Follow Your Heart [EN]: Chapter 15

#4. Bedtime Pillow

#15.

「In Daimon Year 497, the tyranny of the Daimon Empire deepened.

Neighboring countries began preparing for war,

and large and small-scale rebellions broke out within the empire.

This is the origin of the Three Years’ War.

The Master of the Holy Sword.

Little is known about the childhood of the boy-king, Arthur Lux Blairek.

Based on divine power, he led the allied forces and defeated the wicked,

and as defeat became imminent, the Daimon families began to split apart one by one.

Some of them became the origin of the Cayenne aristocratic society after the founding of Cayenne.

– From page 19 of the Cayenne Kingdom History」

“How is the Daimon reconstruction movement going?”

“It has been completely suppressed.”

Roderick shook his head.

“We have always *said* they were completely suppressed. But they haven’t been completely suppressed for years.”

“……”

“Don’t be complacent, and make sure to cut off the buds [stop them before they can grow].”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

The Daimon revival movement, which took place in the land where the old Daimon capital was located, had been a headache for Cayenne for years.

The late king thought they were all suppressed and closed his eyes [died believing the problem was solved].

But they began to flourish again as soon as Roderick ascended the throne.

As the king frowned and touched his forehead, the pro-royal faction nobles began to take notice little by little.

Although it had been strangely quiet lately, it was a kind of harbinger [a sign of things to come].

“Do not worry. Isn’t the Cayenne Royal Army strong?”

Someone made a remark considering the king’s mood.

At that time, the king’s father-in-law, Duke Duncan, also opened his mouth.

“Your Majesty, please reinstate Albert Duncan as the commander of the Western Border Guard.”

He was referring to Hailey’s older brother, the eldest son of the Duncan family.

The king gave his father-in-law a cold look.

But Duke Duncan did not stop.

“He was demoted without a clear reason. It’s already been three years. For the Queen’s brother to be just a deputy commander, this is directly related to the honor of the Queen and Cayenne.”

“Cayenne is trying to implement a southward expansion policy. How can the deputy commander of the Southern Army be called a demotion? The late king made a wise decision, and what you are saying now is an insult to the late king and the royal family.”

However, it was true that the royal family was particularly harsh on the Duncan family.

Few people knew the inside story properly.

So, it often looked like a check on the leader of the anti-royal faction.

The king was merciless to his in-laws today as well.

“Duke Duncan, you should worry more about your own life than the Queen’s honor.”

“……”

“Do you understand? I won’t spare you even if you are the Queen’s father.”

The king, who had coldly rebuked, rose from his seat.

Today, Roderick, who had a battle of nerves with the nobles, headed to the Queen’s residence.

It was a strange thing, but when the King felt upset because of the big Duncan, he would go to the little Duncan.

What was even stranger was that he would go to the little Duncan even when he was in a good mood. Sometimes, he would visit when he couldn’t sleep.

At this point, all the king’s people knew.

‘He just goes whenever he feels like it? We were worrying about the pattern for nothing.’

Roderick, who unexpectedly burst into Lee Jae’s room, blurted out again today.

“Your father is running wild again.”

Lee Jae chuckled at the king’s morning greeting.

“Hailey, what am I *supposed to do* if you laugh?”

“Then should I get angry? Your Majesty said that knowing I would laugh. What did he say today?”

“He told me to reinstate your brother. I really got a great family.”

*Reinstate? Where to?*

She closed her mouth as a story she didn’t remember came out. ‘I should look for Hailey’s diary later,’ Lee Jae thought, then sighed softly.

Whenever she thought of the diary, her chest felt very stuffy, and she thought that she needed more self-discipline.

However, Roderick stopped talking, wondering how she felt about Lee Jae’s sigh.

Roderick asked with a cautious look.

“Are my words unpleasant?”

The people who were listening had slightly embarrassed expressions.

This was, of course, politics. But regardless of the era, insulting parents and siblings was a signal to fight without rank [a serious offense].

It would be a little strange if it wasn’t unpleasant.

However, the Queen shrugged with a chuckle.

“Not really. I don’t care much.”

And she continued to carve what she had been carving before the king came.

This time it was a village guardian.

Roderick stared at Lee Jae with deep blue eyes.

It was an expression filled with curiosity and suspicion.

“Why?”

“You knew that my family wasn’t in a good mood back then, didn’t you? You saw everything.”

Jade carefully watched the Queen, who was straightening her back and focusing on the carving.

Hailey Duncan, who was ridiculed as a pretty idiot, was really, really pretty.

But no matter how he looked at her, she didn’t seem like a clumsy person.

No matter what the king said, she calmly responded without being affected.

She had a gentle and docile attitude, but she also seemed strangely detached.

Jade was now beginning to understand the king’s words that the Queen was not just innocent.

She was truly a Duncan.

