Chapter 28
How Am I Supposed to Eat With All These Butterflies?
“What could Her Highness the Empress possibly want from a lowly thing like me?”
“I want you to teach me every bedroom skill you know. In return, I’ll pay you more than you could ever dream of.”
“Money… I’m not exactly desperate for it, you know.”
Yulan, infamous among the city’s womanizers and gossipmongers in the back alleys of the Crossroads, smirked, her lips curling faintly.
Haley had expected her to jump at the offer, given her shabby appearance. But the lukewarm reaction caught her off guard.
Truth be told, Yulan didn’t understand why the empress would summon her to the palace in the middle of the night. Why her of all people?
“A noblewoman like yourself wants to learn that from me?”
“Word is, any man who sleeps with you gets a glimpse of heaven.”
“Ha, and where did Your Highness hear that from?”
Yulan chuckled self-deprecatingly, though a faint trace of pride crept across her face.
“I want to conquer the Emperor. To make it so that no other woman could ever satisfy him again.”
Haley stepped closer, eyes resolute.
“Make my body like yours. I’ll repay the humiliation I suffered, no matter what it takes.”
“Once we start, there’s no going back.”
“That’s what I want.”
“Then you’d better be ready.”
“Ready?”
Yulan’s thin, rough hands clamped down on Haley’s shoulders. Startled, Haley flinched, but she stood her ground and met Yulan’s gaze.
“You must be ready… to throw away your pride and become nothing.”
I collapsed into sleep in Mik’s arms just before dawn, as if fainting. When I awoke, the midday sun was tickling my face.
Mik’s arm was wrapped tightly around my waist, and his solid chest pressed against my back. Even in deep sleep, he held me as if I might disappear.
It was a wonder how he had managed to sleep alone for the past three months.
I slowly turned to face him. With all his worries at rest, his sleeping face was still breathtakingly beautiful.
I reached out to gently trace his brow, then down his straight nose, and finally across his lips.
Suddenly, his lips twitched—and then softly bit my finger.
“You’re awake?”
“Weren’t you trying to wake me?”
With sleep still clinging to his eyes, he smiled lazily and pulled me closer. I twisted away with a laugh.
“Mik, aren’t you hungry?”
“Not at all. Not even a little.”
He murmured playfully and nestled his head into my neck again.
“Seriously, if we keep this up, it’ll be three whole days and nights.”
“So what? I’m the king.”
I smacked his shoulder. It was so solid, my palm ached.
“Nope. Time to get up, wash, get dressed, and eat properly. Like humans!”
He chuckled, his face still buried in my neck. His laugh made my body shake with his.
“So, what we were doing wasn’t very human?”
“You tell me!”
I pouted.
“It’s time we act civilized, like real people!”
“Hmm…”
As I declared this with solemn conviction, he groaned dramatically and tightened his grip on my waist like a sulking child.
But I couldn’t back down. Honestly, I was on the verge of starvation.
“I don’t know about you, but I need to eat something.”
“…I suppose I have no choice.”
Only after much pleading did I finally get to eat the food that Millie had rushed to set up in the sitting room.
Even then, I was still wrapped in a thin blanket, lying in his arms, only opening my mouth when he fed me.
“Um, can I eat by myself?”
“Nope. Honestly, I’d chew it up and feed it to you if I could hold back. Want some fruit?”
He was already holding a fresh piece of fruit up to my lips. I opened my mouth like a baby bird and took a big bite.
The juicy flesh burst in my mouth, sweet nectar trickling past my lips.
I tilted my head back to avoid the mess, and Mik licked the dripping juice from my chin. Then, with a satisfied hum, he kissed my lower lip before letting it go.
Seriously, how was I supposed to eat like this? I was probably the only person in the world at risk of dying from a heart attack while eating breakfast.
“Stop feeding me and eat something yourself.”
“I will. After I’ve seen you eat your fill.”
He leaned in to kiss me again before pulling away.
Even as we bickered about who should eat more, food kept entering my mouth. Eventually, I was full.
When we finished, he scooped me up and headed for the bathroom.
“Now, let’s wash up—like proper humans!”
