Toxin

I wrapped my legs around his waist and gently bit and sucked his tongue while massaging the partially inserted member with the muscles of my inner walls. In that moment, a cruel flame blazed in Black Martial Emperor’s eyes. He quickly pulled my head towards him, biting my lips painfully and inserting his tongue. As I swallowed his invading tongue all the way down to my throat and sucked hard, the darkness that had settled on his eyebrows grew intensely distorted. As the increasingly urgent member began to thrust violently, semen spurted out from the overfilled hole. He bit my damp cheek and licked it longingly.

“Haah… Try it again.”

His deeply worn-out voice melted into my eardrums.

“Try to beg again like before.”

“Haah… Ahh… Mmm…”

The vibrations of his member, transmitted in small waves, elicited a moan. When I clamped down on the member with all my might, it sent an unparalleled pleasure shooting through me. My senses were overwhelmed. As I stopped breathing and contracted my whole body, he responded to each individual reaction. My dynamic muscles glistened with sweat, and the wet, sticky sounds of panting and friction echoed throughout the small room. Our bare forms, as if returning to their primordial state, were intensely focused on the present moment as if there were no tomorrow.

As his waist movements became infinitely faster and the waves of pleasure surged, my back arched. As foam scattered over my firmly toned abdomen, he gripped my hips and pressed his member into me. In an instant, hot fluid was forcefully ejaculated. The foreign substance sticking to every corner of the hole was vividly disgusting. He panted heavily, leaning his elbow against my shoulder. His eyes, soaked with lingering desire, overwhelmed my view.

“Haah… Haah…!”

I gasped for air, panting, and tried to fill my lungs. My brain was a tangled mess, and my eyes were sore from tears and saliva. He furrowed his brows, then gave me a deep kiss before gently nibbling my lips and pulling away. As his beautiful face left my sight, his strong body was immediately placed on top of mine. The member that had been deeply embedded in me withdrew, and semen spilled out. I bit my lips to suppress my moans.

“Get some rest.”

He said this while lifting my chin, letting his tongue lightly explore my lips. Although his eyes still held hunger, he did not proceed further. Instead, he rested my head on his chest and chewed on the remaining root of the white spear, making sounds. My hypersensitive sensations made my mouth tingle, and I bit my lips. The soggy lower part, soaked with semen, was uncomfortable, but I had no strength left to move even a finger. Nevertheless, with all my remaining strength, I climbed off Black Martial Emperor and looked at him intently. Pulling his head onto my arm, he hesitated and opened his eyes slightly. Without regard, I supported him with my arm and patted his head.

“Please get some rest. You haven’t had any rest, have you?”

No matter what happens tomorrow, I wanted to do this for him now. Only then did Black Martial Emperor relax his body and wrap his arms around my waist. As our sweaty bodies kept slipping, he firmly embraced me with his arms around my waist and back, and pushed his legs between mine. As he teased my nipples with his tongue, a strange sensation gathered in my lower abdomen. He played with my nipples a bit longer, then buried his nose in my nape and closed his eyes. Gently embracing his head, I kissed his hair. The damp heat from our bodies combined with the soft rhythm of our movements lulled me into sleep. A star peered through the narrow window of the pavilion, watching us. A faint pain lingered in my throat.

Someday, I will make this person kneel before my mother. I will kneel before her as well. Whatever punishment she may give, I will accept it willingly.

So, just this once…

Black Martial Emperor had gone to his morning duties, so Naro took the opportunity to visit Yongjeon. Except when working, I usually avoided leaving Yongjeon, but on days when there was no work, Naro would visit. Although Black Martial Emperor was wary of people entering his domain, he made no restrictions on Naro’s visits.

We sat in a separate room, each engrossed in our drawings. After being hunched in one position for a long time, I rubbed my stiff shoulders to stretch. Naro, too, was lying on the floor a little away, working diligently.

“What are you drawing?”

Naro raised his body.

“Oh, I mentioned it before, right? Sometimes officials commission outrageous drawings. The person who commissioned this one was so tight-lipped about it that if people knew, they would faint. When I drew it before, his eyes turned bright red, and now he’s been pestering me again…”

Naro stretched and chuckled.

“How about it? Does this look okay?”

“…….”

