Chapter 6
Part 1
Unedited
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1
“My Lady¹ Yeo-bi, Head Palace Eunuch Wei-Jeong has arrived.”
“Come quickly, have something to drink.”
It was pitch dark, an hour past drinking time² when Wijeong arrived at the Three Palaces³. The Eastern Court⁴, nicknamed Jamilheon, was said to be the most beautiful of the Three Palaces. It was the name given to it in honor of Yeo-bi entering the Samgung.
Wei-Jeong had not slept yet so his eyes were puffy when they met Yeo-bi’s and he bowed his head.
“It’s good to see you, My Lady Yeo-bi.”
“Oh, please! Stop with that sort of thing. Who will see us here?”
Wei-Jeong shrugged his shoulders and looked around. There were only four pairs of ears that were listening at the moment. There must be two more in the bedroom with one door between them, and if he looked around he would find a few more.
“They’re all my people. It’s been over three years since I’ve been to the palace, don’t you think I would have been able to sort all that out?”
Wei-Jeong looked into the young face of his niece which had not changed much in the three years she’d been here.
His niece seemed to think highly of herself for having endured the past three years on her own, but it wasn’t really true. If Wei-Jeong did not give his support to his niece she would have been stuffed into the trough already.
Well, it wasn’t bad to have to deal with a poor defenseless thing like her amongst the concubines.
His fleshy eyes twitched slowly.
Perhaps the Emperor chose her with that thought in mind.
Seeing that Wei-Jeong didn’t object at the time, perhaps his love for his niece only went that far.
His niece had nearly reached the age of twenty, so that alone could be said to be proof of his affection.
“Why did you call me, My Lady?”
“Are you really asking me that, don’t you already know?”
But the most adorable part about this girl was that her head was so big and she did not want to pretend to be a concubine.
Although the relationship was hardly a worthy one between uncle and niece, when she became a concubine, he honored the close acquaintance with her family.
Before that, he had been called Uncle Wei-Jeong, but about a month after becoming a concubine she became too haughty, and he must distance himself from her as a servant of the inner palace.
Even if he hadn’t personally made her bitter. He had the type of personality that made him easy to hate even if he wasn’t Head Palace Eunuch. He just leaned back and looked around.
Compared to other concubines, he had it pretty good with his niece. However, he had grown weary of her excessive greed and jealousy but did not yet understand how boundless it all was.
“There’s a Guest! A male Guest has come into the inner palace. How could all this have happened even though my Uncle was there?”
Wei-Jeong delighted in quibbling over the rules. The palace was an extremely disordered place when the laws were not followed. What his niece was saying demonstrated that point.
“What has happened……what has brought a male Guest to the inner palace? Why did you not interfere? No, before that. You don’t even say a word to your niece? Did you know that it’s been over a week since I have seen the Emperor?”
“My Lady. Don’t get it wrong.”
Her eyes became a tangled knot of provocation.
His niece secretly calling on him to come and go at this late hour was precisely the situation that made Wei-Jeong hate the rule of law being violated.
“It is the Emperor who decreases the Imperial law, not me. What would you have me do, go against the commands of the Emperor?”
As soon as Wei-Jeong stepped up, Yeo-bi shifted in her seat wearily.
“Uncle, how can you say such a sorrowful thing? I know that the relationship between the Emperor and the uncle is deeper and stronger than anything else! Who else can I trust in this palace besides my Uncle?”
Yeo-bi clutched at Wei-Jeong’s sleeve anxiously.
“Uncle knows what kind of sorrow you are experiencing in the palace using your young age as an excuse. Therefore, even though you are young and you don’t pay attention as well as you ought, or see things as clearly, you are occupying Jamilheon in good health both physically and mentally thanks to your Uncle’s grace. How do you not know this? Honey, shouldn’t it be you looking for a way to repay your Uncle’s kindness? It’s not as though I want the Gyotaejeon⁵ to stay empty, it’s just that the Emperor……,”
Verbose, hollow words that changed nothing, flowed. Wei-Jeong pretended to listen, nodding his head.
Even if he was close to the Emperor, he was not close enough to coerce him into a concubine’s bed, that isn’t something he should have connections to.
It was a matter of course that the Emperor should visit the concubines at least once a month, however, it was a rule that was not followed even in the time of Wonje.
No matter how compulsory it was supposed to be, his bizarre sleeping habit was an inevitability, so even if he went out on the grounds every day, that situation must always be appreciated.
”……I have already prepared a plan. My Uncle just……,”
But when he heard it, he couldn’t just nod his head. Wei-Jeong lifted
his head suddenly.
“Huh? What do you mean, My Lady?”
The woman nodded vigorously with a small, pretty face.
“I’m sure of that. Nanga’s father found out by sending people to the labor camp. The male Guest has a suspicious past, so if my Uncle would draw attention to this point well, the Emperor will surely change his mind.”
“Oh, he-he.”
Wei-Jeong smirked in spite of himself. Yeo-bi’s round eyes, which he thought were like a child’s, crumpled.
“What’s wrong with you, Uncle?”
“Even if you were quick, you were too quick.”
To put it bluntly, he was surprised.
Yeo-bi’s trick was to whine like a child. This would not work to coerce him either, even if Wei-Jeong did try it.
It was purely because of the effort made by Wei-Jeong that his niece became a Consort instead of a concubine, and received Jamilheon in the Samgung. Anyway, she was young and immature and he believed that she would be trampled on, so he thought that Consort would be better than being a Concubine.
Just as he thought, Yeo-bi enjoyed becoming a Consort.
As Wei-Jeong thought about it, the Emperor had only visited Jamilheon only a few times and there was no mention of it after that. There was nothing special about her, but there was no reason to toss her out. Plus she was the niece of Wei-Jeong.
Wei-Jeong was relieved to think that Yeo-bi’s life would go on so smoothly.
It would be a lucky thing if she happened to produce a prince, or like now, enjoy the life of collecting small treasures and commanding the palace women.
But now the years have passed.
The sweets she serves that were made by the palace women, she now says are tasteless, the eldest niece has forgotten that she used to beg for those sweets from the Sangseongam⁶ (尙膳監).
Wei-Jeong pondered what Yeo-bi had just said.
– Surely the Emperor will lose interest as well. How could he have such an unclean person as a Guest? If Uncle conveys her message to the Imperial Scholars, they could take action by sharing it with those in the court they have connections to.
