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Episode 24
I...
plan to proclaim Yeojin as this country's Crown Prince.
The reason I chose Yeojin...
was certainly not because you lack any skills,
or because I don't cherish you enough.
I couldn't choose you to be the heir to my throne...
because I'm not powerful enough to subjugate the chieftains.
I don't have any power to do that,
so all I can do now is join forces with them.
If I am to achieve that, I need a crown prince who can unify the court,
and Yeojin is the most suitable man for that.
Will you aid Yeojin, and help your father's wishes come true?
Your presence will always be cumbersome for Yeojin,
so I will not be able to keep you in the capital.
You will spend your days on the wintry battlefields,
the shadows of countless doubts haunting your resolve.
Still, will you follow my wish?
Yes, I shall follow your wish.
You will constantly have to escape the claws of demise,
and only endless sacrifices will knock at your gates.
But will you still fulfill my wishes?
I will.
If it can help this country's future, I shall gladly sacrifice my life,
so may you use me as you wish.
Whichever ordeals may befall me, allow me the resolve...
to never resent anyone for that.
May you devour all the desire and resentment besmirching my soul.
How long will it take until Buyeo's borders?
Half a day.
Yonggol Fortress is not far from here.
- After we ask for reinforcements from... - Their troops would only join us...
after the delegation crosses the border into Buyeo.
Then, should we act now?
Your Highness.
Isn't that Muhyul?
Your Highness.
Should you act now, your identity will be exposed.
Then, slaughtering them all shall solve our quagmires!
I shall do it.
You may remain behind, Your Highness.
Swiftly alert the border defense troops.
Charge!
Your Highness! They're Buyeo troops!
Maro!
Hurry up!
Go!
Catch him! Don't lose him!
Maro!
The troops are after us. You must leave now.
Go now!
Your Highness, what now?! Maro is going to die!
How long will it take to reach Jolbon from here?
*Mt. Shimak's ancient name, because it "stopped the Han River's current"
If we take a shortcut to Mt. Sumak*, only a day.
We'll go to Jolbon, endure it just a little longer.
Let's go.
How is it?
Thankfully, he pulled through the crisis.
Did I look like someone who would perish so easily?
You needn't worry.
You will get tired of my always staying by your side.
Your Highness.
The reports on Jolbon's conditions.
The tyranny shown by Jolbon Fortress's Lord Gi Cheon...
is even worse than what our initial reports had indicated.
As a fellow Biryu clan member, Gi Cheon is a trusted henchman of Baegeuk.
Ever since he took over as Lord of Jolbon Fortress,
he started collecting enormous levies.
And on the pretext of erecting several shrines around the province,
he's levying even more hefty tributes on the locals.
Your Majesty.
The Chief Retainer and Prince Dojin have returned.
Ohh, ohh! Let them in!
Why did you come alone? What happened to the Xin delegation?
Muhyul slaughtered the Xin delegation on the way to Buyeo.
What?!
And were you just staring at that?!
It's all the better, Your Majesty.
Better? What are you prattling about?!
Muhyul is finally starting to dig his own grave, with his latest actions.
He turned the Xin against them,
so this will add a cumbersome quandary to his crowning ambitions.
I shall join forces with Baegeuk and gain control of the Council.
We shall then take this opportunity, and turn the royal family upside down.
Fine.
I shall give you my utmost support, so follow your wishes.
Chief Retainer, you shall head to the Xin and alert them of the situation.
Yes, Your Majesty.
Who are you?
This is His Highness, Prince Muhyul.
Just as venturous as your reputation suggested.
Can this behavior be admissible?
I am the Lord of Jolbon Fortress.
I have a just and sufficient cause to chasten you.
What on earth are you talking about?
You tolerate smuggling under your watch,
and even engaged in slave trading, while Baegeuk enjoys all the avails.
We already have all the evidence we need,
so I suggest you confess right now.
Depending on your behavior now, this could turn into an opportunity for you.
From this moment on, you shall no longer answer to Baegeuk,
and will act as a subject of Goguryeo.
That was your duty to begin with, so it shan't be too much of a burden.
