The Empire's Servant - Chapter 5

“Yes, detective.”

The detective approached right next to Ha In and lowered his voice so that Je Guk’s lawyers could hear.

“I think you should probably go in there. Choi Gang Jun keeps pushing hard without moderating his approach. Lee Je Guk and the legal department head aren’t answering easily to things they could answer.”

Hearing that he should go in directly made Ha In’s spine run cold. He was so flustered that he couldn’t even respond.

The prosecution staff stared at Ha In as if grabbing him. Under their gaze, Ha In’s vision went dark.

He had to avoid facing Je Guk here right now.

He wanted to run away immediately, but he held back to avoid making a fool of himself.

“I’ll ask Lee Je Guk for a moment. You go in, detective.”

The detective looked ready to drag Ha In by the wrist. Ha In’s eyes wavered, lost.

– Yes, let’s do that.

Gang Jun’s voice coming through the speaker added to it. Ha In felt like he would collapse from dizziness.

Through the monitor, Lee Je Guk could be seen getting up from his seat.

“Detective.”

The detective called Ha In once more.

Ha In woke up his dazed mind and got ahold of himself properly.

His heart pounded to the point of bursting from the dizziness.

He had to stay calm.

“No. Now that I’ve trusted and left it to Choi Gang Jun, I intend to fully entrust this investigation to him. I have something to do, so I’ll be going now.”

The moment the door to the interview room was about to open, Ha In left the monitoring room.

He quickly walked away from the buzzing interview room.

Je Guk’s voice vaguely heard behind him made Ha In’s breath tremble.

Ha In clenched his fists and walked faster.

Arriving back at the office, Ha In plopped down in his seat.

This was serious.

He was worried if he could face Je Guk again.

Approaching like this, his inner thoughts were bound to be caught by the agile Je Guk.

Ha In shut his eyes tightly and tapped his own cheeks with both hands to wake himself up.

He repeated to himself hundreds of times, ‘Cheon Ha In, get it together.’

Then, at the sound of the door opening, Ha In was startled and held his breath.

“Ah, sorry sunbae. I opened the door too loudly and surprised you.”

Gang Jun entered looking tired.

After a long time of battling wills, words, and minds, it was no wonder he was drained.

“No worries. You must be working hard.”

“Lee Je Guk was very prepared. To the point lawyers aren’t really needed.”

Ha In already knew Je Guk was that kind of person.

Gang Jun deserved praise just for not getting entangled.

Moreover, since the purpose of this investigation was to shake things up between Je Guk and Chairman Lee, even dropping words that would grate on Je Guk’s ears was a big achievement.

“I’m the one who made that list of questions. It’s all my responsibility, so don’t feel burdened.”

Ha In was sufficiently grateful and sorry to Gang Jun for acting on his behalf.

So he made it clear the responsibility was his.

“I went in there briefly earlier and you were handling it well.”

“Ah, you stopped by?”

Ha In nodded and looked at Gang Jun again.

He was worried if Gang Jun could give a final spurt.

Even so, Ha In firmly made up his mind, clearly recalling his purpose.

“Detective Choi, based on observing the situation, I noticed something. Cracks are appearing in Cheonha Group.”

Gang Jun’s eyes sparkled as he listened attentively to Ha In’s words.

“Lee Je Guk reacted to the content about Hyun Baek Hap.”

Gang Jun nodded at Ha In’s words.

“I got the sense he was drawing a line. Maybe because she’s not his birth mother.”

Fortunately, Gang Jun was good at reading between the lines and quick-witted. Ha In pretended to ponder for a moment.

“Severing the relationships within Cheonha Group could be one method. The gap between Je Guk and Baek Hap is already wide, so we need to create distance with Chairman Lee.”

“Chairman Lee is Je Guk’s birth father, right?”

Ha In reminded Gang Jun of a piece of information.

“There’s data suggesting Chairman Lee helped Baek Hap gain power, which will stand out even more to Je Guk as a businessman. He may have already noticed.”

Ha In handed Gang Jun a clear point of attack.

He felt bad about putting such a big burden on Gang Jun.

At the same time, he was worried about Je Guk withdrawing and leaving like this when the objective wasn’t properly achieved yet.

* * *

Je Guk and the lawyers came out of the interview room. The lawyer waiting in front handed Je Guk some water.

Je Guk walked and gulped down the water.

The bottled water going down his throat felt like it was cooling his insides.

Although he had to strongly defend Cheonha Group, whenever Baek Hap’s name was mentioned, the will to do so completely vanished.

Je Guk’s insides were burning for a different reason.

In the evidence the prosecution showed, the names of people from the chairman’s office caught his eye.

He concluded they were all connected to Baek Hap for now, but in Je Guk’s memory, one of them was from the chairman’s office.

Setting Baek Hap aside, Chairman Lee shouldn’t be doing this as the head of the company and Je Guk’s father.

The lawyers waiting in the break area offered Je Guk a seat, but he didn’t sit.

“Whew, I’d like to get some fresh air.”

Je Guk raised his hand near his necktie then lowered it.

There was still his schedule left to loosen his tie. Je Guk felt so stifled his insides might burst.

The head of legal led Je Guk to the rooftop of the prosecution building.

Opening the rooftop door, Je Guk finally felt like he could breathe a little.

It was the first outside air he got in 4 hours since coming to the prosecution.

Je Guk walked all the way to the rooftop railing without stopping. The legal department head quietly followed beside him.

The view of the sunrise or sunset. The scenery from the rooftop of the central district prosecutors’ office made one feel afloat.

An article appeared blatantly on an electronic billboard seen from the rooftop.

