Previously
Roderick returns from the hunt and presents Lee-jae with a live squirrel he rescued, which she finds logical yet surprising. Their lighthearted reunion sours when Lee-jae perceives a dark snake spirit clinging to Roderick, revealing he killed a snake during his trip.
Listen Well to Your Wife (Part 4)
After returning from the hunt, Roderick stayed away from the Queen’s chambers for a time.
Whether it was the sting of her hatred for snakes or disbelief that he could do such a thing, the wound lingered longer than expected.
Seeing her weep so sorrowfully over another man made him all the more guarded.
Though she was his wife, they had somehow settled into separate beds.
Yet he refused to force her.
After all, he acknowledged that he and the Duke were the ones responsible for this marriage.
Consequently, Roderick’s insomnia flared, and his temper grew shorter by the day.
He dozed fitfully and reached up to rub his brow.
It was an early sign of the madness returning.
Arriving outside the King’s bedchamber in the early morning, Jade asked the valet, “How is His Majesty feeling?”
Jade’s expression turned grim, prompting the valet to suggest cautiously,
They timed when to summon the suppression team—the Queen—with utter seriousness now.
Jade entered the royal bedchamber and studied his friend’s pallor.
Jade, who had urged restraint, could only repeat the servant’s suggestion once he saw the King’s face.
It was truly bizarre, yet everyone had no choice but to accept the phenomenon as it was.
The King slept soundly and appeared at peace whenever he was with the Queen.
Roderick frowned.
Roderick clicked his tongue, calling it pathetic.
The King lasted only four days.
There are people who overestimate their health and refuse to trust hospitals.
Yet even they will seek a doctor when the pain becomes unbearable, no matter who tries to stop them.
The patient Roderick, having fallen into this habit without realizing it, walked to the hospital on his own.
Lee-jae, having received word of the King’s arrival, welcomed him with quiet pleasure.
Entering her room, Roderick wore no expression at all. He simply rubbed his face and smiled.
The strange sounds that sometimes whispered in his ears were absent as well.
That was because wicked spirits could not enter this room.
The King realized he truly was mad.
Yet if he was doomed to lose his mind anyway, this kind of madness was far preferable.
At least no blood was shed when it took this form.
Even so, it did cause the Queen a bit of trouble.
Sitting on the sofa, Roderick spoke bluntly,
"…"
The King tilted his head slightly even as the words left his mouth.
He had spoken without thinking, but once said, it felt true.
Was he truly unable to sleep without the Queen?
Worried you might have terrible dreams again tonight.
Worried you might suffer all alone.
Lee-jae offered a small smile instead of answering, but Roderick felt a wave of relief.
Lee-jae called her mental checklist to mind.
Item number one—visiting His Majesty’s bedchamber—seemed well within reach.
Roderick pulled Lee-jae onto the sofa and rested his head on her lap, just as he had grown accustomed to doing.
Having struggled to sleep ever since the hunting competition, he took her hand and pressed it to his face.
"…"
Lee-jae burst out laughing.
Despite his broad frame, he seemed oddly endearing in that moment.
As she began pressing her soft fingertips across his head, Roderick felt that familiar sensation wash over him.
His body grew impossibly light, and his sharp, frayed nerves melted into ease.
Roderick gazed up at Lee-jae with deep blue eyes.
He caught her hand as it moved over him.
Roderick was the King; he knew the history of Cayenne better than anyone.
Though people dismissed it as mere myth, such mysterious power had once existed on this continent. Still, nearly four hundred years had passed since it vanished completely.
Lee-jae replied evasively.
He wore an expression of genuine curiosity.
Others might have thought the King was playing tricks again, but Lee-jae knew his suspicion was well-founded.
Rather than making excuses or confessing, she offered something else.
Lee-jae shook her head.
Roderick, who had been studying her quietly, spoke abruptly.
She flinched and stared down at him.
Yet Roderick, who had not been joking in the slightest, soon spoke with genuine candor.
Lee-jae looked genuinely concerned.
Then, after a brief hesitation, she leaned down.
Just as she was about to pull away after kissing each of his cheeks, Roderick rose.
He pinned Lee-jae against the sofa, catching both of her wrists.
As his hand slid toward her leg, Lee-jae twisted away, laughing.
He lightly pinched the Queen’s lovely cheek and released her.
"…"
What had that feeling been back then?
Why had she cried, and why had he longed to kiss her?
Lee-jae closed her eyes.
The attendants turned their heads away as the royal couple embraced on the sofa, sharing a deep kiss.
Yet unlike before, no matter how long they waited, there was no sign of it ending, so the servants quietly slipped out of the room.
Roderick, pulling back for a breath, murmured,
"…"
He cast a meaningful glance down her frame.
Lee-jae laughed softly at how quickly Roderick echoed her own words.
She took his hand.
In truth, he had been mildly irritated by how often the Queen pulled her hand away, which made him chuckle.
Then he buried his lips against hers once more.
If the kiss before the hunt had been courtly and restrained, this one was far more ravenous and instinctive.
Without much experience, she could not be certain, but that was how it felt.
Roderick brushed his thumb over her swollen lips.
The King finally understood what that lingering sensation had been.
A feeling deeper than mere liking had begun to take root in his chest.
Unbeknownst to him, that fondness had quietly grown.
He scooped Lee-jae into his arms as he stood.
Lee-jae tensed slightly as the King laid her on the bed and followed her down.
If moving to the bed followed a kiss like that, she assumed she knew what came next.
Instead, Roderick asked,
"…"
Lee-jae felt an ache in her chest once more.
She readily acknowledged Hailey’s lingering feelings.
Yet she dismissed them just as quickly.
"…"
Roderick stared at the Queen.
His wife sometimes spoke like an elder nearing the end of life.
Yet her words carried a strange, arresting weight.
Did other people not notice this about her?
"…"
“…You are a remarkably good husband.”
For an arranged union thrown together haphazardly, it seemed surprisingly successful.
Lee-jae reflected that this new life might not be an absolute curse.
Still, lying in bed with the divide between this world and the other hanging over her, a quiet sorrow stirred within.
Lee-jae shook her head.
Roderick frowned.
Lee-jae smiled and shifted her posture.
She tucked herself beneath Roderick’s arm, but he lifted her slightly and slid his arm under her head.
Lee-jae hesitated for a moment.
After a pause, she turned her back to Roderick and settled down.
He pressed close against her back into a steady embrace, looping his arms gently around her waist.
Lee-jae’s brow furrowed slightly.
A waist was a strategic vantage point, after all, where a hand could stray upward or downward at will.
Still, she bore it patiently, but when he hooked one of his legs over hers, she could endure no more.
She felt like a corpse pinned beneath him.
Though she spoke playfully, her expression carried not only awkwardness, but a trace of loneliness.
She saw plainly that the King was trying his best to close the distance between them.
What would she do if he were like this now, only to suddenly come to despise her one day?
There was no need for him to try so hard to be kind. She was truly fine, and far more accustomed to being left alone.
When she hesitated on the verge of speaking, Roderick could not curb his curiosity and pressed, “Not quite what?”
In the end, Lee-jae kept her silence.
She had no desire to burden him with the baggage of her unfortunate past.
Sometimes such confessions only became a heavy weight for the other person to bear.
Roderick nudged Lee-jae with a look that made her want to retreat.
Even now, she marveled at the secret family art of getting under someone’s skin, wondering if it was a trait passed down through the Duncan bloodline.
Unable to let it go, he kept teasing and poking at her.
Finding it ticklish at last, Lee-jae laughed aloud.
Roderick grumbled softly, tangling their legs together once more.