Emperor Kihyun's POV
The shop is hot as they all kneel in front of me.
They are all naked, trembling like dry leaves, they have disappointed again.
I know, I just need to hear it from them, they all reek of fear and the desperate need to survive.
With a sigh, I stretch my arms above my head and hear my joints crack. I had asked to sit on a pillow instead of on a chair.
The pillow is stiff and uncomfortable but it serves the purpose.
I need the easiest and quickest access to their cocks, one wrong move, one clean cut.
Incompetent men should not have children, the world would have been spared of their incompetence if their own parents had kept their cocks flaccid.
"Your grace…" the owner of the shop starts and I look at him to silence him.
He fears for them, worried like the fatherly figure that is to them.
I don't need to hear anything.
All I need to know is the success of their mission.
"Two more wrong words will lead to your dismemberment" I say calmly and the man falls to his face.
"MY LORD!" he says in apology.
I let out a sigh and turn to the men kneeling in front of me.
Three Korean, a foreign man who knows the sea and a personal guard of mine.
Five of them are calling to leave the world today, with how angry they make me.
"Speak" I say, picking my sword to point at the Korean man at the end of the line.
He used to be the most confident when reporting back to me.
The one who demanded the highest amount of coins from me.
The one who knows me the least.
I give him a smile to urge him to speak while his companions look at each other, disturbed at my kindness.
"The villagers have refused to show us the cave and we tried all our best" one of the men starts and I slash my sword at his pelvis.
"Ahfggh" he screams and falls forward in pain.
I made a shallow cut on his stomach, he doesn't know it yet, the rest don't know it yet.
They are too afraid to realize the last minute change in direction I made.
Dohyun will be offended if he finds out.
Tsk. Mates, the power they have on you.
With a tired sigh, I watch as his body shakes on the floor as he sputters blood everywhere.
His screams are deafening, too loud for the shallow cut I made, men are made too weak these days.
His flaccid cock is so small and so useless, he will regret me sparing it many years from now.
I point the tip of my bloodied sword at the next man, my own guard and the one next to him breaks into tears as hot yellow piss flows out of his cock uncontrolled.
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Forgive me!" he begs and falls forward into the pool of his mess and I burst into laughter.
Blood and piss spread out of the floor and mixes together, making me laugh even harder.
The smell in the air is disgusting and foul.
These men are putting too much stress on me, all I need them to do is find me the cave that contains the Fallen Embers.
"Get lost. All of you" I say and they get up to run, leaving behind their friend, the man I slashed.
I look at the shop owner with a raised brow and he pulls the man up.
"Thank you for being gracious, your highness" the elderly man says and drags the body of the bleeding man out.
I throw my sword to the floor with a clang and adjust my clothes, thankful that I dressed as a commoner, this space is hot.
"Would you like me to offer you anything, your highness?" a young girl asks and I flick my wrist to turn her away.
All I need is the Ember and no one is bringing it to me.
"Clean this mess" I say and move the stiff pillow closer to the door, giving them space to work and taking myself away from the smell.
Suddenly the heavy curtain of the shop is opened and a man falls face first into my laps, not just any man, but a wet man.
Interesting.
It's not just any man…it's the proud duck.
"If I keep meeting you like this, I would think you are after me" I say to him with my lips pursed and he turns his head to look at me, his eyes wide with embarrassment.
"Y-you!" he stutters and scrambles off my laps, applying unintentional pressure of my cock with his uncoordinated movements.
This man.
"You mean your highness" I say to him with a smirk and he stutters something unintelligible again.
His hair is wet, just like the day we met and gods…his smell is appetizing.
"Y-your highness" he says and looks over his shoulder, his chest heaving and his eyes wide.
Who is my little duck running from?
"WHERE IS THAT LITTLE RAT?" Someone shouts and I smirk.
"S-save me" he stutters.
"I don't want to die" he says.
"Ah…this would be the second time I'll be saving you, are you counting it?" I ask him and he hisses at me.
"Hurry" he says and I reach out to grab his neck and press his face into my groin.
"WHAT ARE-" his shout is muffled by me pressing his face into the fabrics of my clothes.
"Stay still" I say calmly and the curtain is opened with force, a man with axe and two other younger men stand at the entrance.
"WHERE IS…" his shout dies as I lift my eyes to his, my face straight and I grab little duck's hair, pulling him up and pushing him down to create an illusion.
"Y-y-your majesty!" The man with the axe exclaims and they all fall to the floor in greetings.
"Get out" I order and they rush out of the shop with red faces and shaky legs.
The little duck forces my hands off his head and sits up with a harsh expression on his face.
"Are you trying to suffocate me?" he asks me.
"I'm saving you for the second time and still no thank you" I say, amused and obsessed by his lack of self-preservation.
He is fun.
"THAT was the only way to save me?" he asks with a growl and I laugh despite the emperor part of me wanting to give him a slap.
"Then why do you smell so aroused like you want me to take you?" I ask and he gets up to storm out of the shop.
I throw my head back and laugh again.
He's so cute.
I feel a sharp pain on my neck, a pull from my mating bite, and I slap my hand over it with a groan.
It's time to return, my omega needs me.