Chapter 11: Please Grant Me Your Favor
Temptation of Flowers
The Court Lady in charge of the royal bedchamber told Yeonhwa several things she needed to remember.
“You must never harm His Majesty’s body. That is why you must keep your fingernails and toenails trimmed. Also, you must not scream or push His Majesty away.”
Every time Yeonhwa heard the Court Lady’s words, her face turned red.
There had been more than a few things she had done when she first entered the royal bedchamber that were forbidden.
“Lastly, as before, after receiving His Majesty’s favor, once His Majesty goes to sleep, you must quietly leave the room.”
Yeonhwa listened to the Court Lady’s words with a stiff expression for quite some time before giving a faint smile.
Then she followed the Court Lady toward the room where Hyeon was waiting.
The air was heavy as they stood just before facing each other with only one door between them.
The Court Lady carefully opened her mouth.
“Your Majesty, everything is ready.”
Even though no one was squeezing it, Yeonhwa’s heart tightened.
While she was extremely nervous, the firm voice of a man came from inside the room.
“Come in.”
As soon as the words fell, the door opened, and Hyeon, dressed in a royal sleeping robe, was waiting for her.
The Court Lady had Yeonhwa sit in front of him.
The atmosphere was heavy, but Yeonhwa was so nervous that she could not even bring herself to raise her face.
“This girl will not leave before daybreak.”
At Hyeon’s words, the Court Lady’s eyes widened.
It was not proper according to etiquette, but the King’s command, spoken as though he had already made up his mind, was truly embarrassing.
“Y-Your Majesty.”
“Leave.”
Hyeon cut off the Court Lady, who was obviously about to speak of etiquette, and sent everyone away.
Once the extremely flustered Court Lady went outside, only the two of them remained in the room.
Strangely, the room seemed hotter.
Yeonhwa, in particular, felt as though she could hardly breathe, so she remained completely still with her face lowered.
After waiting for her until his patience had run out, Hyeon carefully approached Yeonhwa.
“I have been waiting for you for so long. Are you really not going to show me your face?”
Even when Hyeon urged her, Yeonhwa hesitated.
They had faced each other just yesterday, yet she did not know why she was becoming shy.
“Lift your head a little.”
Hyeon’s two hands finally took hold of Yeonhwa’s face and raised it.
His gentle smile appeared in her large, clear eyes.
Yeonhwa seemed to become enchanted by him, and the smile she had been trying to hold back burst out.
“If you feel this happy when you see me, why were you being so stubborn?”
Although his words sounded like he was scolding her, his eyes were gentle and warm.
“I am embarrassed.”
Yeonhwa desperately tried to hold back the corners of her mouth, which kept rising.
There was no way Hyeon could fail to notice it.
“How is your body?”
“It has gotten much better.”
“Have you eaten? Have you been having a hard time because of your work?”
Hyeon poured out every question about Yeonhwa that he had been curious about all day.
“Thanks to Your Majesty’s kindness, I have been well. Nothing hurts, and I have been eating well.”
“Good girl.”
Hyeon stroked her soft cheek and gave a languid smile. Then he took Yeonhwa’s hand and led her toward the table of wine and food.
Yeonhwa stared at his actions with round eyes, wondering what he was doing.
“Do you drink?”
“Pardon?”
Seeing Yeonhwa answer with a surprised expression at the sudden question, Hyeon placed a wine cup in her hand.
“There is no good wine that you should drink a lot of, but this is wine that is good for the body, so try one cup.”
Yeonhwa instinctively held the wine cup given by the King and hesitated.
“It will be a little bitter.”
Hyeon frowned as though he were giving her medicine and waited for Yeonhwa to drink it.
After hesitating, Yeonhwa hardened her expression and poured the wine into her mouth.
Her throat felt slightly stinging, but the subtle fragrance spreading through her mouth was pleasant.
As Yeonhwa’s expression relaxed, she carefully opened her eyes.
Already held between Hyeon’s chopsticks was a glossy piece of candied fruit, waiting in front of Yeonhwa’s mouth.
There was a pleasant fragrance filling her mouth, but the sharp sensation was also quite strong.
Yeonhwa accepted the candied fruit between Hyeon’s chopsticks into her mouth.
“It is wine made from lingzhi and cordyceps, so it is closer to medicine than wine.”
Yeonhwa looked at Hyeon while moving her lips.
If there were such a thing as a father’s expression while making sure his child was well-fed, this would have been exactly that.
Yeonhwa could not help but burst into laughter.
It seemed as though the roles of the King and herself had somehow been reversed.
The King was taking care of her, and Yeonhwa was naturally accepting his care.
“Shall I offer Your Majesty a cup as well?”
Yeonhwa carefully spoke out of embarrassment, but Hyeon raised his hand as if to say it was fine.
“I do not enjoy drinking.”
Yeonhwa pursed her lips as though she could not believe him.
On the first night she had spent with him, she remembered smelling the pleasant scent of alcohol coming from him.
“On the first day you were with me, did you not drink?”
At Yeonhwa’s question, Hyeon gave a small laugh.
“You remember that?”
Yeonhwa nodded at his words.
Hyeon held back his words. He could not bring himself to say that, because he was in a situation where he had to take a concubine, he had tried to borrow the strength of alcohol.
Even so, he found Yeonhwa lovable for remembering that version of him.
“Would you not come a little closer?”
Hyeon opened both arms.
When Yeonhwa’s pale cheeks turned rosy, Hyeon moved closer to her himself. Then he gently embraced Yeonhwa as she slipped neatly into his arms.
“It feels like a dream. Today was so long, as if the day would never end.”
