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Join the ServerAs time passed like that, beads of sweat began to form on his forehead.
Above and below his awkwardly bent knees, his thighs and calves throbbed and trembled.
His lowered waist and neck felt the same.
Just as his neck, stiff from the weight of his head, was about to slump further forward, a large palm entered Haeryeong’s downcast vision.
“You truly are a stubborn one.”
“You could have simply brushed this off with a bit of charm.”
“Watching you endure like this makes my heart burn with impatience.”
As he lifted his head, his eyes met the Emperor’s, who was smiling faintly while furrowing his brows.
The Emperor’s eyes curved deeper, and he waved his hand once more in front of Haeryeong’s eyes.
It was as if he were urging him to take it quickly.
The moment Haeryeong placed his hand on that palm, the man yanked him upward with brute force.
Just as his already trembling knees gave way and he stumbled, the Emperor swept Haeryeong up into his arms.
Startled, Haeryeong went wide-eyed and looked down, only to find the Emperor, who had risen without a sound, rubbing his lips against his cheek.
“I was waiting to see when you would act spoiled, but it seems I was short-sighted.”
“Your stubbornness is quite something.”
Haeryeong simply kept his eyes lowered.
To think he had done all this just to test a person.
After making the victim’s head spin like a top, agonizing over what mistake he might have made.
Haeryeong bit his lip and, before he knew it, let out a protest.
“Please do not do such things.”
A low, giggling laugh came from the man pressed close to him.
“Do what?”
“Testing a person is not something you should do for mere sport.”
As the words he had swallowed every time finally burst out, his sorrow grew deeper.
Haeryeong looked down at the Emperor and continued in a trembling voice.
“I spent the entire time agonizing over whether I had somehow displeased Your Majesty.”
He had long realized that the Emperor would not understand the heart of a person who had to walk on eggshells.
But was this not far too much?
What profit could there be in making someone so anxious for no reason at all?
Haeryeong averted his gaze from the Emperor, who was still smiling softly, and looked down.
“I was taught that the relationships of gentlemen must be based on trust.”
“Furthermore, I learned that a gentleman first keeps his own faith to inspire trust in others.”
Haeryeong spoke indirectly, implying that one must show trust first for others to believe in them.
The Emperor laughed deeply and pulled Haeryeong closer, steadying him.
The Emperor’s face drew nearer.
The puff of air from his nostrils brushed against Haeryeong’s cheek.
“What am I to do about that?”
“I am not a gentleman, but a monarch; therefore, a monarch’s relationships are born of loyalty, not trust.”
“And loyalty is something shown by subordinates.”
Haeryeong looked down at the smirking Emperor and slowly opened his lips.
“Then, am I merely a subordinate to you as well?”
Only then did a strange light flash in the Emperor’s eyes.
He knit his masculine brows slightly and let out a chuckle.
“That would never do.”
“I am your husband.”
“Of course, your loyalty is naturally expected, but is the affection between a couple not more important?”
“Is that not so, Empress?”
While the Emperor slowly paced in a circle, the court ladies entered and set the table for lunch.
Haeryeong remained held in the Emperor’s arms, keeping his lips shut before finally replying quietly.
“I believe the affection between a couple is also based on trust.”
“As an Eumin, I may be lacking the qualities of a gentleman, yet I have studied the Way of the Gentleman since childhood.”
“Therefore, I beg of you, Your Majesty.”
Haeryeong stared directly into the Emperor’s upward gaze and bowed his head toward him.
As their faces drew close, his eyes closed involuntarily, and his breath slowed cautiously.
Haeryeong lowered his head, pressing his forehead against the Emperor’s, and whispered very softly.
“Please, do not act this way.”
Haeryeong pressed his fisted hand against his pounding chest and held his breath.
It was difficult even to utter that single sentence, and he felt his heart shivering.
He was anxious that the Emperor might take offense at his presumptuous words.
Even after saying just that much.
The Emperor lifted his head, his lips brushing the tip of Haeryeong’s nose.
In the brief moment Haeryeong flinched, the man pressed his cheek against his and began to walk again.
His movements were slow and gentle, as if soothing a child, allowing Haeryeong to finally release the breath he had been holding.
At the sound of that scattering breath, the Emperor laughed softly and whispered.
“Say more.”
“Empress, act a little more spoiled. Hmm?”
Haeryeong barely suppressed a sigh.
The Emperor was a man who knew no satisfaction.
Ignoring how much effort it had taken to say this much, he kept urging him to continue.
Haeryeong wrapped his arms around the man’s shoulders and buried his face there.
