Chapter 8.
I Imprinted the Emperor’s Heart
It hurt. It hurt so much.
From a young age, Kaisis had been accustomed to pain like it was part of his soul—forced to move constantly to manage gates and fulfill his duties as royalty.
He knew nothing of liberation.
Unbearable power always churned inside him, shaking his head and soul.
Unable to ignore the people who depended on him, who followed him, he had lived on while enduring this relentless agony.
The only thing that supported him was his fierce pride and arrogant sense of duty.
But now—
‘What… is this?’
It was warm. Soft.
Something fragrant seemed to caress him.
As if saying he didn’t have to suffer alone anymore, a hand reached out to meet his.
He grasped at it desperately, as if begging it not to go anywhere.
He wanted to tie it to his side, to never let it leave.
If I have this, I won’t hurt anymore. He instinctively knew it.
An overwhelming obsession and possessiveness surged within him.
The powers that had always erupted like shards of ice now bowed their heads submissively for the first time.
And it felt—incredibly good.
In a rapture of joy, he realized: this was the euphoria that espers felt when they met their proper guide.
Which meant…
Had he found his guide?
The destiny he’d longed for. His match?
“……!”
His eyes shot open.
Kaisis, for the first time in his life, experienced a morning that was so clear and refreshing.
Everything was sharp, vivid.
And he could wield his power freely—without pain.
At this moment, he felt like he could do anything.
But—
“Why are they gone?”
His joy quickly turned to displeasure.
There was no one beside him.
A crack appeared on his sculpted face.
He reached for the bed sheets, which still held traces of warmth.
What came to mind were fragments—like pieces of a sculpture.
He couldn’t remember the colors, but he recalled the feel of the other person’s thick, soft hair in his hands.
And eyes that shone vividly with golden light.
A woman he didn’t know.
Just then, there was a knock. When he ordered them in, the pale-faced commander of the knights entered and knelt.
“What happened?”
“We have arrested and imprisoned those who used the drugs, Your Majesty. We were on emergency alert, as your energy was about to go berserk, but…”
“My energy stabilized?”
“……Yes.”
If the Empire’s only SSS-class esper lost control, the disaster would be unimaginable. The knights had been prepared to act in case of such a scenario.
Which meant—no one had seen the person who had been beside him.
“Someone was here.”
He knew. He was smiling slowly.
His hand ran through his hair—it felt fresh.
A strong guide he had never seen before, someone capable of completely hiding their energy. That was his match.
Restlessness swirled within him.
“Find them.”
If they disappeared, he would just hunt them down.
“No—I’ll find them myself.”
He would drag them out and keep them by his side.
There was joy in the knight’s eyes.
How long they had waited for this moment—for someone who could rein in this overwhelming power!
“Then… Your Majesty, could it be…?”
“I found my guide.”
He didn’t know why they had disappeared after calming him down so gently.
Was it because they disliked him? Had they heard the rumors that the Emperor was insane?
Or were they someone who had to hide their identity?
Becoming the Emperor’s guide would guarantee wealth and honor for life, yet they vanished without a trace. It stung.
Still, it was fine. Persuasion came after retrieval.
He was an emperor, but also a skilled hunter.
His blue eyes gleamed like a predator seeking its prey.
“I will find them. No matter what.”
For the first time in a long while, something truly thrilling was about to begin.
According to the maid’s report, Luisas was thankfully unharmed—not even a hair touched.
As for my mental state?
Not even close to fine.
‘Aaaaaagh!’
The moment I saw the glittering upper body of that sculpted, half-naked man in the morning sunlight—
I nearly screamed, but barely held back by pinching my thigh.
The half-naked man in front of me was Kaisis.
Last night, I and Kaisis…
Ugh!
‘What the hell did I just do?’
Dear god.
Who could have predicted that the guiding, which started with a kiss, would end that intensely?
I was in total despair.
‘I didn’t know it would work that well…’
Normally, guides transmit energy to espers through physical contact.
