Follow Your Heart [EN]: Chapter 83

As His Heart Leads – Episode 83

#83.

Lee Jae awoke from her brief nap because of a ticklish sensation on the back of her neck. King Roderick was hugging her, using his arm as a pillow and burying his face in her neck.

He was completely immersed in Lee Jae’s scent, inhaling it deeply and repeatedly.

“Ugh, what are you doing?” she mumbled, half-asleep.

“I’m stabilizing my mind and body. Or was it, cultivating myself?” he teased.

Ever since she’d confirmed that he felt refreshed by her presence, Roderick often made jokes like that. He really used that line everywhere.

“…That’s not it,” Lee Jae corrected him.

“What do you mean it’s not?”

“It’s just because of the talisman [a charm or amulet believed to have magical powers] and the mantra [a sacred utterance, numinous sound, or a syllable, word, phonemes, or group of words believed to have psychological and spiritual power].”

“That’s strange. I feel at ease when I’m like this, so why are you judging my feelings?”

“…………”

“You told me not to judge your tastes,” Roderick said, glancing at her wooden bracelet and retorting.

Lee Jae, having no comeback, remained still. He grinned slyly at the fox who had exposed her weakness.

He buried his nose in Lee Jae’s neck again, inhaling her scent.

He acted as if it were truly a sedative.

Lee Jae shuddered because it was so ticklish.

‘Why does he always breathe there? Does that spot smell different?’ she wondered.

She was actually still unfamiliar with this kind of pleasure. The feeling of unknown senses awakening was dizzying, and sometimes even frightening. Her restraint seemed to vanish, and she kept succumbing to desire.

Lee Jae was curious.

‘Have people all over the world been sharing love like this? With a burning desire for each other, as if nothing else mattered?’

In the end, unable to bear the ticklish sensation, Lee Jae turned and pushed him away.

“Stop it. It feels weird.”

“Didn’t you know? That’s why I’m doing it, to make you feel weird,” Roderick said with a playful smirk.

When the King started teasing again, Lee Jae glared at him.

“Wow. Just now you said you were doing it to comfort His Majesty. You change your words so quickly?”

“…………”

“Actually, I didn’t believe you either.”

Roderick covered his mouth, suppressing a laugh.

He knew he should stop teasing her.

But the sight of the apricot-colored fox getting angry was too adorable.

He tried to hug Lee Jae and kiss her, but she pushed against his chest, defending herself.

“Uh, uh? Don’t do that? I’m not in the mood.”

“Then I’ll put you in the mood. I’ll try. I can do it well,” he said with a wink.

Lee Jae was so dumbfounded that she momentarily let out a hollow laugh.

He didn’t miss the opportunity and immediately bit her lip.

It was a kiss she had lost count of how many times they had shared.

Since his wife had said she had important things to do in the evening, he continued to soothe his disappointment after their encounter with kisses. They both had the unspoken question of whether it wouldn’t have been better to just do it one more time.

Roderick entangled his tongue with hers for a long time before pulling away.

Then, he wiped her saliva-covered lips with his thumb.

“Tell me honestly.”

“What?”

“Does your saliva have some kind of effect too?”

‘No, what is he talking about now?’ Lee Jae thought, bewildered.

Lee Jae clenched her small fist and trembled.

“Where would something like that be?”

“No, think about it. It must be there,” he insisted.

“I’m telling you, it’s not!” Lee Jae protested, but Roderick said nonchalantly.

“That’s strange. Why wouldn’t it be? I feel like I could fly away just by kissing you. I feel so energized. It must be true.”

“Tears seem to be like that too,” she mumbled.

“Well, that seems to be true too,” he agreed.

He wiped her still-wet eyes once and wiped her lips again.

Then, he glanced down slightly before returning his gaze to its original position.

Lee Jae’s gaze inadvertently followed.

Realizing where his eyes were directed, she couldn’t bear it any longer.

“Ugh, Your Majesty, please stop,” she whined.

The fox finally roared.

However, the roar from behind her hands lacked ferocity.

“Stop what?”

“What kind of perverted things have you been saying since earlier?”

Roderick shrugged.

“You underestimate me too much, my dear. Your husband isn’t just like a pervert. He’s just *a* pervert.”

“Could you… not admit it so easily?” she asked, mortified.

Lee Jae pulled up the blanket with a tearful face and hid.

She could handle most jokes. But her husband was anything but ordinary in bed. He was much more intense than her.

He always gave in to her in normal times, but he never gave in at times like this.

Roderick slightly lifted the blanket and asked, “Why are you hiding again? You said you’re a married woman, so you’re not embarrassed by this kind of thing.”

“No, I was wrong. I’m sorry. This mouth didn’t know its place and acted up,” she mumbled from under the covers.

“Feel free to act up. I’ll do my best,” he replied, a mischievous glint in his eyes.

Lee Jae gritted her teeth.

“I clearly said that Your Majesty shouldn’t try harder here… didn’t I?”

“Why are you leaving out the rest? But I also said that I *would* try harder, didn’t I?” he countered.

“There’s no limit to this imagination,” she muttered.

As he teased her relentlessly, Lee Jae finally couldn’t stand it and slapped his firm arm with her palm.

