Chapter 4
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 4
Chapter Title: Feel Free to Report Me
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Cheonwi's gaze raked over her from the nape of her neck down to her breasts, along her slender waist, and over her round hips. It was a sticky, obsessive stare.
Yeonhwa snatched up the thin undergarment she'd draped over a rock by the bath and hurriedly threw it on.
But that was a mistake.
The damp silk clung to her skin the moment it absorbed the water, without even wiping off the moisture first. Her pale flesh showed through the wet fabric, and her nipples, hardened by the cold air, stood out prominently. It was as good as naked—no, even more indecent.
"Ah..."
Yeonhwa clutched at her collar in panic and staggered back. She had to run. Her instincts screamed warning. She kicked off the slick stone floor with her wet feet, bolting toward the Cold Palace colonnade.
Pat-!
The sound of slicing wind brushed her ears.
It happened in the blink of an eye. Cheonwi, who had been several paces away, suddenly filled her vision. Shrinking Earth Technique.
"Where are you off to in such a hurry?"
Bam!
Cheonwi's hand slammed into the pillar beside Yeonhwa's head. A heavy vibration traveled through the pillar to her back. The classic wall slam.
A massive shadow engulfed her. She was trapped between the pillar and Cheonwi's body, unable to move.
"G-get out of my way...!"
Yeonhwa cried out in a trembling voice, pushing at him. But Cheonwi didn't budge, solid as a rock. Instead, he slowly leaned in, closing the distance.
Their noses nearly touched.
Yeonhwa's breasts heaved roughly beneath her wet robe, brushing against Cheonwi's firm chest with every breath.
That was when it hit—an unfamiliar scent wafted to her nose.
It wasn't the musty herbal stench or eunuch stink she associated with palace eunuchs.
A cool, heavy masculine aroma, thick enough to make her head spin. The scent of a "male" she'd forgotten during over a year of abstinence.
"Your Majesty, I can hear your heart pounding from here."
Cheonwi whispered low. His hot breath tickled her earlobe. Yeonhwa involuntarily shrank her shoulders. A chilling shiver ran down her spine.
"Step back... That's an order..."
"An order? Who would obey the commands of an empress confined to the Cold Palace?"
Cheonwi smirked mockingly and stepped even closer. Their bodies pressed together without a gap now. Each other's body heat seeped through the wet fabric, raw and intimate.
And then, Cheonwi made his move, sly and deliberate.
He boldly thrust his lower body between her thighs.
"Hik...!"
Yeonhwa swallowed a short scream.
By all common sense she knew, a eunuch's castrated groin should be flat and limp. Soft and empty.
But what was now prodding her thigh through just one thin layer of silk was entirely different.
Hot.
Hard.
Like a viciously massive club.
It throbbed like an angry beast, asserting its presence.
Yeonhwa's pupils shook like in an earthquake. Her mind went blank. Thought stopped in the face of this unbelievable reality.
"Huu...! Wh-what is this...? Y-you're not a eunuch...?"
The question barely escaped her trembling lips. Her voice mixed terror, shock, and an inexplicable anticipation.
Cheonwi's lips curved into a lewd smile, savoring her reaction. He turned his head, pressing his lips close to her ear, whispering like a devil.
"Shall I let you check, Your Majesty? See if it's real... or fake."
His voice dripped with stickiness.
Without waiting for an answer, he nudged his knee between her legs.
"Ahn...!"
A moan she couldn't hold back escaped Yeonhwa's lips. The hard pressure against her sensitive spot. Her body, untouched by a man for over a year, was starving. Her mind screamed to resist, but her body reacted the opposite.
As her legs buckled, threatening to give out, Cheonwi's strong arm caught her waist.
"Haa... Uu..."
A jolt like electricity shot from where his hand touched her side. His hot palm gripped her flesh through the wet cloth. Yeonhwa clung to his shoulder, barely staying upright. A greater pleasure loomed, swallowing her fear.
This was wrong. She had to maintain the dignity of an empress.
But that massive weapon pressing between her thighs paralyzed her reason.
"Let go... I said let go...!"
Yeonhwa shook her head in futile resistance, but her voice had lost its strength. It sounded less like refusal and more like a coquettish plea.
Cheonwi knew her state better than anyone.
"Your mouth says no, but your body is honest. Your Majesty, your heart feels like it's about to burst."
Cheonwi feigned distress as he ground his hips. Yeonhwa's breathing grew ragged. Her eyes glazed over, cheeks flushed red-hot. A little more push, and this proud empress would spread her legs and beg.
But Cheonwi stopped there.
A true hunter doesn't devour prey in one bite. He had to let her taste fear and pleasure enough to walk into the trap herself. This was advanced psychological warfare—a cruel game of push and pull.
Swish.
The hot pressure between her thighs vanished in an instant.
Cheonwi pulled back.
"Ah..."
Without the support and stimulation, Yeonhwa's legs gave out, and she collapsed limply to the floor.
