business.”

For the Crown Prince, who had no knowledge of demons, it was just as well.

To him, the demons behind this incident were just slightly special terrorists, nothing more, nothing less.

What he wanted was a physical approach to dealing with demons, not a theological one.

If anything, what mattered to him was which shells worked against demons and which didn’t, not Sonia’s compatibility with them.

But Amon thought differently.

“Still, since we’re collaborating, we should share all information. Isn’t that the foundation of trust?”

Even if the Crown Prince wasn’t interested in the theological approach to demons, Amon believed that formal information sharing was essential for the cooperation between the Vatican and Joseon.

The Crown Prince seemed to agree on this point and recorded the information.

With Amon’s report concluded, it was someone else’s turn next.

“Brother, I would like to report as well.”

It was Prince Yi Hyun from Levy’s team.

Normally, Levy, as the team leader, should have been the one to report.

– “You rest. I happen to have something to discuss with my brother.”

After seeing Amon let Sonia rest and report in her place, he suddenly volunteered to report instead of Levy.

Levy tilted her head in confusion but accepted the prince’s offer, and so Yi Hyun began his report to the Crown Prince.

“Your Highness. We also have unusual circumstances to report from this incident.”

“Speak.”

“The ghost swarm that chased us… I mean, me, doesn’t seem to be the Hunt Legion in the strict sense.”

“Explain in detail.”

“Father Gregory said that the ghosts of the Hunt Legion are closer to nameless minor demons rather than actual ghosts. In contrast…”

“Hyun-ah, didn’t I say I’m not interested in theological approaches?”

“Brother, I believe this is an important point that needs to be addressed.”

“Very well. Continue.”

“Thank you. To continue, unlike the Hunt Legion, the ghosts that chased me in Hanyang were vengeful spirits—the resentful souls of the dead.”

“Ah.”

With just that, the Crown Prince understood what Yi Hyun was trying to convey.

“Familiar. Using the Hunt Legion as a smokescreen to hide the real intention.”

“Yes. And if this prediction is correct, then the ghosts currently surrounding the palace are probably—”

“Not a natural phenomenon, but something artificial.”

“Yes. Therefore, I believe if we eliminate the leader of these ghosts, the ones surrounding the palace will disappear on their own.”

“I understand. I’ll organize troops to search for them.”

With that, Yi Hyun finished his report to the Crown Prince and turned toward Amon.

Then he shared information that the Crown Prince might not need, but Amon probably would.

“Levy asked me to tell you this. The AI’s identity couldn’t be determined. But she found strange statistics among the pursuing ghosts. While the outer perimeter of the pursuing ghosts consisted of vengeful spirits, the concentration of water ghosts increased toward the center.”

“Noted.”

Amon nodded.

And so the late-night information exchange between the three ended.

“I’m feeling a bit peckish. Would you like to have a late-night snack before you go?”

The Crown Prince naturally invited the two to join him.

Normally, it would be against protocol for royalty, especially the Crown Prince, to share a late-night meal, but this was a secret meeting.

It was impossible to serve a formal royal meal in accordance with protocol during a secret meeting.

Besides, the modern Crown Prince was craving a hamburger and had no intention of following protocol.

The youngest brother was about to nod with a twitching smile at his brother’s informal manner.

But Amon’s response was cold.

“Your Highness.”

“What is it, Lord Amon?”

“A snack sounds good, but it seems our information exchange isn’t quite complete.”

“What do you mean?”

“Honesty is the basic premise of trust. If this is how you’re going to be, our Vatican Special Bureau Section 11 cannot cooperate with Joseon.”

Yi Hyun was taken aback by Amon’s sudden declaration.

But the Crown Prince himself didn’t seem particularly surprised and simply asked:

“Hmm… I don’t think I’ve hidden anything, but perhaps there was a difference in perception. I simply didn’t mention it because you didn’t specifically ask.”

It was clearly a lie.

He had been hiding something but was now pretending otherwise.

But Amon had no reason to antagonize Joseon royalty, and since this statement was essentially a declaration to be honest from now on,

Amon also put on a straight face and pretended to believe the pretense.

“I see. It was a misunderstanding. Then may I ask a question?”

“I know you’re unfamiliar with Joseon etiquette, so feel free to ask in whatever way is comfortable for you.”

