Follow Your Heart [EN]: Chapter 49

#49.

The reception room of the Queen Consort had become quite crowded lately.

Not only Roderick but even Lee Jae was finding this situation strange.

“How many are left?”

“There are still five people waiting.”

“That’s going to take a while.”

However, the Queen Consort’s maids, including Deborah, deeply understood this situation.

The reason was the Queen Consort’s attitude of listening to everything.

The receptions were gradually becoming a place for discussion and consultation, rather than just petitions.

There were even noble ladies who came simply to unburden themselves and feel relieved.

“Your Majesty, I recently built a large new residence in my territory…”

“Oh? You must be wealthy.”

“Oh, no, not at all. I spent all the money I had.”

Lee Jae chuckled, wondering why he was so surprised when being rich was generally considered a good thing.

Earl Skinner, scratching his head, said,

“Actually, I’ve been wanting to see Your Majesty for some time, but you haven’t been receiving visitors lately.”

“Yes, I’ve been a bit under the weather… But where did you build it?”

Lee Jae even used a map to help him consider the location.

“There’s a mountain behind it and it faces a river. It’s the best spot.”

“Is that so?”

“Originally, all our civilizations sprouted around rivers, didn’t they?”

Usually, such a place was considered auspicious in both the East and the West.

However, Lee Jae soon made an ambiguous expression. She pointed to the west of the residence.

“But it seems there are many graves on this side.”

“Yes, that’s true.”

Lee Jae was someone who avoided going near graveyards, even by mistake.

But that was only for people like her who could see and hear things [referring to her spiritual abilities].

Just because there’s a graveyard nearby doesn’t necessarily mean it’s an inauspicious place.

The important thing is whether that person can overcome that energy or not.

If you go to the market street, there are spots where stores keep changing hands.

However, there are people who make a lot of money even in those spots.

A person who enters a place with strong energy either becomes very successful or goes bankrupt.

Lee Jae narrowed her eyes and stared at Earl Skinner’s face for a long time.

Earl Skinner had the typical countenance of a civil official or an artist.

This meant he might be somewhat sensitive, and he even had to be careful about his health in middle age.

“How’s your sleep?”

“Pardon?”

The Earl asked back, but Lee Jae suddenly started pressing him like someone possessed.

“I’m asking if you’re sleeping well.”

The Earl hesitated.

“I don’t have any problems, but actually, my daughter…”

Lee Jae nodded.

He wanted to say that ever since they moved, he felt like things weren’t going well, and even his daughter was like that.

Even if people only hinted at such things, the Queen Consort always understood them like a ghost.

“Are there no spare rooms? Or other residences?”

“There are guest rooms, but they’re just for guests.”

Lee Jae scoffed in absurdity.

“What does that matter?”

“I have to ask my daughter. Actually, your daughter might feel more comfortable just by laying her head in a different place. That’s how people’s minds work.”

“……Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Actually, you’re worried about what others might think, aren’t you?”

He couldn’t possibly ignore such words.

After that, the Earl began to pour out his worries to the Queen Consort.

Lee Jae simply listened.

But for some reason, the Earl felt an urge to offer money.

“Did she have her debutante ball [a formal coming-of-age celebration for young noblewomen]? My memory isn’t very good.”

“No. She’s still young.”

“Still, if she doesn’t mind, bring her along sometime. I’d like to meet her too.”

“……That would be a great honor.”

Even after the Earl left, the line of receptions continued.

The maids looked at the nobles with very strange eyes.

It was because they were all just rambling on about trivial things.

It was almost like reading letters from the heart.

“My parents are against it, and they won’t listen to me.”

“They looked good together at the party, why?”

“………”

“If it’s not meant to be, it’s not meant to be anyway. Did you think you could force them apart? Are you perhaps making fun of my love life right now?”

However, the nobles who had requested the reception only nodded as if they had been stabbed in the heart and returned.

Deborah glared at the nobles with a very displeased expression.

Why are those people relieving their stress here?

“Your Majesty, are you alright?”

“Huh? I’m a bit tired.”

Lee Jae tilted her head, wondering, ‘How did it come to this?’

There was no point in questioning it. It was just her fate.

She drank the water that Deborah handed her.

“Please take it easy.”

“Was I too proactive?”

“……Yes, a little. Your Majesty doesn’t need to listen to such trivial personal matters.”

Lee Jae chuckled. In fact, she had held back a lot of words.

She was worried about what people would think, and it was her habit to hold back even in situations that were obvious.

Because no one wants to hear about a bad future.

“I was so engrossed because it was interesting. And when you talk like this, big problems can become small problems.”

Deborah nodded with a very complicated feeling.

“Who’s next?”

“……Duke Duncan.”

Deborah had actually been dragged away by the King and given strict instructions.

The lecture was long, but the conclusion was short.

She was told to prevent a private meeting. He said that if his precious little bean [a term of endearment] got to hear harsh words again, he would shoot them all.

But the Queen Consort was someone who sometimes had strange stubbornness.

The King knew that very well.

“Tell him to come in.”

“Your Majesty.”

“Hmm?”

Deborah squeezed her eyes shut once and then opened them.

“Let’s meet in a place where there are people this time.”

“………”

“If you allow it, I will do my best to defend you, even if I am lacking. Or, how about pretending to collapse in the middle? I’ll coordinate well.”

Lee Jae stared intently at Deborah.

She smiled with a strange face and gestured for her to come a little closer.

