Follow Your Heart

Lee Jae sipped her tea while observing the king.

He savored just a single sip of his tea and stared intently at Lee Jae for a while.

Feeling burdened by his gaze, Lee Jae was slightly anxious.

Sure enough, Roderick, sitting askew, asked,

“Hailey Duncan.”

“Yes?”

“What are you thinking?”

“…Don’t you like the tea?”

Lee Jae took another sip, but to be honest, she also thought it didn’t taste very good. She wondered if she and the head maid were really in sync—a question that would require more time to answer.

“No, I’m wondering why you’re acting like this.”

“…”

“And the tea doesn’t seem to suit your taste.”

She almost spat out the tea for a moment, yet Lee Jae held it in and swallowed.

“If Your Majesty judges my preferences too, then I…”

Luckily, Roderick chuckled at her joke.

Although his eyes still seemed to say, “You’re lying again,” it appeared he wasn’t someone who disliked jokes.

However, as he brushed back his black hair, he looked exhausted, like a wounded beast.

Moreover, even now, the vengeful spirits were lurking and waiting for a moment when the king and Lee Jae would be slightly apart to seize their chance.

This caused the king’s nerves to become increasingly on edge.

‘He’s really a bothersome person,’ Lee Jae thought with a bitter smile as she anxiously observed the scene.

Most people wouldn’t notice, but seeing things like that was incredibly exhausting.

‘Yeah, he’s not someone who will just pass by. This is for you, Kang Lee Jae. So just this once.’

Trying to rationalize her thoughts, Lee Jae soon stood up and approached the king.

When she quietly sat beside him, Roderick raised an eyebrow.

When Lee Jae glanced up, he asked,

“Why?”

When he asked like that, she had no particular reason to give.

But Lee Jae could see the spirits lingering around Roderick, retreating, cursing her as they did.

She asked him, “Have you been sleeping poorly recently?”

“Yes, a little.”

“…”

“Does it show?”

Lee Jae nodded.

“A little… Actually, a lot.”

Facing forward again, she let out a shallow sigh, hesitating suddenly.

Then, she gently took his hand, that is resting casually on his knee.

Jade, unable to watch any longer, squeezed his eyes shut.

He felt she had gone too far. The king had considerable animosity toward the Duncan family and widely known among the queen’s maids that nothing had happened on the first night between the king and queen.

The queen’s nightgown had been in an odd state, but her body and the sheets had been perfectly clean.

Moreover, the two had never slept in the same place since their wedding night.

But Lee Jae wasn’t doing this simply to hold his hand affectionately.

She was approaching this more from a shaman or healer’s perspective.

But even she wasn’t sure whether appearing more like the former was better.

Pressing down on a spot in his palm, Lee Jae glanced up at Roderick.

Roderick was genuinely perplexed this time, but he smirked, perhaps slightly bewildered by the youthful, somewhat apprehensive look on the queen’s face.

“What are you doing?”

Fortunately, he didn’t pull his hand away, and Lee Jae breathed a small sigh of relief.

To rudely reject the touch of his legal spouse. It seemed he wasn’t so callous.

“I’ve tried this before, and it helps you sleep.”

“…”

“I might have had insomnia too.”

Roderick’s smirk became more lopsided, as if he sensed the queen right now wasn’t even trying to hide her lie.

But Lee Jae truly knew how to handle the energy channels in the human body.

People whose energy had weakened over time could never overcome vengeful spirits and even visiting a shrine wouldn’t immediately lead to a ritual.

This kind of work had always been Lee Jae’s responsibility, given that she often dealt with the smaller tasks.

When the king remained still, she carefully extended her hand to his shoulder, pressing down on another spot.

She began checking his body by pressing different points.

The reason she started with his hand was because she couldn’t shake the fear that her neck might get chopped off if she dared press his neck or any similar spot.

After all, she had rarely seen the king in a healthy state.

And now, it seemed the king had stopped asking why.

He just watched with a bemused expression as the queen did whatever she was doing with her small hands.

“Does it hurt?”

“No, not really.”

“Tell me if it hurts too much.”

“Okay, thank you.”

Even as Roderick answered, he couldn’t help but laugh.

The expressions of those watching turned strange.

They were actually quite anxious.

The king had become cruel over even the slightest irritation and sometimes even when nothing, in particular, bothered him.

But Lee Jae was incredibly serious.

Because that night, while lying beside him, she felt something even more clearly.

This man really has a strong natural energy.

He has the aura of someone destined for greatness, someone fated to achieve great things, someone who will leave a mark in his field.

People like him typically don’t have to deal with vengeful spirits.

What kind of terrible things has he done to attract them?

However, after years of being tormented by such malevolent forces, his energy was tangled and blocked.

And when someone with such strong energy has their channels blocked, it becomes far more dangerous. Paralysis was a common outcome.

