Follow Your Heart [EN]: Chapter 114

As Her Heart Leads – 114

#114.

The King tried to stop Lee Jae.

But before he could say anything, she was already firing arrows.

Eventually, he took a step back and unconsciously reached out a hand.

He was ready to catch her, worried she might fall backward from the force.

‘Groping in the dark. Beings who constantly seek answers in the darkness… they are human.’

‘God, I ask again. Are the Royal Prince and Ilias both in Cayenne now?’

The questions were connected, but Lee Jae slightly altered the wording.

She knew that if even one of them crossed the border, the King would be in trouble.

After firing the arrows in quick succession, she narrowed her eyes.

A faint light bloomed little by little in the center [of the target].

The subtle light enveloped the target once and then slowly illuminated the surroundings.

That alone was a sufficient answer, but Lee Jae held back her words for a moment.

She was experiencing extreme dizziness.

She regulated her breathing as if meditating, trying to stabilize her energy.

The King and the onlookers were there, and she couldn’t cause any more worry.

Lee Jae took a deep breath and turned around.

Roderick, who had been half-raising his hand, quietly lowered his arm.

“Your Majesty, they are in Cayenne. Jade, stay here.”

The King nodded and instructed Jade.

“Strengthen border control and inspections further, especially the western border. You can request as many personnel as you need. If the Royal Prince and Ilias escape Cayenne, this plan will fall apart.”

“Yes, Your Majesty. I will keep that in mind.”

The King now stared silently at Lee Jae.

Her face was calm, but he sensed she was pretending to be okay.

No matter how calmly she acted, she couldn’t hide her bloodless complexion.

“Are you alright?”

“Of course.”

Lee Jae also stared back at him.

“Why are you making that face?”

“Making what?”

She made a pointless joke, worried the King might be concerned.

“Were you perhaps expecting something?”

“Expecting what, exactly?”

“Weren’t you expecting me to put medicine on you?”

“I wouldn’t expect something like that.”

Roderick laughed, as if dumbfounded.

He understood his wife’s state of mind in making jokes in this situation.

But that made him feel even more sorry and affectionate, so he decided to play along.

Looking around, he leaned down and whispered into her ear.

“If my lady is in a good mood, wouldn’t I be able to see that every night?”

Lee Jae, despite her pale appearance, burst into laughter.

She had always tried to fight back, but she realized she couldn’t win against her husband with this kind of banter.

Shaking her head, Lee Jae lightly pushed him away, telling him to go away.

However, she felt a reaction as if pushing against a wall and had to step back.

Surprised, Roderick quickly grabbed her and said.

“Hey, if you do that suddenly, you’ll fall.”

Even a king needed time to pretend to be pushed back or to brace himself.

“In times like this, just kick hard with your foot.”

“…You’re saying strange things again.”

Roderick chuckled and lifted Lee Jae up.

He slung her over one shoulder and said to the knights.

“Let’s go.”

Lee Jae’s appearance was like laundry hanging limply on a clothesline.

She didn’t have much strength, so she entrusted herself to her husband and went along.

The Queen’s reception hall was crowded for the first time in a while.

Lee Jae was handling her reception schedule for the first time in weeks.

The reason she hadn’t been showing her face in the reception hall lately was simple: preparation for the upcoming battle.

The King had already expressed his determination to eradicate the Daimon reconstruction forces [remnants of a defeated faction] in the political affairs meeting.

Accordingly, her days were passing by in a blur.

Influential nobles who were well-informed also knew that the Royal Prince was involved.

To obtain more information, or to decide on their own course of action, numerous nobles requested an audience.

The list included a significant number of anti-royalist nobles, and Duke Duncan was also on it.

“It’s been a while, Your Majesty the Queen.”

As the uninvited guest appeared, the maids and knights all sent cold glances.

However, the Duke didn’t seem to care.

He was always focused only on Lee Jae.

“It has been a while, Father. But what brings you here this time?”

“…It seems this father is not very welcome today.”

Lee Jae chuckled, both amused and genuinely admiring.

Some people could see through others’ minds even without spiritual eyes.