Simply put, they could tell everyone that he was a filthy man who committed incest with his brother in order to drive a wedge between them. Even if it was something that the Emperor could overlook, it was bound to hurt when the inside the inner place, and those of the court, talked about it all at once.
What surprised Wei Zheng the most was that Yeo-bi had moved her people to investigate his past by herself. If it had been the previous Yeo-bi, she would not have been able to prepare all these things in a few days after the rumors spread.
Now that he has all the pieces in place, all he has to do was to whisper in the Emperor’s ear.
“Heh heh……”
Wei-Jeong stroked his double chin, with an uncomfortable expression. Even Yeo-bi, who had nothing to think about, had moved this much in the meantime.
He was sure the other Consorts would do something too.
Wei-Jeong glanced at the nearby palace women. Then he sat down in front of the tea table and spoke.
“It’s late, however, I’m thirsty, so I’ll stay a bit longer. My Lady, may I have a cup of tea, please?”
She smiled with delight as she shook her head.
“Of course, Uncle. Come on, go ahead and have some tea. If uncle will be drinking it, I’ll choose something particularly good.”
“Yes, My Lady.”
The two palace women quietly left. Wei-Jeong’s ears pricked up as he followed the sound of their footsteps.
Obviously, one of the two will leave Jamilheon like this. It will be to convey the conversation that took place at this secret time to the person who they truly serve. Things in the palace tended to flow like that.
The work inside Taewoongseong was one of the things that flowed naturally, no matter how far away it seemed, it was always in the palm of Wei-Jeong’s hand. The question was whether or not Wei-Jeong would touch it.
“I can’t wait to see how good the tea will be, My Lady.”
And which concubine could he play in his hand the fastest?
As Wei-Jeong swept his chin, the scar that ran from under his ear to his chin meandered like a snake.
Once again he was displeased at how the rules of the Inner Palace had been upended.
A man had entered the Inner Palace as a Guest without having the position of a Court Lady. That alone was painful, however, the Emperor had placed his throne inside Yiyang Palace in order to watch him, now the concubines, who had been waiting for him to fall like prey, began to swarm, ready to attack. Their debased nature would take care of the rest.
Therefore, Wei-Jeong believed that anyone capable of playing their hand should do so quickly.
The less time Gok Heun resided in the Inner Palace, the better. He would be grateful to anyone that could step in and settle it in his place.
If you’re reading this anywhere other than Foolishtranslationss.wordpress.com, it was stolen from the translator’s website. Reading this anywhere other than the translator’s website ensures that the translator may never translate any other works. Thank you.
2
Heun was trapped in a crowded room. There were three Palace Women next to him, one was tending to his fingernails, one was tending to his toenails, and the other woman was tending to his hair.
“Stop now. It’s time for his medicine.”
When the Palace Woman wearing blue, which meant that she belonged to the Inner Palace hospital, spoke, the Palace Women belonging to Yiyang Palace Court stopped what they were doing with their hands and backed away.
The Palace Woman in blue came with a wooden tray(?子: 쟁반) full of cotton bandages and medicinal herbs, the women sat down at Heun’s feet with their knees tucked under her.
She took off the old bandages, skillfully wiped the wound which was still covered in pus, then, applied the medicine and covered his wounds with a new cotton bandage. There were more than a few types of wounds, and each wound was treated with a different medicine, but her hands moved quickly and skillfully.
“Please, you should get some rest now.”
Said the older Palace Woman who changed the cotton bandage on his ankle.
“These wounds will not heal easily. No matter how good the medicine is, it cannot compare to sleeping and eating well. Avoid drinking alcohol and eat a lot of foods that warm the body. Mushrooms are good for healing the skin. If you ask him separately, the Sangseongam⁵ will take care of it.”
Heun’s heavy, half-closed eyes opened.
Staying still as he was instructed to do was also a heavy task. The Palace Woman who had endured the hard work of carefully wiping away the pus from each of his wounds finally caught his attention.
“You needn’t work that hard.”
“… …?”
The Palace Women turned her eyes to him.
“I only have a few days left to live, this is useless.”
“What do you mean, My Lord, Guest?”
The term ‘My Lord’ was unfamiliar to him and he was taken aback, so Heun shook his head and withdrew.
“Just leave me be.”
“If you don’t get better, that means we have done something wrong, My Lord Guest ”
The older Palace Woman’s words weren’t bitter, they were simply stating the truth. This was the excuse Ja-Horong had used to kill countless numbers of people. All of their lives were entwined, stemming from the same source.
“… I know you’ve cared for a lot of patients. The reason why my wounds are not healing properly is probably that I’m at the end of my life. Don’t push yourself too hard. His Majesty will understand that I am to blame.”
The Palace Woman understood what Heun was saying and wore a sullen expression.
“You are a strange Guest, usually if a Lady of the Court even has a broken fingernail they will make a fuss.”
“Then leave me be.”
“No. No, I can’t risk being soft-hearted.”
The Palace Woman went back to tending to Heun’s ankles.
“My Lord is a strange person. There hasn’t been a Lord who became a Guest in this way, nor has there been a Lord who entered the Inner Palace. So no, I cannot.”
The roots of those words ran very deep.
“Because one can never know what other orders will be given.”
“… …”
Heun looked at his wounds that were carefully touched and meticulously rewrapped with cotton bandages.
His wounds were not healing easily, however, there was definitely a shift. His hair, which had become brittle and broken after spending three months at the labor camp, was recovering little by little.
Every time he felt the skin slowly growing back over his blackened fingertips, Heun became anxious.
Hhhhoo-⁷
He breathed out heavily.
Then how will he be able to forget?! He was still trembling in fear of him.
It was hard being forced to deal with this thing every moment of the day.
Like Wonje, he was also unpredictable. The unpredictability of licking his tongue with his own, or feeding him the decoction with his own hands. He couldn’t get used to Wonje’s whims or his madness, but he thought he knew enough, however, this use of coercion was different.
That was the most different thing from what it was like back then.
– Don’t look
Then Ja-Ryung just turned around and walked away.
Although it is the same as Wonje trying to hold his gaze, something was also different, so that night was even more confusing. In the end, he stayed up all night not closing his eyes until dawn.
“… Whoo⁷.”
