FYH Chapter 79

It took quite some time for Lee-Jae to calm down from her crying. Once her tears stopped, she looked around awkwardly, but Roderick, finding her cute, smiled.

“Lee-Jae.”

“It doesn’t quite roll off your tongue, does it? You can just call me Hailey if that’s easier. I’m comfortable with that name too.”

But Roderick called her again.

“Lee-Jae.”

“…?”

“It’s a pretty name. Even if I make mistakes, I’ll try, so please understand just a little.”

“…You can just call me ‘Bean’ if you like.”

“I’ll call you that too. ‘Bean’ and ‘Fox’ are terms of endearment, right? But you always call me ‘Your Majesty,’ so coldly.”

“…”

“You really won’t ever call me by my name, will you?”

Roderick’s persistent smile made Lee-Jae avert her gaze, embarrassed. But he still had a lot of questions left to ask.

“By the way, how old are you?”

As soon as he asked, Roderick became even more curious. Considering how she had trembled from their earlier physical closeness, he wondered if she was much younger. But then again, her surprisingly indifferent attitude made him think she might be older than he expected.

Lee-Jae, on the other hand, wanted to hide in a mouse hole. She had deceived him in more ways than one, and she had even teased him about his age.

“I’m twenty-five.”

“We’re not that far apart in age then?”

Roderick laughed in disbelief. Lee-Jae, feeling embarrassed, tried to deflect.

“You said you never treated me like a child, but I guess it’s still a sore point for you, huh?”

“Still, I felt a little sorry for you. You got married at such a young age, and the royal family isn’t an easy place. At first, I thought you were really scared of me.”

“….”

“But you’re not just pitiful because of that. You’re pitiful for other reasons too. Oh, does that upset you?”

Lee-Jae shook her head.

“No, I know that my life has been full of misfortune.”

“You’re so good at saying those negative things, even though you said you wouldn’t speak like that.”

Roderick’s questions kept coming.

“So, you never tried to kill yourself?”

“No. I’ve told you that several times.”

“You’re not the Duke’s daughter, then?”

“No.”

“Ah, damn it. I was trying to give him a break since he’s my father-in-law, but now I regret it.”

Roderick’s face showed genuine irritation. In truth, there was one question he had been dying to ask about her family. He wondered if someone had hurt her a lot when she was young.

But despite deciding to be open with each other, he realized he couldn’t bring it up—not when she was so adept at blocking it out. It was a stance that even the knights in the room had noticed. She had developed an almost expert-level defensive posture.

After thinking for a long time, Roderick changed the subject.

“About when you were sick sometimes… It was because of me, wasn’t it?”

She, who had been answering him diligently, suddenly fell silent, and he frowned.

He couldn’t believe how heavy her silence was—it made his teeth clench.

“Hey, Bean. Let’s just be honest now.”

“Okay, well, it wasn’t exactly because of you, but the bad energy around you…”

“Just how far are you planning to make me into a useless person? Don’t ever do that again. I don’t like seeing you suffer like that. Do you understand?”

Lee-Jae couldn’t answer right away, but seeing the growing intensity on Roderick’s face, she nodded. She realized she had lied again, but there was nothing she could do about it.

Lee-Jae couldn’t stand to see the King hurt, and without realizing it, she had invested too much in him.

“Then, you didn’t like Lawrence, did you?”

“…Your Majesty, is that still important to you?”

“Yeah. It’s the most important thing to me. Why?”

Lee-Jae let out a small laugh in disbelief, but Roderick was completely serious.

“Do you know I almost lost my mind with rage? Honestly, I punched him a few times behind your back.”

Startled, Lee-Jae grabbed his sleeve and shook it.

“Your Majesty! Why would you go that far?”

“You’re still taking that bastard’s side… No, fine. I was just being stupid.”

“I told you not to do things like that.”

“It wasn’t that many punches.”

In truth, he had half-killed the guy, but Roderick answered curtly. After all, it really had only been a few punches—it’s just that each one had landed way too hard.

“He had the nerve to come swaggering in, provoking me with that smug attitude.”

“…”

“The day we fought—it was because I was jealous. I acted out for no good reason.”

Roderick glanced sideways at her.

“I admit I said some dumb things. But I don’t want you to misunderstand anymore.”

“So that’s what happened…”

Finally understanding the situation, Lee-Jae nodded faintly with a small smile. Now that she knew he hadn’t been serious, she felt even more embarrassed for panicking so much back then.

“I have no one but you. Please stop talking about leaving me. If you say it again, I swear I’ll cry.”

Lee-Jae chuckled softly and nodded, but Roderick, who had been bottling up his worries, wanted even more reassurance.

“You like me too, right?”

“Yes.”

“I’m the one you like the most, right?”

“Yes.”

“And you have no feelings for Lawrence at all?”

At that, Lee-Jae only smiled without answering immediately. Her silence triggered Roderick’s sensitivity—he immediately frowned.

“What’s this now? Why aren’t you answering right away? You said I was the first man you met after coming here.”

“…”

“Come to think of it, you cried every time you saw Lawrence. Don’t tell me you really had feelings for him?”

