Joseon Needs a Coup - Chapter 160



Only Noblemtl

#160. Dipping your feet in the angry waves (5)

“What are you so worried about?”

On my way home from work, with all sorts of worries, from the creation of the Navy to the draft system, I was able to meet my father’s proud and famous daughter for the first time in a long time.

For a moment, I felt like all my worries had disappeared from my mind as I saw her smiling at me from behind on her horse, looking strangely confident.

The hardships of the current situation, with the crisis of war escalating, seemed to fly away with her single words.

It seems likely that she would bring along several servants, but judging from the fact that she doesn’t, she seems to be somewhat distant from the traditional ladies of the Kyunghwa clan.

Of course, it was hard to breathe when I thought that, since they were not from a wealthy family, but from a merchant family from the northwest that had been looked down on, they must have spent a lot of time at home on manners and grooming so as not to appear inferior.

When I think about it, I think the old man was really mean. He said that he would give her the best education at the time to make her the best bride, saying that she shouldn’t be discouraged by her family background, but he actually gave her something close to bondage, so I thought that life would be really tiring.

I was absentmindedly thinking about that for a while, but as soon as she saw my face, her already large eyes widened even more and she started to fuss. I waved my hand and said it was nothing.

“What’s so special about this?! You say you’re protecting the country, but you don’t care about yourself. Now, get on my horse quickly.”

“yes?”

“Get on quickly. It just won’t work out today. We need to reform that damned eating habit.”

The grip of a girl who was seven or eight years younger than me was so strong that I had to climb onto the horse while she held my wrist.

Although the position was a bit embarrassing, I had no choice but to get caught up in her pace because I was in a panic.

Somehow, she was much better at riding than I was. Perhaps the saying that the further north you go, the better the women are at riding horses is not wrong.

And her expression was brighter than ever, so I didn’t really say anything to her.

She and I, who were walking along a crowded street, entered a street with lots of street food stalls.

At some point, street vendors started to set up shop, and this place has recently become a famous landmark of Hanseongbu. Originally, it was a place where Japanese merchants mainly sold fried food, and as such, it was a street for Japanese people, but at some point, it became a famous landmark for Hanseongbu residents.

Word of mouth spread that the restaurant served a wide variety of Japanese food, from the crispiest fried food to the plumpest udon, and it was frequented by high-ranking government officials and staff members of the Marshal’s Office.

There is even a story that the emperor sometimes sent his eunuchs to buy food, so it is said that the food is definitely delicious.

“today···.”

“Hey, I’m craving some fried meat. How about it? It’s a little pricey, but…”

She looked around with a bright smile. The smell of something being baked or fried. The smell of well-cooked soup that secretly blended with the sweet scent. My tongue was already reacting, my mouth was watering, and my stomach was giving me a signal.

A pojangmacha with a sign written in Japanese right in front.

I could see the owner, who was either Japanese or dressed like a Japanese person, diligently frying karaage.

The restaurant was full of people, as if it had become a famous restaurant by word of mouth. Most of them were office workers or bank employees who had just finished work, and they seemed busy chatting happily or drinking alcohol to vent their frustrations while eating deliciously fried chicken.

“Well, let’s go in. I don’t think there’s a better place than here…”

“Okay! Boss, over here! Two servings of tempura and a large bowl of udon!”

···She ate better than I thought. It was so good that I wondered where all that food would go on her slender body.

Well, at least in front of me, she seemed to think she didn’t have to act as reserved as the other girls.

I saw him licking his lips as if he was still hungry after eating his share of fried food, so I ordered another serving of fried food for him.

He said he was fine with his mouth, but judging from his expression, he seemed to be very happy.

Sometimes, it wasn’t bad to enjoy small happiness like this. Maybe, I thought, it might be the greatest happiness I could enjoy before the war.

Overall, the restaurant she chose tasted better than expected, and they both stood up after finishing their meal with satisfied expressions.

“Seriously, shouldn’t we suggest this kind of food to Suratgan?”

“Arthur, you must be angry because the color is so dark…”

Even without that, because the war crisis with Japan is escalating, even here, they are saying things like, “Milene Mane,” so even if we try to explain the truth to Suragan, we will only get a firm grip. This is probably proof that the relationship between the two countries is getting worse.

“Hmm, but it would be a shame to keep this taste to myself···.”

“It leaves a regrettable aftertaste. Something feels empty.”

I paid the bill and left the store, licking my lips. Maybe it was because it had been a while since I had oiled my food, but I felt empty for some reason.

“Then let’s fill the emptiness. Now, follow me!”

She took my arm and walked for a while. We headed to a bakery that she had recently come into. There, she bought a few loaves of bread that had just been baked for the day and a bun filled with sweet-looking red bean paste, and sat down in a corner of a park that had opened nearby.

This time, it was a central park ambitiously built by Hanseongbu.