She had never genuinely welcomed the Duke.

She had only wanted to know something through him at one time.

The Duke sensitively sensed the change in temperature from the first greeting.

Lee Jae no longer needed anything from him.

She readily admitted it.

“To be honest, yes. I have no more questions for you now, Father.”

*I realized that you are actually a person with no cards to play, but you know how to package it well.*

Duke Duncan was silent for a while.

As the silence grew longer, the maids couldn’t hide their discomfort, but Lee Jae calmly waited.

After a long silence, Duke Duncan requested a private audience.

“Your Majesty the Queen, I have something urgent to ask. Please dismiss the others.”

“I will.”

Lee Jae nodded.

Even after the knights and maids left the reception hall, the Duke didn’t open his mouth for a long time.

She didn’t urge him and calmly examined his face.

Still ambiguous, but definitely changed for the better.

She now knew why the Duke’s countenance had changed.

That was the result of Hailey removing one possibility she had seen by dying.

A future where the Duke betrays Cayenne and leads the Blake royal family and the Duncan family to ruin.

*But why did only your daughter have to bear the cost?*

Unable to control her bitter feelings, Lee Jae closed her eyes for a moment.

Then, the Duke opened his mouth.

“Hailey. Not long ago, a descendant of the Ilias family came to the Duke’s residence. He asked if the family’s ability had awakened.”

“……”

“It was an unexpected remark, but I thought it was definitely about you. Of course, even now.”

The Duke confessed more honestly than before.

This was probably because he was also politically cornered.

It was something that Lee Jae and the King had anticipated, but at that moment, a story that they had not yet grasped flowed from the Duke’s mouth.

“But he asked one more thing. It felt like he was testing me.”

“…What did he ask?”

“He asked if the Mellon bloodline flowed in our family.”

Lee Jae’s face instantly hardened.

She seemed to know the intention of the question very well.

The other party was still suspicious of the existence of a psychic [person with supernatural abilities].

By now, he might be convinced.

Perhaps it was only natural.

The arrows that Ilias fired had repeatedly failed since the royal wedding, but Lee Jae had not yet destroyed all the demons.

He must have had eyes and ears to think the situation was strange.

“So, what did you say, Father?”

“According to the records passed down in the family, our Duncan family has never had a marriage alliance with the Mellon family. But I replied that the accuracy of the records is a problem that later generations cannot guarantee.”

It was truly a Duke-like answer and way of handling things.

Even in a moment when everything was uncertain, he did not easily give the answer the other party wanted.

He avoided the core and left room for negotiation.

But even he was revealing everything in front of the answer he was earnestly seeking.

The Duke demanded of Lee Jae.

“I have told you everything. Now it’s your turn to give an answer. What will happen to the Cayenne royal family in the future?”

Lee Jae was silent for a moment. She really didn’t know the answer.

Lacking ability and conviction, she had always lived a half-hearted life.

But was it misfortune or fortune? She always had someone who gave her the right advice. People sometimes provide direction like that.

*Don’t do that, do this. If you do that, you will fail; if you do this, you will die.*

But here, there was neither Granny Youngsan nor Hailey who could give advice.

Then where on earth should I find the answer, and to whom should I listen?

A strange smile soon spread across her face.

In the end, Lee Jae had no choice but to speak of the future she yearned for. With will.

“Father, His Majesty will be the victor in this battle.”

It wasn’t because it was divine will.

Even if it meant defying the will of heaven and dying from a thunderbolt… she wanted to make it happen.

“If you ask me for an answer, Father, I can only say this.”

Lee Jae didn’t want to interfere in whatever life the Duke lived.

She didn’t even want him to side with the King. She didn’t think that someone who could betray at any time would truly be helpful to the King.

This was just the least Lee Jae could do for Hailey.

The least she could do for Hailey, who risked her life to change the future.

“I think you should express your support for the King of this country and not commit any more crimes.”

“……”

“I have only stated my opinion, and now the choice is yours.”

Lee Jae quietly looked at the Duke, and the Duke still looked up at her with eyes that wanted to know the truth.