Follow Your Heart [EN]: Chapter 17

#17.

And soon, under Lee Jae’s delicate touch, the King began to doze off again. Seeing this unbelievable sight, Jade’s mouth slightly opened.

The attendants whispered among themselves.

“It’s Sleep Grass. Definitely human Sleep Grass.”

But to Lee Jae, it was only natural. She had removed the vengeful spirit and was reopening the pathways for his energy to flow, so his body was bound to feel weary.

Besides, he had always suffered from chronic insomnia.

She laid Roderick down on her lap again, letting him sleep comfortably.

However, her expression as she touched the King’s body was very serious.

She even had wrinkles on her fair brow.

The faces of those watching grew increasingly strange.

The two were a married couple, and if one had to pick an animal, it would be the King, but strangely, it felt like the Queen was aggressively pursuing the King.

But after a while, the people were even more embarrassed and lowered their gazes. It was because the King, like last time, grabbed the Queen’s waist and let out a languid groan.

It looked like a large, black wolf was putting its full weight on a small fox, not considering the size difference. This time, the small fox looked very pitiful.

Now, the King’s attendants completely distrusted the Queen’s maids.

They glared at the oblivious Queen’s maids.

“How can those two be so close every time when nothing happened?!”

“Is this how they really work in the Queen’s Palace?!”

Meanwhile, Lee Jae, looking like she was suffocating, laid Roderick down properly and decided to ask something more fundamental.

She called Jade over with a gesture of her lips.

As he approached silently, Lee Jae whispered.

“How long has His Majesty been like this?”

Jade misunderstood her question, and Lee Jae, struggling to express herself, said,

“No. When did his personality become so… bad?”

Unable to express it any better, Lee Jae let out a hollow laugh.

Sensing her difficulty, Jade also cleared his throat.

The Knight Commander, stroking his chin, thought carefully before answering.

“Actually, he has mentioned headaches for quite some time.”

“……Really?”

“Yes, it seems he has occasionally had them since His Late Majesty passed away and he ascended the throne. It hasn’t been this severe for very long.”

Roderick Perus Blake, the 27th King, ascended the throne in 497.

Lee Jae recalled the royal lineage.

So, you’ve been suffering like this for three years.

Amazing, really.

Lee Jae looked at the King’s face, which was peacefully breathing.

As she brushed away the black hair tickling his eyes, he made a sound in his sleep.

Noticing that it was because of the prayer beads bracelet and the amulet hidden in her sleeve, she didn’t remove her hand and placed it on his forehead.

Your Majesty, good thoughts. Good thoughts. Only have those kinds of thoughts. Clear up, head, head!

Lee Jae, who had been stroking his forehead, called the Knight Commander again. She had something she wanted to ask.

“Jade.”

“Yes.”

“Could you spar with His Majesty often, like last time?”

Hearing the unexpected words, Jade’s eyes widened, but soon he made a troubled face.

“But he often becomes much more violent when he holds a weapon…”

“Really?”

Unable to agree or be certain, Lee Jae tilted her head.

She couldn’t easily say not to kill, to put down the weapon, or to hold it.

Because Roderick was born with the physiognomy [facial features believed to reveal character] of a general, the destiny of a king.

“Then take him to Arthur’s Forest often, even if it’s just that. The air is good there. Jade, you’re friends with His Majesty, right?”

Lee Jae spoke to the King as if he were a patient in need of care. It was a kind perspective in its own way, but the Knight Commander made a troubled expression again.

“Your Majesty, that place is restricted to members of the royal family.”

“Ah, that’s right.”

That’s what happens when decades of memories are added to her own.

Tsking, she stroked the deeply sleeping King’s hair a few more times.

It was a touch that soothed the black fur of a barely calmed beast.

However, unlike the soft touch, there was a certain depth in the Queen’s eyes, and Jade stared blankly at the sight.

While Lee Jae was looking at Hailey’s diary again, one of the King’s attendants informed her. Deborah told Lee Jae.

“His Majesty is coming this way.”

Lee Jae immediately shoved the diary under the pillow and got up from the bed.

Soon, a group of people burst into Lee Jae’s room, with Roderick at the center.

Lee Jae saw a couple of spirits following Roderick being repelled and confirmed that the barrier was still intact.

But seeing Roderick slightly frowning, Lee Jae asked.

“Is my father running wild again today?”

Roderick stopped walking, and the King’s attendants flinched.

The King’s attendants glared at the Queen’s maids as if to kill them.

‘How can Her Majesty feed His Majesty like that with such an innocent tone?’

However, the Queen’s maids were generally stronger than the King’s attendants. They were picking their ears. At the center was the undefeated Head Maid, Deborah.

‘Her Majesty seems to be doing better than we thought.’

Having been assigned as maids to the Queen’s Palace, they were destined to share their fate with the Queen anyway.

“It’s nothing like that.”

“Then what brings you here today?”

He looks fine, and he seems to have slept well. Lee Jae looked at him with a curious face.

And while the subordinates continued to engage in meaningless power struggles, Roderick realized that he really had no business here.

It was actually the natural step of a patient regularly visiting the hospital, but it was difficult for Roderick to accurately recognize that fact.

He frowned and soon asked her back.

“Can’t I come to my wife’s room without a reason?”

Then, with a puzzled expression, she smiled faintly and said,

“A gift for a wife with a lover……”

“Just stop at one verse.”

“Yes.”

Sorry for being cheeky again without warning.

“Just like Duncan, you don’t let go once you bite. It’s annoying every time my father-in-law does that, so don’t you do it.”

