Chapter 10: The Emperor’s Request

“Why did you go to such lengths to summon me? You’re not someone who needs to do that.”

“That’s not true.”

Siohan responded immediately. He had already ignored Doha’s question twice, yet he seemed entirely unconcerned.

“I need you, Hwiram.”

“For what, then?”

Siohan smiled gently. While he had been smiling before, this was an especially kind and warm expression.

“Like this.”

‘…A caregiver?’

Lee Doha glanced at Siohan, who was seated on the bed, then at himself, sitting in a chair beside him.

Siohan burst into laughter, a sound like a refreshing breeze. ‘This guy has a great voice, and he’s easily amused,’ Doha thought. It had been a joke, of course, but he hadn’t expected such an uproarious reaction.

Feeling awkward, Lee Doha abruptly stood up. However, he had nowhere particular to go.

He cast a glance at the bed before subtly settling at Siohan’s feet. ‘A certain urge keeps surfacing within me,’ he mused, ‘but I’d rather not acknowledge it.’

“Your Imperial Majesty, let’s be frank. Are you planning a war?”

‘If that’s the case, I can’t cooperate,’ Lee Doha intended to say.

Contractors weren’t punished for murder in Oz. Perhaps because it was another world, he’d heard they didn’t feel much remorse, but regardless, Lee Doha wanted no part in it. Yet, Siohan merely laughed again, as if he’d heard another amusing jest.

‘He laughs at everything I say,’ Lee Doha thought, frowning.

“Hwiram, if I were to wage war with you at the forefront, I would die first.”

“Ah.”

Upon reflection, that made sense. Wielding power in Oz required Siohan’s magic, and he had coughed up blood just from breaking a single sword previously.

Doing anything more intense might make him vomit his own organs.

“Even if I wished to, I wouldn’t need you for such a task. The Empire is already larger than necessary, and I, too, decline any further endeavors. You needn’t worry about such things.”

“Then what is it, exactly?”

“Let’s eat.”

Lee Doha was speechless. Siohan reiterated his statement, his manner as casual and refreshing as a classmate met at a student cafeteria.

“Aren’t you hungry?”

“Uh… yes. I am. Hungry.”

Lee Doha replied grudgingly. He didn’t know how Siohan knew, but he was indeed hungry.

Since picking at a few apple slices that morning, he hadn’t consumed anything but water, having lost his appetite. Siohan extended a hand.

Lee Doha merely blinked, bewildered. ‘What does he want me to do?’ Siohan gestured with his chin, his expression utterly matter-of-fact.

“You should carry me.”

‘…What?’

He was so dumbfounded that he kept missing a beat in his responses.

‘What did he want him to do?’ Unable to ask again, he simply stared, prompting Siohan to elaborate.

“Hwiram, I am a patient, and I lack the strength to walk.”

‘…You’re the Emperor. Order someone to bring it.’

“You shouldn’t eat in bed.”

“…”

‘That’s certainly true. But why is he bringing it up now?’ From the miraculous god-like man with golden hair that seemed sculpted from pure gold, a sudden, rustic aroma of scorched rice wafted forth.

Lee Doha was again struck speechless, his mouth agape. Siohan wiggled his fingers. He was indeed a patient, and it was true one shouldn’t eat in bed.

Dumbfounded, Lee Doha reached out as if mesmerized and took Siohan’s elegant hand. The moment their fingertips touched, warmth spread like a comforting pulse.

Startled, Lee Doha’s fingers recoiled momentarily before he gripped Siohan’s hand tightly, pulling him closer. The seemingly thin body followed as lightly as paper.

In a natural flow, Lee Doha’s hands moved to cup Siohan’s legs, but then he paused. ‘Wait, this isn’t right, is it?’

“Let me carry you on my back.”

However, Siohan had already draped his arms over Doha’s shoulders. He spoke with an unperturbed air.

“Hwiram, then my stomach would be pressed, and that would be uncomfortable.”

“Ah, but still, this isn’t right. If we go out like this, you’ll be embarrassed too.”

“I think it would be rather amusing.”

“You’re joking, right?”

“If it pleases you, a joke would be delightful, but no.”

“I’ll be embarrassed.”

“Why?”

Lee Doha glared at Siohan. Siohan, who had been feigning ignorance and looking at Doha, finally let out a laugh. ‘This guy, really.’

“No one will dare raise their head to look, so don’t worry.”

Lee Doha, about to ask ‘Why?’, found himself nodding in understanding. From ancient times, both East and West, it was considered a crime—a grave act of treason—to gaze upon the Emperor’s face without permission.

Even in historical dramas, people would bow their backs like shrimp and lower their eyes when the Emperor passed, so it seemed no different here.

Lee Doha, born and raised in 21st-century South Korea, scoffed inwardly but soon realized his excuse had vanished.

He found it absurd that he was actively searching for an excuse when he could simply tell Siohan to get lost. ‘It’s natural for a contractor to feel attachment to their contract holder,’ Kim Yoon-hye’s voice echoed in his mind.

‘…Seriously, make a note of this.’

“Gladly.”

Siohan laughed joyfully, as if on an outing to an amusement park, while Lee Doha grumbled but ultimately lifted him.

It would have been effortless if Siohan were a tiny fairy-like child or a feather-light beauty.

