No, he is not trying to manipulate Heun. He is sincere, I can vouch to this because I have read ahead. The next chapter will explain one of the reasons for his tendency toward brutality. A lot of people will probably think he has not changed at all because of how he treated the son. But please keep in mind, that drastic change does not happen overnight. He will mellow up bit by bit, but there will always be a part of him that stays a jerk. But at least he is no longer a psycho going on murderous rampage just to keep the one he loves all to himself. At least now he can be sincere, & you will see this in future chapters.
Wht no he is not manipulating him in which way u r seeing it if he raped him and do wht previous wonjae did u would love tht? He is trying to change things this is the only way to stop this hell they all are circulating in which part u found manipulative?
Using the threat of self-harm to get your way is ALWAYS a manipulation, no matter whether the one using it intended for it to be taken that way or not. I am talking from experience.
Wait for the next chapter, you will get an explanation of why he was doing that. It was not a threat, he was dead serious about doing it to himself to basically try to make things even. And Heun instinctively knew it, and thus he stepped on the sword to stop the king. You might think that he was being recklessly stupid about harming himself. Well, I'm sorry for spoiling here, but the king has an as of yet, unrevealed condition. He has never known nor understood pain. So to him, breaking a leg or getting stab is of not a big deal, whether he does it to himself or to others. Before you say that this is BS, I am telling you that this work is all made-up fantasy, but there is only 1 thing that is based on reality, and that is the condition that the king has. It is a real genetic condition that very few people in this world have. But anyway, what the king is trying to do now is to show his sincerity. He recognized that he can't undo what he has done. And the only way that he knows how to earn forgiveness, is to make things even. I know it's hard to believe, but after you have read ch 33, you will understand him a bit more.
Ah, I forgot to say that I am sorry to hear that you've had a bad experience with someone who is so manipulative. I hope you have cut off that person from your life, because having them around is just very toxic & unhealthy for yourself. And I hope that you can find emotional healing as well, and be at peace with your current situation.
One word for this chapter: manipulation