But at present, both of them were fully conscious. She was still the sovereign, and he was, in name, still her subject.
A strange silence settled over the room.
The only thing that broke that stillness was Wolhwa’s breathing, growing ever rougher and steeped in pain.
Watching her curl in on herself and tremble from the agony, Yunseo’s gaze slowly sank.
Reason was telling him clearly:
At this moment, there was no other choice.
That this was the only path to saving her, and the only path for himself to survive; and at the same time, an opportunity to tighten the invisible chains of fate between them even further.
Yunseo quietly drew in a breath, then stepped forward.
“Your Majesty. The Fire-Heart Poison has already burrowed deep into your heart.”
Wolhwa’s trembling eyes turned toward him.
“If you force it down like this, your meridians will snap, and you will lose your martial arts. In the worst case… even your life cannot be guaranteed.”
At those words, Wolhwa’s eyes shook violently.
“You… dare.”
But Yunseo did not retreat. Instead, he met her gaze head-on and continued calmly.
“I dare to speak because I wish for Your Majesty to return alive. If you are to return to Geumneung, set the collapsed court to rights, and rebuild this nation, then Your Majesty must live. Will you fall here with me while protecting dignity and shame, or will you return alive and reclaim everything?”
“The choice belongs to Your Majesty.”
After taking a brief breath, he added in a low voice.
“The method from the abandoned temple… is, for now, the only road to life. I know it is a base method. I also know it is a crime that defiles Your Majesty’s dignity so greatly that even ten thousand deaths would not be enough to atone. But if Your Majesty passes away, who will inherit the legitimacy of the Daejeong Dynasty? Those who would rejoice most at that end are the very ones who have raised this rebellion.”
“You must live—only then can you reclaim everything.”
When he finished speaking, Yunseo knelt on one knee and bowed his head deeply.
“Yuk Yunseo. I swear here and now. What happens today will not leave this room. Only heaven and earth shall know, and only Your Majesty and I shall know. I will bear all sin. In the future, once the rebellion is quelled and Your Majesty once again holds the world in your grasp, if you call me to account for my crime, I will accept death without resentment.”
His weighty words fell inside the room.
It was to survive, to protect her as his sovereign, and to grasp a future that had not yet collapsed.
Wolhwa looked at him in silence.
Because every one of his words had pierced precisely through the fear and responsibility she had wanted to turn away from.
Yes.
He was right.
She could not die yet.
For the shaken rivers and mountains of Daejeong, for the people and subjects who still believed in the imperial family. She could not throw away the only road to life for the sake of the shame of this one body.
After a silence that lasted some time, Kang Wolhwa finally exhaled with a trembling breath.
“…I permit it.”
The moment those words fell, Yunseo’s heart surged violently.
He had crossed the most difficult threshold.
He moved at once.
First, he went to the window and pulled the shabby curtain even more firmly shut, then dragged an old table behind the door to brace it.
They were the bare minimum measures in preparation for any unforeseen situation.
Only after finishing all those preparations did Yunseo return to the bedside.
Wolhwa had her eyes tightly shut and her head turned away. Along with her rough breathing, the blanket clutched in her hand trembled faintly.
She, too, could feel his presence drawing closer.
Yunseo looked at her for a moment, then reached out without hesitating any further.
The sash tied firmly around her waist was carefully loosened.
Along with the sound of cloth brushing, a suppressed breath leaked out.
And the moment her warm body heat and faint fragrance once again overlapped against his chest—
The system’s voice rang out in Yunseo’s mind.
[Ding!]
[Deep Yin-Yang Harmony with a UR-grade target is commencing.]
[Neutralizing toxins…]
[Accelerating internal energy circulation…]
[Complete fusion detected.]
[The UR target’s immense fortune is flowing into the user.]
[Passive Skill Acquired — “Imperial Dignity”]
· The majesty of the imperial house permeates your disposition.
· Intimidation and trust effects are activated.
[Reward: Free Stat Points +15]
[Fate Bond stage increasing…
Entry (55/100) → Entry (60/100)]
A warm energy wrapped around his entire body.
This time, it was not as it had been before, swept along in a hazy consciousness.
Every single sensation of contact, even the trajectory along which their energies interlocked and flowed, was perceived with perfect clarity.
The energies of yin and yang circulated in their most primal form, embracing one another.