How was he going to forget? He couldn’t stop thinking about him.
Heun stopped his thoughts and sighed. The Palace Woman from the hospital rose up and immediately after finishing changing his bandages.
“It completed My Lord. I hope you get better soon”
Heun closed his eyes and nodded.
As soon as she left, the Palace Women of Yiyang Palace came back over to serve him. They wiped his body clean with perfumed oils. His hair was meticulously combed, gathered neatly, and tied up, and his face was oiled to smooth his rough skin.
“You’re all done, My Lord. You will get better soon and be as good as all the other Guests……oh my, oops.”
The Palace Woman who had said her feelings about other Guests noticed her mistake and lowered her head.
Apart from being a man, she said that he was inferior to the other Guests, so it was quite a mistake.
The Palace Women dropped down and prostrated herself shaking her head.
“… E,Excuse me. I’m so sorry, My Lord Guest!”
“It is alright.”
“……It’s alright? Really?”
“It does not matter to me. You may get up.”
The Palace Women cautiously lifted her eyes and looked at Heun. She gazed at Heun, who only looked tired, but she couldn’t see any signs of anger coming from him so she hesitated, brushed off her knees, and stood up.
“Thank you, My Lord. But I…… Why does My Lord speak formally to his servants?”
“It’s because I’m not used to living in the palace.”
Or maybe it was because he didn’t want to get used to it……
“Even so, My Lord……”
“You’ll figure it out.”
Heun grabbed the armrests and stood up. As he slowly turned to leave the bathhouse the palace woman who followed closely behind Heun spoke softly.
“Still……,”
“……what?”
“It’s not that you couldn’t do well. I don’t know about the rest of you, but your eyes are beautiful, My Lord, Guest.”
After saying that, the Palace Woman with a round face smiled kindly and said her name was Yeonmyung.
As she was told that day by the Palace Women of the Inner Palace Hospital, Yeonmyung ran to the Sangseongam⁵ and asked for matsutake⁸ mushrooms.
If you’re reading this anywhere other than Foolishtranslationss.wordpress.com, it was stolen from the translator’s website. Reading this anywhere other than the translator’s website ensures that the translator may never translate any other works. Thank you.
3
“Madam(女史) look at this. Sangseongam⁵ gave me matsutake mushrooms.”
Yeonmyung lifted a basket covered with cloth and showed off the mushrooms.
Even though Yiyang Palace had been vacant for a long time, it still had Palace Women affiliated with it. Unlike the other palaces, there were only a few people, but they were close to each other.
“What? When did you get this?”
“When I talked to him earlier in the day, he said there was no one who could bring them right away, so, did he have someone send it to you?”
“Yes?”
A Palace Woma named Jiwol took over from Yeonmyung. It’s been less than five years since Yeonmyung entered the palace. Compared to Yeonmyung, who still had a brief history(小史), so she had no rank, Ji-Wol, the 7th-ranked woman, was a very savvy person.
“He sent matsutake mushrooms at this hour?
“Well…… I don’t know.”
“Really!?”
Ji-Wol, who opened the bag and sniffed it, snorted.
“When I told him I was from Yiyang Palace he said he didn’t have it, now he seems like he’s found some in a hurry.”
“Oh!”
Yeonmyung’s round cheeks were flush.
“He underestimated His Lordship, as a Guest, didn’t he? I knew it! It was kind of weird. Does it make sense that there are no matsutake mushrooms?”
“Yes, that may be, however……..what are you so angry about?”
“Isn’t Madame angry too? Even though His Lordship is looked down on?”
Jiwol made a pitying face.
“You are really…… so young, if you keep being so naive, you’ll be in trouble. Even though he is a ‘Guest’ and we call him Lord, he has no rank.”
“But he is still a Guest.”
However, it was hard for Jiwol to understand the connection between the Emporer and the Guest.
‘His Majesty has never visited the Yukwon, but since our Lord has been here he has already visited Yiyang Palace two times. Soon he will share His Majesty’s bed……then he’ll receive a rank too. Then he’ll have caught up to the others too……hehe.”
When Yeonmyung smiled with her round face, Jiwol relaxed her expression.
“You have the overly ambitious mind of a child. Is that how you got the mushrooms?”
“My Lord should get better soon, and then he’ll be on par with the other Ladies”
But Jiwol waved her hand as if he had no time for those words.
“Don’t say such things. What does all that mean to a man?”
“My Lord is still a Guest, though.”
Jiwol put down the basket of mushrooms and sat next to the fire pit.
“Still, that doesn’t seem like much. Think about it. There’s no place on his body that isn’t damaged and scared, so how can he compare to other Court Ladies?”
“He will get better. That’s why I got the mushrooms. I will go and pick them up every day.”
“Even if he gets better. Being skinny is being skinny, so you shouldn’t keep going around saying such strange things……he was a slave brought from a labor camp, but now he suddenly becomes a Guest? How does a slave become a Guest? I find it very strange.”
Yeonmyung shook her head. Her hair which was often braided and twisted to the side of her head like a ram’s curled horns flapped about.
“Your Majesty had him come to the palace, so he is meant to be a Guest.”
“That’s what I mean. The whole of this vast Yukwon is filled with Royal Concubines and Palace Women, who are beautiful women that are as lovely as fairies, but now a man entered in this way. I have a feeling that the Guest only…….”
When Jiwol stopped speaking in the middle of her thought, Yeonmyung’s eyes widened.
“What is going on with the Guest, Madam?”
Ji-Wol shook her head, she was speaking using her intuition as a Palace Woman who had spent almost ten years in service, saying that the Guest was probably trying to conceal himself from others.
“No, it’s fine, it’s none of our business.”
“Ah, why? Are you afraid I’ll say something to Our Lord Guest? Would I do that?”
“It’s alright. Go get a brush and wash them well. The matsutakes should be brushed off very gently with a brush. When water touches them they’re not worth eating.”
“Oh? Really?”
Instead of leaving the Yiyang Palace’s small detached dining room(御膳間) to get the brushes, Yeonmyung turned to Jiwol and grinned.
“But, Madam. I think it’s good that Our Lord Guest came to Yiyang Palace .”
“Workload has increased. What is there to like about it?”
“This place was empty. Other palace people teased that this was the place where Palace Women went to die or to be hidden away…… but not now. Your Majesty often comes here. That’s why I like Our Lord, even if he is only a Guest.”
