FYH Chapter 65

After that, Roderick and Lee-Jae engaged in a fierce game of subtlety. Lee-Jae still had things to do in his room. Calling and brutally beating the spirits, one or two at a time in the early morning, had become part of her daily routine over the past several months.

What was different this time, however, was that Roderick didn’t seem to have any intention of sleeping either. But he didn’t speak or engage in any physical contact.

Roderick simply stayed awake in silence. He was just concerned that Lee-Jae might not be able to sleep again.

Eventually, Lee-Jae glanced back at him. And when her eyes met his blue ones, she flinched. Roderick smiled faintly and patted her head.

“Go to sleep, little fox.”

Feeling embarrassed, Lee-Jae turned her gaze back to the front. She cautiously asked, “Your Majesty, aren’t you sleepy?”

“Sleep? I think it’s you who can’t sleep, not me.”

Once again, Lee-Jae felt embarrassed and shut her eyes tightly.

How much time had passed?

Lee-Jae, just to check, looked back again. And once again, those blue eyes were staring at her. Roderick kissed her forehead.

“Go to sleep. Please listen to me.”

She began to feel a little scared. Why is he acting like this today?

After that, Lee-Jae turned back several more times at intervals. Each time, Roderick kissed her cheek and temples, saying a few words each time.

“Want me to sing you a lullaby? You’re asking the King to sing a song, how cute. Honestly, I expected this to happen someday, so I practiced. It’s shy, but would you like to hear it?”

“Looks like our Queen is going to see the sun tomorrow. If you need a drink, I’ll join you.”

“You said you were going to sleep. Don’t you know the saying that if you lie, horns will grow on your bottom? Thinking about checking it makes me excited again.”

“Can’t sleep? If that’s the case, just tell me. I’ll help you sleep another way. There’s a way for married couples.”

Lee-Jae’s anxiety and fear grew stronger. And when she turned back one last time, she couldn’t hold it in and asked.

“Um, Your Majesty, why aren’t you sleeping?”

“Well, when you keep staring at me with those eyes wide open, do you think I can sleep?”

“….”

“When you look at me so beautifully, it makes me excited too.”

“….”

“Go to sleep if you won’t take responsibility.”

After hearing that, Lee-Jae completely gave up and tried to sleep. In the end, the King and Queen spent the entire night doing strange things, and eventually, they both fell into a light sleep side by side.

 

The next day, it was Roderick who opened his eyes first. It was still quite early. While he had been thinking a lot lately, there was another reason as well.

Lee-Jae, despite already being strong, was pushing her body even further to become even stronger. The King’s physical strength was fundamentally different from others.

He stared at Lee-Jae, who was soundly sleeping, with quiet contemplation.

“…”

She still can’t sleep in this room, huh? Is she unable to sleep, or is she choosing not to?

What kind of secrets does she have, despite being so small?

Won’t you tell me? Are you going to keep hiding it from me?

His questions grew deeper. As he thought about it, he gently stroked Lee-Jae’s cheek and called for the chamberlain.

“Chamberlain, are you outside?”

“I am here, Your Majesty.”

The chamberlain entered, startled, bowing his head immediately. The King was once again holding the Queen, with his arm around her and wrapped in her embrace.

The chamberlain awkwardly looked on.

What is His Majesty trying to show us with such sights?

“There should be a broken statue near my bed. Bring it here.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

The Queen was still sleeping in, though the day had already broken. The King pulled the queen’s blanket up to her neck and allowed the entrance of the chamberlain and maids.

And everyone quietly looked at the King, still holding the Queen in his arms, wrapped in the blanket.

When the chamberlain returned with the statue, Roderick reached out without a word.

As the King examined the odd object with a serious face early in the morning, everyone’s expressions grew increasingly strange.

Why is His Majesty acting like this?

Is he reversing the times, or ahead of them? It’s an indescribable feeling.

After staring at the statue for some time, Roderick spoke to the chamberlain.

“Chamberlain.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Is there any way to put this back together?”

“….”

“It seems the Queen is a bit upset because of this.”

The chamberlain was startled.

“Has Her Majesty… said that?”

“She mentions that it’s broken every time she sees it.”

“….”

“I’m not entirely sure, but it seems like she’s bothered by it.”

The King was aware that this was a rather trivial matter to report, but if the Queen was upset, he wanted to do something about it.

And at that moment, surprisingly, the Queen’s maids stood up in anger. They unknowingly stepped forward.

Is the Queen really upset because of this? If so, His Majesty should’ve told us earlier. Why was he silent? He should’ve said something sooner. This is all His Majesty’s fault.

