Follow Your Heart [EN]: Chapter 24

#24.

After that, Roderick continued talking to Lee Jae.

His words danced between a playful provocation and a lighthearted flirtation.

To onlookers, it seemed like a boy teasing a girl he liked, testing the waters to gauge her reaction.

He appeared mischievous, yet genuinely happy.

“Hailey, should I catch something for you?”

“Why do you keep offering to catch something for me? I’m not particularly interested in that sort of thing.”

*Do you even know how terrifying it is to stumble upon a snake while foraging for herbs in the mountains?*

Roderick looked like he didn’t quite grasp her point.

“Are there really men who return from the hunt empty-handed to their wives… are they perhaps… lacking in some way?”

“Then, is *Your Majesty* not lacking?”

Roderick chuckled, flicking Lee Jae’s forehead with his index finger.

“Hey. Did you think I wouldn’t notice you subtly insulting me like that?”

Lee Jae shrugged, a playful smile on her face.

Roderick studied her intently, then asked with a touch of caution, “Then, do you *want* me to win?”

Of course, Lee Jae wanted him to win. In this solitary battle against the vengeful spirits that plagued him.

But what he was asking was clearly different from what she was thinking; a separate, unspoken contest.

“Win what?”

“Tournaments are competitions, are they not?”

“Ah.”

It seemed there was another contest, a subtle battle of wills, unfolding between them.

Lee Jae wore a complicated expression.

The King wasn’t usually someone who would accumulate karma through mere hunting.

He held the lives of countless people in his hands and was born riding a wave of immense power. If the Emperor’s seat was the sea, then hunting wouldn’t even fill a ditch.

But as long as he was suffering from vengeful spirits, this meaningless killing wouldn’t be beneficial for him right now.

*How should she phrase this?*

As Lee Jae subtly bit her lip, Roderick’s eyes sharpened, his playful demeanor fading.

“…Your Majesty, may I be honest with you?”

“Yeah, go ahead.”

“I want to tell you to take it easy, just enough to preserve your pride.”

“Okay.”

“But I won’t say that.”

“What? Why?”

“Because you sit on the throne. You must have your own reasons. I don’t truly understand such complicated matters.”

“………….”

“So, the only answer I can give you is to return safe and sound.”

After speaking, Lee Jae offered a faint smile, and Roderick gazed at her with an unreadable expression.

It was at that moment.

As the people preparing for the hunt grew even more boisterous, Lee Jae inadvertently turned her gaze.

She paused, her eyes fixed on a particular spot.

The Queen’s reaction was so peculiar that Roderick followed her gaze.

He clicked his tongue in annoyance.

Hailey’s old lover was standing there, watching them.

“…Lawrence.”

Lee Jae felt her heart plummet at the sight of the handsome man.

This was clearly Hailey’s memory resurfacing.

But even if Lawrence hadn’t been present in this incomplete memory, would Lee Jae have failed to recognize him?

Just as strong resentment creates vengeful spirits, the deep emotions of the past still lingered within Hailey’s body.

“Hailey. Are you alright?”

As the Queen’s eyes trembled severely, Roderick immediately dismounted his horse.

Tears streamed down Lee Jae’s face before she even realized it.

Hearing the murmurs of the surrounding crowd, Lee Jae belatedly realized she shouldn’t be behaving this way.

But the tears continued to flow uncontrollably.

She quickly lowered her head, touching her sleeve with her hand as if checking it, while Roderick immediately stepped in front of her, shielding her from view.

“Hailey.”

“………….”

“Look at me.”

But Lee Jae, still unable to stem the tide of tears, couldn’t lift her head.

She spoke, her voice trembling slightly, “I made a big mistake… I’m sorry.”

“………….”

“Are you in trouble because of me right now? I’m truly sorry.”

Looking at her, Roderick was overcome with a different sentiment than before.

He felt a pang of complicated emotions. It pained him that she kept apologizing, even as she wept.

*What great sin did you commit that you apologize first, even while crying?*

He lightly embraced Lee Jae’s shoulders, offering comfort.

And he said in a playful tone, “It’s okay. It seems like only about thirteen people saw it. You did well.”

“………….”

“Our Queen, you’re more resourceful than I thought.”

Lee Jae, still teary-eyed, burst into laughter at the King’s joke and bit her lip.

“Thirteen people saw me crying; how is that okay? Your Majesty sometimes says the strangest things.”

“You laughed when you heard that, so there must be no problem with what I said.”

Roderick said to Lee Jae, who was burying her face in his chest.

“Wipe your tears on my clothes. Don’t blow your nose… I’ll let it slide. Yeah, just wipe your nose too.”

“…I didn’t have a runny nose.”

He chuckled, and when the wriggling stopped, he asked, “Are you done wiping?”

“Yes.”

“Okay, then you can lift your head now. Like nothing happened, with a smile.”

Lee Jae, having calmed her face a bit, finally lifted her eyes.

And when she smiled awkwardly, Roderick chuckled.

“There’s a saying about what happens when you laugh after crying.”

Roderick glanced at her and continued, a mischievous glint in his eyes.

“I wonder if I can check it out before I die.”

