WARNING: NSFW

The extravagance of the evening banquet at the palace knew no bounds.

Candles were burning on top of dozens of golden branches that stretched out from the pillars. The light illuminated the intricate carvings on the walls and followed the steps of all the nobles gathered here. The noblewomen’s silk dresses seem to float on the floor like clouds.

Their beauty was the flowers that decorated this evening banquet. The world’s loveliest colors and fragrances surrounded the ladies. Flowers and jewels jingled on top of their silky, black hair.

Scarlet lips were wet with liquor, and a beautiful flower ornament hung between willow eyebrows.

It didn’t end there. Their voices were sweet, and their laughter was graceful. If goddesses dwelled on this earth, it would surely be this group of women.

The emperor sat in the highest seat, and the empress and the rest of the concubines sat next to him. Below them sat the various kings and queens.

Everyone here was from the imperial family, princesses and princes. Their royal children were also here along with their spouses. Their beautiful majesty pierced the sky.

Among them sat one woman. She was the wife of Princess Yeowa’s son, Jewol, the Duke of MoonYeo. Dan SoYeon. Because she was still a newlywed, her clothing was on the simpler side. However, it was a powder-pink dress that seemed to suit her. Unlike the other ladies, her collar wrapped around her neck and her upper body was completely covered.

As per the etiquette of the Silver Nation, her waistband was embroidered with the markings of her status and hung down from her hips. Her hair was simply adorned with a jasmine flower and pearls.

However, one thing made her stand out. Her youth. Other ladies looked at her with envy as they glanced at her clear skin. Her eyes were slightly cold as they looked down, and her pomegranate lips were kept tightly shut.

SoYeon’s face remained blank as if she didn’t notice their stares and whispers. Actually, she seemed quite pale.

“Are you feeling any discomfort?”

Jewol, who was sitting beside her, slightly bent down and asked. He was the son of a princess and the nephew of the emperor. He was so beautiful that he could be mistaken as a maiden. He also had a soft image, so he was quite well-known.

“Ah…”

As if she were shaken out of her thoughts, she lifted her head and looked at him. She smiled apologetically as she recognized the worry in her husband’s eyes.

“I’m fine. I’m just a little tired is all…”

“The banquet is almost over. Or would you like to go back home first?”

He grasped his wife’s pale hand and grinned. It was a surprisingly sweet gesture. Everyone who saw this affectionate gesture let out a sigh.

The two of them suited each other so well. The man was so handsome that he looked like he had jumped out of a painting, and his wife was as elegant as an apricot blossom underneath the moonlight.

One could clearly tell that this couple treasured each other with all their hearts. The married noblewomen looked at the couple with envy in their eyes. They then looked at their husbands, but the men merely made an irrelevant remark or ignored them.

Tender and affectionate men were the best.

The ladies looked on with disappointment flashing in their eyes. However, no one noticed the way the wife’s body slightly stiffened.

“The emperor is here, so how could I dare? I will stay here.”

“It’s alright. We can just explain it to Mother.”

“No, my lord husband. It’s just that the aroma of the liquor is very strong… Maybe I’ll go out for a short walk to clear my head.”

SoYeon gave him a faint smile and got up from her seat. Her husband asked if she wanted him to join her, but she shook her head and walked away.

The soft lights from the hanging lanterns illuminated the corridor. A cold breeze brushed past her. There were goosebumps on the back of her neck. Should she go back to get her coat? But SoYeon didn’t move from her spot. She merely looked out into the dark garden.

Although there was only one door between her and the banquet, she could still hear the nobles’ laughter. Compared to the swell of sound coming from inside, it was completely still and quiet outside.

What should she do? Should she head for Hwayang Hall, which was set aside as a resting area for the noblewomen? Or should she go towards the pond in the garden?

Normally, she would have gone to Hwayang Hall. However, there would definitely be people there, and she wasn’t in the mood to hide her discomfort as she made small talk with the women resting there.

After looking around at her surroundings, she quickly made her way to the garden. Although she couldn’t see them, there were solemn palace guards that were standing watch.

On top of that, there were a countless number of palace maids here. Many eyes were watching, and listening ears were everywhere. It actually made her feel better. With the emperor and his family nearby, nothing would happen.

Her steps became faster as she made her way through the corridor. The further away she got from the banquet, the more she felt as if she could breathe again. The various lanterns hanging on the eaves shook with the wind. The winter breeze was cold and sharp. She could see her breaths disappear into the sky.

But it seemed that she had forgotten where she was going. She lifted her head and looked around. Did she take a wrong turn? All these paths looked the same no matter which one she took.

