Follow Your Heart [EN]: Chapter 99

#99.

After the maids and knights had left the reception hall, Lee Jae’s expression turned serious.

She gazed thoughtfully at the Duke, lost in her own reflections.

The Duke, who had been observing Lee Jae, broke the silence. “Is there something more you wish to discuss?”

Despite the unrequested private meeting, the Duke didn’t appear particularly disturbed.

He, too, seemed to have matters he wished to discuss away from prying eyes.

The atmosphere between the two, as they locked eyes, was markedly different from before.

Both sensed that the other possessed some hidden knowledge.

If that were the case, the conversation would need to delve deeper.

Lee Jae initiated the exchange. “Father, I have a question.”

“……”

“Why were you so determined to send Brother to the Western border?”

“Isn’t it all for the good of the family? The Duncan family’s influence has waned in recent years, and your brother’s assignment was simply a consequence of being a Duncan.”

*Is that truly the whole story?*

*Then why does your expression betray a sense of lingering guilt?*

*Why does it keep shifting like that?*

Lee Jae neither confirmed nor denied his statement, but continued to scrutinize the Duke’s face.

“But Father, our family now faces something of greater importance.”

The Duke’s gaze sharpened, his voice resonating throughout the spacious reception hall.

“Historically, whenever such a moment has arisen, our Duncans have always made the right choices.”

“……”

“Now it is your turn to make the right decision for the family.”

At that moment, fragments of ancient texts flashed through Lee Jae’s mind.

*-At the height of the Three Years’ War, the Duncan family was the first to surrender to the Allied forces.*

*-The Duncans never make the wrong choice.*

Lee Jae understood why they had consistently made the right choices.

It was because a seer resided within their family.

The Duncans possessed advance knowledge of the war’s outcome.

Lee Jae decided to reveal one of her cards in an attempt to uncover the truth. “How did you know that now is such a moment, Father?”

“……So, it was you.”

A fleeting look of satisfaction crossed the Duke’s face, but Lee Jae evaded a direct response and pressed on. “How did you know that now is the time?”

A time of upheaval. A time when the abilities of all families awaken. What she sought to understand was how he knew that this particular moment heralded such a significant shift.

“Someone visited the mansion some time ago.”

“……Who was it?”

However, the Duke was not easily manipulated.

At her persistent questioning, he raised one side of his lips in a sardonic smile. The Duke, a long-time leader of the anti-royal faction, saw through her intentions.

That she, too, was desperately seeking answers.

“Are you testing me now?”

“……”

“Scheming against your own father? You’ve changed considerably. Did His Majesty instruct you to do this?”

The Duke, in turn, was testing Lee Jae. She shook her head.

“No, His Majesty is unaware of this.”

“Is that so?”

Whether the Duke believed her words remained uncertain. But he was a skilled politician, much like the King. He refrained from revealing all his cards, even to his daughter, whom he often treated as a pawn.

“But Hailey, now it’s your turn. Unless you first demonstrate the family’s ability, I cannot disclose anything.”

This presented an opportunity to move closer to the truth.

However, Lee Jae, who had been about to speak, hesitated and fell silent.

She couldn’t agree to this deal. It wasn’t due to a lack of desperation, but rather a lack of confidence in her ability to prove or deceive.

Kang Lee Jae was not Hailey Duncan, and she could not foresee the nation’s grand future.

The reason why Hailey’s memories of the past three years were incomplete.

That is because foresight, like the spiritual eye, is not an ability of the body, but an ability of the soul.

Lee Jae could not remember anything that Hailey had foreseen in the past three years.

For a moment, she simply stared at the Duke with a rigid expression.

As Lee Jae sat at the table, lost in thought, the King inquired, “What nonsense did he spout today? Was he rude again?”

Lee Jae, who had appeared despondent, chuckled.

Since learning that she was not a Duncan, the King’s attitude toward mentioning the Duke had become even more unrestrained.

Lee Jae belatedly realized.

He had been careful with his words before.

The King had been considerate in front of his wife’s family.

Lee Jae, finding it somewhat amusing, attempted a lighthearted prank.

“Who? My father? But shouldn’t a father be able to speak comfortably to his daughter?”

Roderick frowned and grimaced. “Don’t make jokes like that. And don’t use that title.”

“Why?”

“I feel like I’ve been digging a hole for myself, so I don’t feel good. I’ve been holding back a lot to look good to you.”

