The Second Eunuch Regains His Manhood

Chapter 78: Unrequited Love

“Why is that? This precious meat… Can’t I eat it?”

I heard Hong Chwi-gae’s voice in my ear.

Giving up a power booster?

It was originally nonsense, but not anymore.

“Please, go ahead.”

I wasn’t in the mood to eat right now.

Feeling all restless.

Munch munch. Slurp slurp.

The sound of dog meat being devoured came from beside me.

Hwang Sang.

Juga-yul.

From the time she was the ten-year-old Taepyeong Princess, to positioning her on the throne and proclaiming the era of Yuanhua, and just before executing the Rebirth Great Method—I had always been with her.

Hwang Sang had always been a part of my life.

I was an orphan.

I grew up in a children’s home and didn’t even know who my parents were. There were friends from the orphanage and school, but they weren’t family.

After graduating high school, working hard and getting a scholarship to a provincial national university, and during job preparations, I had always been alone.

So I had no attachment to the modern era. Whether in the martial world or modern times, not having a family felt the same.

‘My Hwang Sang.’

But Hwang Sang, the princess, or Juga-yul, was my first and last family across both worlds.

I didn’t think that way at first. The ten-year-old Taepyeong Princess Juga-yul, who had been neglected by her parents and lost her only caretaker to illness, was excessively wary of me.

But I cared for her with sincerity. First as part of my duties, then to regain honor after being cut off.

Regardless, serving royalty meant getting close to power. Just like the legendary eunuch, Zhao Deng, who was the grandfather of Cao Cao.

To regain my honor, I had to make Juga-yul the Empress.

My mission ended when she turned twenty. Once Juga-yul came of age, she no longer needed me.

Officially speaking, that is. So I volunteered for Dongchang.

Dongchang was an intelligence agency. After all, an intelligence agency was a place to get close to the heart of power.

Though Dongchang was a shady, perverted eunuch group, they didn’t accept just anyone. But I was Juga-yul’s closest aide, so I learned martial arts to protect her, which allowed me to enter Dongchang.

‘Hey, where are you going? Lee Cheol-soo. This is an order. Don’t go.’

On the day I transferred to Dongchang, Juga-yul cried.

She held me back, saying it was an order.

In a place where no one could see, she hugged me from behind.

But I removed her hand and said,

“Your Highness, please don’t worry. I’m heading to Dongchang to protect you. I will protect you.”

“But… I…”

[I will make you the owner of the Hall of Great Harmony. I will seat you on the throne. You will rise to the position of Emperor, ruling all under heaven, and then no one will dare belittle you. I will make it happen. Hohoho.]

Upon hearing my promise, Juga-yul finally let me go, shedding tears.

“Go and return safely.”

She said.

Thinking about it, it would have been better to align with other princes for power.

The current emperor, Honggwangje, favored his second son, a son of a cherished concubine, over the legitimate heir, the first prince, delaying the crown prince’s appointment.

Yet for some reason, I couldn’t leave Juga-yul.

After spending ten years together, she had become my family.

Sometimes like a younger sister, sometimes like a daughter.

So I decided to make Juga-yul the Empress.

To reclaim my honor.

For her, my family.

After another ten years, I became the head of Dongchang and Juga-yul’s closest aide, eliminating both the first and second princes. And five years later, after twenty-five years since I first met her, I received the throne from Honggwangje and made Juga-yul the Empress.

Yes, that was it.

I had spent so much more time with her. While everyone feared Empress Juga-yul, to me, she was like a daughter or sister.

That’s why it honestly hurt to leave.

After regressing and gaining fame, I had considered visiting Hwang Sang. I worried if she was doing okay in the palace without me.

But that was it. The Taepyeong Princess, Juga-yul, after regressing, was no longer the family I knew. We were strangers now. I thought I’d check from a distance to see if she was doing well and help her secretly if her safety was threatened.

Just that much.

But.

‘… You’ve returned.’

The Juga-yul I knew had regressed.

Just that fact was enough to knock the breath out of me.

I could have wooed all the beauties in the world, but Hwang Sang was an exception. She was family.

Family doesn’t do that kind of thing.

Yet conversely, because she was family, I wanted to see her. I wanted to meet her.

After all, Hwang Sang was my only family across both worlds.

“Hey there. Cheer up. I understand the despair of having your target flee to the Underworld for revenge, but now that they’re dead, bury your grudge and live for your life.”

Tap tap.

Hong Chwi-gae next to me patted my shoulder, probably misunderstanding something.

“Ah, understood. Thank you for your response.”

“Nothing. It’s a job I’m getting paid for.”

After taking my leave, I headed out of Gwanje Shrine toward the entrance of Gongdong Mountain.

My gaze unconsciously turned toward the direction of Beijing, far away.

Hwang Sang wasn’t a puppet emperor. Her administrative sense and political skills might rival or even surpass my own.

Moreover, if she had regressed, she must have gone back to a point further ahead in the future than me. If she were to add more future knowledge to her already exceptional political genius…

No one could stop her from taking back the throne from the current emperor, Honggwangje, inside the Forbidden City.

Even without my help, she would manage quite well.

Yes, quite well without me. My receiving this message was meant to convey that she was fine, so I shouldn’t worry. After all, we’ve spent so much time together; I could tell without being told.

