Follow Your Heart

It was Roderick who opened his eyes first.

He frowned slightly at first, because he felt a difference in his physical condition.

Of course, it was better.

And as soon as he saw the familiar face, lips slightly parted, breathing softly, he realized that it was Hailey Duncan’s lap that he had been resting on.

Moreover, he realized he was holding her too tightly.

“…”

The people had to watch as the King furrowed his brow and then raised his eyebrows.

“Why am I like this?”

He didn’t ask because he didn’t know. It was just an expression of disbelief.

The fact that he slept like this in front of so many palace servants after not being able to sleep for a few days surprised him.

But Jade answered straight away. Although Roderick had never said it himself, Jade vaguely knew that Roderick sometimes had memory lapses.

“You drank tea, sat side by side…”

“…”

“And then you just fell asleep.”

Of course, besides that, Her Majesty the Queen patted you a few times, and then Your Majesty did the same a few times, taking turns affectionately… But how could he say that with his own mouth?

Meanwhile, Roderick laughed in disbelief. It was a statement that felt somewhat familiar.

He sat up and ran his hand through his hair a bit roughly, then looked at the completely asleep Queen.

That gaze lasted quite a while, and a moment later, Roderick said,

“Let her sleep somewhere comfortable.”

The people, who had hesitated, became busy at that command.

The attendants moved a bit faster than the knights, but in the end, it was the captain of the knights, Jade, who carried the Queen. She was the king’s wife, so she couldn’t be entrusted to just any man.

And as Jade was about to leave the reception hall, everyone froze at Roderick’s additional words.

“Put her in my bedchamber.”

“…”

“Don’t wake her up unnecessarily by taking her far away.”

“…”

The King’s bedchamber was indeed much closer in distance.

To the seasoned people, it didn’t sound like it had such a pure intention; but after all, they were a married couple.

Even if the intention was a bit dark, it couldn’t be called improper.

So the King’s attendants looked at the Queen’s maids with suspicious eyes.

Did nothing really happen?

Was their relationship actually… good?

Unable to be certain about the bedroom affairs of the high-ranking couple, they stared at each other with eyes full of mistrust.

However, most of them eventually concluded that it wasn’t the case.

One side had jumped into the river to avoid this marriage, and the other side was always suspicious of anything related to the Duncan family, so it was unlikely that their relationship was perfectly fine.

 

Lee-Jae, who opened her eyes in an unfamiliar room, looked grave.

When she opened her eyes, it was a place she didn’t know again. She thought she might have died without knowing.

Lee-Jae got up and looked in the mirror first.

Peach-colored hair, pale skin, a slightly pointed chin. It was Hailey Duncan.

She gave a sigh of relief.

Roderick, it seemed, was not a tyrant who would behead his legal spouse just for touching him when he was in his right mind.

Yes, you are indeed not such a terrible husband; thank you Roderick.

Actually, she wasn’t that scared either.

However, Lee-Jae looked troubled again. This is because the condition in the room she looked around was serious.

“Staying here could give you a mental illness you never had in the first place.”

Lee-Jae intuitively realized that this was the king’s room. The spirits that followed him were huddled in the corners because of her presence.

“…Him being alive is quite an achievement.”

Feeling a haunted house-like atmosphere in what should be the sacred King’s bedroom, Hailey immediately opened the door. She felt nauseous.

Deborah and the maids stood outside the room, perhaps waiting the entire time she was asleep.

The head maid, who thought the Queen was very embarrassed when she saw Lee-Jae’s pale complexion, began with the explanation.

“This is His Majesty’s bedroom. You fell asleep, so we brought you here.”

“…Why?”

Why did you bring me to this haunted place?

I’m someone who doesn’t even go near haunted houses or cemeteries by mistake.

“His Majesty ordered us to bring you to a nearby place so that you wouldn’t wake up midway.”

“…”

Lee-Jae, who had been suppressing her nausea, looked as if she had heard something strange. She then laughed hollowly.

The King didn’t even know he had received help.

Yet, he still gave her small tokens of gratitude, she thought.

For someone like Lee-Jae, who was sensitive to such dark energies, this wasn’t exactly a welcome situation.

But she touched the talisman in her pocket several times. She had this thought belatedly.

‘If I had hidden a few of these, it would have been much better.’

However, the palace servants were looking at the Queen with puzzled expressions. Eventually, Lee-Jae bit her lip and stepped out of the room.

* * *

 

A few days later, Roderick proposed to have a meal with Lee-Jae.

It was their first meal together 15 days after the ceremony.

Before that, Jade had secretly reported the contents of a letter he had confirmed in the Queen’s study.

‘Your Majesty, Duke Duncan has sent a letter to the Queen.’

‘What does it say?’

‘He suggests that she bring in people from the Duke’s household to assist her. He is very concerned that she has been unwell recently.’

The King and his people all laughed upon hearing this. Anyone could see that the Duke was trying to plant his people in the royal palace.

And of course, Duke Duncan knew that the king would not allow it.

This was just one of the many small power struggles that frequently occurred between the King and the nobles.

