Hyunseo’s hand reached his most private place. The thing that had been called a “brush holder” came into his large hand. When he applied pressure, Doha’s face appeared in his mind.
“Haa.”
The scent of lust swirled inside the study. Hyunseo’s scent permeated the books. Doha’s scent had seeped into every place he had walked, every book he had touched, and even the chair he had sat on.
As the image of Doha looking up at him prettily came to mind, Hyunseo’s hand began to move without restraint. The lips that had been moving, the small hand that had touched his lower region, Doha’s thing that had touched his thigh. Thinking of Doha made his manhood grow endlessly. Now it was almost too much to handle with just one hand.
“…Phew.”
Hyunseo tilted his head back and exhaled a hot breath.
“…Crazy bastard.”
He was someone who should be treasured and protected. He was someone who should never be made an object of lust or self-pleasure. Each time Hyunseo felt aroused by Doha’s scent, self-loathing and guilt surged from deep within his heart.
Outside the palace, Hyunseo had grown up seeing Yangin similar to himself. He had witnessed from a very young age how they fulfilled their desires, how they satisfied their sexual urges with Eumin.
The neighborhood where he lived was a poor area where people lived like animals, entangling with each other, abandoning others, and people who couldn’t control their desires were everywhere. Every month, babies with unknown fathers were born and abandoned.
Eumin with disheveled appearances and unfocused eyes lay on the streets, and everyone in the village knew that Yangin would take them and use them thoroughly for pleasure. Yet no one objected to this.
The truth here was that Yangin and Eumin existed to satisfy each other’s sexual needs, and it was considered natural for them to be attracted to one another.
“Ugh.”
On the day Hyunseo witnessed the fruit shop older brother, who occasionally gave him food, entangled with his own father, he sat down on the street and vomited everything he had eaten. He was not an animal following its instincts, but a person, a human being. Hyunseo wanted to be human.
After meeting Doha, his self-censorship became even more severe. He suppressed his desires and deliberately pushed down his urge to touch. He wanted to approach Doha as a human being.
Not as Yangin and Eumin, but as a person.
“I won’t be able to go to Siyeong Palace today.”
Looking up at the ceiling, Hyunseo let out a deep sigh. There was no one to hear his sigh.
* * *
“Your Majesty, did you read many books?”
Court Official Park, who had been waiting in the back garden, followed closely behind Hyunseo as he returned to his bedchamber. Having heard the news that Doha had visited the study, his face was flushed with excitement.
“Did the Flower Bin just read books and leave? The two of you were alone, was there perhaps any good news?”
Court Official Park chattered excitedly, unaware that Hyunseo’s expressionless face was gradually breaking. He prattled on enthusiastically.
“Perhaps there might have been something that could lead to an heir…!”
“Court Official Park.”
Stopping in his tracks, Hyunseo turned to look at Court Official Park. His previously impassive face was now contorted like that of a demon. Sensing the anger in his face, Court Official Park quickly bowed his head.
“Y-Your Majesty.”
“Would it ease my mind if I cut off that mouth of yours?”
A low voice emanated. Quickly picking up on his master’s mood, Court Official Park shut his mouth. His mouth was loose, too loose. The problem was that he had relaxed thinking His Majesty’s mood had improved lately.
Slapping his own mouth repeatedly, Court Official Park once again quietly followed behind Hyunseo. His lips, already swollen from the medicine applied by the royal physician, swelled even more.
Until then, even Court Official Park didn’t know.
That Jihun would suspect him of kissing another man when he saw the swollen lips.
“Your Majesty, are you returning from the study?”
The Chief State Councilor approached from the opposite direction. After giving a simple nod, he approached Hyunseo. The Chief State Councilor was the only one in the royal palace who could approach without hesitation, even without a royal command to come closer.
Skipping the formal greeting to see His Majesty, the Chief State Councilor opened his mouth.
“I hear you’ve punished the Noble Consort?”
Unlike his upturned mouth, his eyes weren’t smiling. It was a strange face. Despite being an old man over sixty, there was expertise in his movements. An expertise inscribed into his body through direct confrontations. That was something the Chief State Councilor had but Hyunseo lacked.
Hyunseo’s eyebrows moved. It was a habit that appeared whenever something displeased him.
“I merely gave an appropriate punishment for what he did.”
“Appropriate, you say?”
Hearing Hyunseo’s answer, the Chief State Councilor laughed loudly. Hyunseo quietly watched as he held his stomach laughing. The Chief State Councilor spoke to Hyunseo, who was watching silently without any change in expression.
“Your Majesty, it was none other than I who made you what you are today.”
“…And it’s also the Chief State Councilor who has emptied the royal treasury.”
“Our deal was concluded when you brought in the Flower Bin. Have you already forgotten?”
Smiling like a snake, the Chief State Councilor placed his hand on Hyunseo’s shoulder. Though he dared to touch the king’s body, no one stopped him. Only Court Official Park watched Hyunseo’s expression with anxious eyes.
“What’s so difficult about sowing seeds like a stallion?”
“Shut that mouth.”
“If you’ve placed him in the concubine’s position, you must take responsibility, Your Majesty.”
He whispered into Hyunseo’s ear as if dripping poison. There was no response, but Court Official Park could see Hyunseo’s tightly clenched fist. He had squeezed his fist so hard that his nails were deeply embedded in his palm. Blood was now flowing from his palm.
