Sejong's Attitude Toward the Kwon Family (2)
Yoonseo once again felt relieved that she had come wearing cotton undergarments.
There had never been a single time she entered Cheonchu Hall to meet King Sejong without feeling as though she might die from fear. As she inwardly screamed in gratitude for choosing clothes that could absorb sweat well, she flattened herself against the ground once more.
Sejong looked indifferently at the trembling Kwon-ga and asked,
"Do you have anything to report to me?"
"If by report, Your Majesty…"
"These documents you wrote and then discarded—did you truly only hide them?"
It was not a loud question.
Yet cold sweat already streamed down Yoonseo's back like rain.
Her throat burned dry.
But to say here, "Yes, I devised a scheme," would be no different from saying, "Please execute me like Jeon Gyun."
"This lowly one was merely distressed by what happened to the royal grandson… and, unable to bear it, wrote it down… I deserve death."
Yoonseo pressed herself flat against the floor again.
"..."
A silence followed—
a suffocating silence, stretching between them like a slow-flowing river.
At last, the king spoke again.
"What should be done?"
"…?"
Yoonseo looked up, unable to understand.
"These are traces not merely of disrespect, but of harm intended toward the royal grandson. And from my investigation, there is no falsehood in what you wrote. How should this be handled?"
This is insane!
Why are you asking me, a mere court maid, about that?
You're the king—just swing your axe or sword and deal with them yourself!
"How could this lowly one dare offer an opinion on matters above her station? I beg Your Majesty to withdraw the question."
"Is that truly what you think?"
What does that even mean?
"Do you truly intend not to insert your will into matters above your station?"
Ah—so this was it.
His Majesty was warning her not to overstep again.
Ah… he's terrifying. Truly terrifying.
"Your Majesty, I have heard that overstepping one's bounds brings ruin upon oneself and even those around them."
"..."
Sejong gazed at her silently, then pressed down with a heavy voice.
"The words you spoke today—that you will keep to your place—can you promise to remember them for as long as you live?"
"Yes. I will."
Yoonseo answered without a moment's hesitation.
It was a completely different demeanor from her earlier flustered state.
Seeing this, Sejong regarded her with a curious expression, then suddenly raised his voice.
"I will be watching you. Is Court Lady Eom there?"
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
"Hong Seunghwi, who not only looked down upon the royal grandson but also dared to search his quarters and make false accusations—strip her of rank, demote her to a royal concubine attendant, and confine her in a dilapidated residence!"
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
"And inform the Queen to root out all those who have disrupted the discipline of the inner court, and to enforce strict order so that such incidents never occur again."
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
At last!
Still lying face-down, Yoonseo clenched her fist, wanting to shout in triumph.
Everything she had planned while tearing that note was now being carried out through the king's command.
Lady Yun, Grand Prince Suyang—
You're finished.
Sneaking a glance at Sejong, Yoonseo thought again,
"I will keep my promise not to overstep, Your Majesty. But from now on, I will not consider what I do to be overstepping."
To protect Hongwi—and further, to protect Yi Hyang—and survive in this Joseon, was that truly overstepping one's bounds?
Master? Great king?
Such things do not exist in her world.
She would protect Hongwi, protect Yi Hyang, and live well in this Joseon for all to see.
Brimming with confidence, Yoonseo suddenly hesitated over one thing.
"Your Majesty, may I make one difficult request?"
"Speak."
"Please grant your grace so that Lady Geuma may continue to be cared for by Court Lady Hong."
"…Why?"
"The child is frail in both body and mind. Even now—and in the future—she will never understand why she must be separated from her birth mother."
For a life that is already destined to be short, adding the pain of separation would be far too cruel.
Though Yoonseo did not say the last part aloud, Sejong seemed to understand the meaning behind her silence. He looked at her in surprise, then suddenly spoke.
"Answer honestly."
"…Yes, Your Majesty."
"What exactly is that 'technique' you used on the Queen? Tell me what kind of sorcery it is."
"It is not sorcery!"
Yoonseo blurted out reflexively.
Just when things seemed to be going smoothly—why this again?!
If this were judged as sorcery, death would be the default outcome—and if she were lucky, she would be dragged to the Office of Shaman Affairs and forced to live as a state shaman.
Then what about Hongwi? What about Yi Hyang, whom she had only just begun to accept into her heart?
"It may appear like sorcery at first glance, but it is merely a rare therapeutic method that shows remarkable effects on those suffering from psychological trauma."
"Ha! If it is not sorcery, then how could something that did not change even after decades of prayers to the Buddha—"
"I will explain it to you in detail, Your Majesty."
"…Oh?"
"Allow me to explain it to Your Majesty—please try it yourself once. It will take about one gak, and you need not speak your thoughts aloud."
"Oh ho!"
This was exactly what Sejong had wanted.
He felt a pressing need to verify where Kwon-ga's knowledge came from and what kind of influence it exerted.
She had already captivated Hongwi, the Crown Prince, and even the Queen—who had dearly cherished the wife of Grand Prince Suyang. If Kwon-ga were to set her mind to influencing others as well, she could one day wield immense psychological power over Joseon itself.
