Once again, Hyun turned to his brother in shock.
“Brother… Why our maternal family?”
Hyun, on the verge of tears, looked at the Crown Prince, demanding an explanation.
The Crown Prince offered a bitter smile to his emotional younger brother before revealing the truth.
“I have already received reports from the Royal Investigation Bureau. I heard that you defended them with all your might this afternoon and cleared them of suspicion.”
“And was it not you who accused them in the first place? Why?”
“…”
“If you will not answer, then allow me to make a guess.”
The Crown Prince’s normally kind expression turned cold.
Taking this as confirmation, Amon continued.
“A purge. You were planning to purge the maternal relatives.”
“…Correct.”
“Why? And more importantly, since when? Surely not since the Hunt Legion incident—”
“No, even I would not go that far. My life was genuinely in danger back then—I had no room to orchestrate such a plan.”
“Then when did it begin?”
“Right after that incident.”
Amon seemed to understand, nodding slightly.
Hyun, however, still could not grasp the full picture and sought an explanation with his eyes.
Seeing this, the Crown Prince began to recount the events that had led to his decision.
“After the last assassination attempt, I realized the grave dangers posed by the influence of maternal relatives.”
After noticing their involvement in that previous attack, the Crown Prince had been furious at first.
But after calming his thoughts, he saw the current crisis as an opportunity.
“I decided to use this opportunity to eliminate all maternal relatives.”
It did not matter whether they were involved in the incident or not.
He would use this chance to completely purge every maternal family tied to the royal house.
Not just the maternal family of the Second Prince.
Not just the maternal family of the Third Prince.
Even Hyun’s maternal family—the Chumon Group—was not exempt.
His extreme decision was tied to the history of Joseon itself.
“From King Sejo’s era onward, the involvement of maternal relatives in politics steadily corroded Joseon from within.”
***
As time passed, this corruption reached its peak, plunging the latter years of Joseon into an era of factional strife and family monopolization.
The maternal relatives of the royal house seized power, reducing the monarchy to a puppet while they drained the nation dry.
This memory of Joseon’s dark history resurfaced in the Crown Prince’s mind amid the current crisis.
“Now, I finally understand why King Taejong carried out such a brutal purge.”
The third ruler of Joseon, known as the master of purges—Taejong “Kill Bangwon.”
The Crown Prince intended to follow in his footsteps.
By eradicating the maternal relatives’ influence, he would ensure that his successor could flourish without interference.
Perhaps, in doing so, he could even recreate the golden age of King Sejong.
And as the first step toward this grand vision, he had resolved to purge the Chumon Group, even though they were innocent.
Naturally, Hyun vehemently opposed this.
“They have done nothing wrong!”
“But if all maternal relatives are eliminated, can you guarantee that the Chumon Group will never seek political power in the future?”
Hyun fell silent.
He wanted to believe in them.
But history was filled with too many examples of human corruption.
As Hyun struggled to find the right words to persuade his brother, a chilling realization struck him.
Among the targets of the purge was the Crown Prince’s own mother—also the mother of the Second Prince.
He hesitated, then asked about her fate.
“What about the Queen Dowager…?”
“Why do you ask?”
“She may not be my birth mother, but she raised me with love. I have a duty to show her filial piety.”
“Do not concern yourself with it.”
“Brother… Your Majesty!”
The Crown Prince had intended to keep silent.
But faced with Hyun’s determination, he finally spoke.
“She will be executed as well.”
“Eh??”
“The Queen Dowager… No, that woman is now the daughter of a traitor. There are no exceptions to this.”
“Brother!!”
At the Crown Prince’s pronouncement, Lee Hyun cast aside all formality and shouted.
“Brother! You can’t do this! She is the mother of Joseon!”
“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.
Seeing that madness, that obsessive thirst for authority, Lee Hyun instinctively took a step back.
His mind began to whirl in confusion.
