Chapter 45: Potential traitor to the country Part 2

Lady Eom was now trying to check Sapo Corps.

In Yi Wanyong’s eyes, this was simply a powerful court lady trying to protect herself.

Yes. It was just like the military regime or King Taizu at the end of the Goryeo dynasty, who refused to give up military control.

Yi Wanyong sneered inwardly.

‘The royal family that led the country into this miserable state is now throwing away a golden opportunity to bring great change.’

“Your Grace, I don’t believe she will do that. If she had any intention of it, she would’ve come down with the Russian army already. Why would a woman serving as the Minister of Foreign Affairs throw away such a golden chance?”

“That may be true…”

Lady Eom let out a heavy sigh.

That moment had surely been an opportunity.

The only real chance to sell out this country as a lackey of Russia.

Still, this current Ok Jinseo—this mysterious figure—was undoubtedly a threat to the imperial court.

Above all, in Lady Eom’s eyes, Ok Jinseo held no true loyalty to the imperial family.

Having long watched the world from beside Emperor Gojong, Lady Eom had learned to read people.

And from what she could see, Ok Jinseo was not loyal to the Yi royal family of Daehan.

Whatever her goals were, it was clear that to her, Daehan and the royal family were nothing more than tools.

What’s more, she was a woman.

And not even of noble birth? No.

She was just some rootless woman of the Ok family, whose origins were unknown.

And now, during a time of chaos, that same woman had suddenly risen to the seat of Minister of Foreign Affairs and was effectively controlling diplomacy.

Someone like that was bound to be seen as a threat.

At present, the most crucial matter of state—the nation’s diplomacy—was being handled by that woman personally.

“Your Grace, the world is in turmoil, and no one knows what will happen next. Just recently, the Japanese, who were rising like the sun, have suddenly collapsed and been abandoned by the British. Daehan has merely bought itself a little time. If we don’t use this time actively, and instead focus solely on checking Countess Ok, then Japan, once it regains strength, may target us again.”

“Most importantly, the Sapo Corps. The Minister of Foreign Affairs currently holds immense influence over our Manchurian forces. If we purge Countess Ok, naturally, the Prime Minister will also have to go. If that happens, the Manchurian troops will completely fall under Russian control. We could lose the territory recovered since the time of Emperor Taizu.”

“Remember the uprising of Yi Gwal during King Injo’s reign. Furthermore, half of the Manchurian army consists of Han and Manchu soldiers. Do you believe that army can be controlled without the Minister of Foreign Affairs?”

Now was not the time to stubbornly push forward.

If there was still some guarantee of imperial authority, then it would be best not to interfere.

Only by doing so could the imperial court survive.

“Damn it…”

Lady Eom bit her lip hard.

It was pitiful—nothing could be done.

If only His Majesty the previous emperor hadn’t met such a tragic end, this would not have happened.

“For now, let’s wait and observe. If we try to suppress the Manchurian faction now, thinking of them as both internal and external threats, it could lead to civil war.”

“Damn it…”

There was nothing she could do.

If they tried to bring down both Ok Jinseo and Lee Beomyun, the first heroes of the war, it would be a serious blow.

Right now, it was better to at least protect the imperial authority.

“Anyway, the war ended in Daehan’s victory, so Your Grace must protect His Majesty’s Hyukgwang robe well.”

To protect the Hyukgwang.

This was essentially a warning to protect the current emperor—just in case something happened.

Of course, Yi Wanyong said this not out of loyalty, but to mock Lady Eom.

‘As if a woman with nothing but her skirts could protect the emperor.’

After all, the ones holding the real power now were Lee Beomyun and Ok Jinseo.

“Of course, I intend to. As Minister of Education, you too must serve His Majesty well, as you once served the late emperor.”

Yi Wanyong gave a faint smile at Lady Eom’s words.

A smile that clearly carried mockery.

‘Serve? Ridiculous.’

The heavenly mandate for this country had already ended.

There was no longer any reason to prop up the authority of the Yi royal family, already halfway in the grave.

Even if they forcibly kept this Yi Empire going, it would only end up being devoured—not by Japan, then by some other power.

