FYH Chapter 91

Lee-Jae was spending a rare leisurely moment in bed. As she idly swung her ankle back and forth, she reached for Hailey’s diary on the nightstand.

Though they had never exchanged a single word, Lee-Jae felt as if Hailey were a friend.

“Hailey. You’re okay, right? I hope… I hope your heart has found peace, wherever you are.”

Kang Lee-Jae and Hailey Duncan clearly had something in common.

They couldn’t be compared to someone as extraordinary as the Spirit of Grandma Yeongsan, but Lee-Jae too sometimes saw glimpses—of people’s futures, of their hardships.

Maybe that’s why she could finally understand Hailey, at least to some extent.

Why Hailey had been mocked. Why her diary was nothing more than scattered, shallow sentences.

Perhaps Hailey had lived under constant pressure not to speak carelessly. People are curious about the future, but they also fear it.

And those who possess a different kind of sight all know—what destroys a person is not the future itself, but the fear of what’s to come, and the despair of being unable to change it.

In the end, all she could let out were meaningless words.

— The choice Father makes won’t be enough to change my or Lawrence’s fate.

— Stay away from the water.

Hailey. What was the great current that ran through your life?

What fate truly broke you?

Lee-Jae wanted to know. And she could only feel pity for the girl who had borne all her secrets alone, who had died in solitude.

The King entered the room just as Lee-Jae clutched the diary tightly to her chest, having finished his day’s duties.

In his hand were the same ancient manuscript they had read before and a Royal genealogy book.

“You’re here?”

“Yeah. What did you do today?”

But before she could answer, Roderick’s expression grew complex.

He had already figured out what she had been reading.

Crossing his arms, he sighed deeply.

“You really don’t like listening to your husband, do you?”

“Your Majesty, maybe this is a single ray of light in a pitch-black future.”

Light in the darkness. The process of finding hope in the midst of shadows.

But the King’s expression said he wasn’t entirely on board.

“A pitch-black future, huh. Am I the only one who thinks the diary part feels more pitch-black?”

When Lee-Jae pouted, Roderick shrugged casually.

“Your Majesty, there was a time I read this and felt so disconnected.”

She honestly thought she had a reading disorder.

“But not anymore.”

“…Yeah. I get what you’re trying to say.”

In truth, Roderick understood perfectly well.

He had already been told about Hailey’s unusual ability.

The Duncan family’s once-inherited power.

Still, it unsettled him that his wife found kinship in such bleak words.

With another sigh, Roderick climbed into bed. Lee-Jae gave a small laugh and tucked the diary under her pillow.

Then, just like before, he pulled her to sit between his legs and opened the history book.

This had become, in the King’s mind, a new duty of a married man.

But Lee-Jae suddenly reached out and stopped his hand as he went to turn the page.

She glanced at the dim sky outside the window.

Then, carefully watching the King’s face, she asked quietly,

“Are you tired?”

“Hm? Not at all. Why?”

“Your Majesty, are you really going to keep reading this to me?”

Roderick looked puzzled.

He had always assumed his wife was genuinely interested in kingdom history.

“Aren’t we supposed to finish it? Is it boring?”

“…”

“Sorry, I haven’t exactly mastered the art of bedtime storytelling yet.”

Lee-Jae burst out laughing, but still, the feeling of guilt lingered.

The bookmark hadn’t even reached a third of the way through. The records left behind by past kings spanned five hundred years—it was that vast.

 

She didn’t like piling more work onto the King after he’d been busy all day. After some hesitation, she finally spoke.

“Your Majesty, actually…”

“Mm, go on.”

Lee-Jae glanced at the wooden chest on the shelf.

The spirit of the chest didn’t seem to be around—it must’ve been playing somewhere.

Ever since she had breathed energy into the chest a few times, the spirit seemed to find its home incredibly cozy.

Still, if she called, it would probably pop out again, all excited.

“You really don’t have to read this to me. I mean, in the evenings, you should just rest.”

“……”

“Honestly, I can read it myself.”

Hearing her say that struck the King as incredibly odd. He closed the book silently.

“…How could you read this on your own?”

“There’s a spirit in the castle who reads it to me. You know, old castles like this usually have at least one or two lingering entities.”

The King gave her an inscrutable look and fell silent for a good while.

Eventually, Lee-Jae began sneaking glances at his expression, sensing something off.

His face was gradually shifting into one of discomfort.

She started to feel awkward.

Maybe she shouldn’t have said anything. Maybe it was a mistake.

Of course, the King wasn’t an ordinary man. He had experience and a high tolerance for the unusual.

Still, who would actually feel good hearing their house might be haunted?

Growing uneasy, Lee-Jae offered a half-hearted defense.

