The King gave orders to the attendants, mostly about the menu.
In truth, Roderick wasn’t exactly fond of Lee-Jae’s eating habits. While foxes are omnivores, her peach-colored fox nature seemed to lean more toward a herbivorous diet.
But today, no matter what, it was the time when he had to agree with whatever she said—even if she insisted that black was white, he had to say it was true.
Lee-Jae’s plate soon piled up with a generous portion of salad and fruits.
“Here, eat as much as you like.”
“You should eat too, Your Majesty. Don’t worry about me.”
Lee-Jae smiled awkwardly, still keeping her distance. Roderick couldn’t help but sigh inwardly. But the spilled water couldn’t be scooped back up, and this was a burden he had to bear.
“Hailey.”
“Yes?”
“I’m truly sorry for saying earlier that I didn’t think you could get angry.”
“…”
“It was really scary when you were upset. Do you know? I almost cried.”
Lee-Jae shook her head.
“I wasn’t angry.”
“Then why do you keep avoiding my gaze?”
“…”
“I was so worried when you wouldn’t meet me. When your husband says nonsense, you should kick him or scold him, not avoid him.”
“How can I scold Your Majesty? Sometimes you say such strange things.”
Lee-Jae knew she had snapped sharply, which made her embarrassed. Trying to smooth things over, she focused back on her meal.
Roderick kept watching her, making sure she ate. But, as usual, she didn’t eat much. Roderick wasn’t pleased by her small bites, but at the same time, he understood. Her small frame probably couldn’t take much more.
“Eat a bit more.”
“I’m done.”
“Still, if you eat a lot and your stomach gets full, I’ll pat it for you.”
Lee-Jae couldn’t help but chuckle at his words. When she smiled, her face softened, and Roderick felt his heart warm. Right now, he was just a husband doing his best to soothe his wife’s troubled heart.
Roderick stood up and moved to sit beside her. He took a sip of the drink she had barely touched.
“It’s not that sweet. Is it not to your taste?”
“No, it’s delicious.”
“Then let’s finish it.”
“…”
“You need to drink this much if you want to keep going.”
Lee-Jae couldn’t ignore his kindness, so she finally drank the remaining beverage. Roderick watched her with a smile, tempted to make playful remarks. But since they had just reconciled, he wasn’t sure if she would accept them.
“Now let’s see if your stomach’s full.”
He poked her stomach with his finger. Lee-Jae flinched, but this time he gently pressed it again. She hadn’t eaten enough to get a full stomach, but her soft belly was a contrast to his firm one.
Lee-Jae looked at him with a questioning expression. But Roderick, finding the softness endearing, laughed quietly and gently cupped her chin.
“Can I kiss you?”
“…”
“If you don’t feel like it, just say so.”
Lee-Jae hesitated, but Roderick nibbled the tip of her nose and licked her cheek. Her neck shrank back tightly—as if she were a small animal cornered before a predator.
He gently stroked her shoulder, as if to soothe her, and she gradually sank back into her chair as though reclining.
Jade and the chief attendant exchanged glances.
Once again, the King wasn’t just kissing his Queen—he was practically having her for dessert.
And the Queen, who had been tightly shutting her eyes, was now melting, slumping like syrup.
Your Majesty, have you perhaps turned into a puddle?
Roderick, who set the now-floppy Lee-Jae upright again, brushed her hair affectionately.
“Hailey.”
“Yes.”
“What are you doing this afternoon?”
“Nothing special.”
“Then go on a date with me.”
She nodded and stood up before he could even offer his hand.
Roderick, watching her do so with a touch of disappointment, wrapped an arm around her hips and lifted her easily.
Startled, Lee-Jae instinctively placed her hands on his shoulders and let out a dry laugh.
“Your Majesty, I didn’t fall that hard. I’m fine now.”
“Fine, my ass. You think I wouldn’t notice how you’re walking?”
“I’m really okay. Please put me down.”
“Nope.”
“…”
“That’s what you get for running away. Who told you to fall like that? I was so sad I nearly cried.”