However, Hailey was from the Duncan family, and she would likely receive many requests for audiences.

Who can guarantee that she won’t become her father’s puppet and a focal point for the nobles?

It was the same reason that Roderick continued to send marriage proposals to lesser families, and the reason he suspected the Duncan family of being behind the two accidents.

So this meal was purely a meeting to gauge Hailey Duncan’s reaction.

 

Roderick was already seated at the luncheon venue, deep in thought for quite some time. He was contemplating how to broach the subject, and the conclusion he needed to reach in their conversation was clear.

Despite his focus, Roderick’s nerves were on edge. He habitually rubbed his forehead and frowned from time to time.

When the Queen, dressed in a flowing gown, appeared, his frown deepened even more. He found himself in a strangely peculiar state of mind.

“…”

He couldn’t shake off the feeling that the air had become refreshingly cool.

And as she took each step closer to him, the refreshing sensation grew stronger and spread further.

It didn’t make sense, yet it did.

However, as he narrowed his eyes and looked at Hailey, he dismissed this surreal feeling with a single phrase.

“This is truly strange.”

Lee-Jae stopped trying to approach Roderick’s words.

“What?”

“Never mind.”

“…”

“I said it without meaning much.”

He shook his head and pointed to the seat across from him.

“Since you’re here, sit down.”

Lee-Jae sat quietly in the seat he pointed to.

Roderick tapped his finger on the table and just stared at her for quite some time.

Lee-Jae was also lost in thought for a while and was silent.

But before the food came out, it was Lee-Jae who spoke first.

“Your Majesty, I have something to tell you.”

“What is it? Say it.”

“A few days ago, I received a letter from Duke Duncan, my father.”

At the words, Roderick was silent for a moment.

Everyone else held their breath, tense, but Roderick was experiencing a slightly different sensation. 

Just moments ago, he had been thinking about how to broach the subject, but he realized he had completely forgotten about how to approach it.

He chuckled and decided to let the Queen take the lead in the conversation.

“What did the Duke say?”

“He offered to send people from the ducal household to assist me, saying it would be more convenient.”

Lee-Jae said so, looked at his face, and added.

“Should I show you the letter? There’s not much content in it, but I brought it with me.”

Roderick shook his head. He had already seen a copy of the letter.

Instead, he asked Lee-Jae with interest.

“So what do you want to do?”

“This time again… Are you giving me a choice?”

Then his blue eyes flashed a hint of laughter.

He understood what the Queen was referring to—the day he had given her the choice to accept the royal marriage or face certain death.

He pondered for a moment and nodded briefly.

“If you wish.”

Jade, who was listening, looked puzzled.

This is because the flow of the conversation was going wrong. They were supposed to steer the conversation their way, but it seemed like they were being led instead.

However, Lee-Jae, who received an affirmative answer from the King, made a sincere joke.

“Is this choice more… fair than the last one?”

Roderick laughed out loud this time. Rubbing his eyes and giving a dry chuckle, he said

“You’re becoming quite the character now that you’re speaking your mind.”

“Yes, I must have been too presumptuous. I apologize.”

“No, this is better.”

Roderick nodded as if to continue.

However, Lee-Jae looked thoughtful once again.

Lee-Jae was honestly a little curious about Hailey Duncan.

Hailey Duncan, would you have sided with your father? Is it truly better to have a father like that than to not have one at all?

But the diary was vast, and with her incomplete memories, she couldn’t grasp who Hailey Duncan really was, as a person.

In the end, Lee-Jae shared her conclusion.

“I will write back saying no. It hasn’t been long since I entered the royal family, and it wouldn’t look good to the people if I did that so soon.”

This was a satisfactory conclusion for everyone present.

However, Roderick noticed a subtle nuance. He would have refused the request anyway, but she didn’t attribute the refusal to him. It could be seen as repaying a debt.

It wasn’t a complete rejection of the Duncan family either. Because there’s still room for the word “yet.”

But the royal family and the nobles no longer needed to engage in a power struggle over this matter. They had lost the pretext for it, at least for now.

It was a typical Duncan move, different from her father’s intentions but effective nonetheless. Perhaps her bloodline was strong after all.

Roderick glanced at Jade, who was standing by the door. Jade hesitated, and the King’s gaze held a question.

‘Does that dialogue of hers really seem naive to you?’

Roderick, who had been looking at Jade for a while, realized that Lee-Jae was looking at him, waiting for him to start eating.

Noticing why, Roderick put a fork into the food in a rather blunt manner.

“Eat. Don’t wait for something like that. Just eat.”

Seeing the King’s slightly furrowed brow, Lee-Jae smiled faintly.

Watching her, Roderick began to feel increasingly complex emotions. It was as if something had repeatedly slipped out of his grasp and then returned.

Such fleeting intuition was usually overlooked by most people.

“…”

But in an unconscious moment, something grew in his chest just as big as a fingernail.

A deep suspicion and curiosity about a person, and with the addition of a slight attraction.

 

He was experiencing, for the first time in his life, the simultaneous birth of suspicion and attraction.