Chapter 22: A Fragile Token and the Sovereign’s Surrender

That heart was so palpable, it felt as if it were painted before his eyes. The image of Hwaun—thinking only of him, disregarding the pricks of the needle as he devoted himself to the embroidery—was as vivid as if Ihan had watched it happen.

Ihan slowly pulled the hand he was holding, pressed a careful kiss to the fingertips, and then picked up the incense pouch once more. He had seen every legendary treasure in existence, but nothing was as precious as the item currently in his palm.

Lest it be damaged, he placed the pouch back into the wooden box and set it on the side table. Leanings closer to Hwaun, he spoke in a low, grounding voice.

“I shall carry it with me always.”

“…….”

“I will never let it leave my person. This is your heart toward me… so I will keep it close to me, forever.”

“Your grace is… as vast as the sea, Your Majesty,” Hwaun replied with deep sincerity. He had expected the Emperor not to reject the gift despite its clumsy craft, but seeing him treasure it so highly filled Hwaun with overwhelming emotion.

From now on, that pouch would always be in the Emperor’s embrace. A token of his own hands, inscribed with his own heart. A sign that he still possessed the Emperor’s affection would stay in the most intimate place of the Son of Heaven. The thought brought him to the verge of tears, yet also made his heart shiver with a longing for the Emperor’s warmth.

As if sensing every ripple of that emotion, Ihan smiled skillfully and wrapped his arm around Hwaun’s waist, pulling their bodies flush together.

“Then… may I continue what I was doing?”

The air in the room, which had cooled for a moment, flared red once again. Hwaun simply nodded, and it was the Emperor’s turn to close the distance with a heated breath.

“Majesty… hhh, wait, just a moment…”

Hwaun spoke as he tried to push against Ihan’s shoulders. The Emperor was currently teasing his nipple with a persistent tongue, and naturally, Ihan had no intention of being pushed away.

Hwaun’s now-naked body was already covered in several flush marks. Ignoring the protest, Ihan nipped gently at the peaked pink tip and slid his other hand down to grasp Hwaun’s erect center.

“Majesty, please wait…!”

But once again, Ihan could not finish the act. As soon as his hand wrapped around Hwaun, Hwaun sat up firmly, blocking him with a determined voice. Ihan, who had been burning with desire since the banquet, looked at Hwaun with a dissatisfied pout.

“What is it now?”

“Majesty…. I mean… today is Your Majesty’s birthday, is it not?”

“Yes. It is. So, will you finally allow me to take the gift I desire most?”

Ihan was already swollen to the point of pain. Simply holding back the urge to bury himself inside Hwaun and claim him roughly was pushing him to his limit. Ihan leaned in to kiss him again, but Hwaun pushed the Emperor back even further and sat up completely.

While Ihan blinked in surprise, Hwaun—his face a deep, burning red—pulled Ihan back to lean against the headboard and then settled himself between the Emperor’s legs.

“You… what are you…”

“Since it is Your Majesty’s day today…”

Hwaun hesitated, the words clearly difficult to voice. Ihan’s heart began to race with a new kind of anticipation. Even without knowing Hwaun’s intent, a heavy thrum started in his lower abdomen.

As Ihan wet his dry lips with his tongue, Hwaun tucked a stray lock of hair behind his ear and whispered in a voice as soft as a breeze.

“Today… I want to do everything for Your Majesty…”

Ihan couldn’t even find the voice to ask what he meant. He couldn’t say anything at all. Because as soon as those words were finished, Hwaun lowered his head and took the Emperor’s member—standing so tensed the veins were prominent—into his mouth.

“Ugh…!”

A stifled groan escaped Ihan. The sight of his massive member sliding into Hwaun’s small mouth was an incredible visual stimulus. When the tip brushed against the delicate membranes of Hwaun’s throat, a sensation so explosive surged through his body that he nearly reached his limit then and there.

Taking all of it in was an immense challenge for Hwaun. The member, already difficult to accommodate, seemed to grow even larger the moment Hwaun opened his mouth. Though they had shared countless nights over the past year, Hwaun was not at all accustomed to this.

While Ihan never hesitated to touch or pleasure Hwaun with his mouth during their lovemaking, Hwaun had almost never reciprocated in this specific way. In bed, Hwaun was usually so overwhelmed by Ihan’s relentless passion that he lacked the composure to take the lead, and Ihan had never wanted to force such an act upon him.

The movement was inevitably clumsy. Hwaun managed to take him in, but he could only hold the front portion, struggling to draw the length deeper.

“Ah… Un-ah…!”

Ihan’s hands gripped the silk sheets violently. If he didn’t, he felt he might grab Hwaun’s hair and thrust himself deep into that struggling mouth. Hwaun’s unpracticed movements were far too provocative. His dark-red hair brushed against Ihan’s sensitive skin, and the way Hwaun’s hips were naturally positioned as he leaned forward was unintentionally, wickedly lewd.

Hwaun struggled to take him deeper. His jaw ached from being stretched to its limit and the corners of his mouth felt raw, but hearing the Emperor’s groans from above made the pain vanish. Every sound and movement from the Emperor in response to his actions acted as a stimulant for Hwaun. His own waist trembled, and his entrance twitched instinctively.

He used to feel embarrassed and guilty, wondering why such a noble man would choose to perform such a “lowly” act when Ihan pleasured him. But in this moment, Hwaun felt he understood the Emperor’s heart just a little bit.

Hwaun pushed himself to take Ihan deeper. He wanted to make him feel good. He wanted to return everything this precious person had given him.

Though he worried his clumsiness might dampen the mood, he hoped that Ihan would lose himself in the pleasure and reach his peak, just as Hwaun always did. Ignoring the discomfort, he used his hands to stimulate the skin as he drew Ihan in further.

“Damn it…! Un-ah, stop now… ugh…!”

Ihan was at his breaking point. The sight of himself disappearing and reappearing from Hwaun’s mouth was too erotic. At that moment, recalling how the Emperor had treated him previously, Hwaun flicked his tongue against the length. Unable to endure any longer, Ihan reached out, gripped the back of Hwaun’s head, and released himself deep into his mouth.

“Mmph… ugh…!”

“U-Un-ah…!”

Ihan, groaning low as he finished, let go in shock and hurriedly pulled Hwaun away when Hwaun began to cough, sounding breathless. As the member left his mouth, Hwaun gasped for air, spilling the seed he hadn’t managed to swallow. Swallowing while filled to capacity was certainly no easy task.

Ihan’s face, which had been drenched in pleasure, quickly turned into a mask of worried distress. He hurriedly wiped the corners of Hwaun’s mouth with his hand, soothing him.

“I am sorry, I am so sorry, Un-ah. I was too excited, I didn’t realize…!”

But despite his eyes being red from the lack of breath, Hwaun forced a smile and shook his head.

“No, Majesty. It is because I… I am still clumsy and could not do it properly…”

“No. That is not true. Did you not see how excited I was?”

At Ihan’s words, Hwaun recalled the image of the Emperor panting and lost in pleasure from his actions, and he nodded. It was the first time Hwaun realized that leading a lover to such bliss could feel this good. He wanted to please him even more. He wanted to make him so excited he couldn’t maintain his reason. It was a desire Hwaun was feeling for the very first time.