Follow Your Heart [EN]: Chapter 128

#2-2.

The King, who had been reviewing documents in his study, asked his chamberlain around lunchtime,

“What is the Queen doing right now?”

“I don’t believe she has any official engagements. She spent the morning in Arthur’s Forest and is likely in the Queen’s Palace now.”

The Queen apparently returned from the forest with another armful of herbs.

However, the chamberlain knew that his answer was somewhat lacking.

Although the Queen’s movements were not usually complicated, quite some time had passed since he last checked with the Queen’s Palace.

“Shall I check again?”

“No, I’ll go myself.”

The King shook his head and rose from his seat.

Then, as he was about to leave the room, he suddenly remembered something and said to the chamberlain,

“Chamberlain, that lake I mentioned before.”

“Yes?”

The King chuckled as if he found himself amusing.

“Why, I promised to dig a pond near the Queen’s Palace.”

“……”

“Make it a fountain. And if possible, build it where it’s easily visible from the Queen’s study.”

The Queen had a favorite lake of her own.

It was such a grand and overwhelming lake that even if artificially created, it didn’t seem possible to surpass it.

The King decided to gift her a beautiful fountain instead.

However, the King’s aides wore strange expressions upon hearing those words.

Few of them thought he was serious.

The chamberlain cautiously inquired,

“Your Majesty, were you… serious about that?”

“There are things you joke about and things you don’t. How disappointed would the Queen be if I made empty promises about something like that?”

The King, speaking nonchalantly, added,

“Oh, and it’s fine if it’s wide, but don’t make it too deep. I want the Queen to be able to dip her feet and play.”

He imagined her tiny hands and feet, which seemed like mere beans to him, and wore a pleased expression.

At the same time, Lee Jae [the Queen’s given name, which the King uses affectionately] was planning something in the back garden.

It was going to be her masterpiece, surpassing even King Yeomra [a reference to a powerful figure, implying a significant undertaking].

The look in her eyes as she stared at the tree trunk was serious.

And beside her was a man as physically imposing as the King, the Commander of the Knights.

“Jade, I’m sorry, but could you move this to that storage over there?”

The Knight Commander wanted to laugh out loud, even though he knew it was impolite.

The Queen’s request sounded so absurd.

Lee Jae, who had quietly sought out the Knight Commander two nights ago, opened his door again early this morning.

Then, she began to ask him for a favor instead.

It was a completely different turn of events than the Knight Commander had expected.

‘Jade, just help me once. I need someone with extraordinary energy.’

The Knight Commander stared at the ground in silence for a while.

The tree trunk seemed to be at least as tall as Lee Jae.

He tried to roll the tree with his hands, but Lee Jae shook her head and said calmly,

“I’m sorry, but please handle it with care. The more effort you put in, the better the work will be.”

Jade thought.

‘I’m sorry, but didn’t you need someone with extraordinary strength, not extraordinary energy?’

But after hearing all the circumstances, he couldn’t refuse the Queen’s request. He lifted the tree trunk, and Lee Jae followed beside him.

The place where the Knight Commander put down the timber was a small storage in a corner of the back garden.

The back garden of the Queen’s Palace was originally the Queen’s private space.

However, it was also true that the King could enter at any time if he so desired.

Lee Jae wanted to maintain security for the time being.

She chose the least conspicuous storage for her secret work.

Looking at the timbers stacked one by one on the floor, she said,

“Jade, please help me a little when I set it up after it’s finished. It’s orthodox for me to do it all myself, but I don’t have the confidence to lift it myself.”

Then, borrowing the strength of someone with pure energy was also a method.

It would be even better if someone who cherished His Majesty helped.

Jade nodded, but still looked dubious.

“Your Majesty, are you really planning to carve it to this size?”

“Yeah, I think I just need to put effort into carving the face.”

“Yes. The face. Well, it is a face.”

The original shape of the tree trunk corresponded to a Korean traditional totem pole [a carved wooden pole representing ancestral spirits]. It didn’t seem like it would take that long.

The Knight Commander thought that wasn’t the problem right now, but no, maybe that was the problem, but Lee Jae said very happily.

“Don’t tell His Majesty yet. But do you think he’ll find it interesting to see?”

“I don’t know about that… but he will definitely be surprised.”

The Knight Commander knew now.

There was always a reason for all the sculptures she had carved.

Nevertheless, it was true that he still had no expectations in terms of aesthetics.

He held back his words, but thought to himself.

‘The castle is going to get weirder from here. It wasn’t the end.’

But Lee Jae thought the King would definitely burst out laughing.

Of course, she knew he would also hold his forehead together.

The two chatted and walked out of the storage.

There was no suitable place to sit in the back garden. Looking around, Lee Jae took a seat on the chair in front of the medicine pot and stared intently at Jade.

It was a signal that it was okay to say anything he wanted to say.

Then, Jade, who had been awkwardly scratching the back of his head, took off his uniform jacket.

He laid the clothes on the chair and suggested that she move over there.