Lee Jae was dumbfounded and glared at him.

“I can’t believe a person could be such a pervert…”

“I’m truly glad I married Your Majesty.”

This time, Roderick burst out laughing.

“You seem to be doing better since you’re making jokes like that.”

However, Lee Jae apologized once again.

There were many scandals surrounding the royal marriage, and the union between the Duncan family and the royal family was a major concern in itself.

Of course, a loveless political marriage and this level of public display were quite perplexing.

But this was a formal occasion, and she was the Queen.

“I’m sorry. I think I made a big mistake. And you may not trust my words very much, but… I didn’t do it on purpose either.”

“Yeah. I said it’s okay. Hey, don’t make me say the same thing over and over again.”

However, as the shadow of guilt did not disappear from the Queen’s face, he chuckled and bent down, lowering his head to her level.

“Hailey. Then I’ll have to create an even bigger topic of conversation for the people.”

Roderick gently grabbed her cheeks.

As his face drew closer, Lee Jae blinked and instinctively shrank her neck back. It was a position right before a kiss.

“It’s all your father’s and my responsibility. I admit that too. But you also have a bit of responsibility today, so let’s cooperate together?”

After saying that, the King thought to himself, *It seems like a bit of a cheap excuse.*

But as Lee Jae nodded slightly, he immediately gently pressed his lips to hers.

This time, even more people than before, that is, everyone gathered here, were glancing at the scene.

They were somewhat surprised that the King and Little Duncan could become so affectionate just a month after their marriage.

Roderick tried to part after only touching his lips a few times, like a bird pecking.

But once he felt her breath, he was too reluctant to leave.

He gently wrapped his arms around her neck, deepening the kiss.

When he opened his lips and intertwined his tongue with hers, Lee Jae flinched slightly.

Roderick also paused for a moment, but soon chuckled at the signal Lee Jae sent by gently stroking his back.

Roderick explored her mouth, gently teasing.

They mixed each other’s saliva little by little and licked each other’s tongues as if scratching them with the tips of their tongues.

A kiss that wasn’t intense but felt incredibly good.

He tapped Lee Jae’s cheek and got back on his horse, honestly admitting, “Actually, it’s an excuse.”

“………….”

“I just wanted to do it.”

“………….”

“I’m leaving.”

Lee Jae was blankly watching him disappear.

The people following the King glanced back at her.

The people who remained were also the same.

Some people were blushing, averting their eyes.

Roderick said it was okay, but Lee Jae actually knew exactly what he was doing.

He just embraced her without asking anything, offering comfort and support.

She felt very sorry and incredibly grateful.

And this feeling was not a legacy left by Hailey, but entirely Lee Jae’s own.

“Your Majesty!”

A person could not keep up with the speed of a horse.

When Roderick turned around at the shout calling him, the Queen was running hard, her skirts billowing behind her.

Roderick felt a bit strange.

Because it was the first time he had seen a woman who seemed like she would walk around like a priest or scholar her whole life running with such abandon.

He scratched the end of his eyebrow a little and drove the horse closer.

*Why?*

As the King asked with his mouth, she hesitated and took something out of her right arm. It was her crude wooden bracelet, which she cherished more than the gold he had given her.

Lee Jae carefully took Roderick’s hand holding the reins and handed him the rosary bracelet.

Roderick laughed and swept back his hair. He looked like he was going crazy, a mixture of amusement and affection in his eyes.

“Are you giving away what you cherish again? Then what’s left for you?”

The Queen would wake up early in the morning and meditate for a while, then make something in her spare time, pouring her heart into her creations.

Roderick would often stick out his tongue at her, marveling at her ability to maintain her sharp focus without bending her back even once while concentrating for a long time.

Because if he talked to her at that time, she would sometimes look embarrassed and look around, flustered by the interruption.

But strangely enough, she keeps giving him what she worked so hard to make, offering him her most prized possessions.

“Our Queen is not greedy at all.”

“But I hope you’ll give this back to me when you come back.”

“Ah, is that so?”

*That’s my favorite item.*

*In fact, Your Majesty can’t use it even if you have it.*

“But why are you giving this to me now?”

Roderick asked because he truly couldn’t understand her motivations.

“Because… I have nothing else to give you right now.”

At that moment, there was something that only Lee Jae could see, but even Lee Jae didn’t see it because they were facing each other.

The miraculous light from her heart wrapped around the bracelet on the King’s hand once and disappeared, a silent blessing.

Roderick chuckled.

Because he roughly understood what she meant. She wanted to give him something, but since there was nothing else readily available, she was taking out and giving him what she cherished the most.

The fact that she gave him several handkerchiefs and that she was now taking this out and giving it to him meant that she was deeply worried about his safety.

“Okay, thank you so much for the loan.”

The King smiled pleasantly and grabbed Lee Jae’s shoulder once, a gesture of affection and gratitude.

He also swept her apricot-colored hair once, his touch gentle and reassuring.

Then his lips came into view again, but he tried hard to look away, resisting the urge to kiss her again.

“I’m leaving. You be careful and go in too.”

He drove the horse again and disappeared into the deep forest this time, embarking on his hunt.