Follow Your Heart [EN]: Chapter 11

#11.

After the King returned from the hunting grounds with injuries, the Queen Consort fell ill.

It was because she had to restore the barrier in her room that she had broken herself.

In the process, Lee Jae put in much more effort than the first time, because as time passed, she realized that the castle was a dangerous and unknown place.

She suffered much more severely than before.

And Duke Duncan and the nobles seized on the issue without fail.

“The Duke’s family has many servants who have taken care of Her Majesty the Queen Consort since she was young. Please allow them to serve her. Her Majesty the Queen Consort will also feel more comfortable with them.”

Roderick scanned the nobles’ expressions with an indifferent face.

The pro-royal faction nobles naturally had unpleasant expressions, but a significant number of nobles were watching this power struggle with great interest. Their faces even showed enjoyment.

“It seems the Queen Consort’s wishes are most important in this matter.”

“My daughter is not the type to make such requests directly.”

“Hailey is the Queen Consort of Cayenne before she is your daughter. I would appreciate it if you would be more mindful of your titles in public, Duke Duncan.”

The Duke closed his mouth at the King’s remark, but only for a moment.

“My concern for Her Majesty the Queen Consort is simply too great. I have cherished her too much since she was young… Please forgive my rudeness, Your Majesty.”

The King chuckled at those words.

“Ah, so you cherish your daughter so much…”

*Did you slap her cheeks and grab her hair?*

Roderick clearly intended to attack in that way. But he soon closed his mouth.

That was because it was also a statement directly related to the Queen Consort’s honor.

The King, who had recently been exchanging blows with the Duncan family, would not have missed such an opportunity under normal circumstances.

But for some reason, Roderick hesitated and remained silent.

The pack of wolves skilled in such fights did not miss the opportunity.

“Your Majesty, then please grant me the opportunity to meet Her Majesty the Queen Consort directly and ask for her intentions.”

“That seems like a good idea.”

Roderick glanced at the face of the noble who added those words.

He flinched, but the King, who seemed to be thinking deeply about something, nodded.

“Isn’t the opportunity for an audience always open? I don’t know why you’re asking me that.”

“Your Majesty!”

The urgent cry came from a noble on the King’s side.

Duke Duncan’s ambition and Hailey Duncan’s gentle nature were known to those in the know. To put it nicely, she was innocent; to put it badly, she was obedient to her father.

Hailey, who had never put up any significant resistance, only rebelled once in her life—the commotion she caused the day before her royal marriage, which her father, Duke Duncan, knew best.

Roderick, who had been quietly watching Duke Duncan’s triumphant smile, was the first to rise from his seat.

As the nobles bowed their heads, the long meeting naturally came to an end.

Jade, who was following the King with a face full of things to say, couldn’t help but ask.

“Did you concede?”

“Perhaps.”

“It would be better to have a sword fight than this!”

Roderick, who had been refraining from official schedules whenever his mind was troubled, stopped at those words. He warned Jade with calm eyes.

“Even if you are my close friend… be careful with your loose tongue when there are eyes watching.”

“…Yes, Your Majesty. I overstepped my bounds.”

However, Roderick didn’t seem particularly displeased, as it was just a warning.

As proof, he blurted out to his friend.

“Are you doing your job properly?”

“…Yes?”

“I’m talking about that report you submitted about Hailey Duncan.”

The Knight Commander asked again, “Yes?” but Roderick didn’t answer.

Because his steps were directed towards the Queen Consort’s chambers, people began to look uneasy.

Duke Duncan had relentlessly provoked the King’s displeasure today, and under these circumstances, his feelings towards the Queen Consort couldn’t be good.

Meanwhile, Lee Jae, who was lying in bed with a pale face, watched Roderick enter as the door opened, with satisfaction.

Roderick frowned once, but she saw something else in his eyes. Three vengeful spirits were bouncing away with excitement.

*Ah, this barrier is really excellent.*

*Even a dog at a village school can become human if it sees and hears things for more than ten years [a Korean proverb meaning that even the most ignorant can become wise with enough exposure].*

*Grandma was definitely a top-tier in this industry.*

Lost in her own emotions, she belatedly realized that she had been lying down the whole time.

As Lee Jae hurriedly tried to get up, Roderick flicked her forehead with his index finger. Then, he pulled a chair over and sat near her.

His expression was somewhat annoyed.

“Are you that weak?”

“Yes?”

“Are you taking revenge?”

“…I don’t know what you mean.”

“Are you taking revenge because I bothered you that day?”

Only then did Lee Jae understand what he meant. Of course, it was a bothersome thing, and it was true that she had fallen ill because of it. But it wasn’t something he had ordered her to do.

Lee Jae shook her head with an embarrassed feeling, and Roderick sighed at the Queen Consort’s troubled face.

“Your father is going crazy, saying he’s going to send people from the Duke’s family.”

It was a serious topic, but Lee Jae couldn’t help but burst out laughing. Roderick also laughed in disbelief when she laughed at a topic she should never have laughed at.

