Chapter 37

Even while lying down, the man seemed to look down from above due to his naturally large physique. Seonjae, who was scrutinizing Yeon-oh’s profile, raised his dark eyebrow.

“Did Young Master Gyo say that We still look like an older brother from the neighborhood?” His condescension toward Yeon-oh was clearly evident.

“How could I dare to see Your Majesty that way?”

The voice of the reply trembled faintly. Seonjae turned onto his side, facing Yeon-oh. He rested more deeply into the pillow, as if to lessen his intimidating presence, and lay comfortably.

“Gyo Yeon-oh.”

“Yes…”

“Have you ever held a woman’s hand?”

The tone was clearly mocking. Although the close distance where he could feel the body heat and breath was overwhelming, Yeon-oh looked straight at the handsome face that viewed him with amusement.

“Your Majesty must have held many.”

Yeon-oh calmed his irritation and said curtly.

“There is rarely a reason to hold hands.”

The Emperor shook his head slowly. The man’s words were definitely just to tease Yeon-oh. The face that first asked if he had held hands and then calmly shook his head saying there was actually no reason to do so was mischievous.

“Is that so.”

Yeon-oh took advantage of the darkness to glance irreverently at the person who was below one person and above ten thousand.

“Wouldn’t it cause a misunderstanding if I held the hand of a bed-service palace woman while learning about sex? That I had ulterior motives for her. I didn’t want it, but the other person wouldn’t have wanted it either. If she couldn’t catch the Crown Prince’s eye, she would want to catch the eye of one of the Crown Prince’s brothers. She wouldn’t wish for the attention of the Emperor’s youngest brother, whom she didn’t even know existed.”

At the man’s words, Yeon-oh’s eyes, which had been staring at the ceiling, widened.

“…”

He had heard that the Imperial Family kept separate palace women for the purpose of sex. But knowing this and hearing it directly from the person who had experienced it were completely different things.

The world of the Imperial Family was difficult for ordinary people to comprehend. What was most surprising was the man’s composure in speaking of it.

“If I had caused such a misunderstanding, I wouldn’t be here. An immature uncle who covets the Crown Prince’s bed-service palace woman—isn’t that the perfect crime to get oneself killed?”

Seonjae spoke with an indifferent face. [Read on RanaTranslations🌸] Yeon-oh turned his wide eyes and looked at the man.

“Crown Prince’s, Crown Prince’s Palace…”

Seonjae, who had been lost in his own thoughts, belatedly noticed the face watching him in shock. He was about to let out a hollow laugh at Yeon-oh’s undisguised astonishment, but he soon grew as serious as Yeon-oh, adopting a somber expression.

The Emperor frowned and said:

“Do they not teach sex in the Gyo General’s Household?”

“No, they do not teach it.”

“Why do they not teach it? Even the son of a great noble cannot be forgiven for causing a dissolute incident under the pretext of ignorance. Young Master Gyo, do you at least know the difference between the male and female anatomy?”

The man’s demanding words contained a feeling that regarded Yeon-oh as some kind of savage. Yeon-oh was similarly regarding the other as primitive.

“Do you think I’m a-a fool…!”

Yeon-oh exclaimed in a greatly lowered voice.

“Hmm, it seems you know the basics, at least? But how do you learn without actually seeing it?”

Yeon-oh felt a heat rise, turning his entire face and neck crimson.

“…”

The Imperial Family was a group that was relentlessly explicit and bare. That was their way, and it had to be respected. But for Yeon-oh, who had no immunity to such things, even exchanging words felt like a huge barrier.

“Young Master Gyo.”

“How does Your Majesty know whether I have seen it or not?”

“You haven’t, you.”

Yeon-oh insolently wanted to tell the Emperor to shut up. If he were a friend, he would have kicked him out of the room the moment he brought it up; if he were family or a brother, he would have winced and lost his temper, telling him to mind his own business. Unlike him, who was too embarrassed to speak, the Emperor was as casual as if he were discussing a passage from a book he had read today.

“Stop it.”

“Stop what? If you don’t have a partner, what do you do when the urge strikes?”

The Emperor said indifferently. His tone was genuinely puzzled. Yeon-oh was aghast again. Judging by the man’s words, it sounded as if the Imperial Family summoned a sex partner whenever the urge arose.

“You endure it…”

There were other solutions, but he did not want to voice them.

At Yeon-oh’s words, Seonjae also gave him a reproachful look. He knew well that Yeon-oh viewed him like an animal. He agreed that the way the Imperial Family instructed male members regarding sex had some excessive aspects. He knew that there were those who suffered through the process. The reason the Imperial Family was particularly quick and open about teaching that part was to prevent Imperial Family members from being exploited due to ignorance. They preferred to distinguish and discard Princes who became womanizers early on rather than allow them to be used by others.

Despite these efforts, Imperial Family members were still easily corrupted by honey traps. Even if beauties did not confuse the Imperial Family, they still caused embarrassing and terrible incidents by competing among themselves to possess them. Seonjae occasionally winced at the Imperial Family’s methods, but he loathed Yeon-oh’s old-fashioned suggestion even more.

“Endure what?”

“…”

Yeon-oh pretended not to hear the low voice echoing near his ear. His neck was flushed red with embarrassment.

“Is that something one can endure just by enduring it? Young Master Gyo must have endured it well. Are there not many servants in the Gyo General’s Household? I believe there were many maids in every hall.”

