The Second Eunuch Regains His Manhood

163rd Episode: Excuse

A single word from Cheonma pierced Jeoksawol’s heart like a needle.

In a blow more intense than any martial art or technique, Jeoksawol barely managed to keep her body from swaying.

Thump, thump, thump, thump.

Jeoksawol’s heart raced crazily. Blood rushed to her face, making it hot. She bit her lip, her hands trembling.

How on earth.

How.

Why would such words come from Cheonma?

Jeoksawol’s head turned white. Affection? Who? Me?

It wasn’t that.

Not yet.

Jeoksawol hadn’t given her heart to him. Not yet. She had given her heart only to Neungwolhyang and Yeon Sowol.

Yes, that was enough.

To truly believe in someone and love someone now was nonsensical.

Her only blood relative, her mother, had abandoned her. The master she had to serve like her father attempted to violate her.

The connection with her parents and masters was a fate bestowed by heaven. But Jeoksawol had been betrayed by that fate.

Because of this cursed beauty. A beauty so stunning it severed her ties with heaven itself. There was no way she could maintain a normal relationship with others.

So, she couldn’t trust or hold anyone in her heart.

But.

But why.

Jeoksawol bit her lip again. She stuttered over her words.

“T-that…”

Jeoksawol’s voice trailed off.

No.

That’s the answer she should give. But she couldn’t say it. Jeoksawol’s hand trembled.

“…Lee Cheol-soo is also a member of the Heavenly Alliance. So, I was only protecting him… That’s all… And the affection… it’s just a ruse. As a post-stimulation indicator place of Yeon Sowol,… it’s only natural I’d have a reason to act affectionate to protect him. Is that clear now? Hmph.”

Jeoksawol fumbled for excuses, never directly stating she didn’t have feelings.

Saying something like that now felt like committing an irreversible act, somehow.

That was it.

“Oh, I see.”

With his arms crossed, Cheonma’s eyebrows twitched.

If both the top ranker of the demon faction and Goeryong were members of the Heavenly Alliance, then Jeoksawol’s statement naturally made sense.

The post-stimulation indicator was being protected by a key figure of the Heavenly Alliance.

However, despite the words, Jeoksawol’s expression was different.

There was no need to use the Heavenly Horse Divine Eye’s observation technique. Anyone could see that the current Jeoksawol’s face was flushed like a lovesick girl.

‘To think the top ranker of the demon faction has feelings for a post-stimulation indicator…’

Considering Jeoksawol’s image as the world’s most beautiful, this was something that simply couldn’t be.

But the undeniable evidence was right before Cheonma’s eyes—the flushed face of Jeoksawol.

Whoever saw it couldn’t deny she looked head over heels in love, like a young lady from a noble family.

Even though she was now twenty, Jeoksawol was dreaming of love like a girl in her teens.

‘…Affection…’

Cheonma felt a considerable shock.

From childhood to now, no one had ever held affection for him. After ascending to the position of Cheonma, he had married seven maidens offered by the Seven Demon Sect through strategic marriage to rule the New Religion, but he had never felt affection for any of them.

Even his own children didn’t capture his attention.

Yet, here was the Yeomwang—someone of his level—genuinely enamored with a much younger post-stimulation indicator.

‘Is he really crazy? How could this be?’

Cheonma couldn’t comprehend it.

At the same time, he felt an intense curiosity.

Flames of curiosity ignited in Cheonma’s eyes. Meanwhile, Jeoksawol continued her excuses.

“Y-yes. So, don’t misunderstand, Cheonma. There’s no way this lady would give her heart to a greenhorn!”

Jeoksawol cleared her throat and spoke.

Right.

She hadn’t given her heart yet. Not yet. It was too soon.

Not yet…

But the image of Lee Cheol-soo continued to flicker in front of her. Jeoksawol bit her lip again.

Her racing heart refused to stop. Heat continued to flush her face.

Just then, in the midst of her confusion…

“Yeomwang.”

Cheonma’s cold voice pierced her ears.

“I’ve heard your excuses well.”

“E-excuses! What do you mean!? This lady has no ulterior motives regarding Lee Cheol-soo!”

Jeoksawol snapped back in surprise at Cheonma’s words.

Excuses?

What part of her statement could even be called an excuse? Hadn’t she laid out sufficient and reasonable grounds for protecting Lee Cheol-soo without ulterior motives?

As Jeoksawol’s voice, filled with her backstory, rose, the essence of Yeombusi Wanggong flowed from her body. A red aura reminiscent of hell surged.

Instantly, the great hall grew warm and twisted, the space warping like the air was flickering. Jeoksawol’s crimson eyes sparkled with sinister light.

What emanated from the petite girl was a powerful aura that was hard to believe could come from her.

The strength of Hyeongyeong’s Mastery, Yeomwang Jeoksawol, revealed itself.

Seeing that, Cheonma unleashed his Heavenly Demon Technique. A black aura laden with overwhelming power, capable of shattering the heavens, collided with Jeoksawol’s red aura.

Whoooooooooooo!

As the auras of the two great masters collided, the great hall shook. Even in that state, Cheonma spoke.

“Yeomwang. Your statement isn’t incorrect. It certainly is a reasonable excuse. However, separate from your words, your face, your heartbeat… are telling the truth. The reason you provided is merely an excuse to follow the boy Lee Cheol-soo to the New Religion. You are in love with him. Why do you deny it?”