If you only give me a sign you are with us, I shall protect you.
I shall follow your command, Your Highness.
Nunim! This is a serious matter, Nunim!
What is the matter with you?
Yeo... Yeojin...
Yeojin!
Open your eyes!
Yeojin!
What are you doing? Summon the physician right now!
- Now! - Yes... Nunim.
Yeojin!
Wake up!
Blood circulation is blocked.
How is it?
I can't say anything with certainty, at the moment.
- I've already done all I... - Shut your mouth!
You must save him.
Whatever it takes, you must save him!
If he doesn't regain his consciousness, you'll pay!
If you wish to survive past this day, save him!
No word of what happened shall leak outside.
Not only His Majesty, but nobody in the palace can learn of this.
Understood?
Yes, Nunim.
How did it go?
There's no improvement.
Nunim.
We can't keep this a secret any longer.
Shouldn't we swiftly alert His Majesty...
Don't even jest about that!
The moment His Majesty learns of this, it's all over!
Nothing good will come from keeping this in the shadows.
One day has passed already, but the situation hasn't improved at all.
He will regain his senses.
My Yeojin will do that for sure!
I want to believe that myself,
but, should anything happen to him, what are you going to do?
How are you going to deal with the repercussions?
What is this all about?
Your Majesty.
How is he?
We tried all kinds of treatment, to no avail.
How do you explain this?
What on earth happened to turn him into this state?
I am concerned you might suffer from ailments.
Go back to your quarters now, Sire.
I am fine.
He will regain his senses, so don't worry.
I neglected Yeojin way too much.
Seryu.
Yes, Father.
My misdeeds as a father all turned into misfortune for my children.
Forgive me.
Don't say that.
Your Majesty!
His Highness regained his consciousness.
Are you feeling any better now?
How could you do that?
If anything happens, how could I survive without you?
Yeojin!
I need to confer with His Majesty.
May you leave us alone.
Escort the Empress to her quarters.
Yes.
All leave us.
Forgive me, Father.
Why wouldn't I understand your feelings?
I lived for over ten years not knowing I was the former king's son,
and I never even once believed I'd become the ruler of our nation.
So why wouldn't I know how cumbersome becoming this country's king could be?
I perfectly understand what you're going through.
Father!
Don't try to blame yourself, nor escape from such dread.
The responsibility bestowed upon a crown prince is not only to rule our people,
but to protect and dread them at the same time.
You shall use such dread as a reminder of your duties towards our people.
Do you really think I can handle those responsibilities?
After trying to escape from them even if it meant my demise,
do I still deserve to bear such responsibilities?
I tried to do that.
I tried my best to pretend I was strong enough for that.
But...
Even if I could fool everyone else, I couldn't fool myself.
I am afraid.
Afraid of disappointing your expectations,
and of all the responsibilities which will engulf the rest of my days.
How could I protect and reign over our people, then?
Yeojin.
It's obvious who will be crowned anyway.
Do we need to stand and stare at all that?
Shut your mouth!
I just feel sorry for His Highness.
As if giving up his rightful place to his brother wasn't enough, what's this?
I trust everyone knows why I summoned the Council today.
Now...
I shall reveal who will be proclaimed Crown Prince.
Goguryeo's Crown Prince...
is Prince Muhyul.
In a month, along with his crowning ceremony,
he shall join a Biryu clan lady in conjugal ties.
So, Prince Muhyul, make all necessary preparation.
As we expected, the chieftains' opposition is fierce.
They keep seeking audience, and refuse to accept this.
Your Majesty. His Highness Prince Muhyul seeks audience.
Let him in.
Why is it me?
You erased every last trace of hope from my mind.
Why did you bedevil me in such a way?
Prince Yeojin couldn't take the pressure, and tried to take his own life.
The reason I proclaimed you Crown Prince...
is not merely because of that.
Didn't you say I could corrupt internal unity within the court?
May you go back on your decision, and crown Yeojin instead.
I shall give my all to protect Yeojin.
There is no going back.
You are now this country's Crown Prince.
