MOSC 4

A vein throbbed on Wigyeom’s temple as he stood before the delicate little woman who was trembling in bewilderment at the current situation.

It was a brutish desire, unimaginable for the Wigyeom of his past life who had pursued chastity and integrity.

He did not want to lose this moment.

Every single second with On was precious. He didn’t want to let even a fraction of it go to waste.

‘Why must you be so adorable and lovely, my wife?’

If he had his way, he would have thrown all restraint to the wind and lunged at her like a beast.

The soul of Sim Wigyeom, which had traveled through a long stretch of time to occupy this place, was not that of some kind, gentle nobleman.

He was a regressor who had gone completely mad for the woman before him, and a husband who wanted nothing more than to reclaim the intimate passion he once shared with his first wife.

‘Why must you be so beautiful, my wife, as to provoke this shameless man…?’

Though he appeared to be a virtuous scholar, clean-living and noble on the outside, an untamed beast coiled within him.

‘It was said we were bound by three lifetimes of fate. Even if the rivers flow backward and the heavens are overturned, our connection can never be severed.’

As he took in the sight of On in her dazzling wedding attire, Wigyeom’s eyes blazed like molten lava.

With a gaze that felt scalding hot, Wigyeom devoured every inch of On, who had just barely passed the age of twenty.

Her clear, wild-grape-colored eyes; the parted lips revealing her shock beneath fair, translucent, pearl-like skin; the petite body, small enough to be enfolded in his arms with room to spare, sitting so still.

A sharp pain lanced through Wigyeom’s chest.

His wife was so very young and innocent.

She was more stimulating than any fantasy he had held in his memories or imagined while hovering on the threshold of death.

In that moment, Wigyeom was experiencing every satisfaction and pleasure a human could feel.

At the same time, beneath that fulfillment and ecstasy, a sense of lack and a ferocious lust were also stirring.

Although he had lived his entire past life with temperance and asceticism, Wigyeom was still a man.

And this was the wife he had met again after crossing the Sanzu River, the river of the underworld.

‘You have finally flown into my grasp.’

It felt as if a fire had been lit in Wigyeom’s chest, a physical wanting for her. No, it was more than just a fire; the blood in his veins was rampaging like a stallion in heat. It was an almost violent desire.

‘Now you cannot run away anywhere.’

If he could, he would steal every breath from this woman, making it impossible for her to live a single moment without him.

…And Wigyeom intended to do just that very soon.

‘But she must be in shock. I shouldn’t frighten her from the start.’

His gaze calmed as he recalled the teachings of the ancient sages.

Wigyeom decided not to rush.

To do that, a bit of pretense was necessary. And for Wigyeom, this was not a difficult task at all.

After all, maintaining appearances was one of the virtues of a nobleman.

“You have waited long. Before tonight’s ritual, I wish to observe the proprieties, however simple they may be.”

The man, who was smiling like a perfect madman, spoke with a warm and friendly grin.

He spread a cloth on the floor and carefully placed a wooden goose upon it.

“Ordinarily, this rite should be offered to the family elders, but sadly, I cannot offer it to my parents in the heavens. So today, with this goose, I will offer my respects to the sky and convey my sincerity to you and your family.”

On couldn’t help but blush at Wigyeom’s elegance.

‘H-He is so refined….’

And so, On’s misunderstanding truly began.

Wigyeom slowly bowed once toward the north, then turned back to On and bowed a second time.

Naturally, On’s eyes widened.

‘That’s surely the part of the wedding ceremony where the groom prepares a pair of geese and bows twice to the bride’s family to declare his intention to marry….’

Witnessing the scene, On’s heart began to tremble violently. At the same time, her face flushed red.

She might be a lady-in-waiting for the wedding night, but she was, in the end, an inspector sent by the Queen.

‘It’s not as if we’re actually getting married. It wouldn’t be strange if we just spent one night together and then parted ways for good….’

This was an act she had never anticipated.

Overwhelmed with a mixture of bewilderment and gratitude, she held her breath and stared at the shadow in the darkness, not knowing what to do. The man’s sincerity left her flustered.

‘The Prince Consort is not only upright but also possesses the virtues of a true gentleman.’

Trembling, the innocent On fell deeper into her delusion.

The next part of the ceremony followed immediately.

Wigyeom faced On, lowered himself, and knelt in a deep bow. Startled as if struck by a whip, On bowed back in return.

After that came the exchange of nuptial cups, a symbol of the bond that ties a man and woman as one.

Wigyeom’s hand lifted a gourd bottle and slowly poured liquor into On’s cup. He offered the cup to her.