As soon as I saw Naro’s drawings, my head went blank. In the several drawings, men and women were entwined like snakes, or burying their heads in each other’s buttocks, or a man was sitting upside down on a woman’s half-folded body and inserting himself… A parade of bizarre and absurd sexual positions unfolded. I stared at Naro’s innocent-looking face with disbelief. I had heard about it, but I never imagined that such a seemingly innocent face could produce such outstanding skill. Still lost in the bewilderment, Naro looked at my drawings with wide eyes.

“So, what are you drawing? I’ve never seen anything like this before.”

“This is a project given by His Majesty. I’m drawing something he devised himself…”

After rejecting a proposal to draw a weapon of mass destruction, Naro suggested something else a short while later. Of course, it was only a couple of lines of text, and the rest was up to my imagination. But this time, it was not a weapon of mass destruction, but something different.

“It’s a suryeong machine… It’s a device that lifts water from lower areas to higher fields. If it’s feasible, it can supposedly provide 13,000 quans of water in one season.”

“13,000 quans?! 13,000 quans, that’s thousands, even tens of thousands of ladles! No, isn’t that enough to fill several wells?! How can you possibly provide such an enormous amount of water in one season? Isn’t that a bit too much even if it’s unbelievable?”

I laughed bitterly.

“Even a pebble the size of a fingernail can be deadly, can’t it?”

“Well, that’s true, but…”

At first, I didn’t believe it either, but after hearing the principles and process from him in detail, I began to think it might not be entirely impossible. What surprised me the most was that he had devised something other than a weapon of mass destruction. Naro’s eyes sparkled as he examined the drawing of the suryeong from various angles.

“Wow… So if His Majesty devises it, you draw it, and the engineers make it real! That would be amazing! It would be so convenient to have something like this!”

“But it’s not progressing as smoothly as expected, so I’m still contemplating it.”

Lately, my memory has been getting worse, and my mind doesn’t work as well as it used to. Naro put down the paper and lowered his voice slightly.

“By the way, Roha, aren’t you afraid of His Majesty? It’s enviable that His Majesty cares for you enough to create this separate room for you, but honestly, isn’t he someone who could explode at any moment? I’m so nervous in front of His Majesty that my legs almost give out.”

Naro seemed to think of him again as the ‘fearsome Majesty.’ He held the charcoal and smiled faintly.

“The thrill of taming him is quite enjoyable.”

“What?” Naro looked puzzled for a moment before clenching his fist.

“Still, it’s good that I haven’t heard any dreadful rumors lately about His Majesty making someone lose their head or skin being flayed! Even if the officials aren’t too pleased with you being here, they secretly seem to like the peace in the palace! It used to be that there was no quiet day since you came, so isn’t it a strange turn of events?”

It was true that I felt a subtle sense of achievement seeing Black Martial Emperor try to follow the rules I had set. Recently, there seemed to be fewer blood-stained rumors, and even when Naro mentioned my name in front of him, no one’s head had yet fallen, among other things…

Naro buried his nose back in the paper, and I was about to return to my seat when a landscape painting on the opposite wall caught my eye. It definitely hadn’t been visible until yesterday, so when did it appear…? However, the more I examined the painting closely, the more my initial confusion turned into astonishment. I got up as if entranced and approached the painting closely, and Naro, who had been puzzled, quickly followed. I stared intently at the landscape painting. How…

The clouds hanging on the trees, the red ochre, and the rich green grass were dazzling with unrestrained, vivid colors, and the deep contrasts of ink and green created a strong, intense aroma of ink. Sometimes, stepping through the simple yet vigorous nature, I came down to the very bottom. And the moment I checked the seal stamped below the painting, I couldn’t tear my eyes away. Naro, too, carefully examined the painting and, upon seeing the seal, said:

“Indeed, this painting style is from Painter Yunseul. They mainly did portraits, so only a few landscape paintings remain, but to see one of their works here…”

I continued to stare at the painting and asked:

“Do you know this Painter?”

“I don’t know much about them. Their style is so rough and lacking in Hyung’s style that they were not very popular among the high-ranking people. I only heard rumors that one day they suddenly secluded themselves and then died of illness. Do you know this person, Roha? They weren’t someone known even to other races…”

I quietly placed my hand on the faded seal. There was no way I wouldn’t recognize it. I certainly knew the name. It was the painting of someone who had been a mentor to me…

“It’s my father’s…”

***

Naro couldn’t hide his excitement after hearing about my father, and I too was unable to focus, so we decided to just go outside. We strolled around the grounds of Yongjeon, talking about various things, and then stopped by the forge attached to Naragaon Fortress. Since I had no knowledge about machinery, I also sought advice on the blueprints. Showing the drawings to the blacksmiths and discussing improvements, the afternoon had passed before I knew it. Saying goodbye to Naro and promising to meet again tomorrow, I found it hard to calm down on the way back.