Our people still fear me.
Should I become Crown Prince, the people could turn their backs on us.
That, too, is a burden you need to bear.
Change our people's minds by yourself.
As I told you before,
you must overcome all the quandaries hampering your path.
Now it all depends on you.
Prove to us that the heavens never abandoned you,
but they instead chose you.
My deepest congratulations.
The chieftains must still be here in the palace.
Didn't you foresee this would happen?
Yes, the chieftains' opposition was inevitable.
Dojin.
Will you help me out?
Our paths lead in a different direction, Your Highness.
Now it is time you join a Biryu clan lady in marriage,
so I came here to suggest you dissever all your ties with Lady Yeon.
It will be propitious both to you and Lady Yeon.
Mother.
Don't even utter that name.
I know how disheartened you are, Mother.
I shall atone for this lack of piety for the rest of my days.
And how are you going to atone for that?
You don't understand what I'm feeling.
You still think I'm blinded by my thirst for power,
enough to endanger my son's life.
Do you even realize what fate will befall a crownless prince?
You still are safe as long as His Majesty is alive,
but when he'll perish,
we're no different than walking corpses.
My brother would never do that to me.
How can you be sure of that?
Mother!
Should he even protect us, would that be a dignified life?!
Is hanging from his every word in utmost fear what you call living?!
I shall never accept that.
Whatever it takes,
I shall take the sword of power from his hands once again!
What are the chieftains doing?
They all went back.
The Sangga practically surrendered to King Yuri,
so they have no just cause to question anything His Majesty does.
That pathetic dullard.
Our reality now is that we're forced to stop Prince Muhyul's crowning.
Opposition shan't suffice. We need to find a solution.
Have anything in mind?
We must attack the royal family.
Are you telling me we should rise in revolt?
There is no other solution to our problems.
I shall be responsible for executing our plans,
so you take care of gaining the approval of the chieftains willing to join our cause.
When the day comes, I shall bring in a large contingent of Black Shadows...
from Buyeo, to aid us in our mission.
It's the Sangga.
They all come from impecunious clans with no powerful connections,
so there will be nothing hampering us.
What is your name?
My name is Yiji.
Everyone but her may leave us.
Tell me the reason you wish to become Crown Princess.
There is but one reason.
Because it will lead me to become Empress.
Impart to this lady all necessary erudition.
Yes.
She shall serve you from now on.
My name is Gwiyeon.
Should you need anything, let me know and I shall help you.
Yes.
Escort her to her quarters.
Stop there!
What are you doing?
This is Lady Yiji, set to become the Crown Princess.
Now, can you pay your respects to me?
Should you disrespect me again from this day onwards,
I shan't forgive you.
It's done! Done, done, done!
So the heavens still haven't forsaken me!
Do you like it that much?
From olden times, they used to say this.
Attach a merchant to power and it will lead to depravity,
but gain the heart of power, and your path shall be sprinkled with gold!
Let's go! Let's go.
Go where?
We'll have to prepare a suitable gift for His Highness the Crown Prince.
Gift?! What gift?
You'll soon find out!
How does it taste?
This is the royal stock only His Majesty drinks.
I asked the servants for drinks to serve you, and they gave me this!
That's how big a difference becoming Crown Prince means.
The responsibilities on my shoulders are killing me.
Becoming Crown Prince means gaining countless foes.
What that means is I...
could endanger all your lives.
We are prepared for the consequences.
We shall always watch your back, so you needn't worry.
I must now prove His Majesty's decision was the right one.
We must protect His Majesty well, and never become a burden to him.
It will not be easy to gain approval from the chieftains,
but I shall do my best.
I can finally feel relieved now.
If Prince Haemyeong could only see you, he'd be proud.
Today, let us drink without reserve!
If we are to take control of the capital,
we must start by driving the troops protecting Yuri away from the palace.
But achieving that will not be a laughing matter.
You needn't worry.
I have a plan.
Don't think of this as training, but as a real fight!
Sang Baek.
Yes, Chief.
Forget about the wooden sticks, and use real swords from now on.
Brother.
