Follow Your Heart [EN]: Chapter 92

#92.

“Your Majesty, are you there? I have something urgent to report.”

Until now, most reports had been made in the study or the King’s bedroom.

However, for some time now, many members of the pro-royal faction had been heading to the Queen’s Palace. This was because the newlyweds didn’t want to be apart.

The King always went to where the Queen was after finishing his daily tasks.

“Wait. I will come out.”

Then, Ijae quickly tried to get up.

“Do it here. I’ll go to the study.”

It was obvious that it must be important if he came at this hour.

She thought it would be better for her to go out alone than for both of them to move.

Roderick pressed down on Ijae’s shoulder, making her sit back down.

“Just stay here. Am I crazy? To send you out instead of me?”

However, the King, who was about to step out of bed, was momentarily puzzled.

Come to think of it, he didn’t necessarily need to be alone with him.

There was nothing the Queen couldn’t hear, and the wife he knew was more tight-lipped than anyone else.

Sometimes, she was so tight-lipped that it made him shudder.

The King checked that her attire was still casual and returned to his spot.

“Jade, come in.”

Ijae looked at the King with a puzzled face.

However, because he was holding her from behind, she had no choice but to sit still.

After a moment, Jade, who entered the room, paused at the sight of the affectionate newlyweds.

*No, I waited long enough before coming in, but why are you two still stuck in bed?*

*Are you showing me this on purpose to brag?*

However, the Knight Commander soon scratched his chin. He was briefly considering whether these were matters that could be reported in front of the Queen.

The King often gave the Knight Commander various instructions, some of which included content that should not be known to the outside world.

Reading his hesitant expression, Ijae immediately covered her ears, but Roderick smiled and removed her hands.

“It’s okay. There’s nothing to hide from my wife.”

Then, Jade thought with a sullen face.

*For someone who says that, didn’t Your Majesty beat up Laurence in secret from Her Majesty the Queen before? Didn’t you also bribe the Duke’s doctor?*

*We even had to write a sixty-page report on Her Majesty the Queen.*

*If those aren’t secrets, then what are?*

The King didn’t even pay attention to his old friend’s expression.

He simply whispered in his wife’s ear.

“It’s true. I won’t even make a slush fund [a fund used for illicit or secret purposes].”

Ijae, who was slightly watching the Knight Commander’s reaction, also whispered in a small voice.

“Your Majesty, it doesn’t matter, so make as much as you want. And the royal family’s property was originally yours anyway. That’s not what you call a slush fund.”

“Our Queen is very thorough about what’s yours and mine, even between husband and wife. My property is all yours.”

“Where did you get that calculation from?”

“I don’t know.”

Jade’s expression became increasingly sullen.

The King and Queen had called him in and were talking only to each other again today.

However, before he knew it, the King was staring intently at him, so he soon opened his mouth.

“Your Majesty, the soldiers who caused trouble at the Western Garrison have all been escorted. They are tied up in the underground, uh, the place you mentioned.”

The Knight Commander, who had inadvertently been about to say underground prison, quickly corrected himself.

He was doing so without realizing it, looking at the Queen’s small stature and round eyes.

The underground prison was a place used by the royal family when they wanted to avoid people’s eyes.

But besides that, it also had another symbolic meaning. It was a manifestation of the will to get the desired answer no matter what.

Roderick also clicked his tongue for a similar reason as the Knight Commander. He didn’t want to create secrets, but he didn’t intend to make her listen to harsh stories.

The King glanced at Ijae, but she was just lost in thought with a detached expression.

“What’s their condition?”

“They are fine. Only basic interrogations have been conducted… However, the commander of the Western Army says they are not in a state to communicate.”

“Not in a state to communicate…”

The King muttered and soon nodded.

“I understand. We will conduct the interrogation after the meeting tomorrow.”

Then, after looking at Ijae for a moment, the King covered both of her ears with his own hands this time.

“Make sure they can’t bite their tongues.”

“Pardon?”

“Keep a close watch so they can’t kill themselves.”

“Yes, don’t worry about that.”

After hearing the reply, Roderick lowered his hands that had been covering Ijae’s ears.

Ijae glanced at the King for a moment, but she just sat quietly without saying anything.

The Knight Commander’s report continued a little longer after that.

Finally, when all the reports were finished, Roderick nodded briefly.

“Alright, I understand. You may leave now.”

“Yes, then have a pleasant evening. And to Her Majesty the Queen as well.”

“Yes, Jade, have a peaceful night.”

The Knight Commander gave a smart salute and left the room.

Ijae was silent for a while, and the King glanced at her face.

It was always difficult to know what she was thinking when she closed her mouth like that.

*Was she very uncomfortable in that spot just now?* It was when Roderick scratched one eyebrow.

Ijae turned her head and stared intently at the King.

“Your Majesty, is there something else going on at the Western border?”

