Follow Your Heart [EN]: Chapter 101

The Commander resumed speaking.

“We haven’t found him yet. We’re still tracking his whereabouts, and we’ve dispatched the 1st Knight Division to the Western Garrison because of this.”

‘Then what is there to report?’ Roderick thought, his impatience growing.

“The day the Royal Prince left the garrison, another person disappeared.”

Upon hearing that, Roderick’s expression soured with annoyance.

“Why are you reporting this now?”

“……”

“Is the Commander of the 2nd Knight Division clever, or just plain stupid? I can never tell.” Roderick muttered, more to himself than anyone else.

Jade was taking the heat for recommending the wrong person for the position.

However, it was true that there had been a mistake in the reporting process.

“The Royal Prince went on two expeditions, didn’t he? Each time, he was accompanied by a close aide… Since he was neither a knight nor a regular soldier, it seems the report was overlooked.”

Jade explained the situation with a somber face, but the King looked even more displeased.

“I’m not telling you to apply desertion charges to someone who isn’t a knight or a regular soldier, nor am I telling you to execute someone who accompanied a royal family member with permission.”

“But isn’t the location a military base? Shouldn’t all entries and exits be managed?” Jade countered, trying to salvage the situation.

“Is the border some kind of child’s play? How can things be done like this…” The King’s voice rose with each word.

The King stopped speaking and glanced at Lee Jae.

He seemed to have raised his voice a bit while discussing a serious matter, something he tried to avoid in her presence.

However, Lee Jae didn’t seem surprised.

Rather, she seemed lost in thought again.

And as the King, mindful of the Queen, awkwardly smoothed his forehead, Jade thought:

The suppression squad [referring to the Queen’s calming presence] exerts a powerful force even when His Majesty is in his right mind.

It was similar to how she could put people to sleep just by being present without saying a word.

He came to a very intuitive conclusion that all future reports should be made in front of Her Majesty the Queen.

“I’ll address the responsibility separately later. Continue to track the Royal Prince’s movements.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Alright, you may leave.”

After the Commander saluted and left, the King and Lee Jae were both silent.

Each was lost in their own thoughts.

The King was thinking about the Royal Prince’s companion.

If he accompanied him every time, there was only one person.

It was a very brief encounter, but the King remembered his appearance in considerable detail.

It was because his wife had spoken to him, saying, ‘You must be a foreigner.’

Roderick tended to remember what Lee Jae was interested in.

Meanwhile, Lee Jae was thinking about the Royal Prince.

She remembered that the Royal Prince’s countenance had changed subtly.

Was it because he had met Duke Duncan today? The Duke’s countenance was also changing, and she was quite concerned about that fact.

“Your Majesty.”

“Huh? What is it?”

“About the Royal Prince…”

“Geez, you’ve been awfully interested in the Royal Prince since the last time.” Roderick teased, though a hint of genuine curiosity laced his tone.

“……Hasn’t it been long enough for Your Majesty to stop saying that?” Lee Jae retorted, a playful glint in her eyes.

“I’m defending with tears of blood, you know,” Roderick replied dramatically.

“……Your brother?” Lee Jae questioned, a hint of concern in her voice.

“Don’t say such nonsense,” Roderick chuckled. “It reminds me that Your Majesty is a descendant of the boy king [a historical figure known for being easily manipulated].”

Lee Jae glared at him sullenly, and Roderick shrugged.

“I was just saying. But why? Is something wrong with the Royal Prince?”

Roderick nodded briefly.

“When there was a problem at the border, didn’t the royal family dispatch Edgar? But he’s been missing for some time now.”

“Really?” Lee Jae asked, her brow furrowing.

“Yeah. It’s a matter that could give the nobles an excuse, so we’re quietly looking for him.”

“When did that happen?”

As Lee Jae asked with wide eyes, the King also pondered.

After racking his brain for a while, he replied.

“The royal family and the military sent a message to that area, stating that if the soldiers cause any more problems, they are to be sent to the castle without summary execution. I was thinking of interrogating them myself. You know?”

“Yes.”

“He disappeared suddenly on the day that message arrived.”

But after speaking, the King suddenly frowned.

It was because an unidentifiable sense of unease had just passed through him.

Tilting his head, he placed both arms on the table and stared at Lee Jae.

The King naturally began to consult with his wife.

“But why are you asking that?”

The King’s attitude of revealing everything without hiding anything was open-hearted.

However, Lee Jae hesitated somewhat compared to the King.

She had lived her entire life without a family.

In fact, she had resented her parents, whom she didn’t even know, for a long time.

However, she had enough common sense to know that most people would be displeased to hear bad things about their family.

She chose her words carefully for a long time.

“When I met him last time, the Royal Prince’s face looked a bit… not good. That’s been bothering me.”

‘And Your Majesty’s countenance is getting better and better. What’s really strange is that the Duke’s countenance is also changing for the better. Why is this happening?’ she wondered.

Lee Jae sighed deeply in the face of an unresolved problem.

She also placed her arms on the table like the King and leaned toward him.

