Follow Your Heart [EN]: Chapter 96

#96.

Lee Jae’s arrow pierced the very center of the target.

But she didn’t stop and nocked another arrow.

Why? Her face, though she was biting her lip, was calm, but there was something desperate about it.

The sharp arrowhead once again struck the center of the target.

Then, the king, who had been wearing a stern expression, sighed and turned to the knights.

“From now on, if you can’t shoot as well as the Queen, you’re all dismissed.”

The knights, who had been gaping in admiration, were taken aback.

Because that meant if they couldn’t hit the center, they would all be fired.

Jade, the leader of the group, had no choice but to speak for the knights.

“Your Majesty, we are knights, not archers.”

That was true.

Of course, there were quite a few knights in the knighthood who were better at archery than professional archers. However, they were basically men who had come this far with swordsmanship and martial arts.

The knights nodded eagerly at the commander’s words, but at that moment, the king, who was strangely annoyed, retorted.

“Did I ever say you were archers? But even after seeing that, you still want to make excuses?”

“……”

“Can’t you see how hard that person is trying right now?”

“……”

“You may not be archers, but the Queen is neither an archer nor a knight.”

*But that child doesn’t make any excuses.*

*She feels sorry for her lack of ability, and sometimes she bites her lip with that look on her face.*

Roderick glared coldly at the knights before turning his gaze back to Lee Jae.

She, who was about to shoot another arrow, quietly drew the bowstring back.

She thought three arrows were enough for a test shot.

As Lee Jae sat down on the floor, the king quickly came to her side and spoke.

“Are you done?”

“Not yet.”

“My little bean, at least you don’t fly away.”

“Even so, I’m a bean with a low center of gravity.”

Roderick swept back her short bangs.

“My little bean is a sharpshooter. I wish you would have told me in advance if you had any other talents I didn’t know about.”

Lee Jae smiled faintly.

“What sharpshooter? I’ve done it often before. And the target is ridiculously close.”

At her humble words, the king glared at the knights with cold eyes once more.

Then, he fiddled with her soft hand. He just felt sorry for her hand, which was red from pulling the bowstring with all her might.

Then, the king spat on the arrow in Lee Jae’s hand and tossed it into the quiver.

The arrow went straight into the tube and spun around.

He said to Lee Jae, who was wondering, “It’s dangerous, so put down the sharp things and rest.”

“It’s not particularly dangerous.”

“It’s dangerous for my mental health, not yours. It’s very bad for my heart.”

The king looked around and picked up a branch lying nearby. He handed Lee Jae a branch instead of an arrow.

She chuckled and began to scribble on the dirt floor.

But she soon stopped, and her face, lost in thought, was serious.

“Your Majesty.”

“Yeah, why?”

“Where did that arrow from a few days ago come from? Is it still from the Daimon Reestablishment Army headquarters?”

Lee Jae tilted her head and looked at the king.

The king didn’t know why she was asking this question at this moment.

But it was a very important issue for him as well, so he began to put his head together and think about it.

“I suppose so.”

This reasoning was reasonable.

Hayley, the seer, the strange things that happened surrounding the king and the Western Army, the power of the royal family that seemed to be awakening little by little, and the Daimon Reestablishment Army, which was watching the western border and rampaging.

If Ilias had not been destroyed, the reasoning would have been even more convincing.

However, the king and Lee Jae still had unanswered questions.

The king was still engraving the late kings’ instructions in his heart.

*Do not trust Duncan.*

“What does our wise Queen think about the Duncan family?”

“Are you still worried about them, Your Majesty?”

“I’m suspicious. Didn’t you say that you seem to know the inside story of the castle well? It’s hard to believe that Daimon knows this situation that well.”

Besides, the king was suspicious as to why the Duke kept trying to send Albert Duncan to the western border.

Lee Jae, who had been listening quietly, nodded.

“I need to check it out.”

“……How?”

Instead of answering, Lee Jae smiled and began rummaging through the things she had brought.

The bow is a tool for exorcising vengeful spirits and a tool for divination.

Of course, Shamanic divination was not Lee Jae’s forte [area of expertise].

The theory was clear, but divination doesn’t come from theory.

The ability to read the flow comes from the shaman herself or the divine power of the gods they serve.

Lee Jae was not a person possessed by a god, nor was she a shaman with that much divine power.

But she couldn’t just not even try.

Lee Jae opened the lid of the metal container she had brought.

Then, a fishy smell wafted out.

Roderick, who had been thinking, ‘Why is she doing this? She can even shoot a bow,’ raised one eyebrow at that moment.

Because the object that appeared was unusual. It was animal blood.

“Your Majesty, don’t disturb me from now on.”

“What are you trying to do again? Lee Jae. Tell me first and then do it. Huh?”

*I’m going to try to perform a trick.*

*There’s no trick that makes me smaller here. Your Majesty, please give up on me getting into your pocket.*

*But I think I can do this much.*

“It’s really nothing. Just give me a moment.”

She dipped the end of the branch the king had given her in animal blood.

