Follow Your Heart [EN]: Chapter 58

As if Roderick wasn’t fully awake, he splashed water on his face a few times and said,

“I’ll say it in advance, I was even more surprised today.”

The King’s voice was very hoarse.

“Why are you drinking water like that?”

“……Did you see?”

“………….”

“I had hiccups.”

The hiccups had stopped by now. However, there was no way to confirm whether it was from drinking water or from being too surprised.

“But why are you drinking like that?”

“……Don’t you know this?”

“It’s the first time I’ve seen someone do that.”

“I think I’ve seen birds pecking like that.”

He seemed dumbfounded by his own words, and he chuckled while brushing back his hair.

Then, he soon noticed a strange object placed on one side of the room.

It was a liquor bottle and a glass, about one-third empty. He tilted his head, looking suspicious, and asked.

“Did you, by any chance, drink alcohol?”

Lee Jae smiled awkwardly and tried to go to the bed, but he was fully awake and getting up from the bed.

Roderick quickly scanned the liquor bottle and strode towards her.

Lee Jae reflexively leaned her upper body back, but he didn’t care and leaned his face close.

As she stumbled backward, he quickly supported her back.

But he already had one eyebrow raised.

“You really drank.”

“……Yes.”

Roderick was a little dumbfounded and puzzled.

“But you drank alone?”

“……Yes.”

“At this hour?”

“……Yes.”

“On the floor?”

“………….”

“Without any snacks?”

She had nothing to say and closed her mouth, and he kept smelling around her face. It didn’t seem like she drank much.

However, Lee Jae’s face was gradually flushing.

He took her to the bed for now.

Perhaps because she was getting drunk, she staggered slightly.

Roderick sat Lee Jae on the bed and stared at her face, resting his chin on his hand.

Her face was already red up to her neck, and the more he thought about it, the more absurd it seemed.

“Hailey.”

“Yes.”

“Then you should have eaten something while drinking.”

*What kind of shaman performs an exorcism while eating snacks?*

“You barely eat as much as a bird, where did you learn such bad habits?”

*From our Great Spirit Grandmother. She’s top-tier in the industry.*

“But you, couldn’t you not drink?”

The credibility of the report had already fallen to the bottom, even piercing through the ground, but Roderick clearly remembered reading that.

And at that moment, Lee Jae belatedly heard the bell of realization ringing.

The problem was that she didn’t have the mental余裕 [mental余裕: mental leeway or composure] to even consider such things.

“Ah, were you just not drinking?”

“I… don’t drink?”

“What to do.”

“………….”

“Hey, you’re very drunk.”

However, Lee Jae’s expression was gradually turning into despair.

Even if her life is unfortunate, what is she supposed to do if a shaman can’t even drink a couple of glasses of alcohol? Even if life is unfair, how can she handle such a handicap without any ritual tools?

She only reached out to one spirit, but why does she have to realize this unfortunate fact?

As Lee Jae frowned and lowered her head, Roderick let out a hollow laugh.

The Queen originally had a gloomy face sometimes.

But now it was much more honestly 드러나서 [deureonaseo: revealed or shown], like a sulky child. *So you do sulk.*

Noticing that she was getting tipsy, he asked more gently than usual.

“Did you suddenly want to try drinking?”

“Yes.”

“Then you can drink with me, why are you doing this alone at dawn? It makes me feel bad.”

“………….”

“You don’t have to drink in secret. What’s the big deal?”

Lee Jae nodded several times.

Roderick, who was staring at her, got up from the bed and brought water.

And he put it against her flushed cheeks a couple of times before handing it over.

Fortunately, this time she drank like a person, not a bird, and Roderick took the empty glass and placed it on the bedside table.

“What, is there some other worry?”

Roderick was lost in thought for a moment.

*She ran away after seeing Laurence last time, did she suddenly remember that? If that was the reason, he would be a little annoyed.* Roderick decided to find another reason instead.

“Did you hate it because I acted too beastly earlier?”

Lee Jae, who had been refusing to answer, shook her head firmly at that and replied.

“It’s not that.”

“Then why did you do that? Huh?”

Lee Jae, who had been looking down, suddenly spread out her palms.

And she looked at her palm lines for the first time in a while.

“Why? Is there something there?”

“There’s a future here.”

“But what should I do?”

“What is it?”

“I can’t see even an inch ahead. It’s a pitch-black future.”

“……What am I going to do with you, really.”

Roderick ended up laughing so hard that he covered his forehead.

Lee Jae protested with a sulky face, as if it was too much.

“Why are you laughing? I’m very serious right now.”

Roderick continued to chuckle and said.

“Do you have to ask? I’m laughing because you’re serious.”

Lee Jae lowered her eyes with a gloomy face and said.

“Your Majesty, but I’m sleepy now.”

Roderick laid her down on the bed as she was and covered her with a blanket.

“Okay, sleep for now, and I’ll deal with you later.”

“Um, no. People who say they’ll deal with you aren’t scary.”

“Oh, is that so. How brave of you.”

“Because tomorrow is another day. I’m okay. Don’t worry about me.”