Jiwol smiled insipidly as though nothing could be done.
“Yeah. Yes, You’re that kind of child. I won’t say anything more.”
“And the Lord, he’s very thin right now, but he’ll be rather good-looking when he has recovered. Because he’s got beautiful eyes. I’ll be going now.”
Yeonmyung ran swiftly according to her personality.
The matsutake mushrooms that Yeonmyung received became that evening’s soup, Heun smiled brightly, he couldn’t resist Yeonmyung’s invitation and surrendered altogether.
<Two-row break>
It was that night that it happened.
If you’re reading this anywhere other than Foolishtranslationss.wordpress.com, it was stolen from the translator’s website. Reading this anywhere other than the translator’s website ensures that the translator may never translate any other works. Thank you.
4
“You really hate me.”
Today was the third time that Ja-Ryung visited Yiyang Palace against Heun’s wishes.
And today was the most bizarre. Today Ja-Ryung came to Yiyang Palace without Doji-gam and with Jimok-cheon standing next to him, he got up on the bed and faced Heun.
Heun didn’t want to look at him so his eyes wandered about. When he turned his head he could only stare at a wall awkwardly, and when he turned to the other side, there was Jimok-cheon with a stern expression on his face.
When he looked directly at Ja-Ryung, he had his face turned away.
Whenever he met his gaze, he felt exposed.
“Why are you like this? No matter how much I ponder it, I’ve never done anything wrong to you.”
Ja-Ryung seemed casual, as though he were a visitor who came to chat.
“No, actually I’m actually a pretty affectionate husband, aren’t I? I even hand-fed you your medicine too.”
He said as though he really did not know that that is the problem.
“Why don’t you take a look at me when I come to visit? Are you really going to tell me to tie you up if I want you to look me in the eyes?”
He felt Ja-Ryung’s sharp gaze even before he lifted his head.
Heun turned and faced Ja-Ryung. Today, however, his body felt especially wretched.
Ultimately Ja-Ryung’s hand was faster and he grabbed his chin.
“I’m fed up with this. Why must I make the first move every time?”
As always he left a handprint on his chin. If it was Yeo-Heun’s past life, the bruise left behind would have gone all the way to the bone.
“Look at me. Before my mood deteriorates anymore.”
“As you……command.”
Their eyes slowly met. The expression in Ja-Ryung’s sharp eyes changed a little. The thumb of the hand holding his chin rose up and pressed his lower lip.
“I commanded him to keep you alive, but The Royal Physician said you would die anyway. I thought I’d change physicians, but it looks like he’s not very quick after all. So I’ll keep him around for a while.”
The scratchy sound of his fingertips rubbing across his lips, which had been dry and rough, had ceased, and the vibrancy in his sunken eyes had returned. He also noticed he had fewer bandages covering his body.
The fingertips pressing against his lips felt bizarre. The touch of his hands sometimes made him feel like he was ripping through his clothes, even though he was doing nothing.
“Your face is awfully red today. Did you put on rouge when you found out I was coming?”
Smack!-
Heun slapped Ja-Ryung’s hand. Ja-Ryung rubbed his lips again without any sign of displeasure, as though he knew that he would react that way. Inst3ad, it was Jimokcheon who lifted his eyes with displeasure.
Heun let out a weary sigh.
“… No, don’t.”
“No, they’re definitely red. Your lips aren’t, but your cheeks are.”
Pop. The string tying his hair loosened and his hair spilled down. Heun’s hair flowed over Ja-Ryung’s fingers. It was something he had never experienced, but it was a habit of the Wonje’s. His body suddenly became rigid.
“You should grow your hair some more. There’s too little to grasp. If possible, I would like it to be longer and healthier.”
“… …”
🕊🕊🕊🕊🕊🕊🕊🕊🕊
Wonje also loved long flowing hair. In order to watch his long black hair pouring over his naked body, he would choose a sunny day and tie him to the bed.
So when he cut his hair, the Palace Women who were in charge of caring for his hair were tied up like pickled fish and thrown into the river.
The faces of those women who had been washed away by the current without being able to do anything because of their bound bodies, still stood out vividly in his mind. The desperate gestures they made as they tried to climb ashore were a devastating sight.
They must have been resentful.
He didn’t close his eyes even at their last moments, as they swallowed the water and drowned.
– It’s just hair! Nothing more!
Gok Yeo-Heun screamed at Wonje. Wonje, who made him watch as the women died, received the words of Gok Yeo-Heun with a terrible look.
– Weren’t they the ones who were supposed to care for your hair?
– It was me… … ! I cut it! Me……! Not them!
The Wonje snatched up his short, jagged hair.
He even remembered that a large tendon bulged out of that wrist.
– Then shall I throw you into that river?
– … …
He couldn’t understand why Wonje’s eyes looked colder and crueler than when he broke his feet as he said those words.
When he cut his hair he knew Wonje would be angry, he thought he would vent his anger somehow. But this was well beyond outrage.
Wonje was furious, behaving as though someone had tried to stab him.
– Only hair? How costly are you going to make it?
It felt like he would rip his hair out. Wonje held his head tightly for a long time, and then he finally released his hand.
– Why won’t you give me anything?
Wonje, who released Yeo-Heun, turned his back and walked away.
Gok Yeo-Heun remained there waiting for the corpses to float up out of the water. However, the river was stronger than he thought, not a single body could be found until the sun went down.
Their unfair and vain death left a hole in his heart.
The wind grew colder and colder. The Royal Guards who wouldn’t wait for him any longer forcibly dragged Yeo-Heun back to the palace.
After that Gok Yeo-Heun suffered a terrible fever. Wonje ignored the news that he was ill and did not take a step toward him the whole time.
It seems that there was a poison that came from the water where the women had died. Then, a few days later, Wonje, who finally visited him again, saw that his face was slightly haggard and thought that he had been poisoned.
🕊🕊🕊🕊🕊🕊🕊🕊🕊
Heun twisted his neck, trying to escape from Ja-Ryung’s hand. Ja-Ryung tightened his hand and yanked his hair, leaving a bitter impression on him.
“Did you hear me? I told you to grow it more. Don’t cut it as you please.”
That reminded him of Wonje and it made it difficult to face him.