There were few paintings my father had left after meeting my mother, and now, none of them remained as they were all burned. But I never imagined I would encounter one of my father’s paintings like this. My mother had said my father was a well-known Painter, but it seemed she had exaggerated. I chuckled softly. However, I completely understood her boasting. To me, my father’s painting was more precious than any masterpiece in that room.

Even though I was walking again, my mind was entirely occupied with one person. I didn’t need to confirm who was behind such an event. There was only one person in the world who would set up such a surprise and then act nonchalant about it.

Swoosh… The clouds that had been gathering earlier finally brought rain. I tucked the paper with the suryeong into my sleeve. I always carried it with me, intending to draw it as soon as I thought of it. I adjusted my clothes to keep the rainwater out and ran, hoping the rain wouldn’t get any heavier before I reached Yongjeon. Contrary to my expectations, the raindrops grew larger. Spotting a taro plant growing by the roadside, I picked one and used its round leaves as an umbrella, running for a while. As I turned onto the path leading to Yongjeon, a group crossed the grounds from the opposite direction. It was Black Martial Emperor and his entourage. I stopped in my tracks. Black Martial Emperor also spotted me and immediately approached.

“Oh, Your Majesty! What will happen if your precious body gets wet? Oh dear, the muddy water is splashing! Please be careful! Why are you standing there instead of following me?!”

The Grand Chamberlain scolded the minister holding the large umbrella. Black Martial Emperor swiftly pulled me into a nearby pavilion. The bodyguards stood in the rain without umbrellas, and though the Grand Chamberlain seemed anxious, he waited patiently. I looked at Black Martial Emperor, brushing off the raindrops from my face and hair.

“What brings you here at this hour? Have you finished your duties already?”

“I only have one reason to seek you out at this time.”

Lately, he had become more overt in his expressions. I didn’t dislike it, but it was awkward in front of others, just like now.

“Wow.”

Unsa and Usa whistled softly with strange expressions, and Pungbaek also stared stoically. Rather than seeking shelter from the rain, they remained steadfast in their soaked state. At that moment, Black Martial Emperor reached into my robe.

“Ah…!”

I was so surprised that I pulled his hand away, but the paper had already passed to him. It was the paper with the suryeong drawing, now creased and worn from repeated folding and handling.

“It’s the suryeong. It’s almost complete, but I’m still thinking about it since I’m not entirely satisfied.”

Black Martial Emperor slowly unfolded the paper. Inside the paper, a towering support beam surrounded by several wooden planks was drawn in a spiral pattern, forming a wheel shape, with a massive cylindrical conduit creating a waterway in the center. I lifted my gaze from the paper to observe the side profile of Black Martial Emperor. He scrutinized the drawing with an intensely expressionless face, creating a strange sense of tension as if I were a student awaiting a homework check. However, Black Martial Emperor remained silent, only observing the drawing. His expression seemed to suggest…

“If you don’t like it… you can be honest about it.”

He folded the paper and said, holding it between his fingers.

“I’ll have to order the production to start from tomorrow.”

Not only was it not finished yet, but he also seemed to be rushing into production with a casual glance… Far from being pleased, my mood sank. I had put a lot of effort into it for days, and the dry reaction was frustrating. More than that, it felt unpleasant that he seemed to be brushing it off despite his dissatisfaction. It felt like… he was just passing it off because it was me. I pulled the paper from his hand and chewed my lips.

“There’s no need to push yourself. I’d prefer it to be perfect if possible.”

“I also prefer perfection.”

As Black Martial Emperor snatched the paper from my hand, I held onto the edge of the paper and resisted. Despite my will, my lips were tightly set.

“So, please tell me specifically what you would like to be improved.”

“No need for improvements.”

“Then why does your expression look like that?”

“What’s wrong with my expression?”

“It seems like you’re forcing yourself to like it even though you don’t.”

“That’s not true. I like it quite a lot.”

I stubbornly clutched the paper and looked down. My eyes were twitching.

