The Cruel Imperial Family Episode 8

Episode 8: Abandoned femme fatale and the madness of an empty thank-you chamber

 

Even the brilliant lights emitted by dozens of chandeliers of the Imperial Household's Office of Appreciation could not dispel the heavy chill that weighed down this space.

 

From this moment on, under the authority of the head of the Ministry of the Interior, I order the immediate imprisonment of Shin Ari, a court lady directly under the Emperor, on charges of embezzlement of national funds and attempted assassination of the Empress. "Anyone who obstructs will be punished for treason, regardless of their rank or position!"

 

Si-eun's cold and firm declaration cut through the air of the audit hall, which had been tense with breathtaking tension, like a sharp sword.

 

For a moment, an intense silence so intense that not even the sound of breathing could be heard enveloped the space.

 

As soon as the cool and overwhelming yellow command fell, the hands of Kim Min-hyuk, the bodyguard who had been lined up like shadows behind Si-eun, moved subtly.

 

The large guards belonging to the Naesusu, who received his gesture signal, surged forward like wild beasts, their heavy armor clanking.

 

Without a moment's hesitation, they rushed at Shin Ari, who was sitting on the floor, lost in thought, roughly and roughly twisted her slender arms, binding her.

 

"This... Let go of this! Let go right now! Do you know who I am? Do you dare to touch my body and still think your lives will be safe? I am His Majesty's man! "How dare you touch me?"

 

Ari screamed and struggled like crazy.

 

Veins stood out in his neck, and his delicate face was grotesquely contorted, but there was no way to overcome the grip of the robust guards, who had been raised solely for slaughter and military strength.

 

 

The more he struggled, the more the finest silk dress bestowed by the Emperor himself became crumpled as if it would tear, and the diamond tiara worth tens of millions of won that had been decorating his hair rolled to the floor, making a rupture sound.

 

Dragged along the cold marble floor like a piece of luggage, Ari extended a helping hand toward Yoo Jong-seok on the platform with bloodshot, murderous eyes.

 

"Damn it..." Your Majesty... Your Majesty! Please save me! That tycoon harbored resentment and manipulated everything! Your Majesty, how have I lived for Your Majesty? Why are you dismissing me like this? Please, just say one word, Your Majesty!

 

 

A desperate scream, akin to a single-hearted love, struck the high ceiling of the audit chamber and echoed, but Emperor Yu Jong-seok remained frozen on his throne, as if trapped in a massive block of ice, unable to move even slightly.

 

His gaze was not on Ari, who howled like a beast, calling out to him.

 

On the table, there were clear accounting books and secret transaction records that would expose his heinous sins in detail, scattered haphazardly.

 

And beside him, he was completely bound by the piercing gaze of his mother, the Queen Dowager, who was staring at him with an unapproachable, chilling aura.

 

Jong-seok's mind was racing like crazy.

 

Cold sweat poured down my spine like rain, and the fingertips holding the throne's armrest trembled until they turned white.

 

"If I protect Ari in this terrible situation, I'm doomed too."

 

That would have been like acknowledging to the world in front of the numerous hyena-like reporters and auditors who were camped below that platform that the real culprit behind the massive embezzlement of 500 billion won in national funds was the Emperor himself.

 

Once public opinion ignited, it was obvious that it would burn fiercely enough to burn away even the shell of the emperor.

 

"I... I cannot lose this absolute throne because of that vulgar woman." I need to cut off the tail; I can only survive if I make sure they take all the blame completely and completely.

 

Jong-seok, the ruler of the empire who should be the most noble and benevolent and a slave to despicable power, ultimately completely ignored the screams of the woman who had been sharing each other's body heat and whispering eternal love until last night, in order to protect his shallow safety and remaining power.

 

 

He clenched his fist, trembling with fear, and turned his head away abruptly.

 

With his eyes tightly shut and gritting his teeth, he looked more like a terrified rat than the emperor of a nation.

 

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty!!"

 

The cowardly figure of Jong-seok completely ignoring her, and in that fleeting moment, Ari's desperate cry, who had held a glimmer of hope, was torn apart.

 

It was the despair of the abandoned and the end of an arrogant puppet who mistakenly believed he had reached the pinnacle of power.

