After bickering for quite a while, the two of them returned to Lee-Jae’s bedroom.
Roderick, having sat her on the bed, said,
“Just stay put.”
“……”
“If you go anywhere, make sure to take the lady-in-waiting and some knights.”
He looked at her with concern for a moment before vanishing again.
Should she meditate, carve, or write a talisman?
Staring at the door, Lee-Jae hesitated—then flopped down on the bed.
She hugged Hailey’s diary close to her chest.
A little later, Roderick returned, opening the door. His hair was damp, as if he had just washed up, and his shirt was nowhere to be seen.
Lee-Jae glanced at him, then flipped open the diary to a random page.
She had read it so many times she nearly had it memorized, but for her, this was a form of mourning.
Hailey, I won’t forget you.
Roderick sat on the bed, propping his chin on one hand as he gazed at her.
She tried not to let it get to her.
But when his eyes wouldn’t leave her, she finally spoke.
“Your Majesty.”
“Hm? What is it?”
She turned toward the window. The evening light still filled the sky.
“If you’re done drying off, could you put something on? It’s getting hot in here.”
“Why? Is it uncomfortable to look at?”
She shook her head. He was her husband, after all.
But sitting there in the middle of the day with that body on full display—she simply couldn’t focus on the diary.
There was just too much bare skin to ignore.
And of course, this was all part of the King’s ploy.
Still pouting after their earlier spat in the study, he suddenly said something unexpected.
“Honestly, I’m shirtless because I wanted to look good for you.”
“……”
“Or would I be cuter with clothes on? If so, I’ll put something on.”
Catching her off guard, Lee-Jae let out a small laugh.
What was with him now?
“Just say the word. I’ll match whatever you like.”
“Whatever’s most comfortable for you. But in that case, I’m going to keep staring. My eyes keep wandering.”
“Go ahead. Should I make things even more comfortable and take the rest off?”
Lee-Jae bit her lip. Seriously, what’s wrong with him?
And as always, the King didn’t stop pushing.
“Wife, want to get comfortable together?”
“No thanks, I’m comfortable like this.”
“Still not giving in, huh.”
She covered her face, her shoulders shaking with laughter.
Roderick chuckled too, watching her.
At least one thing was clear—his wife wasn’t angry.
Words, once spoken, couldn’t be taken back.
People should watch what they say not only because words can hurt, but because one day, those very words may come back to trip them up.
Before the name “Bodore,” Roderick would always be at a disadvantage with Lee-Jae.
He had spoken out of jealousy and said something he didn’t mean.
Now he had to bear the consequences.
He pulled Lee-Jae onto his lap and asked, “You’re really not mad, right?”
“Nope. Why would I be?”
She gently touched his firm shoulder.
“You said you didn’t mean it. I already understood that before.”
“Yeah.”
But Roderick still studied her expression.
Because he had taken it to heart.
He hadn’t questioned it at the time because it had seemed too absurd, but he knew now that Lee-Jae had meant it when she’d said she’d be okay with leaving the castle.
Same with that talk about the forty-nine days.
Lee-Jae sometimes told lies.
But she couldn’t hide the honesty in her eyes and expressions.
She’d said she’d never jumped into the river—yet the longing in her gaze when she looked at the lake had been unmistakably real.
What was she thinking in those moments?
“Why are you getting off already? I thought you weren’t mad.”
When Lee-Jae tried to climb off his lap, Roderick grabbed her by the waist.
“I just thought I’d rest for a bit.”
“Can’t you rest right here, on your husband? You said you liked this sofa.”
“At this point, I feel like I’m too heavy for this sofa.”
He scoffed, but when Lee-Jae said, I’ll just lie down, he gently let her down onto the bed.
She squirmed into a comfortable position, resting her head on the pillow.
Then she opened the diary again.
Roderick quickly pulled the pillow out from under her and slid his arm in to take its place.
Soon enough, Lee-Jae began to giggle.
The clingy King was now fully committed to distracting her.
“Ugh, what are you doing again?”
“What do you mean, again? We left off this morning, didn’t we?”
“I thought we agreed to finish it later?”
He kissed her temple, whispering teasingly by her ear.
His tone—playful and sweet—was unmistakably seductive.
But nestled against his firm chest, Lee-Jae shrank her neck and offered a needless objection.
“Your Majesty. I hate to nitpick, but… how exactly is that ‘leaving off’? I distinctly recall us finishing at least once.”
Why do we humans remember the same event so differently, even just a few hours later?
Roderick simply laughed and tickled her in response.
When she still wouldn’t let go of the diary, he casually tossed it onto the nightstand.
