CHAPTER 28……………..
. How Am I Supposed to Eat Like This, When My Heart’s Racing?
“What could Your Highness the Empress possibly want from someone as low as me?”
“Teach me every technique you know in bed. I’ll pay you more money than you could ever touch in your lifetime.”
“Money… I’m not particularly desperate for it.”
Yulan, infamous among the libertines of the Crossroads back alleys in the capital, smirked faintly as she spoke.
Hailey had expected her to jump at the mention of money, given her shabby appearance. But Yulan’s indifferent reaction caught her off guard.
In truth, Yulan couldn’t understand why the Empress had summoned her to the palace at this hour. Of all people, why me?
“Someone as noble as Your Majesty wants to learn such things from me?”
“They say every man who takes you ends up at the very gates of heaven.”
“Hah. And where did you hear something like that?”
Though she laughed self-deprecatingly, a flicker of pride lit Yulan’s face.
“I want to make the Emperor kneel. I want to make it so no woman but me can ever satisfy him.”
Hailey stepped closer, her voice low and firm.
“Make my body like yours. I’ll repay the humiliation I’ve endured—no matter what.”
“Once you begin, there’s no turning back.”
“That’s exactly what I want.”
“Then you’d better be prepared.”
“Prepared?”
Yulan’s rough, bony hands seized Hailey’s shoulders. Startled, Hailey stiffened but didn’t move, glaring back instead.
“Be prepared, Your Majesty… to drag yourself down to the very bottom.”
****
I collapsed into sleep in Mic’s arms at dawn, only waking when the noontime sun tickled my face.
His arm was still wrapped firmly around my waist, his solid chest pressed against my back. Even in deep sleep, he hadn’t let me go.
How had this man slept alone for the past three months? It seemed almost impossible.
I slowly turned to face him. His face, free of worry and at peace in slumber, was as beautiful as ever.
I traced his eyebrow with a fingertip, then his smooth forehead, his straight nose, and finally brushed over his red lips.
Suddenly his lips twitched and lightly caught my finger between them.
“You’re awake?”
“Weren’t you trying to wake me?”
His eyes were still heavy with sleep, but he smiled faintly and pulled me close. I wriggled away slightly.
“Mic, aren’t you hungry?”
“Not at all. Not one bit.”
He mumbled playfully and buried his face back into my neck.
“Good grief, if we keep this up today, it really will be three days and nights straight.”
“So what? I’m the king.”
I smacked his shoulder. It was so solid that my own palm stung.
“No! You need to get up now—wash, get dressed, eat a proper meal. Like a civilized human being!”
He chuckled into my neck, his laughter shaking my body along with his.
“So, you mean I haven’t been human until now?”
“You really have to ask?”
I pouted.
“It’s time we started acting human—civilized!”
“Hm…”
I declared it solemnly, but he only groaned in protest, tightening his arm around my waist.
Still, I couldn’t give in. Truthfully, I was on the brink of starvation.
“Even if you’re fine, I need to eat something.”
“…Fine. I suppose I have no choice.”
Only after much pleading did I finally get to taste the food Millie had hurriedly prepared in the drawing room.
Even then, I had to eat wrapped in a thin blanket, cradled in his arms, only opening my mouth when he brought food to my lips.
“Can’t I just feed myself?”
“No. If anything, I want to chew it up and feed it to you directly—but I’m restraining myself. Want some fruit?”
Before I could protest, he held a fresh piece of fruit before my mouth. Like a baby bird, I opened wide and bit into it.
Juice spilled down my lips as the tender flesh broke in my mouth.
Since I couldn’t use my hands, I tilted my chin upward. Mic licked the juice that had trickled down my chin, then savored my lower lip between his own.
Good heavens, how was I supposed to eat like this? If anyone ever died of a heart attack in the middle of a meal, it would be me.
“That’s enough. You eat too.”
“No, I’ll eat after you’re finished.”
He pressed another quick kiss to my lips before letting me go.
Even as we bickered over who should eat, he kept feeding me, bite after bite, until I was full.
When the meal ended, he scooped me up again and headed for the bathroom.
“Now then, time to wash up—like a proper human!”