Ha, is this how a father feels watching his daughter grow up?

I felt strangely restless.

Now my Empress is all grown up. She should be marrying soon, too. She shouldn’t waste her life being single like in her past life.

Then I could relax and focus on building my harem.

‘Hwang Sang, you’re doing well, right?’

I asked a question that would obviously not be answered while soaring above Gongdong Mountain.

Now that I confirmed she had regressed and was safe, it was my turn to fully focus on my work.

She would wish for that as well.

*

At the same time.

In Gonhwa Pavilion’s special room.

There was Jeoksawol. With her elegantly tied red-black hair and captivating red eyes, she resembled the embodiment of every beauty in the world.

Her pristine skin and flawless figure were revealed in a delicate gown, but her expression was terribly crumpled.

Yet even that frown was beautiful, reminiscent of the legendary beauty, Xishi, who captivated the world, always frowning due to her heartbreak from an illness.

Jeoksawol bit her lip.

“How dare you refuse to meet me… You filthy bastard… Are you even a man?!”

Jeoksawol’s hands trembled.

She knew Lee Cheol-soo would stop by Gonhwa Pavilion. She received daily reports about his movements, and she predicted he would participate in the martial arts gambling like last time during the Orthodox Faction Competition.

So she waited for him.

Of course, she wouldn’t show her eagerness. It wasn’t unrequited love. Absolutely not.

As soon as she sensed Lee Cheol-soo approaching Gonhwa Pavilion, Jeoksawol began to prepare herself. More beautifully than before, applying makeup, selecting fragrances, and lighting incense.

This time, she would completely captivate Gaga.

Not just as a crush but as his true partner.

Of course, as his true partner, it meant not Jeoksawol, but Neungwolhyang’s.

However, when Lee Cheol-soo entered Gonhwa Pavilion, he didn’t come looking for her.

He only spoke with the chief steward and then left.

“Is he saying he won’t see me, even if I beat him to death?… That bastard… that naughty boy…”

Recalling Lee Cheol-soo’s words, Jeoksawol bit her lip again.

This was intentional. It meant he had no intention of meeting her.

Knowing that, Jeoksawol let Lee Cheol-soo leave, grinding her teeth in frustration.

To be so brutally rejected by someone was something she had never experienced in her life.

Beautiful.

Jeoksawol’s beauty surpassed ordinary faces by a mile.

Her beauty had reached a realm of incomprehensibility, enabling her to accomplish anything. Everyone was kind to her, and she had never encountered a single request that was turned down.

It was the same when she was Neungwolhyang, the top courtesan of Sichuan, and the idol of all poets. No man dared refuse her requests.

But why…

This was a first for her. Jeoksawol’s heart ached, as if it would tear apart.

“How dare you call me a partner…?”

Jeoksawol’s hands trembled. Her shoulders shook.

She had dressed up to meet him, eagerly awaited his arrival, and yet Lee Cheol-soo brushed her off.

Coldly.

Without seeing her once.

On the flip side, Geumhu was using the excuse of a public notary to avoid Hangshan Sect altogether and was staying at the Gongdong Sect Main Base.

At this rate…

Images of Geumhu, Seoharin, and Lee Cheol-soo laughing together flooded her mind. The sight of Lee Cheol-soo looking at her coldly, with Geumhu and Seoharin beside him also appeared.

“I’m the one who gets rejected? I, the most beautiful in the world, who has captivated all men’s hearts…?”

Rejected. Unable to meet.

From childhood until now, she had used her beauty to manipulate the hearts of all men; it was something she had never even imagined.

She couldn’t control it.

Powerlessness engulfed her.

As those thoughts crossed her mind, tears began to flow from Jeoksawol’s eyes.

She wiped her flowing tears away.

“It can’t be. He called me ‘Hyunmae’…”

Memories of that day surged in her mind.

Lee Cheol-soo’s voice, calling her affectionately, his warmth when he held her in his arms, and the sensation of his patting hand were still vivid.

So when he came back to collect his winnings, he would meet with her again.

Surely, he would.

As a man, it would be impossible not to fall for her.

That was likely true for Lee Cheol-soo too.

So she just had to wait until then.

Jeoksawol thought so, pushing away her worries and anxieties while biting her lips.

Wiping away her tears with her sleeve, she murmured,

“You bad bastard…”

*

Since realizing the Empress had regressed, nothing particularly special happened.

Focusing on my personal training, I left Gongdong Mountain for Lanzhou, the site of the martial arts contest, two weeks before the combat.

With my Master, Sahyeong, Same, and Geumhu, who would be serving as a public notary, and So Geom-hu.

Arriving in Lanzhou, our group rented a luxurious inn’s separate wing with Geumhu’s assistance. Naturally, I focused on my training.

Finally, the day of the martial arts contest had come.

Lanzhou.

As expected from the largest city in Gansu Province, the number of spectators at the martial arts arena dwarfed that of the Orthodox Faction Competition. Here, I finally met her.

“You managed to stand on the martial arts stage without fleeing. I admit your spirit—Double-Bladed Scissor Sword.”

Geombong Seomun Cheong-ha.

Hearing her words, I smiled while fiddling with the hilt of my sword.

At last.

The championship match between the Gongdong Sect and the Seomun Family of Gansu Province would begin soon.

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