Follow Your Heart

It was Roderick who woke up first.

At first, he slightly frowned, feeling something was different about his body.

Of course, it was in a good way.

And the moment he saw the familiar face breathing softly with slightly parted lips, he realized that he had been resting his head on Hailey Duncan’s lap.

He even realized that he was holding her too close.

“………”

The king frowned and then raised his eyebrows.

“Why am I like this?”

It wasn’t as if he didn’t know; it was merely an expression of disbelief.

He couldn’t believe he had been sleeping like that in front of so many court officials after not getting sleep for several days.

However, Jade answered sincerely.

Though Roderick never said it himself, Jade had an inkling that sometimes Roderick forgot things.

“You had some tea, then you sat down together…”

“………”

“…and then you just fell asleep.”

Of course, apart from that, the queen consort touched you several times, and then you too, several times… but how can I say that out loud?

Meanwhile, Roderick chuckled as if it were absurd because the words felt strangely familiar.

He got up, roughly running a hand through his hair, and looked at the queen consort, who had completely fallen asleep.

The silence stretched for quite a while, and then Roderick spoke.

“Make sure she sleeps somewhere comfortable.”

The people hesitated but quickly got busy at his command.

The attendants moved slightly faster than the knights, but in the end, it was the captain of the knights, Jade, who lifted the queen. After all, she was the king’s wife, and he couldn’t just leave her in the hands of any man.

Just before Jade left the reception room, Roderick added a comment that froze everyone in their tracks.

“Put her to sleep in my bedroom.”

“………”

“Don’t wake her unnecessarily by taking her too far.”

The king’s bedroom was much closer in distance.

To those who were used to that sort of thing, it didn’t really sound like a genuine intention, but they were a married couple.

Even if the intention was a bit sketchy, it couldn’t be considered inappropriate.

So, the king’s servants shot skeptical glances at the queen’s maids.

Really, nothing happened?

Are they actually… okay with each other?

The highborn servants, unsure of what was going on, glared at each other with suspicion.

However, most of them eventually concluded otherwise.

One side had once tried to avoid marriage by jumping into a river, and the other always suspected anything related to Duncan—there was no way their relationship could be all that good.

When Lee Jae woke up in the unfamiliar room, her expression turned uneasy.

Waking up in another unknown place made her wonder if she had somehow died without realizing it.

She got up and looked in the mirror.

Peach-colored hair, white skin, a slightly pointed chin—it was Hailey Duncan.

She let out a sigh of relief.

Roderick was indeed not a tyrant who would behead his legal spouse just for touching her body.

Yes, you weren’t that kind of scoundrel husband after all.

To be honest, I wasn’t even that deep asleep.

But once again, Lee Jae’s expression turned uneasy.

The condition of the room was concerning.

“Staying here would drive anyone insane.”

She instinctively realized this was the king’s room.

Because the spirits hovering around, similar to those that always followed him, were all cowering in corners because of her presence.

“……At this point, just being alive is quite an achievement.”

Feeling an ominous presence in what should have been the sacred royal bedroom, Lee Jae immediately opened the door. The nausea was overwhelming.

Waiting outside were Deborah and the maids.

Seeing Lee Jae’s pale complexion, the head maid thought the queen was quite flustered and began to explain.

“This is His Majesty’s bedroom. You fell asleep, so we brought you here.”

“…Why on earth?”

Why did you bring me to this haunted house?

I’m someone who doesn’t go to haunted houses or graveyards, even by mistake.

“His Majesty said to bring you somewhere nearby so you wouldn’t be disturbed.”

Suppressing the urge to vomit, Lee Jae made a face as if she’d heard something ridiculous.

She then let out a hollow laugh.

The king doesn’t even realize he’s being helped.

Yet he still gives little tokens of gratitude, like some kind of small offering, every time.

As someone highly sensitive to such oppressive energy, Lee Jae wasn’t pleased.

However, she fiddled with the talisman in her pocket several times, realizing late that she should have brought a few more.

‘It would have been much better if I had hidden some.’

But the court ladies were staring at her with puzzled expressions.

In the end, Lee Jae bit her lip and left the room.

A few days later, Roderick proposed a meal to Lee Jae.

It was the first meal they would have together since their wedding fifteen days ago.

Before that, Jade reported on the contents of a letter he had secretly checked in the queen’s study beforehand.

“Your Majesty, Duke Duncan has sent a letter to Her Majesty the Queen.”

“What does it say?”

“He is suggesting that she use people from his household. He’s genuinely concerned that she might feel inconvenienced after her recent illness.”

The king and his men laughed upon hearing this. It was clear to anyone that this was an attempt to plant Duncan’s people within the royal household.

And of course, Duke Duncan knew that the king wouldn’t allow it.

This was just one of the many minor power struggles that occurred frequently between the king and the nobility.

However, Hailey was still a Duncan, and she would receive requests from audiences more.

Who could guarantee that she wouldn’t become her father’s puppet and the focal point for the nobles?

