Chapter 115

Smut upcoming!

It was a night when something felt bound to happen.

The full moon rose high, luminous and mysterious, making hearts flutter with anticipation.

And in the moonlight-drenched bed, two young, healthy bodies were entangled.

The King’s broad shoulders and back muscles twitched with every passing moment, and Lee-Jae’s delicate hands barely managed to cling to his shoulders.

“Your Majesty… Your Majesty…”

“Haa… What? Is it too much?”

“No…”

“Then why?”

“…I just… wanted to call you.”

He had been moving with a steady, smoldering heat, but her words made that flame suddenly blaze outward.

When she called to him like that, eyes wet and desperate, he couldn’t stay composed.

“Lee-Jae… do you love me?”

“………”

“Haa… answer me. Hmm?”

“…I do.”

The moment he heard that small, honest answer, his vision blurred with emotion.

His head felt feverish, as if something hotter than blood was rushing through his veins.

His large, powerful body began to move more fervently than before, making her small frame ripple with every motion.

The soft cries slipping from Lee-Jae’s throat were like the chirps of a bird—

Or perhaps the whimpers of a young, helpless creature.

Hearing them made Roderick feel like his consciousness was slipping away.

It was as if some invisible force was pulling his clarity down into deep water.

And yet, at some point, he suddenly reached out.

Barely managing to slip his hand between the headboard and the crown of her head, Roderick panted heavily.

Lee-Jae, unaware that she had nearly hit her head, looked at him in confusion—

Her eyes so clear and bright, they looked as though a tear might tumble out at any moment.

Delaying the final moment just a bit longer, he shook his head and held her hips, pulling her downward.

Then, as he continued their union, he cradled her gently beneath him.

They pressed every part of themselves together, intertwined as deeply as they could.

And then the storm hit.

Like a fierce wave crashing through, a powerful energy surged between them, shaking both body and mind.

Even after that passion passed, they couldn’t bear to separate.

As if pretending their lovemaking wasn’t yet over, they clung to one another in denial.

For a long while, they kept their mouths locked, holding onto the lingering sensation of their union.

Who knows how long they kissed?

Eventually, in an immensely gentle voice, Roderick asked.

“Lee-Jae, are you alright?”

“Mhm…”

Watching her murmur like that, he looked at her with loving eyes and slowly lifted his body from hers.

When she winced slightly, the tears that had pooled finally rolled down her temples.

Roderick gently caressed her face, wiping away the many trails of tears.

“You really cried a lot. Your eyes are going to swell.”

“That’s just… how it goes sometimes. It keeps happening like that. But it’s because I’m happy—don’t think it’s weird.”

It was an unexpectedly honest response.

Roderick flopped down on the bed beside her and covered his eyes with his forearm.

Then let out a quiet, low laugh.

“No, I know. I do.”

“Actually, when you cry in bed… it makes me lose control even more.”

“What kind of psychology is that?”

“It’s because I can see that you don’t know what to do with yourself. You’re crying, but you’re happy too.”

No matter how tightly they embraced or how deeply they tried to reach into each other, they could never become one.

What he was born with, and what she was born with—were inherently different.

So even if they devoted themselves to the act, they could never fully share the same sensations. That would forever be impossible.

But in a relationship with someone you love, there are always things that fill in those empty spaces.

Expressions, glances, words that scatter without ever forming full sentences—

By watching and listening, you could always know what the other was feeling, what they needed.

Lee-Jae lowered her eyes in slight embarrassment.

Roderick chuckled softly, finding her shyness endearing.

He lightly tapped her cheek with his finger and said.

“Don’t take it too seriously. It just means your husband really, really loves you.”

He swept back his sweat-dampened apricot-colored hair and kissed her face here and there. Then, for a long while more, he indulged in affectionate touches that followed after their union.

Lee-Jae, eyes closed, was quietly savoring the afterglow.

Perhaps because she felt too comfortable, she nearly drifted off to sleep.

Startled by herself, she suddenly trembled and opened her eyes wide.

Roderick, who had been stroking her hair to lull her to sleep, looked at her in surprise.

When she got out of bed and began putting on her nightclothes, his expression grew even more puzzled.

“What? Aren’t you going to sleep?”

“You go ahead. I’m not sleepy yet.”

He let out a breathy, skeptical laugh—Was she really saying that with a straight face?

“Maybe if we go one more round, you’ll sleep soundly?”

“Not tonight. I’ve got work to do.”

“Like what?”

Lee-Jae didn’t answer. She walked slowly toward the table.