At Seonjae’s words, Yeon-oh sent a look of contempt.

“I do not engage in improper behavior with my family.”

Yeon-oh’s definition of family included everyone associated with the Gyo General’s Household. At those words, Seonjae smiled faintly. The low sound rising from his throat unpleasantly tickled Yeon-oh’s ear.

“We have engaged in much improper behavior, by Young Master Gyo’s standards, that is. How noble and splendid you are. Even the daughters of noble families nowadays are probably not like you.”

At the Emperor’s muttered words, Yeon-oh’s expression showed disillusionment. The man’s words about having engaged in much improper behavior made his head throb. If he had still held the pure affection he had before, his heart would have been torn, but since his feelings for him had shattered, he merely frowned.

A wave of fatigue washed over him just by exchanging a few words. His head was buzzing from the shock. He once again realized that the man’s world and his own were completely different.

“A Prince who is close to bed-service palace women from childhood cannot be the same as the son of a private household.”

“I don’t think so. Young Master Gyo, you are the only one who is particularly noble. The high-ranking officials and their sons I’ve seen were no less debauched than the Imperial Family. Can’t you see that from the fact that the Governor of Sakbang’s son kidnapped the ruler of Baekha Kingdom?”

The Emperor spoke with a frown. In truth, even among Yeon-oh’s friends and relatives, there were those who criticized him with remarks like, ‘What do you do for fun?’ or ‘You don’t know anything’.

“I got along fine in my own way.” Yeon-oh said calmly.

“I suppose so. Wouldn’t it be those who admired the noble Young Master Gyo who felt anxious and frustrated?”

The Emperor’s teasing was endless. Yeon-oh looked puzzled, as if asking, ‘What on earth is that supposed to mean?’ Seonjae chuckled, seeing the face that, as he had expected, looked like he had heard something completely incomprehensible.

“You have no perceptiveness.”

The man said, wiping all traces of laughter from his face.

“I, I…”

Yeon-oh was about to argue when the man’s serious face suddenly moved closer to him.

“You truly don’t know? The second daughter of the Jujube Tree House in the Gyo General’s Household likes Young Master Gyo. Hmm, you didn’t know, did you? I thought so. Young Master Gyo seems utterly oblivious to who is interested in him.”

“That…”

“That person would have readily accepted if Young Master Gyo had extended an improper hand. The Governor of Goksan’s niece and her cousin, the Princess of Maehwang Palace, also like Young Master Gyo. I counted at least seven or eight in your vicinity alone. How can you be so oblivious? And why do you scatter so much kindness when you don’t intend to date them or have any separate feelings for them?”

Yeon-oh thought of the individuals the man had pointed out one by one. Even after carefully reviewing his memories, there were no distinct recollections.

“You are mistaken.”

“I don’t think so.”

Seonjae smiled slyly and shrugged. It was hard to take his eyes off the laughing man’s face.

In the evening, he had been kneeling before the Emperor, being interrogated. Considering that, the current sleep-over situation had to be considered to be going well. Yeon-oh was constantly flustered and the Emperor never stopped teasing him, but they were exchanging conversation without much difficulty.

The Emperor seemed to understand that Yeon-oh wanted to avoid the sleeping-over and entirely pretended not to notice it. Instead, he behaved casually, as if comforting Yeon-oh, who was nervous and felt an abstract fear. He showed a demeanor that recalled the time when Yeon-oh had trusted and followed the man. Yeon-oh realized that the Emperor was being considerate of him now.

Consideration. He should have sneered at the condescending kindness of the man who had deceived him. Instead, he should have denounced and cursed him as detestable. But his heart strangely fluttered. His stomach was knotted with incomprehensible frustration, restlessness, and an unknown thirst. Yeon-oh now clearly knew what this anxiety was.

It was affection. The heart he believed he had cut away yesterday often revealed its existence.

“…Why don’t you tell me to properly fulfill my duty?”

Yeon-oh’s face was clear as he asked the question.

“There are many people to attend to Us.”

Seonjae said casually. It was difficult to discern whether the Emperor was intentionally being cruel and harsh or if he spoke that way because his words were true. Yeon-oh thought that even trying to discern it was a flawed mindset.

“I know.”

“I know that not every concubine is truly happy about the Emperor’s visit. Even if they pretend to be happy, not everyone wants it, and there’s no need to touch someone who is afraid. It’s better to at least have mutual benefit.”

The voice that reached his ear was cold, but the words he spoke sounded extremely kind.

“Don’t worry. There are many other ways to cleanse yourself of lacking virtue.”

Yeon-oh raised his gaze at the man’s words that shattered his emotional musings.

“Does the Imperial Family also learn how to sleep with men?”

The man paused, as if the question was unexpected. A faint look of suspicion surfaced on his face. Seonjae quickly wiped away his momentary ruffled expression and replied.

“We don’t exactly learn it.”

“I see.”

“We know how to do it, but…”

The man, who had been responding to Yeon-oh’s lackluster reaction, trailed off uncharacteristically. [Read on RanaTranslations🌸] Yeon-oh almost let out a hollow laugh at his words. If he had made a sound, it would have surely been seen as insolent. The Emperor would know how to take a man. It was an obvious fact. He already had male concubines, including his favored chief consort.

After a brief moment of silence, Yeon-oh spoke.

“I am fine.”