Then Roderick made an exaggerated “Ugh” sound.

“Now you’re hitting me?”

“…………”

“Aren’t you even going to ask if it hurt?”

“Your Majesty, realistically, would that hurt?” she asked, raising an eyebrow.

Roderick was impressed.

“Ah, your rate of development is dazzling,” he said, feigning admiration.

“…………”

“I want to brag that my wife is this amazing.”

Lee Jae pursed her lips, and Roderick, who had been suppressing a laugh, kissed her temples and cheeks.

He had been teasing, appeasing, and kissing her repeatedly since earlier.

He acted as if he couldn’t help but adore his wife.

Lee Jae, who was frowning at the barrage of kisses, thought, ‘So this is what they call the harmony of sweet and salty. His Majesty has both mischief and kindness.’

‘Huh, but what to do? He’s so sweet that I can’t even get angry when he teases me like that,’ she mused.

The apricot-colored fox, who had a slightly sulky face, eventually attempted the best defense she could. It was escape.

“I’m going to sleep again, so please wake me up in an hour. Or, tell Deborah,” she said, hoping to end the teasing.

Nodding, she pulled the blanket over herself again and completely hid.

The King watched her with great affection and put her in his arms, blanket and all.

He wanted to burrow into the cave with the fox, but then he wouldn’t have the confidence to restrain himself.

Chuckling, he slightly lifted the blanket and opened a breathing hole for the fox.

Lee Jae, who had been writing talismans all night and creating a barrier in her bedroom, was sleeping in late. Roderick, who had come early in the morning, looked at her intently and clicked his tongue.

The night before, the two had argued for a long time.

‘But if you use that, won’t you be bedridden again for a few days?’ he had asked, concerned.

‘It’s okay to write them. I just hope I don’t have to use them,’ she had replied.

‘Are you really okay? I’ll be angry if you lie again this time,’ he warned.

‘I’m telling you, I’m okay,’ she insisted.

‘……Can’t you just not do it?’ he pleaded.

Lee Jae gave him a few talismans with a firm attitude, and the couple ended up sleeping in separate rooms.

Roderick was worried, but since she repeatedly said she was okay, he thought that must be the case. He had no knowledge of this area at all.

But when he came, it seemed like she had lied again.

If she was really okay, there was no way her face would be so pale again.

“What am I going to do with you?” he murmured.

He sat by the bed and listened to her breathing.

He wondered if her body was cold again, so he put the back of his hand on various places.

Then he took her small hand.

Lee Jae was startled and opened her eyes when someone intertwined their fingers with hers while she was sleeping. She looked like a child having a seizure in her sleep. Confused, she mumbled when she realized the culprit was her husband.

“Why are you bothering someone who’s sleeping well?”

“Were you surprised? Sorry,” he said softly.

Instead of answering, Lee Jae rubbed her face against the back of his hand and buried it there.

Roderick suppressed a low chuckle as she whined.

She looked like a baby fox throwing a tantrum.

But in reality, it was a plea not to be touched.

“I was worried. Sleep more,” he said gently.

“…No, I’m going to get up,” she protested weakly.

“Don’t do that, let’s sleep a little more. Huh?”

“…………”

“It’s okay. Sleep more,” he coaxed.

Roderick patted Lee Jae’s chest.

And finally, when Lee Jae made regular breathing sounds, he carefully placed a pillow behind her head.

He looked down at the softly breathing Lee Jae and let out a deep sigh.

He felt that her condition was really different from usual.

Putting his wife, who had a developed sense of energy, to sleep was not an easy task in the first place.

She didn’t have much sleep to begin with, and once she woke up, she rarely went back to sleep.

She would start her day with meditation early in the morning. It seemed like she had a belief that she had to purify her body and mind by waking up early.

But she quickly fell asleep again and didn’t even notice when he put the pillow in.

If that was the case, it was certain that she wasn’t feeling well.

‘I told you not to lie, but you really don’t listen,’ he thought, frustrated.

Roderick felt very bad. It wasn’t because she had lied again.

It was because he felt like he had become an incompetent husband using his wife as a shield.

Even when he was being called a tyrant because of Gwangjong [a Korean king known for his ruthless reforms] and was falling apart day by day, he didn’t feel this miserable. He found this situation, where his wife was trying to volunteer to suffer in his place, much harder to bear.

Roderick straightened her hair, kissed her forehead, and got out of bed.

Then he slowly looked around the room.

Perhaps because there was no need to hide it anymore, Lee Jae had placed talismans everywhere in sight.

He looked closely at each of the patterns. He still couldn’t understand their meaning, but he could feel that the energy of the room had stabilized.

Roderick nodded and headed to the table this time.

Lee Jae’s recent interests were piled up on the table.

He picked them up one by one: a handwritten copy of an ancient book passed down only to the royal family, talismans whose meaning he couldn’t understand, five carving knives and an unfinished sculpture, and even Hailey Duncan’s diary.

‘I think she said there were more than ten volumes. Why are there only this many?’ he wondered.

It was a diary of the past three years.

The rest were all in the study, and the reason why Lee Jae kept looking at the diaries of the past three years was because that time was floating [likely referring to a period of instability or uncertainty].

Puzzled, Roderick picked up the diary and returned to the bed.