There, stacked high, were talismans she had been writing for the past several weeks.

Roderick momentarily lost his words.

He fully understood how important those were.

Talismans had been their weapon, their shield—protecting both of them all this time.

And yet, even after writing hundreds of them, she refused to rest.

To him, it was starting to look a little like an obsession.

Lee-Jae’s thoughts were clear.

She knew the King’s strategy in full detail.

He planned to lead the First Division and strike Ilias from the front lines.

The King would be fine—

By now, most malevolent spirits couldn’t even get close to him.

So, at first, she had worried about the knights surrounding him.

But recently, another possibility began gnawing at her.

Evil spirits could erode a person’s sanity.

What if the knights, seized by resentment, all turned their swords on the King at once?

Lee-Jae was determined to hand out talismans to every knight guarding the King at close range.

You could never be too prepared for this.

She sat down at the table and resumed writing talismans in silence.

Roderick watched her calm profile until he eventually fell asleep.

An hour passed.

Lee-Jae was now feeling rather proud of herself for having completed over a dozen more talismans.

The spirit of the chest playfully clung to her leg—it had ventured outside for the first time in a while.

It scurried up and down her like a squirrel climbing a tree.

It was a quiet, peaceful dawn.

She only sensed something amiss when she rubbed her drowsy eyes from concentrating too long.

The mischievous spirit suddenly bolted back into the chest, and Lee-Jae stiffly turned her head toward the window.

At some point, the King had gotten out of bed and was sliding his arms into his shirt.

At times like this, his sense for danger seemed even sharper than hers.

The two of them stepped toward the window together.

Lee-Jae narrowed her eyes, gazing out at the darkness blanketing the night sky.

“It hasn’t even been that long… and something’s flying toward us again.”

The King, watching her quietly, turned and strode away to call the knight commander.

But Lee-Jae suddenly grabbed his sleeve.

Something didn’t sit right with her.

“Your Majesty.”

“Yeah?”

“There aren’t many of them. And… they’re weak.”

“What?”

“The grudge—it’s pathetically faint. You feel it too, don’t you?”

Only three spirits were circling the building.

They couldn’t even be called malevolent spirits—more like petty ghosts carrying trivial resentment.

And they were barely able to approach, thanks to the near-impenetrable wards and the King himself.

“What the hell is this?”

Lee-Jae tilted her head in confusion, then opened the window and leaned her upper body out past the barrier.

But the situation was unchanged.

When the alarmed King grabbed her by the waist, the ghosts actually backed away a few steps.

Lee-Jae looked up at him from behind and asked:

“Your Majesty, would you mind stepping back just a little?”

Roderick nodded and gently lifted her away from the windowsill.

Suspended in the air, Lee-Jae kicked her legs in protest.

“No, that’s not what I meant—just you, Your Majesty.”

The King looked at a loss for words again.

After a short silence, he set her down behind him.

“Sorry, but that’s a bit difficult for me too.”

“If Your Majesty is here, they’re too scared to come near.”

“……”

“Do you still not trust my skills? I can handle low-level ghosts like those without any problem.”

Shaking off Roderick’s hand, Lee-Jae circled around him and returned to the window.

She leaned her upper body out once more.

“What are you? Did Ilias send you too?”

Her spiritual sight sharpened as she fixed her gaze on them.

They were still ghosts—wretched and chilling in appearance, each and every one of them.

As they slowly approached, Lee-Jae felt the hair on her arms rise.

It was the sensation of ghostly energy.

Then, one of the spirits began to move its mouth.

– Come to Belpasten.

“…What?”

– Belpasten.

Stunned, Lee-Jae tried to steady herself and asked calmly:

“Are the people I’m looking for there?”

But the ghosts had long since died, and no will or logic remained in them.

Like a broken music box, they repeated only one thing—

– Belpasten.

– Belpasten.

Lee-Jae’s face hardened.

She bit her lip, extended her hand, and infused it with power—

In an instant, she obliterated the spirits.

She couldn’t afford to leave behind any unnecessary clues.

Stepping away from the window, she turned to face the King.

“Your Majesty. I think I know where they are.”

Roderick’s blue eyes chilled as well.

“Where exactly?”

Lee-Jae finally understood why the knights hadn’t been able to track them down.

It was a place she knew all too well—

A slum on the outskirts of the capital. A place where power never reached.

“Belpasten Street.”

But no sooner had she spoken, almost as if fleeing from something, a strange sense of dread swept over her.

Because this…

This wasn’t an attack.

What they had sent…

was a chilling invitation.