Chapter 21

Choi Yuna never spoke empty words to Kang Geon.

What worried her more was the Crown Prince.

That was sincere.

After all, as Kang Geon’s dedicated secretary, Department Head Kim had briefed her on his background.

Things like his food preferences, hobbies, and academic performance.

And among those details, one thing stood out: boxing.

“So you’re saying he received a scouting offer from the national youth team?”

“That’s right. But honestly, his feel for the sport is anything but ordinary.”

Department Head Kim continued his explanation.

According to the head of the gym Kang Geon attended, Kang Geon was a thorough out-boxer.

The problem, he said, was that he was too extreme.

“They say he’s rarely allowed clean hits even against the coaches. Like someone who reads every single punch before it’s thrown.”

“……”

“That’s how gifted he is in that regard. Oh, and one more thing.”

“And?”

“Among the gym members, he’s known by this nickname.”

Goblin.

…Apparently.

Somehow, she was beginning to understand why.

Choi Yuna turned her gaze back toward Kang Geon and the Crown Prince.

“You’re deluded from landing a single hit!”

Before those words even finished, Lee Hwan moved again.

His movements were far faster than before.

Far more reckless too, and it was plain to see the emotion bleeding through them.

Lee Hwan’s foot stamped off the floor, and his left fist shot toward Kang Geon’s face.

But…

This time, it didn’t even come close.

Lee Hwan’s punch split empty air, and in that moment, his right side opened up.

Kang Geon didn’t miss the gap.

Thud!

The glove sank deep into Lee Hwan’s flank.

A different shock from before.

If being struck below the solar plexus was pain that stole his breath, this was a sensation like his organs twisting from beneath his ribs.

“Kugh…!”

Lee Hwan’s body bent sideways from the excruciating pain.

Through that bizarre sight, everyone understood.

That earlier blow had never been luck.

From the very beginning, Kang Geon had been reading Lee Hwan’s every move.

He was simply managing his pace to honor Choi Yuna’s request.

An owner who goes out of his way to accommodate an employee’s plea?

Hmm, what a magnificent leader.

Kang Geon stepped forward for the first time, feeling a flicker of pride.

Lee Hwan gritted his teeth and raised his guard to buy time, but it didn’t matter.

Smack!

Kang Geon’s punch landed on top of Lee Hwan’s guard.

His arms were forced back, and through the opening, another fist dove in.

This time, the face.

Lee Hwan’s breath stopped once again.

As he reflexively tried to retreat, Kang Geon followed with another step.

Raise the guard, and the ribs got hit. Protect the torso, and the face was targeted.

Smack!

Smack!

Thud!

A brutal sequence of sounds rang out.

Every punch was precise and heavy.

And above all, it was cruelly calm against the Crown Prince.

Who in the Korean Empire would dare throw punches at the Crown Prince like a machine devoid of emotion?

Of course, Choi Yuna’s opinion had shifted somewhat.

‘…He’s smiling.’

Like a man releasing pent-up stress, Kang Geon wore a faint smile on his lips.

That’s why they call him a goblin…?

In any case, the duel no longer looked like a friendly one.

Neither was it a ceremony to gauge the spirit of the Crown Prince and the new chairman.

It was a one-sided beating.

No, it more closely resembled a tiger toying with its prey.

“Hah… hah…”

Lee Hwan, meanwhile, was gasping for air.

His lip was split, and his eye had already swollen shut.

He couldn’t believe he’d been reduced to such a pathetic state.

No, he absolutely refused to believe it.

What was certain was that this level of skill could never be described as having “learned a little.”

“…You.”

Lee Hwan finally caught his breath enough to speak.

Unmistakable rage laced his voice.

“You deceived me.”

At those words, Kang Geon’s movements stopped.

And then.

“Me?”

He flashed an unabashed smile.

But from Kang Geon’s perspective, this was genuinely unfair.

“Then Your Highness shouldn’t have accepted.”

“…What did you say?”

“When I proposed boxing.”

Kang Geon said calmly.

“If you truly doubted my skill, if you truly wanted a fair duel, you could have proposed a different discipline right then and there.”

“……”

“But Your Highness accepted anyway. Why was that?”

At Kang Geon’s question, Lee Hwan’s eyes shook violently for the first time.

But what followed began driving nails squarely into Lee Hwan’s chest.

“Because I’m an illegitimate child? Because I’m young? Or because I looked like someone who became chairman through luck without any preparation?”

The air around them froze solid.

This wasn’t a simple provocation. It was a frontal exposure of the situation’s very essence.

Lee Hwan had looked down on Kang Geon.

That was why he accepted the proposal of boxing.

Because he firmly believed there was no way he, as the Crown Prince, could lose.

In short, it was his talent, his effort, the education he’d received from the Imperial Family, and above all, the arrogance of being the Crown Prince.

All of that had created this situation.

“Your Highness wasn’t deceived.”

Kang Geon took a slow step closer.