When his hair grows, he’ll start that sort of smutty entertainment again. Was he saying he wanted to start all that up again?
“Ah,”
No. He didn’t like the idea of growing his hair again.
He was just about to say that. Then, Ja-Ryung pulled his fuzzy hair over to him like he was going to taste it.
“It looks empty without it. I keep thinking that something is missing.”
Suddenly his lips froze. It was because Ja-Ryung grabbed his hair and rubbed it against his lips. He smacked his lip as though he didn’t like something or like he was sad.
“Grow it out. Don’t cut it.”
His fever rose, just like the time when he had been poisoned. Heun’s eyes opened wide in surprise, and his head slumped. However much he tried to sit up again, his body still slumped to the side.
Ja-Ryung picked up his slack body.
“What’s wrong with you?”
“Ah, no……,”
It’s nothing. Because we are nothing to each other.
Heun struggled and tried to push Ja-Ryung away. Ja-Ryung shouted to Jimok-cheon as he held him tight.
“Call the Royal Physician Immediately!”
Jimok-cheon immediately ran out of Yiyang Palace. A thick heat rose up through his body and he closed his eyes.
It felt as though he had plunged into a very hot river. Heun felt like he was suffocating and he opened his mouth wide. And then,
“Ugh!”
A mouthful of bright red blood burst from his throat.
The red remains spread on Ja-Ryung’s robe were mixed with many pieces of the matsutake mushrooms that the young Palace Woman had fed him.
“Ah……,”
It wasn’t a fever. It was poison. The matsutake mushrooms, which were brought to him because they were good for healing skin wounds, must have been poisoned.
Heun lost consciousness in Ja-Ryung’s arms. The round face of Yeonmyung who had once told him to ‘get better soon so he would be as good as the concubines’ was moving farther away.
If you’re reading this anywhere other than Foolishtranslationss.wordpress.com, it was stolen from the translator’s website. Reading this anywhere other than the translator’s website ensures that the translator may never translate any other works. Thank you.
Part 2
5
There were twenty-one people.
A Chugukjang (推鞫場)⁹ was being held in front of the yard of Yiyang Palace. Then, one of the six concubines(六嬪), Bangui (芳儀)¹⁰, was called, and the total was twenty-two.
It had been three hours since Heun had spat up blood and lost consciousness.
“Emperor……”
As soon as the Royal Officers knelt down, Bangui began to weep.
“Is that everyone?”
Ja-Ryung gestured to the room with his chin.
Though she was scarcely awake and out of her wits, even in the midst of this, Bangui’s beauty shone through.
Ja-Ryung didn’t know her name, but he remembered liking her cool-colored eyes. He ignored Wei-Jeong’s advice, that because her family was insignificant, performing the ceremony(儀) and bringing her into the Inner Palace would be troublesome. For some time after that, he embraced her often.
But that was that. At some point, Ja-Ryung stopped visiting the Yukwon and forgot that Bangui was even there.
Wei-Jeong nodded his head at the Emperor.
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Pour boiling oil over their hands and feet to cripple them, then cut off their heads. All of them!”
The sentence was simple, and the Chugukjang ended. The initial reaction was one of disbelief when one considered that the Yukwon had been turned upside down for the last three hours, and then the Emperor simply ordered their heads to be severed.
“That……I have received your orders, Your Highness.”
Wei-Jeong sighed.
This is the way it turned out.
Tsk, tsk. Since it turned out this way, it was certain they would die. Such a fuss was made just for messing with the Guest. Tsk, Tsk, Tsk.
The guards got the boiling oil from the stove and began to pour oil from the boiling pot on those closest to them.
“Ahhh!”
The screams that had paused for a few moments began again.
The sound of meat being fried mixed intermittently with the screams that tore from their throats.
The smell was infinitely worse than the sounds. However, the most brutal of everything was the Emperor’s eyes, which seemed devoid of anything.
There was no distinction between the guilty and the innocent. It seemed that what the Emperor wanted, was screams and slaughter.”
“… Y,Your Majesty! Please forgive me……! Your Majesty!”
It started with the Palace Women of the Yiyang Court.
When the doctor said that he had ingested poison, the Palace Woman confessed that she had received the matsutake mushrooms and served them to Heun. Her story remained consistent even after she was beaten until her flesh was torn open. She confessed that the Palace Woman of the Inner Court Hospital had told her to feed him mushrooms to help with his wounds, so she immediately went to the Sangseongam and asked him to give her the mushrooms.
Then, the eunuchs of the Sangseongam and young male servants(奴子) were called. Seeing that the numbers were too great to ask individually, Ja-Ryung changed the method of the Chugukjang in order to save time. As he poured a ladle of boiling oil over the prisoners’ heads, mouths began to open.
Soon it was revealed that the Sangseongam had not served the mushrooms. Because it was out of season the price of matsutake was at its peak, and there was only one guest in Yukwon, and the Guest wasn’t one of the three high-ranking Consorts of the Yukwon, it was the position of the Sangseongam he could not give such a thing to Yiyang Palace.
Instead, the Sangseongam was inside the room when he heard the story about who gave the matsutake mushrooms to the Guest. He heard that the culprit applied poison to the mushrooms and pretended to be a merchant and delivered them to Yiyang Palace.
The poison, which caused a high fever and abdominal pain, was not enough to take one’s life, however, even after recovering, it left blotches and boils on the skin for about a fortnight. Because of that, it was a poison that was used so often that its use became chronic among concubines, however, there had never been any major problems thus far because it did not endanger one’s life. It just caused the unlucky Consort to be cast out from the sight of the Emperor.
“Emperor! Emperor! What……?! This insignificant Concubine(小妃) has been wronged, Your Majesty!”
It was too simple and absurd to say that she should be decapitated for such a trifling thing.
No matter which way one looked, there was no luck to be found in that room. Others would have only suffered stomach pains, however, Heun had barely escaped the gates of the underworld because he was already weakened, and he even fainted from hemoptysis.
“I had no intention of killing him, nor did I even have any intention of touching him! My servants were overly concerned about this insignificant concubine, so they were mischievous, but how can you say to cut this insignificant concubine’s head off? There has never been an instance of this in the history of the Yukwon!”
Bangui shook off the guards and raised her voice to the fullest.
“Emperor! This insignificant concubine is not a criminal! Please…… !”