‘Blood is thicker than water [family bonds are stronger than anything else].’

The problem was that the king was wary of the Queen but also had a strange affection for her.

“Hailey.”

“Yes.”

“You should at least make eye contact when someone comes and talks to you.”

Lee Jae paused slightly and looked at him.

“I’m afraid I’ll cut my hand. I received this so pathetically… If I get hurt, you’ll take it away again, saying it’s dangerous.”

“……I won’t take it. I’m not that petty.”

“Really? You promised. This is very important to me.”

Roderick chuckled.

“Okay. But I wish you could explain in what way that is important so that everyone can understand.”

The king’s words were somewhat spiteful.

But at this moment, everyone except Lee Jae extremely sympathized with the king’s words.

The statue in Lee Jae’s room was now complete, with eyes, nose, and mouth.

The Queen’s maids belatedly realized that it was not the purpose they had thought of.

However, they were people who had rotten minds and even more rotten ways of getting along in the castle.

It was as if they had never thought of such a thing, and they acted with dignity.

But it was still true that the purpose was questionable.

The finished product did not look like an aesthetic decoration at all. It was another birth of a grotesque work.

“What are you making this time?”

“It’s just similar to that.”

“……Do you need two of those?”

“It helps me calm my mind when I’m carving. I can concentrate.”

So, in fact, it wasn’t something to carve while having such a distracted conversation.

But Lee Jae couldn’t tell him to stop talking. She didn’t dislike him poking at her, either.

Meanwhile, Roderick, who was staring at Lee Jae carving the eyes of the statue, said.

“It’s a hobby that seems like your age and doesn’t seem like your age.”

Lee Jae responded as the king kept picking on her from earlier.

“Your Majesty doesn’t seem like your age either.”

“Me? In what way?”

“You look much younger. You don’t look eight years older than me.”

After saying the words, she realized that she had really teased him badly, and she lowered her head and burst into laughter.

Roderick, who was watching her shaking back, was dumbfounded.

He slightly pulled the knife-wielding hand outward, worried that the Queen might get hurt, and said.

“You think you said something outrageous, don’t you? Teasing the king?”

She nodded as if acknowledging that she had instantly tricked him.

“Yes, I’m sorry.”

Lee Jae, who cleared her throat and composed herself, handed him the newly completed village guardian.

“This is for Your Majesty. Take it.”

As Lee Jae placed the statue in his hand, Roderick raised one eyebrow.

“……Well. I want to politely decline. It’s hideous.”

He thought it was better when it was unfinished.

Then she smiled faintly.

“I know. I’m not giving it to you because it’s pretty. I’m just giving it to you because it has sincerity in it.”

It was an undeniable statement.

“What’s the point of receiving a gift from a wife who has a lover……”

“Yes, if you hate it that much, give it back.”

Lee Jae nodded and took the statue.

“Give it back.”

“………”

“You know it’s a joke, right? Just give it to me.”

As Lee Jae handed it back, Roderick was looking at it with a strange expression.

“Your Majesty, put it by your bedside.”

“This?”

“It looks very strange, right? It means to chase away bad luck and nightmares. That’s why it looks scary.”

“………”

“I made it because I wanted you to sleep well.”

“………”

“If you hate looking at it too much, you can put it in a place where it’s not easily visible.”

It was a face that would wake you up from sleep rather than protect you from nightmares.

As Roderick began to frown more and more, Lee Jae bit her lip slightly.

He had to put even this weak thing in his room.

“Your Majesty, I don’t really like these words. But can I still say it?”

“……Try it.”

“Very occasionally, someone else’s sincere wishes will protect Your Majesty.”

*We just have a hard time getting it. That fact makes our lives even harder and makes me sad.*

Then Roderick, who had been frowning for a while, rubbed his face and said.

“Stop it.”

“Yes?”

“I’ll take it even if you don’t say that much. Did you think I was really going to refuse?”

Lee Jae, who heard a definite affirmative answer, smiled and held out the guardian under heaven [another statue] from her bedside.

“Then take this too.”

“……Give me everything? It’s your hobby.”

“It’s lonely alone. So take both.”

“………”

“I can carve mine again later. It’s a hobby.”

Roderick fiddled with the toy-like statue for a while.

As he kept looking at it, it seemed more like a ridiculous and comical face than a scary one.

And he suddenly stood up.

“I’m leaving.”

Roderick spat out somewhat brusquely and left the room.

People were puzzled when the king suddenly disappeared in the middle of a conversation.

But Jade, who was a long-time friend, seemed to know why the king was doing this.

He was a little embarrassed now.

Lee Jae, who was staring in the direction the king had disappeared, soon turned her gaze away and began to look for something.

Lee Jae, who found a new piece of wood under the table, silently carved a totem pole again. She wondered why the king was doing that, but it was okay as long as he took it.

People looked at Lee Jae with strange eyes.