This time, he would aim precisely at the heart. Seowoo gripped the sword handle firmly to ensure the blade wouldn’t miss.
Seowoo took his stance as if ready to strike at any moment. He pulled one leg back and lowered his body. He glared at Doha with eyes sharper than the blade itself. His gaze was filled with murderous intent.
‘I can’t die here!’
Feeling the killing intent, Doha tightly gripped the dagger in his breast pocket. Ready to draw it at any moment.
“Ha!”
Finally, Seowoo stepped forward. The blade came close, as if to pierce his heart. It was just as Doha was measuring the approaching speed and drawing the dagger from his pocket.
“Mama!”
A man wearing a black mask suddenly ran between the two of them. Clearly dressed as an assassin, he hurriedly used his sword to deflect Seowoo’s blade.
“Ah!”
With a clang, the direction of the sword was diverted. Seowoo glared at the rogue who had blocked his attack.
“What is this?”
“Mama, it’s not time yet! This is no time to be concerned with trifles.”
His skill in deflecting the sword was extraordinary. Moreover, the man’s attire was quite suspicious. Black mask, black clothes, and a black sword at his waist.
It was exactly the outfit Doha had worn when he played Assassin 1.
The man, who didn’t cower at all despite Seowoo’s sharp voice, restrained him. He quickly snatched Seowoo’s sword.
“I found His Majesty. You must hurry.”
“Is His Majesty nearby?”
“Yes, make haste with preparations before the medicine spreads.”
Medicine…?
Doha, who had been watching the two, reacted to the word “medicine.” Medicine. It must be the poison Seowoo had prepared.
‘Originally, what he prepared was paralytic poison…?’
Doha’s mind raced. In the scenario, the paralytic poison spread quickly. Since numbness would begin at the fingertips immediately after consumption, it would be impossible to hide the signs of poisoning. If poison had been put in the wine, surely there would have been something wrong with either Seowoo or Hyunseo.
But Hyunseo, heading to the hunting grounds, was fine. No, if anything, he seemed more flushed than usual.
Doha’s gaze shifted to Seowoo. His sword stance and the way he walked didn’t look like someone who had consumed paralytic poison.
‘If it wasn’t paralytic poison that they consumed.’
Why had he only thought of this now? He felt like hitting himself on the head if he could. Having lived in the streets, Seowoo would know all sorts of poisons. Moreover, with the Chief State Councilor as his support, he could surely obtain poisons other than the paralytic kind.
“Flower Bin Mama, I must take my leave now.”
It was Seowoo who pulled Doha from his thoughts. With a gentle tone unbecoming of someone who had just tried to kill him, Seowoo looked down at Doha and bowed his head. He slightly gripped his hunting attire with both hands as if spreading a skirt and smiled mockingly. It was clearly a taunt.
“Let’s see if you can escape without saying a word.”
“You think I can’t do it?”
“I’ll believe it if you emerge from these mountains on your own two feet.”
With light steps, Seowoo turned his back. The hunting ground was a fortress among fortresses. It was so vast and without signposts that getting lost was inevitable. Even if one found the exit, it would take a day or two. Without a horse, there was no way Doha could find his way out.
“Lead the way.”
The masked man lightly picked up Seowoo. In the blink of an eye, he disappeared between the trees. A man who could block a descending blade and fly at such speed.
“This seems bigger than I thought.”
One assassin monitoring Hyunseo’s movements, and another coming to fetch Seowoo. There seemed to be at least two skilled fighters attached to Hyunseo. Clicking his tongue, Doha wiped the blood-covered face.
Then he looked down at the horse, which was panting heavily. He slowly placed his hand on the horse’s back.
“If you had followed your master, you would have lived longer.”
The brown fur brushed between his fingers. It was clearly well-maintained, with a visible sheen. He had heard this was a horse that Dojin particularly cherished.
And he had given this cherished horse to him. Normally, he would have ridden any palace horse, but since Dojin personally handed over the reins, it became difficult to refuse.
“I told you not to get hurt.”
At the small voice that sounded like a warning, he had no choice but to grasp the reins. He couldn’t ignore Dojin’s feelings for giving up his own horse. When he mounted the horse, Dojin had gently stroked the horse’s mane and murmured.
“…In my stead, you protect Mama.”
He couldn’t respond to that whisper. He was Hyunseo’s consort, someone who needed to captivate Hyunseo’s heart to survive.
The horse’s movements slowed down. It seemed even breathing was difficult now, as its eyes were gradually closing. Doha hugged the blood-covered horse and murmured.
“You really did protect me.”
If it hadn’t been for the horse, perhaps Seowoo’s sword would have been directed at him. He hadn’t thought Seowoo would actually strike down.
“You’re as reckless as your master.”
Doha gently closed the unmoving eyes of the horse. It was a careful touch. Then he rose from his place, his face once again impassive. Covered in blood, he looked like a hero who had survived a battlefield.
His hunting attire was stained so red that its original color was unrecognizable. Searching through the bright red clothes that evoked the final episode, Doha drew out his dagger.
Holding the dagger in his mouth, he undid the silk tie and tightly bound his hair. His sharp eyes reflected in the blade. The red blood and the pitch-black eyes created a strange atmosphere. There was a dangerous quality that suggested he would mercilessly slaughter his opponent, yet there was also something seductive that made one want to plunge in.