Roderick had continuously sent marriage proposals to obscure families and had even suspected Duncan’s involvement in two previous incidents for the same reason.

Therefore, the upcoming meal was purely arranged to check Hailey Duncan’s reaction.

Roderick was the first to arrive at the dining room.

He had been lost in thought for quite some time.

He was contemplating how to bring up the subject, and the conclusion he had to draw from the conversation was clear.

Even in the midst of all this, Roderick’s nerves remained on edge at times.

He habitually clenched his forehead and frowned.

And the moment the queen, dressed in a flowing gown, appeared, he frowned even more than before.

He found himself engulfed in a very peculiar sensation.

It felt as if the air had suddenly become refreshingly clear, and the closer she stepped toward him, the more steps she took, the fresher the air became.

It didn’t make sense, yet at the same time, it did.

However, narrowing his eyes and looking at Lee Jae, he dismissed the surreal feeling with a single comment.

“This is really strange.”

At his words, Lee Jae stopped in her tracks as she approached him.

“Pardon?”

“Nothing.”

“………”

“It was just a passing thought.”

He shook his head and pointed to the seat across from him.

“Since you’re here, sit.”

Lee Jae quietly took the seat he indicated.

Roderick tapped the table with his fingers and simply stared at her for quite some time.

Lee Jae, too, remained silent, lost in thought.

But Lee Jae spoke first before all the food was served.

“Your Majesty, there’s something I need to say.”

“What is it? Go ahead.”

“My father, Duke Duncan, sent me a letter a few days ago.”

At her words, Roderick fell silent for a moment.

Everyone else also held their breath, tense, but Roderick’s thoughts were slightly different from theirs.

He had been pondering how to bring up the conversation just moments ago. But he realized that he had completely forgotten about that now.

He let out a small chuckle and decided to let the queen consort lead the conversation.

“What did the duke say?”

“He offered to send some people from the duchy, saying it would make things easier for me.”

Lee Jae glanced at him cautiously, then added, “Do you want to see the letter? There’s nothing much in it, but I brought it with me.”

Roderick shook his head. He had already seen a copy of it.

Instead, he asked her with interest, “So what do you want to do?”

“Are you giving me a choice again… this time?”

A faint smile flashed in his blue eyes.

He understood what the queen consort was referring to.

That day when he had told her to either accept the royal marriage or face certain death—there was no third option.

He pondered for a moment and then nodded briefly.

“If you want it.”

Jade, who had been listening closely, looked utterly bewildered.

The flow of the conversation seemed to be heading in the wrong direction.

He had asked him to pull her closer, but it felt like she was being dragged away instead.

But hearing the king’s affirmation, Lee Jae responded with a sincere joke.

“Do you think the choice this time… will be fairer than last time?”

This time, Roderick laughed out loud.

Rubbing his eyes and face, he replied, “You’ve become quite bold now that you’re speaking your mind.”

“Yes, I guess I’ve become too arrogant. I’m sorry.”

“No, this is better.”

Roderick nodded, urging her to continue.

But Lee Jae hesitated again, her expression troubled.

She was genuinely curious about Hailey Duncan.

Hailey Duncan, would you have sided with your father if you were in my shoes? Is it better to have a father like that, even if he’s difficult, than to have none at all? (Lee Jae Thought)

But with her memory incomplete and Hailey’s diary being vast, Lee Jae couldn’t fully grasp what kind of person she had been.

In the end, Lee Jae voiced her conclusion.

“I’ll reply that it’s not a good idea. I haven’t been in the royal family for long, and it wouldn’t look good to accept such help so soon.”

It was a conclusion that satisfied everyone present.

However, Roderick, sensing something subtle, narrowed his eyes.

He would have said no even if she had asked for his approval.

But she didn’t attribute her refusal to him.

It could be seen as her taking on the burden herself.

It wasn’t a complete rejection of the Duncan family either, as the word “yet” left room for future possibilities.

But for now, the royal family and the nobility did not need to engage in further power struggles over this matter.

Though it was different from her father’s intent, it fits more with how the Duncans usually did things.

Should that also be seen as a strong bloodline?

Roderick glanced over at Jade, who was standing by the door.

Jade hesitated, sensing that the king’s gaze was asking, *Do you really think she’s as innocent as she seems?*

While Roderick’s gaze lingered on Jade, he suddenly noticed Lee Jae was staring at him while sitting in front of her untouched meal.

Noticing this, Roderick, somewhat abruptly, jabbed his fork into the food carelessly.

“Eat. Don’t wait around for that.”

As the king spoke, frowning slightly, Lee Jae smiled faintly.

Watching her, Roderick started feeling even more strange.

It felt as if something had slipped out of his grasp and then returned several times.

Most people can’t capture that fleeting instinct.

But in that unconscious moment, something small had started to grow within him.

A deepening suspicion and curiosity about this person. And perhaps a slight attraction.

For the first time, he was experiencing suspicion and attraction simultaneously.