Tears rolled down her cheeks.
Bangui wasn’t a fool. She didn’t know why, but she knew the Emperor was once crazy about her. Her memory was not wrong, so it wouldn’t be a lie to say that the Emperor once liked staring into her eyes.
Bangui raised her hand, covering her mouth, and stared directly at Ja-Ryung. She wanted him to notice her eyes again.
“Emperor, please…… this insignificant concubine knows nothing. When this insignificant concubine first entered the Inner Court I was fed this drug. I had unsightly boils on my body and was unable to attend to the Emperor for more than ten days. Still, no one died at that time. This insignificant concubine is only…….”
Ja-Ryung also remembered Bangui’s eyes.
Her dark eyes were large, deep, and impressive.
He discovered that Bangui’s dark eyes looked blue when the light touched them. He had a vague thought that he would have been even more enraptured if her eyes had a clearer blue color.
Like the freshly fallen snow at dawn atop a snowy mountain, something like that.
It was odd, he only realized now why he liked her eyes.
Those dark eyes had a side that resembled Heun’s at first glance. Heun even tried to avoid showing him hem until the moment he collapsed and vomited blood.
”… …”
His lips stiffened.
What was this?
Does this mean that he knew a person that he had never seen before in advance, and was waiting for him?
He raised his hand and waved.
It was hard to hear. Wei-Jeong quickly replied,
“Yes, My Emperor.”
“I told you to cut off all of their heads.”
“……I have received your command,”
“Oh no!”
Bangui sprang to her feet. The guards quickly grabbed her, but her mouth was faster than their hands.
“It was not this insignificant concubine, Your Majesty! It was just my servants that gave him that nasty drugs, and it’s the Head Palace Eunuch and Yeo-bi who are the ones who are up to something far worse than that!”
With her words, she seemed to have kicked the hornets’ nest of the Chugukjang.
There was no person who didn’t know what the relationship between the current Head Palace Eunuch and the Emperor, was. And of course, there was no person who did not know that she was the niece of Wei-Jeong.
There was no wonder that there was a fuss. Even the Imperial Guards glanced at each other, as Bangui’s mournful voice resounded sadly.
“This insignificant concubine also has ears, so I heard it! Obviously, there was something that was unpleasant about the Guests of Yiyang Palace, so Yeo-bi said that she would join hands with the Head Palace Eunuch and get help for the Imperial Scholars. Your Majesty, if you listen to the words of this insignificant concubine, you will surely know that there is no lie in what I’m saying. The head of the Imperial Document Inspection and Delivery, and the Twelve Eunuch Organizations were Wei-Jeong’s, and the Sangseongam is a particularly strict place so one can’t enter unless they are the Head Palace Eunuch, now poisons are leaking out from there! Surely the Head Palace Eunuch couldn’t have known, but he conspired against this insignificant concubine when he made a pact with Consort Yeo-bi.……,”
“Enough.”
Thud- thud-
Ja-Ryung tapped the armrest without expression. The Imperial Guard bowed, leaning over, and pulled out his sword. The room cried out in horror.
“Emperor! I’m sorry……, ah! Ah!”
They would have been decapitated at any moment,
If Myeong, who was on one side of the Chugukjang lying face down like a corpse, had not suddenly raised her eyes and said,
“Ah, My Lord!”
Heun was running.
However, his running was more at the speed of walking, because of his staggering gait. The Royal Physician followed him with a pale face, and behind the doctor, the Palace Women shuffled their feet holding the Heun’s shoes in their hands.
It turned out that the Heun was barefoot in a robe as thin as a needle.
“Ma…..jesty, Your Majesty.”
Heun ran over with a red face and collapsed before Ja-Ryung’s lap, prostrating himself.
“Your Majesty……”
But he didn’t seem to know what he was doing. He just called out to him.
“This is outrageous!”
Ja-Ryung took Heun’s arm, who looked as though he was about to fall forward.
Heun raised his head and made eye contact. This time he didn’t try to shake off his hand.
He was flabbergasted.
“What are you hoping for?”
“Your Majesty.”
His eyes were complicated. He wondered when he’d ever seen eyes like this, and a laugh burst out from him. All Heun had shown so far was straight-out rejection and disillusionment, and the fragile falsehood that hid it.
“Why is your mouth not moving? Is it because you don’t like begging me?”
“… …”
Heun bit his lips. His pupils trembled from the excitement.
Heun continued to let him hold his arm as he opened his mouth with difficulty.
“Do not……kill them, Your Majesty.”
“Why?”
“It’s……,”
“Don’t you know what they were thinking when they poisoned you? Still, you must have a reason to not want them killed.”
Heun swallowed his saliva. It was obvious that he was choosing his answer.
Ja-Ryung tightened his grip on Heun’s arm.
“I am very curious as to how you know your subject. The Guest would interrupt an Imperial Court proceeding without saying what his reason is. How the hell did Wonje treat you? It wouldn’t be strange if the first thing that fell from this place was your head.”
“…… I’m afraid that their lives will be taken.”
What Heun revealed was the truth in the end.
The poison he swallowed today was no different from the poison that had been carried by the waters back then. The karma was already being repeated.
The only difference was that he had now decided to forget. I never wanted to be trapped in that helpless hatred again.
“Spare them, Your Majesty. Don’t kill because of me. I……”
He wanted to be nothing. He just wanted to be a speck of dust.
Ja-Ryung slowly pulled his arm. Heun’s body was dragged by him as though it were connected by a string.
His face came closer to Heun’s. As Ja-Ryung opened his mouth, Heun could feel the temperature of his breath.
“You talk this way very well. After all, isn’t that the point, you putting your conscience at ease? But what about me?”
“Your Majesty…….”
“What about my anger? I brought you into the Inner Palace, wouldn’t I be made a fool of if I didn’t punish those who touched my Guest? Are you asking me to put up with something like that for the sake of you alone?”
“… …”
“Answer me.”
Heun closed his eyes. No matter how twisted the question was, there was only one answer. He was still alive for that one.
“If you spare them …… I’ll be…… grateful.”
Ha, Ja-Ryung, who pushed out a breath, grabbed his face, and forced him to open his eyes.
“… Well, alright. Let’s say I said yes. Let’s say I do that for you. Wonje would have done worse, so there is nothing that I could not do. Then what are you going to do for me? Even so, there is only one thing you can do.”
