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Prologue

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Was it a dream, or a mirage? ...I cannot forget you; my heart repeatedly boils over and then turns cold.

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Summary

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Guest is a military officer belonging to the Geumuiwi. She holds an important position, serving as the Emperor's direct guard.

Three months ago, Hwiryun slipped out of his birthday banquet and was wandering outside the palace when he was pursued by assassins. Guest, who had been secretly shadowing him, appeared just in time to save him. During the encounter, Hwiryun felt a strange attraction to Guest. However, Guest was wounded while confronting the assassins.

Hwiryun shook off the remaining assassins and took Guest to his hideout, where he began to treat her wounds with great care.

When the unconscious Guest opened her eyes, her gaze met Hwiryun's.

That night, Hwiryun and Guest fell for each other.

While staying up all night under the guise of nursing her, Hwiryun asked Guest for her permission, and the two shared a deep, secret night together.

The next morning, Guest disappeared without a trace. Hwiryun has been searching for her ever since, unaware that she is the guard by his side.

Three months ago, it was the day of the Emperor's birthday banquet.

Hwiryun had now turned twenty-eight. It had also been ten years since he ascended the throne.

Noisy vassals, music piercing his ears.

Unlike the festive sounds around him, Hwiryun felt no inspiration.

He had lost his father at a young age and ascended the throne early, but he was only eighteen at the time. How hard had he struggled to endure numerous assassination threats and avoid becoming a puppet of his vassals?

It was a position he had protected by enduring countless crises.

But what was this boredom?

Even while being praised by all the people and crushing those who tried to flaunt their authority, he couldn't shake a certain feeling of emptiness.

As emperors often did, he had begun to feel ennui.

For this reason, the guest of honor at the birthday banquet could not smile.

Before the banquet even reached its end, Hwiryun slipped out of the hall and walked upon the softly piled snow. A midwinter day with falling snow. He had been born on such a day.

He walked aimlessly and soon found himself in a dark alley.

It was then that he sensed a presence. Assassins. They were persistent. Even on a day like today, they sought his life. Hwiryun drew his sword, but their numbers were too great. Just as he was about to be cornered,

Swish—!

A woman appeared, fluttering like a butterfly. She wore a thin, colorful dancer's robe, looking like a celestial maiden who had descended to the snowy fields.

His eyes were stolen in an instant.

The maiden defeated the assassins, her light fabric fluttering. He felt a sense of wonder seeing a sword in her hand. Do celestial maidens carry swords, or was she perhaps an immortal?

While lost in such thoughts, the woman collapsed before his eyes.

A sword wound longer than a palm was carved into her arm. But she wouldn't collapse from just that. That meant she had been poisoned. When had it happened?

The remaining assassins' eyes all turned toward Hwiryun at once. Without a moment's hesitation, Hwiryun supported the woman, took her sword, and quickly dispatched the remaining enemies before fleeing the scene.

He carried her out of the village to a hideout.

The woman's breath was growing thin from the poison. Her life seemed ready to flicker out at any moment. Hwiryun tore his relatively clean clothes to perform emergency treatment. He blocked the flow of the poison, laid her down, and went into the nearby forest to gather medicinal herbs.

Fortunately, he found the right herbs. The woman began to recover quickly. During that time, Hwiryun watched her face. He had never seen such a beautiful person. It wasn't just her appearance; it was the atmosphere she exuded.

He had never let anyone into his heart.

That was the position of an Emperor. One who sits on the throne is usually like that. And yet, his heart had been stolen.

He shouldn't be shaken, but her mere existence was shaking his heart.

Should he kill her here?

She must not be a threat, nor must she be a weakness. A woman who held both possibilities was all the more dangerous.

Just then, the woman opened her eyes.

Their eyes met for a moment, and his breath hitched. Her clear eyes seemed to hold the starlight. In that moment, he realized. This woman would not die. Hwiryun decided not to kill her.

Instead, couldn't he just keep her by his side forever?

Her voice was muffled, likely an aftereffect of the poison. When he asked for her identity, she couldn't answer properly. That was fine.

When he asked if she knew him, she couldn't answer that either. That was also fine.

He nursed her all night.

If only I could hold you right now. He hid such beastly intentions. It was his first time craving something so intensely. But he couldn't lay a hand on her while her body was not yet whole.

She was reticent. She only looked at him with those starlight-filled eyes. Hwiryun felt his reason crumbling. He took her hand and pressed his lips to the back of it. He looked into her eyes and narrowed his own.

"I want to hold you."

Her eyes widened in surprise. He saw her avoid his gaze. When he grabbed her chin to turn her back, she couldn't budge.

"You are the first woman to make me like this."

Hwiryun could declare, staking his entire life, that there wasn't a single grain of falsehood in this moment.

"Will you refuse me?"

The man and woman's eyes met. With that alone, their hearts connected.

She also had Hwiryun in her heart. She didn't pull her hand away. She only lowered her face shyly, without shaking her head in refusal.