For people like that, she didn’t dare lay hands on them; it was the Domain of the Shaman.

Lee Jae pressed a spot between his spine and shoulder blade.

“Mm.”

When Roderick let out a low sound, she immediately pressed the spot between his neck and ear.

And silently, she kept chanting inwardly. Flow, flow.

‘There we go.’

As the blocked energy began to circulate, Roderick seemed to feel a sense of relaxation.

As if someone just entered a warm room after being in the cold.

In fact, an ordinary person would have fainted the moment the vengeful spirits detached themselves.

Lee Jae quickly pulled his half-asleep body and laid his head on her lap.

“Mm…”

Roderick made a couple more indistinct sounds after that.

The noises he unconsciously made sounded a bit strange.

They were languid and pleasant, reminiscent of sounds one might associate with certain activities.

But this was completely innocent and natural, and as Lee Jae pressed between his brows, she was sweating profusely from her efforts.

Finally, when the king fell into a deep, even sleep, Lee Jae leaned back against the sofa with a dazed expression.

“Sigh…”

Is this life of serving others the reason why the gods granted me a bit of extra life?

However, this wasn’t a complete solution.

The king had merely gained a bit more strength to endure the situation.

‘I’m sorry. This is all I can do for you.’

Meanwhile, Jade, who had been anxiously waiting for another potential bloodshed, cautiously approached.

He looked at the sleeping king with a sense of wonder. The fierce beast that had been raging just half an hour ago had now turned into a docile lamb.

The king’s attendants, who had been cowering in the corner, also glanced over at him from over their shoulders.

“Is he asleep now?”

“…It seems that way.”

“…”

“Well, when you’re tired, a good massage feels refreshing. He must have been very exhausted.”

Even as she spoke, Lee Jae knew this explanation wouldn’t seem entirely convincing.

But Jade seemed to have something else on his mind.

“He hasn’t been sleeping well for the past few days. He already suffers from insomnia, but lately, he’s been even more on edge…”

The knight commander gently explained the earlier violent incident, and Lee Jae simply nodded.

They were all facing uncomfortable situations in their ways.

“…People have their moments of sensitivity.”

“…”

“It’s okay. I wasn’t too shocked.”

“…Yes.”

“But what about the person who left earlier? Are they alright?”

Lee Jae suddenly grew concerned, realizing that while she knew the situation, rumors wouldn’t likely be kind.

Jade could only sigh in response.

Soon, the head attendant approached and gently draped a soft blanket over the deeply sleeping king.

Not long after, Deborah also came closer to the sofa.

Lee Jae gave her a puzzled look as she noticed Deborah glaring at the head attendant, which seems like murderous intent.

But Deborah quickly changed her expression and asked Lee Jae,

“Would you like a blanket as well, Your Majesty?”

Realizing his mistake, the head attendant looked regretful, but Lee Jae shook her head.

“No, I’ve finished my tea, so I should go.”

And with great caution, Lee Jae tried to slide her knee out from under the king’s head.

He didn’t seem like he would wake easily, but she didn’t want to disturb his sleep.

True to her intentions, Roderick didn’t wake easily.

However, as Lee Jae slowly pulled away, he stirred slightly.

He grabbed the hem of her clothing near her waist.

Then, he snuggled a bit closer to her.

Once again, a low, unconscious murmur escaped his lips.

A deep silence fell over the room once more.

Everyone looked awkward.

Had they thought this was some sort of amorous gesture, Lee Jae too would have felt embarrassed like the others.

Of course, she was uncomfortable. But she knew it wasn’t meant that way, so she tried not to let it bother her.

Roderick was simply instinctively reaching for pure energy, either because of the talisman she carried or because of her clean aura.

If he were fully conscious, he wouldn’t have done this, but after being plagued by dark energies for so long, his body was unconsciously seeking comfort.

The problem was that the others didn’t understand this.

Lee Jae reached out to the head attendant with an odd expression.

“…I think I could use a blanket too.”

The head attendant quickly retrieved a blanket and handed it to Deborah.

With a dignified air, Deborah took it and carefully draped it over Lee Jae.

This time, Lee Jae didn’t feel the intense nausea she had before. Knowing how to press the channels through which blocked energy flows was a skill and knowledge.

However, after concentrating for so long, she felt deeply tired again.

Indeed, dealing with people like this made life exhausting.

Lee Jae buried herself deeply in the blanket and closed her eyes.

Although she occasionally felt the urge to twist her body due to the warm breath on her abdomen or the hands constantly grasping at her waist, she kept reminding herself.

This person is a patient. He may be my husband, but first and foremost, he is a patient.

So I should feel compassion, right? Positive thoughts, kind thoughts.

Evil thoughts, go away.

And before long, Lee Jae too fell into a deep sleep, just like Roderick.