Winking playfully, he ran a hot bath and lowered me into it, still wrapped in the blanket.
“Stay there while I wash up.”
He turned away and began to lather soap. The creamy bubbles slid down his bronze skin with sinful grace.
After two days of touching him nonstop, my hands itched to reach out again. My face grew hot with the temptation.
“Don’t look at me like that, Lea. You’re making it hard to focus.”
“Hic!”
Busted. I hiccupped in shock. Did he have eyes in the back of his head?
Too embarrassed, I sank underwater.
His laugh echoed above the water—then strong arms lifted me out of the tub.
“Your turn to wash.”
Wrapped in a robe, he lathered up more soap and reached toward me.
“I-I’ll do it myself!”
Clutching the blanket around me like a shield, I held my ground. Finally, he reluctantly handed over the bubbles and left the room.
Alone, I soaked in the hot bath, enjoying the soft bubbles enveloping me. For the first time in days, I felt truly alive.
I came out wrapped in a robe, towel drying my hair. Mik was drying his hair too.
“Come here. I’ll dry your hair.”
“I can do it.”
“I know. But I want to.”
He pulled me over to the vanity and gently removed the towel from my head, drying my hair with care.
“Your hair is more mysterious the longer I look at it.”
Midway through, he took a strand of my hair and kissed it.
Then, he gathered my hair over my right shoulder and kissed the left side of my neck.
Just as I was letting my guard down, his hands snuck inside my robe.
I grabbed his hand and twisted.
“Ow!! Lea, that hurts! I think my wrist broke!”
He waved his hand dramatically in front of me.
“Blow on it to make it better.”
As I seriously considered twisting it again, I noticed a scar on his palm. A burn mark?
“Is this what they call the Dragon’s Breath?”
“They say that, but it’s more of a hereditary condition. The children of the Pritan royal family are born with scars like these—on their faces or palms.”
“Even on the face?”
I stared at him, shocked.
“Yeah. Your beloved nearly had this on his perfect face.”
“Good grief…”
I cradled his face and gently examined it. That sculpted beauty with a scar? Unthinkable.
“They say the condition started appearing when we began cutting down golden pines to defeat the Dark Dragon. So people started calling it the Dragon’s Curse.”
“Golden pines? The ones the Haron Empire tried to harvest in secret?”
“Exactly. They’re the only weapon that can pierce a Dark Dragon’s scales.”
Ah, so that’s why the Haron royal family used demons to go after Pritan’s golden pines!
“I got lucky—it showed up on my palm. But my father had it on his face, so he always wore a veil. Strangely enough, after he married my mother, the scar started fading.”
“Really?”
“They truly loved each other.”
The idea of a lifelong scar fading because of love—it was so romantic I almost teared up.
“But, Lea…”
“Yes?”
“My scar’s been fading, too. I think it’s because of you.”
“Seriously?!”
I shot up and pulled his hand toward me, inspecting it closely.
But no matter how hard I looked…
“I’m not sure. Maybe it faded a bit? Or maybe not?”
Mik suddenly pulled his hand back. I lost my balance and ended up sprawled across him.
“Mik! You scared me.”
“If the scar hasn’t faded, it must mean you haven’t loved me enough. How will you take responsibility?”
He carried me to the bed and fell backward, making me land on top of him.
Looking down at his face, I saw the long lashes casting shadows over his cheekbones. He looked absolutely seductive.
“Well… how should I take responsibility?”
Feigning concern, I kissed his palm slowly. His body flinched.
“I’m healing you. Don’t move. This isn’t seduction.”
His dark blue eyes deepened, and I gave him a stern look.
I suddenly wondered—could my healing powers erase the Dragon’s Breath?
Let’s try… draw power to the core…
But just as I was gathering strength, he rolled us over—and my focus shattered.
“We’ll continue the treatment later.”
“I wasn’t done tal—!”
I tried to protest, but his lips came down to seal mine.
His burning breath surrounded me, and just like that, my chance to confess about my powers and my mother… slipped away again.
Just when I thought we’d returned to being civilized…
Back to square one.
