“P-Please… stop.”

Unable to endure the relentless wave of overwhelming sensations any longer, she spoke in a weak, trembling voice.

But she had no way of knowing that her plea only served to further inflame the man, whose entire body was already ablaze with desire.

Jeha pulled her closer.

He tightened his arm around her slender waist and drew her firmly against him.

Even through the layers of fabric, the softness of her body was evident.

This made his hold even more possessive.

The way her whole body trembled in response to his touch brought him closer and closer to the edge.

He could not endure it any longer.

Overcoming the last traces of hesitation, he finally pulled away.

The moment his lips and hands left her, Gayu collapsed limply onto the bed.

Exhausted by the endless barrage of unfamiliar sensations, she could barely focus; her eyes were blurred with tears.

Jeha watched her in silence.

It was as though he was savoring the sight before him.

Then he began to take off his clothes.

One by one, the silk garments draped over his broad frame slipped away.

With each piece he discarded, the flush spreading across Gayu’s face deepened.

When he finally reached the last piece of clothing, she quickly turned her head away.

But he did not allow her to look elsewhere.

He caught her chin and gently but firmly turned her face back towards him.

His gaze locked onto hers.

The image of the man standing before her was reflected in her trembling brown eyes.

“Look properly with those proud eyes of yours.”

His hand remained firmly around her chin.

“So you’ll know exactly who it is standing before you.”

He moved his other hand towards her legs.

Weakened and unsteady, Gayu’s body offered little resistance.

For a moment, Jeha simply looked down at her.

Then he lowered himself towards her.

“Hng—!”

Startled, Gayu let out a sound when he suddenly pressed closer.

Before she could respond, he silenced her.

Driven by an uncontrollable desire, he moved with relentless determination.

Gayu clung to his arm, trying desperately to endure the overwhelming rush of sensations.

Her fingernails dug into Jeha’s skin, but he seemed oblivious to the pain.

He did not stop.

Perhaps this was because every part of his attention had been consumed by the reality of finally holding her in his arms.

A shudder unlike anything he had ever experienced swept through him.

His thoughts and senses were submerged in that feeling.

Even Gayu’s struggles, and the way she trembled caught between pain and emotion, seemed distant and almost unreal.

He could think of nothing else.

The profound satisfaction of finally holding her filled every corner of his being.

“Ha…”

He pulled back slowly, a breath escaping him.

The unfamiliar intensity of his emotions left him feeling disoriented and unsteady on his feet.

With his eyes still darkened by the lingering heat, Jeha looked down at Gayu.

Her face was flushed a deep red.

Tears clung to her tightly shut eyes.

Though strain was etched on her face, she stubbornly held back every sound that threatened to escape.

The sight alone sent another surge of heat through him.

He could not begin to imagine how much of her he would need before this relentless thirst finally eased.

Even looking at her was enough to set his blood burning again.

Unwilling to let go of that feeling, he pulled her back into his arms.

Gayu’s eyes flew open in shock.

But Jeha did not hesitate.

He simply pulled her closer.

A sharp breath escaped her lips.

Shaking her head, she clenched the bedding tightly in her fists.

Her slender fingers trembled so violently that they seemed about to break.

As he watched, Jeha lowered his hand and intertwined their fingers.

Then he raised their joined hands above her head.

Their faces were only inches apart.

Their noses nearly brushed against each other.

The distance between them was so small that neither could clearly read the other’s expression.

Their breaths mingled in the narrow space between them, warm against each other’s lips.

It was impossible to tell whose breath burned hotter.

The surrounding heat was almost unbearable.

“I’m going to hold you like this.”

His voice, rough and deeply restrained, brushed against her lips.

Jeha watched the moisture-filled brown eyes tremble faintly.

A lazy smile touched his lips.

“Every single day.”

His voice was low.

“Whenever I want.”

The moment that beautiful, suffocating smile curved across his red lips, he moved again.

Was the pain beginning to fade?

Or was she simply becoming numb to the overwhelming sensations?

She was completely exhausted and no longer had the strength to stand up straight.

Jeha wrapped an arm around her waist to support her.

The instant he pulled her back against him, her slender back arched like a drawn bow.

She looked as though she had reached her limit.

Her body swayed unsteadily, so he put both his hands around her to stop her from collapsing.

Each time she flinched, his gaze was drawn to the pale, fragile line of her back.

For some reason, this sight irritated him.

Grinding his teeth, Jeha spoke in a cold voice.

“Ha… ha…”

His voice was as sharp as ice.

“Now that your very existence has become lowly, has your body become just as lowly?”

At his words, the small hand braced against the bed trembled.

Something about that sight only irritated him further.

He did not know why.

“Endure it.”

The words left his mouth in the form of a low growl.

Trying to suppress his uncontrollable and incomprehensible emotions, Jeha lowered his head.

A sharp gasp escaped Gayu.

She threw her head back.

A trail of moisture slipped down her cheek.

Whether it was sweat or tears, even she could not have said.

Jeha deliberately looked away.

Then he moved again.

Time passed.

Endless hours that seemed as though they would never end.

At last, when the first pale hints of dawn began to creep through the darkness, Jeha finally stepped away from her.

Slowly, Gayu stirred.

