Follow Your Heart [EN]: Chapter 34

#34.

Listening to the ramblings of a vengeful spirit is exhausting.

That also applies to human relationships. Listening to negative and gloomy stories drains anyone’s energy.

Lee Jae sat upright, as if meditating.

But after several hours of endless complaints, she finally sighed.

‘Grandma, do they see me as an easy target? Well, I guess I am.’

Releasing resentment ultimately comes down to comfort and persuasion.

Shamans dance and offer wine during rituals to provide comfort. Unable to do that, Lee Jae decided to persuade.

“Your comrades abandoned you when you were hurt? That’s why you’re so resentful?”

-…Yes.

“I understand how you feel, but why are you taking it out on this person? You died unjustly too, don’t you feel sorry for them?”

“If you keep doing this, not only will you wander in the afterlife, but your family will also suffer the consequences. I’ll pray for you as best as I can, so stop being spiteful and move on.

“If you commit more sins, you won’t be able to leave.”

After hours of listening and persuading, Lee Jae managed to get her agreement.

Indeed, it takes this much stubbornness to fail to find peace and become a vengeful spirit.

Lee Jae placed her hand on the head of the soldier who died young.

This spirit would not escape the consequences of harming the living.

But she spun the bracelet, wishing earnestly in her heart for a long time.

‘Cause and effect, before and after. Every result has a cause.’

‘The chain of causality is broken, and attachment to the world is severed, so there is no heavenly punishment.’

‘Spirit, now fly away.’

Releasing her hand, she watched the spirit fade away.

It still seemed to have some lingering attachments, but much of its resentment had been relieved.

Already exhausted, Lee Jae looked back at the remaining vengeful spirits.

The rest didn’t seem very promising.

As she pondered whether to just destroy them, she made eye contact with one of the spirits.

It was different from the petty spirits who were just being spiteful.

Its eyes were venomous, and blood dripped from its features.

“……You have no intention of leaving peacefully, do you?”

-Do you really think you can go all the way?

Stung to the core, Lee Jae paused.

Evil spirits quickly exploit weaknesses and shake them.

This was why she tried to avoid talking to the vengeful spirits as much as possible.

Making an effort to compose herself, Lee Jae said calmly.

“……Looking at your disposition, even if our Mountain Spirit Grandma came back to life, you wouldn’t have gone easily. You must have had a bad personality from the start.”

In fact, Mountain Spirit Grandma would have immediately brandished her divine blade.

She was accurate in judging what could and couldn’t be done.

Confronting the vengeful spirit, Lee Jae fiddled with her bracelet, deep in thought.

It would be easier if she had more artifacts.

Then, a thought flashed through Lee Jae’s mind.

She hurried to the bed, her gaze fixed on the guardian.

However, Lee Jae, who had lifted both the Great General of Heaven and the Great General of Earth, suddenly hesitated.

She placed the Great General of Heaven back by Roderick’s bedside.

‘He put his wife’s name on it, how can I get rid of this?’

Smiling faintly, she returned to the vengeful spirit. And with a surge of energy, she slammed the Great General of Earth onto the spirit’s instep, as if driving a stake.

The amount of blood flowing increased. It was a gruesome sight, but Lee Jae took out two talismans [paper charms with magical properties] and placed them one by one. One on the forehead, one on the sternum.

Cutting off the spirit’s breath.

“Sokgeo Cheonri, geupgeup yeoyullyeong sabaha [a Buddhist incantation]. Spirit, quickly submit and perish.”

The vengeful spirit shed tears of blood, cursing Lee Jae.

Its malicious cries had a considerable impact on her as well.

But she coughed dryly, glaring at the vengeful spirit until it disappeared.

Convincing herself that if she didn’t waver, she wouldn’t lose.

“Haa……”

Finally, as the spirit vanished, she withdrew her outstretched hands.

Catching her breath, Lee Jae glanced at Roderick, then looked out the still dark window. And then she stared at the remaining vengeful spirits again.

“Let’s see the rest next time. It’s definitely not because I lack the strength. I’m just a little sleepy? Morning…… hasn’t come yet, but it will soon, right?”

It couldn’t be called a victory. She had completely sent two away, but there were still fourteen left.

But Lee Jae, having finished her evaluation match, encouraged and rationalized herself.

“I lost, but I fought well.”

She felt sorry for the Great General of Earth, who was now much uglier than before, and placed it next to the Great General of Heaven. And then she wriggled into bed.

She was quickly becoming drowsy, but she didn’t forget to glare at the wall once.

The human talisman who had warned the vengeful spirits turned over, gently pulling Roderick into her arms as if to shield him from their gaze.

When the king opened his eyes, Lee Jae was once again facing away from him, lost in thought.

Roderick found it quite strange.

It had only been the day before yesterday that he had spent almost every night in this room.

‘Can I really sleep anywhere as long as I have the queen?’

The doubt was turning into certainty.

There were a few other strange things.

The queen was quietly embracing him as usual until he woke up, but her eyes were fixed on a certain spot. A corner of the room.

Roderick wanted to observe her a little more.

However, his wife, whose senses were more developed than those of most knights, noticed that he had woken up without even looking.

“Did you sleep well?”

“Yeah. You?”

“Me too.”

“You’re young, but you strangely don’t sleep in on the weekends.”

