Follow Your Heart [EN]: Chapter 32

Following Her Heart – Episode 32

#32.

He sat next to Lee Jae and said,

“Don’t worry me so much.”

“Not really. Unnecessary worry.”

Roderick was dumbfounded and flicked Lee Jae’s forehead with his index finger.

“Should I dig a lake in front of the Queen’s palace for you?”

“What are you talking about now?”

He scanned Lee Jae’s body up and down and said,

“I’ll dig one as deep as your knees. That way, I’ll feel at ease, and you won’t have to come so far, so you’ll be comfortable too.”

“If it’s up to my knees, isn’t that just a puddle, not a lake?”

“Ah, so you admit you’re short.”

Lee Jae almost snapped back.

But just then, a squirrel that had been peeking around came down from the tree and started playing on Lee Jae’s body. Perhaps because she was indeed short as Roderick said, it quickly reached the top.

“Hey, not my head! I just washed it.”

As Lee Jae fumbled with her hair in a flurry, Roderick chuckled and plucked the squirrel from the top of her head, releasing it onto the ground.

Then, he tidied up the apricot-colored hair that the squirrel had messed up in a short time.

“It seems it likes you more than me, who saved it.”

Lee Jae was embarrassed because the King looked so amused.

This time, she spoke with a bit of a pout.

“But why don’t you believe me, Your Majesty?”

She meant, why worry unnecessarily when she had repeatedly said she wouldn’t die.

Roderick was lost in thought for a moment.

The kind of words like ‘Because you’re Duncan, like before,’ didn’t come out.

“I wonder.”

“……”

“It’s like you sometimes tell lies.”

“……”

“Why don’t you deny it?”

Roderick laughed in disbelief. That aspect was even stranger.

He nudged Lee Jae, who had closed her mouth, with his knee.

“Hailey.”

“Yes.”

“Are you good at singing?”

“Singing? Why all of a sudden?”

“Try singing something.”

Lee Jae frowned.

“What are you talking about?”

“Just hum anything. I want to hear it.”

“What is that? No way. I’m not good at it, and I don’t like singing in front of others.”

Roderick turned his gaze to Jade without a word.

What? She has a habit of humming?

Jade avoided his gaze, feigning ignorance, and Roderick clicked his tongue.

Lee Jae, who was looking at Roderick strangely, said,

“Are you good at it, Your Majesty? Sing it yourself instead of asking me. I’ll listen carefully.”

“Making the King sing, you’re getting cuter and cuter.”

“You asked me to do it, Your Majesty. Isn’t that too unfair?”

“If you feel wronged, you can be the King.”

“I’d rather not be King and just live feeling wronged. It suits me.”

Lee Jae quickly changed her tune and smiled brightly, and he laughed in disbelief.

There were still unresolved questions in his mind.

But it was also true that when he was with her or when the Queen naturally responded to him, those questions didn’t feel as important.

“I don’t know either. Let’s just get today’s kiss over with.”

“Did you perhaps leave it here?” [Referring to the kiss]

“I guess I did.”

He held Lee Jae’s cheeks as she smiled. Roderick’s lips, which were slowly approaching, stopped just a finger’s breadth away.

As Lee Jae’s pupils disappeared under her eyelids, he bit her lips as if he had been waiting.

The kiss was more animalistic than ever before.

He put Lee Jae’s small lips entirely into his mouth and chewed on them.

As Roderick began to nibble on her lower lip, Lee Jae grabbed his sleeve with a trembling hand. Immediately, his tongue entered her mouth.

He tilted his upper body as if searching for a deeper place, licking every corner of her mouth. She was pushed back by his continuous advances.

But even as she leaned back slightly, Lee Jae didn’t let go of his sleeve.

So, she didn’t know whether she wanted to hold onto him or escape from this situation.

There was a time when she assumed that such a kiss was no different from official business.

But there was a world beyond that. If so, there must surely be a world beyond this as well. Lee Jae wanted to know.

She placed her small hand on Roderick’s shoulder.

And began to actively mix her tongue with his.

Roderick, receiving the signal there, also pushed harder, mixing his tongue more intensely.

As Lee Jae was about to half-lie down on the flower bed, Roderick hugged her back and supported her.

While swallowing her lips as if attacking from above, he caressed Lee Jae’s back and waist.

And when she made a sound of swallowing something because she couldn’t handle all the overflowing saliva, his large hand was about to go down her spine.

“Ah, no… Wait a minute…”

“……”

“Haa, haa…”

Surprised, Lee Jae grabbed his hand and took her face away.

Roderick’s blue eyes, breathing roughly, were full of excitement.

He avoided Lee Jae for a moment, then put his hands under her armpits and sat her up straight, who was on the verge of lying down.

“Sorry, Hailey. I won’t do that.”

“……”

“Let’s continue.”

“……”

“Huh?”

When Lee Jae nodded, he bit her lip once again.

But the kiss was much more cautious than before, and Lee Jae, who was fully aware of it, quickly ended the kiss after just a peck on the lips.

They both had the realization that if they went any further, they would lose their minds.

