Follow Your Heart [EN]: Chapter 115

A night where something was bound to happen. The moon, clear and high, was serene and mysterious, making hearts flutter.

And on the moonlit bed, two healthy, young bodies were intertwined.

The king’s robust shoulders and back muscles rippled with every movement, while Ijae’s delicate hands barely gripped his shoulders.

“Your Majesty, Your Majesty…”

“Haa, why? Is it too much?”

“No…”

“Then, why?”

“I just… wanted to call you.”

He, who had been moving like a smoldering fire, suddenly felt the flames spreading in all directions.

When she called him so earnestly with those wet eyes, he couldn’t afford to be leisurely.

“Ijae, do you like me?”

“……”

“Hoo, answer me. Huh?”

“…I do.”

The moment he heard her small but honest reply, his vision became damp and blurred.

His head felt hot, and it seemed like something hotter than blood was flowing through his veins.

The large, strong body moved more intensely than before, and the small body undulated.

The sobs escaping from Ijae’s throat sounded like birds chirping.

And sometimes like a young animal whimpering.

Listening to it, Roderick felt his mind growing increasingly faint.

It was as if someone was pulling his clear reason into deep water.

However, at some point, he suddenly reached out.

Roderick, barely managing to wedge his palm between the headboard and her head, breathed roughly.

Ijae, unaware that she was about to hit her head, looked at him questioningly. Her clear and pure eyes looked as if tears would roll down at any moment.

Postponing the final moment for a while, he shook his head and pulled her down by the hips.

Then, embracing her body preciously from above, he continued the act.

Pressing every part that could be touched, mixing every part that could be mixed.

Then, a fierce wave surged. A violent storm-like energy swept through, shaking the bodies and minds of the two.

However, even after all that passion had subsided, the two could not easily separate.

They lingered, savoring the afterglow of their intimacy, their tongues intertwined for a long time.

How long had they been kissing?

Roderick asked in a very tender voice.

“Ijae, are you okay?”

“Yeah…”

He looked at her, who was answering in a murmur, with loving eyes, then raised his body.

The moment Ijae frowned, a tear that had been welling up flowed down her temple.

Roderick gently caressed her face, wiping away the countless streams of tears.

“You cried so much. Your eyes will be swollen.”

“It’s just… it always happens when we do this. Don’t think it’s weird just because I like it.”

It was an unexpectedly honest statement.

Roderick flopped onto the bed, covering his eyes with his forearm.

Then, he let out a low chuckle.

“No, I know that too.”

“Actually, when you cry in bed, I can’t control myself even more.”

“What kind of psychology is that?”

“Because I can see that you’re overwhelmed. You’re crying, but you also like it.”

No matter how much they hugged and touched each other as deeply as possible, they could not become one in the truest sense.

The part he was born with and the part she was born with were different.

So, even if they were engrossed in the act, it would be forever impossible to share the sensations that each other’s bodies were feeling in the same way.

However, there were always things that filled that empty space in a relationship with a loved one.

Expressions, gazes, words that couldn’t become complete sentences and scattered thoughts.

Looking at them and listening to them, it was impossible not to know what the other person was feeling or what they wanted.

Ijae lowered her eyes, feeling a little shy, and Roderick chuckled at her cuteness. He flicked her cheek with his finger and said.

“Don’t take it too seriously. It just means your husband likes you too much.”

He brushed back her sweat-soaked apricot-colored hair and kissed her all over her face. And he enjoyed the afterglow of their intimacy for a long time.

Ijae also closed her eyes, savoring this afterglow.

Was it because she felt too comfortable? She almost fell asleep.

Startled by herself, she trembled and opened her eyes.

Roderick, who had been stroking her hair to put her to sleep, looked puzzled.

His expression became even more puzzled when she got out of bed, putting on her pajamas.

“Why? Aren’t you going to sleep?”

“You go to sleep first. I’m not sleepy yet.”

He couldn’t help but chuckle, wondering what kind of lie that was.

“Would I sleep well if we did it one more time?”

“Not today. I have things to do.”

“What is it?”

Ijae didn’t answer and slowly walked to the table.

On the table, there was a pile of talismans she had written over the past few weeks.

Roderick was at a loss for words for a moment.

He fully understood how important that was.

