Follow Your Heart

“Glory to Cayenne.”

The 1st Knight Commander gave a textbook-like salute and examined Roderick’s complexion. The king’s madness, which was not unusual, recently seemed to be becoming increasingly frequent.

Every time there was a symptom, the momentum was more explosive than before, but he also calmed down more easily.

This was because the vengeful spirit that provoked Roderick was becoming stronger, and the person defending against it was also exerting more effort.

Lee-Jae did not want this result, but Lee-Jae and the vengeful spirit were ultimately engaged in a battle of wills.

“What is it?”

Jade put the sealed papers on the desk.

“It is a report stating that there are clear signs of artificial traces behind the accident of the eldest daughter of Baronet Mooer.”

It was about Roderick’s first fiancée. At first, it seemed like a very coincidental accident, but when the second fiancée also died from poisoning, the royal family began a belated investigation.

Roderick nodded once at the expected result. However, the Knight Commander brought up another topic.

“And Your Majesty, it seems that Her Majesty the Queen has a diary that she brought from the Duke’s residence.”

“A diary?”

“Yes. There are about ten volumes, but she hasn’t written in them since entering the palace; she only reads them.”

It sounded rather strange.

However, it was common for people in the castle to be cautious about records.

This was because they understood both the importance and the danger of records. Didn’t the royal family pass down important facts to future generations using a script that only they could understand? It was maintained of utmost secrecy. 

Jade’s interest in Hailey’s diary was for this reason. He thought he could infer important information from it.

The King seemed to be steadily drawing Hailey closer. But sometimes, it seemed like he was being drawn in. So, Jade asked very carefully,

“Shall we investigate the contents?”

The King did not answer immediately and stroked his chin.

“How is the situation with Duke Duncan these days?”

“There are no major movements. He continues to advocate for the reinstatement of Albert Duncan to the nobles.”

Roderick clicked his tongue. Then, thinking a bit more about the diary, he soon shook his head. He felt strangely reluctant.

“Let the Queen get to keep her privacy at least.”

“…Your Majesty.”

The Commander of the Knights seemed somewhat opposed, but Roderick shook his head once again.

“I don’t want to be a vulgar man who has the audacity to go through his wife’s childhood diary without her permission.”

“…”

Jade wanted to ask, with the behavior from his childhood, if such pride could manage to protect the throne.

However, if Jade had known that Hailey’s diary was never more than a short list of five lines, he would not have made such a scandalous admonition.

And Roderick was thinking a little differently. He was just rationalizing himself, just like Lee-Jae did.

In any case, Hailey Duncan had already rejected the Duke’s requests twice on her own.

Although he could not completely trust her… Roderick stood up without further regret.

“Let’s go stretch our legs.”

It was rare for the King to make such a suggestion, so Jade followed him with a bewildered expression.

 

Lee-Jae was sitting far away from the lakeside. As before, she was sitting in the flower bed, but her eyes could not leave the magnificent lake.

However, when the foreign spirit suddenly appeared next to her, she lowered her gaze to the ground.

Ah, that thing is back again. Lee-Jae grumbled to herself.

– Why are you pretending not to know me again?

“…”

Lee-Jae looked around pretending she didn’t hear it. Then she looked for branches and began to write something hard on the dirt floor. It was a spell to repel spirits.

Of course, the powerful foreign spirit was unaffected. It was not the kind of vengeful spirit that would be affected by such spells, but Lee-Jae was just expressing her dissatisfaction.

– Do you dislike talking to me? I think I’m quite likable.

“…”

– Are faces like me less attractive in the world these days?

Somehow, she couldn’t control her exasperation, so Lee-Jae snapped a twig and scribbled on the ground.

Why are spirits always so talkative?

Of course, Kang Lee-Jae knew why. This was because spirits are naturally interested in humans and want to talk to them. In fact, they were envious and resented them. It may be just because humans were alive but they were not.

Having seen him several times, Lee-Jae found him more annoying than scary, so she just picked a fight. She muttered as if she were talking to herself.

“If you’re that competitive and attractive, what are you going to do? Are you going to seduce a female spirit?”

Then, a boyish laugh rang out. Lee-Jae gave up completely and looked around. The maids and knights were standing a few dozen paces away to ensure the Queen’s quiet rest.