Her arms and legs trembled so violently that they hardly seemed to belong to her.

Summoning her remaining strength, she crawled to the edge of the bed and curled up.

Reaching for the blanket took all her remaining strength.

Her arm shook visibly as she pulled it around her body.

Jeha’s black eyes followed the movement calmly and without emotion.

In the flickering light, her slender body appeared to be covered in red marks left by him.

They looked almost like wounds.

Like blood staining pale skin.

His expression darkened.

A faint crease formed between his brows.

After a long silence, he finally spoke.

“Tonight, I wish you would smile.”

His gaze remained fixed on her.

“That would be more fitting for a courtesan.”

A smile seemed as though it should have been in his voice, yet somehow it never appeared.

After speaking in that stiff, emotionless tone, Jeha turned and left the room.

Even after sensing him depart, Gayu could not move.

“My respects to the Master of the Garyong Merchant Guild.”

As Jeha stepped out of Gayu’s room, he was taken aback by the sight of a woman bowing gracefully before him.

She was a middle-aged woman whose face still bore traces of her former beauty.

Jeha paused and looked at her.

A large man dressed in black martial arts robes approached from behind.

“She is the head courtesan of this house, Master.”

“I am Hwa-won.”

The woman lifted her head and smiled gracefully.

“I have prepared a medicinal tea to ease your fatigue.”

Jeha studied the face marked by the passage of countless years before following her.

“In the thirty years I have spent in this pleasure house, you are the first man to pay such an enormous sum for a courtesan’s first night.”

A faint smile touched her lips.

“And I suspect you will also be the last.”

Jeha looked down at the dark medicinal tea that she had offered him, remaining silent.

Then he let out a short laugh.

She hadn’t been wrong. He had paid an extraordinary price. The entire profit that his merchant guild would earn over six months.

“Men’s desires truly are strange.”

The head courtesan smiled softly.

“Perhaps it was because she had once been destined to become queen, but even officials whose names were known throughout the kingdom came to me in secret, making the same request.”

Her smile deepened.

“I suppose they wanted to experience the thrill of coveting a king’s woman. Hoho.”

The veins on the back of Jeha’s hand rose sharply around the teacup.

Watching him carefully, Hwa-won waved a hand dismissively.

“But what good would that do them?”

Her eyes curved with amusement.

“None of them could even offer a tenth of what you were willing to pay.”

“Have you forgotten the promise that came with that payment?”

Jeha’s voice turned cold.

Hwa-won immediately nodded.

“Of course not.”

She smiled.

“How could I forget such an agreement?”

Her expression grew serious.

“No other man will be allowed near her. You have my word.”

She continued calmly.

“I have also already chosen the girl who will attend to her. She’s young, but from the very first day she became quite attached to her.”

“I’ll pay whatever is necessary.”

Jeha’s gaze remained fixed on the tea.

“So don’t spare any expense on her.”

His voice lowered.

“Everything. From the food she eats onward.”

“My.”

A faint note of amusement entered Hwa-won’s voice.

“Among all the women who have fallen from grace and been reduced to courtesans, has there ever been one as fortunate as this child?”

“…”

Jeha remained silent.

He averted his gaze from the head courtesan, who laughed dramatically, and brought the medicinal tea to his lips.

A bitter taste spread through his mouth.

With it came the fading sensation of her lingering scent.

This irritated him.

He put the teacup down more forcefully than necessary.

“Master.”

Carefully studying his expression, Hwa-won spoke again.

“Why go this far?”

Her eyes narrowed slightly.

“For a mere courtesan.”

She shook her head.

“I’ve spent decades in this business, yet even I honestly cannot understand it.”

“You want to know why?”

A chill spread from the beautiful man’s black eyes.

The head courtesan swallowed.

She had dealt with countless people throughout her life, yet this man’s gaze remained impossible to read.

“There is a debt that child owes me.”

A debt?

The confusion on Hwa-won’s face only deepened.

“A debt, you say…?”

“I need her alive if I’m going to collect it properly.”

Jeha’s voice was calm.

“One must remain alive to repay a debt, mustn’t one?”

“Even so…”

Hwa-won hesitated.

“You only recently became the master of such a powerful merchant guild. If word spreads that you’re keeping a courtesan, it won’t do your reputation any favors.”

A faint smile curved Jeha’s lips.

“What does a rumor matter?”

Hwa-won let out a quiet laugh.

“The entire capital was filled with stories that you absolutely refused to inherit the guild, no matter how desperately the previous master begged you to take it.”

She shook her head.

“I suppose rumors are ultimately worthless things.”

“And.”

Before she had even finished speaking, Jeha opened his mouth again.

His gaze shifted toward the man standing guard outside the door.

Hwa-won followed his line of sight.

“Starting today, he will remain here and protect her.”

“…Pardon?”

“It’s not that I don’t trust you.”

His answer came immediately.

“I simply don’t trust the world.”

Hwa-won was momentarily speechless at the certainty in his voice.

Unable to think of a response, she gave the man standing behind him an awkward glance.

Even among the toughest thugs in the marketplace, she had never seen someone with such an imposing physique.

A guard assigned solely to protect a courtesan.

It was something she had never heard of in all her years.