On days off, parents would come with their children, and at night, it was said that couples would often visit. Some officials argued that it was damaging public morals and that it should be abolished, but the cabinet and the Privy Council generally responded to such claims as follows.

-He is a less civilized person.

That’s what happened. The world has changed, so why touch on it? It seems that the Korean Empire has decided to make its own mind quite sophisticated, as the mainstream story these days is that.

“Ah, it’s delicious~”

The summer nights in Hanseong, which were less polluted and less worn out, were incredibly beautiful.

The night sky, which had been dark due to the typhoon and monsoon rains that had come not long ago, was now gradually embroidered with beautiful stars. She was tearing off a piece of bread with her hands and putting it in her mouth when she suddenly looked up at the sky and said.

“It’s fun to just wander around like this.”

“Hehe, wouldn’t it have been nice if you had just come out, Brother? I think you would have liked it even more if you had brought a pretty girl like me out.”

“Hmm.”

I kept my mouth shut at her words, which seemed to be full of intention. This guy has been getting closer to me lately. She did things that most noble girls would never think of doing, but she did it without hesitation. She was probably the only girl like that in Seoul.

“Well, that’s nice. Just like the sky right now. Like looking at a sky full of stars without a single cloud.”

“You’re flattering me. I’ve even heard that from my brother.”

Only after the two of them had put the last remaining piece of bread in their mouths in silence could they take their eyes off the sky.

After walking around the park a few times and chatting about this and that, I realized that it was already getting late.

“Oh, I should go home already.”

“Let’s go. I’ll take you there.”

She awkwardly rested her head on my shoulder as she walked. To a stranger, it looked like a loving couple walking together.

I tried to pretend not to know, but what she said next made me pull away from her for a moment.

“I’m sleepy. It’s annoying. Can I sleep over at your house today? Your brother will be home too.”

“If you do that and get caught, you’ll only be in trouble. And since there’s a company dinner today, you might not be able to come in.”

“I don’t care···.”

She spoke in a very small voice, but I pretended not to hear her and carefully stroked her hair. I thought she would hate it because her hair was tangled, but she closed her eyes and purred like a happy cat. I felt my heart relax as well, feeling comfortable after a long time.

“But there’s nothing I can do. Even if my brother is a man who sticks to the old customs, I can wait for him! Well, then I’ll take care of you all the way home. Do Westerners call this an escort?”

“Okay, miss.”

I matched her rhythm and tried to be polite in French, and she laughed with a sound like rolling silver bells.

Sometimes, it seemed like this kind of happiness was worth enjoying, because it gave me a little peace of mind before I had to step into the angry waves.

As she took me home, she told me stories about various things going on in the world.

Actually, I don’t remember exactly what I said, but it was a little bit of a pleasure in its own way.

***

“Your Majesty, I would like to see the Japanese ambassador, Lord Hayashi.”

“Come in.”

Emperor Gojong, who had been enjoying tea time, looked at the Japanese ambassador Hayashi, who had been peeking out of his nose for the first time in a long while, and made a calm expression.

King Gojong had not been in a good mood recently. This was because the naval command, that is, the Marshal’s Office and the Liberation Department, which were supposed to follow his wishes in the ambitious naval project that he had started to cover up the corruption of 1 million nyang in silver, were not listening to him at all.

I didn’t like anything about it, from the name of the ship to the choice of the home port for the fleet. They didn’t seem to care even when I put pressure on them.

The director of the military affairs bureau, who was working on the naval project together, also showed a lukewarm attitude, saying that he couldn’t do anything.

In a situation where I was already in a bad mood, I couldn’t help but feel even more indifferent when the unwelcome guest, the Japanese ambassador, came.

Hayashi, who had been receiving this information, had expected Emperor Gojong’s reaction to some extent, but he could not help but be taken aback by the colder reception he received than he had expected.

Still, I tried my best to smile and greet her with an overly polite manner. It would be no good for me to be embarrassed.

“How have you been, Your Majesty the Emperor?”

“Thanks to the recent quiet in Asia, I too have been able to enjoy peace.”

A barbed word flew in along with a dull expression.

Actually, Hayashi thought that lobbying toward the Korean royal family had slowed down a bit recently.

Compared to the Russian embassy, ​​the French embassy, ​​and even the German embassy, ​​who kept giving them commissions recently due to the problem of supplying anthracite coal to the Eastern Fleet, the lobbying efforts of the Japanese embassy cannot help but seem weak.

“But what’s going on? Since you haven’t been around much lately, I thought the Japanese ambassador had been replaced.”

“Why do you say such regrettable things, Your Majesty? This is a small tribute from the embassy to Your Majesty.”

“Well, I will gladly accept the gift, but I have an interview with the German ambassador in 30 minutes, so just state your business briefly.”

The Emperor checked the time on the rather extravagant grandfather clock that the French ambassador had recently gifted him, then spoke coldly.