We kissed a lot more vigorously than when we had started. The Queen was devouring my mouth, her tongue wrestling with mine, her hands keeping me as close as physically possible.

I knew from yesterday that she loved her taste. And she was adoring it today too.

Her hands moved to my robes and tugged. I had a few layers on, but that did not stop her from pulling off each of them and tossing them to where her robes lay.

For the second time, I was bare in front of her. But this time, my wish had come true—the Queen looked. Her eyes darted all over my body, a lustful glean painting her dark irises, before she delved back into my mouth, tasting me, tasting her.

We rolled about on the mattress. Our limbs entangled and our skin melted into one. I was touching her, feeling every part of her—and she, me. I had never been this intimate with anybody before, and it was both electrifying and… comforting. Both an adventure I dreamed of traveling to and a home I wanted to cozy up in.

It took a long while before the Queen was willing to leave my lips. She planted a few kisses on my neck and I shuddered with pleasure at every contact.

As she continued to kiss downwards, I grabbed her shoulders to stop her.

“Your Majesty,” I said, pushing her back on the pillow, “you don’t have to do this.”

“But I want to.”

I shook my head, adamant about my decision. “You’re the Queen. I serve you, Your Majesty.”

A hand reached out to caress my cheeks. “Don’t be silly. You deserve happiness too.”

“I am already the happiest maid alive.”

“Seul-Ki…” Her hand floated down my torso, but I stopped her again. No, I could not bear to have her do this. I could not taint her divine beauty in any way.

“Let me do all the work, Your Majesty,” I insisted.

I climbed over her body, trapping her between my arms while straddling her left leg. This was the position she had pulled me to the first time I had been on her mattress. This was the position that had haunted me all night long.

I pressed my hips down against her plump thigh. The sensation was so good a moan escaped my throat immediately. Sweet heavens, how much more perfect could her body be?

Her eyes widened and she chuckled. “Seul-Ki, you’re… you’re so wet.”

“Not as wet as you, Your Majesty,” I challenged, lifting my knee to her clit. 

She gasped before bursting into breathy giggles. “Oh, Seul-Ki, you are just so… so…”

“So what, Your Majesty?” I asked as I began to rock. 

She answered with a strangled cry, while I grunted along with her. As we rubbed against each other, our moans formed a perfect harmony. Her sounds were heavenly, and her body was soft and meaty. It was as if her leg was made to be massaged like this. It was as if she was made for me.

“Phenomenal,” the Queen finally managed to breathe out. “You… are… so… phenomenal… at… this…”

I laughed before I locked my lips with hers. Her groans were now a gentle vibration in my mouth, sending flutters through me, urging me on. My thrusts increased with vigor as pleasure rippled through me. It was definitely a sin to feel this good—and I was ready to go to hell.

I kept going, and going, and going, until the sensation peaked, until my mind went blank with pure bliss, until I became a blubbering mess, whispering for the Queen over and over again. I rode through my climax for a little bit more before I slumped onto the mattress next to her.

We huffed and laughed together before we wrapped each other in our arms again. 

“Seul-Ki,” the Queen muttered, her voice raspy and hoarse, “are you sure you’re a maiden?”

I chuckled again. “I have never slept with a man, Your Majesty.”

“But you have with women?”

I paused, inspecting her expression. “I… used to fool around with some maids… back in the Kang estate.”

She raised her brows. “Should I be jealous?”

“None of them were serious.” Tightening my grip around her waist, I planted kisses on the top of her head. “And no one can compare to you, Your Majesty. I am the luckiest maid alive.”

The answer seemed to satisfy her as she nuzzled into my neck.“So… are you still angry at me?”

My heart sank. The resentment I had been ignoring was now seeping back into me. 

“Your Majesty, I…” I wanted to tell her the truth. I wanted to say that I still hated the King, that I wanted her to leave him, to never see him again. But when she tensed in my arms, the words died in my throat. 

I could not demand that of her. After all, the King must not be disobeyed. And I did not want the Queen to end up like my former masters.

My jaw was clenched but I managed to squeeze out the next few words, “I am not, Your Majesty.” 

“Will you be next time?”

I kissed her a few more times to calm myself down. “No, Your Majesty,” —I was assuring myself as much as I was her— “I will never be angry at you ever again.”

She relaxed. “Thank you, Seul-Ki.” Her warm breath tickled my neck as she let out a soft sigh of relief. “Will you sleep with me like this every night? When- Whenever he…”

Whenever he is not sleeping with me.

The unspoken words were enough to stab me in the heart. But I could not cry out in pain. I must not. The Queen was already upset enough.

I placed a hand on her head and smoothed her hair. “Anything for you, Your Majesty.” 

Warm liquid trickled down my chest. 

Flustered, I jolted up, staring wildly at my wet torso and then at the Queen’s crying face. 

“Your Majesty?” I exclaimed. Cupping her face, I wiped the tears away with my thumbs. “Did- Did I say something wrong? I’m sorry, Your Majesty, please forgive me. I- I will never be angry at you again. I promise. I will never ever scream at you again, or ignore you, or make you upset, or—“

“He will kill me if he finds out.” 

I froze. The Queen began to sob, her cheeks writhing in my palms.

“Nobody will find out, Your Majesty,” I managed to say.

“But if he… if he does, he will… kill me… he will kill me… and my family…”

“I will tell them I forced myself on you.”

“Then… he will… kill you.”

“That’s fine by me.”

“No… no…” She shook her head. The tears were pouring down her face now. I could not stop them from dripping onto the mattress, no matter how much I tried to brush them away. “I can’t have that… I can’t…”

I pulled her back into my arms and let her cry into my shoulders. I did not know how long she cried, but I knew that by the time she stopped, she had already fallen asleep on me. My arm ached but I did not move her away. 

After all, the ache was nothing compared to the pain in my heart.