4 ⚜️🌺 Sins of Lust
Baek spent the night opening his eyes in bed, unable to rest with ease without thinking about Seon-in. When morning rose, the Head Eunuch entered the room and prepared Baek for court. He headed to the court with a bag under his eyes. The ministers murmured among each other as they looked at him.
Once Baek sat down on the throne, he sighed heavily and raised one hand.
"I…"
"Your Majesty, pray forgive my boldness, but has something caused unease?" Prime Minister Kim Heo-yang, the father of Queen Goo-eun, asked.
Baek exhaled slowly as he stared at the entrance, pretending that he was blind. He held his eyes straight yet turned his head slightly to Heo-yang's way with a faint smile.
"Prime Minister Kim, what might this signify?" Baek questioned.
Heo-yang swallowed his fear as his eyes widened, his heart hammering. Could this be because of Her Majesty?
"I… I dare not presume, Your Majesty, but might it have anything to do with Her Majesty?"
Baek chuckled as he closed his eyes and tilted his head.
"Her Majesty is quite dignified and proper. Don't worry," he replied calmly. Heo-yang drew a long, steady breath, relief spreading through his chest. "Still… there's a mouse skulking in my home, as if it were a public hall."
All of the ministers gasped sharply, looking at each other.
"Who would dare?"
"How audacious!"
Baek laughed silently, amused by every word the ministers spoke. That woman… she is daring indeed. How eagerly I long to see her again.
They all stopped and turned their heads slowly to Baek, watching him smile for the first time in court. He noticed their quietness and smiled warmly.
A lower minister at the back squinted his eyes as he lowered his head. This change in His Majesty must be reported to the Prince of Haeryeong at once.
"Carry on with the duty," he demanded.
Meanwhile, Seonu slipped into the Queen's Quarter. Goo-eun's head maid, Min Shiyoung, regarded him coolly.
"You are dismissed. I wish to speak with Her Majesty alone," Seonu announced.
"Your Highness, that is impossible—"
"Dismiss. Do you refuse a prince?" Seonu demanded.
Goo-eun flung the door open and fixed him with a glare.
"What gives you the right to raise your voice at my people?" she asked.
Seonu tilted his head, smirking.
"So graceful and proper," he said, pulling a handkerchief from his belt. Goo-eun's own handkerchief—the one she had discarded in the woods.
Her eyes widened. His smile broadened. Goo-eun tightened her jaw, fists clenched.
"Everyone… dismiss," she said through gritted teeth.
Shiyoung swallowed and left without protest. Goo-eun stalked to a seat. Seonu entered and shut the door behind him. He sat before her, smirk intact.
"How did you come by that?" Goo-eun demanded, striving for composure.
Seonu pressed the cloth to his nose and inhaled.
"Still carrying the scent of the woods," he murmured. "You were careless, Your Majesty."
Goo-eun slammed her hand on the table and stood. She pointed aggressively at his chest as he smiled calmly.
"How dare you accuse me of such a sinful act?"
Seonu laughed as he locked eyes with her.
"Accuse? With the evidence you concealed beneath your skirts, it's inevitably too true."
Goo-eun gritted her teeth, biting her lower lip. A flicker of shame flared upon her cheeks when he had witnessed the indignified queen she tried to hide. I thought there was no one there… I wanted to indulge in peace. How did it come to this?
"What… do you want?"
Seonu grabbed her chin and pulled her forward. She frowned, yet made no move to push him away.
"Be my courier for the throne, and I will grant you the grandest position in the kingdom."
She trembled as the words plundered her chest.
"And if I refuse?" she retaliated.
He chuckled, leaning toward her lips without touching.
"Then… be prepared to lose your dignity as the virtuous queen of Joseon," Seonu threatened. He removed his hand from her and turned away. He walked out while waving. "I will give you time to think about it…"
As soon as his footsteps faded in the hallway, Goo-eun gripped her teapot tightly, frustration burning through her. She set it down on the low table with a sharp clink, but it didn't break.
Shiyoung hurried to her side, bowing low.
"Your Majesty… are you alright?"
Goo-eun's eyes shimmered with unshed tears.
"Has His Majesty shown no sign of favor today?" she asked, voice trembling with suppressed indignation.
Shiyoung shook her head.
"Nothing… though I heard mention that there was a mouse in the palace," she added carefully.
Goo-eun paused, her eyes darting left and right.