She heard the cry of a bird coming from somewhere far away.

Pull yourself together, SoYeon muttered to herself. Now isn’t the time to be wandering around like this. Thankfully, she saw a group of palace maids one one side of the corridor.

Grateful for their timing, she opened her mouth and was just about to call out to them when a rough hand pulled her into an open room next to the corridor.

Before a shocked cry could leave her lips, they were covered. The pearls in her hair jingled with the sudden movement.

“No…!”

SoYeon tried to shout, but the familiar scent and all these movements made her stop. This musk! The feel of this large hand wrapped around her face.

It was him!

Her whole body stiffened in an instant. In the next moment, she found herself leaning against the door of the room.

Suffocated with worry, SoYeon felt her heart race nervously inside her chest.

However, she couldn’t figure out a way to get out of this situation. His hand was still covering her nose and mouth, and there wasn’t a gap between his fingers. His other hand was gripping the door. She was completely trapped within this man’s arms.

Her body began to tremble violently. Even though he could feel her tremors, the man didn’t say anything.

Because she couldn’t breathe, SoYeon began to squirm. However, he managed to suppress her by pressing down on her. Suddenly, she felt the footsteps of the palace maids approach the door she was leaning on.

“Huh?”

One of them let out a small exclamation and stopped in her tracks.

“What is it?”

Another palace maid asked as she tilted her head.

“I thought I heard something…”

SoYeon clenched her shaking fists as she glared at the man in front of her.

From within the shadows, the man looked down and met her eyes. His eyes were dark and cold. They were so scary that she almost couldn’t believe this was the same man who used to grin at her as if he didn’t have a care in the world.

Was he drunk? She could smell the strong scent of alcohol. But he was too sound in mind to be drunk. The embroidered dragon twitched on his neat ceremonial attire. The sapphire crown on his tidy topknot gleamed.

Could she get out of here? If she let out a sound, they would notice something was wrong and open the door, wouldn’t they?

Then…?

Then how would she explain this situation to them?

What reason did she have to be alone with this man in this situation?

The Red King, Garan. The emperor’s second son, the Crown Prince’s younger brother.

He was her husband’s older cousin, so he was basically her brother-in-law!

In the darkness, in an empty room, how could she explain why this man was holding his younger cousin’s wife in his arms?!

Their fierce eyes met. His eyes were filled with an uncontrollable hatred. If his eyes were daggers, they would have slit her throat by now.

No, no, that wasn’t it. If this man had planned on killing her, he would have done so by now. Dan SoYeon closed her eyes and turned her head.

This suffocating tension seemed to go on for an eternity. The shadows of the palace maids finally began to move in front of the paper sliding door and disappeared. The two of them didn’t move a muscle until the footsteps faded away.

“Let me go.”

“Shut up.”

He replied hoarsely in a shaky voice. No, the surprising thing was that his hand had finally left her mouth and was now lifting up her skirts.

SoYeon looked at him in shock.

What… What is he trying to do right now?

This didn’t make any sense. They were currently inside the palace. The evening banquet was taking place nearby, and the emperor himself was only a short distance away. Her husband Jewol, her mother-in-law Princess Yeowa, and all the imperial family members of YeonSung were all close by!

“No, you mustn’t!”

SoYeon let out a breathless cry and frantically grabbed his wrist. Had he truly lost his mind? Before she could let out another sound, her skirts were pushed aside and her drawers were torn away.

No! We mustn’t! No!

She desperately tried to stop him. She knew… She knew that he wanted to kill her right now. She knew she wasn’t in any position to give him an excuse. But not this. This mustn’t happen.

“Stop!”

SoYeon let out another suppressed cry. Her voice didn’t reach him. His terribly hardened face and his touch… She could clearly see how angry he was. He hadn’t been this angry when he found out about her true identity ten days ago.

Suddenly, she recalled how Jewol had grabbed her hand as he tenderly spoke to her. Was it because of that? The truth was, the Red King had never seen her act so close with Jewol before.

“Please, please stop.”

Bam, a soft sound rang inside the room as her back was pushed against the paper sliding door.

If they were caught here, if the emperor caught wind of what was happening here, he wouldn’t be able to avoid punishment even though he was the son of the emperor. No, she would be killed for being the one in the middle of this love affair.

She wanted to call out to him again, but SoYeon could only bite her lip. Her underskirt had already come undone and was pushed away. His hand plunged between her thighs in an instant. It grasped the swollen flesh hidden there.