Ja-Ryung’s breath was as hot as the poison that filled his body. There was no way he could ignore the sexual implications in those words.
He exhaled slowly and replied,
“My hair…… How about growing my hair?”
“What?!”
Ja-Ryung laughed. For anyone other than Wonje. it would be absurd.
‘Because you said you wanted me to grow it out…… I will nurture it. His Majesty can do as he wishes with it.”
Could he have said such a thing back then? If he knew in advance that Wonje would throw the Palace Women into the river, could he have quietly nodded his head saying that he would let it grow to his toes?
Heun was not so sure. As much hatred as he held for Wonje, the pleasure of cutting off what pleased him was too intense. He could draw the moment that Wonje saw his ruined hair, like rice straw, from detailed memory.
Even though Wonje was the one who provided the materials, it was Yeo-Heun who constructed their ending.
– Why won’t you give me anything?
Didn’t he ask that?
He could give something to him now. Let go of the memories, let go of the hatred, let go of the karma…… now that he is even willing to let go of himself.
“I will give it to His Majesty.”
“…… Damn it.”
Ja-Ryung hurled an inscrutable profanity. He clenched a fist on the sides of Heun’s head.
“This is going to be a very costly hair.”
Ja-Ryung’s scorching eyes reached Heun. His eyes seemed to suck out the poison that was warming his body.
“Do not forget that this is mine. From now on, every single strand is mine.”
“……Yes, Your Majesty.”
When the gentle answer came, Ja-Ryung muttered ‘damn it’ once more, then kicked off his chair, and stood up. However, before taking two steps, he did not forget to give orders to Wei-Jeong.
“Bring the Guest. Don’t let him walk barefoot.”
“What should we do with them?”
Wei-Jeong asked, pointing at Bangui and others with his eyes.
“Empty the palace that Bangui used and put everyone that belongs to it in the palace prison. Send those who are not involved back. Don’t kill anyone.”
“I have received your command, Your Majesty.”
Heun sighed in relief and he slipped from the position he was sitting in. Within a moment he lost all the tension in his body, and then he lost consciousness. While Wei-Jeong was beckoning the guards with a glance, Ja-Ryung, who had taken two steps ahead, came back and took Heun into his arms.
“Damn it!”
Ja-Ryung grabbed him around the waist with his chin draped over his shoulder. He lifted Heun again so that his feet did not touch the ground.
Ja-Ryung, who was in a rather uncomfortable position, gestured to Wei-Jeong.
“Go ahead.”
What could he say?
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
He was just grateful that the work was finished up, there.
Wei-Jeong guessed that Ja-Ryung didn’t take into consideration the words that the Bangui had uttered against him. The Guest was not dead, and there was nothing to trace back to the Yeo-bi or himself. Strictly speaking, Yeo-bi did the planning, but it was not directly related to the poisoning.
But Wei-Jeong did not yet understand that he was underestimating Heun’s existence.
If you’re reading this anywhere other than Foolishtranslationss.wordpress.com, it was stolen from the translator’s website. Reading this anywhere other than the translator’s website ensures that the translator may never translate any other works. Thank you.
6
“I gave him the antidote right away, so it won’t cause any major problems. Because he is young…… well, that……well, I’m glad he unscathed, that he is safe.”
After seeing what happened at the Chugukjang, the doctor was sweating hard to cover his words.
This is probably the first time the poison circulated by the concubines has caused such a terrible stomach ailment. It’s a good thing he didn’t die.
He moved quickly. Heun ran off without his shoes, it was a good thing he brought them because the Emperor had mentioned it.
The moment he saw the Emperor holding a drooping Guest with his robe stained red with blood, he went numb, he knew that if something happened to the Guest, his life could be lost today.
He was lucky. Not only him and those belonging to the Inner Palace Hospital, but also everyone who was called there today.
So it was unavoidable to look into Wei-Jeong’s eyes.
It was already in the past now, but he remembered how Wei-Jeong was passing by and the Guest thought of him enough to take into consideration what would be good for him and his existence in the Inner Court. If he had heard that then……
Whoa, he was thankful now.
You never know, what would have happened by now?
“The poison…… no, when the poison leaves his body, he will open his eyes. His Majesty doesn’t need to worry too much.”
The doctor’s job was done. The antidote was administered, his fever went down, and his stomach pain seemed to no longer be present. Seeing that there were no spots on his skin, he could now say that detoxification was complete. Now he just had to let him sleep well.
When he wakes up, if he eats white porridge, his color would return.
So what he wanted to say was this; Pease, the Emperor should also stop now and (就床: go to bed).
The dawn was breaking and the sun was shining.
Since he was exposed to the dew that fell all night on the Chugukjang, the Emperor could become ill.
“Go out now. Do not go far and come back when called.”
“What…? Yes, Your Majesty. I have received your orders.”
However, he did not dare to offer advice such as ‘that he should go to bed and sleep’, so he just quietly retreated. For some reason, he felt like he should leave things alone today.
After the Royal Physician had left, except for Heun who was sleeping like the dead, all those who remained behind were Ja-Ryung, Jimok-cheon, and Wei-Jeong. As always, Jimok-cheon’s presence was even more indistinct than the shadows, until Ja-Ryung calls out for him.
“Your Majesty. It’s been two days already. Whose body can last like this? Yiyang Palace will show conviction, so stop and go……”
Ja-Ryung interrupted Wei-Jeong’s words.
“Don’t think that I don’t know you have turned your back on me.”
“…… What do you mean, Your Majesty?”
Ja-Ryung’s hand was wrapped in Heun’s hair. He had been unable to let go of it for a while, like a child who held something for the first time and was unwilling to part with it. After holding it for a long time, Heun began to toss and turn, so he let it go, but then he held it again.
The expression on his face was not as calm as his busy hand.
“Do not pretend that I don’t know that you are hiding something.”
“Are you asking me about her Ladyship Yeo-bi? Let me say that Lady Yeo-bi has nothing to do with this.”
“But you are related.”
Wei-Jeong hid his desperate expression.
“There is no way that you would be unaware of what happened with Sangseongam. You must have known from the beginning that Yiyang Palace asked to be given matsutake mushrooms. Isn’t that so?”
“I was late hearing about it. Taewoongseong’s interior has over five thousand eunuchs, it is too much to say that I have my hand in everything.”