With a playful wink, he filled the large tub with hot water, then set me inside, still wrapped in the blanket.
“Stay there while I wash.”
He turned and lathered soap, suds running smoothly over his bronzed body.
Having touched him for two days straight, my hands tingled with the urge to reach for him again, and my cheeks grew hot.
“Keep looking at me like that and we’ll have a problem, Leah.”
“Hic!”
I hiccupped in shock at being caught. Did he have eyes in the back of his head?!
Mortified, I sank deep into the tub. His laughter buzzed in my ears, then a large hand pulled me back up.
“You need to wash too.”
Wearing a robe, he rubbed his hands together, making a mound of frothy suds.
“I—I can do it myself.”
I clutched the blanket around me stubbornly, so at last he reluctantly handed me the soap bubbles and left the room.
Alone in the tub, I finally enjoyed the warmth of the water and the silky touch of foam on my skin. Finally, I feel alive again.
When I came out in a robe, hair wrapped in a towel, Mic was also drying his hair.
“Come here. I’ll dry your hair for you.”
“I can do it myself.”
“I know. But I want to.”
He pulled me to the vanity, took off the damp towel, and began gently drying my hair with a fresh one.
“The more I look, the more mysterious your hair seems.”
Halfway through drying, he began kissing the strands one by one. Then he gathered it all to my right shoulder and pressed his lips to the left side of my neck.
While I was distracted, his hand tried to sneak under my robe. I caught it and twisted hard.
“Ah! That hurts, Leah. Look—it feels like you broke my wrist.”
He dangled his hand pitifully in front of me.
“Blow on it to make it better.”
I nearly twisted it again, but then I noticed the scar on his palm. A burn mark—wasn’t this what he called the Dragon’s Breath?
I turned to face him, pulling his hand closer.
“This is the Dragon’s Breath, right?”
“That’s what they say. It’s really more like a hereditary mark. Children of the Freetan royal family are born with scars like this—on their face or palms.”
“On their faces too?”
I gasped, eyes wide.
“Yes. I almost had this scar on my face—the very face you love so much.”
“Heavens…”
I grabbed his face and turned it this way and that, as if checking for any trace. How terrible it would have been to scar such a flawless face!
“They say the mark started appearing when our family began subduing the Dark Dragon with golden pine. That’s why people whisper about a dragon’s curse on the Freetan royal line.”
“Golden pine? The same trees the Haron Empire tried to steal?”
“Exactly. It’s the only weapon that can pierce a Dark Dragon’s scales.”
Ah! So that’s why the Haron imperial family used demons to try to seize Freetan’s golden pines!
“Luckily mine’s just on my palm, but my father had one on his face. He always wore a veil to cover it. Strangely, after marrying my mother, the scar began to fade.”
“Wow, really?”
“They truly loved each other.”
A scar, long thought a curse, fading after finding true love—it was almost romantic.
“But Leah…”
“Yes?”
“My scar has been fading too. I think it’s because of you.”
“Really?”
I shot to my feet and pulled his hand closer to examine it carefully.
But no matter how I looked, I couldn’t tell. Was it really fading?
“Well?”
“Maybe… maybe not…”
Suddenly, Mic yanked his hand, pulling me flush against him.
“Mic! You scared me.”
“If it hasn’t faded, that means your love is lacking. How will you take responsibility?”
Still holding me, he toppled backward onto the bed, leaving me sprawled on top of him.
Looking down, I saw his long lashes casting shadows—so impossibly alluring.
“Well then, how should I take responsibility?”
Feigning seriousness, I lifted his palm and pressed my lips to it. His body jolted.
“Don’t move. This is treatment, not seduction.”
His navy-blue eyes darkened, but I gave him a warning shake of my head.
I suddenly wondered: could my healing power erase the Dragon’s Breath?
Should I try? First I’ll draw the energy into my core…
But before I could, he rolled me onto my side, breaking my concentration.
“We’ll finish the treatment later.”
“I wasn’t done talking—!”
My protest was cut off by his lips.
His hot breath surrounded me, and once again I lost my chance to confess about my healing powers and my mother.
Just when I thought we were finally back to being civilized… we were right back to square one!
