The night was deep. Yi Sun-sin walked alone in the courtyard, his hands clasped behind his back, eyes fixed on the lanterns extinguishing one by one. In the distance, the waves crashed against the walls of the estate.
His thoughts, usually calm and ordered, began to fracture.
She had spoken of pleasure. She — a young wife he had never sought to seduce.
His jaw tightened. To him, the act was nothing more than duty: to continue his clan, to secure his lineage. And yet… her words lingered, insistent: "It is not only your duty… it has also become my turmoil."
He stopped, his gaze darkening.
"Why does this touch me? Why does her confession haunt me more than a royal command or a battle report?"
He closed his eyes for a moment. The image of his wife came back: flushed cheeks, parted lips, trembling breath. She was no longer just the fragile noblewoman forced upon him. She was a woman… and her body, despite his coldness, had found an answer.
Yi Sun-sin opened his eyes again, his face once more impassive. But a shadow had taken root in his mind: what if, despite his will to remain stone, she had awakened within him a desire he refused to name?
He turned back toward his