After returning from the hunt, Roderick refrained from entering the Queen’s chamber for a while.
Whether it was because she disliked snakes or because of what she had done, the wound lingered quietly and deeply.
Moreover, seeing her cry so miserably over another man made him cautious.
He couldn’t understand how he ended up in a situation where he couldn’t even share a bed with his own wife. However, he did not want to force her. He acknowledged that the responsibility for this marriage lay with the Duke and himself.
As a result, Roderick’s insomnia worsened, and his temper grew more sensitive by the day. He rubbed his forehead after a restless sleep. It was a symptom of the onset of his madness.
Early in the morning, Jade arrived at the King’s chamber and asked the chamberlain, “How is His Majesty?”
“He isn’t sleeping well. In fact, he does not seem to be in a good mood,” the chamberlain replied cautiously.
Seeing Jade’s serious expression, the chamberlain suggested, “Perhaps it is time to involve the Queen.”
“Let us observe the situation a little longer,” Jade responded.
They discussed the timing of involving the Queen, and they were very serious.
Entering the King’s chamber, Jade examined his friend’s complexion. Even Jade, who had been reserved, could not help but agree with the chamberlain after seeing the King’s face.
“Your Majesty, perhaps you should visit the Queen,” Jade suggested.
It was truly strange, but people had to acknowledge the facts. The King seemed to sleep well and be at ease when he was with the Queen.
However, Roderick frowned.
“She said she didn’t like it,” he grumbled.
“Well… it might not be that she dislikes Your Majesty, but rather that she finds the act of catching snakes repulsive. In fact, many of the knights feel the same way,” Jade explained.
“It’s pathetic that the knights of Cayenne can’t even catch a snake. As the captain of the knights, you share some responsibility for that,” Roderick clicked his tongue in disapproval.
The King held out for exactly four days. In this world, there are often people who overestimate their health and distrust hospitals. But even such people, when they feel deathly ill, will seek a doctor no matter what anyone says. Unknowingly accustomed to this pattern, Roderick, the patient, went to the hospital on his own.
Upon hearing that the King was coming, Lee-Jae was rather pleased to receive him. This time, as Roderick entered Lee-Jae’s room, he did not frown. He merely rubbed his face and let out a hollow laugh.
‘The air is different again,’ he thought.
The eerie voices he occasionally heard were gone. The spirits and spirits could not enter the room. The King realized that he was truly going mad. But if he was going to go mad anyway, this direction was better than others. At least this way, there would be no loss of life. He was just bothering the Queen a bit.
“You’re here?” Lee-Jae asked.
“Yes,” Roderick replied gruffly, sitting down on the sofa. “Why don’t you ever visit?”
Lee-Jae remained silent.
“You know I can’t sleep without you,” he said. The King tilted his head slightly, realizing that what he said was true. Did he really need the Queen to sleep?
“I wanted to see you too,” Lee-Jae admitted.
“Really?”
“Yes. I was a bit worried.”
“About what?”
Lee-Jae didn’t answer but just smiled. Roderick felt quite pleased.
“Then come visit sometimes. You don’t need to bring a pillow. I have two in my room.”
Lee-Jae recalled her bucket list. She realized that the item ‘1. Visit the Emperor’s bedroom’ was about to be fulfilled.
Roderick pulled Lee-Jae to sit on the sofa and comfortably lay his head on her lap. Having been sleepless since the hunting competition, he brought her hand to his face.
“Do that thing for me,” he said.
Lee-Jae smiled, finding him strangely cute despite his large size. As she began to press his head with her soft fingertips, Roderick felt the same sensation again. His body felt incredibly light, and his sharp mood calmed down.
Roderick gazed at Lee-Jae with his deep blue eyes. He grabbed her moving hand.
“Hailey, have you studied medicine? Or did you go to a temple? Did you aspire to be a priestess or something?”
Roderick, being the King, knew the history of the Kingdom of Cayenne better than others. While the people thought it was just a myth, the continent once had such mysterious powers. But they had completely disappeared nearly four hundred years ago.
Lee-Jae answered vaguely, “I haven’t, but you could say it’s similar. The desire to wish for well-being is actually quite similar.”
“I’m not joking. Being with you makes my head clear. Why is that?” he asked, genuinely curious.
People might think the King was flirting again, but Lee-Jae knew his question was valid. Instead of making excuses or admitting anything, she said something else.
“Your Majesty, then use me.”
“Use you?”
“Yes, if you can’t sleep, use me as a pillow. I’m still a bit uncomfortable with sharing a blanket, though.”
“Ah, so there’s a possibility with the blanket too. But saying ‘use me’ is a bit cold for a couple. Does it only make me feel at ease when we’re together?”
Lee-Jae shook her head.
“I enjoy talking to you too. It’s fun.”
Roderick, who had been gazing at Lee-Jae, suddenly asked, “Then, how about another kiss?”
She flinched and glared at him.
“Your Majesty asked me to massage you, so I’m sweating and working hard here. How can you say something like that when I’m doing my best?”
“It was a joke. Can’t a couple make this kind of joke?”
But in truth, it wasn’t a joke at all, and Roderick sulkily said, “But if you reject me so bluntly, men get hurt too. Give your husband some leeway.”
“…Did I hurt you?”
“…I was just saying.”
Lee-Jae looked very troubled. Then, hesitating, she leaned down. She gave him a peck on each cheek and tried to pull away, but this time Roderick sat up. He laid her down on the sofa and grabbed her wrists.