“Don’t lie. Your expression clearly shows you don’t like it…”

My voice, tinged with frustration, sounded incredulous. However, my expression was already deflated. He narrowed his eyes.

“What exactly is it about my expression that you think I don’t like?”

“It’s just my feeling. It seems like you’re forcing yourself to like it…”

“I like it.”

He abruptly cut off the conversation and looked down at me coldly.

“I didn’t expect it to be completed so quickly. Moreover, it’s a drawing that perfectly understands the principles. It’s as if you looked right into my mind.”

Suddenly, his eyes sparkled with a raw light.

“You should avoid making such expressions. Do I need to say how much I’m holding back the urge to stuff your tongue into your mouth?”

A strange, pounding sensation spread through me as if I had fallen and emerged from a soft ground. After a moment, I loosened my grip on the paper, and he tucked it into the folds of his robe. He then observed my expression with a look of fascination. As a fever spread to my nape, I turned my gaze to the rain-soaked scenery. Thick raindrops dripped from the eaves, chattering noisily.

“I’ve never mentioned my name, so how did you know?”

I asked the puzzled Black Martial Emperor.

“It’s about my father.”

Black Martial Emperor raised his eyebrows softly.

“There are plenty of ways to find out without your mouth. Perhaps I know more about you than you do.”

“How did you find out? I heard that someone as famous as that would be harder to locate.”

“That’s why it took time.”

He stared at me with an impassive face, then took a cigarette and lit it with Imae’s Flame. As the red flame moved to the cigarette, a thick smoke filled the damp air. Even while preparing that, he managed to keep up the pretense perfectly. He was truly someone skilled at leaving me dumbfounded. I looked at his distinctly prominent nose.

As my heart rate quickened, I looked away and saw that his subordinates were engaged in idle chatter. Silver rain pearls falling from the eaves created an afterimage on the ground. His smooth cheeks were slightly indented each time he inhaled the smoke. Drops of rain trickled down his healthy skin. The pungent cigarette smoke mixed with the cool scent of the rain, and the waves of my racing heart became frantic. Drawn to the sound, I lightly tugged at his clothing. As his large torso leaned toward me, I quickly pressed my lips deeply against his cheek. In that moment, I felt his body tense up. I gently pulled my lips away from his smooth skin. The contact and the embarrassing sound of friction were muffled by the rain. The cigarette hanging loosely from his lips drooped downward. I moved my mouth, alternately opening and closing it, forcing out my voice. My breath tickled his cheek.

“Th… Thank you…”

He remained stiff as wax, then slowly turned his eyes toward me like a rusted machine. He quickly averted his gaze, so I couldn’t see his expression clearly. A sudden heat spread to my earlobes. I turned and fled without a backward glance. His bodyguards looked at me in confusion as I ran away abruptly. By now, it would be normal for Black Martial Emperor to grab my wrist or for footsteps to follow from behind, but today, none of that happened.

Suddenly, with Black Martial Emperor leaving, Naragaon Fortress became restless. He didn’t provide detailed information about where he was going or the reason. From what I heard, he had even mobilized the Gwuya Nine Masters, an elite unit he rarely called upon, so it didn’t seem like a minor matter. The first thing that came to mind was the book Unsa had bought. Since Black Martial Emperor acted suddenly after seeing that book, I wondered what its contents were.

Since the seizure, things had been calm between me and Black Martial Emperor. It was the same back then and even before that… It was certainly agonizing, as if he had burned everything and bore all the world’s despair, but whenever we saw each other, it was as if nothing had happened, and the tension dissolved quickly. Of course, this was only possible because he had unilaterally given in…

After Black Martial Emperor left for his journey, I became increasingly curious about the contents of the book Unsa had purchased. Although it was very unexpected, Raonhiljo came to mind. The look in Black Martial Emperor’s eyes when he saw the book kept making me think of that.

It’s been about a month since I left him. Initially, I frequently felt a deep pain in my chest when I left him, but recently, it has become somewhat numb. Perhaps it’s because he has also found a bit of peace…

I hope so. I really do…

***

It’s been five days since Black Martial Emperor left for his long journey. During the sudden emptiness after he left the castle, I worked on drawings and continued studying about painting therapy. My daily routine was similar to when he was with me, but strangely, time seemed to pass very slowly, and the occasional news I heard about him wasn’t enough to fill the void.

