Chapter 21
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 21
Chapter Title: How Rude
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The emperor's office was so stiflingly warm it bordered on hot. Top-grade incense pellets burned in every corner, billowing thick smoke, while Hyeonjong propped his chin on his hand with an irritated scowl.
"Ugh, that princess."
Hyeonjong clicked his tongue and shook his head.
"She's got a pretty face and all, but those eyes of hers... like chips of ice. Kills my appetite just looking at her. Standing next to her gives me chills—can't even digest my food."
Dokgo Cheonwi adopted an apologetic expression and bowed at the waist.
"Your Majesty, however, the alliance with the Northern Frost Palace is essential for the empire's security. Even if Her Highness the Princess was born with a chilly aura, isn't that just the spirit of the North?"
"Spirit my foot! A person needs some warmth. Staring at her makes me feel frostbite coming on. You think I'm some beast? That just because she's pretty, everything's fine?"
Hyeonjong grumbled as he tossed his brush down like it offended him.
"Ah, forget it! You handle her. Starve her, bundle her up more, whatever. I'm heading to the Empress tonight."
A goofy grin spread across Hyeonjong's lips. His mind was clearly already filled with visions of a steamy night with Empress Yeonhwa.
"Lately, Yeonhwa's been... ahem. Anyway, I don't want to go anywhere near that ice princess. Got it?"
"I shall obey your command, Your Majesty."
Inside, Dokgo Cheonwi let out a silent cheer.
With the emperor losing interest, that 'meal kit' was now entirely his. No more annoying boss interference—just the perfect setup to cook to his heart's content.
As he stepped out of the office, Dokgo Cheonwi flashed a triumphant smile.
"The spirit of the North, huh... More like a spirit ready to devour a man. That's the problem."
Clear Moon Pavilion.
The most luxurious guest quarters in the Imperial Palace, yet now it was wrapped in a silence like an abandoned ruin.
Word that the emperor was giving her the cold shoulder had spread faster than the wind. Palace maids and eunuchs, ever sensitive to shifts in power, were already treating Snowflower Princess like some forgotten old lady in the back rooms. Her meals arrived cold, and the cleaning was a mess.
Snowflower Princess stood by the window, gazing outside.
Her eyes weren't on the splendid palace gardens. They lingered far off to the north—the sky over her homeland.
"Your Highness."
The head maid approached cautiously, her voice hushed as she glanced around nervously.
"His Majesty... won't be coming tonight either. He's gone to the Empress's quarters."
Snowflower's shoulders twitched faintly. But she didn't turn around. Her reflection in the window was frozen like a mask.
"...I don't care."
White breath escaped her lips.
"I prefer being alone anyway. Crowds make me uncomfortable."
It was a lie.
She was little more than a hostage from a minor kingdom now. Without the emperor's favor, the Frost Palace's position would teeter on the edge of a cliff. She knew that full well.
But her body wouldn't cooperate.
The rampant chill raging inside her froze even her emotions. She wanted to smile warmly at someone, but her facial muscles felt paralyzed. All she could do was pretend to be aloof, isolating herself as if nothing mattered.
"Leave me. I want to be alone."
"But Your Highness, the room is too cold. Shall I bring more braziers?"
"I said no!"
Snowflower snapped sharply. The head maid jumped back in fright.
"S-sorry! I'll go!"
The head maid fled the room.
In the now-empty chamber, Snowflower finally exhaled the breath she'd been holding and gripped the windowsill.
Her fingertips had gone white. Frost began forming around where her fingers touched the wood.
"Ugh..."
She clutched her shawl tighter, shivering. It was cold—bone-chilling cold squeezing her heart. She desperately craved someone's warmth, yet feared she'd freeze anyone who touched her.
In that contradictory agony, Snowflower sank deeper into profound solitude.
At that moment.
On the roof of Clear Moon Pavilion. Under the moonlight filtering through the tile gaps, Dokgo Cheonwi rested his chin on his hand, watching the entire scene.
"Hmm."
Concentrating his internal energy in his eyes, he peered through the roof and ceiling, seeing the energy inside the room clearly.
Snowflower Princess was like a butterfly trapped in a massive ice crystal. The ferocious yin energy bursting from her dantian coursed through her meridians, devouring her life force.
It was a spectacular sight.
Bathed in moonlight by the window, her profile gleamed transparently. Frost on her lashes sparkled like jewels, and even the slight furrow of pain between her brows exuded heartbreaking beauty.
Dokgo Cheonwi clicked his tongue.
"Tsk tsk, leaving an S-rank gem like that to waste. The emperor brother's eyes must be bad—or maybe he's just unlucky."
The colder the woman, the hotter she burns when thawed.
Like fried food crispy outside and moist within, the passion a ice beauty unleashes when she crumbles is beyond imagination. And that pure yin energy accumulated in her body was a tonic more precious than ginseng for someone cultivating yang energy like him.
"If I leave her be, she'll freeze to death in days."
He could see her clutching her shawl, trembling violently. It wasn't mere cold. It was the pain of her soul icing over.
Dokgo Cheonwi stood. The tile depressed silently underfoot.