She looked up at him dazedly. Relief washed over her, mingled with an inexplicable emptiness. That overwhelming presence that had heated her body moments ago felt sorely missed.
Cheonwi picked up her thick outer robe from the floor and casually draped it over her slumped shoulders.
"I only came to say hello today. No need to be so scared."
His expression was serene, as if nothing had happened. Hard to believe it was the same man whose eyes had burned like a beast's moments before.
"Y-you insolent bastard... I'll have you..."
Yeonhwa tried to snap at him in a quavering voice, but Cheonwi had already turned away.
"Ah, feel free to report me."
Cheonwi paused, glancing back over his shoulder. His face was shadowed by the moonlight behind him, unreadable, but his voice was chillingly cheerful.
"But then the whole Imperial Palace will know. That the noble empress has been sneaking off for naked trysts with a strange man every night. An empress out of favor committing adultery? That'd make for quite the spectacle."
Yeonhwa was speechless. He was right. Reporting this would doom not just him, but her too. She'd plummet into irredeemable ruin.
Cheonwi smiled cruelly, feeding on her fear. He delivered the final blow in a soft murmur.
"Your Majesty, report me and I die... but your nights will be lonely forever."
Leaving those devilish words, Cheonwi vanished into the darkness.
Only Yeonhwa's ragged breaths filled the silent Cold Palace night. The hot, hard imprint he'd left between her thighs still throbbed like a burn.
The morning was filled with the unusually loud chirping of birds. Gone were the splashes and heavy breaths that had shaken the Cold Palace the night before. Only mercilessly peaceful sunlight poured through the window bars.
Yeonhwa sat on her bed, staring blankly into a bronze mirror.
She hadn't slept a wink all night. Dark circles shadowed her eyes, but her nerves were focused elsewhere.
Swish.
Yeonhwa's pale hand tentatively traced the inside of her thigh.
The spot where Cheonwi—no, that beast of a man—had wedged his knee yesterday.
'What is this...? You're not a eunuch...?'
Her own trembling voice echoed in her ears like a hallucination.
The sensation had been impossibly huge and hot for a eunuch's. The heavy pressure through that single thin silk layer still burned her skin like a fresh wound.
"Madman... Insolent wretch..."
Yeonhwa shook her head fiercely and kicked off the covers. Her face burned unbearably.
She wanted to summon the Imperial Guard and order his head struck off right then. Insulting and toying with the empress warranted far worse than dismemberment.
But.
"Reporting him... would mean admitting I showed him my naked body."
Yeonhwa bit her lip.
If word got out that the empress had bared herself completely before a eunuch—and pressed her body against his?
Deposition was inevitable, and disgrace to her clan certain.
She wanted to kill him but couldn't. Wanted to banish him but couldn't. Caught in a hopeless bind.
Yeonhwa clutched her head. Her reflection showed flushed cheeks. Was it shame, or the subtle excitement she refused to acknowledge?
Night fell inevitably as always.
The Cold Palace nights were especially long and dark. Not even crickets chirped in the silent courtyard. Yeonhwa sat on the pavilion floor, staring anxiously at the fence.
Don't come. Please don't come.
She prayed inwardly, yet her ears pricked at every whisper of wind.
Then.
Thud.
A light landing sound, and a black shadow dropped from the fence.
As casual and brazen as entering his own bedroom. It was Cheonwi.
Yeonhwa shot to her feet.
"Y-you... you've finally...!"
But Cheonwi ignored her shout, whistling as he strolled toward the pavilion. His arms were laden with something.
"The night air is chilly, Your Majesty. Were you waiting?"
"Waiting? Who would wait for the likes of you! Get out!"
Instead of replying, Cheonwi unpacked his haul on the weathered wooden table in the pavilion's center.
Fine porcelain bottles of clear liquor, glistening strips of dried meat. Top-grade snacks rare even in the palace kitchens.
"What is all this?"
"What else? A drinking setup. The moon's bright—feels stingy to chat on empty stomachs."
Cheonwi uncorked a bottle with shameless ease, filling glasses. The crisp liquor scent teased her nose. As if it were natural, he set an empty glass before her seat too.
Yeonhwa was dumbfounded. Bringing alcohol into the empress's chambers to set up a drinking party?
"You must truly be suicidal! I'll summon the Imperial Guard right now! Guards!"
Yeonhwa raised her voice. Cheonwi didn't flinch. He just propped his chin, looking up at her amusedly.
"Go ahead. Shout louder if you want them to hear."
"What...?"
"If they come, we'll drink together. Guard captain, senior maids—all of us chatting. Fun times."
Cheonwi chewed a piece of dried meat and continued.
"Imagine the rumors: 'The empress summons a eunuch to her chambers every night for drinks.' Pretty scandalous, right? The commoners would eat it up."
"You... you...!"
"And if last night's open-air bath escapade gets tacked on? Perfect storm. 'The empress tried to verify the eunuch's manhood.'"