After hesitating, Lee Jae whispered in a very small voice.

“But there’s never been a private meeting in the first place.”

Deborah flinched.

“……Your Majesty.”

Since Little Duncan had entered the royal palace, it was a fact that anyone in the palace could infer that the King would be monitoring her.

However, the fact that spies were hidden in the reception room was top secret.

Deborah hadn’t learned about it through official channels either.

Lee Jae tilted her head as if she didn’t understand.

“Actually, His Majesty doesn’t seem to have completely hidden it from me either. Maybe he leaked it on purpose.”

The King had come to her the day she had a private meeting with the Duke.

Lee Jae couldn’t shake the feeling that he knew all the details of their conversation.

There was nothing particularly problematic in their official conversation, but he was overly concerned about her. He kept asking how she was feeling and wanted to comfort her.

But that wasn’t the only reason Lee Jae learned about the existence of spies.

Restless spirits were wandering around the reception room.

Since they weren’t harmful spirits, Lee Jae left them alone. However, sometimes she followed their gaze and realized that there were listening ears.

“Deborah, that’s not what I’m curious about.”

“Then what is Your Majesty curious about?”

“I’m wondering if Father really doesn’t know about it.”

“………”

“I’m not questioning Deborah. I really don’t know and want to ask for advice.”

“………”

“As you know, I’m very weak in these areas.”

The King often said that the Queen Consort was quick-witted.

At this moment, the head maid could only deeply sympathize with the King’s words.

Deborah swallowed hard.

“Your Majesty, I don’t think he knows. If he knew, he wouldn’t have asked for a private meeting. Of course, he might have done it to provoke Your Majesty’s displeasure, but…”

At that moment, a thought flashed through Deborah’s mind.

“Your Majesty, are you trying to test something?”

“Yes. You’re quick-witted.”

“I’m fifty years old too.”

Lee Jae chuckled.

“Deborah, I’m sorry for bringing this up. I know my words are a burden to you.”

“……No, Your Majesty. It’s an honor.”

Deborah could only wish her success in achieving her goals.

“Your Majesty, I will be outside.”

And she whispered.

“They are in those places. That’s what I know. If you ever feel in danger, shout and run towards those places. I apologize for saying this, but those people are there to protect Your Majesty.”

As Deborah pointed out the exact locations with a gesture, Lee Jae wiped her hands on her skirt.

Then she lightly grabbed and released the tips of her fingers.

The meeting with the Duke continued the previous conversation.

Because Lee Jae had no intention of listening at all.

But when the Duke, unable to bear it any longer, requested a private meeting once again, Lee Jae readily nodded.

She opened her mouth as if she had been waiting.

“Father. About the accident that happened in the fall of the year before last.”

“Have you finally come to your senses?”

Lee Jae tilted her head and looked at the Duke.

It was because she wanted to gauge whether the Duke was sincere now.

“Well, I have no power.”

“Was there anything strange?”

“It’s not that… First, I want to talk about what happened last summer.”

Lee Jae, staring intently at the Duke raising the corners of his lips, sighed heavily. It was because she had found a piece of sincerity in his face.

It was you.

You were the one who killed His Majesty’s fiancées.

Hailey, you knew that too.

She covered her face in the middle of the private meeting.

At that moment, the King was focusing all his attention on the Queen Consort and the Duke’s private meeting.

His wife was always mature, but when she talked about the past, she would become an abandoned child. He was restless, worried that the Queen Consort would be hurt again.

The surveillance had long turned into protection.

However, the conversation log that Jade brought contained content that was completely different from what the King had expected.

“The Duke did it?”

“……It seems that Her Majesty the Queen Consort also knew.”

Roderick’s face hardened, and he couldn’t take his eyes off the conversation log for a while.

Contrary to Lee Jae’s thoughts, the King was completely unaware that he had shown his feelings to her.

Rather than schemes or political tactics, his worrying heart came first.

As soon as he received the report that day, he couldn’t stop his hasty steps towards Lee Jae.

The King, who had been agonizing with his forehead covered, sighed and leaned back on the chair. The agony grew longer.

Before he knew it, the sun was setting outside the window, and the day was ending.

Roderick looked at the sunset.

When the captain of the guard, who had been waiting, tried to call him, the King said.

“Cover it up.”

“……Your Majesty.”

“Bury it for now.”

Jade shook his head because he couldn’t agree.

“Your Majesty, this is not a matter to be taken lightly. And it’s a golden opportunity to suppress the anti-royal faction.”

“If you stir this up, the Queen Consort will get hurt too.”

“……Your Majesty, as you can see from the conversation log, Her Majesty the Queen Consort was clearly aware of it.”

The King knew it too. The Queen Consort was the one who brought it up first.

Roderick was also concerned about that fact, but he had to protect his wife. He was the only one who could protect his wife.

“Then what should the Queen Consort have done? At that time, the Queen Consort was nineteen years old. Should she have come to the castle, requested an audience with me, and reported her own father?”

“……In principle, that’s right.”

Roderick said irritably.

“Don’t say such ridiculous things. What’s wrong with her? The Queen Consort’s only fault is that she was born into that family. It’s not even a fault, it’s just… my wife’s misfortune.”

“Your Majesty.”

Roderick became increasingly angry as he spoke and roughly swept his hair back.

“So, are you trying to tell me to abandon my wife now?”

“………”

“Keep this matter confidential.”

Roderick shoved the report into the drawer and locked it with a key.

It was late at night when Deborah came to see the King.