“Cun yu not shoulve thish, you idiot?”
Eunsung, who perfectly understood the question asking if he wasn’t going to remove this, shook his head. Resting his face back on Doha’s shoulder, Eunsung whispered:
“If I remove this, you’ll curse at me.”
His voice was oddly mixed with the sound of breathing. He bit Doha’s shoulder as if regretful. Annoyed by the sight of him moving his lips like a puppy nibbling, Doha frowned.
This bastard. Doha spread Eunsung’s fingers apart with his tongue. The space between his index and middle fingers widened then narrowed again. Doha let out a short moan as the fingers tightened around his tongue. Ah shit, Doha frowned again and glared at Eunsung.
Whether Doha glared or not, Eunsung tilted his head and exhaled.
“Haah. Babe. Your fingers feel like they’re melting.”
“Kut it outsh!”
“Ha… suck a little more.”
This crazy bastard must have really lost his mind. Unable to control his temper, Doha stomped on his shin with his heel. With a yelp of pain, Eunsung’s grip loosened, and Doha quickly pulled his body back.
“Are you joking right now?”
Thankfully, the corridor lights were turned off; if it had been the central corridor or another corridor, they would have been caught without a doubt. Eunsung’s face was barely visible in the light from the end of the corridor. Even looking at him again, he had a handsome face.
“Can’t you just come quietly?”
“It’s not easy for me to come quietly either. You’re such a high-ranking person.”
Doha looked Eunsung up and down. He was wearing the green dopo that palace staff wore, seemingly having infiltrated as a servant from one of the palaces. The neatly tied single ponytail suited him well. As Doha stared at the knot attached to his hair, Eunsung promptly untied it.
The green knot had numbers engraved on it, indicating which palace the servant belonged to and what kind of work they mainly handled. Eunsung easily offered the knot that served as an identification tag.
“Keep it if you like it.”
He placed the knot in Doha’s right hand. The green knot dangled toward the floor. Having been here for over two months now, Doha already knew what this knot was.
Without the knot, one’s identity couldn’t be verified, so it was considered precious even among palace staff. If one ever lost their knot, they would be dragged to the Ministry of Justice or expelled from the palace, so everyone kept it tightly tied in their hair.
“I can give you anything.”
After giving such a knot, he grinned happily. Watching that mindless smile, Doha fumbled to read what was on the knot he was holding. Gyopung Palace servant, guard. Ji Eunsung.
“You, what are you doing in Gyopung Palace?”
“Why, disappointed it’s not Siyeong Palace?”
“Disappointed? Do you know how far I went to find you!”
The frustration and anger still boiled up when he thought about visiting the underground prison. The bewilderment of seeing an empty cell. His face instantly turned red as he recalled various incidents that followed.
“Do you know what I’ve done because of you?”
“What did you do?”
“…”
The events of that night flashed by. Becoming Assassin 1 and fighting with Ungeom, dragging Ungeom to his room afterward, sitting on his lap and dressing him… There were many incidents, but none that could be spoken aloud.
“Tch, there are things.”
Eunsung stroked the head of Doha, who was huffing and looking away. He was curious what thoughts ran through that small head, but at the same time, he knew Doha wouldn’t answer willingly.
Quietly accepting the touch, Doha glanced up at Eunsung.
“Did Seowoo bribe you?”
Eunsung firmly pressed down on Doha’s head, who was looking up at him with suspicious eyes. The fine hair passed through his fingers. As expected, my baby is smart.
“You already know.”
At Eunsung’s words, Doha fell into thought for a moment. He had anticipated there would be a deal between them. A deal meant an exchange of something between two people. While Seowoo had many things to offer, what Eunsung could provide was limited.
Doha’s mind raced quickly. Among the things Eunsung possessed, what would Seowoo covet? It could only be information. And that information would be about himself.
Doha harshly knocked away Eunsung’s hand that had been stroking his head. No way. Did he really sell information about me?
“Whose side are you on?”
Doha stepped back from Eunsung. Eunsung looked down at Doha, who was staring at him with eyes full of wariness, and smiled. It was the beautiful smile that everyone admired.
“I’m on your side as long as you pay the price.”
Eunsung approached as much as Doha had retreated. With a smile still on his face, he placed his hand on Doha’s cheek again. As if the redness of his hand didn’t matter, he caressed Doha’s cheek with the back of his hand.
“And if I don’t pay the price?”
“Then I’ll take what I want.”
He felt smooth skin against the back of his hand. Ah, just touching like this feels so good. Eunsung savored the satisfaction rising from his toes. It felt like compensation for the two weeks he couldn’t see Doha. After rubbing Doha’s cheek with the back of his hand, he switched hands and grabbed Doha’s face.
He lowered his head as if to kiss. Doha’s eyes widened at the sudden approach of Eunsung.
“Then I’ll have to take you.”
At the same moment the low voice resonated in his ears, Eunsung consumed Doha’s lips. Eunsung’s tongue instantly invaded, rummaging around inside Doha’s mouth. With his eyes wide open at the rough movement, Doha hit Eunsung’s shoulder hard.
‘This crazy bastard…!’
Finding Doha’s struggling annoying, Eunsung pulled Doha’s face closer with his large hand. A moist sound escaped from between their lips. Doha gradually relaxed his body as Eunsung’s tongue gently caressed the roof of his mouth.
Doha slowly began to follow his movements. Their tongues entwined smoothly. Saliva crossed their lips, and hot breaths of unknown origin touched them. As if pleased with Doha’s response, Eunsung’s movements became even gentler.
“Your Highness…! Where are you?”
Dojin’s voice echoed in the corridor. Court Lady Park’s voice followed. Doha, who had been mindlessly kissing, hurriedly pulled his lips away.