Exhaling small sighs onto his shoulder, he spoke carefully, ensuring his tired voice did not waver.
“Your Majesty, if I have any faults, I shall strive to correct them.”
“I shall put forth every effort, so please, look upon me with generosity.”
‘Is this enough?’
While Haeryeong slowly rolled his eyes, still buried against the man’s shoulder, the Emperor pressed his lips to his ear.
The Emperor, seemingly delighted for some reason, poured fits of giggling laughter into his ear and whispered.
“Look at me, Empress.”
“Show me what kind of expression you have while saying such things. Hmm?”
When Haeryeong lifted his head, his eyes lowered in shyness, the Emperor pushed his face in close.
He left several small kisses on Haeryeong’s lips.
“To act so cute… what am I to do with you?”
“I wish to order the lunch table cleared and simply enjoy the pleasures of the clouds and rain with you.”
“If I do not attend court again today, the officials’ complaints will be thunderous; what should I do?”
Between his words, he sucked on Haeryeong’s lips.
When Haeryeong gripped the Emperor’s dragon robe as the man alternated between sucking his upper and lower lips, the kiss grew even deeper.
A tongue squirming like a snake pried his lips open, licking and tapping against his closed teeth.
It was as if it were demanding the gates be opened to accept him.
When Haeryeong closed his eyes and parted his lips, the Emperor withdrew one hand from beneath his thighs to cup the back of his head.
The Emperor was strong enough to support Haeryeong’s entire weight with a single arm.
The sensation of the muscles bulging in the forearm wrapping around his buttocks was felt clearly through the fabric, making Haeryeong flinch involuntarily.
He proceeded to suck Haeryeong’s tongue forcefully and ravaged the membranes of his mouth.
As the pointed tip of the tongue swept across the roof of his mouth, Haeryeong’s hands tightened their grip.
While he clung to him, crumpling the silk in his fists, the man held his jaw and tilted his head.
The tongue, now connected even more deeply, rubbed here and there so much that saliva began to overflow and surge in his mouth.
From below Haeryeong, the Emperor made a loud gulping sound, as if drinking that saliva down.
Only then did Haeryeong regain his senses and try to lift his head, only to be pulled back by the Emperor’s hand.
The Emperor only pulled his lips away after the breathless Haeryeong let out a gasping groan.
Even then, he did not separate immediately; after licking Haeryeong’s wet lips several times, he swiped his own lips with his tongue and whispered.
“The Empress’s golden nectar is truly sweet.”
Haeryeong could only reply between gasps for air.
“Your… grace is boundless…”
Haeryeong felt a deep sense of shame that the Emperor had not only drunk his saliva but called it sweet, and the corners of his eyes flushed red.
“I wish to taste more, but I cannot let you skip your meal, so I must endure for now.”
“Do not be disappointed, Empress.”
“When I return tonight, I shall drink all of your jade dew.”
The Emperor added quietly, pressing his lips to Haeryeong’s cheek.
“You are looking forward to it, I see.”
A chill ran down his spine.
When Haeryeong shivered involuntarily, the Emperor let out a boisterous laugh and walked toward the table.
Lunch was already fully set.
The Emperor dismissed the court ladies waiting to serve the meal and sat in a chair while still holding Haeryeong.
“Your Majesty, please set me down.”
Haeryeong wanted to go to his own seat, but the Emperor held him so firmly that there was nothing he could do.
Haeryeong, who had been unable to meet his gaze since the kiss ended, finally looked at the Emperor’s face when he saw a spoon approaching.
“You should be opening your mouth, not looking at me.”
The Emperor was laughing to himself in enjoyment.
He seemed not to care in the slightest whether Haeryeong was bewildered by this unfamiliar treatment or whether Haeryeong’s buttocks were uncomfortable against his hard thighs.
“Now, open wide.”
As Haeryeong opened his lips while unable to take his eyes off him, the porridge—boiled soft and cooled to an edible temperature—flowed into his mouth.
Haeryeong mashed the sticky porridge with his tongue, mixing it with his saliva while recalling their kiss.
In that moment, the sweet pumpkin porridge seemed to taste of the man’s saliva.
“How is it? Is the pumpkin porridge to your liking?”
Haeryeong offered a quiet smile to the man who asked with a grinning face.
“Yes. It tastes very good.”
When he forced himself to swallow what was refusing to go down, he felt the clump of porridge slide down his throat.
It felt as though his stomach were twisting.
No, every internal organ within Haeryeong’s belly twisted bit by bit.
You’ve got to see this next! The Moon Reflected In The Water will keep you on the edge of your seat. Start reading today!
Read : The Moon Reflected In The Water
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