“Take a break already. At this rate, you’re going to write her biography or something.”
But Lee-Jae reached out toward the nightstand with a whine. She even started flailing a little.
Roderick chuckled, a faint crinkle forming at the corner of his eye.
Not because her obsession with the diary was new—but because despite all her effort, her hand didn’t even come close.
In the end, he didn’t release her from his arms, but picked up the diary and placed it back in her small hands.
“Our little bean, when you sit in a dining chair, do your feet even touch the floor? I never thought to check.”
“Your Majesty, that’s not it— I was just lying way down low.”
“Sure, I got it.”
“No, really.”
“I got it.”
His halfhearted reply made Lee-Jae pout.
Roderick tucked her hair behind her ear and asked, “Why do you keep reading only that one?”
“What?”
“The diary. Weren’t there a lot more? You keep holding on to the same one.”
Roderick figured it was better to read something from her childhood than something she wrote right before dying.
If she was going to carry it around all the time, he wished it were something lighter. That was half resignation, half concern.
But Lee-Jae’s eyes widened, and she glanced over her shoulder.
The other diaries were stored in her private study.
It struck her as strange that the King would know about them.
“How do you know that, Your Majesty? Did you go through my things?”
Roderick went silent.
It was true—he had kept watch over her in the past.
He had even checked letters from the Duke.
He’d had his reasons at the time, but now realized he’d just outed himself for something Lee-Jae hadn’t even mentioned.
But after a brief moment of thought, Lee-Jae nodded without much displeasure.
She figured he’d probably seen them when the knight commander removed all the talismans last time.
“Well, remember how I told you my memory isn’t very clear?”
“Huh? Yeah.”
“It’s especially the recent ones—maybe the last three years or so?”
That meant Hailey’s powers had likely begun to manifest around the time Roderick became King.
In fact, it was around then that her diary first started mentioning those terrifying dreams.
“So I was trying to fill in the blanks. At first, I just didn’t want to say anything wrong. But later… the whole situation started to feel off…”
But mid-explanation, Lee-Jae frowned.
Should I have read the rest too? she wondered.
She tilted her head thoughtfully.
“Your Majesty.”
“Yeah?”
“Hailey definitely was hiding something. Don’t you think so?”
The unanswered question still lingered.
What kind of future did you see, Hailey? What was so horrible that someone who didn’t want to die chose death of her own will?
Was that future so dreadful you couldn’t bear to live through it?
“You really are a special person, Your Majesty.”
“…Is that a compliment this time?”
“Yes. When I talk to you, I start remembering things I’d missed before.”
Roderick stared quietly at her.
“What are you trying to say?”
“I should check the rest of the diaries too.”
Lee-Jae’s voice was firm—like she’d already made up her mind.
But Roderick let out a deep sigh, his face clearly saying this was going to be a headache.
“My lady… I shouldn’t have brought it up. Didn’t you say there were over ten? When are you going to read all that?”
“The one who’s thirsty is the one who digs the well.”
Lee-Jae gave him a bright smile as she got up from the bed.
She figured she might as well head to the study right away.
But as she moved to dash out the door, the King panicked and grabbed her wrist.
“Hey!”
Lee-Jae found herself dragged back onto the bed.
She stared at him, confused, and Roderick rubbed his forehead.
“You can’t just go out like that.”
She looked down at herself—then jumped in shock.
Wait… when did my clothes end up like this?
She was having a serious conversation the whole time, but he clearly wasn’t taking a break back there, was he?
She shot him a glare.
“This is all your doing, Your Majesty.”
“Never said it wasn’t.”
“What if someone saw me just bursting out like that, huh?”
Clicking his tongue, he pushed her hands away as she tried to fix her clothes.
“Leave it. I’ll do it.”
He pulled up the garments that had slipped off her shoulders, and re-tied the ribbons he himself had undone earlier.
Then he stepped back a little to inspect her from different angles, finally nodding in approval.
“There. All good.”
“I guess I got ahead of myself. I’ll just run to the study real quick.”
“Alright. Got it.”
Lee-Jae placed her hands gently on his shoulders, then leaned in and planted a soft kiss on his cheek before pulling away.
Unlike before, she walked out of the room with deliberate care in her steps.
Roderick stared at the closed door for a while.
Because in the end, she had left him a little touch of affection—a rare kiss, like rain in a drought.
He brushed his cheek with his fingers and murmured to himself, “If you were going to do it, you might as well have kissed my lips… Her tastes really are something.”
And so, the married couple each found themselves alone in bed—once in the morning, and once in the afternoon.
But lying on the bed without his wife, Roderick simply let out a small laugh.