"Alright then. Time to start cooking."
He leaped down to the ground like a shadow.
Straightening his eunuch robes neatly, he assumed a stern expression. In his hand was a large toolbox he'd prepared in advance.
His pretext was flawless.
'A loyal eunuch carrying out the emperor's orders.'
"Your Highness the Princess."
Dokgo Cheonwi flung the door open without knocking.
It was rude, but right now, he had the authority to be rude.
The room was even colder than outside. A blast of frigid air hit him like opening a freezer door.
Snowflower, standing by the window, startled and turned. Her pale blue eyes rippled coldly at the sight of him.
"How rude! Who gave you permission to enter?!"
Her voice was sharp, but the end trembled faintly. Dokgo Cheonwi brazenly smiled and stepped inside.
"My apologies, Your Highness. I'm here on His Majesty's strict orders."
"His Majesty?"
Her pupils wavered. A flicker of hope crossed her face at the mention of the emperor checking on her. Dokgo Cheonwi seized the opening and closed the distance.
"Yes. He said if the noble princess caught a cold, it would be a disaster, so I was to inspect the room's heating. I'm the expert on boilers in this area... well, the underfloor heating, that is."
He stomped the floorboards thuddingly as he approached her, playing it cool.
"Let me see. The floor's scorching, so why's the air so cold?"
In truth, the floor was hot. They'd stoked the furnace so fiercely his soles burned. But the cold emanating from her body dominated the room's air.
Snowflower recoiled in horror at his approach.
"Stay back! I don't need heating. Get out now!"
"Come on, don't be like that. This is my life on the line here. If Your Highness falls ill, my head rolls."
Dokgo Cheonwi whined dramatically as he set down the toolbox. Then he subtly shifted toward the window where she stood.
"Maybe a gap in the window frames? Or..."
He drew right up to her. Now, he could touch her with an outstretched hand.
Up close, her condition was worse than he'd thought. Her skin was pale to the point of transparency, red veins threading around her eyes.
Her body was screaming from enduring the extreme cold.
"Your Highness, your complexion looks awful. Are you unwell somewhere?"
Dokgo Cheonwi asked with feigned concern, reaching out.
"Let me just check your hand..."
"Away!"
Snowflower shrieked and slapped his hand away.
But he didn't dodge.
Thwack.
Her hand struck the back of his.
In that instant, a jolt like electricity surged. She jerked back in shock, trying to pull away, but in that split second, he channeled internal energy, sending hot yang qi to his skin's surface.
Sizzle—.
"Ah!"
Snowflower let out a short cry and staggered back. Clutching her palm, she stared up at him in astonishment.
What she'd felt was a scorching heat like a burn. To her ice-cold body, his pure yang energy must have felt like molten lava.
But it was pain mingled with exquisite pleasure. Nerves numb from the freeze suddenly thawing, senses reviving.
Her pupils shook as if in an earthquake.
"You... what was that just now..."
"What's wrong? Must've been static."
Dokgo Cheonwi shrugged innocently.
"It's the dryness. Gotta get a humidifier in here."
He crouched to meet her eyes.
His gaze was no longer that of a servile eunuch. It gleamed like a predator facing prey. He made no effort to hide it.
"Princess. If it hurts, say it hurts. Who'll know if you just suffer in silence?"
"...How rude. How dare you..."
"Even a lowly eunuch like me can see Your Highness is at your limit. That icy mask must be heavy to force on."
Snowflower's lips quivered. It was like cracks forming in her pride.
She gripped the wall and barely stood.
"Out..."
She squeezed out the command.
"Vanish from my sight at once!"
Dokgo Cheonwi rose slowly. That was enough for today. Push too hard, and it backfires. Just a taste to whet her thirst.
"Understood. If you insist, I'll withdraw."
He picked up the toolbox and headed for the door. Before grasping the knob, he turned back with a meaningful smile.
"But we'll meet again soon. Very soon."
Creeeak. Bang.
The door shut.
Alone now, Snowflower collapsed, legs giving out.
She stared at her palm. The spot where it had touched that eunuch burned. It should feel repulsive, yet its absence left an unbearable void.
"What... was that eunuch..."
A eunuch with eyes like a beast. A gaze that pierced her illness. And that bizarre heat.
With trembling hands, Snowflower locked the door.
But she didn't know. Through the small keyhole in the door, he was still watching her.
Dokgo Cheonwi smirked outside.
'Wait for me, Princess. Soon, I'll shatter that icy mask to pieces.'
After tonight, she'd realize.
The only lifeline that could save her was in his hands.
The next morning.
The dreaded—or anticipated—crisis struck.
"Disaster! Her Highness the Princess has collapsed!"
A scream near a wail erupted from Clear Moon Pavilion.
When Snowflower skipped her morning greetings and didn't emerge, worried maids broke down the door.
The scene was grim.
The princess's bedchamber had become a winter mountainside.
Every drop of water in the room was frozen solid, thick white frost blanketing the bedding.
In the center lay Snowflower Princess, motionless like a corpse.
"Call the physician! Get the physician!"