Chapter 129
The knights standing guard in front of the Emerald Castle’s bedroom tensed up at the sight of Sethian suddenly charging toward them without warning.
Given their lord’s temperament, he was not one to strictly adhere to imperial etiquette, but even so, he was never the type to rush down the corridors with such terrifying urgency. What made the situation even more bewildering was his disheveled appearance—his slicked-back hair still damp, the water not properly wiped away, and his attire incomplete, lacking both a jacket and a cloak.
The knights quickly saluted Sethian and Renoc, who was chasing after him in a hurry.
“Step aside.”
Before they could even utter a word, Sethian’s cold command left no room for objection, and his piercing gaze alone was enough to make them step back.
With both hands, he threw open the wide doors of the bedroom.
And there, sitting weakly on the bed, was Joo Yi-Gyeol.
His clear eyes curved gently at the corners, and his lips carried a warm, familiar smile—one that Seth had longed to see.
At that moment, the room, which had felt bitterly cold no matter how many braziers had been brought in, seemed to warm up as though bathed in the golden light of a sunny afternoon.
“Welcome back.”
Joo Yi-Gyeol’s calm and composed voice pounded against Sethian’s heart.
At first, his heart simply raced, a relentless pounding so intense that it hurt. The dull ache in his head—worsened from lack of sleep—was nothing compared to the sheer pain that surged with every heartbeat. Even the agony of being slashed by a blade or teetering on the brink of death had never hurt this much.
He couldn’t define this emotion that soared alongside the pain.
Was it gratitude? Relief? Joy? Love?
No. It was something far more overwhelming.
It was an uncontrollable mix of love and hatred, a sorrowful restlessness, and something beyond mere affection or obsession. A torment so suffocating that if anyone could define it, they would surely have to be someone twisted beyond reason.
And then, a cold and monstrous possessiveness crept in.
His mind was consumed by a chilling warning: ‘I must never lose Joo Yi-Gyeol again.’
He never wanted to experience the unbearable torment of searching for him, desperate and helpless, ever again.
Sethian slammed the door shut and strode toward Joo Yi-Gyeol, who was still smiling as if nothing had happened.
Without hesitation, he pushed him down onto the bed.
A short gasp escaped Joo Yi-Gyeol’s lips at the sudden force. Sethian pressed one hand firmly against his chest, pinning him down, while his other hand seized his right ankle.
The slender ankle fit so easily into his grip—so fragile that it felt like it could snap with just a little pressure.
“Ah….”
Joo Yi-Gyeol’s brows furrowed slightly at the tight grip on his chest and the aching sensation in his ankle.
Sethian looked down at him with a piercing gaze, his eyes sharp and glinting with a dangerous edge.
“You’re never leaving again.”
His voice was deadly—like a beast on the verge of sinking its fangs into its prey.
“I’ll break both of your legs, chain you up, and lock you away. I’ll make sure no one can ever see you by blinding you with drugs. I’ll destroy your voice so you can never call for anyone. I’ll even place a barrier around you, so not even your soul can escape.”
Horrifying words, laced with chilling darkness.
Yet Joo Yi-Gyeol didn’t so much as flinch.
“…If you do that, I won’t ever be able to leave you, even if I wanted to.”
The harrowing memory of losing Joo Yi-Gyeol once was more than enough.
“The only place you belong is with me.”
Sethian’s gaze, laced with madness and obsession, tightened around Joo Yi-Gyeol like a noose.
Yet Joo Yi-Gyeol showed no fear.
Instead, he smiled softly and reached up, cupping Sethian’s face with both hands. His warm fingers caressed the cold skin with a desperate tenderness.
Sethian’s bloodshot eyes, dark from exhaustion, burned with a deep fire. His face was sharper, his features more pronounced, and his complexion pale from suffering. Seeing him like this made Joo Yi-Gyeol’s heart ache unbearably.
‘This is my fault.’
Joo Yi-Gyeol’s smile faltered, his expression crumbling with pain.
He had been the one to push Sethian into such torment—because he had ignored his own feelings, curling up in denial.
He had been too afraid that if he came to share Sethian’s feelings, he might shamelessly begin to want something.
He had wanted to spare Sethian from having his lifespan drained, so he had ignored Sethian’s emotions entirely and only thought of running far away and being lonely. He had known that the body Sethian had created for him would soon wither and die.
Yet he had chosen to make that sacrifice alone, never considering what Sethian wanted.
Just as Sethian had selfishly made his choice, Yi-Gyeol had done the same.
And yet, that alone should have been enough for him to realize—Sethian must have been just as agonized as he was.
“…You can do whatever you want.”
A quiet, breathless surrender escaped Joo Yi-Gyeol’s lips.