His eyes met Eunsung’s, who was still looking at him with an expression not yet free of excitement. After silently gazing at each other, Doha stood on tiptoe and briefly kissed Eunsung’s lips.
Eunsung’s eyes widened at the childlike kiss.
“When that time comes, it’s not me giving myself.”
“…”
“It’s you giving yourself to me.”
Doha’s lips curved into a grin. Eunsung, who had been absentmindedly captivated by that picturesque beautiful face, soon burst into a hollow laugh and held his own face with one hand.
“Ha.”
“…”
“This is why I like you.”
The footsteps circling the end of the corridor were gradually getting closer. As if conceding defeat, Eunsung stroked Doha’s cheek once more and spoke.
“For this hunting competition, the Chief State Councilor seems to be plotting quite carefully, so be cautious.”
“I’m already diligently learning how to shoot a bow.”
“It’s not about the archery.”
As if wanting to explore lower, Eunsung’s hand moved gradually from the cheek to the neck. Doha’s skin turned red wherever his fingertips brushed. His gaze traced over each area that blushed.
“Beware of poison. I saw Seowoo with a poison that paralyzes limbs.”
Ten steps. With Ungeom’s pace, he would arrive here in ten steps. Judging by the footsteps, Eunsung hurriedly adjusted his clothes and brushed past Doha. His steps were so resolute that it was hard to believe they had just been kissing.
Watching Eunsung disappear into the opposite corridor, Doha leaned his body against the wall. That guy, can I really trust him… While Doha was lost in thought, Dojin arrived and stood before him.
“Your Highness, where on earth have you been? Court Lady Park said she returned from the royal kitchen long ago!”
Dojin’s shadow stretched long. Feeling the dark corridor grow even darker, Doha averted his gaze in the opposite direction.
“My teacher’s nagging was so severe that I ran away.”
Dojin’s previously impassive expression distorted at Doha’s articulate reply. Even though they were within the palace, when the small figure following him disappeared, his blood ran cold and his mind froze. Doha wouldn’t know how frantic he had been, so uncharacteristic of him.
“Even so, to do this…!”
For the first time, Dojin’s voice rose. At his emotional tone, Doha raised his head and looked at him again.
“Are you angry?”
Doha’s face was half-revealed in the darkness. Dojin slowly closed and opened his eyes at that beautiful face. The possessive desire to make him his own, the desire of a Yangin—he pushed it deep down inside.
He belongs to the master. He belongs to His Majesty. Meeting those sparkling eyes, he steeled his heart many times. He must not covet what isn’t his.
“It’s just my duty. I have no reason to be angry.”
Dojin answered in a calm voice again. It was the cold and firm voice from when they first met.
“Also, please stop calling me ‘teacher.’ It’s uncomfortable.”
Facing Dojin’s cold demeanor, Doha glanced at him cautiously. What had upset him? Was it the “teacher” comment, or saying he had run away? Doha took a step toward Dojin, but his expression showed no signs of softening.
“Are you very angry…?”
Without answering, Dojin turned around and left the corridor. Following behind his chilly back, Doha continuously tried to engage him in conversation. The realization that his assumption—that Dojin would stop playing hard to get after a bit of charm from a smiling face that no one could reject—was wrong, came not too long after.
* * *
Gyopung Palace.
Although the order for confinement had not yet been lifted, Seowoo sat in his chamber dressed as if attending a banquet. His fine hair was half-twisted up with a hairpin, and he wore a blue dopo similar to what Doha had worn at the banquet hall.
He took out a jewelry box from a drawer and dipped his hand inside. Just touching it briefly made his fingertips tingle, suggesting that this time he had procured quite effective powder.
The fine powder flowed along his fingertips. It was snow-white, almost unbelievable that it could paralyze a person.
“Isn’t it too early?”
Sitting opposite him, Seowoo’s attendant, Jinhee, looked at him with a worried face. Her master was intelligent and bright, but occasionally made hasty judgments when emotions took precedence.
With Seowoo’s reputation already tarnished by the incident in the interrogation chamber, the timing couldn’t be worse.
“If Flower Bin collapses, you will be the first suspect, Your Highness. The risk is too great.”
Even as she spoke, Seowoo’s gaze remained fixed on the powder. If one consumes too much, they can’t even move their eyes, was it? The thought of that brazen face with dead fish eyes made him laugh. With humor in his voice, he continued his response.
“If I deny putting it in, that’s all there is to it.”
“Even if you avoid punishment, the sentiment within the palace will not be favorable.”
The sentiment within the palace was equivalent to public sentiment outside. A royal consort who lost trust could never become the queen. Seowoo knew this, which was why he had been silencing the palace staff.
Even if it meant eliminating gossiping mouths.
“How troublesome that I can’t just kill someone as I please.”
With slow movements, Seowoo removed his hand from the jewelry box. His fingers wouldn’t bend, but they would be normal again in a couple of hours. The poison wasn’t that lethal just from contact.
It was only when mixed with food and entered the body that the poison’s effects manifested. In five minutes, limbs would be paralyzed, and in ten minutes, the mind would slow down. It took fifteen minutes for a healthy person to become a living corpse—those fifteen minutes were enough.
This effect had been directly confirmed on a palace servant who was fed the poison as a test. The Chief State Councilor and Seowoo chuckled as they watched the servant thrashing like a live fish. Both of them imagined the same person in place of the servant’s face.
“Who said I was going to feed it to that guy?”
Seowoo closed the jewelry box and blew the powder off his fingertips. The white powder instantly dispersed into the air.
“I will consume the poison myself. With my own hands.”
Seowoo’s lips curled upward. It was the beginning of war.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