Yeojin.
We must go somewhere together.
Yeonhwa!
Your Highness!
Are you all right?
Are you really unscathed?
Yes.
Forgive me, I really apologize.
You had to go through all this because of me.
Don't say that, Your Highness.
Brother.
My gratitude. I am really thankful.
If Her Majesty learns of this, she'll be enraged,
so take good care of Yeonhwa yourself.
Yes.
Let's go.
Help make sure Yeojin can protect Yeonhwa from harm.
Yes.
By the way, shouldn't you at least meet the woman...
who's going to join you in marriage?
The ceremony is just a few days away. You can't wait until then to see her.
Ohh... you!
What?
Nevermind, you wretched fool.
Were you looking for me?
That is the policy you promised to enact once you were crowned.
Your first duty is to let our people know you're the crown prince.
I shall give you full authority, so enforce this policy.
Not only the chieftains showed concern about your candidature,
our people's eyes are on you.
Show them my choice was right, and they had no reason to doubt you.
Yes, Your Majesty.
What brings you here?
I need to ask your assistance, Sangganim.
My assistance? You surprise me, Your Highness.
I understand you believed crowning Prince Yeojin would have...
been more beneficial in maintaining internal unity in the court.
That I certainly did. But things do not always go according to plan,
so what else can you do?
Should I fulfill what you expected from Prince Yeojin,
will you acknowledge me?
The reason I'm requesting your assistance...
is to show my will to keep us royals and the Biryu clan united.
If this is no different from what you were asking Prince Yeojin,
I believe you will respond to my wishes, Sangganim.
Fine, but...
I cannot guarantee the entire Council will share my beliefs.
For starters, your acknowledging my wishes shall suffice.
How can I be of service?
What did he summon a Council meeting for?
It wasn't His Majesty who summoned us, Prince Muhyul did.
What?
The ceremony is still far away, and he already tries to order us around?
Tell me about it.
Remunerate labor forces?!
You're building carriages and enlarging pathways,
but why should we bear the financial grunt of it all?!
Carriages and roads will become infrastructures to the benefit...
of those holding trade rights in the capital, which would be you.
When this endeavor is complete, you shall benefit tenfold from its fruits.
We already faced significant burden by funding your war efforts!
We are in no position to provide any other funds for your endeavors.
If that is indeed the case, I shall no longer force it upon you.
But,
there is something you must bear in mind.
Among you chieftains of the Council, some people already pledged they will follow me.
I shall bestow all trade rights upon them.
If it's lore what you must use to impugn this situation,
then you will find yourself unable to compete with those who...
can take advantage of new roads and carriages.
That will only mean many of you chieftains will lose your trade rights.
I leave the decision up to you.
I trust you will do what is right.
Hurry up! Let's get moving!
Let's earn that salary, shall we?
Quick, quick! 1... 2...
- Gong Chan. - Yes?
I bid you welcome, Your Highness...
the Crown Prince!
How are they doing?
Just great!
They get to work, put some food on the table,
and the atmosphere in the capital finally shows some vitality.
The Council has pledged to fund the entire project,
so should you need anything, just tell me.
Is that so? I certainly will.
Crown Prince!
Your Highness.
I found this at the sanatorium.
How can you... give him this dirty...
Still, it was something Lady Yeon cherished.
Let's go.
I can't take this any longer.
We must move our plans forward.
How about we execute our plans on crowning day?
It would be too much to handle.
Even convincing the chieftains by then will be difficult.
If you can't convince them, we'll just get rid of them!
Abate your impulses and calm down.
If our endeavor fails, both you and I will perish.
We must succeed with a single strike, nothing more.
Your Excellency.
Lady Miyu and Anseung are here.
I will die of resentment, if this keeps up.
You need to calm down.
How much longer are you going to sit and stare at him?
Didn't I tell you to get rid of him long ago?
It is not as simple as you imagine.
No need to waste ourselves in paltry quibbles, just slay him.
If you make him disappear, I shall grant your every wish.
You must be well aware that, in my current position,
I can't do anything about it.
Look, Ubo!