“Break my legs, blind me, destroy my voice and chain me up—do whatever you want. Even if you want to lock my soul away, that’s fine too.”
There was no hesitation.
As if to say it didn’t matter what happened to him, as long as it put Sethian’s heart at ease.
Just as Sethian had always handed him the lead, telling him to do as he pleased, Joo Yi-Gyeol was now offering him the reins.
“Seth.”
His deep, black eyes wavered as he called Sethian's nickname.
His lips, which had been curved in a soft arc, trembled faintly.
“…Thank you for asking me to come back.”
For wishing for someone like him to return—thank you, truly.
Like transparent foam scattering over the sea, countless unspoken thanks rose to the surface of his mind.
Did Sethian realize?
That an expression he had never once shown before—pure, unguarded desperation—was now etched so clearly onto his face.
And that this face, filled with nothing but devotion, was directed only at him.
A wave of emotion surged in Joo Yi-Gyeol’s throat, unbearable and overwhelming.
He grasped Sethian’s face, pulled him close, and lifted his head to press their lips together.
It was careful—gentle, like stepping on tiptoes.
Their lips brushed softly at first, hesitantly pressing and retreating. Then, like Seth had so often done before, Joo Yi-Gyeol tentatively flicked his tongue out, tracing the other’s lips.
Lifting his head to kiss Sethian put a strain on his already weakened body, and his limbs trembled with the effort.
Just as he was about to pull away, Sethian, who had frozen momentarily, suddenly cradled the back of his head and deepened the kiss.
A sharp gasp was swallowed as Sethian’s tongue invaded his mouth, curling around his own and pulling it in with raw hunger.
It was intense—so deep that Joo Yi-Gyeol’s vision blurred from the sheer force of it. The sensitive stimulation he had not felt while blocking vitality absorption swept over him like a storm from that single kiss.
Sethian’s tongue brushed and rubbed against different places in his mouth, making them tingle pleasantly and even itch. His shoulders drew up on their own, and his hands, barely gripping the sheet, trembled.
His startled body twisted slightly, and before he knew it, he was rubbing against Sethian’s thigh between his legs. Seemingly unaware of his own body’s reaction, Joo Yi-Gyeol became completely drunk on the kiss filling his mouth.
“Hngh…, mmph…!”
Their lips were pressed together so tightly that his breathing came fast, and already he felt dizzy. His chest rose on its own in search of breath, almost brushing Sethian’s. Sethian must have noticed too, because he wrapped one arm around Joo Yi-Gyeol’s back and pulled him tightly in. Their chests, pounding hard, pressed fully together, and he became intoxicated by a trembling that felt impossible to tell apart.
As the vitality in their saliva spread, every part of his mouth became as sensitive as an erogenous zone. Even the slightest touch made him flinch, and his little tongue kept moving back in response. The lewd wet sounds of their saliva mixing thickly together teased his ears like caresses.
“Joo Yi-Gyeol….”
Between rough breaths, Sethian called his name. It did not sound as though he wanted an answer. He simply called him desperately, swallowing his own breath again and again, as if confirming over and over that the person in his arms, kissing him, really was Joo Yi-Gyeol.
Joo Yi-Gyeol lifted both arms and wrapped them around Sethian’s back. The moment they embraced each other, a bliss beyond comfort washed over him, and his eyes slowly drifted shut.
At that moment, as if jolting him awake, Sethian bit his lower lip sharply, and a moan escaped before he could stop it. Sethian’s piercing eyes held his gaze in place, while the flesh that had pushed in so deeply coiled around the base of his tongue as if it might rip it out. Even so, instead of pain, all he could think was how good the tingling felt. It was clearly not normal.
After kissing Joo Yi-Gyeol until the inside of his mouth and his tongue felt numb, Sethian pulled away, licking up the saliva running from the corner of his lips. Looking down at Joo Yi-Gyeol, already exhausted from kissing alone, he ruthlessly tore his shirt open to either side. Several of the buttons fastening it flew off and rolled across the floor, and his flushed upper body was completely bared.
It had been a doll-like body that never panted no matter how much he kissed or touched it. Yet simply because Joo Yi-Gyeol had returned, it now carried such vivid heat and trembled so sweetly.
Sethian’s fingertips touched Joo Yi-Gyeol’s left chest. The mark of his teeth, where he had bitten down as if to devour his heart centered around the small protrusion, still remained. If even this had disappeared, it would have been even more unbearable. It was a burning mark he had engraved with genuine feelings on the only man he had ever truly loved.
Joo Yi-Gyeol’s hand covered Sethian’s, resting atop his own chest.
“…Do it.”
Through his breathless voice came an earnest plea.
“Mark me… completely.”