Lee Jae burst into laughter. *I would have liked you enough even if you hadn’t.*

“But why are you asking that? Didn’t you check the meeting log? It seemed like there were people hiding inside today too?”

“Why would I read all that? I can just ask you directly. Or, is it annoying?”

“No. I’m never annoying to Your Majesty.”

She said with a smile. Even if it were annoying, it would be a betrayal to say such a thing to her kind husband who reads her books every night.

“Your Majesty.”

“Yeah. Why?”

“The Duke is truly a viper. I guess I can’t beat snakes.”

Roderick shrugged and laughed, but Lee Jae felt a subtle sense of defeat.

“Some people sometimes say things that are hard to understand. Usually, people with a lot to hide do that.”

Then the blue eyes stared intently at Lee Jae.

He chuckled in disbelief.

Because his wife was also speaking in riddles now.

“I’m sorry to say this, but can I say it?”

“Yes, please do.”

“You do that sometimes too.”

Lee Jae burst into laughter again.

In fact, she was deeply acknowledging it.

Speaking in vague terms was an occupational hazard prevalent in the shamanic community.

There was a plausible reason that the price of divulging divine secrets was high, but in reality, it might just be an evasion of responsibility.

Lee Jae, smiling, said to the King.

“Your Majesty, I was thinking while talking to the Duke earlier.”

“Yeah.”

“There’s a precept not to trust the Duncans, right?”

“Yeah. Why is that?”

“Maybe it has a slightly different meaning.”

Roderick nodded, encouraging her to continue.

“Originally, people who see the future don’t always act according to the greater good. I don’t necessarily think that’s bad. No one wants to go down a thorny path knowing it will be.”

The Duke had once asked her how the Daimon reconstruction movement would turn out in the future.

That type of question was familiar to Lee Jae, who grew up under Yeongsan Halmae [a powerful shaman grandmother figure].

She also lived her past life in that way.

Depending on people’s advice. Avoiding trouble.

But from some point on, Lee Jae kept thinking.

Shouldn’t I have asked not who would win, but whose side I wanted to be on?

And the person who can answer that question is not a shaman or a seer, but oneself.

My undeniable heart.

“So, what I mean is, don’t think that the Duncans will move according to faith. Well, it seems like that’s what it means.”

When Lee Jae looked at the King with an awkward smile, he was also staring at her. The King sighed as if he had belatedly come to his senses.

“See? You talk like that too? I’m sorry for comparing you to the Duke, but I think you’re worse.”

“I guess this is what they call bloodline.”

“Ah, I told you not to make that joke.”

“Anyway, Your Majesty understands everything I say.”

“That’s true.”

The two chuckled and continued to chat, and also gossiped about the Duke.

They talked about what happened in the reception hall and shared what happened in the conference room. Both had joyful faces.

The moment one person could no longer laugh was when the food started to come out one by one. Lee Jae’s expression was gradually becoming sullen, and Roderick was just chuckling as he watched her.

Lee Jae, who belatedly discovered the laughter, recognized the culprit.

“Your Majesty, what is all this?”

“What else could it be? Isn’t it food?”

“Don’t play with food.”

As she began to glare, Roderick shrugged and replied.

“It’s good for your health.”

“This is?”

Lee Jae looked at the table with a very uneasy expression. The dishes contained food that looked like bizarre creatures.

However, the procession of health tonics was still continuing without a break.

Roderick personally handed her a fork.

“It’s good for your health, so eat it.”

“Why do I have to eat this stuff?”

“You keep ruining your body, and the doctor is useless, so I wanted to do something for you. Isn’t that why you brewed medicine for me?”

If he said that, she couldn’t refuse.

But Lee Jae still didn’t reach for it.

Western health tonics are also… huge. But did they have to keep the original shape like this?

“Wouldn’t it be better if I just brewed and drank medicine too?”

“Good question. I’ll bring that later too.”

Lee Jae, who was digging her own grave and momentarily offered a silent prayer, soon asked.

“Why are there so many kinds? I can’t eat this much.”

“I know. I didn’t tell you to eat it all. Just take one bite of each.”

“For your information, it’s hard to even see this in the Duke’s family.”

But Lee Jae still frowned.

Roderick bit his lip and barely held back his laughter.

He thought that she was unusually picky, which meant she really didn’t like it.

“Your Majesty, why is all of this placed only in front of me?”

“What would I do eating this stuff?”