Raising one's head before the Emperor's command fell was rudeness among rudeness, but Nok-gi now had such authority.
Who would dare point out his rudeness?
Even the Emperor wouldn't want to cause problems with him right now. His power came from the Emperor, but the Emperor's power also came from him.
The Emperor who had soared through the heavens with two wings—Nok-gi and Lee Wang-ya—had torn off the wing called Lee Wang-ya. If he were to strike down Nok-gi as well in this situation, the Emperor too would have no choice but to fall.
However, screaming was a separate matter.
No matter how much authority Nok-gi had, raising his head and even shouting while the Emperor was making his entrance was an unforgivable grave sin that deserved condemnation. Despite committing such a great mistake, Nok-gi didn't realize it.
Because the scene unfolding before his eyes was too shocking.
"What is the matter?"
"…Your Majesty?"
"I asked what the matter was."
"Ah, no…"
Speaking before the Emperor had finished his entrance, and trailing off his words while conversing with the Emperor—for anyone else, these would be great mistakes that would cost them their heads without complaint.
Despite committing such mistakes consecutively, Nok-gi was completely unaware of his errors.
"Is… is it really Your Majesty?"
"Nok-gi."
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
"Your loyalty seems lacking. To think you cannot recognize me."
"How… how could that be possible?"
Nok-gi bowed his head deeply again.
But his face was still full of doubt. Nok-gi, who had slightly raised his bowed head again to examine the Emperor's face, unconsciously clenched his fists tightly.
'What could have happened? What on earth happened!'
This was not the Emperor.
The person he was looking at now was not the Emperor he had seen for decades.
'But it is the Emperor.'
An impossible situation was unfolding.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
With each step the Emperor took, footsteps that shook the great hall rang out. This could never happen with the Emperor who until yesterday had been nothing but skin barely clinging to bones.
But for today's Emperor, it was all too natural.
"Hmm…"
The Emperor, who had climbed the platform and looked at the Dragon Throne, slightly furrowed his brow.
"It seems narrow…"
"…"
"Hmm."
The Emperor, who had squeezed his body into the Dragon Throne, quietly opened his mouth.
"Raise your heads."
Only then did the ministers raise their heads in unison, their eyes widening like lanterns.
"Your… Your Majesty?"
"Your Majesty?"
"What in the world?"
"Your Majesty?"
Watching their reactions as if they had rehearsed it, the Emperor smiled strangely.
"Is there something wrong?"
No one could speak.
In this situation, there was only one person who could open his mouth. As the ministers' gazes focused on him, Lee Wang-ya let out a quiet sigh.
To think they would force such a thing upon him when he had been dragged here as a criminal.
"What happened last night? Your Majesty's condition seems different from yesterday."
"You didn't even see me yesterday, elder brother."
"…Your, Your Majesty, this is the imperial court."
"So what?"
"…"
Lee Wang-ya looked at the Emperor with trembling eyes.
Broad shoulders spread wide.
Thick thighs like looking at a small pine tree, muscles pulsing as if his clothes might tear apart at any moment.
'Did he catch and devour a dragon?'
This was not the Emperor who had been so frail that people wondered when he might die. Someone whose very presence exuded vigor was sitting on the Dragon Throne.
His facial features were unmistakably the Emperor's, so one couldn't suspect that someone else had donned the imperial robes.
'What kind of miracle is this?'
Then, the Emperor smiled broadly and spoke.
"Everyone seems surprised?"
"Yes, yes, Your Majesty."
The Emperor laughed heartily and said.
"It seems the former emperors looked down upon me with favor last night. When I woke up, I had become like this. With such strength flowing through my body, I feel I could live several more decades."
"We congratulate you, Your Majesty!"
"It is the grace of the former emperors. Now the nation will be at peace for ten thousand generations."
Congratulations poured out from everywhere.
"But there's someone who doesn't look particularly happy. Nok-gi."
As his name was called, Nok-gi startled and looked at the Emperor.
"You don't look happy at all?"
"How… how could that be, Your Majesty? It's such an amazing event that I'm having trouble collecting myself. Your Majesty's recovery of health is something worth celebrating with festivals for a month."
"Hahaha, it's fortunate that you think so."
Nok-gi, who felt something mocking from the Emperor, bowed his head and hardened his expression.
'What on earth is happening?'
This was an Emperor who could have died at any moment. But such an Emperor had become so healthy overnight.
No, this wasn't just about becoming healthy. A person's skeletal structure had changed overnight. Unlike others, he could tell. It wasn't just that muscles had been added—even the size of his bones had changed.
How could a person change so drastically in just one night?
This could only be described as a miracle.
"Right, what was I supposed to do today?"
"The judgment of Lee Wang-ya. And there's also the judgment of Wei Yan-ho and his group."
"That's right. So… what was elder brother's crime again?"
"Your Majesty, this is the imperial court. No matter how much Wang-ya may be Your Majesty's blood relative, there is none higher than the Emperor under heaven. Please use different terms of address."
"Who was that?"
"…"
"I asked who just babbled those words."
A sense of majesty began to emanate from the Emperor's body like billowing clouds. The ministers' expressions rapidly grew pale.
'Different.'
'He's different from before.'
