Gyokuyou with a Stranger (29pg+video) (Patreon)

Graphics quality

I’ve increased the resolution of the images a bit—the quality seems slightly better, which is especially noticeable in the characters' eyes. This is actually the second post with higher resolution; I forgot to mention it earlier.

Gyokuyou had been alone in the garden for weeks. Her husband, the emperor, was always busy. He barely visited. She still wore the jade hairpin he gave her, and she held it tight while she stared at the pond. It didn't make the silence any easier.

Then the stranger showed up. He was huge, bald, and a lot more muscular than any man at court. She invited him to sit and poured him tea. Her hands wouldn't stay steady. When he put his big hand over hers, her face went red. She knew she should pull away. She didn't.

He took his time, and she stopped fighting. By the end she was kneeling on her bedroom floor, begging for more. The hairpin was lying on the carpet. Later she put it back in her hair, still messy and wet from him. Then she sat down at the table with her tea, like nothing had happened. Her husband would never notice.

玉葉妃は、もう何週間も庭で一人きりだった。帝は政務に追われ、ほとんど会いに来ない。彼女は贈られた翡翠の簪を握りしめ、池をじっと見つめていた。それでも、静けさは少しも楽にならなかった。

そこへ、あの男が現れた。大柄で、頭は丸く剃られていて、宮廷のどんな男よりも筋肉質だった。席を勧めてお茶を注ぐ。手の震えが止まらない。大きな手が自分の手に重なると、頬が一気に熱くなった。振りほどくべきだと分かっていた。でも、できなかった。

男は焦らなかった。そして彼女も、いつの間にか抵抗をやめていた。気づけば寝室の床に膝をつき、自分から求めていた。簪は絨毯の上に落ちたまま。あとで彼女はそれを拾い、汚れた髪にそっと挿し直した。そして何事もなかったように、お茶の前に座った。帝は、きっと気づかない。