Unfortunately, despite his undeniable handsomeness, Siohan was clearly an adult male, half a span taller than Lee Doha himself.

Though his gaunt, sickly appearance made him seem frail, Doha suspected he wasn’t truly so. Taking a deep breath, Lee Doha braced himself and exerted force.

“?”

Lee Doha stumbled. Siohan, whom he had expected to be heavy, was surprisingly light, lifting with an effortless swoop.

The body in his arms was certainly thin, yet it felt more solid than anticipated. ‘What, was he really made of paper?’ Doha wondered.

He vaguely recalled something about Oz natives having different weights. Confused by this violation of physical laws, Lee Doha looked at Siohan.

With one hand resting on Lee Doha’s shoulder and the other on his own stomach, Siohan appeared utterly comfortable.

There was no trace of embarrassment about being carried ‘princess-style’ by another man, despite both being adults. Indeed, had he been embarrassed, he wouldn’t have asked to be carried in the first place.

Doha, who considered himself quite brazen, realized Siohan surpassed him. It seemed this level of audacity was required to be an Emperor.

With his hands occupied, Lee Doha kicked the door open. The heavy wooden door, subtly gleaming with a reddish hue, looked substantial, so he kicked it with considerable force. *CRASH!* A resounding bang echoed.

A long corridor, stretching out like a runway, was revealed. Several palace attendants and two knights stood there; startled by the sudden, loud noise, they turned their heads, their mouths dropping open in unison.

Lee Doha, whose boisterous actions had instantly created several ‘traitors’ in the eyes of the onlookers, noticed a familiar face among them and observed it intently.

The knight, who had been staring blankly in surprise, met Doha’s gaze, and his eyes lit up with sudden hostility. This was far more familiar.

‘Hilt?’

It was the knight who had held a sword to Lee Doha’s throat during the previous summons. Doha distinctly remembered the man standing in stunned despair, clutching only the hilt after the blade had shattered into fragments.

The knight scowled fiercely, then ignored Lee Doha and immediately prostrated himself. Following his lead, the attendants and other knights also flattened themselves to the ground.

“Your Majesty!”

Their cries were so fervent they seemed to be laced with tears. Lee Doha wondered if they were reacting this way because the Emperor was being carried out, and indeed, it appeared his suspicion was correct.

“Your Majesty, I shall summon the Imperial Physician at once.”

‘They’re being truly dramatic,’ Lee Doha thought. If Siohan were coughing up blood like that other day, it would be understandable, but he wasn’t.

He was perfectly fine—well, not perfectly fine, being carried and all—but his eyes were wide open. Was such fervent concern truly necessary? Siohan replied with a faint smile.

“There’s nothing seriously wrong, so there’s no need to make an old man take so many steps. Rise.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Lee Doha had expected some protest, perhaps a “No, Your Majesty, how could we—”, but surprisingly, they rose immediately without a word.

Until that moment, Lee Doha hadn’t given it much thought. His attention was captivated by the hand gently caressing the back of his head.

Lee Doha was usually insensitive to sensations touching him. Even when a junior, with whom he’d barely exchanged a word, rested their head on his shoulder at a freshman orientation drinking party, he’d merely accepted it. Not out of understanding their situation, but from a lack of interest.

This, however, was truly bothering him. Siohan’s fingertips kept brushing the fine hairs on the back of his neck, tickling him.

Then, as Siohan gently rubbed one spot, a shiver ran down his spine. Lee Doha tried to endure it but finally shook his head.

“Ah, cut it out!”

“Hmm? My apologies.”

‘I didn’t mean to,’ Siohan said, retracting his hand and apologizing. Since he was carrying Siohan, Lee Doha couldn’t rub his own goosebump-ridden neck, so he merely shivered once and let it go.

It was truly nothing significant. It should have ended there, but when Lee Doha looked up, he was momentarily taken aback.

Ferocious gazes, as if they were looking at the murderer of their parents, were fixed upon him.

“What, why?”

Lee Doha asked without thinking. Simultaneously, he realized why. It was because of the man he was holding.

To Lee Doha, Siohan was merely a contract holder making absurd demands, but to them, he was an Emperor more precious than the heavens themselves.

“Forgive me, Your Majesty… but your words seemed a trifle disrespectful…”

Hilt spoke with difficulty, clutching a newly acquired hilt so tightly his knuckles were stark white. His tone was respectful, yet his gaze was utterly insolent, as if he were ready to devour Lee Doha.

Last time, he could draw his sword because he didn’t know who Lee Doha was. Now, with the contract name seemingly etched on Doha’s face and the Emperor casually cradled in his arms, Hilt couldn’t feign ignorance, clearly speaking out of reluctant necessity.

Lee Doha understood. It was like Admiral Yi Sun-sin, wasn’t it? Leaving aside any differences in opinion, whether it was Yi Sun-sin or King Sejong the Great, if some rootless foreigner from unknown origins were to disrespectfully bat away their hand and make them apologize, Lee Doha himself would be furious. ‘How dare he!’

So, these people probably felt the same way. ‘How dare he, not even grateful that our heavenly Majesty merely touched the back of his head!’

However, understanding the reason for their actions was one thing; being treated like a dead man for merely saying “cut it out” was another, and it irritated him. Lee Doha was not the type to be intimidated by such fierce glares. A nasty streak suddenly reared its head.