‘Cheonha Group’s legal risks, CEO Je Guk attends questioning as person of interest’

In the end, Je Guk let out a deep sigh and loosened his necktie.

Otherwise, he felt he wouldn’t be able to handle the rising emotions.

“This is tougher than expected.”

“Our preliminary investigation of the prosecutor in charge was lacking. We let our guard down thinking he was a new prosecutor.”

“No. That’s not important at all.”

The problem was Cheonha Group, not the prosecutor.

“Department head, this is so embarrassing for me. There may be more than one internal enemy.”

Je Guk was furious that Chairman Lee was being played by such a person, setting aside the fact that Baek Hap was Cheonha Group’s chairwoman and his stepmother.

“From now on, there are no sacred zones in this case. Not even myself.”

It was Cheonha Group led by Je Guk.

If there were parts he missed, he would take responsibility himself.

If someone else orchestrated this behind the scenes, whoever it was had to be duly punished – that was his clear will.

The legal department head acknowledged Je Guk’s intent.

“I’ll shield you, department head, so please provide legal assistance to protect Cheonha Group, not the owner family.”

Je Guk straightened his necktie, opening his eyes properly.

* * *

“Detective, Lee Je Guk has returned.”

A prosecution employee entered the office and told Gang Jun. Gang Jun calmly left the office.

Ha In anxiously typed on the keyboard with chilled fingertips.

For 30 minutes, his mind and hands moved separately. The letters appearing one by one on the screen could no longer move forward and only the cursor blinked.

Ha In’s eyes blurred blankly. His heart trembled so much his concentration hit rock bottom.

Then, the cell phone vibrated shortly.

Ha In turned his head towards the desk. A notification popped up on both his phone and laptop monitor.

– Sunbae, we’re wrapping up Lee Je Guk’s statement.

It was a message foretelling that Je Guk would soon leave the prosecutors’ office.

Now Ha In’s heart didn’t just tremble, it felt like it was floating.

Get it together.

Ha In shook his head and stood up from his seat.

Ha In went down the stairs towards the underground parking lot.

The underground parking lot was already bustling with people ready to escort Je Guk, as if arranged.

It seemed Je Guk hadn’t taken the elevator yet, but standing in front of it and waiting the whole time would be suspicious behavior.

To buy time, Ha In naturally headed to his car. He took a book from the car and headed to the elevator.

“CEO-nim took the left elevator.”

One of the escorts said. Ha In heard that too.

Ha In went and stood in front of the left elevator they mentioned.

As the elevator slowly descended from the 3rd to the 2nd floor towards the basement, Ha In’s heart rate gradually increased.

Feeling lightheaded, Ha In tightly held the book he brought against his chest and shut his eyes tight.

He didn’t know the book he brought to buy time would become such a mental support.

He could tell Je Guk was getting closer just by the posture of the escorts.

Ha In breathed quietly so as not to be caught trembling.

As the elevator arrived, a clear, pristine chime rang.

Ha In gulped and opened his eyes. The elevator doors felt like a massive castle gate.

Finally, those doors opened.

Although they were opening normally, to Ha In’s eyes it felt like slow motion.

Ha In barely lifted his head that kept wanting to bow from vague fear.

Amidst many people, one tall man stood there.

It was Je Guk.

Ha In stood in front of him as if by fate.

He had to be composed to see how Je Guk reacted upon seeing him. He would be grateful if Je Guk just didn’t show repulsion.

It was difficult to instantly discern if he was someone who could help him like long ago.

But it was about laying a stepping stone. Although scary, he had to face him.

Je Guk was looking down at an angle and Ha In stared at his face.

He hoped their eyes would meet.

Anxious thoughts arose about Je Guk possibly just passing by like this.

The moment Je Guk’s foot left the elevator, he lifted his head. Ha In’s hand holding the book trembled.

Je Guk, whose eyes met Ha In’s, sharply turned his head to look at his own path.

Ha In felt a mix of emotions, wondering if Je Guk didn’t recognize him.

That’s when it happened.

Je Guk stopped walking and looked at Ha In. Ha In’s head was pulled as if led by that gaze to face him.

Je Guk furrowed his brow looking at Ha In, then clearly stared at him.

When scheming men desperately battle for her favor in the male harem

This one’s also on my reread list! The rivalry, scheming between the men in the imperial harem are just as intense and thrilling as in classic palace drama novels, where concubines fight to the death. Give it a read, girls! I promise you won’t be disappointed.

Synopsis:

“I am not worthy of her… but I still want to be by her side, even if only as a loyal dog…”

Those were the painful whispers of Yue Guanyi – the proud Crown Prince of the Great Qi, who was torn between deep love and a guilty conscience. Despite holding the supreme power of the Imperial Guard, he still could not forget the dark past when he was sold into a brothel.

Fate played a cruel twist when Qiu Shuzhi – a young female official who had just passed the imperial examinations with top honors – stepped into his life. She did not know that she was the one who had saved him from a tragic fate many years ago. And now, her heart was the target of pursuit for both Yue Guanyi and the powerful Empress Dowager Qin Qing.

While Yue Guanyi only dared to silently care for and protect the one he loved from afar, the  Empress Dowager Qin Qing openly expressed his feelings and did not hesitate to take advantage of his power to approach Qiu Shuzhi. The covert struggle between the two most powerful forces in the imperial court began…

Trigger warning: All men in this novel are yandere style.

_____

Please help me, I want to bring you the best possible things.

If you find any chapter or novel with poor translation and editing quality, let me know by commenting directly under that novel or chapter. I will retranslate it as soon as possible.

[Touch the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to move to the next chapter if you want.]