Follow Your Heart [EN]: Chapter 129

Lee Jae woke up at dawn and began her meditation.

The King, waking a bit later, watched her intently.

*What’s gotten into her lately?* he wondered.

He’d already spoken with the Knight Commander. She was preoccupied with something, and he knew she’d been writing on the floor, but hadn’t elaborated. He hadn’t liked that, but at least she hadn’t lied.

Still, the King had a strong intuition.

He couldn’t shake the feeling that Lee Jae was hiding something. It wasn’t that she seemed upset, but something was subtly different.

The King knew his wife’s routines intimately.

When working, she was in the study or the reception room. When relaxing, she went to the lakeside. When tending to herbs, she visited Arthur’s Forest.

The back garden was reserved for brewing medicine or practicing archery.

But recently, Lee Jae had been spending all her free time in the back garden. She’d even skip her usual dawn meditation to go there instead.

When the King opened his eyes, her side of the bed was often empty.

When he asked her to stay with him, she’d claim she had a book to read and head to the study. But when he went to find her later, she wasn’t there. She was always in the back garden.

That was the strangest part.

Whenever he went to the back garden, there were no signs of medicine being brewed, and the archery target was untouched.

Only Lee Jae would be standing still in the middle of the garden, smiling as if she knew he was coming.

“My dear, what are you doing?”

“Just resting, Your Majesty.”

“At this early hour?”

“Can’t I rest with you in the room?”

*Just come with me.*

“Hey. Don’t you like me anymore?”

He wanted to spend all his time with his wife, except when occupied with state affairs.

But she wouldn’t stay in the room at all.

He felt like she didn’t want to be with him.

Lately, he even felt like his wife was avoiding him.

As a result, he’d been getting annoyed even when he saw her exchanging pleasantries with another man.

The day before yesterday, when she was gone again, he’d opened the door and nearly exploded when he saw her whispering with the Knight Commander.

*What’s so fascinating about your conversation that you’re leaving your husband to chat with another man?*

But after the initial annoyance, anxiety always crept in.

The King rested his chin on his hand and continued to stare at Lee Jae.

Beside her was Ham’s spirit, sitting cross-legged in the same posture.

He suddenly felt the urge to ask the spirit, *Why is my wife acting like this lately?*

And Ham’s spirit, sensing the King’s gaze, visibly flinched.

The spirit hesitated, then cowered and retreated into its home.

The King stared blankly at the spot where the spirit had been, then turned his gaze back to Lee Jae. She, too, had been watching the spirit before turning to the King.

“Your Majesty.”

“…Are you finished with your meditation?”

He had complaints in his heart, but it was the first dawn they had greeted together in a long time. The King spoke gently.

However, Lee Jae glanced at Ham again and asked the King a question he didn’t expect.

“Why do you keep glaring at the spirit?”

“Huh?”

The King pondered what she meant.

He asked back in disbelief, “When have I ever done that?”

Of course, he had glanced at it a few times because he didn’t want to be disturbed during their time together.

But he hadn’t glared at it. At least not just now.

*Doesn’t she know how much I’m holding back? And she’s saying strange things.*

The King, dumbfounded, let out a hollow laugh and narrowed his eyes slightly.

“Are you perhaps angry because of that?”

“…What?”

“Did he tell you that somehow?”

“No, well… it’s not like that. Anyway, don’t scare him. I feel sorry for him.”

Roderick was even more bewildered.

He felt so wronged that he wanted to explain himself to his wife.

“You may not be, but most people are usually afraid of me.”

“Lee Jae. Do you think I’m so pathetic that I’d be scared of something like that?”

Lee Jae shook her head without a word.

But Roderick, feeling even more frustrated, roughly swept back his hair.

*I can’t take it anymore,* he thought, and got out of bed.

Lee Jae, noticing his unpleasant expression, looked at him with a bewildered expression.

Roderick held out his hand to her.

“Let’s go out.”

“Yes?”

“Let’s get some air and talk.”

He reached for Lee Jae’s hand before she could react and led her out of bed.

The King and Lee Jae strolled around the Queen’s Palace for a while.

She simply watched him, as the King remained silent.

It was strangely awkward, but they held hands tightly.

Construction was in full swing at the castle.

The creation of the fountain was taking a long time because they had to connect the waterways and draw water.