“Please, you first.”

On flinched in surprise and received the cup with both hands.

“Ye-Yes? According to custom….”

Her fingertips trembled.

She raised the cup, took a sip, and poured the rest into a washbasin. It was a cup she simply could not drink to the last drop.

When On handed the empty cup back to Wigyeom, he took it and carefully brought his lips to the spot where hers had been.

Faint moonlight, filtering through the paper screen door, illuminated the man’s throat as his Adam’s apple bobbed while he drank. Unlike On, he did not leave a single drop, draining it all.

Gulp.

In that moment, On felt as if time had stopped.

She had the illusion that the man’s silhouette, cast in the moonlight, had become slightly clearer. His unexpectedly handsome appearance made On’s face flush an even deeper shade of red.

…No one had told her.

That the Prince Consort was so handsome.

Though it was only a figure illuminated by moonlight, Sim Wigyeom was a man so strikingly beautiful that he would make one’s eyes pop out even from a hundred paces away.

‘He-He’s handsome.’

On squeezed her eyes shut.

But the sheer handsomeness of his features seemed to pierce through the shadows, impossible to ignore.

Her resolve to remain firm and composed crumbled in an instant like a sandcastle.

If On had one weakness, it was for breathtakingly beautiful people.

For a court lady like On, who had never so much as brushed sleeves with a man her entire life, this was only natural.

Furthermore, that wasn’t all.

‘Why does my heart feel so wistful and tight…?’

This was surely the first man she had ever met in her life, so what was this strange feeling that made the bridge of her nose burn?

And so, the ritual of pledging to the heavens, through the sharing of a cup, that their path together would never stray, was completed—albeit in a simplified form.

All that remained was the consummation of their marriage.

Though the room was chilly, with no mandarin duck bedding or folding screens, On could feel sweat pooling beneath her jeogori.

From that point on, as if she had been bewitched by the man before her, she completely forgot her duty to think of what to report to her superior.

In the next moment, Wigyeom, who had been gazing at On from the darkness, murmured.

His deep voice spread through the room like a gentle ripple.

“…The moonlight that had departed now brightens the window once more.”

On blinked at the man’s words.

Wasn’t the moonlight always there if you looked up at the night sky?

But in that instant, Wigyeom was not seeing the On of the present, but the On of the past.

‘My wife.’

His first wife, who had always kept watch by his side, receiving the moonlight alone by the window of her detached quarters, far from the main house.

For a moment, the scar of a sharp wound flashed across Wigyeom’s face as he recalled the past.

‘Though it is a simplified rite, this is how we will mark our second wedding night.’

Secretly, without On’s knowledge, Wigyeom announced to their ancestors and the gods of heaven and earth that they were joined as husband and wife.

…That from this moment, the two would become one body again.

And that he would never again leave On to face death alone.

He would stake his entire life on it.

The next moment, Wigyeom’s index finger brushed past the collar of her upper garment and gently pressed against the side of On’s cheek. The warmth from his thick finger was intense.

On froze, holding her breath.

With Wigyeom backlit by the moon, On could not see his face. However, in the bright moonlight, Wigyeom’s vision was filled with the clear sight of On’s flushed cheeks.

And beneath them, her heart beating like mad, and the soft red flesh inside her lips, slightly parted in a mix of confusion and bewilderment.

Wigyeom’s eyes shook violently.

On’s eyes did the same.

…This felt so strange.

Then, a somewhat sorrowful voice caressed On’s ear.

“I am happy to meet you again like this.”

At the same time, Wigyeom lowered his head deeply.

The next instant, the man’s lips descended upon On’s, as light as a butterfly.

Before On could even feel puzzled by the man’s last words, her mind went black, as if splattered with ink.

Her red lips parted with a hot breath, and the man’s soft tongue, a sensation she had never experienced before, wrapped around hers as if to devour it.

“Heut…!”

Startled, On flinched as if she had stepped on a snake. Wigyeom quickly and firmly pressed her down.

Her eyes wide, On struggled, arching her back away from him.

For a moment, Wigyeom felt a pang of shamelessness.

Even if they were connected in a past life, there was no way On could know that.

He knew he was lusting after his innocent wife’s body, driven by his own desires while she knew nothing.

Moreover, compared to the On before his regression, the On before him was far too young.

It was a natural consequence, as Wigyeom had already lived a full lifetime.

To the man who had overcome all sorts of adversities, the On before him felt as fragile and pure as a child who knew nothing of the world.

But in all honesty, if he delayed for even one more second, he felt like he would go insane.