Lee-Jae observed the King for a long time. Her gaze was sharp and investigative.
But she soon tilted her head to one side.
“…”
It was a truly rare sight.
Although it was faint, there was clearly a spirit flowing through the king’s body. It was sacred, similar to the aura of the Palace, and even resembled the Western spirit she had seen earlier in the hall.
But how could such a person carry so many vengeful spirits?
Ordinary people couldn’t even be able to function properly with even one vengeful spirit attached to them.
It seemed that the one who should have died was not Hailey, who had thrown herself into the water, but the King instead.
At that moment, Lee-Jae saw a vague figure whispering something behind the king.
Lee-Jae quickly spoke to Roderick because she knew he shouldn’t listen to that vicious voice.
“Excuse me, Your Majesty. Are you okay?”
“…”
“Your Majesty, um, are… Are you in a lot of pain? Please lift your head.”
The King did not respond for a long time. But when Lee-Jae continued to whisper, he slowly raised his head and looked straight at her.
He had been frowning until a moment ago, but now he had a somewhat cold, yet calm expression.
However, sensing a chilling premonition in his expression that others might not notice, Lee-Jae flinched.
She shouted in a hurry.
“Why are you like this?! Snap out of it!”
“…”
“You’re not this kind of person!”
She didn’t know what kind of person he was, but to be fair, at least he wouldn’t be like this.
Suddenly, a strong wave of murderous intent emanated from him. Lee-Jae shouted out recklessly.
Roderick frowned at that. It was a very distressing expression, but now it was rather better because it seemed like a genuine response.
Lee-Jae felt as if her voice were piercing through his consciousness, trying to wake him up.
Behind him, the vengeful spirit was gritting its teeth, and this time, Lee-Jae grabbed his shoulder and shook him vigorously.
“You can’t lose after hanging in there for this long!”
“…”
“No, why are you acting like this on our first night when you were fine earlier?”
She bit her lips as she was speaking, getting a little emotional without realizing it.
Roderick, who had been pressing his forehead for a long time, suddenly collapsed.
He completely entrusted his body to her.
Startled, Lee-Jae stiffened and couldn’t step back for fear of him falling.
“…Are you sleeping?”
“…”
He seemed to be okay now, thankfully.
At that, she breathed a sigh of relief.
“Then, please move away from me, no… Don’t wake up. Keep sleeping. Sleep deeply, Your Majesty.”
Lee-Jae laid Roderick in the middle of the bed.
His solid body was heavy, and she struggled for a while. But she thought, at least this person has a sturdy body, which is fortunate.
As she covered him with a blanket up to his chest and bowed, she could smell a faint scent of alcohol from him.
Lee-Jae clicked her tongue slightly.
“You’re a person who shouldn’t drink, yet you did.”
At best, it seemed like he had a drink or two, but that was also dangerous for someone in this condition.
And before long, Lee-Jae realized the cause of the danger as well.
There was a shabby-looking drunkard spirit hovering around the king.
“…It’s quite a variety, really.”
Lee-Jae’s face showed her evident distress.
Her expression became even more grim as a single legged spirit that looked like a soldier scurried around the room.
Lee-Jae was a person who could sleep with a couple of spirits; it wasn’t that hard.
It was because of the environment she grew up in.
But there were too many of them, and after a big event, Lee-Jae wanted to sleep quietly. The King’s dreams seemed troubled as well as he scrunched up his face.
It was clear that even while sleeping, he was in pain. At this rate, he probably never got a proper night’s sleep.
How long has it been like this?For him?
“…”
Lee-Jae looked at the king with a troubled expression for a while. It was because what she was trying to do was very burdensome for her as well.
There is a saying in Western philosophy.
‘He who fights with monsters should be careful lest he thereby become a monster.’
And a similar saying-
‘If you look into the abyss, the abyss also looks into you.’
Of course, they used it in a more noble sense, but the same applied to spirits.
If Lee-Jae was aware of them, they were aware of her.
If Lee-Jae intervened with them, they would intervene in her life.
Lee-Jae knew that from her previous life that it made her life even more unhappy. Originally, when people are entangled with spirits, there is nothing good to come about it.
However, Lee-Jae, who was hesitant, eventually stood up from her place.
‘Let’s consider it as a repayment for stopping Duke Duncan from hitting me. Although I seem to be losing more in this deal… Just this once.’