The King, grinding his teeth, also made her drink water while cursing the family amicably.

But Lee Jae didn’t feel bad at all and laughed, and Roderick was dumbfounded and chuckled at the sight.

Roderick, who had passed Lee Jae and taken a seat first, said.

“Let’s have the tea we couldn’t drink then together.”

It was a word to Lee Jae and at the same time to the maids of the Queen’s Palace.

Lee Jae, who was watching Deborah whisper and one of the maids leaving the room, sat opposite Roderick without a word.

And Roderick, who was waiting for the tea, stared at Lee Jae with clear eyes and suddenly thought of something and said.

“Come here and do that.”

“What is it?”

Roderick frowned again.

“Why, you know, what you used to do in the study. Like pressing cats with their front paws [kneading].”

What is that? After thinking for a long time, Lee Jae was slightly annoyed.

Are you comparing the sacred medical practice of shamans to a cat’s kneading?

I really did my best with my non-existent skills, how can the feedback be like that?

“I couldn’t sleep again.”

“………”

“Your energy didn’t reach me yesterday. You must have been thinking about someone else last night.”

“……For someone who couldn’t sleep, you look quite well. Your complexion is good.”

The people suspiciously watched the King, who had come without business, flirting and the Queen pushing him away.

However, Lee Jae, scratching her forehead and pondering, was troubled.

I don’t know if it’s his thorough rationality that he doesn’t want to lose or his innate intuition. But she felt that he seemed to be finding something strange.

That’s why you shouldn’t do anything noticeable.

On the other hand, as Lee Jae seemed to be wary of him, Roderick let out a shallow sigh.

Knights usually know how to take care of their bodies.

They can put a splint on a broken leg alone, and they can fix a dislocated shoulder themselves. They were a race capable of a certain degree of self-treatment.

But for someone who casually talked about exercise, the Queen’s touch was so…… soft.

Eventually, he took Lee Jae’s hand and looked at it closely.

It was definitely the hand of a noble woman of her age who had never done any rough work, let alone any black work. Even the knuckles that had held the carving knife were still red and swollen. The small hand, which seemed about to blister, even looked pitiful.

But what? Your hobby is really carving?

Frowning, Roderick put her hand down and touched his face.

He looked at Lee Jae and tried to ask something. But he had to pause for a moment.

He tilted his gaze diagonally and said.

“Are you even trying to seduce me?”

“What are you talking about again?”

As Lee Jae didn’t seem to understand, Roderick quietly said, keeping his gaze to the side.

“It’s all undone in the front.”

“……Yes?”

Lee Jae looked down at herself and was startled.

The string that had been tightening the chest area of the dress had been loosened because she had been moving her body while pressing here and there.

Startled, her fingers kept fumbling in the wrong places as she tried to fix her clothes.

When Lee Jae looked back, covering her chest, the King’s attendants all lowered their heads, even though all they could see was the Queen’s back.

Even more ashamed, Lee Jae looked at Deborah with a face begging for help.

Come quickly and do something about this damn complicated dress.

My underwear is showing. Can’t you see my eyes?

We’ve worked quite well together so far!

However, the Head Maid had reached the level of a ghost that was about half a century old, if not as old as a ghost that was hundreds of years old.

Deborah quickly finished assessing the situation and pretended not to notice.

And seeing the very embarrassed Queen and the King ignoring her, the maids were now convinced.

They didn’t sleep together. That’s right, they didn’t sleep together. That’s for sure.

Burning with revenge, they glared at the attendants as if to kill them.

‘Are you doubting our senses? Where are the ones who don’t even have the sense to chop up and boil in soup?!’

And seeing the Head Maid deliberately ignoring the Queen’s desperate face, Roderick chuckled.

‘You’re working hard in a useless direction.’

Clicking his tongue inwardly, Roderick had no choice but to reach out.

And he pushed away Lee Jae’s hand, which was making her clothes even messier.

“Move it.”

He skillfully inserted the string and tightened it slightly. His fingers brushed against the hem of the dress slightly, but he tied the knot and fell away with a fairly neat and quick movement.

After a long silence, Lee Jae had a slightly flushed face.

It was only a little, but she was too ashamed that her underwear had been seen.

She, who was usually obedient, spoke in an unusually firm tone.

“Your Majesty, this is harassment.”

“……What?”

Roderick, who had been dressed properly, muttered, getting cursed instead.

“Then what do you want me to do?”

He spoke curtly, but his gaze was again looking into the distance.

‘Tsk. I guess it’s true that she’s looking at me like I’m a bug.’

“You should have pretended not to know until the end.”

“Then other guys will see.”

“You could have told me in another way?”

He had also told the maids to come and do it. He didn’t say it very loudly.

“Then what, do you want me to write it on paper and fly it like a bird?”

The Queen’s expression was still not good. In fact, she seemed at a loss.

Knowing that he would only become a fool if he made more excuses in front of such a Queen, he simply admitted it.

“Okay, let’s just say it’s my fault.”

“………”

“I was the only son of a bitch.”

“………”

“Hailey, I’m sorry. Say something.”

Lee Jae frowned and said.

“I don’t know. I just hate it so much. I really hate it now.”

“Okay. It’s okay to hate it, but don’t hate it too much. I…… I think I’m better than I was at first.”

Then Lee Jae closed her mouth for a moment.

It was because she felt that he had inadvertently spoken his true feelings.

Trying to regain her already lost composure, she replied.

“Yes. I’m also much better than I was at first.”

“……Okay. Your heart is very frugal [stingy with affection].”

Roderick, who glanced at Lee Jae still fiddling with her clothes, chuckled.