In that case, wouldn’t it be better to be swallowed by one’s own kind?

***

“Apparently, the Prime Minister is now pushing for women’s suffrage.”

Muttering as he exited Seokjojeon Hall, Yi Wanyong reflected.

Lee Beomyun, the newly appointed Prime Minister and known to be Ok Jinseo’s greatest supporter, was now pushing forward women’s rights.

Which meant, he was supporting Ok Jinseo.

The answer was already clear.

As a woman, establishing a new dynasty and becoming an absolute monarch would be difficult, so perhaps she would set up a military regime like those of old.

Then, eventually, a constitutional monarchy or a republic might follow.

What’s more, she was the de facto leader of the Manchurian army—the strongest military force in the country.

Rather than antagonize her and end up executed, it was better to side with the Manchurian faction.

In the Russian Far East, Choi Jaehyung, who had risen to power through war supply businesses during the Russo-Japanese War and by acquiring various enterprises from Japan, met with Viceroy Bezobrazov.

“Hmm, so President Choi is arranging a meeting with Count Ok?”

“Yes. Count Ok is not only skilled in battle and diplomacy. She is also the one who designed this aircraft.”

Bezobrazov frowned at Choi Jaehyung’s words.

‘How could someone be well-versed in combat, diplomacy, military matters, and weaponry?’

‘Was she really even a woman? How brilliant must her mind be?’

Thinking about it, it seemed clear she had studied in Europe.

This was proof that even an Asian, once educated in the European way, could become an honorary white.

“I’m well aware she’s favored by the Tsar. But isn’t she still a subject of the Korean Empire?”

If she acted purely as a noble of the Russian Empire, Bezobrazov would have no complaints.

After all, she had saved the crown prince and was considered a mysterious Eastern noblewoman even among Russian aristocracy.

But Countess Ok still seemed to pledge loyalty to the Korean Emperor, not Russia.

“She is Korean by birth—what can we do? Please understand that. Besides, thanks to her, Your Excellency has made quite the fortune, haven’t you?”

“Hmph… Well, that is true.”

That much, even he couldn’t deny.

Anyway, thanks to Count Ok, she had come this far.

It wasn’t something he could simply ignore, and besides, Count Ok was also a warlord in Gando.

“She’s the one who saved the Crown Prince’s life. Wouldn’t it be good for His Majesty the Emperor to build a connection with her? Besides, Gando, which could be considered Count Ok’s domain, is closely tied to His Majesty, isn’t it?”

In other words, wouldn’t it be better if everyone just got along?

“There’s some logic to that, but… is it really worth it?”

Still, it felt a bit off.

At the very least, they were both under the Tsar’s favor.

And Count Ok received that favor without even setting foot outside of Korea.

‘Wasn’t it to the point that the Tsar had accepted her proposal for an armistice?’

“Recently, Germany has made contact with Count Ok. They must see the strategic value—if they can pull her to their side, they could strike at Russia’s Far East. But if this creates resentment and she hands over the technology… what then?”

‘Handing over this military technology to Germany? Hold on—wouldn’t that be a serious problem?’

If Germany got their hands on this, they certainly wouldn’t just sit quietly. With their aggressive nature, they’d likely start expanding.

It was the German Empire we were talking about, already on a rapid rise.

If those guys got a weapon like this, they might resolve one front just to avoid a two-front war.

“So this aircraft could really end up in their hands?”

“Yes, this is just a teaser.”

Depending on which country secured this military aircraft first, the balance of power in war would shift.

‘What would happen if this ended up not in Russia but in Germany or Britain?’

Even before that, the Far East would become unstable, thanks to Count Ok.

From what he’d heard, Count Ok’s forces had terrifying combat strength—to the point where numbers were meaningless.

Considering the damage suffered by the Far Eastern Army during Bloody Sunday, the Russian Empire had no reason to create such a formidable enemy.

It painted a grim future.

Anyway, while they hadn’t met face-to-face, Bezobrazov would have been thoroughly chewed out by creditors had the war effort failed.