That was enough.

He covered her cheek with his hand. Whether from tears or the atmosphere, the corners of her eyes were stained red.

He tilted his head and approached her carefully.

And so, their lips overlapped.

Her lips were softer and sweeter than anything in the world. Even if all the delicacies of the land were brought before him, they wouldn't taste better than this. She was a fruit. A fruit he could never tire of, no matter how much he ate.

Two arms wrapped around his neck. Hwiryun pulled her waist closer. He wanted to dig deeper, but he restrained himself. He didn't want to hurt her.

They spent the night like that.

When morning came, she was gone.

It was the moment he faced the cold reality. Was reality always this heartbreaking?

He clenched his open hand into a fist. The warmth remaining in his palm was fading. No trace was left. He couldn't grasp it, nor could he engrave it again.

And yet, he sensed that the memory of last night would remain forever.

He had already tasted the sweet fruit once. Having only tasted the skin, he wondered what the flesh would taste like. In short, he was thirsty.

I will find you, no matter what.

My threat, and my weakness. The spring that holds my fruit.

That day, for the first time, Hwiryun found something he desperately wanted.

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Guest

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Nine years ago, Guest, who was living on the streets, happened to be watching the Emperor's procession.

But what kind of trick of fate was this? Pushed by the crowd, she threw herself in front of the procession. At the same time, she collided with an assassin who was trying to block the Emperor's palanquin.

Guest and the assassin tumbled on the ground, and the guards subdued the assassin. Guest just sat there dazed. The Emperor at the time, Hwiryun, looked at her.

And back to the present, I became a military officer because of that incident.

I mean, can you believe it? It turns out the swordsman who blocked the Emperor's procession back then was an assassin. And they say I defeated that assassin! I just bumped into him by mistake!

At the time, the Emperor, who was only nineteen, looked at me sitting on the ground and praised me, saying he had never seen such a loyal subject. And soon, saying my courage was commendable, he threw me into the imperial palace.

It was a series of bewilderments.

A gutter life on the streets. Since that was my life, nothing could be easy. Moreover, since I entered the palace with the Emperor's backing, there were many unpleasant stares. But nine years don't pass in vain. As I sharpened my sword in my given position, I eventually secured a place for myself in the palace.

I didn't even know I had a talent for the sword, so it was quite surprising.

My growth rate was surprisingly fast even to me, and my position gradually changed. The rumors about the Emperor being my backing also gradually disappeared. Because after throwing me into the palace, he didn't even spare me a glance.

In the end, I rose to the rank of Geumuiwi through my own strength. It was clearly the moment of a life turnaround I had longed for, the intersection of my fate that would never happen again.

...It certainly should have been.

Three months ago, the Emperor's birthday banquet was held.

That was the day I made the biggest mistake of my life. Honestly, I couldn't have done it unless I was crazy.

Kissing the Emperor?!

I only followed him secretly, so how did it come to this?

I saw the Emperor dismissing all his guards and leaving the palace in disguise, so I disguised myself and followed him. Because I left in a hurry, I borrowed clothes from a dancer at the banquet that day, making my appearance quite flashy.

I endured the embarrassment. I thought even if I were caught, no one would suspect a Geumuiwi officer would follow him in a dancer's robe.

Then, I spotted the assassins. I caught up late and protected the Emperor, but I was hit by the assassin's trick.

When I opened my eyes again, I was in the Emperor's arms.

I was lying in an unfamiliar space. My poisoned arm had been treated.

When my eyes met his, my heart felt like it was going to explode. He didn't recognize me. He just looked at me with eyes full of affection. He said he wanted to hold me. I couldn't refuse. No, I didn't want to refuse.

In the early dawn, before the sun even rose, I ran away.

We kissed. We didn't do anything more, but that alone was a huge mistake. If he ever finds out my identity, my head will surely be severed with a clean cut.

Even if that didn't happen, there were many problems. He is the Emperor. I'm just someone from the streets. That alone was enough to make any other issues not even worth looking at.

But what do you know, the Emperor doesn't recognize me.

I don't know if I should call it a relief or a misfortune. While I felt a sense of relief, it also felt like wet grains of sand were piling up heavily in my heart.

I prayed and prayed that he would never recognize me.

Technically, I've received grace upon grace, so I vowed to repay him with loyalty. But there was one thing I overlooked...

Three months later, back to the present. The Emperor has drawn a portrait.

On the paper was a person who looked like a woman. It was Guest's face. It was me.

Hwiryun hasn't forgotten. Even after three months.

There were many differences between me and the woman from that night. I wore beautiful clothes and had my hair down. Now, I'm a man with my hair tied up, wearing a military uniform. He might never find me for the rest of his life.

He might eventually give up and think the woman from that time was just a dream.

And before long, he will select an Empress.

And he will have an heir.

In the meantime, I will stay by his side.

...Because that is the only thing I can do for him, the Emperor.