“Why are you acting this way when inserting, shaking, and ejaculating is your destiny?”
The sound of clicking his tongue in disdain could be heard from right in front. I must endure. It’s not time yet. Hyunseo deliberately suppressed the anger rising to the tip of his head. If he got angry now, everything would be for nothing. He couldn’t throw away all he had prepared and planned for Doha because of a moment’s rage.
To cool his head, Hyunseo thought of Doha. Remembering his bright smile, the image of Doha being happy outside the palace, his reason gradually returned.
“It seems the Chief State Councilor is also not keeping to the deal.”
“What are you saying when the Bin Mama is safe?”
The Chief State Councilor answered while patting his bulging stomach. He was thoroughly keeping the promise he had made with Hyunseo long ago. He hadn’t put poison in Doha’s cup nor sent assassins to his bedchamber. Of course, he had attempted a few slanders and drug poisonings, but wasn’t this still relatively faithful? He tilted his head.
“His neck is still well-attached.”
“Seowoo pushed Doha down the stairs. Did you know that when you were running your mouth?”
A grinding noise erupted from Hyunseo’s mouth as his teeth clenched. It was undisguised anger. Looking at Hyunseo’s face showing emotion, the Chief State Councilor spoke as if enjoying it.
“It will become quiet again. Don’t worry about that.”
The still young king didn’t even know how to properly hide his emotions. Whenever Doha was mentioned, he lost his senses and rushed in, no different from any common man in the marketplace. He’s still young, so he’s still singing about love.
‘Though I’m having some fun because of it.’
Doha was a good pretext. Whenever Doha’s name was brought up, the usually sharp Hyunseo couldn’t assert himself. Though an eyesore, that was why Doha wasn’t killed.
To have the one who possessed the world under his feet. To manipulate the king at his will was the joy of the Chief State Councilor who had grown old.
“I understand there are only a few days left until the Pleasure Period. Until then, I hope you preserve your royal health, Your Majesty.”
As soon as the Pleasure Period was mentioned, Hyunseo’s eyes gleamed coldly. It was a gaze mixed with killing intent, as if he would kill someone right then. Bearing the full weight of that gaze, the Chief State Councilor continued.
“Shouldn’t you spend this Pleasure Period with the Noble Consort?”
Hyunseo glared at the Chief State Councilor with clenched teeth. The Chief State Councilor’s power was still greater than that of the king who had grown up in a lowly marketplace. There was about a year left until the power shifted. Imagining the day he would behead the Chief State Councilor, Hyunseo smiled sinisterly.
“I hope the Chief State Councilor also remains safe and sound.”
“I will be safe and sound.”
The Chief State Councilor, not yielding until the end, gave a simple bow and left. As the Chief State Councilor left the palace, Court Official Park quickly approached and took out a handkerchief.
“Your Majesty, are you alright?”
Without even wiping the blood flowing from his hand, he stared at the Chief State Councilor’s back. The first thing I will do is cut out that bastard’s mouth. Then I’ll dig out his ears, cut off his limbs, and make him watch clearly as his power collapses.
Hyunseo continued walking without even taking the handkerchief offered by Court Official Park.
“I’m going to Gyopung Palace.”
Drops of blood fell with each step. The flowing blood did not stop until he reached Gyopung Palace.
* * *
It was midnight when Seowoo, disguised as a palace attendant, entered the underground prison. Even before Hyunseo met with the Chief State Councilor, dressed in the clothes of a palace attendant with a makeup that simulated a facial wound, he left Gyopung Palace. As he tried to slip out among the palace attendants, a guard at the door caught him.
“You in the middle, raise your head.”
It was suspicious how he was leaving with his head lowered. At his words, Seowoo, who had been keeping his head down, slowly raised it.
“Gasp.”
Burn scars covered his entire face. The skin looked as if it had melted, presenting a terrible sight that made the guard who saw his face swallow his breath.
“Bad luck! Get lost!”
As if he had seen something he shouldn’t have, the guard turned his head away. With an indifferent face, Seowoo lowered his head again and headed towards Siyeong Palace. The burn makeup effectively concealed his features, but it wouldn’t last long enough to meet the Chief State Councilor and come back.
‘The underground prison is enough.’
Having reached the underground prison, Seowoo handed a money pouch to the gatekeeper. Though the gatekeeper was alarmed by the amount of money in the pouch, he quieted down immediately when Seowoo produced the Chief State Councilor’s emblem.
“Please enter.”
The gatekeeper who kindly opened the door for him closed it as soon as Seowoo entered the prison. The Chief State Councilor’s people were spread throughout the palace like cockroaches, more than expected.
* * *
The inside of the underground prison was horrific. Eumin and Yangin were thrusting their hips into the air everywhere. Beastly sounds constantly echoed inside the prison, and a rank smell lingered.
The prison resembled the neighborhood where Seowoo had grown up.
Prisoners who spotted him scratched at the iron bars, but since it was a familiar scene, Seowoo paid no attention. With a calm face, Seowoo steadfastly walked until he reached where Eunsung was and stopped.
“Show your face.”
Eunsung’s face emerged from the darkness. His face, half-covered by shadows, smiled like a villain. He knelt before Seowoo like a dog.
“I’ve been waiting, baby.”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
