Lee-Jae was on her way from returning a valuable book about royal genealogy to the historian.
Suddenly, she stopped in her tracks when she saw Roderick in the distance.
The King was sparring with the captain of the knights, and although it was a close match, the captain seemed to have a slight advantage.
Lee-Jae smiled a little at the sight.
Both of them had such good bone structure that if Roderick hadn’t been born the son of the previous king, he would have become a knight or a general like Jade.
They moved as fluidly as water, making them seem like elegant beasts.
As the Queen watched for a while, Deborah kindly explained.
“The two studied under the same master.”
“…Really?”
“Yes, they were originally close friends and often sparred like this. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen it.”
But Lee-Jae, squinting her eyes, saw something different. Every time they clashed, she saw dark energies dispersing around Roderick.
Realizing something, Lee-Jae nodded.
‘Yes, it’s better to do things like that. Hunting won’t help now.’
Lee-Jae watched a little more and then turned away.
But after a few steps, she stumbled and had to turn around again, because someone snatched her wrist and pulled her back.
It was Roderick.
Wasn’t he just over there a moment ago?
In the distance, Jade, left alone during the sparring, looked slightly bewildered. He stood in that same stance as if time had stopped, at a loss.
“Hailey Duncan.”
“…”
“Where are you going?”
“I was on my way to my room… Your Majesty.”
Lee-Jae used a somewhat formal tone, unable to gauge the King’s mood after not seeing him for a while.
However, Roderick frowned at the sudden distance in her tone.
He looked slightly annoyed.
“Why the sudden change in tone?”
“…”
“I don’t like it when you’re so reserved, so go back to the way you were.”
She had kept her distance because she felt awkward and thought the King had been avoiding her lately. But Roderick seemed even more displeased with that.
Lee-Jae, sensing his mood, silently nodded.
“Yes, understood.”
However, Roderick continued to stand next to her.
It seemed like he had something to say, so she waited for quite a while. But when he still didn’t say anything after a long time, she decided to leave first.
“Then, please continue what you were doing, Your Majesty. I’ll be on my way.”
“…You’re leaving now?”
“Huh?”
“…Who else but a Duncan would do that, being so gracious.”
Whether Roderick knew or didn’t know some things, he sure knew how to get under other people’s skin.
The atmosphere became very quiet.
Thinking she might have misheard, Lee-Jae widened her eyes slightly, and Roderick said.
“I was just saying it, of course. I wasn’t saying it to you.”
“…”
Even after thinking about it twice, Lee-Jae felt that the words were directed at her. It seemed to be passive aggressive or as if he meant something else.
However, ignoring her puzzled gaze, Roderick sheathed his sword and bluntly spat out.
“Go.”
“Huh?”
“Continue on your way.”
“Shouldn’t you keep doing that?”
It seemed that continuing would be much more beneficial for his life, but Roderick shook his head.
“No. We know each other too well, so it gets boring.”
At those words, Lee-Jae let out a laugh. She didn’t have any friends, let alone old friends at the very least, but the two of them seemed to have a very good relationship.
Lee-Jae looked at the King’s face again. She kept looking because a person’s fortune can change frequently. It was dynamic in nature.
“…”
The King definitely did not have any noticeable good fortune on his face.
But having a good person like that can offset each other’s bad luck. The saying that ‘having three good friends equals a successful life’ is also valid in the study of fortune-telling and physiognomy.
‘He’s gotten better. He should stick with Jade.’
And as he quietly looked at Lee-Jae’s brightly smiling face, he asked her after walking a bit more.
“Have you been well?”
“Yes, so-so.”
“When someone asks about your well-being, isn’t it customary to respond by asking about their own wellbeing? Don’t you know that?”
Why was he being so aggressive again?
Feeling a bit awkward and annoyed, she decided to respond appropriately.
In fact, she was now confident that he wouldn’t get too angry no matter what she said when he was in his right mind.
“Have you been well? I haven’t seen you lately, so I was curious how you’ve been.”
Roderick replied as if he had been waiting for that,
“I thought you’d be uncomfortable if I came again.”
“Why would I be?”
“You looked at me like I was a bug that day. I was hurt too.”
“…Did I?”
“…I was just saying.”
Lee-Jae laughed at this and shook her head.
“When did I ever look at you like that? I was just surprised.”
“Okay. If it wasn’t like that, then it’s fine.”
Roderick thought it was a pointless thing to do, but he didn’t feel too disappointed. In fact, he felt refreshed. It was actually because Lee-Jae had just hit a spirit that was rushing behind him.
And as she rubbed her right wrist because her arm was burning, he asked.
“You don’t like the bracelet?”
“Yes?”
It seemed like he was saying that he didn’t like the fact that she was wearing her original bracelet on one wrist and the one he gave her on the other, as if she was only wearing it out of courtesy to him.
Roderick didn’t elaborate, but Lee-Jae understood belatedly and replied.
“Oh, I liked it, thank you. But my hobby isn’t collecting bracelets, it’s carving them myself. You see, that really takes a lot of effort, Your Majesty.”
She thought he might be offended, but he just smirked.
Roderick took Lee-Jae’s wrist and examined the roughly carved bracelet. Raising an eyebrow, he let go of her hand and said,
“Quite the unique taste.”
“My taste is… not for Your Majesty to judge. Just respect it. That’s enough.”