‘What should I do? How can I save my mother? What will happen to my maternal family? What about the Queen Dowager…?’
Then, after much deliberation, a realization struck Lee Hyun.
Recalling the cases of Ji Sunhwa and Sunwoo, he made an offer to the Crown Prince.
“Your Highness. In that case, revoke my merits from this incident and strip me of my right to the throne.”
“…What did you just say?”
“If I renounce my claim to the throne, the Chumon Group will lose all ties with the royal family. There would be no need to purge them. And in return for my contributions, I ask for the Queen Dowager’s pardon.”
“The right to the throne is not something that can be abandoned so easily.”
“If you need it in writing, I will write it. A video will work too. Whatever method Your Highness deems convincing, I will leave proof that I will never return to the royal family.”
“This is essentially an expulsion.”
“I understand.”
Lee Hyun bit his lip. But his resolve remained unshaken.
“I have thought about this long and hard, Your Highness, and I don’t believe palace life suits me.”
The Crown Prince fell silent.
Then, at last, he spoke again.
“Very well. But I will add a condition.”
“Whatever it is, I will accept it.”
“Do not change your mind once you hear it. I will also remove the surveillance devices implanted in you.”
“…”
“You will, in effect, become a ghost of Joseon.”
“You’re really going this far, Brother.”
“If I am to do something, I will see it through completely.”
Lee Hyun reluctantly nodded.
Finally, he signed the contract.
“Thank you… Brother.”
Then, as if fleeing, he rushed out of the Crown Prince’s chambers.
***
Once Lee Hyun had left, Amon, who had silently observed the entire exchange, finally spoke.
“I seem to have been mistaken.”
“And what, pray tell, do you mean by that, Lord Amon?”
“I thought you were completely consumed by power. I never expected you to still have some humanity left in you.”
“If nothing else, I can confidently say that is your own delusion.”
“Is that so? But then why did Your Highness care for your brother so much that you orchestrated his escape from the royal family?”
“…?”
“You deliberately provoked Lee Hyun, didn’t you? Hoping he would make this choice.”
“That is an overstatement, Lord Amon.”
“Now that I think about it, it was odd. You sent in special forces to immediately capture the other traitors, yet when it came to the Chumon Group, despite declaring them traitors, you merely ordered them to turn themselves in.”
“That was simply an act of mercy.”
“You gave them a whole month. If Lee Hyun had failed to act accordingly, the Chumon Group could have easily fled overseas before the surrender deadline.”
“That is just how Joseon’s administrative processes work. Sometimes it takes a month, sometimes years. You, as a Westerner, wouldn’t understand.”
“Well, I’ll admit that the West lacks such sentimentalism. Over there, parents and children don’t hesitate to stab each other in the back.”
Their conversation ran completely parallel, never truly aligning.
Like a spear clashing against a shield, they remained locked in opposition, neither acknowledging the other’s argument.
“The royal family of Joseon certainly seems to have its own share of hardships.”
“I never realized Westerners were so optimistic.”
That was the last exchange the two would have on this subject.
The spear could not pierce the shield’s reasoning.
But in the end, Amon gave a small nod, as if he had understood something.
After all…
‘Damn. Just hide a family photo behind your back and say that.’
Amon smirked and turned his back to the Crown Prince.
Such behavior could easily be considered disrespectful, but Amon didn’t care.
It wasn’t just because he had calculated that the Crown Prince couldn’t afford to antagonize him right now—
‘The affection in his eyes is practically spilling over.’
The Crown Prince’s gaze simply lacked the clarity to call out Amon’s impudence.
With his back turned, Amon waited for the order to leave.
“…Leave.”
Only after the Crown Prince finally forced out the words did Amon step out of the palace.
By the time he emerged, the sun had long since set, and the moon hung high in the sky.
‘What a long and eventful day.’
Hurrying, Amon made his way to his quarters, preparing for what tomorrow would bring.