“Your Highness simply still saw me as someone easy to dismiss. And this situation is merely the result of that judgment.”

Lee Hwan’s face contorted.

But he couldn’t properly refute it.

Because not a single word Kang Geon said was wrong.

It was Lee Hwan who had first requested the duel.

It was Lee Hwan who had accepted boxing.

And it was Lee Hwan whose voice had grown louder as things turned against him.

Therefore.

“All of this was simply brought about by Your Highness’s arrogance.”

The arrogance of judging someone without even looking at them properly, only by their background and age.

The arrogance of believing the Imperial Family’s name alone allowed him to look down on everything.

Kang Geon met Lee Hwan’s gaze directly.

“So allow me to say this. As the chairman of Seonghwa Group, who cares for the Korean Empire’s wellbeing.”

Kang Geon flexed his gloved hand lightly.

“I’ll take this opportunity to correct some of that arrogance. This, too, is for the Korean Empire’s brilliant future.”

The moment those words ended, Lee Hwan’s eyes flipped completely.

“Kang Geon!!!”

He charged without holding back any longer.

Technique, breathing, and distance had all collapsed.

Even so, he threw his fist at Kang Geon, driven by nothing but his pride as the Crown Prince.

But that punch was far too telegraphed.

In Kang Geon’s eyes, Lee Hwan’s shoulder moved first.

His feet scrambled to follow, his center leaning forward.

His gaze was on the face.

His target was the face as well.

In that instant, Kang Geon knew instinctively.

If he landed his right hand on the chin right now, it would be over.

Lee Hwan would collapse on the spot.

But he didn’t, not really.

Knocking the Crown Prince unconscious and breaking him were two entirely different matters.

Kang Geon twisted his body ever so slightly.

Lee Hwan’s fist grazed past his cheek.

And through that opening.

Thud!

Kang Geon’s counter landed cleanly into Lee Hwan’s torso once more.

Not the chin, but the abdomen.

Instead of knocking him out, he chose to steal his breath again.

“Cough…!“

Lee Hwan’s body folded completely from the impact.

His legs gave out, and he staggered before both knees finally hit the floor, his gloved hands pressing against the ground.

Even in that state, Lee Hwan tried to rise again.

His mind was clear, and his rage remained.

But.

‘W-What is this…!’

His body wouldn’t obey.

Cold sweat poured down his entire body, and for some reason, he trembled beyond control.

Could it be—

‘Am I actually afraid right now? Of that bastard of an illegitimate child?’

While Lee Hwan was sinking into that despair with a grave expression, the reception hall had fallen into a terrifying silence.

No one dared to step forward.

Even the imperial official serving as referee didn’t move.

I need to stop this right now…

He knew that.

But the Crown Prince hadn’t yet admitted defeat.

If the referee intervened first, it could become an official declaration of the Crown Prince’s defeat.

In that brief hesitation, Kang Geon slowly advanced toward Lee Hwan.

There was no reason to rush.

He still had over thirty seconds left.

So he’d fill every last one of them before putting him down.

Just as Kang Geon was swallowing an evil laugh inwardly.

“How about calling it there?”

Kang Geon reflexively looked toward the voice.

The Emperor, seated at the head table, had finally spoken.

He briefly regarded Lee Hwan, who had collapsed so miserably, then shifted his gaze to Kang Geon.

“It seems the match is already decided.”

The Emperor himself had declared the match over.

That was no different from acknowledging the Crown Prince’s defeat.

The person who reacted most strongly to that fact was…

“Your Majesty!”

Naturally, it was the Crown Prince, Lee Hwan.

Lee Hwan looked up at the Emperor with a deeply flustered expression.

But what returned was the Emperor’s icy stare.

One that said if he uttered another word, he would be killed.

That was not a gaze meant for flesh and blood, and Lee Hwan closed his mouth like a frightened puppy.

Then the Emperor looked back at Kang Geon.

Everyone tensed at his presence, but the boy before him was the sole exception.

Despite the fierce fight that had just taken place, his breathing was steady, and even after locking eyes with the Emperor, his expression hadn’t changed in the slightest.

Seeing that, the Emperor smirked without meaning to.

He found himself lost in a memory.

The first time he’d faced Chairman Kang Seongcheol, the founder of Seonghwa Group.

He still vividly remembered the Mountain Lord’s eyes from back then.

Everyone feared and revered the Imperial Family, but he alone did not.

If anything, he looked down on them.

Like we were all people in the palm of his hand, no matter what we did.

Well, to a tiger that rules the mountain, all other animals must look that way.

In that sense.

‘He resembles him.’

As if to show the same blood ran through his veins, the boy before him bore a striking resemblance to Chairman Kang Seongcheol.

No, perhaps it was that young blood made him even fiercer.

All the more reason the Emperor wanted the boy on his side.

In the past,

during the late Emperor’s reign, he’d ultimately failed to bring Chairman Kang Seongcheol into the Imperial Family’s fold.

That was because the late Emperor had cleanly waved the white flag against Kang Seongcheol’s tenacity and spirit.