Today, as well, I had been absorbed in painting, using my father’s landscape painting as a companion, and at some point, I fell asleep on the paper. Although part of it was due to exhaustion from drawing, I had been unusually sleepy lately. Taeui said it might be a side effect of cutting off the excess angles. I wondered if the occasional forgetfulness I experienced was also due to that…

The day was nothing particularly different until I discovered something…

After perusing all the books Black Martial Emperor had saved and searching for other reading materials, I wandered around the bed area. I fiddled with the old cigarette holder by the bed. Although I had told him to discard the old one, he had kept it neatly in the room. With no proper reading material, I was about to give up when I noticed a disorganized book by the bed. Most of Black Martial Emperor’s books were about history and machinery, subjects far removed from me. As I leafed through a book on weapon design, I stopped my hand on some intriguing writing on the edges of the pages.

The pages were filled with haphazardly scribbled words, and strange terms written in the corners of the book caught my eye.

「Muah, Siyan, Biha, Danhu, Seolha…」

Black Martial Emperor often named the weapons he designed, so I wondered if these were some of them. Flipping to the next pages, I found several characters scattered in the book corners. And on the following pages… Some pages had them, some didn’t, as if written whenever remembered. It was a bit odd. I went back to the beginning and read each character carefully. It didn’t sound like a weapon name at all. It felt more like…

‘Ah…’ My fingers turned the pages more quickly, and my heartbeat raced. The more I turned, the more numerous the characters appeared, and I stopped on a page that pulled my gaze. On that page, one character was centered, and it was unusually worn out as if it had been viewed countless times. It seemed like it was chosen after much contemplation… I traced the character with trembling fingers and rolled it around in my mouth.

“Damha…”

The moment the character touched my tongue, my heart fluttered faintly. It felt somewhat cold and like a resonance of water somewhere. Damha… What could it mean? It didn’t seem like something a person who only knew war and weapons would come up with. From that moment, my heart, which had been shrinking, began to beat. I wasn’t sure what this character represented. However, I thought it couldn’t be a weapon’s name. How should I describe this feeling… It was similar to the one I had when I received a room filled with artifacts or my father’s posthumous work, a complex emotion not entirely joyful. I fiddled with the character waiting for its owner alone. After touching it several times, I quietly closed the book and went outside.

***

Before sunset, after having dinner provided by the court lady and painting during the spare time, I read a book when I got bored. Then, when there was still some time left, I wandered around the palace garden and heard murmuring voices from somewhere. At the end of the garden, Unsa and Usa were walking toward me. They looked much rougher than when they departed. Their return meant…

“This is the first time I’ve had to skip meals and lose sleep like this. We almost fled from His Majesty’s orders!”

“We were the ones who wanted to start a rebellion.”

As Usa complained, Unsa agreed and looked around.

“But where did Pungbaek go? He’s been missing for a while now.”

“I’m not sure. As soon as we arrived at the castle, he disappeared without a word. Hyung-nim, we should head to our quarters. This guy has been causing a commotion since earlier.”

Usa wrapped his arm around Unsa’s waist and pointed to his lower body, making Unsa’s face turn red. A strange atmosphere began to build, and just then, Unsa spotted me and removed his brother from his grip. I was used to such scenes, so it didn’t surprise me. After greeting them, Unsa spoke directly.

“Why are you here? His Majesty just visited Yongjeon and noticed your absence, so he’s been looking for you.”

“Where did he go?”

“To every place you might go.”

“…”

I was foolish to expect a clear answer from Unsa. Unsa smiled and waved his hand dismissively.

“Why are you still here? Hurry up and check the places you might go. It would be troublesome if His Majesty went mad searching for you.”

With a sigh, I turned away from them and headed off.

***

“He just left a little while ago! Do you know how scared I was when His Majesty suddenly barged in?! He asked straight away where you were…! Byeolwon was in chaos!”

I rushed to Byeolwon, but Black Martial Emperor was nowhere to be seen, and only Naro, with a frightened puppy face, awaited me. Catching my breath, I asked.

“Did he say where he was going?”

“Why would he tell me such things?!”

“Understood. I’ll go now.”

“Wait a minute! Roha!”

As I hurried to leave the courtyard, Naro grabbed my clothes.

“Lately, strange people keep lurking around me! They keep bringing things, patting my head when they pass by, and earlier, they even came to Byeolwon! At first, I thought it was just kindness, but something feels off. It’s strange. Even if I want to ask why, they’re so taciturn that it’s driving me crazy! What should I do?!”