The talismans had been their weapon, protecting him and her.

But she had already written hundreds of talismans and still didn’t try to rest. Her dedication seemed a bit obsessive.

Meanwhile, Ijae’s thoughts were like this.

She knew every detail of the king’s plan.

The king intended to strike Ilias at the forefront with the 1st Division.

The king would definitely be okay.

Now, even formidable vengeful spirits couldn’t approach him.

So, she had been worried about the knights around him for a while.

But Ijae had recently become preoccupied with another possibility.

Vengeful spirits make people lose their reason.

What would happen if the knights, possessed by resentment, all turned their swords towards the king?

Ijae intended to distribute talismans to all the knights guarding the king at close range, at least. No amount of preparation was too much.

Ijae sat at the table and silently began to write talismans, and Roderick watched her calm profile until he eventually fell asleep.

About an hour had passed. Ijae was proud of herself for completing another dozen or so talismans.

Ham’s spirit came out of the house after a long time and stuck to Ijae’s leg.

And she was playing, climbing up and down as if climbing a tree.

It was a quiet and peaceful dawn.

It was when she rubbed her eyes, which had become dim from too much concentration, that she sensed an ominous energy.

The spirit, who had been playing excitedly, hurriedly ran back into the house, and Ijae’s head turned stiffly towards the window.

The king, who had gotten out of bed at some point, was also putting his arms into his shirt.

Now, his sense of energy sometimes seemed sharper than hers.

The two stood side by side at the window.

And Ijae narrowed her eyes and looked at the night sky, which was covered in deep darkness.

‘How many days has it been? Are spirits flying in again?’

The king, who had been quietly watching her, turned around and strode away.

It was to call the commander of the Knights.

But Ijae suddenly grabbed his sleeve.

Because she felt something was amiss.

“Your Majesty.”

“Yeah.”

“There are few. And… they’re weak.”

“Huh?”

“The resentment is ridiculously weak. You can feel it too, right, Your Majesty?”

There were only three spirits wandering around the building.

It was difficult to even call them evil spirits, and they were closer to minor spirits with shallow grudges.

And they were not able to approach easily because of the barrier and the king, which were now close to fortress level.

“What the hell is it?”

Ijae, tilting her head, opened the window and leaned her upper body out of the barrier.

But the situation was the same. When the flustered king grabbed her waist, the vengeful spirits were instead taking a few steps back.

Ijae looked up behind her and said to him.

“Your Majesty, can you step back for a moment?”

Roderick nodded and lightly lifted her up, taking her off the windowsill. Ijae struggled in the air.

“No, not that, just Your Majesty.”

The king seemed to be at a loss for words again.

After a moment of silence, he placed her behind him.

“I’m sorry, but that’s a bit difficult for me too.”

“They’re scared to come if Your Majesty is here.”

“……”

“Your Majesty, do you still not trust my skills? I won’t be harmed by those minor spirits.”

Ijae shook off Roderick and went around him, sticking to the window.

And she leaned out of the window again.

“Who are you? Did Ilias send you too?”

Ijae focused her spiritual sight [heightened perception of supernatural energies] and stared at them intently.

Even though they were vengeful spirits, they all had miserable and chilling shapes.

And as they slowly approached, Ijae felt as if her hair was standing on end. It was because of the eerie energy.

Then one of the spirits moved its mouth.

-Come to Belfasten.

“……What?”

-Belfasten.

Ijae, who was bewildered, tried to find composure and asked.

“Are those people there?”

But the spirits had been dead for a long time, and it seemed that no ego remained.

They kept repeating the word Belfasten as if singing a song.

Ijae hardened her face, but bit her lip tightly and reached out her hand.

She immediately infused her energy and destroyed the existence of the spirits.

It was to avoid leaving unnecessary clues on that side.

She looked at the king after she dropped from the windowsill.

“Your Majesty, I think I know where those people are.”

Roderick’s blue eyes also turned cold.

“Where are they?”

Ijae realized why the Knights could not easily track them down.

It was a place name quite familiar to her.

A slum located on the outskirts of the capital. A place where the shadow of power never reached.

“Belfasten Street.”

However, she felt a strange sense of unease creeping over her as she spoke, as if being chased by something.

This was definitely not an attack.

What they sent was… a chilling invitation.