Chapter 41
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 41
Chapter Title: Did You Bring It?
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Dokgo Cheonwi picked up the crude helmet placed by the bedside, one that pulsed with a strange power. Its front was completely sealed off, designed with countless magic circuits to stimulate the brain—a magical engineering reinterpretation of a modern VR headset.
"Just put this on."
Hyeonjong lay obediently still and tilted his head back. Cheonwi carefully fitted the helmet over him. As his vision was blocked, Hyeonjong's voice carried a hint of unease.
"Hey, this thing's kinda stuffy. Can I even breathe in this?"
"No need to worry, Your Majesty. It monitors your vital rhythms and maintains the optimal oxygen levels. And Your Majesty, before you connect, there's one thing you must keep in mind."
"What's that?"
Cheonwi's voice turned even more secretive and seductive.
"Time in there flows ten times slower than in reality."
"Ten times?"
"Yes. If you sleep one night here in the real world, you can enjoy ten days of pleasure there. Endless bliss without a moment of boredom."
A smile spread across Hyeonjong's lips. Though hidden by the helmet, he was undoubtedly drooling.
"Kuhuhuhu! Ten days! Jackpot! A ten-day vacation from the hell of petitions! Perfect! Send me in now! To paradise!"
"As you command. Have a pleasant trip."
Cheonwi pulled the lever on the control device beside the bed.
Whirr—
With a mechanical hum, the four dreamstone pillars emitted intense light. A barrier enveloped the entire bed, and the gem embedded in the helmet's forehead began flashing red.
Wooong.
Hyeonjong's body trembled faintly before going limp.
His head lolled to the side.
Perfect log-in.
You have connected to the 'World of Illusions'.
Welcome, user 'Supreme Sovereign'.
Hyeonjong opened his eyes.
"Whoa..."
An exclamation escaped him naturally.
Fluffy clouds cushioned his feet, and a radiant golden sun warmed him from above. In the distance, palaces built of crystal and jewels dazzled the eyes.
The real Imperial Palace? That drab, worn-out pile couldn't even compare. This was a world fit for gods.
"Your Majesty~"
"Oh, you've come?"
Sweet voices like nightingales called from somewhere.
Hyeonjong turned to see dozens of beauties parting the clouds as they approached.
Their outfits were outrageously revealing.
Scant scraps of fluttering fabric barely covered the essentials—attire unimaginable under real-world moral standards.
Innocent, sexy, cute, haughty. A legion of women embodying every allure in the world surrounded him.
Beauty A pressed her breasts against his arm, coquettishly clinging.
"Your Majesty, we've been waiting. You'll play with us all night, right?"
Beauty B whispered in his other ear, blowing gently.
"We won't let you go home tonight. Mmm."
Hyeonjong felt a nosebleed coming on.
Here, there were no suffocating petitions, no nagging old ministers, no duties forcing him to uphold imperial dignity.
Just a perfect world of worshippers existing solely to adore him and shower him with pleasure.
"Uhahaha! Uhahahaha!"
Hyeonjong screamed in ecstasy, buried among the beauties.
"This is heaven! Yes, this is exactly what I wanted! No petitions! No nagging! Just booze and babes!"
"Your Majesty, come this way. The pond is filled with the finest wine."
"Yeah, let's go! I'll drink it all! Tonight, I bury my bones atop these clouds!"
Hyeonjong dashed toward the crystal palace, led by the beauties' hands. His sense of reality had long flown to Andromeda. He never wanted to wake from this sweet Matrix.
Back in reality, Gangnyeong Hall.
The emperor, who had been noisily chattering moments ago, now slept like the dead.
Only the mechanical rise and fall of his chest and the faint hum from the helmet proved he lived.
Cheonwi looked down at him, arms crossed.
A sly smirk curled his lips.
"Sleep well, big brother. A good rest is good for your skin... and for the empire."
By the time the emperor woke, the world would have changed dramatically. While Hyeonjong's brain melted in pleasure in the virtual world where time crawled ten times slower, Cheonwi planned to devour reality.
Without a backward glance, Cheonwi left the chamber.
"Soyeon."
"Yes, Master."
The Sword Empress emerged from the shadows where she'd waited.
"Seal the entrance. Let no one in—not even the Empress Dowager. Announce that His Majesty is in the midst of vital 'mental and physical training'."
"Understood. Not even an ant will get near."
Cheonwi headed straight for the emperor's office, the Audience Hall.
The empty hall.
The throne sat forlorn without its master.
Cheonwi ascended the steps without hesitation and sat upon it.
Regency in proxy.
No official proclamation yet, but with the imperial seal in his hands, he was the de facto emperor.
The hard, cold seat felt more comfortable than any sofa. The flavor of power sweetened it.
"Eunuch."
Cheonwi called softly.
The old palace eunuch waiting outside hurried in and prostrated himself flat. He had long been bought off by Cheonwi—or more precisely, broken by fear.