Could it be one of the court ladies…? Naro had a clean and neat appearance, and she seemed like someone who would be followed by other women.

“It seems that although she lacks confidence, she has feelings for Painter-nim.”

Naro gasped, then suddenly grabbed me by the collar and jumped up and down.

“What, what?! What are you saying?! Have you finished talking?! Is that what you call talking…!”

“I’m sorry, Painter-nim. I’ll discuss the details when I visit later. I have something urgent to attend to right now.”

I calmed the flustered Naro and hurriedly left Byeolwon. So, did he head to Yongjeon…? I headed straight to Yongjeon without looking back.

“Where did he go? His Majesty visited twice just now. He went to the garden, so you should go there quickly.”

The court lady guarding the door informed me in a hurry. I rushed to the garden, but again, there was no sign of him. As I was about to head straight to Yongjeon, a murmuring conversation from somewhere caught my attention.

“Do you really think so?”

In a corner of the castle wall, three officials and the Grand Chamberlain were engaged in a serious conversation. The elderly officials surrounded the Grand Chamberlain, pressing him against the wall, resembling a scene of interrogating a criminal. A man with a round beard spoke with a burning gaze.

“Speak honestly, since we are among ourselves. Do you really think so?”

“Why do you keep insisting on revealing something since earlier?!”

The Grand Chamberlain shouted with a frustrated face. This time, a man next to him narrowed his eyes and asked.

“Grand Chamberlain, it’s surprising that you’re chasing after His Majesty when the wound he received is not fully healed yet. Isn’t it normal to be grinding your teeth in frustration inside? We understand that sometimes you need to say something to survive in the harsh palace, but aren’t you overdoing it?”

I was also drawn in. Until now, the Grand Chamberlain’s actions seemed to be nothing but excessive flattery. The Grand Chamberlain stared at the officials surrounding him and said.

“There is a clear distinction between public and private matters! At that time, he was very angry, but there’s no doubt that he’s worried in a corner of his heart! Are you saying such things when we’re anxious that His Majesty might hold on to his tender heart? What are you all talking about?!”

The officials exchanged looks of disbelief, but the Grand Chamberlain paid them no mind.

“Even so, His Majesty has become increasingly depressed lately, and I feel like I’m barely managing to get by…”

The man with the round beard bent toward the Grand Chamberlain and said subtly.

“If you speak honestly, I will keep it a secret until the grave. I swear on my chest and the honor of the Grand Chamberlain… Do you truly believe that His Majesty is the greatest of kings, shy, kind, and full of compassion?”

The Grand Chamberlain remained silent for a while, staring at the officials, then clicked his tongue.

“Tsk tsk… How can you have no insight into people after serving His Majesty for years? Aren’t you ashamed of the title of the top official of Baedal Kingdom?”

The Grand Chamberlain looked up at the clear sky with his hands clasped behind his back.

“As you all know, His Majesty was exceptionally bright from a young age and was chosen for the throne early. But would such a precious gem be left alone by the world? Fearing that some sinister force might harm him or that his tender heart might suffer, I have brought purification water every dawn and prayed until my palms wore out. It feels like just yesterday when he grew up so splendidly to become a hero, so my devotion was not in vain.”

At that moment, something seemed to sparkle in the corner of his eyes. If my eyes were not deceiving me, it looked like tears. The Grand Chamberlain quickly wiped his tears and continued speaking.

“In my lifetime, I have dedicated myself to the palace, but this is the first time I have seen an emperor who perfectly possesses both military and literary talents, as well as character like His Majesty. Always worried about the state affairs, he has achieved such great accomplishments without boasting about them, showing such humility. Where else would you find someone like him, the greatest among kings, truly a man of valor?”

The Grand Chamberlain said with an even gloomier look.

“However, I’m worried about how His Majesty will overcome the many challenges ahead…”

Ignoring the cold atmosphere, the Grand Chamberlain wobbled away.

“Are you keeping me here just to spout such trivial words? I must go now. Your Majesty~! Where on earth are you~.”

The officials watched the disappearing Grand Chamberlain with strange expressions. And for some reason, today, the Grand Chamberlain’s voice did not sound so irritating.

I also turned away. Every soldier and official I met on the way told me that Black Martial Emperor was searching for me, and I went to the places they mentioned, but it was always in vain.