 

Si-eun's clear eyes, looking down at the miserable and ridiculous downfall with a noble gaze from below the platform, held not even a trace of sympathy or pity.

 

For the past 14 years, Si-eun, a young bride of 13 who knew nothing because of the incessant, abhorrent lies that flowed from those vulgar and red lips, had to swallow countless tears of blood and humiliation alone in the cold detached palace without a single candle, and when she thought about the years of endurance she endured under the pretense of being the mistress of the imperial family, this level of humiliation was nothing more than the prelude to the great revenge to come.

 

 

"Pick quietly and drag them away, confine them to the deepest and coolest underground prison cell of the inner court, where not even a handful of light can reach. Until I issue the order myself, do not allow anyone any visit or even a single drop of water!"

 

Sieun turned away coldly and drove a wedge in.

 

Ari's desperate voice, as froze at the empress's order to celebrate, receded beyond the closing, heavy iron gate of the gratitude hall, and soon completely faded away.

 

The place of appreciation where Ari was dragged out was so stiflingly silent that not even a cough could be heard, as if trapped in a massive glacier.

 

 

The empress subjugated the arrogant emperor with flawless evidence without a single error, and swiftly executed the seductress who had disrupted the imperial family for as long as 14 years, wielding absolute power. Everyone was helpless in the face of that overwhelming charisma and wondrous and ruthless twist.

 

 

Even the sharp pens of the press, who would normally be frantically pressing the shutter to tear into the imperial family scandal, lowered their cameras and held their breath, only watching Si-eun cautiously.

 

The elderly officials of Naesusa, known for their uprightness, also kept their gaze fixed on the floor, swallowing hard.

 

Sieun slowly approached Jongseok, who was still firmly seated on the throne, with her characteristic graceful and unwavering graceful steps.

 

Tto-tta-tto,

 

Only the sound of her heels echoed the silent letter of appreciation.

 

 

The gazes of the two people were tightly intertwined in the cold air.

 

Looking down at Jong-seok's face, which was miserably distorted by endless fear, unprecedented humiliation, and a sense of helplessness from not being able to control the situation, Si-eun made a small, chilling yet chilling sneer that pierced the other person to the bone.

 

 

"Your Majesty, please preserve your health and prepare thoroughly for the countless trials and interrogations that lie ahead."

 

Sieun's voice was gentle, but hidden within it was a sharp, icy dagger.

 

"This blood-red surgery, which cuts out the deeply festering wounds of the imperial family, has only just begun with its very light first knife."

 

With that chilling and pointed warning, Si-eun approached the Queen Dowager standing on the platform, politely and gracefully supported her, and left the thanksgiving ceremony.

 

Bang!

 

Si-eun and the Queen Dowager completely disappeared, and the heavy iron door of the thank-you note was shut.

 

Jong-seok's eyes, which had been blankly staring at the firmly closed door, soon began to waver wildly.

 

A fiery red anger gradually welled up on his cheeks, which had been pale with fear and humiliation, and eventually, they turned red as if their veins might burst.

 

 

Min Si-eun... "How dare a woman who lived like a rat, holding her breath, how dare she insults me in this way...?" How dare you!!!

 

A bizarre metallic sound, like the growl of a beast, escaped from his throat as if scraping.

 

On the table, Jong-seok's hand, which was tightly gripping the scattered accounting books and his personal secrets, as if they might tear apart, had large veins bulging grotesquely.

 

I couldn't just stand by like this.

 

"Rather than having her throne taken away and rolling around on the ground with half-baked evidence, wouldn't it be faster to cut off the head of that so-and-so empress first? If only she were to disappear, Min-si could forever excise and erase her arrogant and venomous eyes from this world."

 

However, he couldn't directly get his blood on the line when he was on the verge of losing his throne.

 

A hunting dog was needed to perfectly and cruelly bite that poisonous dog without anyone knowing.

 

Hmm... Who would be good? A mad dog willingly dances with a sword in the deepest and darkest shadow of the imperial family...

 

At that moment, Jong-seok's eyes, which had been trembling with anger, flashed with a strange light.

 

A single name that flashed through my mind like a flash of lightning.

 

Ah! That guy was there.

 

 

The corner of the arrogant emperor's lips, cornered at the edge of an empty, empty audit room with no one left, was a chillingly bitter and cruel smile.