FYH Chapter 45

After bidding farewell to the Prince’s expedition, Lee-Jae attended a couple of official meetings. Afterward, she shut herself in her room, tirelessly writing talismans until the sun began to set. The decisive day was approaching.

The number of vengeful spirits, once numbering around a dozen, had now dwindled to just five. She had been slowly but steadily exterminating them. At this rate, she would be able to banish them all within three or four days.

After that, she planned to create a protective barrier within the room. Since the location was the King’s chambers, it wouldn’t be an easy task. But after spending countless nights there, she had carefully considered all the possible places to hide the talismans.

Behind picture frames. The back of bookshelves and display cases. Beneath the bed. The shape and direction of the barrier.

“Your Majesty, His Majesty is on his way.”

Deborah delivered the news with a pleased smile. It wasn’t as if the distance was far, yet the King had come personally to fetch her.

Lee-Jae quickly tucked the talismans into her robes just as Roderick entered with a bright smile.

“Hailey, what were you doing?”

“Nothing much.”

“You could at least say you were waiting for me.”

Lee-Jae chuckled. She had seen the King in the morning, and now again in the afternoon, yet she was still happy to see him. She could easily tell him she had been waiting.

But for some reason, she couldn’t bring herself to say it.

Perhaps it was because the King was just as playful as she was.

“That would just be a meaningless formality.”

At that, Roderick, looking slightly dissatisfied, leaned in and pressed a quick kiss to her cheek.

“If you ask about someone’s well-being, you respond in kind. If you receive a kiss, you return it—that’s basic courtesy, isn’t it?”

“I don’t think the second part applies.”

“As expected, you’re not so easily fooled.”

Roderick chuckled and extended his hand. When Lee-Jae took it and rose to her feet, he naturally draped an arm around her shoulders.

As they walked down the hallway, their conversation continued. The King seemed to be in a good mood, and Lee-Jae enjoyed listening to him.

However, the problem arose when they opened the door to his chambers.

“Ugh… Urk.”

“Hailey?”

Completely unprepared, Lee-Jae suddenly gagged and covered her mouth. A heavy silence fell over the room.

She stared into the chamber with a bewildered, almost panicked expression.

And then, whispers from the attendants reached the king’s ears.

“Oh my… Could it be? Is Her Majesty with child?”

“Already?”

“It’s not really already, considering the timing.”

“Wait, so when exactly…?”

Roderick turned around with an utterly dumbfounded expression. Seeing the hopeful gazes of the head attendants, he firmly cut in.

“No.”

“…”

“That’s not it.”

“It’s absolutely not that.”

As always, the King’s attendants and the Queen’s ladies-in-waiting engaged in a silent battle of wits. Their experience levels were more or less the same, but no one could surpass Deborah.

In the end, the losing side—the Chamberlain—was forced to take on an unpleasant role.

“Your Majesty, I do not know what method you employed, but probabilities always exist…”

“Do you take me for a child who doesn’t understand that? I told you, it’s not that.”

Probability only existed when something had actually been done.

For some reason, Roderick was getting increasingly irritated.

“If I need you, I’ll call you. For now, get out.”

“…”

“I said, it’s not that. So shut up and get lost.”

Roderick ushered Lee-Jae inside and promptly shut the door behind them.

“Hailey.”

The Queen seemed dazed. She stood there blankly, and Roderick felt uneasy.

“Are you feeling sick?”

“…”

“Why are you suddenly like this?”

“…”

“Should I call a physician?”

Roderick had long suspected that Lee-Jae was hiding an illness. She avoided medical examinations and often claimed she didn’t need medicine.

As expected, she shook her head again.

“It’s not that.”

“…Hailey.”

“I’m really fine.”

But her face was pale, and she still looked completely out of it. Just as Roderick was debating whether to summon a physician anyway, she staggered toward the King’s bed.

Lee-Jae felt an overwhelming sense of despair.

There had only been five left. She knew that since she hadn’t set up a barrier and the room belonged to the King, more vengeful spirits could enter.

But this wasn’t just a small increase—their numbers had nearly reached twenty.

What on earth is happening?

“Hailey, are you really okay?”

“…Yes, I’m fine.”

She absentmindedly responded as she reached toward the bedside.

There, she stared in shock at the severely cracked Heavenly Great General/Hailey and the completely split Earthly General/Lee-Jae.

Roderick, noticing them slightly later than she did, was caught off guard. This was something entirely outside of his expectations.

But soon, he was even more flustered—Lee-Jae’s eyes welled up with tears.

“Uh… why are you crying?”

“…”

“What do I do? I’m sorry.”

Roderick, at a rare loss, scratched his brow.

Was this really that important to her?

If it was so precious, why did she give it to him instead of keeping it herself?

He gently took the damaged Heavenly Great General from her hands, inspecting the crack.

“It’s just a small fracture.”

“…”

“Hailey, it’s nothing serious. It’s still fine.”

“…”

“Even if it turns to dust, I’ll treasure it, so don’t be so upset.”

Lee-Jae’s face crumpled even more at his words.

Your Majesty, then what about me? I’m already too broken. What am I supposed to do?

With trembling hands, she placed the broken Earthly General in his palm.

Roderick nodded with a peculiar expression. Was she upset about this before?

