Chapter 12: A Line Drawn

“When did you say His Majesty would arrive?”

“He should be here within half a sijin.”

Haeryeong gazed at the firmly closed sliding doors.

Truly, he wondered if the man would actually come.

Did he want him to come, or did he hope he wouldn’t?

Was this strange fluttering in his heart because some shred of expectation still remained?

A hollow laugh escaped him, mocking his own foolishness for repeatedly looking back at a bond he so desperately wished to sever.

Just then, Iryeon brought the medicine he had missed while sleeping during the day, accompanied by some chestnuts simmered in syrup.

The fishy scent of the deer antler decoction made his stomach churn as if he were about to retch.

Unable to bring himself to drink it, he hesitated for a long time while holding the bowl.

Iryeon, holding the plate of simmered chestnuts, spoke to him with a worried expression.

“Even if the smell is foul, you must drink it.”

“There is nothing better than deer antler to restore vitality lost to illness, so please, hold your breath and drink it down.”

Haeryeong shook his head, his face pale.

“I truly cannot swallow it. Take it away.”

Iryeon’s face crumpled as if she were about to stomp her feet in frustration.

“You cannot, Your Highness. The Imperial Physician insisted you must take it.”

“But…”

Haeryeong glared at the bowl of medicine with narrowed eyes.

The thickness of the dark, concentrated brew was bad enough, but the strange, fishy odor reminded him so much of the scent of blood that he lacked the confidence to swallow it.

After a long struggle with the medicine, Haeryeong finally succumbed to Iryeon’s nagging and lifted the bowl.

‘If I just hold my breath, I can manage.’

By the time he finished, the medicine had cooled even further, emitting an even more bizarre scent.

He managed to gulp most of it down, but the final mouthful remained in his mouth.

Unable to swallow that last drop, Haeryeong’s cheeks puffed out.

“Ugh…”

“Your Highness, swallow it. You must not spit it out.”

The revolting taste brought tears to his eyes.

Clutching his heaving chest, he finally forced the medicine down, but the effort felt wasted as waves of dry heaving continued to surge up.

“Your Highness, try some of this. It will cleanse your palate.”

Haeryeong shook his head, his eyes brimming with tears.

He felt as if the medicine would come right back up the moment he opened his mouth.

While he was still dry heaving with puffed cheeks, the door opened quietly.

Neither Haeryeong nor Iryeon had noticed the door opening in their frantic state, but everyone froze at the sound of a hollow chuckle.

“What is all this commotion?”

The Emperor was stepping into the bedchamber without any announcement of his arrival.

He furrowed his brow as he looked at Haeryeong, who was teary-eyed from retching.

It was surprising enough that the Emperor had come, but Haeryeong hadn’t expected him to appear this early.

Startled while still fighting his nausea, Haeryeong’s eyes went round, and he quickly turned away to cover his mouth.

He knew he should offer his respects, but as he struggled with the visceral reaction, a tear that had gathered in his eye dropped to the floor.

The Emperor approached and slowly stroked Haeryeong’s back as he asked.

“Could it be that you are pregnant?”

Failing to realize it was a joke, Haeryeong turned back toward him rapidly.

“What do you mean by—ugh.”

The moment he opened his mouth, the fishy scent hit him again, making his stomach cramp.

He had no time to wipe his tear-stained cheeks as he struggled to swallow back the hot liquid rising in his throat.

Iryeon quickly stepped forward and placed a simmered chestnut in Haeryeong’s mouth.

He chewed the chestnut, which carried a hint of soy sauce, with desperate intensity, and only then did the nausea subside.

The Emperor, his voice still full of amusement, gently wiped a tear from Haeryeong’s cheek.

“I was almost pleased, thinking it was morning sickness, but it seems I was wrong.”

“Stop such jokes. I fear someone might hear.”

“Empress, you seem to constantly forget that we are husband and wife.”

Haeryeong pulled his head back, careful not to make his avoidance of the man’s hand too obvious.

“It seems Your Imperial Majesty also constantly forgets that I have lost my memory. Are we not in the same boat?”

“Ah, of course I remember. I remember everything concerning you.”

The Emperor replied in a sing-song voice as he approached and sat at the table where dinner was being prepared.

Haeryeong couldn’t help but let out a bitter laugh internally.

As if there was anything the man actually knew about him worth remembering.

Though the sweet taste of the simmered chestnut lingered in his mouth, the tip of his tongue somehow felt bitter.

Dinner was served on the table, and the meal began soon after.

A bowl of thin rice gruel was placed before Haeryeong, who could not yet eat solid food.

The spread on the table was meager for an Emperor’s meal.

It was even more strange because there were fewer dishes than when Haeryeong usually ate alone.