And she asked him, who was also troubled by similar concerns.

“So, the Royal Prince left the garrison with his friend?”

“Yeah, that’s what they say. …Do you remember that person?”

“Of course. Do you remember him, Your Majesty?”

“Yeah. I remember him very vividly. Ah, so vividly that I suddenly feel a chill.”

Lee Jae flinched and leaned back.

It was because the King’s face clearly showed displeasure.

“Why are you being so sulky again?” Lee Jae asked, trying to lighten the mood.

“Didn’t you show interest in him?” Roderick countered, a hint of jealousy in his voice.

“……Did I? Well, I guess I did.”

“Hey, Bean [a term of endearment],” Roderick said, his tone softening.

“But the reason isn’t what Your Majesty thinks… I don’t think so?” Lee Jae replied, trying to reassure him.

On the morning of the day the Royal Prince was dispatched to the border for the second time, Lee Jae avoided the King.

It was because they were in the middle of a marital spat.

The King wanted to say just one word to her and followed behind Lee Jae, but she was talking to a man she had only met a few times.

The King was inwardly bothered by that fact.

“Well, he certainly had a striking face.”

“Really?”

“Similar to the people on your mother’s side… I’ll take back that word just now. That was a very accurate slip of the tongue.”

The King quickly corrected himself as if he didn’t like the word he had used unintentionally, and Lee Jae chuckled.

“Anyway, that guy had a unique feel, like the Duncan family people.”

“……Is that so?”

“Yeah. Isn’t that why you kept talking to him and looking at him?”

“No, it’s more like he was saying something strange…”

The King was just saying what he had seen and felt directly, as always.

And that’s when it happened.

Fragmentary memories flashed through Lee Jae’s mind.

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

‘Doesn’t Her Majesty the Queen know? I thought you were on Her Majesty’s side.’

‘Her Majesty the Queen is on His Majesty’s side.’

It was clearly a conversation that had brushed past her once before.

‘Was she also receiving the Duke that day? Lee Jae felt a strange sense of déjà vu and thought, ‘Did I give off that much of a shaman vibe?’

But before she knew it, circumstances had arisen where she had no choice but to piece together the clues.

The changed countenance of the Royal Prince.

The timing of the disappearance of the Royal Prince and his companion.

The powerful killing intent that flew towards the King on the night of the departure ceremony.

As Lee Jae began to frown more and more, the King was flustered.

He reached out, grabbed her arm, and gently shook it.

“Lee Jae, what’s wrong?”

“……”

“Did I say something wrong? You suddenly look unwell.”

Lee Jae placed her hand on his hand as if to say no.

But her face was still serious.

She was retracing the conversation she had with the Duke just a few hours ago.

Duke Duncan had said.

‘Someone came to the mansion a while ago.’

The man had clearly requested something from Lee Jae.

‘Would it be alright if I met Duke Duncan? I would like to ask for your arrangement.’

……What was it? What was his name?

As Lee Jae continued to search her memory, she unknowingly looked around.

It was because she wanted to find the head court lady, who was the closest to her.

Lee Jae wanted to gain certainty.

However, the King had already sent the people out a long time ago, and she would not have been able to get the answer she wanted from others no matter what.

Five hundred years of the Kaien Dynasty.

Only the royal family or historians could immediately react to the name of a family that had disappeared from the continent before the founding of the dynasty.

Even fewer knew exactly the power they possessed.

Even the King himself had not given weight to their name before meeting Lee Jae.

Only Blairek and Duncan had maintained their power throughout the long history of five hundred years.

“Zenon, Lennon…?”

Lee Jae muttered the words that lingered on her lips several times.

And after thinking for a long time, she finally covered her face and bowed her head. It was because the thoughts she had just had were too frightening.

The King, startled, got up from his seat and sat next to her.

“Lee Jae. Really, what’s wrong?”

“……”

“Lift your face. Let me see you, huh?”

The King comforted her without knowing why.

The King stroked her shoulders and carefully removed her small hands.

Her exposed eyes were filled with confusion and worry.

And after hesitating for a long time, Lee Jae opened her mouth.

“Your Majesty, it’s very strange.”

“What is, huh?”

“Sometimes there are puzzles in the world that you can’t solve no matter how hard you try.”

“……Yeah.”

‘Humans are weak alone, and my abilities are even weaker than that. No matter how much I plead, use my skills, or beg, God doesn’t answer well. Even though I know, I sometimes have no choice but to cling to it. Because there’s no other way,’ she thought.

“But it seems like I can find those pieces when I talk to Your Majesty. I find that amazing.”

“……Me too.”

‘But Your Majesty, there’s no guarantee that a picture you’ve worked hard to complete will be beautiful. Sometimes there are realities and futures that aren’t like our wishes.’

‘If that moment really comes, what will I do then? What about you?’

Lee Jae stared blankly at the King and carefully hugged him.

“Your Majesty, what should I do? That person, I think… he’s an Illias [a member of a family with potentially dangerous abilities].”

‘If he has inherited the family’s abilities… Your brother is with a very dangerous person right now.’