Not as a sign of departure to a faraway place, but as proof of staying—completely, by Sethian’s side.
Given their lord’s temperament, he was not one to strictly adhere to imperial etiquette, but even so, he was never the type to rush down the corridors with such terrifying urgency. What made the situation even more bewildering was his disheveled appearance—his slicked-back hair still damp, the water not properly wiped away, and his attire incomplete, lacking both a jacket and a cloak.
The knights quickly saluted Sethian and Renoc, who was chasing after him in a hurry.
“Step aside.”
Before they could even utter a word, Sethian’s cold command left no room for objection, and his piercing gaze alone was enough to make them step back.
With both hands, he threw open the wide doors of the bedroom.
And there, sitting weakly on the bed, was Joo Yi-Gyeol.
His clear eyes curved gently at the corners, and his lips carried a warm, familiar smile—one that Seth had longed to see.
At that moment, the room, which had felt bitterly cold no matter how many braziers had been brought in, seemed to warm up as though bathed in the golden light of a sunny afternoon.
“Welcome back.”
Joo Yi-Gyeol’s calm and composed voice pounded against Sethian’s heart.
At first, his heart simply raced, a relentless pounding so intense that it hurt. The dull ache in his head—worsened from lack of sleep—was nothing compared to the sheer pain that surged with every heartbeat. Even the agony of being slashed by a blade or teetering on the brink of death had never hurt this much.
He couldn’t define this emotion that soared alongside the pain.
Was it gratitude? Relief? Joy? Love?
No. It was something far more overwhelming.
It was an uncontrollable mix of love and hatred, a sorrowful restlessness, and something beyond mere affection or obsession. A torment so suffocating that if anyone could define it, they would surely have to be someone twisted beyond reason.
And then, a cold and monstrous possessiveness crept in.
His mind was consumed by a chilling warning: ‘I must never lose Joo Yi-Gyeol again.’
He never wanted to experience the unbearable torment of searching for him, desperate and helpless, ever again.
Sethian slammed the door shut and strode toward Joo Yi-Gyeol, who was still smiling as if nothing had happened.
Without hesitation, he pushed him down onto the bed.
A short gasp escaped Joo Yi-Gyeol’s lips at the sudden force. Sethian pressed one hand firmly against his chest, pinning him down, while his other hand seized his right ankle.
The slender ankle fit so easily into his grip—so fragile that it felt like it could snap with just a little pressure.
“Ah….”
Joo Yi-Gyeol’s brows furrowed slightly at the tight grip on his chest and the aching sensation in his ankle.
Sethian looked down at him with a piercing gaze, his eyes sharp and glinting with a dangerous edge.
“You’re never leaving again.”
His voice was deadly—like a beast on the verge of sinking its fangs into its prey.
“I’ll break both of your legs, chain you up, and lock you away. I’ll make sure no one can ever see you by blinding you with drugs. I’ll destroy your voice so you can never call for anyone. I’ll even place a barrier around you, so not even your soul can escape.”
Horrifying words, laced with chilling darkness.
Yet Joo Yi-Gyeol didn’t so much as flinch.
“…If you do that, I won’t ever be able to leave you, even if I wanted to.”
The harrowing memory of losing Joo Yi-Gyeol once was more than enough.
“The only place you belong is with me.”
Sethian’s gaze, laced with madness and obsession, tightened around Joo Yi-Gyeol like a noose.
Yet Joo Yi-Gyeol showed no fear.
Instead, he smiled softly and reached up, cupping Sethian’s face with both hands. His warm fingers caressed the cold skin with a desperate tenderness.
Sethian’s bloodshot eyes, dark from exhaustion, burned with a deep fire. His face was sharper, his features more pronounced, and his complexion pale from suffering. Seeing him like this made Joo Yi-Gyeol’s heart ache unbearably.
‘This is my fault.’
Joo Yi-Gyeol’s smile faltered, his expression crumbling with pain.
He had been the one to push Sethian into such torment—because he had ignored his own feelings, curling up in denial.
He had been too afraid that if he came to share Sethian’s feelings, he might shamelessly begin to want something.
He had wanted to spare Sethian from having his lifespan drained, so he had ignored Sethian’s emotions entirely and only thought of running far away and being lonely. He had known that the body Sethian had created for him would soon wither and die.
Yet he had chosen to make that sacrifice alone, never considering what Sethian wanted.
Just as Sethian had selfishly made his choice, Yi-Gyeol had done the same.
And yet, that alone should have been enough for him to realize—Sethian must have been just as agonized as he was.
“…You can do whatever you want.”
A quiet, breathless surrender escaped Joo Yi-Gyeol’s lips.
“Break my legs, blind me, destroy my voice and chain me up—do whatever you want. Even if you want to lock my soul away, that’s fine too.”
