The Emperor's Obsession

Chapter Twenty-Four || His Highness, His Dear Highness

The Great Palace, Xiang Empire, 1479
________________
"Out of my way!" A booming voice commanded, echoing against the walls and sending shivers of pure fear down everybody's spines. Heavy yet quick footsteps made their way to the chamber and the door burst open. Tall and with an air of dominance around him, the emperor stormed inside the room, a furious glare on his face. The court ladies and eunuchs gathered there immediately lowered their stares as he walked past them, pushing the prince out of the way and reaching the bed. His eyes went wide and he could've sworn his heart stopped for a second when he saw the state Lihua was in. He turned to the doctor and hissed, "what is wrong with her?"
"S-She has a really high fever," the elderly physician stuttered softly, trying to hide how terrified he was. His eyes were glued to the floor, and his fingers trembled as he took out small jars of different kinds of medicines from his bag and placed them on the table brought beside the bed. His timid gaze flickered to the girl lying on the bed. Beads of sweat covered her forehead and the sides of her face, sliding down to her neck and disappearing under her clothes. Her cheeks were flushed and her chest rose and fell rhythmically. Her breaths were slow and shallow. Her features weren't as soft and relaxed as it was expected from a sleeping person. Instead, there was a tiny frown of discomfort and maybe pain on her face.
"You can cure her, right?"
"It's going to be diffi—"
The emperor suddenly grabbed him by his clothes and the poor man gasped. "I swear to the gods, if you don't cure her, you and the rest of your family will suffer and die. Am I clear?" He yelled. The physician gulped and nodded quickly, and Emperor Hyeon let him go, adding a little force. The elderly man stumbled and exhaled shakily in fear.
Prince Daeshim placed a hand on the emperor's arm and said, "brother—"
He shrugged his hand off and glared at him, "what are you doing here? The only man allowed here is me. And the physician. Leave!"
"I will not leave. Lady Wu is clearly ill, and it would be horrible of me to le—"
"She's my wife, not yours."
But you never treated her like your wife, the prince thought, his hands—which were now fists, tightened so much his knuckles turned white and his nails dug into his skin. He had no choice but to obey. So he bowed his head, looked at Lihua from the corner of his eye and through gritted teeth he said, "good day, Your Majesty." Then he walked out, fighting the urge to steal a glance at his childhood friend.
The emperor watched his brother leave, and once he did, he moved his attention back to the unconscious brunette. When he was told that she'd fainted, the world around him had stopped completely. He knew he'd told her that he wasn't going to look at her or touch her ever again, but he just couldn't resist. He was shocked and frightened at the same time, but what terrified him the most was that he'd never felt this worried about anybody before. Whenever it came to Lihua, he would start feeling things he'd never felt before. Things that were new. Foreign, strange, and unfamiliar. Things he hated. Whenever someone mentioned her name, he would be more than willing to listen to what they had to say about her.
He studied her soft features. The features he'd grown to adore so much.
"Lihua must never know that I came here to see her. Understood?" He said coldly. Everyone nodded.
"Bring a bowl of ice cold water and a cloth. Wet the cloth and place it on her forehead. Keep doing that until her fever goes down and she wakes up," the physician ordered. "I will put together some herbs. Feed the mixture to her every night before she goes to bed."
"I will take care of her," Eun Soo said softly, bowing. She quietly told a maid to bring a bowl of water and a cloth.

"No need for that. I will." The emperor said. The court lady raised a brow, but didn't reply. She only bowed silently, but she was truly surprised. This was the first time he'd offered to take care of someone.
"As you wish, Your Majesty," the physician bowed as well, before saying, "I will leave now to make the medicine." He left the chamber and the maid came back with the necessary stuff in her hands. She placed the bowl and the clean cloth on the table, bowed, and stepped away.
"You are dismissed. All of you." He grumbled. Everyone exchanged strange looks and muttered words of respect, then left the chamber as well, leaving the man and the sleeping girl alone.
Emperor Hyeon sighed as he sat down on the bed, his gaze on her relaxed face. She looked like an innocent angel when she slept. "Beautiful.." He whispered, hesitantly touching her cheek. The second he did, however, an image of that heartbreaking look she gave him after he said all those hurtful things to her. He flinched and moved his hand away immediately. "What have I done..?" He muttered, burying his face in his hands and letting out a heavy sigh. He recognized what he felt at that moment: guilt.
He'd never felt guilty about anything before. He'd never regretted anything he's done. But for some reason, he was sure that the awful thing he was feeling at this moment was guilt.
And he hated it.
The emperor dipped the cloth in the ice cold water and slowly placed it on her forehead, before gently caressing her unnaturally warm cheek. He didn't want her to wake up right now, and hoped she wouldn't. Because if she did, she would see him. And he definitely did not want that.
Lihua winced at the touch of his hand and frowned slightly in her sleep. Her lips parted slightly and her eyes opened. Only a tiny bit though. She saw a familiar face. It was blurry, but she knew who it was. Both her throat and mouth were dry, but she still managed to murmur, her voice almost inaudible.
"Shim.."
Then her eyes closed and she fell asleep again.
Emperor Hyeon froze.
Shim?
As in Daeshim?
_______________