But he had never understood his father’s choice.

The Imperial Family was the apex of the Korean Empire.

All authority must originate from the Imperial Family, and even the greatest power in this land must ultimately rest beneath the Imperial Family’s shadow.

That was the natural order in his mind, so at the time, he’d disapproved of his father’s decision.

Beside a sovereign who moves a nation, there must be a fine sword and shield to uphold the era together.

And Kang Seongcheol was a man more qualified than anyone.

Yet such a man had been left outside the Imperial Family.

Not as a vassal carrying out the Imperial Family’s will, but free as a tiger guarding his own mountain.

To the Emperor, that was an old grievance.

And at the same time, an old longing.

If he could have placed Kang Seongcheol at the Imperial Family’s side back then…

If he could have turned the vast power of Seonghwa Group into the Imperial Family’s sword, the Korean Empire would have become a far greater nation than it was now.

And right now.

A boy resembling Kang Seongcheol stood before him.

What could that mean?

Though the boy had declared he would not join hands with the Imperial Family, the Emperor didn’t want that.

‘Of course, taking him by force would be difficult…’

There was already the lesson from Kang Seongcheol’s time.

Try to subdue him with force, and he’d only reveal even greater hostility toward the Imperial Family and pay it back in kind.

And now, Seonghwa Group was even larger than it had been back then.

It had taken root across the Korean Empire’s industries, a massive pillar directly tied to countless citizens’ lives.

The moment one touched Seonghwa with emotion, the Imperial Family had little to gain.

If so, forcing submission was a lowly tactic.

What was needed now wasn’t pressure or threats.

“Chairman Kang.”

At the Emperor’s call, Kang Geon made no particular reply.

He’d already achieved an overwhelming victory in the duel with the Crown Prince, and he knew that in itself had brought him to the brink of rupture with the Imperial Family.

However.

“You’ve shown enough today.”

The Emperor’s voice was gentle.

Not a trace of the coldness he’d directed at the Crown Prince remained.

“Enough courage, enough capacity, and more than enough resolve to bear the name of Seonghwa Group.”

Anyone could tell.

What the Emperor was saying wasn’t pressure. It was recognition.

And in that vein.

“The Imperial Family will not involve itself in Seonghwa Group’s choices from here on.”

The Imperial Family would not involve itself in Seonghwa Group.

On the surface, it was a statement of respect for Seonghwa’s independence.

But the true meaning was clear.

For what Kang Geon had done today, the Imperial Family would impose no retaliatory sanctions whatsoever.

The inauguration speech that kicked away the Imperial Family’s outstretched hand.

The duel that brought down the Crown Prince before everyone’s eyes.

A declaration that all of it would be buried here.

And it was the Emperor himself declaring it, in front of the Korean Empire’s most powerful figures.

“As you said yourself, Seonghwa can simply walk its own path.”

The Emperor smiled warmly.

“The Imperial Family will watch that path with supportive hearts.”

“……”

What a load of crap.

Naturally, Kang Geon didn’t take those words at face value.

That wasn’t sincere recognition.

It was a calculated move to avoid further loss to the Imperial Family and the Crown Prince’s defeat, along with a ploy to maintain his favor and interest in Kang Geon.

‘…Something like that.’

Kang Geon glanced back at the Crown Prince.

He couldn’t even lift his head.

His body was trembling uncontrollably.

If earlier it had been close to fear, was this closer to rage and shame?

Kang Geon let out a small sigh and slowly removed his gloves.

At this point, well…

“I’ll be taking my leave now. The atmosphere doesn’t seem fitting for enjoying a reception.”

“?”

You’re the one who made the atmosphere like that.

The people who’d been watching in silence shouted inwardly.

He didn’t even offer a word of thanks for the Emperor’s consideration in neatly closing out the situation.

But the Emperor had no particular intention of pointing that out.

“Go ahead. Today must have been a tiring day for you in many ways. It’s probably best to wrap up the reception as well.”

The moment the Emperor’s words fell, Kang Geon turned around, and countless gazes naturally followed his back.

But no one dared stop the boy.

After witnessing the boy’s remarkable display at the Imperial Palace today, who could dismiss him as an illegitimate child and a high school student?

And then.

“I don’t know what his angle is, but the Emperor’s words about not touching Seonghwa Group seem genuine. At this rate, it feels like things were resolved fairly well. Right?”

“……”

Seeing Kang Geon as carefree as ever, Choi Yuna reportedly found herself at a complete loss for words.

A boy who had raised absolute hell at the Imperial Palace, and in the midst of crisis, had instead earned the Emperor’s recognition.

Looking only at the outcome, today’s actions were certainly worthy of respect.

But still.

She didn’t know if she should say this, but…

‘I don’t think even Chairman Kang Seongcheol ever smiled while beating up the Crown Prince at the Imperial Palace.’

That’s why it wasn’t resemblance, but mutation that best described him.

…Or so Choi Yuna thought to herself alone.