As a result, they could only estimate the location and size.

The King and Lee Jae stared blankly at the roughly dug-up ground.

Lee Jae knew that the King was building a fountain for her.

She had initially thought that digging a pond or a lake was just a joke.

It wasn’t just the King’s servants who had taken it as a joke.

The King led Lee Jae to the construction site.

He took off his navy blue jacket and laid it on the ground, then sat her down on it.

He sat next to her, propped his chin on his hand, and simply stared at Lee Jae.

A long time must have passed. The King gestured for the people standing behind them to leave, then turned her to face him.

He carefully took off Lee Jae’s shoes and gently lowered her ankles, as if dipping her bare feet in water.

Lee Jae, sitting on the edge of the empty dirt pit and dangling her feet, was dumbfounded.

“What are you doing?”

But the King, sitting next to her, had a nonchalant expression.

“Does it feel cool?”

“Is it supposed to…?”

The King chuckled and drew his sword from its scabbard.

Soon, blue energy began to coalesce like water droplets at the tip of the sword.

As he poured his energy into the empty space, blue energy slowly began to bloom, filling the space like water and rippling around her ankles.

“Does it feel a little cooler now?”

Lee Jae, finally understanding the King’s intention, smiled.

She reached out her hand to join in and poured her energy into the forming water.

The blue energy sparkled even more, like a lake reflecting sunlight.

The two stared at the scene for a while, and Roderick wrapped his arm around her shoulder and leaned her against him.

He gently stroked her apricot-colored hair and asked, “My dear, what’s been going on lately?”

“…”

“Have I perhaps upset you in some way?”

“…What do you mean?”

“I just feel like something’s wrong, and it makes me anxious.”

Lee Jae stared intently at Roderick.

She blinked and then burst into laughter.

It was only then that she realized why her husband was making that face.

Lee Jae had been spending most of her time, except for official duties, in the warehouse in the back garden. She had even secretly gone there while the King was asleep.

The owner of this castle was the King, and his eyes and ears were everywhere.

All Lee Jae could rely on was Deborah and the Knight Commander, who had concealed the talisman’s value [a magical item or artifact].

A perfect crime was impossible, so she had hurried, but it seemed that only made things stranger.

In fact, if the King had truly wanted to know, he could have easily found out.

But he had chosen this roundabout method.

Lee Jae smiled and asked, “Why did you think that? It’s not true.”

“It seems like you’re strangely hiding something, and you’re only taking naps in the room before rushing out.”

There were a few other things that bothered him, but he scratched the end of his eyebrow and asked, “Then, perhaps, have you lost some of your feelings for me lately?”

The King presented a possibility that was truly absurd.

Lee Jae burst out laughing, and the King was silent.

He understood her answer and nodded briefly.

“Okay, as long as it’s not that, everything else is fine.”

“Roderrick, did you misunderstand?”

“Yeah. I almost felt a little sad, to be honest.”

“…”

“Don’t you ever abandon me.”

He was truly prepared to chase her to the ends of hell.

Now that he could see things clearly, there was nothing he couldn’t do.

The King said something unnecessary, even though he knew that his wife would never do that, and Lee Jae shook her head.

“Roderrick, I don’t like that word. You know that.”

Lee Jae smiled, put her hand on his shoulder, and leaned in.

As her small body pressed close to his chest, he felt like his whole body was melting.

Lee Jae tilted her chin slightly, and he lowered his head and kissed her lips.

She bit his lips a couple of times and then released them.

As the soft sounds of their kiss echoed, he opened his lips, but he didn’t do anything more than receive her affection.

He wanted to savor her kiss, like a gentle spring breeze.

When Lee Jae pulled away, Roderick stroked his forehead and swept back his hair several times. He sighed and muttered, “What should I do?”

“About what?”

“I think all my anger has melted away.”

She laughed. “So you were angry?”

Lee Jae felt sorry for the King and kissed his cheeks and lips a few more times.

Then she got up and vigorously dusted off his navy blue jacket. Roderick looked puzzled, but Lee Jae held out her hand.

“Roderrick, actually, there’s something I want to brag about.”

“What is it?”

“It’s my ambitious project that I’m finally ready to present to the world.”

Lee Jae, who was just smiling without answering, waved her hand, telling him to get up quickly.

When the King lightly curled his fingers and got up, she led him to her back garden.