Within that process, the poisonous qi of the Fire-Heart Poison gradually lost its strength and scattered.
And what took its place was—
A strangely stable warmth spreading from deep within the bones.
Wolhwa’s will resisted to the very end. Yet her body honestly yearned for the release surging in from where it touched his.
A warmth far more overwhelming than that of the abandoned temple rose like a storm from the point where the two met and pressed into their bodies.
The heat pooled deep in his dantian surged upward all at once.
Kwaaang—!
The energy inside his body expanded as if exploding.
And then—
He touched the threshold of the next realm.
A power he could feel clearly down to his fingertips.
The sensation that he could seize everything in his grasp.
The reality that he held in his arms the body of the empress who bore the fortune of all under heaven, and the ecstasy of absolute power boiling up because of it, tangled together and intoxicated Yunseo’s consciousness deeply.
He no longer remained in the same posture. Strength entered the arm wrapped around her slender waist, and her body was drawn even deeper into his embrace.
His other hand moved slowly along the smooth line of her back. On the surface, it was a motion to guide her energy, but within it was steeped an unmistakable will to possess.
“…Hah.”
A short breath slipped out.
“Yuk Yunseo, you…!”
Wolhwa opened her eyes wide and looked up at him. Her voice was mixed with confusion and anger.
Yunseo answered in a low voice.
“Your Majesty. The vessels here are directly connected to the heart. If this area is not loosened, the root of the poison will remain. Right now, there is no method but this. Please endure for a short while.”
His words ended politely, but she knew. She knew that personal intent was mixed into what he said.
However—
The energy certainly flowing. The pain clearly fading.
All those sensations rendered her rebuttal powerless.
In the end, Wolhwa could say nothing and closed her eyes.
She buried her flushed face against his firm shoulder. That faint resignation lit another fire in Yunseo’s heart.
Obtaining her body was merely the beginning.
The true shackle—
had to be engraved upon her heart.
He could not tell how much time had passed.
When the storm-like flow gradually subsided, the energy within Wolhwa’s body was flowing steadily like a river. It was in a state even more refined than before it had been encroached upon by the poison.
Yunseo could feel it as well.
After enduring the fierce influx of UR-grade energy, his strength had been completely tempered.
The limit that a human could reach.
And the realm of transcendence that existed beyond it was now only a single step away.
He drew in a deep breath, then slowly withdrew.
“Your Majesty… how is your condition?”
As soon as those words fell, Wolhwa quickly escaped from his arms and turned her back.
Then she grabbed the scattered edges of her clothes and hurriedly covered her body, hiding the exposed skin.
With her pale lips pressed tightly together, she gave no answer in the end.
Yunseo did not deliberately disturb her silence.
He quietly straightened his own clothes and said,
“The poison qi has been suppressed for now. You must rest today. We have to leave this place before the sun rises.”
After finishing his words, he walked toward the bonfire without looking at her and added more firewood.
The flames blazed up high, pushing back the chill of the night.
Watching his back, Wolhwa realized.
From that moment in the abandoned temple, everything had already changed.
Yuk Yunseo was no longer merely a bodyguard.
He was a loyal subject who could offer up his life, and at the same time—
he had become an existence she could never treat lightly.
“I will look around the surroundings while Your Majesty rests.”
Yunseo opened the crack in the door and quietly slipped outside.
He did not go far.
He swept once around the cabin, using senses that had reached the absolute pinnacle to check for any sign of pursuers or beasts.
Nothing abnormal.
Only then did he call up the system window in his mind.
[Host: Yuk Yunseo]
[Level: Pinnacle of the Human Realm]
[Card: UR · Empire-Toppling Empress · Kang Wolhwa]
[Fate Bond Stage: Trust (70 / 100)]
[Martial Arts]
· Yuk Family Saber Art (Analysis Complete)
· Phoenix Steps (Not Initiated)
· Yin-Yang Harmony
[Traits]
· Imperial Dignity
· Empress’s Protection
· Asura Body
· Vajra Invulnerability
[Free Stat Points: 15]
Yunseo stared at the numbers for a moment before reaching a conclusion.
Stamina was the foundation.
Internal energy was the source of power.
Agility was the key that decided survival and victory.
There was no hesitation.
Stamina +5
Internal Energy +5
Agility +5
The moment the stats were distributed—
Deep within his body, power awakened once again.