Having completed his preparations, Doha glanced at the horse.
“I’ll avenge you someday.”
Even if it’s not now, certainly someday.
An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. That was Doha’s motto. He soon began to run in the direction where Seowoo had disappeared. For someone who had played Assassin 1, following the traces left by an assassin was no challenge.
Without traces, he might get lost, but Seowoo’s footprints were actually helping him.
‘Wait a little longer.’
The image of Hyunseo, possibly affected by the poison, flashed in his mind. Overlapping with it was the image of the horse that had just died. Moving quickly, Doha bit his lip. The daggers in both hands felt heavy.
* * *
By the time he had gone quite deep into the forest, Hyunseo’s scent was noticeable. And it was quite intense and strong. It was a scent unlike the usual Hyunseo, who perfectly concealed his aroma.
There were two situations when a Yangin couldn’t control their scent.
When their life was in danger.
Or when the Pleasure Period had arrived.
‘There’s still time left, so it can’t be the Pleasure Period.’
With a hardened face, Doha quickened his pace. If Hyunseo’s life was in danger, he had to find him quickly. If Hyunseo died, there would be no final episode, no Pleasure Period, nothing.
“Your Majesty, Your Majesty!”
Doha called for Hyunseo with an anxious voice. Each time Hyunseo’s scent brushed his nose, he felt a stirring inside, as if the scent was about to burst forth. It was natural for an Eumin to be affected by a Yangin’s scent. If he kept inhaling like this, he might enter his own Pleasure Period.
“Damn it.”
Doha, who had been running while tracking the scent, spat out a low curse. At that moment, an exceptionally intense scent brushed Doha’s nose from somewhere. It was a strong scent of Hyunseo, recognizable the moment it was inhaled.
“Found you.”
Doha’s body leaned toward the source of the scent. Unkempt branches scratched his face and body, but that wasn’t important now. In Doha’s mind, there was only the goal of finding Hyunseo.
“Today, this is the only way I can protect you.”
Saying he would protect him, yet not even able to protect himself. Just when he was almost out of breath, Doha spotted Hyunseo leaning against a tree trunk.
“Your Majesty!”
Just as Doha, having found Hyunseo, bent down to run to him.
“Hah!”
An intense scent, incomparably stronger than before, was emanating from him. It was the scent that only emerged at the peak of the Pleasure Period. A scent that seduced Eumin. A scent filled with the desire to pour his seed into his Eumin at any moment.
Hyunseo raised his head upon hearing the moan. The heat boiling throughout his body blurred his vision. Even though he couldn’t see an inch ahead, Doha standing at a distance entered his sight. He couldn’t help but recognize him at once. All the blood in his body was surging toward Doha.
His lower body felt stiff and his breath roughened. He wanted to push Doha down right now and insert himself inside him. Hyunseo clenched his fist tightly at the impulse that kept rising.
“Your Majesty!”
“Don’t come closer!”
He was horrified by his own reaction, aroused even by the voice calling him. Every time desire surged, Hyunseo clenched his fists even tighter. Blood flowed between his knuckles, but he had no time to care about that.
If possible, he should stay far away from Doha. It would be best to stay away until he regained his senses. To get even a little distance, Hyunseo painfully raised his body.
“By royal command. Stay… there… urgh, don’t come any closer.”
Barely standing up, Hyunseo leaned his back against the tree trunk. Whatever potent aphrodisiac had been used, even Hyunseo, who was quite strong among Yangin, was in a state where he couldn’t control his body.
‘Fortunate that I drank it.’
He had anticipated some mischief but hadn’t expected an aphrodisiac. Even as his heart raged, he had no regrets. Whatever poison was on the wine cup, he had no choice but to drink Doha’s wine instead.
Even if he could turn back time, he would have still drunk Doha’s wine instead, and would still have been affected, knowing full well.
‘What an utterly exasperating love.’
A laugh escaped, indicating he was still somewhat sane. He found himself exasperating, thinking of Doha even as he hovered between life and death. That was his love and affection.
He gathered his last strength to reduce his scent. Controlling a scent that had once erupted was harder than dying, but he couldn’t leave his Eumin alone in the middle of this forest. As he dispersed his scent, Doha, sensing him, quickly ran over.
“Has your Pleasure Period arrived?”
Though Hyunseo’s scent made it hard to breathe, Doha didn’t stop approaching him. Doha put his shoulder under Hyunseo’s armpit to support him.
“I need… medicine. If we can just get to the physician…”
“What medicine is there for the Pleasure Period!”
“If there’s a medicine to… induce the Pleasure Period, there must be one to stop it… urgh!”
In an instant, Hyunseo’s knees gave way. The impact swept Doha, who was supporting him, and they rolled on the ground. When his body, as heavy as a stone, collided with Doha’s shoulder, pain swept through his body as if bones were breaking.
“Ah!”
Urgently extending both arms, Hyunseo separated his body from Doha’s. Clutching his shoulder, Doha grimaced and opened his eyes.
“Your Majesty?”
Doha looked up at Hyunseo, who had trapped him with both arms. In a pouncing position, where just a little relaxation would bring their lower bodies into contact, he looked down at Doha. His eyes had turned black. They were the eyes of a predator eyeing its prey.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