Ijae’s eyes contained various emotions.

Roderick thought for a moment about what they were. Worry and a bit of suspicion.

He told her honestly.

“The soldiers caused trouble again, I hear. They set fire to the garrison.”

“Are you going to interrogate them yourself this time, Your Majesty?”

“Yes.”

While two burly men were choosing their words, covering their ears, and watching Ijae’s reaction, she was lost in completely different thoughts.

Because words suddenly flashed through her mind.

*‘What does Her Majesty the Queen think about how the Daimon reconstruction movement will go in the future?’*

*‘What does Her Majesty the Queen think will happen to the Western border?’*

Why did those people ask me such things?

Could it be that they knew Hailey was a seer [a person who can see the future]?

But no matter how much she thought about it, she didn’t seem to have asked with certainty.

Hailey’s diary said she wouldn’t tell anyone, and as a result, it was full of loneliness.

Unable to come to an accurate conclusion, Ijae frowned and asked the King.

“Your Majesty, why do problems keep happening at the Western border? And always within the garrison?”

“Well, we’ll find out if we interrogate the prisoners this time.”

“But they’re not in a state to communicate… or so you said?”

Ijae, who was tilting her head as if she found it strange, suddenly flinched.

Then, this time, she turned completely around and looked up at the King.

Her eyes were shaking.

The King smiled bitterly and clicked his tongue. He could tell that the same suspicion that had just crossed his mind had passed through his quick-witted Queen’s mind.

If so, he could also predict what she would say next.

He wondered if it was time to cover his own ears instead of the Queen’s this time.

“Can I come with you too? I won’t get in the way.”

“……”

“Aren’t I the only one who can see them anyway? I’ll leave right away if it’s not a report.”

Instead of covering his ears, the King rubbed his face and swept back his hair.

He was in a difficult position, but there was nothing wrong with what the Queen said.

He didn’t want to make his wife suffer any more.

But the Queen was the only one who could confirm it. He and the royal family undeniably needed the Queen.

Then why did she stiffen her face and react so emotionally to her words in the past, telling him to use her? Even though she could only do this much.

“Ijae. I regret it.”

“What?”

The King chuckled. It was a laugh mixed with quite complex emotions, but his words were always joking as usual.

“I should have kept some secrets even if I didn’t make a slush fund.”

“Your Majesty, you can’t change your words this quickly.”

“They say consistent people are rare anyway.”

Ijae was silent for a moment, but she carefully requested once again.

“Your Majesty, our negotiation is still valid, right?”

“It’s a verbal contract. I didn’t even sign it.”

“Let’s not betray the trust between us as husband and wife.”

Roderick snorted.

“That’s what I want to say to you. You keep your promise too. Don’t do anything dangerous.”

“Answer me.”

Ijae smiled and nodded several times, and Roderick gently grabbed her fair cheek and let it go.

Ijae was waiting for a message from the King’s side.

She sat at the table and continued to write charms. Then she stared blankly at the wooden box.

The spirit was crawling out.

“Wow, it’s hard to see your face?”

The spirit of the box scurried over and clung tightly to Ijae’s leg.

The spirit asked, rolling its big eyes.

-Did you miss me?

“Yeah. But what brings you out today? I thought I was out of your mind.”

-It’s more fun playing with Ijae.

Ijae chuckled. For someone who said that, the spirit seemed to like her house very much these days. It was the result of Ijae putting her heart and soul into energizing it.

Could this be the remodeling effect?

She tidied up the charms, thinking nonsense, and said.

“But what should I do? I’m busy today. I have to go out in a bit.”

“Let’s play together when you get back.”

The spirit’s mouth quickly turned sullen.

“Why. Are you upset too?”

-No? I’m not upset at all!

But the spirit shouted and then rubbed its face.

It was checking if its nose had grown.

That appearance was very cute, but Ijae covered her mouth and held back her laughter.

Ijae, who was watching the spirit crawl into the box, tidied up the charms in her arms.

Then she checked another piece of paper.

It was a bucket list she had written when she hadn’t been on the castle for long.

1. Go to His Majesty’s bedroom

2. Say it to the boy ghost one more time

3. Exorcise and appease the spirits in the castle

4. Finish reading Hailey’s diary

5. Understand the history of the Cayenne Kingdom

6. Go to the river where Hailey threw herself

“Hmm.”

Ijae evaluated her progress by marking circles and triangles.

Then she realized once again how short-sighted humans are.

She had touched almost every item, but the fundamental problem had not been resolved at all.

What should I do now?

It was when she was lost in thought. Deborah carefully announced.

“Your Majesty the Queen, it seems the meeting has ended now.”

“Really?”

“Yes, His Majesty has also sent word. You can come straight to the study.”

Ijae stood up from her seat.

She straightened her clothes and nodded to the head maid.

The eyes that had been full of worry quickly became calm, like someone who was ready.