That Night
Rather than dwelling on mistakes, it made more sense to prioritize treating Jegal Yeong-yeong first.
Yuseong approached the woman who was still staring at him intently.
He had planned to sleep early, yet only two candles burned, casting a dim glow over the room.
Beneath those flickering flames, the thin fabric of her nightgown revealed the subtle outline of black undergarments.
He kept his gaze carefully averted, determined not to be distracted. He had no desire to repeat the awkwardness of last time.
“Where does it hurt?”
“T-that…”
Jegal Yeong-yeong’s lips trembled several times, yet no words followed no matter how long he waited.
Was it simply that the pain was too vague to describe, or that she couldn’t voice the exact spot? Either way, the limitations of verbal questioning were clear.
“If speaking is difficult, I’ll examine you myself.”
He gently took her slender wrist. Before channeling divine power, he instinctively checked her pulse.
“The rhythm is steady and regular. There are no irregularities…”
But he knew from experience that pulse alone could not reveal everything. The condition might not yet have affected the pulse, or it could be a muscle strain, fracture, or nerve issue that left no trace.
Other possibilities flashed through his mind… yet Yuseong knew there was a better way.
He let divine power flow through the wrist. It spread instantly through her meridians, sweeping from head to toe in search of the anomaly.
“Hmm? Nothing shows up on the divine energy either… is this possible?”
Even with his eyes closed and focus sharp, he felt nothing. Perhaps he was imagining it. A second thorough scan yielded the same result.
Divine power was the gift of the gods. Up to now it had functioned flawlessly in this world. There was no reason to suspect it would fail now.
“The Chief Military Advisor seems to have no pain points at all…”
Had she recovered already? The woman was the Murim Alliance’s top military strategist. Malingering was out of the question.
He studied her face. Though her body felt warm, she still blushed.
“Could you… take a closer look at my eyes?”
A delicate voice reached his ears. It sounded like a patient’s moan, yet something far more teasing lingered beneath it.
“Eyes?”
He leaned slightly toward her.
The room was dim, but under the two candles her face was clearly visible. No discomfort arose.
“Closer, please…”
“That…”
Yuseong hesitated.
“Come to think of it, the room’s layout has changed.”
A long bed hugged the window, with a tall bookshelf behind the headboard. Jegal Yeong-yeong lay facing the books, her head resting against the barrier.
“Even someone who loves books as much as she does shouldn’t have to endure such an awkward posture…”
The furniture placement was terrible for a healer visiting a patient. To examine her eyes closely, he would have to either force her upright or kneel beside the bed and crawl over her.
He could not possibly force a pained person to move.
“Forgive me for a moment.”
He paused, then knelt on the bed. The mattress gave the faintest creak.
He leaned forward.
The closer he drew, the more audible her ragged breathing became.
Her flushed face filled his vision.
“Even now, the color doesn’t look entirely normal. Could it be that some condition divine power cannot detect?”
He finally inspected her pupils.
They were deep and glossy, like polished obsidian.
“No obvious abnormality… still, I should apply a recovery skill just to be safe.”
As those thoughts crossed his mind, Jegal Yeong-yeong’s lips parted slightly.
“How is it…?”
A soft voice. Far too gentle for a patient’s. It tickled his ears and sent an involuntary shiver down his spine.
“I’m fine, but—ah…!”
Yuseong was startled by the sensation where his waist met hers.
For a split second he wondered if it was an accident, but the power he had not hidden surged forward, naturally propelling his body.
Through the thin fabric he felt her body heat, her breath, the closeness of their pressed forms.
Her legs wrapped around his waist, trapping him in an intimate embrace.
A gentle softness brushed his chest. The scent of her hair and skin drifted to him, intoxicating his senses.
“…”
He forgot how to breathe.
Her legs did not stop. They pulled him closer.
“Wait… this…”
Yuseong was healthy enough to have reacted instinctively when a woman had embraced him before.