“Does it bother you? It’s not a malevolent spirit or anything.”

“It can be a little cheeky sometimes, but it’s a good one. If I ask for help, it usually listens.”

But the King’s face grew even more displeased than before.

He now looked so uncomfortable he was frowning.

This was a man who had held his ground against vengeful spirits for three years without faltering.

He was not easily shaken.

Yet the words that came out of his mouth were not what Lee-Jae had expected at all.

“…Are you two close?”

“Pardon?”

“If it reads you books, then you must have a pretty friendly relationship.”

“Well… yeah, I guess you could say that.”

The spirit of the chest was the first being in this world to call her by her true name.

When she had trembled in front of a snake spirit, it had given her strength. Even knowing it would eventually disappear, it had urged her to go to the King.

Wouldn’t that count as a friend?

But again, the King said something wholly unexpected.

He had just learned something new, and he was now very serious.

“Can I ask just one thing?”

“Yes, go ahead.”

“…Is it a guy?”

“…What?”

“Is it a guy?”

“Uh… well…”

Now Lee-Jae was the one getting serious.

She tilted her head in thought.

Could you even call it a guy?

It was a thought-form lingering in an old object. It had never been human.

It was only about the size of her forearm. Which also meant… she was never short to begin with.

“It’s just a childlike, innocent spirit. Maybe thinking of it as a fairy would make you feel better? Either way, there’s nothing to worry about.”

She offered a neat explanation, but Roderick still didn’t look satisfied.

“Ugh, I’m starting to feel really weird all of a sudden.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know. Is this what it feels like when your wife has secret trysts with some other guy behind your back?”

“……”

“This is… a defensive blind spot I never considered.”

Lee-Jae stared at him, stunned for a moment.

Then she couldn’t help but burst into laughter. She was honestly impressed—how could he take that story and arrive at that conclusion?

Most people, especially those who had suffered from evil spirits, would never think like that.

Even if the King was weirdly bothered by it, he showed no fear of invisible beings.

 

“Your Majesty, you’re definitely not a normal person.”

“That doesn’t sound like a compliment this time either.”

“That’s because this time, it actually isn’t.”

Lee-Jae joked, trying to wrap up the conversation there.

But the King was already lost in other thoughts.

He couldn’t even grasp who Lee-Jae was talking with, or what kind of conversations they were having.

Which meant he had no real way of knowing what kind of days she had. No matter how much he wanted to know—how deeply he wanted to be part of it.

‘Will I never be able to see the world she sees?’

But surely, that pain would be far greater for her than for him.

If he dug any deeper, she’d just make that lonely face again. So instead, he answered lightly.

“Darling, thank you for being honest with me.”

“Yes?”

“But if you ever want something read-out to you, just ask me. Don’t go asking some other guy. For some reason, it’s kind of making me feel weirdly left out.”

“…You’re seriously jealous of something that strange? I told you, it’s not even a person.”

“Doesn’t matter.”

“Okay, fine. I only brought it up because I didn’t want to bother you—but I guess that was unnecessary.”

“It wasn’t unnecessary. And I’m not bothered.”

When Lee-Jae let out a soft chuckle, Roderick pulled her into his arms.

“Come here. Forget a lullaby—let’s fall asleep to this instead.”

He leaned her against his chest and opened the book again.

Thanks to her husband, who insisted on making things harder for himself, she could once again settle into a comfortable position and lose herself in thought.

“History will inevitably repeat itself—if, of course, the balance of power remains intact.”

The King read a few lines, then glanced at her to gauge her reaction.

Lee-Jae was always full of questions.

Sure enough, she tilted her head thoughtfully.

“Your Majesty. What do you think the Fifth King meant when he left that kind of will?”

The King also paused to consider.

The Fifth King’s middle name was Provicio.

He was the only monarch in history who could wield both the Holy Sword and Duncan’s power.

That was because the former queen had come from House Duncan.

So surely, that final statement hadn’t been meaningless.

They put their heads together to puzzle it out, but Lee-Jae’s expression gradually turned peculiar.

She was someone with an oddly vast collection of useless knowledge in this area.

After a moment of hesitation, she glanced behind her.

“Your Majesty… this is a very disrespectful question, but… can I ask anyway?”

Roderick chuckled.

“Go ahead. Even if you’re insulting the Royal family, I’ll keep your secret.”

“…How accurate were the Fifth King’s prophecies, really?”

Even the best shamans don’t get everything right.

He wasn’t a complete fraud… was he?

I’m just double-checking out of caution, that’s all. Every field has its charlatans, you know.

Her tone was cautious, but her face was full of doubt.

Roderick could guess all the words she didn’t dare say—and had to suppress a laugh.

That was when the Knight Commander knocked on their chamber door.