If she were merely an ordinary person, it would be a fortunate thing that she was beloved as the Crown Prince's companion. But her behavior and knowledge were at times alien and unfamiliar.
A ruler, by instinct, must be wary of knowledge and power that cannot be controlled.
"Explain it."
Yoonseo straightened her upper body and took a deep breath, lamenting inwardly that she could not relax even for a single moment before Sejong.
Only now did she truly understand why Yi Hyang, just as exceptional as his father, had lived his life without ever letting his composure slip.
Compared to the immense tension under which the Crown Prince had lived before such a great king, the past few days—when she had felt reassured simply because she had gained Yi Hyang's love and a small favor from the Queen, believing Hongwi's future was secure—now felt almost laughable.
No wonder.
The ring had stubbornly refused to come off her finger.
The day after she promised Yi Hyang she would not return to the modern world but would stay here as his woman, Yoonseo had gone to the well north of the Eastern Palace to throw the ring away.
She had worn it on her ring finger for easy removal—but in front of the well, it would not come off at all.
As if warning her that it was not yet time to feel at ease, the ring clung to her finger as though glued in place. Yet when she returned to her quarters and tried again, it slipped off easily.
So she sewed it into the waistband of her undergarment and stored it carefully inside a chest.
Now she realized—
That had been a warning, in its own way, from the ghost of Queen Hyeondeok.
Even the formidable spirit said in unofficial histories to have spat on King Sejo and cursed him with disease, even bringing death upon his son—
Even that spirit must have feared King Sejong so much that she could not appear even in a dream to plead her case.
If only she had cried out just once—telling how her son Suyang would one day kill my Hongwi—I would never have been dragged here into this nightmare!
The composure she had barely regained began to crumble again under fear.
Yoonseo shut her eyes and bit down hard on the inside of her mouth.
The salty taste of blood spread across her tongue. Using it as an anchor, she slowly took seven deep breaths.
When she opened her eyes, she had regained the professional composure of a psychological counselor.
"Your Majesty, this method came from my own experience. Once, after going through something extremely distressing, I happened to move my eyes back and forth while walking alone. Strangely, I found that my fear and negative thoughts diminished significantly."
Yoonseo borrowed, as if it were her own, the story of the American psychologist who had originally developed the technique known as Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR).
When EMDR was first introduced, its dramatic effects—reducing trauma and dissociation simply through eye movement—had led many to regard it as something akin to sorcery.
"Please close your eyes. Move them from left to right, and recall the most painful memory you have. You need not speak it aloud—only think of it."
Yoonseo, in fact, hoped he would not speak.
Though it went against proper professional ethics, this was not a situation where she could afford to adhere to them before a genius absolute monarch of the 15th century.
Would such a ruler spare someone who knew the most painful moment he had buried deep within himself?
"..."
As expected, Sejong did not speak.
With his eyes moving, his brows tightly furrowed, he sank into his own pain.
"Your Majesty, when such painful memories arise, how do you usually cope? As you do so, focus on the emotions and sensations that the memory brings."
"..."
Though he gave no verbal answer, Sejong straightened his shoulders and took a deep breath.
In this manner, over roughly one gak, Yoonseo guided him through about ten cycles of eye movement and brief pauses.
Seeing that, true to his genius, he had grasped the method from verbal explanation alone, she concluded:
"Sometimes this method works in a single session; in other cases, it requires repeated application over time. Her Majesty is exceptionally strong—she has endured her pain while successfully fulfilling her duties as head of the inner court—so she showed noticeable improvement even after one session. However, it would be beneficial to repeat the process several more times to further transform those memories into something more positive."
At her words, Sejong gave a slight nod and closed his eyes again, remaining silent for a long time.
"..."
For a brief moment, Yoonseo felt a trace of pity.
Sejong, too, was human.
No matter how unparalleled a genius or sage ruler he was, how could he not carry buried pain?
Perhaps it was precisely because he endured such suffering—disciplining himself and upholding propriety—that he achieved the governance of a great king.
But Yoonseo was far too insignificant, her life as fragile as a candle in the wind, to truly fathom the depths of his mind.
At last, Sejong opened his eyes and spoke.
"What is the principle behind it?"
"I do not know. I discovered it by chance while moving my eyes, and only confirmed its effectiveness through testing it on several palace attendants."
It was too difficult to explain using modern terminology, so she chose to deny knowledge.
"That childcare manual you wrote with Princess Jeongui—the draft. It is time to produce the final version. When the draft is complete, come here to Cheonchu Hall."
"…Yes, Your Majesty."
"Come, and incorporate the questions I raise into your draft, then submit the final version."
"…Yes, Your Majesty."
Rather than interrogating her immediately, Sejong had decided to uncover the source of her knowledge step by step, with his own hands.
So… he will not abandon Lady Yun or Grand Prince Suyang in the end.
Yoonseo read his intentions through her fear.
Then so be it.
If, despite all her schemes, Sejong still chose not to guard against them—
Then Sejong would do as a king must… and Kwon Yoonseo would do what she must.
Her mind racing, Yoonseo suddenly arrived at a thought.
"Your Majesty!"
The bold voice of Kwon Yoonseo—who could be trembling one moment and fearless the next—rang through Cheonchu Hall.
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