Previously
Kang Lee-jae wakes up in the middle of the night to find an Alcohol Spirit attempting to influence Roderick Firth Blairk. After successfully scaring the spirit away, she confronts and exorcises a massive, vengeful Snake Spirit that was threatening the King, with the brief and chaotic assistance of Haim's Spirit.
I Hope You'll Recognize Me Someday (Part 1)
[I pass this down to future generations.
To commemorate the centennial of Cayenne’s founding,
the fourth king, Ryan Blairk, pursued an active policy of national integration.
The royal family promoted marriages with the Mellon, Russell, and Duncan houses, who hail from the Demon Empire.
In truth, national harmony was not the goal.
Be aware that this was done to place constraints on their abilities.
—From page 89 of Letter to Subsequent Kings]
The battle of nerves between the King and the nobility was no different today.
True to form, Duke Duncan fired off his opening shot like a cannon.
Roderick, who had been resting his chin on his hand, wore an exasperated look.
When the King laughed as if making a light joke, the royalist nobles joined in with polite chuckles.
When the Duke fell silent, Roderick glanced around at the assembly of nobles and asked,
A royalist nobleman, quick to catch the King’s intent, piped up immediately.
Jade answered with a deadpan expression.
Roderick shrugged at Duke Duncan.
"…"
The nobles could clearly sense how much the King had changed over recent years.
Though he still wore a thoroughly irritated and abrasive expression, there was no emotional instability behind it.
Furthermore, the substance of his words was far sharper and clearer than before.
Even so, Duke Duncan was the head of the anti-royalist faction.
He stood in a position where he simply could not back down.
In truth, the Queen had already turned down the Duke’s requests twice.
These days, even Duke Duncan’s requests to meet her were being flatly rejected.
Roderick was well aware of this, yet the Duke’s accusation struck him as rather absurd.
The Duke did not answer, but his silence was an implicit confirmation.
His face seemed to declare: ‘There is no way my daughter would refuse to see me.’
What sort of father knew so little about his own daughter?
Roderick, who had maintained a blank indifference all along, knitted his brows for the first time since the council began.
Following the meeting, the King’s attendants immediately dispatched word to the Queen’s Palace.
Though his visits had no set schedule, the days when the elder Duncan caused a stir never saw an exception.
Just as everyone anticipated, when Roderick stepped into the Queen’s Palace, Lee-jae was once again busy carving something.
Lee-jae intended to reinforce the protective barrier even further.
She had been rather unsettled by that Alcohol Spirit knocking persistently on the window.
Her determination to build an impenetrable fortress was rock-solid, but Roderick, entirely unaware of her true motive, merely remarked, “You certainly are consistent.”
It was an absurd argument, yet oddly persuasive, drawing a quiet chuckle from Roderick.
Pulling up a chair to sit beside Lee-jae, he said, “The Duke asked me to stop preventing him from seeing you. He seems convinced I’ve been barring his way.”
Lee-jae let out an amused laugh, and Roderick’s expression subtly shifted.
Putting aside her disinterest in family affairs, she clearly despised the man.
Yet when the Duke first broached the subject of an audience, he had carried himself with utter confidence, and today he had even boasted that his daughter would never refuse him.
Why was there such a massive gulf between their perspectives?
Just as Roderick frowned, lost in thought—
Shaving away a curl of wood with careless ease, Lee-jae replied,
Her words were precisely what the royalists had aimed for from the start.
On their wedding day, had Jade not urged Roderick to use her as a shield to the fullest extent?
Yet hearing those very words from her own lips made Roderick’s expression harden.
When she had said it a few days ago, he had simply laughed it off.
Back when she babbled on about being a cushion, it had sounded like a joke.
Hearing it repeatedly now, however, felt unsettling.
…A cold chill crept into his heart.
Just how had Duke Duncan raised his child for her to speak like this at her age?
"…"
"…"
Seeing that the King seemed genuinely displeased, Lee-jae quietly set down the block of wood in her hand.
As the atmosphere chilled, the surrounding attendants gradually caught on.
One by one, they began looking for a way to slip out.
It had been obvious that the King was looking out for his young wife all along.
He was not called a monster for nothing; he was a man possessing both the authority and the power to crush anyone he pleased.
Even so, the King’s attendants worried for the Queen’s safety as they filed out. After all, if the one force capable of subduing the King was broken, there would be no replacing her.
Once the room emptied, a long silence settled between them.
Lee-jae stared down with a composed, detached air, while Roderick gazed at her with a furrowed brow.
Before long, he let out a heavy sigh.
Whenever the Queen went silent, he was the one left feeling suffocated.
"…"
"…"
At that, Lee-jae, who had kept her head bowed, broke into soft laughter.
Dusting off the hem of her dress, she carefully brushed the wood shavings from her palms. Then, sliding her chair slightly forward, she moved closer to Roderick.
Hesitating for a brief moment, Lee-jae laid a gentle touch over his hand.
Roderick’s irritation had already begun to ebb.
After all, Lee-jae, who had always recoiled whenever he reached out, was the one initiating contact.
She did not even fully grasp his hand; she merely rested her palm over the back of his.
Lee-jae paused before continuing softly,
All the tension drained from Roderick’s body. He slumped back against the chair and buried his face in one hand.
He genuinely looked as though his sanity might slip away.
He caught the armrest of Lee-jae’s chair and pulled it slightly closer.
Then, as his blue eyes locked onto her lips, he felt her flinch ever so faintly.
Roderick lightly cupped Lee-jae’s shoulder, pecked her lips several times like a bird pecking at grain, and finally let her small frame go.
He had no idea what went on in her mind or her heart.
When Lee-jae answered in a quiet yet clear voice, Roderick let out a sigh.
Lee-jae smiled and tilted her head.
Though she said nothing, Roderick felt strangely cross-examined.
Those innocent eyes were a total sham, weren't they?
It certainly felt that way.
Lee-jae burst out laughing.
Their first marital spat ended before it could properly begin.
In that moment, Roderick caught a glimpse of what his future held.
The instant the Queen lowered her eyes and stared at the floor, he found it impossible to stay angry.
It was as if she were bracing herself for what might follow.
Raking a hand roughly through his hair, he noticed Lee-jae smiling, and he spoke up first.
Lee-jae flinched.
Finding her reaction charming, the King felt like teasing her a little more.
Only at moments like this did she appear truly innocent.
"…"
"…"
When Lee-jae cleared her throat and ended up coughing, he poured some water and handed it to her.
A mischievous grin touched his lips as he watched the Queen gulp down the water.
Even so, the chill he had felt earlier could not be wiped from Roderick’s heart.
Lee-jae claimed her choice of words had been poor, but she was a cautious person, and he knew it.
She, who lied so frequently, had been speaking absolute truth in that moment.