"How are you going to take your child on a trip like that? It's an inconvenient trip even for adults."

"I'm leaving my child with my parents."

"Well, if it's just you two, it's worth traveling on a cross-train."

It had been a long time since Youngho visited the Siberian work sites, and if Min-seok went, he would not have to visit.

"Take bodyguards with you instead. Shouldn't the chief secretary of the Kazakh royal family be with some guards at worksites? It's for the sake of your safety and the face of the Kazakh royal family. I'll give you plenty of money for the trip. Okay?"

"Phew, I shouldn't have told you that I wanted to go to Siberia."

"The executives of the Royal Secretary Office are going on vacation without telling the location? Hey, you two are not common employees now. Since you two know all sorts of royal family's secrets, you could be the main targets of enemies. Even if you go on vacation from now on, you have to be guarded by the security office. Keep in mind that you cannot travel in private now."

"I guess I was short-sighted. I'll be careful from now on."

"You are now members of the royal family. If it helps, just think of yourselves as celebrities."

***

"Hey! Sir Secretary. It must be great to travel with bodyguards."

"Oh, stop teasing me, Chief. I heard you've a.s.signed all the bodyguards we're going with."

"Of course, I chose only very tough ones. This trip will be very tiring. As soon as you get out of their guard lines, you'll get stares, so stay alert."

With Kim Il-kwon's stern comment, Suh Min-seok did not know what to do. He had no idea whether Kim Il-kwon was teasing or flattering him.

"I have no idea why this is such a fuss."

"Man, you're the one who's a.s.sisting the Queen and Duke of the Kazakh royal family. Think about it, you know all the secrets of the royal territory."

"..."

"If I kidnap you, I can tell you all the secrets of the Kazakh royal family, and do you think the enemies will want to leave you alone? How can we let you go out there without any protection?"

At the mention of 'kidnap,' Min-seok's face turned white. He had no idea that he was such an important person.

Il-kwon seemed not confident that Min-seok could endure tortures.

"Do you think I have a big mouth?"

"Ha! Look at you. Are you confident of enduring torture? For you, not even torture is necessary. You will blabber when you're stuck in a closed room for 10 minutes."

It was not that Il-kwon did not trust Min-seok, but anyone who did not receive torture training would not be able to endure such a situation.

"Don't worry. I'm not a tough person, but my loyalty is as big as yours. Even if a knife comes into my throat, I will keep royal secrets."

"These days, torture is not necessary. They have a shot of drug that can make you spit words."

"Do you have such a drug?"

"Is there such a thing?"

"Oh, that's just a start. Anyway, be careful all the time. Also, keep this capsule with you and return it when you get back safely later."

When Kim Il-kwon popped out a capsule the size of a pill, Min-seok freaked out.

"This isn't a poisoned capsule, isn't it?"

"Oh, you imagine too much. You think I'd ask you to bite a poison pill and kill yourself in an emergency? Don't worry because I never expect that. It's an electronic device for location tracking. If you get kidnapped, swallow this. Then we'll go and get you. We can just make some lies and earn some time until we get there. Okay?"

"Oh, jeez. I shouldn't go on a trip or anything. How can I like this? It's too scary."

"Man, that's why you're so important. And does Kim In-hwa know the secrets, too?"

"No, we haven't talked about cla.s.sified matters in a long time."

"Great. Don't tell the secrets of the royal family even to your wife unless it's shared officially. That will put her in danger, too."

"Okay, please don't scare me."

"I mean be careful anyway. If you follow the orders of the bodyguards, you'll be fine."

In the very worst situation, even bodyguards could not prevent, the two would have to be dealt with according to the rules of security, which would be sacrificing the two. This would sound shocking, but the two, especially Min-seok, knew so many things the world should not know, including the location of the royal vault and the amount of gold, not just the information about nuclear weapons.

Kim Il-kwon did not mention that.

This was because the weak-minded Min-seok and Kim In-hwa would go crazy if they heard it.

"Rule one. Never act individually. Rule two. Don't get out of the way of the guards. Rule three. When kidnapped, swallow the capsule unconditionally."

"Wait a minute. What if it comes out of my body when I p.o.o.p?"

"We'll get to you before that. It's traceable by satellite. It's made by the British Intelligence Service."

"Ha…"

"Listen to the end. You're not the only one going through this procedure. I recite this to the Duke all the time before traveling."

"And yet he stays still?"

"It's a promise we make for his security. Of course, he cooperates."

"Okay, go ahead. Please let me know the rules I have to follow."

When Il-kwon told him about the security rules for about half an hour, Min-seok took his tongue out and asked,

"I'd rather stay in prison than go on a trip."

"Hey, this is also a drill. I've been trying to educate you before, but I'm only doing it now since I didn't want to pressure you. Everyone in the royal family should know the basics. You can tell your wife because I'm afraid she'd be too shocked to hear this. I bet other countries would do the same for their leaders.h.i.+p and families. With China and Russia surrounding us, we need to be extra careful."

"I'll keep that in mind and cooperate from now on. I'm sorry I have been acting childish."

Min-seok finally knew how hard the security office was trying to keep the royal secrets from leaking.

"You've been very helpful because you've been around the Duke all the time, but Princess Zeynep is something. She always gives our guards a hard time."

"Well, that's understandable. She's such a free-spirited person and also she's been a student."

"Of course. She always keeps the royal dignity even if she seems to act childish. So you should also act with the weight of the royal family in mind. Don't be so hard on me because I give you an earful."

"Oh, I won't. Come to think of it, you look like you're born to be a security guard."

"No, you just learn when you face death a few times."

"Again, don't scare me. I will have to cancel my trip if you continue."

"Oh, please don't go. It's such a ha.s.sle."

"Hahaha... I'll have to go just to give you a hard time."

"Jeez..."