The bedroom was as large as an average house, but since it was in a palace, there was a separate study.
All she needed was a piece of paper, but she was unable to find it, Lee-Jae ended up tearing the hem of the slip she was wearing.
Then she bit her index finger hard.
With the blood dripping, Lee-Jae wrote a few Chinese characters in a disassembled form and spread the cloth on the bedside.
“…”
She wasn’t sure if this method would work here. But what she learned from watching Granny Yeongsan over her shoulder was that, in the end, everything was a matter of energy.
Lee-Jae stared straight at the group of spirits she had been ignoring until just a moment ago.
Then they all looked at Lee-Jae with gleaming eyes.
It was a chilling and hair-raising sight, but Lee-Jae did not back down and kept her eyes wide open. Losing in terms of energy would be the end of it, after all.
“Spirits, the time of the living and the dead move differently.”
Lee-Jae moved a little closer to the crowd.
“The worlds of the living and the dead should never mix.”
-…
“O, Impure ones.”
-…
“You must return to where you belong. Now.”
She sat quietly until the dark energies slowly disappeared from their places and scattered outside the room.
And finally, when the surroundings became peaceful, Lee-Jae let out a deep breath of relief.
She only had the ability to see spirits; she was not a true shaman. She was not a formally trained priestess either.
So this was only a temporary measure of precaution. She did not have the power to send them all to nirvana, only to drive them away for a moment.
…But at least now, that person could have a good night’s sleep tonight.
After pushing the blood-stained hem of her dress under the bed, she was suddenly overcome by severe dizziness and nausea.
Gagging and retching, she collapsed on the corner of the bed and fell asleep.
* * *
Lee-Jae opened her eyes again because of a piercing gaze she felt. Frowning, she looked out the window to see the sky still dimly lit.
When she turned her head towards the source of the gaze, she saw a man with jet-black hair like the gaze of an awaiting wild beast, sitting beside her, staring at her intently. It was her husband, whom she had married the day before.
Startled, Lee-Jae jumped up abruptly.
Roderick, who had been watching her every move, scanned her body.
“Did I do that?”
What he was pointing at with his finger was her slip, which was half torn off at the bottom.
Realizing she had slept like this without even covering herself with a blanket, she hurriedly pulled down the hem of her slip. But even then, the slip barely covered her underwear.
“I don’t remember having such a passionate night.”
Roderick said calmly, as if he had been awake for a long time.
He simply looked at her with a questioning expression.
“Yes, you fell asleep as soon as you came in.”
“…”
“I’m not complaining about that. Not at all.”
Feeling that her words might sound like a complaint, Lee-Jae added timidly. Meanwhile, she kept pulling down the hem of her slip to try to keep her tiny underwear from showing.
Seeing her struggle, Roderick turned his gaze to the window and tossed her a blanket.
“Cover yourself.”
“…Thank you.”
As Lee-Jae hurriedly covered herself, he turned his gaze back to her.
“If it wasn’t me… who did that to you?”
“…”
Lee-Jae kept her mouth shut. After a long period of silence, she remembered that he disliked being asked the same question multiple times, but the King seemed very calm.
He had slept deeply for the first time in a while and felt unusually clear-headed. In fact, his physical condition was excellent.
“Are you trying to say that an intruder came into this room?”
“No, that’s not it.”
The intruder who came almost became you yesterday.
“Then?”
“I think… I did it myself.”
“Why?”
Roderick asked, genuinely puzzled, and Lee-Jae gritted her teeth as she answered.
“I must have felt uncomfortable and hot in my sleep…”
He frowned slightly at the foolish answer.
“You seemed to be sufficiently undressed from the beginning.”
“…”
Roderick looked at her shoulders, which were only covered by two thin straps.
“Are you that sensitive to heat?”
“That’s not it… It was just, there was a little bit of a situation.”
Even Lee-Jae thought it didn’t make sense. Who would tear their clothes like this because they were uncomfortable and hot?
But she couldn’t tell him the truth, so Lee-Jae looked gloomy.
The King didn’t ask any further questions and got up from the bed. Perhaps he already thought she was strange.
“Get some more rest.”
Lee-Jae looked at him with a resentful expression, but Roderick was already slowly leaving the room.
‘What the… If you pretend to believe me like that, it makes me feel even more… embarrassed. I won’t do this again, never!’
It was the piercing memory of their first night together.