“Then I’ll ask. Was this entire incident your own fabrication, Your Highness?”

Yi Hyun flinched at Amon’s shocking question.

He looked at his brother’s face with astonishment.

But the Crown Prince simply shook his head with a calm expression.

“No. Let me be clear, this was not a fabrication. I swear this on the honor of the Yi dynasty.”

Yi Hyun breathed a sigh of relief at the Crown Prince’s statement.

But Amon’s face remained stern.

While Yi Hyun found this strange, Amon continued his questioning with a hardened expression.

“I believe it wasn’t a fabrication. Then why was the Chumon Group also branded as traitors?”

Yi Hyun looked at his brother again with a face full of shock.

“Brother, why is our maternal family…?”

Yi Hyun looked at the Crown Prince with tears welling up in his eyes, demanding an explanation.

The Crown Prince gave a bitter smile to his emotionally rich youngest brother and revealed the truth.

“I received a report from the Ministry of Justice. You desperately defended them this afternoon and cleared their name.”

“Weren’t you the one who framed them? Why did you do that?”

“…”

“If you won’t answer, may I dare to make a guess?”

The Crown Prince’s previously friendly face turned cold.

Amon took this as affirmation and continued.

“Purge. You were trying to purge your maternal relatives.”

“…Correct.”

“Why? No, before that. Since when? Surely not since the Hunt Legion incident…”

“No, even I wouldn’t go that far. My life was genuinely in danger; how could I have had the luxury to plan such a thing?”

“…”

“You’re being paranoid. I was truly in danger there.”

“Then since when?”

“Right after that incident.”

Amon seemed to understand and nodded.

But in contrast, Yi Hyun still didn’t seem to comprehend and demanded an explanation with his eyes.

The Crown Prince began to explain the full story of this incident for his brother’s benefit.

“After the previous assassination attempt, I keenly realized the harm caused by maternal relatives’ influence.”

After the previous assassination attempt, the Crown Prince noticed the involvement of his maternal relatives.

Initially angry, he collected his thoughts and decided to use this operation as an opportunity.

“I intend to purge all maternal relatives in this opportunity.”

It didn’t matter whether they were involved in this incident or not.

He planned to use this incident as an opportunity to purge ‘all’ of the royal family’s maternal relatives.

Not just the maternal family of the second prince, his own brother, but also the maternal family of the third prince, and even Yi Hyun’s maternal family, the Chumon Group.

His extreme approach was intertwined with Joseon’s history.

“Since King Sejo’s time, Joseon began to rot from within as maternal relatives gained influence.”

And as time passed and this malady reached its peak, late Joseon experienced a period of in-law politics.

An era when the royal family’s maternal relatives held real power, manipulating the royal family like puppets and eating away at Joseon.

Reminded of this dark history during the current incident, the Crown Prince sought to seize the opportunity.

“Now I understand why King Taejong caused such bloodshed.”

The third king of Joseon and master of purges.

King Taejong, the Killbangwon.

The Crown Prince wanted to honor his will by using this opportunity to eradicate the influence of maternal relatives.

To create an environment where his successor could fully utilize their talents.

Perhaps this might even recreate Joseon’s golden age under King Sejong.

And as the first step in this grand plan, the Crown Prince intended to purge the innocent Chumon Group as well.

Naturally, Yi Hyun objected to this plan.

“They are completely innocent.”

“But if all other maternal relatives disappear, can you guarantee that the Chumon Group won’t get involved in politics afterward?”

“…”

Yi Hyun had to remain silent at the Crown Prince’s point.

He wanted to trust the Chumon Group, but remembering humanity’s countless histories of corruption, he couldn’t make such a guarantee.

Yi Hyun fumbled with his lips, trying to persuade his brother somehow.

Then suddenly, remembering that the Crown Prince and second prince’s birth mother was among the purge targets, he asked about her treatment.

“What about the Queen Dowager…?”

“Why are you asking about that?”

“Though she’s not my birth mother, she raised me with her heart. I too have a duty to fulfill my filial obligations to her.”

“Don’t worry about it.”

“Brother… Your Highness!”

The Crown Prince’s face, which had been friendly, turned cold.

He had tried not to speak, but pressured by Yi Hyun’s insistence, he finally opened his mouth.