Hyeon looked down at Yeonhwa, expressing his feelings exactly as they were. Then he caressed her cheek and gently lowered his lips onto hers.
A subtle, sharp fragrance drifted between them, and Hyeon’s heart seemed to sway softly.
As Hyeon held her lips, his red lips trembled like ripples, just like his own shaken heart.
“Mmm, mm.”
As the sweet and cozy sensation coming from his lips spread more deeply, an involuntary, sensual sound escaped Yeonhwa’s lips.
She was surprised all over again that such a sound had come from her.
As the desire to feel him more deeply bloomed, strength entered the fingertips of Yeonhwa’s hand as she held his arm.
Hyeon’s body reacted strongly even to Yeonhwa’s small sounds and movements.
Along with the sensation of their lips meeting and parting as though teasing one another, Hyeon’s hand slowly rose and pulled at the ties of Yeonhwa’s clothes.
Holding her completely in one arm and deeply taking in her small lips, Hyeon’s lips moved down along her slender neck.
“Ah.”
A dizzying sensation that made her feel as though goosebumps would cover her body.
Yeonhwa tightly closed her lips to suppress the sounds escaping her.
Hyeon’s hand, which had slipped inside her jeogori, gently stroked her delicate shoulder.
One layer at a time, Yeonhwa’s clothes were removed by his hands.
Before long, with only the skirt of her inner garment remaining, Yeonhwa’s body fell onto the silk bedding.
Yeonhwa’s face, illuminated by the flickering candlelight, looked exceptionally beautiful.
“Are you afraid?”
Suppressing his desire, Hyeon pulled his face away from Yeonhwa.
“I-I am not afraid.”
Although she said she was not afraid, her body was trembling.
Hyeon rose and blew gently toward the candle illuminating her pretty face, extinguishing the flame.
The surroundings became dark.
Returning to the silk bedding, he lay down on Yeonhwa’s right side and pulled her face toward him.
But that was all. Hyeon did not make any move to take Yeonhwa.
Yeonhwa’s eyes moved restlessly, but Hyeon could not see them.
Still, perhaps sensing her gaze, Hyeon spoke in a gentle voice.
“If you truly open your heart to me, tell me.”
For a moment, Yeonhwa was left dazed by his words.
Perhaps because her tension had been released, something hot rose in Yeonhwa’s throat.
She could not say anything.
Unaware of what Yeonhwa was going through, Hyeon found her soft hand and pulled it toward his face.
“For now, just rest comfortably beside me.”
Then he gently pressed his lips to the tips of Yeonhwa’s fingers.
“I am nothing but a lowly, worthless body.”
At her tearful voice, Hyeon was startled and lowered his head to look down at Yeonhwa in his arms.
After her adoptive father passed away, there had been no one who cherished her.
Moreover, after her first attempt at consummating the marriage had failed, all the sorrowful things she had experienced passed through her mind like a flash.
The emotions rising from her painful past would not calm down easily.
“Are you crying?”
When Hyeon sat up, Yeonhwa also sat up and faced him.
Little by little, Yeonhwa’s appearance began to become visible in Hyeon’s eyes.
“I heard that if it is something you want, Your Majesty can have anything.”
Yeonhwa spoke her thoughts honestly, overwhelmed by her emotions.
“Me?”
At her unexpected words, Hyeon asked Yeonhwa again as though he had never heard such a thing before.
His voice sounded surprised at first, but there was a playful tone to it, as though he were trying to soothe a cute child.
“I also heard that receiving Your Majesty’s favor is the greatest favor of all.”
Yeonhwa’s wet eyes were fixed on Hyeon.
Seeing those bright eyes, Hyeon carefully reached out and placed his hand on Yeonhwa’s cheek.
When the moist tears touched his hand, this time he pressed his lips to those tears.
“Your Majesty…”
With her eyes tightly closed, Yeonhwa called to him with trembling lips.
“No matter how much I am the King of this country, I cannot have everything simply because I want it.”
Yeonhwa opened her eyes at his voice and focused on what he was saying.
“What I want right now is not your body, but your heart.”
At Hyeon’s voice, Yeonhwa swallowed dryly.
“Taking your body does not mean I can gain your heart. What if I end up making you hate me because of that? What am I supposed to do then? That frightens me terribly.”
The streams of tears running down both of Yeonhwa’s cheeks became heavier.
Hyeon gently pulled Yeonhwa by the shoulders and held her completely in his arms.
He did not tell her to stop crying or to calm down.
Just as his personality had always been, Hyeon patiently waited for Yeonhwa to settle her heart.
“I am deeply grateful for Your Majesty’s favor.”
After stopping her tears, Yeonhwa finally managed to speak in a hoarse voice.
Hyeon smiled gently again and pulled her out of his arms.
“Have you finished crying now?”
Because their eyes had adjusted to the darkness, Yeonhwa’s face could not be seen clearly, but he could still make it out.
When Yeonhwa nodded, Hyeon gently stroked her hair.
Then he softly caressed her earlobe before warmly cupping both of her cheeks.
“Why does Your Majesty cherish someone as lowly as me so much?”
At Yeonhwa’s question about the reason, Hyeon’s voice was gentle.
“Are you asking because you want to make me cry again?”
“I am curious.”
“Is there a man who does not cherish the woman he loves?”
Yeonhwa placed her hand over Hyeon’s hand that was caressing her cheek.
At the unexpectedly bold action, Hyeon opened his eyes wide and looked at Yeonhwa.
After a brief silence, it was Yeonhwa who broke the quiet.
“Please grant me your favor.”