Lee-Jae raised her brow at the floating spirit.

“Can you please stop talking to me?”

– I’m not a bad spirit. I’m interested in you.

Then Lee-Jae looked really disgusted.

No matter how interested she was in a luxurious afterlife, she refused to deal with such spirits.

If she were to do it, she would do it with her legal spouse.

– No, hey, I went too far. I didn’t mean that. Of course, I’m not attracted to you at all.

When Lee-Jae expressed more disgust than before, the foreign spirit waved his hands in panic.

– I’m just interested in you as a human. I’m a guardian spirit, not a vengeful spirit. Or you can think of me as a bound spirit.

“Whether you’re a vengeful spirit or not, I don’t care. I keep getting entangled with the afterlife because of you. I just want to live a normal life like everyone else.”

He did not respond to that. Lee-Jae knew it. As long as she was born with the ability to see spirits, she could never live like others. That was Lee-Jae’s fate.

Suddenly, a question came up, and she asked the foreign spirit.

“If you’re the guardian spirit of this castle, why don’t you help him? If something happens to him, won’t the fate of Cayenne be shaken?”

Lee-Jae was looking at Roderick, who was sparring with Jade in the distance. In her eyes, every time their swords clashed, the vengeful spirits fell away with a resounding thud.

Lee-Jae turned her head back to the spirit.

“Did he commit a crime so great that he deserved to suffer like that? I want to know.”

The foreign spirit studied her eyes intently for what felt like an eternity.

And he answered calmly.

– I can’t tell you that. It’s fate. You have to figure it out yourselves.

“…I knew it.”

Lee-Jae turned her gaze back to the ground, muttering to herself.

As expected, talking to spirits is only a loss for me. They do whatever they want all the time.

Lee-Jae started writing a spell to repel spirits again with the half-broken twig. This time, she even drew a bagua* and went wild.

[TN: A Tao symbol that incorporated the principles of yin and yang, and the balance between all things in nature.]

Watching her amusedly, the foreign spirit asked.

– You don’t like my face that much? Aren’t I good-looking even for a spirit?

“No, it’s not. And I’m not attracted to men younger than me. I grew up in an environment that made me mature quickly.”

– I’m old. I’m over 500 years old.

“I don’t want to know the age of a dead person!”

Lee-Jae was frustrated. She realized that this life was also going downhill like the last one, exchanging useless words with spirits.

A sudden thought came to her mind, and she suddenly opened her palm. Then she looked at Hailey’s palm.

“…His fortune line wasn’t good and this one’s not any better either.”

The King had everything, but how can people’s fates be so unfair?

Lee-Jae clenched his fist with a wounded expression.

And as she was drawing meaningless lines with the twig, the foreign spirit’s voice was heard.

– Kang Lee-Jae.

“…”

She paused. He knew her name, even though she hadn’t told him.

A being with clear intelligence and a deeper understanding of the universe than humans.

As expected, he was not an ordinary spirit.

When Lee-Jae looked up at him with nervous eyes, he smiled and said.

– You and Hailey have already died once, haven’t you?

“…”

– So why do you keep worrying?

Lee-Jae just looked at the cheerfully smiling boy without saying a word.

Just as she was about to ask something, narrowing her eyes, he shrugged and pointed ahead.

– Look ahead, Roderick is heading over.

“…”

– He looks quite troubled.

When Lee-Jae turned her gaze back to the front, Roderick was walking towards her with a frown.

And as he stopped sparring, the vengeful spirits that had been circling around seemed to see an opportunity. They were rushing towards him.

“Hailey Duncan.”

Lee-Jae almost smiled at the sound of his voice. As the foreign spirit had said, there was a slightly irritated tone heard.

However, she could not smile anymore.

Usually when Lee-Jae was near Roderick, some spirits did not approach him. However, not at this level.

The spirits who had been chasing Roderick did not dare to come closer. Rather, they were moving away again. Lee-Jae glanced to her right.

On their wedding day, was his surroundings so clean because this foreign spirit was guarding the hall?

The spirit was powerful indeed. Then, instead of holding back, why not help him wholeheartedly?

Of course, Lee-Jae was also holding back here.

But having discovered a powerful, impenetrable shield, she smiled contently.