“You’re definitely a fox. Do you have a tail? I can’t confirm because I can’t see under your clothes. Oh, I think I caught a glimpse on our first night.”
As his hand moved towards her bottom, Lee-Jae squirmed and laughed.
“Ah, why are you doing this? Stop joking around.”
“Why? Are you going to go ‘uwaaah’ again? It was cute, though.”
He gently pinched her soft cheek and let go.
“Hailey. Let’s do it one more time.”
“…”
“I want to confirm something.”
“…What?”
What was that feeling back then? Why did I want to kiss you when you were crying?
Lee-Jae closed her eyes. As the royal couple engaged in a passionate kiss on the sofa, people turned their heads away. But unlike last time, when there was no sign of it ending, they quietly slipped out of the room.
Roderick, briefly separating from the kiss, said, “Hailey. Let’s hold hands.”
“…”
“My hand is wandering against my will.”
He glanced over Lee-Jae’s body.
“Goodness. I never knew I married such a pervert.”
“So, you’re glad we got married, right?”
Roderick’s quick response to her words made Lee-Jae burst into laughter. She took his hand.
“Your Majesty has a very unique way of asking to hold hands.”
“It’s all tactics. What won’t you say to hold hands?”
In truth, the King was a bit annoyed that the Queen always pulled her hand away, but he laughed. Then he pressed his lips to hers again. Their saliva mixed and spilled out. If the kiss before the hunt was gentlemanly, this one was more primal and voracious. Wet sounds filled the air, and as he sucked on her tongue, Lee-Jae felt her body tremble slightly. This kind of kiss was almost like having sex, she guessed, though she lacked experience to be sure.
Roderick fiddled with Lee-Jae’s swollen lips, which he had sucked and bitten too much. The King could confirm what that feeling was. It was the beginning of an emotion beyond affection. And unknowingly, it had grown quite a bit.
He lifted her up and placed her on the bed. As the King climbed onto the bed with her, Lee-Jae flinched slightly. She had an idea of what the next step was after a kiss and moving to the bed.
But Roderick asked her, “Hailey. Did you like Lawrence a lot?”
“…”
“Even from afar, enough to bring you to tears?”
“I guess so.” Lee-Jae felt a pang in her heart again. She readily acknowledged Hailey’s feelings and simultaneously denied them.
“But Your Majesty, it’s all in the past. Emotions eventually fade away; it’s the natural order of things.”
“…”
“So this too shall pass quickly.”
Roderick stared at his wife. Sometimes she spoke in riddles, but her words held a strange power. Couldn’t others feel this?
“Then I won’t rush you. But we need to be clear about one thing.”
“What’s that?”
“Forget about Lawrence and move on for good.”
“…”
“We can take things slow with our relationship until your heart is at ease.”
“…You’re being a really good husband.”
For an impromptu marriage, it seemed somewhat successful. Lee-Jae thought that maybe this life wouldn’t be entirely miserable. But when she laid down on the bed, keeping a considerable distance, Roderick felt a bit disappointed.
“Hailey.”
“Yes?”
“Should I be your arm pillow again?”
Lee-Jae shook her head.
“I’m heavy. It’s fine.”
“If your tiny head is heavy, how am I supposed to wield a sword?”
“Still, sleeping like that can strain your muscles.”
Roderick furrowed his brow.
“Are you saying because you don’t know, or are you just finding an excuse to refuse?”
“What?”
“I’m just trying to find a reason to get you closer.”
Lee-Jae smiled and shifted her position. She found a spot under Roderick’s arm, but he pulled her closer and slipped his arm under her head.
“I think I’ll be doing this often from now on, so find a comfortable position.”
Lee-Jae pondered for a moment. After some hesitation, she chose to lie on her side with her back to Roderick. He also found a more stable position, wrapping his arm around her waist. Lee-Jae frowned slightly. The waist was a strategic point where the hand could move up or down. Despite her endurance, when one of his legs came up, she couldn’t bear it any longer. She felt like a bamboo wife*.
[*T/N: A Korean version of a bolster/pillow that people use to hug in their sleep.]
“Still, I’d prefer if you kept your leg down.”
“If I’m going to put it up eventually while sleeping, do I really have to?”
“Don’t justify it that way. It’s heavy. And I need an adjustment period too.”
She said it jokingly, but there was a hint of loneliness on her face as well. She knew the king was trying to close the distance between them.
“Do I still make you that uncomfortable and awkward?”
“No, it’s not exactly that…”
What if one day you suddenly start disliking me? So, you don’t need to try so hard to be nice to me. I’m really fine, and I’m much more comfortable this way.
As she seemed about to say something but hesitated, Roderick couldn’t contain his curiosity and asked again.
“Not exactly what?”
But Lee-Jae ultimately kept quiet. She didn’t want to burden him with her feelings stemming from her unfortunate past. Such things could sometimes be a burden to the other person.
“It’s nothing.”
“Hey, why do you keep starting to say something and then stopping? You know that drives people crazy, right?”
Roderick, curious and annoyed, poked Lee-Jae with a face that looked like it was about to get mad. Today, too, he was amazed by the various techniques of the suspected Duncan family secret, which could irritate people. He couldn’t give up easily and kept bothering Lee-Jae. Finally, Lee-Jae, who found laughing painful, said,
“I’m sorry, really sorry. I genuinely forgot what I was going to say.”
“Really? Then you deserve a punishment too, right?”
Mischievously, Roderick entwined his leg with hers.
