Listening to Oh Mun Woo's confession is not as satisfactory as it would have been without the memory of Seol's tear stained face marring it. Seo would never forgive himself that lapse of control. He expected better from himself, from his experiences of living the same hell of a life over and over again. He should have known better, known better than to allow himself to be drawn and caught in a whirl of emotions.
He draws in a rattling breath, quite against his gritted teeth and maintains his impassive face. It is a show of power, of sorts at least, with the crown prince and him standing on the both sides of the emperor - a show of solidarity, the shift in hierarchy and a consolidation of family power.
At the conclusion of this military trial only a fool would question the position of Kangs as a family in Goryeo. They, the kin to the queen, the household of the emperor and in laws of the imperial princess would be the unquestionable elite of the elite.