And she began to draw a complex circle on the blank paper.

In fact, the best thing would have been her own blood, but she couldn’t do that with the king next to her. When she asked for animal blood, even the bold Deborah was noticeably embarrassed.

She nodded to the king, who had a worried look on his face. It meant that she was really okay, so don’t worry.

The king had an uneasy look on his face, but he kept his mouth shut.

Fortunately, she didn’t feel any ominous energy like last time.

And as she changed the target and returned to her seat, everyone held their breath. It was because the pattern drawn on the target was strange, but also because they could suddenly feel her temperature changing. It was a sharp and keen look.

Lee Jae nocked an arrow and bit her lip once more.

She lacked ability, and no matter how hard she tried, it was impossible to read the flow of a wide area. So the question had to be detailed and clear.

‘The place where the arrows are flying is the western border, the Daimon Reestablishment Army camp. I’ll bet on that.’

Unlike before, Lee Jae put all her energy into the hand pulling the bowstring and the tip of the arrow.

‘Groping in the dark. Humans grope in the dark. Only to find the answer.’

‘Bowutaryeo, Ansimipmyeong [obscure phrase, possibly a prayer or incantation]. O you who look down on everything, please allow us humans to have even a sliver of certainty.’

Lee Jae shot several arrows at various points in the circle.

The speed was unstoppable, and the arrows hit exactly where she intended.

But Lee Jae suddenly felt like she was suffocating.

It was the price for daring to peek into an uncertain area with insufficient ability.

The king was not just an individual.

Even if the things that happened around him were trivial, they were related to the fate of the nation.

But Lee Jae thought she could handle this much with her own power. She couldn’t back down in the face of something she had already tried.

Lee Jae watched the circle with her eyes narrowed.

Then, she began to see something rising in her spiritual eye.

Light was coming from the circle drawn on the paper. If this was the answer she was looking for, then the light had to spread in all directions.

But soon Lee Jae couldn’t help but doubt her eyes.

Because the light was gradually losing its strength and flickering.

“……What, what’s wrong? Why is it like that?”

The flickering light soon went out completely.

She looked away several times before looking back at the target.

Then, she finally rubbed her eyes with her balled-up hands.

*Is that supposed to be right or wrong? Why does it give me an answer and then stop?*

And the people watching couldn’t understand why the Queen was acting like that again this time. It wasn’t the center, but all the arrows were stuck in the target.

But the Queen was just frowning as if she couldn’t accept this result. The knights were about to feel even more shabby because of her attitude.

*How much better does Her Majesty the Queen have to do here to be satisfied?*

“Lee Jae. Are you okay?”

“……”

“Answer me.”

The king asked worriedly when Lee Jae’s expression wasn’t very good.

But she shook her head and put her index finger to her lips.

It wasn’t easy to perform a ritual twice in one day, but this wasn’t the answer she wanted. She needed a stronger conviction.

Lee Jae finally took out a new piece of paper with a firm expression and spread it out on the floor.

And once again, she drew a circle on the paper with animal blood.

She continued to gather her energy, but this time she handed the paper to a knight next to her. She didn’t want to disturb her already insufficient energy.

The knight took the paper and was bewildered for a while. Deborah looked at the knight as if she was really pathetic. It was a clear look of contempt.

“No, why can’t you even understand this much?”

She, who had much stronger energy than most knights, snatched the paper away.

*How frustrating. Her Majesty the Queen is signaling you to do something for her right now.*

*I’m ashamed to work in the castle with people like you who have no sense.*

Deborah walked towards the wall with a cold wind blowing.

And she changed the target with an unnecessarily haughty motion.

Lee Jae nodded as if to thank her, and Deborah smiled at her with a kind face, but Lee Jae’s situation was not easy enough to smile back.

With a determined face, she once again nocked the bow.

And she gathered as much of her remaining energy as possible and put it into the arrow.

‘Then is the one flying the arrows the Duke? O God, when humans ask for answers, please let us hear your voice at least once. We are definitely not begging you at any time.’

Lee Jae shot arrows in succession and then looked closely at the target again.

But this time, there was no reaction in the circle she had scribbled.

The knights were now completely embarrassed.

It was really strange that the arrows were stuck in the same place as before, but it was because the Queen had a very disappointed expression on her face.

She dropped the bow she was holding to the ground, and even though she was smiling, she looked dejected.

Lee Jae walked towards the target with a somewhat weak step. And she looked at it closely.

*Does this mean they’re both wrong, or is it an answer that’s beyond my ability? What’s the problem?*

Lee Jae tore off the target and made a complicated expression.

*I shouldn’t have suspected the five kings. The real quack is here.*

*Grandma, I’m sorry.*

*I’ve tarnished your reputation as the top tier in the industry again like this.*

She was feeling down and was about to take the paper and return to her seat.

But at that moment, she stopped and had to step back several times.

Perhaps because she had poured out too much energy at once, her head suddenly spun.

“Lee Jae!”

Startled, Roderick ran over faster than anyone else, but she, who had been staggering, fell to the ground with a thud.