Roderick was speechless.

But Lee Jae, who was curled up, wriggled and burrowed under his shoulder.

As she placed her arm on his chest, Roderick scratched the end of his eyebrow.

“You’re driving me crazy in so many ways.”

He hugged Lee Jae and stroked her back.

The atmosphere in the Queen’s Palace was slightly chilly.

Roderick, who came out early in the morning, scanned the faces of the people in the hallway, and the Knight Commander voluntarily reported himself.

Jade regretted that he should have called the Head Maid.

But beyond his senses, there was something he wanted to do well for the Queen.

Unable to scold them in front of the people, the King dragged Jade to the opposite hallway.

“If the Queen says she wants to drink, wake me up.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Or at least you should have drunk with her.”

“………….”

“How can you let the Queen drink alone at dawn?”

*But Your Majesty used to do that often too.*

*No, and logically, how can I enter the royal couple’s bedroom in the middle of the night?*

But Roderick had a very annoyed face.

“Do I have to mention the accident that happened to the Queen again now?”

“……I was short-sighted.”

Roderick sighed and brushed back his hair.

“Why did she ask for it?”

“……She just said she couldn’t sleep.”

“She can’t sleep?”

The King was actually thinking that the Queen might be like that.

He had seen her awake two or three times, and he had experienced such things more than others.

What annoyed him was that the Queen didn’t seem to have the stamina to endure it at all.

“What did you guys say? Didn’t you stop her?”

Roderick started interrogating the conversation from then on.

“We asked if she was having a hard time……”

“If she was overdoing it…… at night……”

“The Head Maid was changing shifts at that time.”

Roderick was so dumbfounded that he looked at the air and laughed.

He had already received direct criticism from his friend once or twice, and he had many ears listening.

“These guys are even doing that to the Queen……”

He pretended to kick Jade’s shin and then stopped.

“I know what kind of misunderstandings you guys have, but even if that were the case, would the Queen, with her personality, tell you dark guys anything?”

“………….”

“Are they completely crazy?”

*No, honestly, you’re not completely innocent, are you? We also had visual evidence that we couldn’t help but think that way last night. Besides, that position is reminiscent of something…… Ah, never mind—.*

Such rumors had been spreading throughout the castle for a long time.

When the Queen goes into the bedroom with the King, she can’t function the next day. They even said that because the King wanted to sleep in the Queen’s bedroom, she asked if she could sleep in the King’s room instead.

But there was no need to scratch the King’s 심사 [simsa: mood or temper] by saying such things.

Jade wisely changed the subject.

“But Her Majesty the Queen said that you are kind and a good person who cares about everything.”

Roderick raised one eyebrow. After a moment of silence, he said.

“……I thought you had a drinking party, but now I see you had a party with nice words.”

It was a blunt tone, but the King definitely seemed to be feeling a little better.

Actually, he looked proud.

“Anyway, don’t say such things.”

“……Yes.”

“You guys think you look better when you smile.”

“………….”

“No matter how kindly you smile, you guys look scary to people. The Queen was scared of me at first too.”

Jade wanted to refute the King’s words this time.

“She didn’t seem to find us difficult at all. She seemed to like us more.”

In fact, the Queen made sure to say something to each of them before going in. She even told the knight with the best physique that he had a very nice nose and asked if he had a girlfriend.

*We thought Her Majesty the Queen liked him? Honestly, we’re still suspicious.*

Roderick raised his foot again, and Jade, feeling the sincerity this time, subtly dodged.

Lee Jae was sleeping soundly with her face flushed here and there.

Many people were standing against the wall with their heads bowed, and she flinched as soon as she opened her eyes.

The King was looking down at her with his arms crossed.

“Hailey.”

“………….”

“As you said, today’s sun has just risen.”

“………….”

“Now, on top of nosebleeds, you’re getting sick from alcohol?”

The King chuckled at her embarrassed face. He pulled up a chair and sat down.

“Do you remember?”

“Of course. I’m sorry.”

“That’s okay. Let’s talk.”

Lee Jae felt considerable pressure, but he didn’t seem particularly angry.

“Why did you suddenly drink? You don’t usually drink, do you?”

“………….”

“Did you want to test your limits?”

“……I guess so. I was a mess, wasn’t I?”

He shook his head and said nonchalantly.

“I thought I was crazy. What am I supposed to do if that’s cute?”

Roderick, who once kept his 광중 [gwangjung: infatuation or obsession] a secret, freely admitted that he was crazy. And admitting it made him very comfortable.

Lee Jae, feeling unnecessarily guilty, apologized even though he wasn’t being sarcastic.

“I’m sorry.”

“Didn’t you hear what I just said?”

He gently stroked her face, which looked like it had heat rash, with the back of his hand and said.

“But Hailey. I don’t usually stop you from doing things like this, but don’t drink in the future. At this point, your body can’t handle it.”

“……Yes. It seems so.”

Lee Jae nodded in agreement.

However, having gained a significant weakness as a shaman, she made a walnut chin [walnut chin: a gesture of resting one’s chin on their hand while deep in thought or worry] with a gloomy look.