The Emperor began eating without any particular reaction and then smiled at the hesitating Haeryeong.

“Shall I feed you again?”

Haeryeong stared at his face for a moment before dropping his gaze and picking up his spoon.

‘Was he always someone who smiled so easily?’

A sigh escaped him as he felt a pang of sorrow at that smile, one that had never been directed at him before.

It wasn’t that he expected anything from the man; he was simply saddened by his own position.

Perhaps because of the medicine he had just taken, even the plain white gruel tasted bitter.

Contrary to his anxiety, dinner ended quietly.

The Emperor did not speak during the meal, and Haeryeong also emptied his bowl while staring only at the table.

Perhaps because he felt uneasy, even that small amount made his stomach feel bloated.

“The physician…”

The Emperor spoke the moment dinner ended and the spoons were set down.

“He said that to restore your vital energy and blood, I must provide you with a great deal of Yangin energy.”

He reached out a hand toward Haeryeong, who was listening quietly, unsure of what scheme the man was brewing.

“Therefore, it seems you must attend to my sleep starting tonight for the time being.”

Did he mean he intended to share the bed? In this manner?

Haeryeong felt the blood drain from his body and clasped his hands beneath the table.

His fingertips had gone cold.

“Please withdraw your command. I am… not yet ready.”

The Emperor let out a soft laugh as he cleansed his palate with some Baekbitang.

He tilted the water bowl and looked at Haeryeong with a suggestive gaze.

“What are you expecting? I am simply saying we should lie down and sleep together; what could be so difficult about that?”

“Though, of course, if you wish for it, I would be happy to meet those expectations.”

The Emperor set down the bowl and chuckled.

“If you want to consummate the marriage so badly, then recover quickly.”

A burning heat of shame rose to the area beneath Haeryeong’s eyes.

The sight of the Emperor’s sly, mocking grin only added more heat to his face.

Haeryeong gritted his teeth and glared at him.

In his indignation, his eyes involuntarily narrowed into a sharp look.

The Emperor touched the back of his hand to Haeryeong’s heated cheek and wore an even more intense expression than before.

“If you keep making such a pleading face, you’ll make things difficult for me. Hmm?”

“I was merely trying to say that I cannot sleep beside a stranger. So, please stop such…”

The Emperor pulled his hand away from the cheek and leaned his arm on the table.

“Such?”

Haeryeong fell silent, unable to bring himself to say the word ‘indecency.’

The Emperor continued to giggle as if he found it incredibly amusing.

Haeryeong felt dizzy from the sudden surge of heat and bit the inside of his cheek.

After laughing for a long while, the Emperor waved his hand at Manchul, who stood nearby.

“Clear the table and bring some cold tea. It seems the Empress’s fever is rising again.”

His fever had risen so high that his eyes felt a stinging ache.

Receiving Haeryeong’s gaze, the Emperor finished what he had been saying with a slightly less mocking expression.

“At any rate, according to the physician’s prescription, we shall share the bed starting tonight. Bear that in mind.”

Haeryeong gripped his robes with his hand on his thigh and shook his head.

“I… do not wish to do so.”

“Haeryeong-ah.”

The Emperor called his name in a tender tone and leaned in toward him across the table.

“Surely you know that you have no right of refusal.”

Approaching closely, the Emperor whispered affectionately in his ear.

As Haeryeong flinched and twisted his body at the content of those words, the man grabbed his shoulder and pulled him even closer.

“Empress, etch this clearly into your mind: I am in a position to take you whenever I wish.”

“Even if your fever rises again and you become a half-wit, that is the one thing you must never forget.”

He finished his sentence, his lips brushing near Haeryeong’s temple as he whispered in a voice that was barely audible.

“Is that not so, Empress?”

From the outside, it likely looked like a very tender scene.

He even offered a bright smile after finishing his words.

“Get some rest. I have unfinished business to attend to at the main palace.”

“It is fine to go to sleep before I arrive, but leave the spot beside you empty.”

Haeryeong remained frozen, unable to even breathe until the Emperor had disappeared beyond the sliding doors.

His body trembled; the man’s tenderly feigned voice seemed to carry the scent of sandalwood.

Only long after the Emperor had vanished did Haeryeong gasp for air like a drowning person.

His head throbbed painfully, because he had held his breath for too long.

While gasping for jagged breaths, he etched the Emperor’s words deep into his mind.

It was a warning to stay within the boundaries.

The warning was carved deep into his bones: although Haeryeong was the one who had started this game, it was the Emperor who led the rhythm.

A proper line.

That line was certainly drawn much closer to Haeryeong than to the Emperor.

Unlike the man who was free in a vast space, Haeryeong had to seek a way out from a much narrower confinement.