There was no hesitation.
As if to say it didn’t matter what happened to him, as long as it put Sethian’s heart at ease.
Just as Sethian had always handed him the lead, telling him to do as he pleased, Joo Yi-Gyeol was now offering him the reins.
“Seth.”
His deep, black eyes wavered as he called Sethian's nickname.
His lips, which had been curved in a soft arc, trembled faintly.
“…Thank you for asking me to come back.”
For wishing for someone like him to return—thank you, truly.
Like transparent foam scattering over the sea, countless unspoken thanks rose to the surface of his mind.
Did Sethian realize?
That an expression he had never once shown before—pure, unguarded desperation—was now etched so clearly onto his face.
And that this face, filled with nothing but devotion, was directed only at him.
A wave of emotion surged in Joo Yi-Gyeol’s throat, unbearable and overwhelming.
He grasped Sethian’s face, pulled him close, and lifted his head to press their lips together.
It was careful—gentle, like stepping on tiptoes.
Their lips brushed softly at first, hesitantly pressing and retreating. Then, like Seth had so often done before, Joo Yi-Gyeol tentatively flicked his tongue out, tracing the other’s lips.
Lifting his head to kiss Sethian put a strain on his already weakened body, and his limbs trembled with the effort.
Just as he was about to pull away, Sethian, who had frozen momentarily, suddenly cradled the back of his head and deepened the kiss.
A sharp gasp was swallowed as Sethian’s tongue invaded his mouth, curling around his own and pulling it in with raw hunger.
It was intense—so deep that Joo Yi-Gyeol’s vision blurred from the sheer force of it. The sensitive stimulation he had not felt while blocking vitality absorption swept over him like a storm from that single kiss.
Sethian’s tongue brushed and rubbed against different places in his mouth, making them tingle pleasantly and even itch. His shoulders drew up on their own, and his hands, barely gripping the sheet, trembled.
His startled body twisted slightly, and before he knew it, he was rubbing against Sethian’s thigh between his legs. Seemingly unaware of his own body’s reaction, Joo Yi-Gyeol became completely drunk on the kiss filling his mouth.
“Hngh…, mmph…!”
Their lips were pressed together so tightly that his breathing came fast, and already he felt dizzy. His chest rose on its own in search of breath, almost brushing Sethian’s. Sethian must have noticed too, because he wrapped one arm around Joo Yi-Gyeol’s back and pulled him tightly in. Their chests, pounding hard, pressed fully together, and he became intoxicated by a trembling that felt impossible to tell apart.
As the vitality in their saliva spread, every part of his mouth became as sensitive as an erogenous zone. Even the slightest touch made him flinch, and his little tongue kept moving back in response. The lewd wet sounds of their saliva mixing thickly together teased his ears like caresses.
“Joo Yi-Gyeol….”
Between rough breaths, Sethian called his name. It did not sound as though he wanted an answer. He simply called him desperately, swallowing his own breath again and again, as if confirming over and over that the person in his arms, kissing him, really was Joo Yi-Gyeol.
Joo Yi-Gyeol lifted both arms and wrapped them around Sethian’s back. The moment they embraced each other, a bliss beyond comfort washed over him, and his eyes slowly drifted shut.
At that moment, as if jolting him awake, Sethian bit his lower lip sharply, and a moan escaped before he could stop it. Sethian’s piercing eyes held his gaze in place, while the flesh that had pushed in so deeply coiled around the base of his tongue as if it might rip it out. Even so, instead of pain, all he could think was how good the tingling felt. It was clearly not normal.
After kissing Joo Yi-Gyeol until the inside of his mouth and his tongue felt numb, Sethian pulled away, licking up the saliva running from the corner of his lips. Looking down at Joo Yi-Gyeol, already exhausted from kissing alone, he ruthlessly tore his shirt open to either side. Several of the buttons fastening it flew off and rolled across the floor, and his flushed upper body was completely bared.
It had been a doll-like body that never panted no matter how much he kissed or touched it. Yet simply because Joo Yi-Gyeol had returned, it now carried such vivid heat and trembled so sweetly.
Sethian’s fingertips touched Joo Yi-Gyeol’s left chest. The mark of his teeth, where he had bitten down as if to devour his heart centered around the small protrusion, still remained. If even this had disappeared, it would have been even more unbearable. It was a burning mark he had engraved with genuine feelings on the only man he had ever truly loved.
Joo Yi-Gyeol’s hand covered Sethian’s, resting atop his own chest.
“…Do it.”
Through his breathless voice came an earnest plea.
“Mark me… completely.”
Not as a sign of departure to a faraway place, but as proof of staying—completely, by Sethian’s side.
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