Surprised by the sudden exposure, SoYeon let out a cry and pressed her legs together.

“Open them.”

He lowered his head and spoke in a cruel voice.

“Open them. Like the whore you are.”

“The Heavenly Sun Hall is close by. Please…”

Her words suddenly stopped. This was because he had lowered his face to her neck and bit down. He was going to leave a mark!

With that thought, her vision went white. Additionally, his finger began to push aside her underskirt like a snake and entered her.

Haa, she drew in a short breath and grabbed his arm. The silk fabric of his clothing underneath her fingers rustled in her grasp. The Red King was furious. It didn’t look like he was going to back off anytime soon.

His finger moved inside her and accurately pressed against the spot that caused shivers to run down her spine.

Her body still remembered him and began to tremble. Trapped between the paper sliding door and his body, she could hardly breathe. A fierce struggle ensued. Neither party backed down.

They could hear the faint sound of music coming from somewhere nearby. It was the sound of drums and a gong. It seemed that the dancers or the acrobatic performers had begun entertaining the guests.

While they were busily making a fuss, no one paid attention to the things happening inside this darkness, inside this unknown room within the vast palace.

“Aagh!”

A moan escaped. Inside the room, behind the paper sliding door decorated with intricate patterns, two tangled shadows began to move.

Her face twisted every time she was pushed up and down. The adornments in her hair fell to the floor with a weak clatter. The jasmine flower was ruthlessly crushed against the wall.

The cloudy moonlight shone on her leg that peeked out from within the folds of her ample skirts. A sticky fluid was running down her other leg that was barely standing on the floor.

Wet drops dripped onto her white drawers on the floor. Her whole body trembled with fear. Anything could happen at any moment. However, she felt like she was going crazy knowing that he was touching her.

You need to escape, no matter what! Quickly!

Suddenly, they heard a voice outside the paper sliding door.

“SoYeon!”

Gasp! Her heart froze. Even the Red King’s movements stopped for a moment.

Jewol. Jewol was outside.

“SoYeon, where did you go?”

Oh god! What… Just what…!

The Red King’s eyes burned as they looked down at her face.

She began to struggle with all her might as she tried to escape the Red King’s embrace. However, the man merely stared at her with his scorching eyes. He didn’t move a muscle.

His hand was still stuck between her thighs. Three of his fingers were still inside her, and her juices were flowing out.

Please… Let go.

Her eyes welled up with tears. The Red King merely gazed down at her. Jewol’s shadow appeared behind the paper sliding door. Only a thin paper door separated her from her husband.

The Red King’s hand finally pulled out. Letting out a silent sigh, SoYeon was trying to adjust her disheveled clothing when she suddenly stiffened in shock.

The Red King was undoing the knot on his pants. His stiff, angry rod was revealed. There was no way… As soon as SoYeon raised her head in disbelief, his hand gripped one of her legs and opened it.

No!

“SoYeon.”

They heard Jewol’s voice once again. SoYeon tried to push the Red King away silently. As she struggled, she accidentally hit his cheek with her hand.

Her face paled in shock as she looked up at him. Hearing this dull sound, Jewol froze. His shadow turned as he looked at the door.

Ah…

They were done for.

Jewol lifted his hand. The Red King continued to stare down at her with a fierce gleam in his eyes. He grabbed her trembling body and opened her legs.

She stopped breathing from the shock. And just like that, he plunged inside her. This all felt like a nightmare.

SoYeon covered her mouth with both of her hands. Her whole body shook. Everything was over. All she could do in this uncontrollable whirlpool of a situation was tightly shut her eyes.

She wished she could just fade away like mist. No, actually it would be better if the whole palace was struck with lightning.

Her mind went blank with shock. All she could think about was not getting caught by Jewol.

No! I mustn’t. I can’t, no matter what.

She bit her lips so hard as to not let out a sound. He was only halfway in, but she already felt full. She couldn’t hold in her cry. Her hands pressed down even harder on her mouth, but she couldn’t stop the moan from coming out.

Jewol’s shadow began to reach for the paper sliding door. In the midst of the pain of holding her breath, she looked up at the Red King. Even if it’s now, even now… please pull out…

But this man had lost his mind. He was definitely crazy. Compared to the evil, wicked Crown Prince, the Silver Nation’s Red King was seen as a man sent from the heavens. But this man had gone insane.

Instead of pulling out of SoYeon’s body, he pushed further inside her until he was buried to the hilt.

She closed her eyes. As his hot rod pierced her from below, she didn’t even think about the pain. Instead, all she could think about was the fact that it was all over. Her whole body was racked with dread and anger.