“If you laugh at such words, I become too petty.”

Roderick, who had been staring at Lee Jae as she composed herself, asked.

“Should I let them?”

“…”

“I’m asking if I should let those people serve you.”

The King had said something he shouldn’t have said again, and Jade almost called out to him.

However, Roderick was waiting for the Queen Consort’s answer.

Lee Jae, who had been looking at Roderick with a straight gaze, slightly bent her eyes.

It was a smile that was difficult to gauge the meaning of.

“Your Majesty, you are giving me a choice again.”

“Yes.”

“Why are you doing this?”

“Well, I don’t know.”

In fact, it was an action with a reason. It was to observe and test the Queen Consort’s reaction.

However, Lee Jae, who had been pondering, soon shook her head.

The moment a person mistakenly believes they have a choice is truly sweet.

“I’ll write another letter and send it again. This time, a little more clearly.”

Then, Roderick turned his head and looked at Jade.

Again, his face was asking something.

But it seemed that other people didn’t quite feel this subtle point that the King felt.

*Could this be another plan of the Duke’s? What on earth is that woman up to?*

Roderick looked at Lee Jae with deep suspicion.

But he couldn’t accurately define what this subtle feeling was, so he sighed and turned his gaze away.

Then, he discovered a strange object on the side table.

It was an unfinished Cheonha Daegunjang (Generals Under the Heavens) [a traditional Korean wooden toy].

The King’s eyebrow twitched at the sight of a long, round pillar with a blunt wooden piece at the end.

Because the shape closely resembled a specific part of the body.

The maids, who had confirmed where his gaze was directed, all wore expressions of dismay.

*Everyone’s minds were unbelievably corrupted.*

Thinking it couldn’t be, he asked just in case.

“Are you protesting to me right now?”

They were just legal spouses who had never had a real marital relationship.

They were the King and Queen Consort, so they couldn’t continue like this, but it wasn’t exactly uncommon among couples who had a political marriage.

And the Queen Consort answered confidently.

“Protesting? This is just my hobby.”

“…”

“I made this bracelet too. So, can you give me that sculpture back?”

“…What?”

“Didn’t Your Majesty take it? I’m better at handling knives than I look. It’s not dangerous at all. Please give it to me.”

Lee Jae, who was watching Roderick’s expression turn sour, muttered as if to herself.

“I need to carve it more.”

“…It has to be smaller than this?”

“Yes?”

“Usually, people prefer the bigger one… Never mind.”

*What am I thinking in front of that docile face right now?*

However, Lee Jae, who was looking at Roderick, who was washing his face with his hands, with strange eyes, said.

“Big doesn’t necessarily mean strong.”

“…That’s also true.”

*Mine is a bit big.*

The King, who had checked the expressions of the people around him, was somewhat relieved that he wasn’t the only one having trashy thoughts.

“I don’t know what it is, but it’s hideous, so put it somewhere out of sight.”

*That’s not something you put out to look pretty. And it’s not hideous.*

But Lee Jae nodded for now.

The King stayed in his seat for a long time after that.

He was lost in thought, tracking down the identity of this strange feeling he was feeling. But as Roderick, who was sitting with his legs crossed and arms folded, began to nod off, everyone looked dumbfounded.

The King’s insomnia hadn’t been going on for just a day or two.

He had taken countless medicines that were said to be good for insomnia, and he had even taken the risk of removing the guards around his bedroom. But it was no use.

*Did Her Majesty the Queen Consort apply sleep grass to her body? How many times is this already?*

*Is the secret history passed down in the Duncan family true?*

Lee Jae also had a difficult expression. She asked Jade with just her mouth.

*Would it be better to wake him up?*

Because his posture was so uncomfortable that he looked like he was about to fall over.

The King’s people all thought it would be better for him to sleep like that, but Lee Jae carefully opened her mouth before anyone could stop her.

“Excuse me…”

He didn’t hear the voice.

But as Lee Jae carefully touched his knee, he quickly opened his eyes.

As Roderick blinked, his blue eyes repeatedly appeared and disappeared.

At this point, others would have admired his appearance, which was flawless even after waking up from sleep.

But Lee Jae was once again immersed in her own unique impressions.

*’Ah, now that I see it, there’s a slight curve in his early years. It’s a handsome forehead, but… But tributaries will one day meet the main stream and can never go against the mainstream [a concept from face reading]. Your nose and chin are too good. Your physiognomy gets better as you get older.’*

Roderick raised one eyebrow while sitting.

He was clearly thinking about something important until just now, but he couldn’t believe that he had fallen asleep.

But he was also human. The desire for sleep that had come after a long time was sweet.

Knowing that if he didn’t rest at times like this, he would suffer from terrible insomnia for a while, he said to Lee Jae.

“Hailey Duncan. Move over a bit.”

Then the King’s attendants and the Queen Consort’s maids looked at each other with faces that said, *huh?*

They slipped out of the room.