To make matters worse, he shall soon be crowned.
If we try to harm the Crown Prince, the entire Council will bear the consequences.
I am terribly sorry to disappoint you,
but if it asks us to bear such grave responsibilities,
I cannot fulfill your wishes.
Then, are you going to bow down in submission to that fool?!
It can't be helped.
And I was counting on you.
You're a big disappointment.
I shall never forget this affront!
You made the right decision.
Nothing good would come from getting involved with Her Majesty.
We're going as scheduled in building pathways all the way to the Amnoksu,
but as mountains block passage to Jolbon,
we're facing significant difficulties there.
I shall notify His Majesty and ask to deploy the Royal Guard,
so let them join the operation.
It shall be done, Your Highness.
Thanks to you, I can finally see some vitality in the capital.
You're flattering me.
His Majesty is very satisfied as well.
But, have you seen your future spouse?
I shall tell the Sangga, so go pay him a visit.
Does it make any sense not seeing her even once before the ceremony?
Several delegations from our neighboring countries shall join the ceremony.
You must make sure nothing hampers the crowning ceremony.
Is that understood?
Yes.
Gweyu Chamgun!
Let us have a talk.
I have heard of your efforts in protecting Muhyul.
That is just my duty, Your Highness.
I want to repay you for all those efforts, so come to my quarters tonight.
W...What?!
Qu... Quarters...
Is that true?
So... like... Should I... really go?
Sure you should, you must!
If you're lucky, you could become in-laws with the royals!
Listen to this fool...
Then again, she probably just called you there,
so I would lower my expectations, if I were you.
Should I tag along?
Really...
Hey... he's really going in, for real!
What if he does something wrong in there?
- Maro. - Uh?
Welcome.
Have a seat.
Our congratulations!
Stop prattling about, and summon the troops!
Congratulations!
Congratulations!!
Royal In-Law!
I bid you welcome, Your Highness.
Thanks to your cooperation, everything is proceeding well.
It is merely my duty.
Are you out there?
Yes.
Escort her in.
I am sure you will be satisfied, Your Highness.
She unites beauty and intelligence,
so I believe she shall become a bridge between our Biryu clan and you royals.
It's Prince Muhyul.
My name is Yiji.
I shall give you one final chance.
If you join forces with me, I shall make sure you achieve all your goals,
and fulfill your potential.
I already swore to live as His Excellency's shadow.
Beageuk and I will never see eye to eye.
It could become a war where one of us will perish.
I do not wish to point my blade at you.
Do it.
I shall do the same.
Dojin.
You wish to send envoys to Buyeo?
After our war with Buyeo, diplomatic relations have been cut off.
But, since the Xin and Buyeo are conducting joint military drills,
it is clear they're preparing for another campaign.
We must resume talks with them, and show that confrontation will only damage them.
What he said is wise, Your Majesty.
If such is your wish, send delegations to both countries.
Yes, Your Majesty.
His Majesty's guards shall take care of security inside the palace,
so we must examine all the delegations.
You must never forget about what happened to that Xin envoy.
Check every single delegation, and should anything suspicious arise,
alert us immediately.
- Understood? - Yes!
How do you plan to proceed, Your Majesty?
Muhyul that fool has been crowned.
Why should we send a congratulatory delegation?
Why don't you order us to send Black Shadows to slay him, instead?
No.
Convey to him that we shall send a delegation.
It's the delegation from Yangmaek.
I laud your efforts in making such an arduous trip.
Escort them.
Next, a delegation from Okjeo will arrive.
The delegations' abodes are all closely guarded.
They're all here to celebrate your crowning,
so make sure they don't suffer any discomfiture.
Yes.
What is the matter?
Your Majesty.
The delegation from Buyeo has arrived.
I bid you welcome.
My congratulations, Your Highness.
Brought to you by WITH S2 Written In The Heavens Subbing Squad
Main Translator and Timer: MisterX
Timing QC: julier
Editor/QC: thunderbolt
Coordinators: mily2, ay_link
Please do NOT hardsub and/or stream this episode using our English subtitles.
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