Even with defenses in place, Russia’s situation could only be considered a draw at best.

But then this woman named Ok Jinseo suddenly appeared and took care of everything.

Even those defenses were thanks to her, after all.

At the very least, he had to make sure she didn’t hold a grudge.

“This is insane. Hah, I’ve really been dragged in deep.”

There was no helping it—’she’d gone and developed something like this.’

“Don’t take it so badly. If you work with Count Ok, both of you being favored by His Majesty the Tsar would be a great benefit for Russia, wouldn’t it?”

Even Bezobrazov had to admit, the military aircraft didn’t seem like a bad thing.

“If they were the first to secure it, they’d hold advanced technological power.”

“Hm, if we could develop this first, we could even suppress Britain. Ha, fine. I’m only agreeing because it’s you, President Choi.”

“Thank you for making a wise decision.”

At this point, there was no choice.

Trying to recruit a woman from a minor Far Eastern country might seem ridiculous—but if she was considered a ‘Russian Count’, maybe it wasn’t so bad.

Now, as always, his closest aides, Kim Insu and Nam Sangdeok, were chirping in front of him like sparrows.

It would be a disaster if their faction split.

“Isn’t it rather unusual that Germany sent a prince?”

“They’ve done it before, but this time, their intentions are clear.”

To think something out of a historical drama would actually happen.

Still, Germany sending a prince was an odd move.

‘Why would Germany do that? Was it because they seriously valued them? Or… was it just about him?’

“Could it be that the German Empire intends to marry off the prince to Your Excellency? If they have so many princes, surely the sixth one is expendable?”

‘The sixth prince? That had to be a little kid. Probably just a brat.’

He’d never seen him, but that’s the vibe he got.

“They want to marry me off just because I’m of age?”

‘So basically—they want to marry me off? Seriously?’

“Yes. The possibility isn’t zero, is it?”

‘Of age, huh. Well, with this body, that couldn’t be helped. ‘

Functionally, he was acting as a woman, after all.

Still, there was no way the German Empire would send a prince just for that.

He had no interest in filming some kind of romance.

“As if those white bastards would ever marry off their royalty to a yellow monkey.”

Even in the future, racism still existed.

Here, it was even worse.

‘Would they really send a prince to marry some monkey female?’

Tch. “Yeah, that’s not happening.”

“If someone wants to marry me, they’d better offer up a whole country. A country that’ll let me live the rest of my life in luxury.”

Being female was certainly a debuff, but if he could exploit it, he would.

If someone offered him all of Manchuria and made the country a developed nation, and said, ‘Just marry me so you can live in luxury for life’—he might not say no.

Of course, once they outlived their usefulness, he’d devour everything for himself.

He missed that lifestyle he had in the apocalyptic world.

The reason he spoke so flippantly like some shallow woman was because, for him, everything was just a means to an end.

In a world that broken, ethics didn’t survive.

There were lunatics muttering to empty theater screens, others studying history in libraries without food, and even idols throwing themselves at biker gangs.

It was the kind of world that drove people mad.

Sure, he could use anything to survive, but no one in this era could satisfy him.

Even if Edward VIII suddenly fell for him and offered up the entire British Empire, or Hitler lost his mind and handed over the Third Reich, or Stalin the butcher of Georgia gave him the USSR—he still wouldn’t accept.

Britain was an old lion, and he was repulsed by the idea of a guy with questionable masculinity.

As for the commie prequel to Russia with nukes in the future—he wasn’t even worth mentioning.

“A country, huh. Then… it’s going to be tough.”

Foreign papers called him an honorary white, said his looks were more Western than Eastern, and all kinds of nonsense, but still—those countries wouldn’t be looking to marry him.

“I’d rather live alone. I already have too much to do. I can’t afford to be tied down with kids and parenting.”

Honestly, it was impossible.

At least, not the way he was now.

He couldn’t afford to live like a typical woman.

Even right now, there were divisions between the reformists and the Manchurian faction.

In this situation, was he supposed to settle down and build a family?

It would only get in the way in more ways than one.

Besides, Japan’s ambitions weren’t over yet.