"A mouse?" she muttered, then her lips stretched into a thin, incredulous laugh. "Prepare my bath for tonight, and let it be known that I wish to see His Majesty's favor."
Shiyoung nodded and left the room. A few other maids entered the room and cleaned after Goo-eun. Once that got a start, Goo-eun chuckled nervously as she waited.
"I will not be controlled… Prince Seonu, who do you take yourself for, to dare threaten me?" she grinned. If His Majesty refuses to call for me, I will go to him instead.
Later, when the crescent moon hung in a sky scattered with stars, Baek stepped into his bath to cleanse himself before retiring. Hye-shik waited quietly by the door, guiding him toward his bedchamber as he did every night. When the gong rang, the eunuchs and maidservants withdrew, leaving the palace steeped in silence.
Baek entered his chamber and loosened his robe as he walked toward the bed. He lay down, hands resting over his chest, eyes closing slowly. He inhaled deeply, then exhaled in a long, measured breath. Hye-shik's footsteps faded down the corridor until only stillness remained.
From behind the folded screen beside his bed, Goo-eun's slender hand slipped into view.
She emerged silently, moving with deliberate grace. Climbing onto the bed, she traced her way upward from his feet to his chest.
Baek's brows knit together, yet he did not open his eyes. He thought it was another dream—another illusion of Seon-in conjured by his restless mind.
Then Goo-eun's warm breath brushed his ear as silk slid against his bare chest. The silk felt too real to be a dream. He opened his eyes and jolted away at once.
"Who are you?!" he asked sternly.
Goo-eun smiled alluringly as she touched his chest. He quickly shoved her hand away.
"Your Majesty…" she called, her voice softening into something sweet and coaxing. Then she sat before him and spread her legs with one knee up, pulling the bottom of her skirt up over her thighs. "I heard that there was a mouse… can't you hold me tight tonight?"
Baek groaned, shaking his head as he looked away.
"My Queen… I think you have misunderstood the metaphor of the mouse—"
"Hold me… please," Goo-eun begged as she leaned closer to him.
He stared straight at her with coldness.
She looked at his eyes, shimmering white in the darkness. He's blind, so he probably doesn't know what a lady's body looks like. I need his royal seed inside of me. She seized his hand and guided it between her legs, smiling and blushing.
Baek's fingers trembled—not from restraint. What is she up to again? Must I pretend I can't see what she's planning when I hate it?
She opened her mouth slowly, a low, inviting moan escaping as she pulled his hand deeper into her undergarment—
He yanked away instantly and pushed her off the bed.
"Please rest in your chamber for tonight, My Queen."
Goo-eun bit her lower lip in frustration. Why won't he just let me guide him to hold me?! She turned and grabbed him between the legs, squeezing—a soft jewel.
"You're… not?" she whispered. staring at the fabric flattened against his blanket. He's not even turned on for me?
Baek drew a deep, humbling breath at her boldness. He took her hand calmly, walked to the door, and opened it for her.
"Have a good night's rest, Queen Goo-eun."
Goo-eun stood frozen in the doorway for a moment, the cool night air brushing skin that still burned with expectation. The corridor felt longer than usual as she walked back to her chamber. Each step echoed like mockery.
He did not even tremble.
Her jaw tightened.
Not even for a moment.
Inside her room, she dismissed the maids with a brittle smile. The moment the doors shut, her composure shattered. She pressed a palm to her chest as if to steady the frantic pounding beneath it.
How could he look at her so coldly?
She had offered herself—no, she had humbled herself. A queen lowering her pride, spreading her knees like some desperate concubine… and he had pushed her away as though she were nothing more than an inconvenience.
Her nails dug into her palms.
Was she not beautiful?
Every court lady envied her grace. Every noblewoman praised her refinement. Even Seonu's gaze had burned with hunger in the forest.
But her own husband—
Her husband had felt nothing.
The humiliation coiled low in her stomach, hot and bitter. It was not a desire now. It was wounded pride. She replayed the moment again and again: the flatness beneath his robes, the calm in his voice, the way he took her hand—not in passion, but in dismissal.
He had escorted her out like a servant who had overstayed her welcome.
A trembling breath escaped her lips.
If he truly is blind… then why does it feel as though I am the one unseen?
She turned to the mirror and stared at her reflection: hair slightly undone, lips swollen from anticipation, eyes glassy—not with seduction, but with shame.
No.
Her fingers tightened around the edge of the vanity until her knuckles whitened.
I will not be unwanted.