FYH Chapter 63

The King brought Lee-Jae back to the Queen’s palace and sat her down on the bed.

With his arms crossed, Roderick stood there for a while with a face that looked like he wanted to kill someone. Lee-Jae, feeling small and intimidated, kept sneaking glances at him.

Finally, when Roderick looked at her, his eyes were full of frustration and reproach.

We agreed, didn’t we? You said you’d put it behind you. You said you’d try.

You said you liked me. Or do you still like that bastard more than me?

Roderick took a deep breath to calm his fury.

“You know you did something wrong, judging by that face.”

“…”

“When I told you to stay in your chambers and rest, did I mean go meet your ex-lover?”

“…”

“You’re a married woman, and you’re letting some other guy grab your wrist—what a great job you’re doing.”

If he was going to talk like that, Lee-Jae had something to say too.

“I didn’t grab his hand. I just wanted to talk, that’s all.”

“Then you should’ve slapped him! Shouted at him not to touch you!”

“Wha—No, isn’t that a bit much…”

Roderick clenched his teeth, truly infuriated.

“You’re seriously taking his side right in front of me?”

“…”

“What were the knights I stationed with you even doing?”

With a sigh, Roderick raked a hand through his hair.

“So? What exactly did you have to talk to him about?”

“What do you mean?”

“What did you talk about with that guy?”

Lee-Jae hesitated for a moment, but she couldn’t lie about it now. With a somewhat resigned look, she met Roderick’s eyes.

“I just wanted to ask him something.”

“What.”

“…What kind of person I used to be.”

Roderick felt another wave of anger surge up at the absurdity of her words—something not even poets would say. The sentiment was practically overflowing.

“Wow, sounds like the love story of the century. Ah, no, this is—God, I can’t—”

But then Roderick suddenly paused mid-rant. A thought struck him like lightning: Could it be that the Queen’s odd behavior lately is because she doesn’t remember everything?

It wasn’t just a passing hunch. It had been building up—a slow accumulation of oddities. Ever since the marriage, she had changed into an entirely different person. If nothing else, that much was undeniable. So much so that any further confirmation now felt pointless.

Was it the shock of nearly drowning?

But would a little memory loss change everything, even the tiniest habits?

Roderick’s face grew serious, and Lee-Jae, too, lowered her eyes, lost in thought. The two of them sat in silence, occasionally stealing glances at each other’s reactions. What she had said had clearly struck close to the truth.

Lee-Jae finally continued.

“And I wanted to tell him… that he should stop and start living his own life. I don’t know if that came across since Your Majesty showed up in the middle of it all.”

At that, Roderick raised an eyebrow.

“…So you’re saying this is my fault?”

“…”

“You’re unbelievable. You find the weirdest moments to be hurtful.”

Since that hadn’t been her intention at all, Lee-Jae looked a bit flustered. Scratching her cheek, she spoke.

“I didn’t mean it like that. I’m sorry. What I meant was, I really was trying to talk to him properly. I just wanted to tell him not to cling to something that’s already over.”

“You don’t understand how men’s hearts work, do you? Saying something like that only deepens their attachment—you really didn’t know?”

Roderick understood his wife’s intentions well enough. But he also thought that no matter how noble her intentions were, they lost all persuasive power the moment she made that familiar, wistful smile of hers. That quiet, melancholy smile—if she told him to move on and live his own life with that face, even he might go insane.

Then it was Lee-Jae who let out a deep sigh.

Then what should I do? If I said “the Hailey you knew is dead”, would you believe me?

Most people would probably just pity me and say, “Ah, the Queen couldn’t handle palace life and lost her mind.”

Actually, maybe I should go with that—pretend to be crazy, scare everyone off. Huh? That might not be such a bad idea…

As she sighed and turned her head completely away, Roderick took her hand.

He did it because her profile, turned from him, looked suddenly exhausted. It was the face of someone weighed down by something too heavy. Seeing that, Roderick felt uneasy and anxious. He gently shook her hand.

“Hailey, I told you I’d treat you better than anyone. Don’t hurt my feelings over something like this.”

“Yes. I understand. And you might not believe me, but I’ve already moved on. Really.”

Roderick couldn’t fully believe her. As much as he hated to admit it, people don’t just fall out of love in a few months—especially not someone like his wife, who wasn’t the type to forget or erase people easily. But even so, hearing such a clear answer eased his heart.

“Do you think I’m letting that bastard live because I can’t do anything about him? I’m holding back because I don’t want to make you cry.”

“…”

“But if this keeps up… you’re going to see blood in the palace. And Lawrence? He’s getting stripped of his title. A proper bloody purge.”

“If you do that, Your Majesty, that’s tyranny.”

Roderick snorted a laugh at that. He wasn’t afraid of that label at all.

“How many times do you think I’ve heard that? I’ve been called a tyrant so many times, I’m sick of it. What’s one more?”

But Lee-Jae shook her head firmly, several times.

“Your Majesty. It doesn’t matter what people whisper or how many times you’ve heard it.”