As usual, his words were as smooth as though they had been rehearsed in advance. Wei-Jeong was a person who could always give the appropriate answer at any time, and Ja-Ryung was aware of that fact.
“You must have left it alone so that he would be poisoned. This means you wanted him to be sent from the Inner Palace whether dead or alive. Now that I know that you’re willing to go this far, I’m wondering what else you’re hiding?”
“Your Majesty.…,”
However, his smooth excuses vanished after that twist was revealed. It was because Ja-Ryung turned and slowly pulled out his Hwansudo sword.
Wei-Jeong felt sweat welling up on his forehead. He had believed Ja-Ryung was not at that stage yet, however, he now realized that everything he thought was wrong.
Wei-Jeong took a step backward involuntarily when he saw Ja-Ryung silently pulling out his sword.
Thud-¹¹
Ja-Ryung stepped forward, as much as Wei-Jeong stepped backward.
“So, I won’t kill you, but I’m not in the mood to pretend that I do not know.”
Swish-¹²
“Quick”–¹³
The next moment Wei-Jeong’s eyes widened and he clutched his stomach which had been split open. The hem of his black silk robe was soaked, and his skin was stained with wet blood. As he fumbled with his red-stained stomach he was even more horrified by Ja-Ryung’s cold look.
“Get out of the palace. Jimok-cheon, take this out of here.”
“……What? What is that …… What do you mean, My Emperor!?”
“I will repay the affection I received from you growing up by not killing you now. Jimok-cheon, what are you doing?”
Ja-Ryung blinked, Jimok-cheon approached and grabbed Wei-Jeong’s arm.
It was only then that he realized that the emperor was serious. His eyes, which always seemed droopy under the weight of the fleshy skin surrounding them, grew very large.
“Your Majesty!”
“Never again,”
When he looked at his eyes which had been cold this whole time, he recognized how serious Ja-Ryung was.
He was not just being cold-hearted. What he saw in Ja-Ryung’s eyes was that they were resolute(斷情) and detached, so, therefore, they were not showing any emotion.
In this place where Wei-Jeong was dismissed, he saw that the anger steeped in the madness that the Emperor had shown at the Chugukjang, was waking up.
“Don’t touch what is mine!”
His words were like a cold day that stuck to Wei-Jeong’s back as he was seized by Jimok-cheon and forcibly led away. Wei-Jeong limbs trembled in place of a sigh.
It was too late now. No, Ja-Ryung was too swift.
It was an indelible memory that had already been engraved deeply somewhere in his body……
He could no longer stop it now. As the warm sensation of blood ran through his fingers, Wei-Jeong realized that it was time to make a choice.
🩸🩸⚔️🩸🩸
The news that the Emperor split the stomach of the Head Palace Eunuch for neglecting to manage the Sangseongam, soon excited the whole of Taewoong-seong
It excited people more than the news that Bangui poisoned the newly introduced male Guest or the fact that the Emperor himself oversaw the Chugukjang for three full hours. In Taewoong-seong where it was said that ‘even if the Empress herself had been poisoned’ the Emperor would not punish his Wei-Jeong. So the level of surprise was enormous and profound.
It was then that it became a warning to everyone in Taewoongseong.
A warning that no one should touch the one the Emperor calls ‘mine’.
If you’re reading this anywhere other than Foolishtranslationss.wordpress.com, it was stolen from the translator’s website. Reading this anywhere other than the translator’s website ensures that the translator may never translate any other works. Thank you.
All parenthesis inside a sentence and the continents contained within them were placed by the author and are NOT translator notes. All translator notes are denoted by a T/N.
Some Idioms or proverbs used throughout this story which may too be foreign and/or require too many footnotes were replaced by literal translations to make the story easier to read.
⁹ 推鞫場 Literally: pushing the scorpion. This refers to a place designated for interrogations using torture by order of the King/Emperor. ↩
¹⁰ 芳儀 Concubine title (Senior rank 2): Lady of Beautiful Deportment Bangui. ↩
Naesusa- (內需司) Joseon Dynasty/朝鮮 government official who was in charge of government affairs such as rice, linen, miscellaneous goods, and slavery used in the palace, and servants of each palace.)
¹¹ (T/N: Memetic sound for heavy footsteps) ↩
¹² (T/N: Memetic stroke sound) ↩
¹³ (this is a masculine onomatopoeia, not a word, sorry, there’s no English equivalent) ↩
Foolish Translations 
Hi
As always, i love your TR. i can’t wait for v2. Thank you for your TR. I hope you have a good time. ^^
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Thank you 😁💖
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Your welcome dear ^^
Are you going to come back with v2?
Please do it, when can i read it again? I live in iran, and like Bluegirl and the other people who live in iran and want to read you TR and other novels, i can’t connect the net all the time. So it dosen’t matter when it will start again,enjoy yourself.❤️😁
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I’m still not sure about volume 2. The way it’s written isn’t hard to understand, but it’s hard for me to translate. I’m an amateur at Korean and I know I’m not getting the author’s voice across, and it’s frustrating to butcher the book so badly. But I’m still thinking it over…😉
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I know it’s really hard and it makes you tired.
But if you do it, you make peope glad and if you can’t do it, no problem dear. But could you think it about it PL?
nothing is the most important than your health❤️
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Again Hi.
I am a English learner an i may make mistake withe Grammer.
Sorry but when can i read ch7 of Bardo’s palace?
I live in Iran and i can’t buy raw novel. My country is boycott.
And i can’t connect the internet all the time. Because of that i nead your help.
Please guide me
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Chapter 7 will be released later this month. I’m late publishing the translation because I’ve been busy at work, sorry (ノへ￣、)
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Hi
I really love youe translation.
Iam so glad that you translate thit novel.
Please continue it.
Thank you
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You’re welcome.(●’◡’●)
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As always, thank you for all your hard work. Don’t wear yourself out too much.
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I’ll try 🙂
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I try to hold off from reading new chapters until there are at least two available. I can’t always hold back. I am, however, always grateful no matter how many chapters there are.
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Your welcome, I usually wait for a binge read too, so it’s no problem ╰(°▽°)╯
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Thank You for the new chapter (´∩｡• ᵕ •｡∩`) ♡
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you’re welcome (❁´◡`❁)
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