Roderick looked at them with a puzzled expression, but their faces were extremely serious and solemn.

Deborah, who led the maids, was especially upset.

She had not known about this, and the Queen had not told her first. This was a major hit to her pride. She glared at the chamberlain, who was the head of the servants.

Don’t interfere. This is mine, no matter what. Don’t think about adding anything to it.

Deborah was about to step forward to do her duty, but the chamberlain, with his position as the King’s aide and the fact that the King had directly requested it, had the upper hand. He spoke in a very calm voice.

“Your Majesty, you can use glue to fix this. Of course, it will be difficult to preserve the shape as it was. But I assume, Your Majesty, that this wasn’t a command based on its importance.”

The King nodded.

“Mm. I was just thinking about how to convey that I want to cherish it, no matter how it turns out.”

Those who saw how genuinely the King felt toward the Queen fell silent.

Roderick gently smoothed Lee-Jae’s round forehead, brushing aside her bangs. His touch was caring and tender.

“Our Queen, she’s such a wonderful person. You all know that, right?”

“…Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Take good care of her. To me, it seems like she… is suffering.”

“Yes, I will keep that in mind.”

At that moment, whether it was the sunlight or the noise, the apricot-colored fox began to frown. Roderick signaled to the chamberlain to quickly clear it away.

When the chamberlain exited the room, Lee-Jae rubbed her eyes.

“Your Majesty, did I oversleep again?”

Roderick kissed her on the crown of her head and said,

“Not really. It’s fine, just sleep a little longer.”

“…”

“I’ll wake you up. Let’s sleep a little more, okay?”

Normally, Lee-Jae would have just gotten up, but this time, she had been disturbed from her sleep after a long while. The apricot-colored fox continued to rub her eyes, looking around. After confirming there were no predators nearby, the fox slipped back into the blanket.

 

* * *

 

After finishing a meeting with the Queen’s old friend in the morning, Roderick locked himself in his study. Since the King didn’t seem to be in a particularly good mood, Jade hesitated.

“Your Majesty.”

“What? Speak.”

“The commander of the 2nd Knights’ Brigade has finished handing over the duties to the deputy commander and me.”

They were planning to appoint the commander of the 2nd Knights’ Brigade as the leader of the Western Army. Roderick nodded.

“Then tell the Crown Prince to come back for a moment.”

“Already?”

“The Crown Prince is the highest-ranking royal in the line of succession. We can’t keep him at the frontlines forever.”

Jade hesitated and asked,

“Won’t the Duke insist again?”

“It’s all just a matter of justification anyway. Tell him to come in and report, and do whatever needs to be done.”

“Understood.”

“If you have nothing else to say, you may leave.”

As he sent the Commander out, Roderick gestured for everyone else to leave as well. People thought the King was acting very strangely these days.

And recently, the majority of his thoughts were occupied by the Queen.

Hailey. What power are you hiding?

After some contemplation, Roderick opened his drawer. As he looked through the report on the Queen, he pulled out an old manuscript.

It was titled 「A Letter to Future Kings.」 He slowly turned the pages.

 

「During the long years of the Three-Year War, the two families vanished, while the three families surrendered to the Allied Nations and contributed to the founding of Cayenne.

Their names were Ilias and Schmidt.

The names of the three were Melon, Russell, and Duncan.

The power of the Blake royal family: Fulgor, Holy Sword.

Ilias’ power: Evocatio, Summoning.

Schmidt’s power: Defensio, Barrier.

Melon’s power: Exorcismus, Spirit’s Demise.

Russell’s power: Rumpo, Counteraction.

And Duncan’s power is…」

 

Roderick tried to connect the Queen to a power that had disappeared from the continent over four hundred years ago. The reason for such a thought was that the emotions he was experiencing due to his wife felt too unreal.

However, the situation he was going through did not match the abilities passed down through the Duncan family for generations.

Roderick frowned and fell into deep thought. His meeting with the second daughter of the Count had ended with no results. The Queen he heard about through someone else was not his apricot-colored fox.

It had always been this way. Only the Queen he saw and felt for himself was the real one.

And at that moment, Roderick suddenly realized something.

There was one more question that needed to be asked.

Who are you?

What if you’re not a Duncan? If he added that question, how would the picture change?

Summoning. Was this Ilias’ power? But it was a story he couldn’t easily accept. If the possibility of losing part of his memory due to an accident was 90%, the chance of it being someone else barely even reached 10%.

Still, Roderick couldn’t completely ignore that single possibility.

After much deliberation, he put the papers back into the drawer and locked it.