Sometimes it’s just simple touches—holding hands, a hug.
But sometimes, that wasn’t enough.
In such cases, more intimate acts were needed—like exchanging saliva, or literally sleeping together—to provide guiding energy.
Like last night.
Just like with me and Kaisis!
“Ugh.”
I covered my face.
Even if I couldn’t see it, I was sure Hilaria’s face was blazing red beneath her usual cold exterior.
For the record, it wasn’t my fault that, despite being a ten-year veteran guide, I had zero experience with kiss-based guiding.
How could I have gotten close to espers who gagged the moment they touched my energy?
‘I just lost control for a moment.’
It was my first time too.
That strange sensation of guiding energy naturally mixing in…
And of all people, it had to be him.
Worse, it was the first time an esper hadn’t rejected me. I never dreamed things would go that far.
Thinking back now, it was practically a sensual blur of skin and heat that made my face burn—but it was also the first time I understood what a real bond between a guide and an esper felt like.
An esper who accepted my energy, breathed with me, and smiled sweetly.
A man who held my hand so gently, drunk on the relief of being pain-free.
Honestly, it felt good.
Painfully unfair, too.
So this is what I’d been missing all along, huh? Damn it.
It was still vivid.
The way I’d been treated before.
“Hey, rank-A trash! Don’t touch me while guiding, got it?”
“Touching you feels like forcing spoiled food down my throat.”
“Ugh, gross. Back off. Why can’t you guide without touching me?”
I’d heard things like that all the time.
So what happened last night—it was a first for me, too.
The feeling of not being rejected. Of being cherished.
‘More. Give me more.’
The man’s whispered voice echoed in my ears, making them burn.
The way that wretched Emperor smiled so beautifully made me pour out guiding energy like my life depended on it.
‘Nooooo!’
I gasped and widened my eyes.
Have I lost my mind? Seriously?!
“What the hell am I remembering? Get a grip!”
This morning.
Thanks to everyone staying far away to avoid disrupting the Emperor’s tension, the palace was quiet.
Which meant I could slip away like a thief.
Yet, even after the sun rose, I hadn’t moved from my office in the palace—or from the bed inside.
The deed was done, but I was scared of the aftermath.
Surely that male lead didn’t remember the guiding moment, right?
Why had the female lead vanished, and what would happen now?
“Ugh, I can’t even bring myself to open the status window.”
Something definitely happened between me and that guy last night.
Not just a simple calming of power—there was a sensation of something invisible forming between us.
I’d snapped back to my senses and severed it in a panic, but something had definitely changed.
And that scared me.
Scared that I might be thinking about it too much.
The deep bond between guide and esper…
The one that the male lead was supposed to form with the female lead.
Imprinting.
When a powerful esper bonds with a single guide—soul to soul.
From then on, the guide can only guide their esper. The same goes for the esper.
They become each other’s lifeline.
‘No. That’s too far. There’s no way he imprinted on me.’
First, I needed to get my thoughts in order.
When my assistant came back from leave, I was going to order them to investigate the female lead’s family immediately.
If something had happened to our sunbeam of a heroine, I had to fix it first.
And I needed to deal with the Emperor trying to find me.
‘Before he finds me, I’ll find the female lead myself and present her to him. Simple.’
In the novel, he practically sucked the life out of a B-class guide who barely had enough energy. That meant they were clearly a perfect match.
So he should forget all about someone like me!
“Still… I have to check.”
I let out a deep sigh and stared at the status window.
Somehow, I couldn’t shake the feeling that it would be Pandora’s box—but the window kept blinking, urging me to check.
Okay. Let’s do this. I can do it.
Click.
[Congratulations!]
As expected, fireworks exploded.
I was getting to the point where the word “congratulations” gave me hives.
Hey—you know it’s not a celebration if it’s only good for you, right?
You’re supposed to give people gifts they actually want, dammit.