Cheonma gazed at Jeoksawol.

He couldn’t comprehend why Jeoksawol, who insisted on denying her own feelings, would do so.

Of course, feeling genuine affection for a boy more than 40 years younger than her could be shameful and foolish.

But after sensing all her emotions, denying them left nothing to gain.

No one could deny it.

Right now, Yeomwang Jeoksawol had come to the New Religion under the pretense of protecting the boy Lee Cheol-soo. Nothing more, nothing less.

And he was curious.

Why on earth had Hyeongyeong’s Mastery developed such feelings for the boy?

Cheonma acknowledged that Lee Cheol-soo possessed exceptional latent talent. He had shown prowess beyond comprehension, even for someone with Cheonma’s own divine gifts.

Yet Jeoksawol’s feelings toward Lee Cheol-soo went beyond mere curiosity. They were true affection.

Boom!

Cheonma took a step forward. The overwhelming aura of Cheonma’s Heavenly Demon Technique erupted in all directions. Whoooooooo!

The winds of Xinjiang swirled around Cheonma. He spoke.

“Speak your heart, Yeomwang Jeoksawol.”

“Ugh?!”

Jeoksawol stumbled back. Though they were both masters of Hyeongyeong, Jeoksawol was a step above Cheonma. A mere paper-thin difference, yet at the same time, it was as if they stood worlds apart—between masters, the slightest edge could determine victory or defeat.

But.

For some reason, Jeoksawol couldn’t withstand Cheonma now.

‘Why is this?’

Jeoksawol bit her lip. She gathered her essence, but her thoughts were unstable. She was shaken. Hesitating.

‘Why?’

Cheonma’s words kept echoing in her mind.

She loved Lee Cheol-soo.

Disclose your true feelings.

True feelings.

Jeoksawol’s face reddened. Her heart raced once more.

Her true feelings for Lee Cheol-soo.

It was a subject she had arduously tried to avoid thinking about. She couldn’t care for someone. She had always been hurt in human relationships. So she wore a mask.

Sinseung.

That damn monk’s advice popped into her head.

Sinseung had told her to be honest. And he smiled.

‘Be honest, how on earth am I supposed to do that?’

Jeoksawol took another step back. The overwhelming aura from Cheonma’s Heavenly Demon Technique poured toward her.

As her thoughts wavered, her essence grew messy.

“You’ve lost your composure, Yeomwang. Have you still not faced your true feelings?”

Cheonma’s cold voice echoed in her ears.

Jeoksawol bit her lip. She was frustrated. Just as Cheonma said, she was losing her composure.

“Surely you must realize your current attitude is practically confessing your true feelings? For a woman of this age, acting like a naive beginner in the martial world?”

Jeoksawol found herself within Cheonma’s gaze.

To hand over control so easily…

What exactly was this affection that could shake the top ranker of the demon faction, anyway?

Cheonma couldn’t understand. But that made him even more eager to know the truth.

Jeoksawol’s face turned red.

In front of her eyes, everything she had shared with Lee Cheol-soo unfolded like a movie reel.

The first meeting.

The memory of facing Lee Cheol-soo with Hwa Myeon-ho-gyeom. How he not only passed the test of Hwa Myeon-ho-gyeom but also in boldness spoke of Cloud and Rain Pleasure, towering above her.

Then.

The memory of meeting Lee Cheol-soo descending from Gongdong Mountain, and the memories of Beauty Temptation Technique that had been left unbothered.

Lee Cheol-soo’s words on the unscented peony had left a mark on her heart that would never fade.

The battle against the Seomun Family, the rumor about Lee Cheol-soo and Neungwolhyang meeting secretly, and the memory of him turning away from her haunted her. That moment was so terrible she never wanted to revisit it.

He wouldn’t come. He turned away. How could he dare to?

What happened afterward? She regretted it. Why had she acted that way? She wanted to see him.

Lee Cheol-soo.

She missed him. She wanted to be with him. Even at Yongbong Society, she felt that way. Despite seeing him barefaced, Lee Cheol-soo remained unmoved.

The world’s most beautiful, Jeoksawol had never been able to form genuine relationships due to her cursed beauty.

And now.

Finally, someone had approached her, untouched by the effects of her beauty. A person who wasn’t influenced by the cursed beauty residing in the realm of formidable powers.

‘Perhaps I am…’

That day.

When she met him at Dalma Cave as Jeoksawol, she might have already harbored feelings for him.

No.

Even before that, when they had met in Neungwolhyang.

No.

Before that.

From the moment she first encountered Lee Cheol-soo with Hwa Myeon-ho-gyeom… she had already fallen for him.

Wham!

As Jeoksawol contemplated this, her face blushed crimson like the evening sunset.

Now, she finally understood.

From their first meeting, she had already… fallen for him, Lee Cheol-soo. Until now, she had just been unwilling to admit it.

Yes, just as Cheonma and Sinseung said.

That was how it had been.

“I-I am…”

Jeoksawol raised her head. Cheonma was before her.

Holding her pounding heart, with a face flushed beet red, she declared to Cheonma.

“Yes! I sincerely cherish Lee Cheol-soo! What’s the problem with that!? I am the Most Beautiful in the World! Lee Cheol-soo, who receives my heart, should feel honored!”