Though he had been dignified in the past, the current Emperor was fundamentally a nervous person. Even during meetings, rather than speaking much, he focused only on listening to his subjects' opinions and reaching conclusions.
His dignity came from his position, not from the person himself. But now the Emperor was completely different from the previous Emperor.
Seeing his slightly narrowed brow, people hurriedly bowed their heads.
"Your, Your Majesty."
"Was it you?"
"Yes, Your Majesty. However…"
The Emperor chuckled.
"Your tongue works well. You say there is none higher than me under heaven, yet you want to control even my words and forms of address as you please?"
"No, Your Majesty! How could I harbor such treacherous thoughts? It's just that the imperial family has its protocols…"
"Between imperial protocol and my will, which takes precedence?"
Cold sweat began to flow down the subject's spine.
This was a question with a predetermined answer.
No matter how much of an Emperor he was, he couldn't ignore the imperial protocols established by the founding emperor and continued by former emperors. But if he spouted such orthodox theory now, wasn't it too easy to see what would happen?
After hesitating, he finally gave up and said.
"What in the world could dare oppose Your Majesty's will? If Your Majesty wishes it so, then so it is."
"You understand well."
The moment those words ended, everyone in the imperial court could tell.
The world had changed. In a completely different direction from what they had thought when entering the palace this morning.
"Then let us continue. Elder brother…"
"Your Majesty."
Lee Wang-ya spoke quietly.
"Please speak."
"Of course, Your Majesty's will takes precedence over all else. Nothing under heaven can oppose Your Majesty's will. But doesn't all of this stem from the efforts of the former emperors? I ask that you think once more about what they sought to protect."
The Emperor nodded.
"If the Grand Tutor… no, if elder brother says so, then I shall do so. No, I will do so."
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
The Emperor smiled broadly and said.
"Right, we were to judge the Grand Tutor's crimes. But what was the Grand Tutor's crime?"
No one opened their mouth.
Though they knew the atmosphere had changed, no one wanted to open their mouth and invite trouble. Everyone's gaze focused on the one person who could resolve this matter.
Director of the Eastern Depot Eunuch Nok Gong-gong, namely Nok-gi.
Nok-gi felt the gazes focusing on him and bit his lips tightly.
"Your Majesty, the Censorate Director treacherously brought his people into the imperial family to attempt the assassination of His Highness the Crown Prince."
"You said assassination?"
"Yes! That's correct."
"Do you keep dogs?"
"Pardon?"
"I asked if you keep dogs."
"Ah, no. I don't keep animals."
"Then let me ask you this: if a grandfather's dog bit his grandson, whose fault would that be?"
"…"
"Stupid fool, naturally it would be the grandfather's fault."
"Yes, yes. It would be the grandfather's fault for failing to manage the dog."
"Right, exactly. But could you say the grandfather tried to harm his grandson?"
Cold sweat began to flow from Nok-gi's forehead.
"Your Majesty, the Censorate Director is not the Crown Prince's grandfather. Rather…"
"You foolish one! Have you forgotten that the former Emperor told me to regard elder brother as a parent and trust and follow him! Are you now daring to ignore the former Emperor's will! How dare you!"
As the angry Emperor's voice rang throughout the great hall, the ministers prostrated themselves on the floor in terror. This was a side of the Emperor they had never seen before.
"How… how could that be, Your Majesty!"
Nok-gi lowered his body close to the ground.
'Damn it, what's going on here?'
Though he was incomparably clever, the current Emperor was impossible to read. This had all started going wrong from the moment he appeared in a completely different form than before.
'Stay calm.'
He had to minimize the distortion somehow, no matter what.
"Of course Wang-ya would have had no such intention. But the fact that such a result occurred is also true, isn't it? There should rightfully be punishment for it."
"That's a fair point."
The Emperor turned his head to look at Lee Wang-ya.
"Censorate Director."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"Do you acknowledge your guilt?"
"I acknowledge it."
"Good."
The Emperor declared with a stern face.
"Even if the Censorate Director didn't intend it, harming a prince of the nation is an unforgivable sin. Therefore, I sentence the Censorate Director to labor reformation."
'Labor?'
The ministers' faces filled with doubt again.
Labor punishment meant sending someone to a remote wilderness to do harsh work until death. The Emperor, who had seemed to be defending Wang-ya, had instead imposed an even harsher punishment than expected.
"Though the Grand Tutor is of an age where retirement wouldn't be strange, as punishment for this incident, I forbid retirement for the next ten years. The Censorate Director shall wash away his sins by working even harder for the nation and people. Until then, there will be no rest and no retirement."
"Your, Your Majesty."
"Enough. I have already pronounced the punishment. No matter how much you plead, the sentence will not be reduced."
Hot tears flowed from Lee Wang-ya's eyes.
"I will serve with all my heart."
As Lee Wang-ya prostrated himself and bowed there, Nok-gi twisted his face.
'What is this at the last moment?'
If things went this way, Lee Wang-ya's downfall had to be considered a failure. Then he had to at least catch the remaining rabbit.
"Your Majesty!"
"Speak."
"If a grandson was hurt because of a dog the old man kept, one cannot blame the old man."
"That would be so."
"But there's no law saying to keep that dog alive."
"Hmm…"
Nok-gi raised his head sharply and said.
"The dog! No, execute the criminal Wei Yan-ho and his group by beheading!"