“You apologized, but now you’re scolding me a lot.”
She mumbled, and Roderick let out a small laugh.
“It’s because I’m upset and my heart hurts.”
He lifted her with ease in one arm and strode forward, showing no sign that he even felt her weight.
After walking for a while, Roderick paused in thought. There weren’t many places he could take her.
Standing at a fork between the lake and Arthur’s Forest, he eventually chose the lakeside.
It was just a hunch, but he felt like she preferred looking at water more than the woods.
And that hunch was absolutely right.
Once they arrived, Roderick sat Lee-Jae on a flowerbed and gave a subtle nod to send the attendants away.
When they were finally alone, he carefully lifted the hem of her dress.
“W-what are you doing?”
Startled, she tried to pull the dress back down, but he didn’t let go.
The fluttering fabric stopped just above her knees.
Frowning at the faint bruise still visible on her knee, Roderick examined it closely.
Realizing he was just checking on her injury, Lee-Jae felt a bit embarrassed.
He then gently touched her slender ankle to check it as well. She winced from the pain, and her face twisted slightly.
Clicking his tongue, Roderick lowered the dress again.
“I’m really fine.”
“If you were gonna run, you should’ve at least not fallen.”
“…”
“I can’t even look—it breaks my heart.”
But this too was ultimately his fault.
He had said if the Queen fell, he’d break Lawrence’s leg, but the one he should have broken was his own.
His wife’s claim that his careless words often became reality rang painfully true.
Roderick sat next to her again. For a long while, neither spoke.
Lee-Jae kept staring at the lake, while he quietly watched her.
He wanted to talk, to joke around like before. But he didn’t know how to start anymore.
Maybe it was just his own guilt, eating away at him. But he was deeply afraid—
Afraid that the Queen might have shut her heart for good.
She was someone who held so many secrets inside.
What if she never opened up again?
There was so much he wanted to ask… but what if he never regained her trust?
Is your name really Lee-Jae?—he wanted to ask.
But who would reveal their secrets to someone they couldn’t trust?
Roderick lightly tapped her thigh with his knee.
Lee-Jae glanced at him out of the corner of her eye.
“Is your heart still not at ease?”
“I told you, it’s not like that.”
“Then what should I do for you to treat me comfortably again?”
Lee-Jae let out a small laugh. After thinking quietly, she opened her mouth.
Though her profile looked like someone who had been drained of many things, at the same time, she seemed as if she had finally laid down a heavy burden.
“Your Majesty.”
“Yeah?”
“What I said earlier… I meant it.”
“What part?”
Lee-Jae answered in a voice as calm as the lake.
“I misspoke that day too. I want to apologize as well. It was a political marriage from the beginning—something both our families needed. There’s no point in blaming anyone at this point. The first fault lay with the Duncan house.”
“…”
“I don’t want to be someone who blocks your path.”
“…What?”
“Don’t worry about me. If that’s what’s needed, go ahead and do it. If that time ever comes… just, please tell me first. Just once. That’s all I ask.”
Startled, Roderick quickly grabbed her wrist.
“Why do you keep saying things like that?”
“…”
“Hailey. I told you—that’s not what I meant.”
“…”
“Please… don’t.”
Roderick was losing his mind from the desperation. And in that moment, he realized something.
He hadn’t just pushed his wife to the border—he had driven her to the ends of the world.
Closing that distance again wouldn’t be easy.
She wasn’t just briefly angry with him.
She had been deeply, painfully hurt.
“Don’t leave me. You shook my heart up like this—you have to take responsibility now.”
“…”
“I can’t live without you. I mean it.”
No… You’ll be fine, Your Majesty.
You can sleep without me now. You’re safe, after all. Probably.
Honestly… I don’t think there’s much I can still do for you anymore.
When Lee-Jae only gave a faint smile in response, Roderick took her hand and pressed it against his cheek.
“Let’s go on a trip. We can go to the temple, the riverside, anywhere you want. Just say the word—I’ll take you wherever.”
“…”
“A little fresh air might help. You probably don’t want to go back to your family’s place, right?”