“SoYeon?”

Jewol’s hand pushed against the paper door as he called her name. Because the combined bodies of SoYeon and the Red King were pressed against the door, it didn’t move easily.

The room was filled with a suffocating fever. There was no way this intense energy didn’t spill outside. Angry tears flowed down her face as she glared at him.

“Duke MoonYeo, Your Highness.”

Suddenly, a calm voice spoke up. Jewol pulled his hand away from the door in surprise and turned around. One of the palace guard approached him.

“That is not a place you can enter as you please.”

“Ah…”

Jewol immediately stepped back.

“I thought I heard something, so…”

“This is the empress’s residence, so men are forbidden from entering. Let me escort you back to the banquet.”

The guard spoke politely but firmly. Jewol nodded his head. Their footsteps faded away, but her body continued to tremble.

Her tense body slightly relaxed. However, the shock remained. She continued to glare at the Red King.

“Just kill me.”

She whispered. The Red King’s eyes were still sharp.

“Just go ahead and kill me.”

He remained silent. Instead of replying, he seemed to grow angrier at her words. He clenched her bottom with his hand.

Before she could let out a surprised cry, he lifted her with an incredible strength and pushed her against the wall next to the paper sliding door. Her hands tried to grab onto the wall, but it didn’t change anything.

He raised his hips and continued to pump into her heat. Bam, bam, her head banged into the wall.

Because she kept slipping down the wall, they weren’t able to hold that position for very long. He pulled her off the wall and began to walk. Every time he took a step, his staff pushed further inside. SoYeon shivered as she tried to hold in her moans.

He laid her down somewhere. SoYeon’s eyes burst open as she remembered that this was the empress’s residence. However, all she could see was an old desk and a long table.

The darkness cast by the curtains made her think that this room wasn’t used by the empress very often. However, as the Red King slammed into her, the sound of their slapping bodies filled the room. She couldn’t stop the suppressed moan from escaping.

She was lying down on top of the long table. Her clothes on her upper body were still tidy and neat. However, her skirts were haphazardly spread out, and her lower body was completely exposed.

She couldn’t even imagine the explicit contrast between the upper and lower halves of her body. She could see the Red King’s dark red staff pull out of her body as it continued to pump in and out. He raised one hand and grabbed her chin as he grumbled.

“Open your eyes!”

“No…”

“I said open your eyes.”

Slap! He rammed his hips against her as if he were punishing her. SoYeon barely managed to open her eyes as she looked up at him. Tears and rage glimmered in her eyes as the Red King continued to thrust into her. He repeatedly slammed into her as if he was trying to kill her this way.

His movements gradually quickened. Her body continued to slide up and down. The pearls embedded in her hair began to fall off. She bit her lips so hard that they looked like they were going to bleed.

The Red King gazed down at her reaction as his body shook with his thrusts. It felt as if an iron sword was continuously piercing her. It plunged into her body and continued to lick and suck her to no end, almost as if it was consuming her.

Aagh! Ugh! When SoYeon’s suppressed moans escaped her pressed lips, the Red King blocked her lips with his. His tongue violently plunged inside as it matched the rhythm of their hips.

It felt like everything was shattering. She could no longer find an escape. She felt like she was really going to die like this.

Suddenly, his body stiffened. Then he thrust deeply inside her one more time as his hot seed poured into her.

My goodness!

SoYeon grit her teeth. He had really gone all the way to the end with her. Tears trickled down from the edge of her eyes and ran down her nose before dripping onto the table. She couldn’t believe what just happened. No, she didn’t want to believe it.

Her powder-pink silk clothing and the skirts underneath… Their combined lower halves were still twitching.

Her folds had completely swallowed his staff. Their lower halves were tangled together, and her fluids and his semen were mixed together as they flowed out of her entrance.

She felt a wet slide as the Red King pulled out of her.

What was going to happen from now on?

What was she supposed to do?

While she was immersed in her rambling thoughts, the Red King pressed his lips against her thigh. SoYeon gasped in shock, but his persistent lips licked her thigh as it moved up.

No!

She stretched out her hand and tried to push his shoulder away, but his hand promptly caught it and tangled their fingers together. Then he pressed her hand down onto the table.

His lips were already at the junction of her thighs. This heavenly king’s tongue parted her folds and entered inside her drenched entrance.

In that moment, the paper sliding door opened slightly. Ever so slightly, very carefully. Two eyes appeared. The eyes stole a glance at the the tangled bodies of the Red King and the woman and widened in shock.