"V-Vice Chief... no, Regent Your Highness. You summoned me?"
A tray rested in the eunuch's hands. Upon it lay dozens of ornate key bundles.
"Did you bring them?"
"Y-Yes. As ordered, I've gathered keys to all the Inner Palace consorts' quarters. From Consort Suk's chambers, Consort Deok's, to all the ladies-in-waiting... nothing missing."
Cheonwi picked up a key bundle. Metal jingled through the hall.
These were no mere keys. They symbolized the emperor's women—the heart of his private life and the Inner Palace's power.
"Good. Very well done."
Cheonwi dangled one key from his finger, spinning it idly.
"While the emperor rolls with fake beauties in his dreams, I'll claim the real harem. Fair, isn't it?"
"Y-Your Highness... but the Inner Palace is forbidden to men. Even as regent, entering at night is..."
The eunuch voiced his concern, but clamped his mouth shut at Cheonwi's glare. Chilling killing intent.
"Forbidden to men? In this empire, no place bars me. And..."
Cheonwi rose from the throne.
"With the emperor collapsed from exhaustion over state affairs, shouldn't a loyal subject like me comfort his family and reassure them? Call it a dutiful 'safety inspection'."
His shamelessness pierced the heavens. The eunuch could only bow, sweating coldly.
"Let's go."
Cheonwi took the lead.
Destination: the Inner Palace. The emperor's flower garden.
Clack.
In the silent chambers of Consort Suk in the Inner Palace.
Her needlework paused. More painful than the red drop of blood on the needle tip was the endless waiting.
"Haa..."
A deep sigh escaped through her silk robes.
It had been over a fortnight since Emperor Hyeonjong last visited.
Rumors said His Majesty was so buried in state affairs he hadn't left his chambers, and as his wife, she worried—but the sharper feeling was searing loneliness.
"When will Your Majesty come..."
Consort Suk murmured, staring blankly out the window.
Then—
Click.
The firmly locked door unlocked with a disappointingly easy sound.
Her eyes widened. A door opening without an eunuch's announcement meant one thing: the emperor's surprise visit.
"Your Majesty!"
Consort Suk lit up and rose. The door swung open, and a man silhouetted by moonlight entered.
But the joy on her face turned to horror in an instant.
"Wh-Who are you!"
It wasn't the emperor.
The man in blue official robes, a strange smile on his lips, was Cheonwi.
And in the hallway outside, the Sword Empress in white martial robes stood guard, back turned.
Cheonwi entered as if it were his own bedroom and closed the door. In his hand was the master key that had just undone the lock.
"What is the meaning of this! How dare an outsider enter the Inner Palace!"
Consort Suk retreated, shouting as if to summon help.
But Cheonwi calmly walked to the table and peered at her embroidery.
"Mandarin ducks. They symbolize a harmonious couple, right?"
"Get out! Eunuch! Is no one outside!"
"Useless, Your Ladyship. Tonight, the Inner Palace guards have all been replaced—with my men."
Cheonwi's voice was low but carried irresistible force. Consort Suk felt instinctive fear. The palace's real power appearing here at night was no mere incident.
"His Majesty... if His Majesty learns of this, you'll face dismemberment and execution!"
She invoked the emperor as her final bastion.
Cheonwi let out a scoffing laugh.
"His Majesty? He can't come. Not for a very long time."
"What do you..."
"So I came instead. To end Your Ladyship's agonizing drought."
Cheonwi slowly approached. She tried to flee, but her back hit the cold wall.
He suddenly grabbed her hand. At the warm, rough male touch, her body shivered.
"Let go! His Majesty cherishes me so much...!"
"Cherishes you? Does he really?"
Cheonwi pulled a fist-sized crystal orb from his bosom. Infusing it with mana, it projected light into the air, forming an image.
His magical projection device.
Chiiiing.
The scene in the floating screen was shocking.
The 'Earthly Paradise' VR world numbing real sensations. There, Hyeonjong was surrounded by dozens of scantily clad beauties.
The emperor's voice echoed vividly.
On screen, he wore a beaming smile she'd never seen, embracing and rolling with virtual beauties.
"L-Lies... His Majesty would never..."
Consort Suk's eyes shook violently.
The nights spent embroidering while waiting for him were being denied.
Cheonwi added a cruelly kind explanation.
"His Majesty is rolling with young, pretty nymphs in his dreams right now. You've been forgotten in reality. Or rather, treated like annoying baggage."
"N-No... this can't be..."
"Look at that happy face. Has he ever smiled like that with you?"
No.
When the emperor visited, he was always tired or merely fulfilled his duty in bed.
Betrayal.
A hot lump surged in her chest. Her eyes reddened, tears falling like chick peas.
"Sob... hu-hu..."
Cheonwi gently embraced her crumbling shoulders.