Edit: y’all I am reading on ridibooks and using Google Translate. It’s $6 in total for both books. If you don’t want to pay you can find translated copies up to chapter 10 (like 12% of the novel) on the web. It’s not rocket science to find them I promise, so I’m not going to send tons of links to people. And given the current placing of the translated novels, they’re behind the manga and it’s easier to read on ridibooks. This is a big spoiler so beware
I am reading the novel and I will tell you that the prince(King) and Dam are endgame and after reading the ending of book 2 for confirmation they’re both romantically involved with each other. How they get there is a long rocky road and after Dam runs away and then returns to the palace, Mok-young (Prince) basically realizes he loves Dam and enters deep regret, longing and groveling for Dam despite Dam being completely traumatized and terrified of him. Also, the novel is jumping from past timeline and present timeline, so unlike the manga that is showing all the past events leading to the present I am reading the present timeline after the framing the princess event and then it’ll jump back to the past timeline. Which I prefer to reading an intense opener before being launched into the past universe for the next 30+ chapters. I’m on page 116/258 currently for novel 1. In essence, Dam returns to the palace with Mok-young, stays in the concubine palace and somewhere along the way becomes Chief Eunuch. It was also stated that the prince’s friend (in a conversation), the one that seemingly likes Dam, helped Dam escape by having him pretend to be a court maid and it was thought Dam was dead—probably by faking his suic-de, but haven’t gotten that far yet, I’m speculating. Then Mok-young finds out he’s alive and spends years searching for him and went nutty and wiped out the corrupt officials. But that’s as far as I got. Side note: this is more speculation but it seems that Mok-young waits for Dam’s consent until the end of book 2(a statement was made by prince’s friend in book 2), but I find that hard to believe so I’m not sure if there’s anymore penetration sex scenes after the flashbacks. Also, literally the first night Dam is back in the palace Mok-young sleeps in bed with him and starts kissing his neck and shoulders and only stops after about sending Dam into a panic attack so there’s that, why I’m skeptical by that remark at the end of book 2. The author is trying to frame it as Mok-young’s trauma caused him to treat Dam poorly and fail to realize his affections until Dam flees, and then gets his redemption when he finds Dam again. Which personally, is so stupid and there’s no redeeming for Mok-young for me. I’m just really invested in this novel (the writing is honestly really freaking good the trauma aside, which I feel puts a realistic perspective on palace life in historical times) and I think the manga only doing past events first before the present timeline doesn’t do it justice. Side side note: Mok-young sometimes refers to Dam in the present as Dam-a which according to a translator means “deep love”, so fucking cringe from Mok-young LOL
Edit: y’all I am reading on ridibooks and using Google Translate. It’s $6 in total for both books. If you don’t want to pay you can find translated copies up to chapter 10 (like 12% of the novel) on the web. It’s not rocket science to find them I promise, so I’m not going to send tons of links to people. And given the current placing of the translated novels, they’re behind the manga and it’s easier to read on ridibooks.
This is a big spoiler so beware
I am reading the novel and I will tell you that the prince(King) and Dam are endgame and after reading the ending of book 2 for confirmation they’re both romantically involved with each other. How they get there is a long rocky road and after Dam runs away and then returns to the palace, Mok-young (Prince) basically realizes he loves Dam and enters deep regret, longing and groveling for Dam despite Dam being completely traumatized and terrified of him. Also, the novel is jumping from past timeline and present timeline, so unlike the manga that is showing all the past events leading to the present I am reading the present timeline after the framing the princess event and then it’ll jump back to the past timeline. Which I prefer to reading an intense opener before being launched into the past universe for the next 30+ chapters. I’m on page 116/258 currently for novel 1. In essence, Dam returns to the palace with Mok-young, stays in the concubine palace and somewhere along the way becomes Chief Eunuch. It was also stated that the prince’s friend (in a conversation), the one that seemingly likes Dam, helped Dam escape by having him pretend to be a court maid and it was thought Dam was dead—probably by faking his suic-de, but haven’t gotten that far yet, I’m speculating. Then Mok-young finds out he’s alive and spends years searching for him and went nutty and wiped out the corrupt officials. But that’s as far as I got.
Side note: this is more speculation but it seems that Mok-young waits for Dam’s consent until the end of book 2(a statement was made by prince’s friend in book 2), but I find that hard to believe so I’m not sure if there’s anymore penetration sex scenes after the flashbacks. Also, literally the first night Dam is back in the palace Mok-young sleeps in bed with him and starts kissing his neck and shoulders and only stops after about sending Dam into a panic attack so there’s that, why I’m skeptical by that remark at the end of book 2. The author is trying to frame it as Mok-young’s trauma caused him to treat Dam poorly and fail to realize his affections until Dam flees, and then gets his redemption when he finds Dam again. Which personally, is so stupid and there’s no redeeming for Mok-young for me. I’m just really invested in this novel (the writing is honestly really freaking good the trauma aside, which I feel puts a realistic perspective on palace life in historical times) and I think the manga only doing past events first before the present timeline doesn’t do it justice.
Side side note: Mok-young sometimes refers to Dam in the present as Dam-a which according to a translator means “deep love”, so fucking cringe from Mok-young LOL