Now the strange atmosphere, combined with stronger stimulation, left his natural response completely unchecked.
That response was unmistakably transmitted to Jegal Yeong-yeong through the intimate contact of their joined hips.
“…”
Her face, which had been on the verge of climax, flushed even deeper.
Yuseong finally realized the truth. There had never been any issue with the divine power.
Divine power simply could not read a person’s heart.
He asked anyway.
“…Was this a ruse?”
Her lips slowly opened.
“I couldn’t create any opportunity otherwise. Are you angry?”
Clear affection. And seduction.
Yuseong had not expected her to be so bold, yet as a man he had no right to feel angry in such a situation.
Still…
He had not yet answered Namgung Yurin’s question…
Jegal Yeong-yeong raised her hand and gently stroked both of his cheeks.
“Your eyes are trembling. Is it because someone else came to mind?”
“…”
Was she referring to Namgung Yurin? If so, what would Jegal Yeong-yeong do?
To Yuseong’s wide-eyed surprise, she spoke.
“Forget everything else for now. I have no intention of forcing anything tonight.”
“But…”
Could a man and woman in this era truly share such moments without consequence?
In a situation where their relationship was not yet established, could he wound Jegal Yeong-yeong or Namgung Yurin—or perhaps both?
At that moment she stroked his face once more and said softly,
“It’s all right.”
“…”
Yuseong continued to hesitate.
Jegal Yeong-yeong lifted her hips and pulled his calf tighter. The already joined area pressed firmly together.
Every ounce of his consciousness focused there, yet he fought desperately to control it.
The corner of his mouth twitched upward—on the razor’s edge between laughter and a smile.
She raised her chin, glanced at him through half-closed eyes, and said with a teasing smile,
“Surely you won’t flee like a coward in a situation like this?”
A clear challenge.
But Yuseong saw the tremble in her voice, the flush in her pupils, the delicate tremor of her shoulders—and realized her courage.
A woman had summoned such bravery to seduce him; how could he refuse any longer?
***
Through the narrow gap of the door to Jegal Yeong-yeong’s chamber, two candles flickered, casting faint light.
The flames danced for a long time, growing thinner, then brighter.
From within came the rhythmic movement and ragged breaths.
Beyond the door, words ceased, leaving only irregular gasps and soft, broken moans.
Even as wax dripped, the flames refused to die.
They dimmed repeatedly, then flared again, until just before midnight they finally expired.
The last short burst of flame marked the end of the day.
And.
Yuseong emerged from the door of Jegal Yeong-yeong’s chamber long after the candles had guttered out.
His clothes were as neatly arranged as at the start, yet the once-cool gaze still held lingering heat.
When the door closed again, the heat no longer escaped outward.
But the traces left by that night remained indelible.
***
As Yuseong was about to leave Jegal Yeong-yeong’s residence, a maid who had brought him there approached without hesitation.
“It must have been tiring treating her so late. Allow me to escort you back.”
“…”
At first he had been puzzled, but now he understood. Everything had been Jegal Yeong-yeong’s design.
The other maids might not know, yet at least this one understood her intentions.
“I can return alone.”
Feeling embarrassed, he declined, but she replied,
“It will look less suspicious if people see you returning with me.”
“Understood.”
After safely reaching his own residence, Yuseong could not sleep.
Even among his previous experiences, the one that had left the deepest impression was this.
He kept replaying it in his mind.
The red stains on the sheets. Her pained yet eager response. His own helpless panic.
Soon he discovered a special method—without even saliva or hands—that allowed him to use the healing skill.
Afterward, Jegal Yeong-yeong no longer suffered.
“I also learned that she is not a woman who feels pain easily.”
Her body, which jolted at the slightest touch, had overstimulated Yuseong with the overwhelming pleasure of his first experience.
Yet even in sleep, a satisfied smile lingered on her face.
“Still… I never expected the divine power to rise each time I used the healing skill during intimacy.”
Was it because this was her first time, or because of her constitution?
“I hope there is a second time…”