The Royal Family’s meal proceeded in a rather relaxed atmosphere, thanks to the Prince’s consistently gentle demeanor. The Queen seemed curious about him, sneaking glances in his direction.
Noticing this, the King let out a small chuckle.
“Your Majesty, the Queen is just as beautiful as they say.”
It was a standard compliment, something polite to say. Lee-Jae was about to return the gesture with something equally pleasant, but Roderick spoke first.
“That’s actually my biggest complaint.”
Both Lee-Jae and Edgar turned to him, but the King remained completely nonchalant, resting his chin on his hand.
“I spend my life constantly worrying that someone might try to steal her away. I can’t even get properly angry at her.”
“Your Majesty, what are you—”
Lee-Jae tried to stop him, but Roderick continued.
“The only consolation is that my Queen is incredibly frugal.”
“…”
“Of course, the problem is that she’s frugal with me as well. But that’s a minor issue.”
“…”
“Edgar, this is what it’s like to be a man with a beautiful wife.”
Essentially, he was telling his brother not to get married. Not that anyone at the table took his words seriously.
Lee-Jae, momentarily at a loss for words, mouthed at him:
“Your Majesty, what are you even doing right now?”
Roderick casually mouthed back:
“What? I said nothing wrong.”
Watching this silent exchange, the Knight Commander couldn’t help but wonder,
Why are His and Her Majesties having a private conversation when they have a guest?
But as someone who had known the King for a long time, he had a pretty good idea of what was going on. The King was just showing off his wife—though he was pretending not to. He was cutting himself down just to put a golden halo around his Queen.
Prince Edgar smiled, a little embarrassed. But soon, he was caught even more off guard.
Just as the Queen was about to start eating, the King reached for her plate.
“Give it to me. I’ll do it.”
This had been happening frequently lately. But with his brother present, Lee-Jae felt self-conscious and quickly pulled her plate closer.
“It’s fine. I can do it myself.”
Yet, the King simply extended his hand further.
“Give it to me. Now.”
“…”
“It’s not like my arms are too short to reach.”
In the end, she relented, and the King proceeded to cut her food into bite-sized pieces.
Watching this, Edgar had an extremely complicated expression.
Was his brother always this considerate?
His attitude toward the Queen was… unexpectedly tender.
Lee-Jae noticed that Edgar was now looking at Roderick with an increasingly puzzled gaze. She forced a slightly awkward smile and urged him,
“Please, go ahead and eat, Your Highness.”
After a brief pause, Edgar smiled gently.
“Your Majesty.”
“Yes?”
“Please, just call me Edgar.”
“Oh, but that wouldn’t be proper.”
As the two shared a pleasant exchange, Roderick chuckled to himself.
Yet, he found himself lost in thought.
How did things start between him and his Queen?
Their first meeting had probably been at her debutante ball. But he had no particularly strong memory of it. That realization disappointed him.
Why didn’t I talk to her more back then? he wondered. It must have been because she was a Duncan.
Maybe if he had spoken to her more, he would have understood her better by now.
Feeling a little regretful, he absentmindedly scratched the end of his eyebrow.
“What were you studying, Your Highness?” Lee-Jae asked.
“Archaeology, history, and philosophy, among other things.”
“You seem to have a wide range of interests.”
“I have many interests, but no significant achievements unfortunately. I’m just a scholar of little consequence.”
Listening to the conversation, Roderick decided it was time to step in and boost his younger brother’s image a little.
“You’re being overly modest.”
Lee-Jae also smiled as he spoke. In truth, she shared many of the same interests.
Among shamans, those who lacked an understanding of philosophy and history were nothing more than frauds. A branch could never surpass its root, and no human was unaffected by the vast currents of the world. Even the great spirit mother, Granny Yeongsan, had deep knowledge of traditional medicine.
“That sounds really interesting. I’d love to study it too.”
Roderick, who had been quietly watching her, finally spoke.
“Then do it. What’s stopping you?”
“…I can just do that?”
“Of course. Your husband is rich, your in-laws are rich—what exactly are you worried about?”
“…”
“Has anyone ever stopped you?”
Well, no one had. But they had questioned why she was borrowing books she couldn’t even read.
Lee-Jae’s face lit up with genuine joy. She could feel her fifth bucket list item—Understanding the History of the Cayenne Kingdom—coming to fruition.
She made a mental note to ask the King to teach her the Royal Family’s script when the opportunity arose.
Of course, it would technically be a waste of time. With the high-functioning Spirit of the Chest, she essentially had an advanced reading assistant—better than any AI.
Prince Edgar continued.
“To be honest, research was just an excuse. I’ve spent most of my time wandering from place to place. I’m merely a useless younger brother who dumped all his responsibilities onto my brother.”
Roderick chuckled as if he had no intention of arguing. But Lee-Jae shook her head.
“Still, I envy you.”
“Envy me? For what?”
“I always wanted to travel freely, to go wherever my feet took me.”
But I couldn’t. Because I already knew, to some extent, what my fate would be.
I still don’t know if I made the right choices.
As a hint of bitterness crossed Lee-Jae’s face, Roderick let out a sigh. He thought to himself that perhaps the Queen did find the Royal life suffocating after all.
“Hailey. Don’t make that face.”
“What face?”
“That face. Whatever you’re thinking—it’s not happening.”
“What’s not happening?”
“If you ever leave, it’ll be after I abdicate, and together with me. Since when do you keep talking about going off alone?”
As he spoke, Roderick had a realization.
It wasn’t that he couldn’t sleep without the Queen.
He was gradually reaching a point where nothing functioned properly without her.
If she wasn’t around, even the air felt unpleasant.
“I wasn’t saying I was leaving right away.”