After covering her face for a moment, Lee Jae belatedly came to her senses and looked around. Everyone was looking elsewhere, pretending not to notice, but they couldn’t hide their red faces.

Lee Jae lowered her head in embarrassment.

What am I doing right now?

Roderick asked, wondering what she was thinking.

“Are you okay?”

“………….”

“Were you surprised?”

His blue eyes were constantly examining Lee Jae’s complexion.

Lee Jae smiled awkwardly and shook her head.

“No, I’m just a bit…”

“A bit what?”

Lee Jae hesitated and pondered before saying,

“I think I was being aggressive.”

“Huh? Oh.”

Roderick touched his forehead and ended up laughing.

“No, you weren’t. Of course, it’s okay if you were.”

Then, scratching the end of his eyebrow, he asked cautiously.

“Can you stand up?”

She felt like all the strength had drained from her body, but it wasn’t to the point where she couldn’t stand up.

But Roderick insisted on getting up first and reaching out his hand.

Smiling faintly, she took his hand and stood up.

But after standing up, she invariably let go of his hand.

Roderick suddenly felt like sighing.

They seemed to have had a good kiss just a moment ago, but why was she letting go again?

He put his arm around her shoulder.

Then, he felt Lee Jae glancing up, but he pretended not to notice and moved his feet.

As Lee Jae matched his pace, he chuckled.

It seemed she couldn’t bring herself to let go of even this.

“Let’s have dinner together.”

“Okay.”

“Is there anything you want to eat?”

“No. Anything is fine.”

They were silent for a while after those words. It was strangely awkward.

But this awkwardness also seemed to be subtly similar to excitement.

Roderick pulled her shoulder a little closer to him.

“Your Majesty.”

“Why.”

“If we keep walking like this, my waist will bend to the left.”

“Let’s walk a little closer.”

“Then let’s just hold hands.”

“It’s already too late for that.”

But Roderick took his hand off her shoulder. And he subtly reached out his hand.

Lee Jae smiled as she took his hand. She thought that even though he said that, he would respond to almost anything.

“Where are you sleeping tonight, Your Majesty?”

“Why?”

It was a meaningful question depending on how you heard it. Roderick also heard it that way, but he also knew that the Queen didn’t have that intention yet.

“If I sleep in your room… is that not allowed?”

Lee Jae was lost in thought for a moment.

Asking the boy ghost once again was the second item on her bucket list.

When that failed, she thought she should do something else.

“Can I go to Your Majesty’s room today?”

A field visit was necessary. That was all.

But the following attendants and maids exchanged meaningful glances.

At this point, Roderick couldn’t completely rule out the possibility.

“Hailey. I’m asking just in case, but that means…”

“No!”

“I haven’t said anything yet.”

Lee Jae jumped up, and he immediately backed down.

“I just want to see the room. Is that okay?”

“Is there any reason why not? But there’s nothing to see. Haven’t you seen it once before?”

“I was too flustered then to see it properly.”

“Okay, do as you please. You don’t have to ask for permission every time you come.”

“Yes, thank you so much.”

Finally taking her first step, Lee Jae bit her lip slightly and nodded.

After having dinner with the King, Lee Jae wrote a few charms in the study. She couldn’t go into the tiger’s den without any preparation.

Hiding the charms in her bosom, she checked the condition of her bracelet before leaving the room.

“It would be nice to have other magical tools.”

It was a bit of a shame, but she had to be satisfied with this here.

When she opened the door to the King’s room and peeked her head out, he seemed to have just finished washing. Because his hair was a little wet.

“Why are you standing there like that? Come in.”

“Excuse me.”

He gestured with his hand to dismiss the attendants holding towels.

Lee Jae sat awkwardly on his bed. But unlike her initial awkwardness, her eyes quickly sharpened.

As the heavily armed Lee Jae entered, all the vengeful spirits roaming the room huddled into the corners. At first glance, there seemed to be about a dozen of them.

This time, Lee Jae scanned every corner of the room. She couldn’t shake the nauseating feeling because of the vengeful spirits. But upon closer inspection, the room itself wasn’t a bad place in terms of energy or aura.

The problem is still the King himself, not the room.

Meanwhile, Roderick chuckled, watching Lee Jae, who was completely engrossed and looking around.

She wasn’t even giving him a single glance.

She really just came to see the room.

“Is there something interesting?”

Only then did Lee Jae look at Roderick.

But Roderick tilted his head slightly and narrowed his eyes.

He thought her face suddenly looked pale.

Was it his imagination?

“No. It’s just as I thought.”

“Really? What should I put in here so that our Queen will come more often?”

Lee Jae chuckled and this time scanned around the bed.

And she found the Guardian General and Guardian Underworld General that she had carved. He seemed to have placed them carefully by the bed, even though he had said they were hideous and he wanted to refuse them.

Suddenly serious, Lee Jae made a walnut chin [a thoughtful expression] and picked up the cracked statues.

My guardian friends, why have you become so ugly while I haven’t seen you? What happened?

Looking at the statues as if she had lost her country, Lee Jae said to Roderick with great sadness.

“What should we do? They’ve been hit head-on by the passage of time.”

Roderick touched his forehead and laughed again.