Roderick was so hurt he nearly choked up. Lee-Jae gently patted his arm to comfort him. It was a tricky thing to explain why she cried.

Still, she gathered her thoughts. She didn’t want to build up any more misunderstandings, and besides, this was something she had always wanted to tell him.

“Your Majesty. May I speak honestly?”

“Yes. I promise I won’t get angry. Just be honest.”

Lee-Jae nodded.

“To be honest, a part of Hailey’s emotions still lingers inside me. That’s why I felt sad when I saw him. Sometimes I felt shaken, and sometimes, a kind of tenderness.”

Even though he had said he wouldn’t get angry, hearing her words move in an unwelcome direction made Roderick scowl. Lee-Jae smiled faintly.

“I don’t know how it sounds to you, but… you know I can see the dead, right?”

“…Yeah.”

“But living people actually have very few ways to overcome spirits. Before I met you, I lost to them often. I was pathetic—really miserable.”

When Lee-Jae unknowingly made a bitter face, Roderick squeezed her hand. She nodded and tightened her grip on his hand as well.

Then, gathering strength into her voice, she continued—and he felt a strange reverberation in his chest.

“Your Majesty, the only thing that makes us a little better than the dead is that we have a tomorrow. Knowing that is the only way to resist their voices.”

It was a privilege only the living had. The time of the dead was frozen in the past.

The reason Lee-Jae often lost to spirits was because she herself had been trapped in the past, unable to take even one step forward.

“I’m sorry to say this, but Hailey’s time has already passed. She has no tomorrow. But I do.”

“…Yeah.”

“So it’s only natural for those emotions to flow away with time. I think you helped me with that, Your Majesty.”

Because you opened a new time for me.  

Because you spoke to my life.  

Because you formed a new bond with me.  

“Hailey probably loved him a lot in the past. But today and tomorrow, I will love Your Majesty. Please don’t ever doubt that.”

After hearing everything, Roderick looked a little sheepish.  

He hadn’t expected such a sincere confession.  

Lee-Jae smiled as she watched him awkwardly scratching his brow.

When she asked, It wasn’t a very fun story, was it?,  

Roderick pulled her into a tight embrace.

“Your Majesty.”

“Yeah.”

“It’s a little embarrassing, but… can I say just one more thing?”

“I’d rather tell you to say it all, but honestly, I’m in such a good mood right now that if you’re going to ruin it, maybe wait a little bit.”

Lee-Jae hesitated for a moment, but eventually, she opened her mouth.  

And the moment he heard her next words, Roderick froze.

“Actually, I want to do it right now.”

“…What?”

“I said, I want to do it.”

After a brief silence, he said,

“…Aren’t you missing the object of the sentence?”

“Can’t you just let that slide? I worked up a lot of courage here. Wait… are you really asking because you don’t know?”

Roderick, feeling his face flush, rubbed it and then let out a short laugh.  

His wife was simply too cute.

“Hey, little bean.”

“Yes.”

“I’m old enough to know exactly what you’re saying. I just wanted to hear you say it again, that’s all.”

Still laughing and rubbing his face, he hugged her tightly once more.

“But… are you really okay to do it now?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, you’re probably still not feeling great. You bled a lot that day.”

“I’ve rested plenty. Are you… maybe not feeling well, Your Majesty?”

When Lee-Jae immediately looked worried, Roderick gave her an incredulous look.

“Ugh, there goes my pride again. I’ll show you very soon just how healthy your husband is.”

However, there was something that even Roderick himself found strange.  

Since neither the royal physician nor the priests could explain it, he had no choice but to ask his wife.

“But really, why do I feel like this?”

“Like what?”

“My body feels weirdly light. Like, way healthier than usual.”

“Really? …Well, it does seem that way. But Your Majesty was already unusually healthy. Most people wouldn’t have lasted even a few years the way you did.”

Yet, even Lee-Jae could tell that something was different.  

His energy was much more vibrant than usual—the King’s aura now was like a wild, boundless sea.  

She grew serious.

Maybe I really did overdo it that day.  

When she fought off that evil spirit, it must have triggered something, purging all the lingering dark energy from his body.

Still puzzled, Roderick pressed on.

“So why exactly is this happening?”

“I’m not sure either.”

“If you don’t know, who else would?”

Lee-Jae gave him a sideways glance and smiled.

“Don’t expect me to know everything. I’m just one tiny speck of a human.”

“Is that so. Even our wise Queen has things she doesn’t know. Anyway, it’s a real problem.”

“What is?”

“I’m so healthy now, I don’t think I’ll be able to stop at just once or twice.”

Lee-Jae’s face immediately turned red.  

Maybe I was a little too bold.  

I should have reined it in when the Boy King was still gathering his wits.

Roderick watched her, his smile widening.  

It was getting harder and harder to suppress his excitement.

“Honestly, I’ve wanted to do this for a long time, but you seemed hesitant, so I waited until you didn’t push me away.”

“Yes, I know.”

“And it’s a good thing I listened to you.”

“Why?”

“Because otherwise, I might’ve ended up doing it while calling out another woman’s name—I would’ve been the scum of the earth.”

Lee-Jae, feeling both embarrassed and guilty, lowered her head deeply.