Lee Jae moved and sat down, but the Knight Commander couldn’t bring himself to speak easily.

So, she, who had been staring silently, opened her mouth first.

“Jade. Did you fight with your lover again?”

The Knight Commander, who had been scratching the back of his head, opened his mouth.

He didn’t know if she was a fox or a ghost, but anyway, it seemed like one of the two was in front of him [a figure of speech implying she’s perceptive or mysterious].

“Does Your Majesty see even that?”

Lee Jae shook her head silently. It wasn’t that clear.

All that was visible on Jade’s face now was that he was meeting someone.

It was just that he seemed troubled, so she thought something bad must have happened with his lover, which was the thought process of a shaman.

“I didn’t know I showed it that much. I’m sorry for bothering you with such trivial matters.”

Jade sighed, but Lee Jae smiled faintly.

It was because of the expression he used.

“It’s not trivial. And other people don’t come to see me and talk about grand things either.”

People’s worries were all similar. Family, friends, and money transactions were the majority.

Almost no one came seeking world peace and the restoration of the community.

Anyway, Lee Jae was sure to get a headache if she had to listen to such worries.

And she quite liked listening to people’s small daily lives.

“I don’t know what the problem is, but sometimes it feels like I’m facing a fierce battle. Of course, I always lose. Well, actually, it’s not that I want to win.”

Jade added a few more words after that.

The gist was that he wanted to treat her well, but he didn’t know her inner thoughts well.

He let out a hollow laugh, and Lee Jae held back her laughter this time.

Birds of a feather flock together, and it certainly seemed that way.

The Knight Commander also had a relentlessly kind side to the woman he liked.

‘By the way, he must be meeting a woman with considerable combat power.’

Lee Jae looked closely at Jade’s face.

She didn’t see any signs of separation in his face, but she held back her words.

If there was no particular bad luck, there was no need to add more words.

Lee Jae just picked up a branch to replace it with a prayer and wrote a talisman [a mystical symbol believed to bring good fortune] on the floor for a long time.

‘Clear breeze and bright moon, the wind blowing after the rain, the bright moon. Mago Soyang [invoking a benevolent spirit], everything as you wish.’

Lee Jae, who had infused energy, said,

“Introduce her to me and His Majesty if something good happens later.”

“Then His Majesty won’t stay still.”

“What will His Majesty do?”

It meant that he would tease him, telling him to do well and not be lacking.

And then it was.

The shadows fell over the two people sitting side by side.

At the same time, a voice that the two knew well echoed in their ears.

“Yes, what will I do?”

Jade, who was startled, jumped up from his seat and saluted.

The King waved his hand to say it was okay, but narrowed his eyes.

It was a suspicious look.

“Why do you keep surprising me since last time?”

“……”

“It makes people feel strange.”

“It’s nothing. Please, sit down.”

The King tried to sit in the seat that the Knight Commander had offered.

Then he discovered that Lee Jae was sitting on the Knight Commander’s clothes.

He felt even stranger.

He couldn’t let the Queen of this country sit in a messy place.

It was disloyal to remain still even after seeing that, so there was nothing to criticize about the Knight Commander’s actions.

Even though he knew that fact well, the King frowned slightly.

The combination of situations felt strangely unpleasant.

‘Why are you taking off your clothes for someone else’s wife?’

The King took off his jacket, threw it on the chair, and stood Lee Jae up.

In the end, Lee Jae had to change seats once again.

“You can take this back with you.”

Rodrick handed the uniform jacket to Jade and gestured for him to leave.

And as Jade saluted and stepped back, he stared intently at Lee Jae.

The voice that came out was somewhat brusque.

“Do you like dating other men behind your husband’s back?”

Lee Jae held back her laughter. The King’s expression became dissatisfied.

“Why are you laughing? I’m serious.”

“Rodrick is saying strange things again. Even though he knows it’s not true.”

The King, who had been silent for a moment, sighed and shook his head.

“It’s a really strange thing.”

“What is?”

“Even in this situation, I feel good just hearing you call my name.”

However, the King, who continued to feel uneasy, had no choice but to ask again. He didn’t want to seem like he was grilling her, but he wasn’t very happy to see them sitting side by side and whispering.

“But what did you two really talk about? Even after dismissing the head maid.”

“……”

“……Aren’t you going to tell your husband?”

“We didn’t talk about anything special. I just asked him if he had any worries because he seemed to be in a bad mood lately.”

Lee Jae gave the King an appropriate but somewhat vague answer.

She felt sorry for accidentally revealing the Knight Commander’s private life last time.

Besides, she was slightly surprised.

She had just pushed the timber and carving tools into the storage a little while ago, but the King had suddenly appeared without any notice or even a sign.

The King stared silently at her.

He wasn’t so gullible that he wouldn’t notice Lee Jae’s awkward reaction.

He also knew why she was talking like that.

His wife always acted like that when she didn’t want to lie but also had difficulty telling everything.

‘Why is she being vague?’

The King crossed his arms and raised one eyebrow.