“…”

“What really matters is that you’re not a tyrant—and I know that. So don’t act like one. I’ll always believe in you.”

“…You and your words…”

Grumbling under his breath, Roderick still found all his anger deflating.

Once again, he hadn’t been able to stay mad at her—not even properly. That was the problem with talking to his wife. The longer they talked, the more his anger melted away. The more he listened, the more her words made sense. And worst of all—he had no real desire to win against her in the first place.

So any potential marital argument would just end with a soft fizzle.

His wife had a way of calmly talking that drained the fight right out of people.

Roderick looked at Lee-Jae’s small shoulders and steady eyes, then sighed again.

Really, what’s the point of fighting someone this kind and delicate? Even if he “won,” he’d just end up looking like a jerk who gave it his all to beat his own wife.

“Hailey.”

“Yes?”

“Were you really that startled earlier?”

“By what?”

“I didn’t mean to draw my sword in front of you. I just… lost it for a moment.”

Lee-Jae shook her head with a soft “ah,” clearly still a little unsettled by the sight of blood earlier.

“Wipe your tears on my clothes.”

“I’m not crying, though.”

“You cried earlier.”

“I don’t think it was quite like that.”

“Doesn’t matter.”

At that, Lee-Jae rubbed her face lightly against his chest without any real intent. If it helped ease the King’s heart, she could do that much. She did, after all, feel a bit sorry—though unintentionally—and she could sense that he had yielded something for her sake.

Roderick gently stroked the back of her round head.

“All wiped?”

“Yes.”

“Blow your nose too. Go on—sniff.”

“I swear I didn’t have a runny nose. Why do you always try to make me blow my nose?”

Instead of replying, Roderick just held the back of her head and pressed her firmly to his chest.

After she half-heartedly rubbed her face against him and then tried to push him away, Roderick flopped back onto the bed.

He looked up at her, curious, and said:

“Now it’s your turn.”

“For what?”

“To make up with me. I cheered you up, now it’s your job to cheer me up.”

“…Was that supposed to be cheering me up?”

When exactly did that happen? I felt like I was getting scolded the whole time.

“I wiped your tears, told you to blow your nose—gave you a place to cry. That’s everything a man can offer.”

“I don’t know about that. Honestly, it really just felt like I was getting lectured.”

Still, Lee-Jae seriously pondered for a moment. How do I make it up to him?

Then she asked:

“Do you want to touch my chest?”

I think I’d be okay with that now.

Roderick bit the inside of his cheek to stifle a laugh. Lee-Jae studied his reaction. Thinking maybe it wasn’t the right time after all, she muttered under her breath:

“That’s odd… I thought this was supposed to be a universal solution.”

“Where do you even hear all this weird nonsense?”

Roderick finally laughed, covering the corners of his eyes.

Damn it. I’m getting mad at myself for being the kind of pervert who laughs in a situation like this.

Confident that he had already forgiven her, Lee-Jae smiled sweetly. Then she crawled over and climbed on top of him. Roderick, though clearly pleased, still pretended to object.

“How can you so fearlessly climb on top of a man like that? Don’t you know this leads to a very dangerous and compromising situation for us?”

But Roderick did like having Lee-Jae sit on top of him. He wanted her to never be afraid of him. These days, Lee-Jae also seemed to enjoy resting her hands on his chest and looking down at him from above.

“What’s so dangerous about this?” she said. “Your Majesty never does anything if I say no.”

At that, Roderick made a complicated expression. He had said that himself, and he appreciated that she acknowledged the sincerity behind it—but somehow, it didn’t make him happy to hear it out loud. Lee-Jae had a way of disarming him completely, just like that.

Laughing softly, she began planting kisses all over his face. Like little raindrops of affection falling from the sky. Roderick, basking in the ticklish, adorable storm, took her hand in his.

“My lady.”

“Yes?”

“This is already amazing, but while we’re at it, could you give me a more married couple-type kiss?”

“…Married couple-type?”

“You know, something deeper and a little naughty.”

Lee-Jae gave him a prim little look.

“You’re awfully demanding. And I think you’ve figured this out already, but… I’m not really good at that sort of thing.”

“No way. My little pea of a Queen is full of potential—kissing, and everything more, will come easy. Let’s believe in ourselves.”

Lee-Jae laughed out loud, but eventually deepened the kiss, her tongue now twining more intimately with his. She tried to pull away after a long moment, but Roderick held her small shoulders in place.

“Where do you think you’re going? Keep going.”

“You’re still not over it?”

“Nope. Not all the way.”

“I don’t know… You’ve been smiling with your eyes for a while now, Your Majesty.”

Roderick mumbled, “Clever little fox…”

“But I’m still not done. Keep going until I say stop.”

And so Roderick kept repeating, More. Don’t stop. Even as his hands roamed over her body, whenever she paused, he would tease with a crooked grin: What? No kiss?

Lee-Jae started to feel like her lips were going to disappear. Say the wrong thing and you lose your mouth, she thought, making a quiet vow never to speak to Lawrence again.