“Ah, so you do plan to leave someday. That was an official declaration, then.”
“…”
“When the time comes, we’re going together.”
“…”
“For now, let’s start with the temple visit.”
But when Lee-Jae didn’t immediately answer, Roderick turned to his brother and remarked,
“See? She’s frugal even with her words.”
At that moment, Edgar found himself experiencing exactly what the Knight Commander had earlier.
Technically, there were three people at this meal.
But his brother and sister-in-law were using him as nothing more than background noise while having their own conversation.
When he had complimented the Queen’s beauty, the King had responded with complaints about how much trouble she caused him.
When Edgar spoke of his studies, the Queen had expressed interest, and the King had—perhaps eager to impress—immediately encouraged her.
And now, the King had decided that if his wife was going to travel, it had to be with him.
Edgar was technically involved in the conversation, yet he couldn’t follow any of it.
At this point, he had become nothing more than a prop.
Feeling somewhat exasperated, Roderick ran a hand through his hair and said,
“For now, just finish your meal.”
“…”
“I get that you’re enjoying your conversation with Edgar, but if you keep chatting and don’t finish your food, I’ll feel like cutting it up for you was a waste of time.”
“Alright, alright.”
Lee-Jae usually ate like an ascetic monk pursuing a life of no worldly desire. She had an extremely plain palate, but when Roderick prepared food for her, she would at least try a little bit of everything—she couldn’t bring herself to ignore his efforts.
“Just don’t force yourself to eat.”
“…So are you telling me to eat or to stop eating?”
What exactly do you want from me?
“Honestly, I don’t even know.”
Just minutes ago, the two had been bickering, but now they both shrugged and laughed at the same time.
Edgar, looking increasingly perplexed, glanced around at the others for their reactions.
He had heard that the King’s health was in poor condition, but that didn’t seem to be the case at all. If anything, his body looked stronger than before, and his demeanor appeared more at ease.
The only noticeable issue was that he seemed completely and utterly infatuated with the Queen.
As the meal came to an end, Lee-Jae felt a bit disappointed. She had truly enjoyed her conversation with the Prince. Noticing this, the King smirked and suggested a tea break.
Roderick often found his wife to be a puzzling person. At times, she seemed indifferent to others, yet at moments like this, she appeared to long for human connection.
As the attendants brought out the tea, Roderick turned to Edgar with a firm tone—it was a request, but also an order.
“This time, you do the hard work in my place.”
“Yes, brother.”
“I regret having to ask you, but once things settle down, you’ll be able to return to what you enjoy. Do your best for now.”
“Of course. Don’t worry.”
However, Roderick soon noticed that Lee-Jae was glancing elsewhere, seemingly distracted.
I arranged this tea time because she seemed reluctant to part ways with Edgar, so what is she looking at now?
She was eyeing the attendants lined up against the wall, noticing an unfamiliar face among them. After a moment of contemplation, she realized something.
“Oh, he must be a foreigner.”
So even among Westerners, there are subtle differences depending on their nationality?
When she turned to Roderick as if seeking confirmation, he found himself at a loss for words. She rarely even looked in a mirror, yet she had an eye for these kinds of details.
Of course, it wasn’t that Lee-Jae never looked in mirrors—it was just that her perspective on appearances was different from others, and she often focused on things beyond mere looks.
“He is a friend I met while studying abroad. He helped me numerous times.”
As Edgar introduced the man, the foreigner bowed politely. Though different from the formal salute of Cayenne’s knights, his precise and disciplined movements revealed that he was a highly trained martial artist.
Lee-Jae was genuinely impressed, but Roderick didn’t seem entirely pleased.
“I have matters to discuss with the Prince. Everyone except the First Knight Order, leave.”
With that command, the room emptied, leaving only a few key figures behind. Seeing this, Lee-Jae adjusted her robes and prepared to stand as well—only for Roderick to grab her wrist.
“Where do you think you’re going? You stay by my side.”
“…Why?
I’m not a knight or an attendant.
Aren’t you about to have a confidential discussion?
Roderick frowned, then found a convenient excuse.
“You’re royalty. Did you forget what I said at the banquet?”
He knew full well that his wife wasn’t someone to gossip or spread secrets. In fact, she was sometimes frustratingly tight-lipped.
As Lee-Jae hesitated and awkwardly sat back down, Roderick pulled her close, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.
“Edgar.”
“Yes, brother?”
“I’ll give you a hundred knights and a thousand soldiers. Use them to travel safely to the border. I know you prefer your freedom, but you can’t keep traveling with only a handful of men.”
Roderick’s expression grew serious.
“Just so you don’t misunderstand, I’m not sending you there to die. Once you achieve enough merit, withdraw and come back.”
“…”
“Never forget that you are a Prince of Cayenne. If something happens to me… this country will be your responsibility.”
Lee-Jae stiffened.
She wasn’t the only one who caught the weight of those words.
“Your Majesty.”
“What are you saying?”
“Please take back those words.”
Murmurs of protest rose around the room. But Roderick paid them no mind. This was something a King had every right to say to an heir with a claim to the throne.
Whether the men in the room were troubled, grieving, or protesting, it was none of his concern.
But when it came to his little peach-colored fox, it was different.
She was too small and too precious.
Lee-Jae was staring up at him, her eyes filled with both disappointment and protest.
Roderick hesitated.
In the end, he ignored everyone else—even his own brother—and explained himself only to her.
“Why are you making that face?”
“…”
“I was just telling him to be careful.”
“…”
“My little fox, you usually understand me so well. Why are you so slow now?”
Roderick reached up and stroked the top of her head. Then, he pressed a soft kiss to her round forehead. It meant: Don’t worry about it.
