Follow Your Heart [EN]: Chapter 14

#14.

Lee Jae was on her way back from returning a precious book containing the royal genealogy to the royal historian.

She stopped when she spotted Roderick in the distance.

The King was sparring with the Knight Commander, a worthy opponent, but the Knight Commander seemed to have a slight advantage.

Lee Jae smiled faintly at that.

Both men had excellent physiques. If Roderick hadn’t been born the son of the late king, he might have become a knight or general like Jade.

They moved with fluid grace, like elegant beasts.

As the Queen watched, Deborah kindly explained, “They both studied under the same master.”

“…Is that so?”

“Yes, they were originally close friends, so they often spar like this. It’s been a while since I’ve seen them.”

However, Lee Jae, narrowing her eyes, noticed something else. Every time they exchanged blows, the dark energies surrounding Roderick seemed to dissipate.

Realizing this, Lee Jae nodded.

‘Yes, he should focus on things like that. Hunting won’t help him right now.’

Lee Jae watched the scene a little longer before turning away.

However, she staggered and had to turn back after only a few steps.

Someone had grabbed her wrist and turned her around.

It was Roderick.

‘Wasn’t he just over there a moment ago?’

In the distance, Jade, abandoned mid-spar, looked slightly bewildered.

“Hailey Duncan.”

“………”

“Where are you going?”

“I was… going to my room, Your Majesty.”

Lee Jae used a rather polite tone, unsure of the King’s mood, which she hadn’t gauged in a while.

However, Roderick frowned at the increased formality in her tone.

He looked slightly annoyed.

“Why are you suddenly talking like that?”

“………”

“I don’t like it when you’re only half-familiar, so go back to how you were.”

She had only kept her distance because she felt awkward and thought the King had been avoiding her lately.

But Roderick disliked that even more.

Lee Jae, a little wary, quietly nodded.

“Yes. I understand.”

But Roderick continued to stand next to Lee Jae.

She waited for a while, thinking he had something to say.

However, after a long silence, she decided to give him space.

“Then please continue with what you were doing, Your Majesty. I’ll be on my way.”

“…Are you leaving now?”

“Pardon?”

“…You’re just like a Duncan.”

‘She really knows how to provoke people.’

The words that followed were barely audible.

Lee Jae widened her eyes slightly, wondering if she had misheard, and Roderick said.

“I was just muttering. I wasn’t talking to you.”

“………”

Even after considering it, it seemed like he *was* talking to her.

Ignoring Lee Jae’s puzzled gaze, he put his sword back into its scabbard.

And stated flatly,

“Let’s continue on our way.”

“Are you going to stop sparring?”

It seemed like continuing would be more beneficial to his well-being, but Roderick shook his head.

“That’s enough. We know each other too well; it’s boring to continue.”

At those words, Lee Jae chuckled. She had never had such an old friend, let alone a friend at all, but the two seemed to have a good relationship.

Lee Jae looked at the King’s face again. She often observed people’s faces because fortunes changed frequently.

The King certainly didn’t have any noticeable luck with people on his face.

However, even one or two good people could offset bad luck. The saying that a successful life meant having just three good friends was ultimately true in terms of face reading and physiognomy [the study of facial features and their supposed relation to character].

‘It’s getting better. He needs to stick with Jade.’

As he quietly watched Lee Jae’s bright smile, he walked a little further and asked,

“Have you been well?”

“Yes, so-so.”

“Isn’t it customary to return the greeting when someone asks how you are? Don’t you know that?”

‘What did I do to make him so aggressive again?’

Somewhat embarrassed, she decided to respond appropriately.

In fact, she was now certain that he wasn’t the type to get very angry, no matter what she said, when he was in his right mind.

“Have you been well? I haven’t seen you lately, so I was wondering how you were doing.”

Roderick replied as if he had been waiting for it.

“I thought you’d be uncomfortable if I came around.”

“Why would I be?”

“You looked at people like they were bugs that day. I was hurt, too.”

“…Were you?”

“…I was just saying something.”

Lee Jae chuckled and shook her head.

“When did I ever look at you like that? I was just flustered.”

“Okay. If that’s not the case, then it’s fine.”

He didn’t feel very empty, although he thought it was a pointless act.

In fact, he felt refreshed now.

Lee Jae had just knocked out one of the lingering spirits rushing after him.

When she massaged her right wrist because her arm was burning, he asked,

“Don’t you like the bracelet?”

“Pardon?”

It seemed like she didn’t like the fact that she left the bracelet she was wearing and wore the one he gave her on the other wrist. It felt like she was wearing it out of courtesy.

Roderick didn’t elaborate, but Lee Jae belatedly understood and replied.

“Ah, I liked it, thank you. But my hobby isn’t collecting bracelets; it’s carving them myself. This really requires a lot of effort, Your Majesty.”

He chuckled, wondering if she would feel bad.

Roderick took Lee Jae’s wrist and looked at the roughly carved bracelet. He raised one eyebrow and released her hand, saying,

“You have quite the taste.”