Clicking his tongue and stroking her apricot-colored hair, he suddenly stopped.

Roderick jumped up and carefully examined Lee Jae’s face.

“Hey, what’s wrong with your face?”

“What do you mean?”

“You look like you’re dying.”

“……You shouldn’t say such scary things so casually.”

“Hailey. I’m not in the mood for jokes right now.”

He thought her complexion hadn’t looked good last night either.

But it was even worse this morning.

Even her cute lips were chapped and rough.

“You’re going to see to state affairs, right? I’ll just go back to my room.”

“Hailey. We’re talking here.”

Lee Jae got up, pretending not to hear Roderick’s call.

It wasn’t that she wanted to be cold, but she was too tired to have a long conversation.

However, her intention was thwarted when she staggered greatly.

Without a word, Roderick laid Lee Jae back on the bed and called the chamberlain.

The king’s chambers were instantly turned upside down.

The doctor who was summoned from the morning was also familiar to Lee Jae. It was the face she had seen when the king had returned injured from the hunting grounds.

Perhaps because he had suffered a lot at the hands of the king, who was not in his right mind.

The doctor continued to glance at Roderick while examining Lee Jae, bowing obsequiously.

“Your Majesty the Queen, um…… do you have any other pain besides being tired?”

“No. I just felt dizzy for a moment. Doesn’t that happen when you get up suddenly?”

The doctor nodded, but Roderick looked very displeased.

He could let other lies slide, but he couldn’t stand her being dishonest about things like this.

“Hailey. Tell me honestly about these things.”

Lee Jae smiled, despite her tired face.

The king also didn’t accurately tell others about his serious injuries.

Just as he had his reasons, Lee Jae also had her reasons.

And the doctor, while watching the king’s expression, gave a fairly accurate diagnosis.

“There are no particular signs of abnormality. It seems to be due to severe overwork. Have you been overdoing it lately?”

Lee Jae stared at the doctor’s face for a moment.

Admiringly looking at his face, Lee Jae mouthed something to Roderick.

Thinking that there were things she couldn’t say in front of others, Roderick quickly bent down, and she whispered in his ear.

“Your Majesty, he’s a quack.”

Roderick was slightly taken aback.

“I told you this isn’t the time for jokes.”

Meanwhile, the king’s attendants coughed awkwardly, feeling embarrassed.

The queen had looked perfectly fine when she entered the king’s room.

What could the queen have done overnight to be overworked?

People thought that the king lived up to his name as a beast. If he had made the queen like that in just a few hours, the king was definitely a beast.

They were just like the maids, their minds completely rotten.

After the doctor, who had given a few instructions, left, Lee Jae smiled at Roderick, who still had a serious expression on his face.

“Your Majesty.”

“What.”

“Can I go back to my room and rest now?”

This room was not a suitable place for her, who had excellent spiritual senses, to rest.

As Lee Jae slowly got up, Roderick silently picked her up.

Lee Jae was surprised, but Jade, who was also surprised, hurriedly approached.

“Your Majesty, I will escort her.”

“It’s okay. Go do your work.”

Jade was his closest friend and the person he trusted the most.

But Roderick shook his head, feeling inexplicably uncomfortable just thinking about it.

Lee Jae observed the situation and said cautiously.

“Your Majesty, it’s not that my legs hurt.”

“I know.”

“………….”

“What’s the point of having a husband? You can use me too.”

“You’re heavy.”

“Hailey. Let’s please be reasonable. Would you be heavy for me?”

The attendants who were escorting the king were looking around apologetically, but the queen’s maids were nodding with very pleased expressions.

Not using those muscles at times like this was wasting talent.

Lee Jae moved her lips, then bit them slightly. The king’s words to use him bothered her a lot.

He kept those words in his heart.

Meanwhile, Roderick was staring down at her.

He knew that biting her lip was one of the queen’s habits.

A habit that came out when she was very focused or sincere.

He pretended not to notice and changed the subject.

“Duke Duncan has good stamina. Albert Duncan isn’t bad either. How come you don’t resemble them in that way?”

Hailey may be small, but her natural body was healthy. Lee Jae also took good care of herself, and she was a person with more pure energy than anyone else.

It was just that there had been such a fierce battle and persuasion last night.

“How about trying to eat a little more enthusiastically? You only pick at grass every day, that’s why you haven’t grown any taller.”

“Why are you making fun of my height again? It’s not like I didn’t want to grow taller.”

“Am I trying to make fun of you right now…… Haa, never mind.”

Roderick had a troubled expression.

She was sick too often, so he wondered if she was hiding a chronic illness.

Roderick placed Lee Jae on the bed in the queen’s palace and stared at her for a long time before trying to leave the room. He had a schedule to attend to.

But Lee Jae stopped the king because of the ghost.

“Your Majesty.”

After waiting for a while without a word, Roderick asked with his lips.

Why. Speak.

“Could you sleep in my room tonight?”

Roderick was silent for a moment.

The queen was someone who rarely relied on others.

For such a person to say this, she must be feeling really unwell.

Of course, that was a bit of a misunderstanding.

Lee Jae looked closely at that room and reaffirmed how amazing the aura was that the king was born with.

He had endured that torment for years without artifacts or spiritual sight.

But she wanted to rest for at least a day or two, and she didn’t want to leave the king alone in such a place.