It didn’t seem like something that would bother her, but regardless, he spoke.

“Of course, this too. Isn’t that obvious?”

“…”

“Hailey.”

“…”

“It doesn’t matter what it looks like. What matters is that I received your sincerity and prayers.”

He clasped the broken statues tightly in his hands.

Lee-Jae nodded, shutting her eyes and biting her lip to compose herself.

She knew it, too. The totem pole could be carved again, and the vengeful spirits could be eliminated once more. Losing her composure would only make things worse.

But the overwhelming feeling that all her struggles had been for nothing was hard to swallow.

Why is this happening? Just how much more do I have to do?

As her expression refused to ease, Roderick grew more restless. He wanted to ask what he could do to make it better.

After a moment, Lee-Jae opened her eyes and checked the state of the Yeomra statue before returning to bed. At least that one was intact—small relief amid the chaos.

“Your Majesty, I’m fine. I’m not sick.”

Her voice was much calmer than before. But her complexion was still pale, and Roderick couldn’t hide his concern.

“Hailey. You can be honest with me. You know I would never do anything to hurt you.”

“…”

“Are you really okay?”

“Of course.”

She gave a faint smile before lying down.

“I must’ve just been tired. People get sensitive over small things sometimes.”

“…”

“So I should get some sleep. You should rest too, Your Majesty.”

Roderick watched her in silence for a long time.

Lies.

But when she closed her eyes, there was nothing more he could do. With a heavy heart, he laid beside her.

His mind was restless. He kept seeing the anguish on her face, the way she had struggled to maintain her composure.

After what felt like an eternity, he reached out and gently patted her collarbone. A careful, comforting touch.

Something inside her wavered at the warmth of his hand. She fought the rising lump in her throat, barely holding back the tears.

And so, Lee-Jae desperately waited for him to fall asleep first.

 

At some point, even waiting for the King to fall asleep had become a battle for her. And in that battle, Lee-Jae always won effortlessly.

No one who saw what she saw could find peace in slumber.

She carefully swept her fingers over Roderick’s eyes. He was deep in sleep, unmoving. But her fingertips trembled uncontrollably, and she quickly withdrew her hand.

Slipping out of his arms, Lee-Jae sank to the floor in the middle of the room. She stared at the vengeful spirits in silence.

Of course, my life was never meant to be smooth.

But why him? The world shouldn’t be like this to him. Is someone cursing this room?

Clutching her head in despair, she finally let out the tears she had been holding back. Droplets fell, one by one, onto the floor.

She turned to look at the sleeping Roderick.

If something happens to me…

“I would never do anything to harm you.”

Your Majesty, that’s why I told you not to be kind to me.

The truth is, you’re the only one who has ever spoken to me this much…

But if something happens to you, then what am I supposed to do? How could I just stand by and watch?

Lee-Jae collapsed onto the floor, sobbing.

Had she once said she wanted to wander wherever her feet led her, wherever her heart desired?

But she had already been a traveler for a long time, walking a desolate path.

A wanderer crossing the desert in search of water would drown the moment they found a lake. She knew how pitiful she looked, thirsting and begging for something she shouldn’t have. She knew this was dangerous.

Her rational mind warned her—this is a mirage. Stop here. Go any further, and you’ll die.

And yet, she couldn’t stop her heart from reaching toward the King.

For a long time, she sobbed into her hands. Then, wiping her tears away with the back of her hand, she rose to her feet.

Dawn was approaching, and Roderick was no longer the sleep-deprived man he used to be.

There was no more time to waste.

Lee-Jae approached the bedside and took hold of the candlestick. With tears streaming down her face, she burned several talismans. Then, she glared at the vengeful spirits with fierce determination.

“Even a fragment of daring action can avoid ghosts and spirits.”

“Decide resolutely on what must be done, and let all wicked things retreat.”

She wiped at her damp eyes before chanting again.

“Undefeated in a hundred battles, steadfast and unyielding.”

“A heart that will never waver, that will never collapse.”

And my heart.

Taking a deep breath, she stretched her hands wide and gathered her energy.

This was not a spell for vanquishing a single powerful specter but for purging a multitude of lesser ones.

“A stream may twist and turn countless times, but it will inevitably meet the sea.”

“Even if your darkness weighs upon us, the order of the heavens is absolute, and mankind shall not kneel before the Abyss.”

Her fingertips still held remnants of power, but she coughed violently and had to withdraw it.

Dazed, she surveyed the spirits. Had she vanquished five? Six?

She had nearly restored the balance to its original state, but simply standing was exhausting. She collapsed onto the floor.

“Haa… haa…”

As she coughed, her body heaving, she let out a choked sob. Her tears splattered onto the cold floor.

Desperate to erase the evidence of her sorrow, she rubbed the wet spots over and over with her palm.

Grief and despair could not be wiped away so easily, but she kept whispering to herself.

“It’s nothing. I’m not a child. I have enough power. I won’t cry.”

Slowly, she crawled toward the bed, gripping onto the frame with trembling hands.

Finally reaching his side, she touched Roderick’s face, her voice barely a whisper.

“You’re okay, right? You have to be okay.”

Then, as if collapsing, she lay down beside him, shielding him from the spirits with her own body.