Chapter 4 : The King’s Devotion

alone in those days, and his heart felt as if it were being torn apart.

Pushing his half-withdrawn member back in deep, Ihan leaned down and pressed his lips to the scar. It was a sort of ritual. It was the desperate heart of Ihan, confessing his sins to his one and only lover and seeking forgiveness.

“Hng… Your Majesty….”

“I am sorry….”

Using the tip of his tongue to lick along the rippling scar on the skin, Ihan whispered. Whenever they engaged in the act, Hwaun became sensitive as if that scar were a special erogenous zone; as Ihan licked it blatantly, Hwaun’s toes curled and his legs spread of their own accord. The member that had delved in slowly was now positioned so deeply it felt as if it would pierce through Hwaun’s lower belly, and Ihan’s hand, wrapped around Hwaun’s collapsing body, caressed the bulging stomach.

“I am sorry for hurting you so much….”

“N-no, Your Majesty…. Your Majesty has already given me more than I deserve… hng… ah… you gave me your precious everything… hmpf…!”

Hwaun’s attempt to soothe the Emperor’s heart and profess his own sincerity could not be finished. This was because the Emperor urgently turned Hwaun’s head with his other hand and swallowed those words, that heart, and that breath entirely. At the same time, the Emperor’s slowly moving hips increased their speed once more. A collapsing waist and legs could not stop the act of being violated by Ihan.

“Hah… hng! Ah… Your Majesty… strange… my stomach feels strange… wait… agh!”

Hwaun always found this position more overwhelming. His hair tossed and disheveled wildly as Ihan pushed forward. Amidst Hwaun’s rising cries of pleasure, Ihan—unable to contain his hot breath, the heat, and the surging emotions—whispered.

“Wun… I… to you….”

“Your, Majesty… hng….”

“I love you….”

It was a confession from the Emperor that would settle in Hwaun’s ear many more times until the night was through.

“Why have you lost even more weight, Master…?”

In the quiet morning, Ajin, who was assisting Hwaun with his clothes, spoke in a heavy voice as he looked at the waist ribbon that was noticeably looser than before. Compared to the past, he rarely fainted suddenly and he ate his meals regularly, yet strangely, he kept losing weight.

Even when all the servants of Jeongan Palace put their heads together to make him gain just a little weight, it would disappear again after a short while, causing no small amount of worry.

“Is that so? I hadn’t really noticed…. I don’t particularly feel unwell lately, so it is fine.”

At Ajin’s words, Hwaun glanced down at his body and spoke in a nonchalant tone. It wasn’t just empty talk; perhaps because his mind was at peace lately, he didn’t feel chest tightness or shortness of breath for no reason, and his nightmares had mostly subsided, so his physical condition was quite good. Hwaun, silent for a moment as if remembering something, spoke again immediately.

“Make sure you don’t say anything unnecessary in front of His Majesty again.”

His voice was somewhat stern.

And for good reason—Ajin didn’t seem like a mere maid of the concubine’s palace lately. It was a sacrilegious thought, but the Emperor doted on Ajin so much that when it came to words regarding Hwaun, the Emperor would listen to any direct advice he gave.

Ajin fearlessly reported everything that happened in Jeongan Palace to the Emperor in great detail. Whenever a horrified Hwaun tried to restrain him, the Emperor would usually take Ajin’s side, asking why he was trying to silence him.

But since the things Ajin reported were mostly about how their Master felt dizzy this morning or how he barely touched his food, Hwaun was the only one who ended up losing face by causing the Emperor worry.

No matter how much Hwaun told him not to do it, Ajin would reply with a brazen face, “His Majesty is asking, so how could a lowly servant dare to tell a lie?” There was nothing to say to that. Even though Ajin was a child who would successfully make malt from pebbles if Hwaun asked, he simply would not listen when it came to this one matter.

Today was no exception; despite Hwaun’s warning, Ajin pouted and replied.

“Even if I don’t say anything, His Majesty will obviously know anyway.”

The answer he gave was a truth that was difficult to deny. The Emperor scrutinized Hwaun’s complexion even if it changed ever so slightly, and it was no easy task to avoid those eyes. Especially since he attended to the Emperor almost every night, things like weight loss or a drop in body temperature could not be hidden no matter how hard he tried.

When they were engaged in the act, Hwaun was so completely out of his mind that he had no room to notice or worry about anything else; it was a mystery how the Emperor managed to grasp all those details even while his own gaze turned pitch black with excitement. Of course, Hwaun did not know that the Emperor personally wiped his body and checked every nook and cranny after Hwaun had fallen into a death-like sleep.

“…Is it really that noticeable?”

Becoming suddenly anxious at Ajin’s reply, Hwaun hurried to the mirror to examine his reflection. To him, it didn’t seem like he had lost much weight, but if Ajin saw it that way, it was certain the Emperor would see it the same way, and he worried he might be causing unnecessary concern. He didn’t want the Emperor to have to worry about such trivial matters when he already had so many state affairs to handle.

In the meantime, as Ajin finished the belt and was tending to the hem of the trousers, he was about to answer when Myeong-an, who had become the Chief Eunuch of Jeongan Palace a few months ago, entered and spoke.

“Master, Eunuch Oh has arrived.”

Hwaun’s face immediately brightened.

“Let him in at once.”

“Yes, Master.”

Ajin’s hands quickly straightened Hwaun’s clothes, and soon Eunuch Oh entered, knelt on one knee, and offered his greetings.

“I greet Jin-bi Mama.”

Upon hearing that voice, the corners of Ajin’s mouth turned up slightly before quickly returning to their place.

At the end of last summer, as soon as they returned to Juanseong from Myeongha-won, Hwaun received the title of ‘Jin (珍)’ along with his promotion to Consort. It meant the Emperor’s most precious and cherished treasure; though it was the Empress who recommended the character, she was likely reflecting the Emperor’s heart.

Since that happened over a year ago, it was long past the time to be used to it, yet Ajin still felt his heart flutter whenever he heard his master’s title.

In Jeongan Palace, there were already quite a few people gossiping about how soon their master would receive the title of Noble Consort. Ajin didn’t join in the noise of those youngsters, but that didn’t mean he didn’t hold such expectations in his heart.

“Please rise. Did His Majesty have a message to convey?”

Unaware of what Ajin was thinking behind him, Hwaun welcomed Eunuch Oh with a delighted voice. Rising, Eunuch Oh spoke with a gentle smile.

“His Majesty says he would like to have lunch together at Anjeong-jeon today, and asked me to inquire about your thoughts, Mama.”

It wasn’t a notification to come to Anjeong-jeon. To a concubine who would normally have to go without question if told to enter, the Emperor was sending word saying, “This is my heart’s desire, is it alright with you?”—asking indirectly and affectionately. It was a side of the Emperor that those who hadn’t experienced it could not even imagine. Of course, to Hwaun, it was no longer something out of the ordinary.