CHAPTER 59: WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS, MISS EMPRESS? (2) (18+)

Sword Empress’s POV

Though his body had been restored by the energy I’d poured into him, could the wounds he’d suffered ever truly heal? Could a mere apology mend those deep-seated scars?

Crunch.

Ten years had passed like this, each day weighed down by mounting debt and endless worry. Yet all I could think about was apologizing.

Crunch.

I’d sidestepped the question of whether I could heal the wounds he’d endured all this time. Did I even have the right to worry about it now? Did I have the right to offer an apology?

Crunch.

"..."

The values I’d clung to for years crumbled, and the pillars that had propped up the person I called "me" collapsed. At this rate, I’d spiral into qi deviation.

"Ah..."

I couldn’t let that happen. I couldn’t let it end like this, having achieved nothing. Even if I lacked the right to apologize, I had to—

Crunch.

...Apologize for what, exactly? For sharing intimacy with him without his consent? No, it was something more fundamental. For failing to shield him from danger? No, even deeper than that. For ruining his life because I couldn’t control my disciple?

...How had Soyeon come to commit such an act? Twisted love? Obsessive madness? No, there was a more fundamental reason. Think. Recall why Soyeon did what she did.

["That child seduced me first."]

...Ah. That’s right.

But if that were true, didn’t that mean he was the one who started it?

As the first thread of the despair I’d carried for a decade unraveled, everything shifted. It wasn’t me who owed him a debt. Soyeon had said it clearly: Dan Yuseong had seduced her first. Back then, I dismissed it as a delusion, a twisted excuse. But now, having experienced it myself, I understood.

He was the one who seduced first. The fault wasn’t Soyeon’s—it was his.

I didn’t owe him anything. Instead, I had to avenge my disciple. Though I was the one who struck her down, he caused the misunderstanding. He bore responsibility too. And I would make him pay.

"Hic... hiiik..."

Had he sensed the shift in my demeanor? He tried to shrink away, his arms still pinned beneath my grip. Moments ago, his tears and loathing had torn my heart apart, but now they couldn’t touch me. In fact, they felt almost sweet.

This was justice—exacting revenge on the lecherous fiend who had seduced my disciple, led her to ruin, and sparked a tragic misunderstanding. Come to think of it, hadn’t I fallen for him too? Given what happened with Soyeon, it was clear I’d been ensnared by his wiles as well. If this had happened ten years ago and again now, how many women had he lured in between?

The betrayal in his eyes was likely just another deception. I couldn’t fathom how many women he’d toyed with, breaking their hearts over the years. What I was doing now was vengeance—for Soyeon and all those others.

The wicked should be reformed, and correcting a fiend like him was no different. I would carve the lesson into his body so he’d never seduce another woman again.

+

Dan Yuseong’s POV

"Grrk... kgh..."

I clawed at the slender arms choking my neck, striking them with every ounce of strength I could muster, twisting beneath her weight. But her grip didn’t waver.

"Kehk..."

My lungs burned for air. Whenever I teetered on the edge of unconsciousness, she’d loosen her hold just enough to let a trickle of oxygen reach my brain, keeping me tethered to awareness. But my body—why, despite this torment, did my cursed erection persist?

"Even after receiving my energy, you’re still hard," she sneered. "Could it be you’re enjoying this?"

"Kghhh...!"

My mind blurred, drowning in a haze of pleasure chemicals, yet my body refused to relent. I was suffering, teetering on the brink of death, but my traitorous body stood firm, as if reveling in the agony.

"You’re making that wronged expression, like some maiden whose chastity was stolen," she said, her voice dripping with mockery. "But I’m the one who truly lost my first time here."

It’s my first time too...! I wanted to scream. I didn’t know what delusion had twisted her perception, but this was my first time too. A man’s purity might mean little to some, but it was still a singular moment. I’d wanted it to be a cherished memory, shared with someone I loved.

But what the hell is this...?!

"Kehk..."

Being raped was horrific enough, but being choked too? I’d never even heard of such a thing. I’d avoided watching anything like this back on Earth because it unsettled me, and now, experiencing it firsthand, the misery was unbearable.

I thought she was a good person...

I’d believed she was strong, kind. I’d hoped we could grow close, travel together. Sure, I’d had fleeting thoughts of using her strength for a safer journey, but was that so wrong? Did it justify this?

What did I do wrong...?!

All I’d done was travel with her, try to build a connection. And now, I was the one being violated. The injustice of it burned, but even that realization was starting to fade...

Whoosh—

"Kghhk! Kuhk! Kghp!"

Just as I neared oblivion, air flooded my lungs again. My brain cheered, drowning me in a perverse wave of pleasure as oxygen returned.

Spurt! Spurt!

"Kghp... kp..."

My throat and heart screamed in agony, but my brain and body betrayed me, reveling in the twisted ecstasy. It was chaos. Starved of air, I suffered; flooded with it, I suffered still. What was I supposed to do?

How did I even end up here...?!

It made no sense. If I were some stunning beauty, I could understand being attacked while unconscious. But I’m a man, and I’d kept my face hidden. I didn’t know how she’d removed my hood while I slept, but even if she’d seen my face, it shouldn’t have led to this brutality...

Grip—

"Kghhk..."

Her hands tightened around my neck again. I still had no idea why this was happening. If I’d seduced her first, maybe I wouldn’t feel so wronged. But I hadn’t. And the weight of that injustice crushed me as her grip tightened.