Lee-Jae nodded.
Even though he saw that nod, Roderick couldn’t feel reassured. So he pulled her tightly into his arms.
Please don’t let go of me. Stay by my side.
Lee-Jae simply stroked his back with a gentle touch.
After spending a gentle yet awkward time together, the couple returned to their quarters late in the evening.
Those around them thought, This couple’s fights really do end in the most predictable way possible.
They seemed to have made up, but the difference in temperature between them was stark.
The Queen was smiling with a serene face, while the King was clearly anxious—alone in his restlessness.
How can I get her to say one more word? How can I hear her laugh again, just once more?
The King had never once won against the Queen.
In front of Lee-Jae’s chambers, he asked,
“Can I kiss you again?”
“…”
“Will you let me?”
Lee-Jae grabbed his collar and pulled him down. As he lowered his head for her, she kissed him and wrapped her arms around his waist.
The tender embrace made Roderick feel as if his heart was melting.
He gently caressed her lips.
“Will you meet me again tomorrow?”
“Of course.”
“Keep your promise.”
“What kind of promise is that? Fine, I will.”
Lee-Jae waited quietly, expecting him to say more.
But when he remained silent, she nodded.
It felt like his way of saying he’d head back now.
“I’ll go in, then. You should have sweet dreams tonight.”
“You too. Sleep well.”
Truthfully, he desperately wanted to go in with her.
But after casting one lingering look at the door, he turned away.
If he clung any harder, this little fox might truly disappear again.
* * *
Lee-Jae woke in the middle of the night, jolted by a chilling wave of malice.
At that moment, a familiar voice sliced through the air—it was the spirit of the chest.
— Lee-Jae, get up!
She shot up and opened her eyes wide, stunned by the sight before her.
A horde of vengeful spirits was surging toward her room.
The protective barrier around it was on the verge of collapse, and the spirit was barely holding it together. But its form was already starting to fade.
Lee-Jae ran to the window and struck down one of the spirits with her bracelet.
Reaching her hand outside, she shouted at the spirit:
“Get back! If you keep this up, you’ll disappear!”
The already-cracked chest had split even further.
The spirit, a fragile will barely strong enough to contain even a snake demon, whimpered at the sight of its home falling apart—but still turned to her and said:
— Lee-Jae, you need to go to the King. Now.
“Huh?”
Even in her confusion, she turned to face the spirit.
— I saw something terrifying heading somewhere else.
Flustered, she let her power drop and lowered her hand.
The more she thought about it, the more strange it seemed.
It was usually the King who attracted vengeful spirits, drawing them like moths to a flame.
There was no reason for such a swarm to head to her room unless…
And then she realized.
Someone was targeting both of them—sending blades in two directions.
That meant the King was in danger.
Pacing anxiously, Lee-Jae turned to the spirit.
“I’ll be right back. Just for a moment, I promise.”
— …Okay.
“I’m sorry.”
Though the spirit nodded, its large eyes welled with tears.
— Lee-Jae… I’m scared too.
“…I’m really sorry. But I can’t leave him alone.”
— I know. He’s the one you love.
Lee-Jae opened the box and rifled through the talismans.
But when the box cracked again with a brittle snap, she turned back to the spirit.
It was growing dimmer and dimmer, spending all its strength to hold the barrier.
She couldn’t bear to take everything.
Instead, she tucked just a couple of talismans into her sleeve.
Placing her hand on the box, she breathed energy into the spirit, squeezed her eyes shut, and turned away.
Then she ran.
She tore out of the room, sprinting into the darkened corridors.
Left behind, her room continued to draw the vengeful spirits.
The barrier trembled violently, on the brink of collapse—a sound only those with spiritual sight could hear.
Then it happened.
A sacred blue light began to spread from somewhere.
It gradually filled the room, illuminating the darkness.
It came from a statue, held together by spiritual glue—Earthly General, Lee-Jae.
That single statue held the hearts of two people.
And those hearts, in unison, began to push back the shadows, protecting the room with their quiet, shared warmth.