“Fine. Understood.”
He agreed but kept chuckling. He seemed amused.
After glancing at Roderick’s smile, Lee-Jae reached out again and hit another spirit that was attached to his back. The spirit laughed, with red blood bleeding from its eyes, but Lee-Jae gave it a stern warning with her gaze.
Don’t come here. Don’t bother him.
It was then.
While she was looking elsewhere, Roderick said in a casual tone.
“Hayley. I heard you borrowed a book regarding royal genealogy.”
“…Yes.”
It was so quick that she flinched.
It’s because Lee-Jae was embarrassed that he knew all those details.
“Can you read it?”
Even though he knew she couldn’t, he asked. His gaze at Lee-Jae was very serious and still.
“…No. I was just curious.”
If he had asked more, Lee-Jae would have continued talking. But since Roderick didn’t ask further, she felt his distrust even more.
What are you thinking right now?
After walking in silence for a while, Roderick suddenly changed direction. It was a completely different direction from the path to Lee-Jae’s quarters.
“Your Majesty?”
“There is a place called Arthur’s Forest within the castle. Do you know it?”
She vaguely remembered hearing about it. If so, this was not in Lee-Jae’s memory but Hailey’s. Lee-Jae had started to get confused between her own and Hailey’s memories lately.
“It’s a sacred forest that has existed since the founding of the kingdom. Only the royal family can enter; neither nobles nor caretakers are allowed.”
“…”
“Do you want to go?”
Roderick looked at Lee-Jae with an inscrutable gaze.
When Lee-Jae nodded, he took her wrist and led her somewhere.
At the road where the forest began, Lee-Jae’s mouth fell open. The densely packed trees stretched skyward, with no branches low enough to reach.
However, Lee-Jae was not impressed by the scenery.
This forest was sacred itself.
The energy she had faintly felt at the palace grounds and the energy flowing through the King’s body, the energy she had felt from the powerful foreign spirit—all of it was exploding from this forest. It felt so refreshing and may be even called- divine.
Shrine maidens who serve lesser gods involuntarily kneel before a maiden serving a stronger god. Lee-Jae felt that exact sensation.
Lee-Jae turned her head and looked at Roderick.
Then the King asked with the shape of his mouth.
What?
She wanted to ask if he didn’t feel this reverence, but she silently shook her head to her self.
And then, suddenly, Lee-Jae realized something.
The King was in danger outside this castle.
This Castle was both a place of danger and the strongest shield protecting him.
So, what was the real problem?
As soon as Lee-Jae stepped into the forest, she laughed when she saw that the spirits who had been following Roderick were disappearing or unable to come after him.
Roderick and Lee-Jae didn’t go far before finding a suitable spot to sit.
He even took off his coat and spread it on the ground for her. Lee-Jae, who had grown up sitting on the mountain and picking all sorts of herbs, found this amusing and let out a small laugh.
“Don’t go in too deep. Don’t come here alone without me. No one comes here, so you never know what or who might be lurking.”
Lee-Jae thought there wouldn’t be any evil here, but she didn’t argue with him.
Instead, she asked the King, who had a clear gaze, “Don’t you come here often? The air… don’t you feel how good it is?”
She could only explain it in such a cute way.
However, Roderick affirmed Lee-Jae’s words coolly.
“Well, it certainly seems that way. But I’ve been busy since my coronation.”
“From now on, exercise with Sir Jade like before and come here often.”
That way, you can win this fight.
Lee-Jae sincerely advised him. But sensing something else in her expression, Roderick looked at her and said,
“You sound like you’re giving your last words.”
“Me?”
She had no such intention. Lee-Jae truly had no desire to die.
But no matter what she said, she couldn’t erase the image of Hailey Duncan throwing herself into the water from his mind.
Lee-Jae sighed and laughed. She stared at the leaves of the tree and opened her mouth.
“Your Majesty, you once said you don’t trust me but that it wasn’t intentional.”
“Yes.”
“Your Majesty also doesn’t believe my words, but I don’t intentionally try to die. People die when it’s their time. So, could you give me back the carving knife? Did you take it because you were worried about that?”
My bracelet is really struggling right now. My arm hurts a lot. I need a friend for the totem.
Roderick chuckled. The Queen was more persistent than he thought.
“You’re more stubborn than you look. Fine.”
And then he seemed to be thinking about something for a while.
“But Hailey, your words sound a bit strange to me.”
“What do you mean?”
“It’s like saying you don’t make an effort to live either. People die when it’s their time.”
“…”
What he said was right on the nail. Of course, that was not all about Lee-Jae.
Your Majesty, actually, I really wanted to live too. I tried my best to do so.
But no matter how hard we struggle, we can’t overcome fate.
However, she couldn’t unravel all those complex stories and argue her case to him.
So, she just smiled faintly and turned her gaze away.
Roderick continued to stare at Lee-Jae’s profile with his blue eyes. He felt a strange, inexplicable feeling again.
‘It’s strange. She is most definitely a Duncan.’
‘I’m not the person you think I am.’
‘I’m a madman and a tyrant.’
‘No, you are absolutely not mad. I know for sure.’
The growing attraction and mistrust.
The unspeakable truths and undeniable suspicions.
Carrying all of that, the two of them were enveloped in the sacred air of the forest for a long time.
They’re finally getting closer!!!