“She will be executed as well.”

“What??”

“The Queen Dowager… no, that woman is now the daughter of a traitor. There are no exceptions to this.”

“Brother!!”

Yi Hyun shouted, abandoning all formality at the Crown Prince’s sentence.

“Brother! You cannot do this! She is the mother of the nation!”

“And I am the future of Joseon.”

The Crown Prince’s eyes burned with the determination to purge even his own mother for the sake of power.

At this power-crazed obsession, Yi Hyun unconsciously distanced himself from the Crown Prince.

Yi Hyun’s mind began to race.

What should I do?

How can I save my birth mother?

What about my maternal family?

The Queen Dowager…

After much deliberation, Yi Hyun recalled something and proposed a deal to the Crown Prince.

“Your Highness. Then please remove my merits from this incident and my right to succession.”

“…What did you just say?”

“If I renounce my claim to the throne, the Chumon Group will have no connection to the royal family. There’s no need for a purge. And I’d like to request a pardon for the Queen Dowager in exchange for my merits.”

“The right of succession is not something one can easily give up.”

“I’ll write it down if you want. A video is fine too. Whatever way satisfies the Crown Prince, I’ll leave evidence that I will never return to the royal family.”

“It’s essentially banishment.”

“I’m aware.”

Yi Hyun bit his lip.

But his resolve was firm.

“No matter how I think about it, I don’t seem suited for palace life, Your Highness.”

“…”

The Crown Prince was silent.

Eventually, he broke the silence and accepted the deal.

“Very well. But I’ll add a condition.”

“I’ll accept any condition.”

“Don’t change your mind after hearing it. I’ll also remove the implant installed in you.”

“…”

“You’ll essentially become a ghost of Joseon.”

“You’re going this far, Brother?”

“If I’m going to do something, I’ll do it thoroughly.”

Yi Hyun reluctantly nodded.

Eventually, he signed the contract and said,

“Thank you, Brother.”

Then he fled from the Crown Prince’s room.

*

After Yi Hyun left the Crown Prince’s room.

Amon, who had silently observed this exchange, spoke up.

“I seem to have misunderstood.”

“What do you mean now, Lord Amon?”

“I thought you were obsessed with power, but I didn’t realize you still had humanity left.”

“I’ll say this is a delusion, if nothing else.”

“Is that so? But it seems you loved your brother so much that you helped him escape from the royal family.”

“…”

“You deliberately provoked Prince Yi Hyun, didn’t you? Expecting this choice.”

“That’s a grandiose delusion, my lord.”

“Come to think of it, it was strange. While you immediately dispatched special forces to arrest other traitors, you merely ordered the Chumon Group to surrender voluntarily despite declaring them traitors.”

“That was merely mercy toward them.”

“With a surrender date a month away? Even if Prince Hyun hadn’t handled it properly, the Chumon Group would have had more than enough time to flee abroad.”

“That’s how Joseon’s administrative process works. It takes at least a month, sometimes years. You Westerners wouldn’t understand.”

“Well, certainly the West doesn’t have this kind of sentimentality. We don’t bother with Confucianism; parents and children just stab each other in the back.”

Somehow, the two men’s conversation wasn’t connecting at all.

They maintained a tense opposition, like spear and shield.

In the end, neither acknowledged the other’s words.

“Joseon royalty has its hardships, not unlike the West.”

“I didn’t know Westerners were this optimistic.”

That was their last exchange on this topic.

The spear couldn’t penetrate the shield’s logic.

But Amon seemed to accept it and nodded.

After all…

‘Come on. Hide a family photo behind your back while you talk.’

Amon turned his back on the Crown Prince with a smirk.

It could be considered disrespectful, but Amon didn’t care.

Partly because he calculated that the Crown Prince realistically couldn’t afford to antagonize him, but also because,

‘The affection is just dripping from his eyes.’

The Crown Prince’s eyes weren’t sharp enough to point out Amon’s disrespect.

Amon waited for the dismissal with his back turned to the Crown Prince.

“You may… leave.”

Only after hearing the Crown Prince’s dismissal, which he had barely managed to compose, did Amon leave the palace.

By the time he left, the sun had set and the moon was shining brightly overhead.

‘What an eventful day in many ways.’

Amon hurried to the separate palace to prepare for tomorrow.