“Don’t judge my taste, Your Majesty… Just respect it.”

“Okay. I understand.”

He agreed but continued to chuckle. He seemed to be dumbfounded.

Lee Jae glanced at Roderick laughing and reached out again to knock out another lingering spirit clinging to his back. The vengeful spirit poured blood from its eyes and laughed, but Lee Jae warned with a fierce look.

‘Don’t come. Don’t bother this person.’

It was then.

While she was distracted, Roderick said in an indifferent tone,

“Hailey, I heard you borrowed a book that recorded the royal genealogy.”

She flinched because he dug in so quickly.

She was embarrassed that he knew such details.

“Can you read it?”

He asked, even though he knew she couldn’t.

His gaze as he stared at Lee Jae was very serious and calm.

“…No. I was just curious.”

If he had asked something more, Lee Jae would have continued to say anything.

But because Roderick didn’t ask anything more, she could feel his distrust instead.

‘What is he thinking in his head right now?’

After walking in silence for a while, Roderick suddenly changed direction.

It was a completely different direction from the path to Lee Jae’s residence.

“Your Majesty?”

“There is a place called Arthur’s Forest in the castle. Do you know about it?”

She seemed to have heard of it vaguely.

If so, it would be Hailey’s memory, not Lee Jae’s.

Lee Jae had begun to get confused about that from some point on.

“It is a sacred forest that has been passed down since the founding. Nobles and managers cannot enter; only royalty can.”

“………”

“Would you like to go?”

Roderick looked at Lee Jae with an unreadable gaze.

When Lee Jae nodded, he grabbed her wrist and led her somewhere.

Lee Jae gasped at the entrance to the forest.

The densely packed trees soared high into the sky. No matter how much she reached out, there were no branches she could break.

But Lee Jae wasn’t impressed by the scenery.

This forest was sacred in itself.

The energy of the royal palace site that Lee Jae had felt faintly, the energy flowing through the king’s body, and the energy she had felt from the spirited Western ghost exploded in this forest.

Female shamans who worship minor gods kneel involuntarily when they meet female shamans who worship stronger gods. Lee Jae was feeling that feeling completely.

Lee Jae turned her head and looked at Roderick.

Then the King asked with his lips, wordlessly.

‘Why?’

She wanted to ask if he didn’t feel this reverence, but she shook her head silently.

And then, Lee Jae suddenly felt it.

The King is in danger if he leaves this castle.

This castle was a place full of danger, but at the same time, it was the most powerful shield protecting him.

Then what exactly is the problem?

Lee Jae chuckled as she watched the lingering spirits that had been chasing after him disappear or fail to chase after him as soon as she stepped into the forest.

Roderick and Lee Jae didn’t go far and settled down in a suitable place.

He also showed consideration by taking off his coat and spreading it on the floor. Lee Jae, who had grown up sitting in the mountains and picking all kinds of greens, chuckled at that.

“Don’t go too deep. Don’t come here alone without me. No one has ever set foot here, so I don’t know what’s here.”

Lee Jae thought that there would be nothing impure here, but she did not refute his words.

Instead, she asked him, looking at him with a clear gaze,

“Don’t you come here often? Can’t you feel the good air?”

‘This is the only way I can explain it so cutely.’

However, Roderick readily agreed with Lee Jae’s words.

“Well. I guess so. I’ve been busy since I ascended the throne.”

“From now on, you should exercise often like you did earlier, and come here often.”

‘That’s how you can win this fight.’

Lee Jae advised with all her heart. But Roderick looked at her intently, perhaps sensing something else in her expression, and said,

“You’re talking like you’re giving a will.”

“Am I?”

That was not her intention at all.

Lee Jae really had no intention of dying.

But no matter how she said it, it seemed impossible to erase the shadow of Hailey Duncan, who had thrown herself into the water, from his perception.

Lee Jae sighed and smiled.

She stared at the tree leaves and opened her mouth.

“Your Majesty, you told me before that you might not trust me, but you didn’t do it on purpose.”

“Yes.”

“You may not believe me either, but I don’t usually try to die. People die when it’s time to die anyway. So, can you give me some wood carvings? You brought them in case that happened, right?”

‘My bracelet is having a hard time right now. My arm hurts a lot. It needs a totem pole friend.’

Then Roderick chuckled.

It was because the Queen was more persistent than he thought.

“You’re more stubborn than you look. Okay.”

He had a look on his face as if he was thinking about something for a while.

“But Hailey, your words sound a little strange to me.”

“What is it?”

“Doesn’t that mean that you don’t try to live either, if you turn it around? Because people die when it’s time to die anyway.”

His words hit the nail on the head. Of course, that wasn’t all of Lee Jae.

‘Your Majesty, I actually wanted to live a lot. I tried too.’

‘But no matter how hard we try, we can’t beat fate.’

But she couldn’t protest to him by unraveling those complicated stories.