Special Story 2.2

While reviewing documents in his study, the King looked up around lunchtime and asked his chief attendant, “What’s the Queen doing right now?”

“She has no official schedule today, Your Majesty. She spent the morning in Arthur’s Forest, and is likely in her palace quarters now.”

Apparently, she had come out of the forest with another armful of herbs.

Still, the attendant knew his answer might be lacking—while the Queen’s movements weren’t usually complicated, it had been quite a while since he’d last checked with the Queen’s residence.

“Shall I confirm again, sire?”

“No need. I’ll go myself.”

The King waved him off and stood up.

Just as he was about to step out, a thought occurred to him. He turned to the attendant and said, “Oh, by the way. Remember the lake I mentioned?”

“Pardon?”

The King chuckled at his own words.

“You know, I said I’d have a pond dug near the Queen’s palace.”

“………”

“Make it a fountain instead. Might as well, and place it where she can see it clearly from her study.”

There was already a lake the Queen favored.

It was vast and grand—no artificial creation could compare to it.

So the King had decided to gift her a beautiful fountain instead.

But the moment they heard that, the royal attendants wore strange expressions.

Hardly anyone believed he was serious.

The chief attendant asked cautiously, “Your Majesty… was that… truly meant?”

“Of course. You think I joke about things like that? If I made an empty promise, how disappointed do you think the Queen would be?”

The King spoke offhandedly, then added, “And make it wide if you like—but don’t make it too deep. She should be able to dip her feet in.”

With a smile, he pictured her tiny hands and feet—so small they looked like beans in his palms.

At that same time, that “bean” was also plotting something in the garden.

Something that would surpass even the gods of judgment—a masterpiece of her own making.

Her gaze was fixed seriously on a wooden log.

Beside her stood the knight commander—just as large and broad as the King himself.

“Jade. I’m sorry, but could you move this to the storage room over there?”

Jade struggled not to laugh aloud, knowing it would be impolite.

The Queen’s request had caught him completely off guard.

Two nights ago, Lee-Jae had quietly sought him out. Then again, at dawn today, she had opened his door.

But instead of another secret discussion, she’d begun asking for help.

It was the last thing he had expected.

“Jade, just help me with this-once. I need someone with a special kind of energy.”

The knight commander had stood silently for a while, staring at the ground.

The wooden log was at least as tall as the Queen herself.

He tried to roll it by hand, but Lee-Jae gently shook her head and said calmly,

“Sorry—but please handle it with a bit more care.

The more care you put in, the better the result.”

Jade thought to himself, ‘Forgive me, but perhaps what Your Majesty needed wasn’t someone with a special aura… but someone with special strength.’

Still, after hearing her full plan, he couldn’t bring himself to refuse.

He lifted the log, and Lee-Jae followed at his side.

They brought it to a small storage shed tucked into a corner of the Royal garden.

The Queen’s garden was technically her private space—but if the King wished, he could enter it at any time.

Lee-Jae, however, wanted to keep this a secret for now.

To work in secret, she chose the least conspicuous shed.

As she watched the lumber pile up, she said,

“Jade, once it’s finished, help me stand it up too. Technically, I should do it alone—but I don’t think I can lift it.”

Then she added, ‘If someone with a pure spirit helps me, it should still be okay. Especially if it’s someone who cares about His Majesty… that would make it even better.’

Jade nodded, though he still looked skeptical.

“Your Majesty… are you really planning to carve it at this size?”

“Hmm, I think I just need to carve the face carefully.”

“Yes. The face… It is a face, I suppose.”

The wooden pillar naturally suited the form of a totem pole, and it didn’t seem like it would take too long to finish.

The knight commander thought that wasn’t the problem—or perhaps, he thought with a sigh, that was exactly the problem.

But Lee-Jae looked genuinely delighted.

“Don’t tell His Majesty yet. But do you think he’ll find it funny when he sees it?”

“I… I’m not sure about funny, Your Majesty. But he’ll certainly be surprised.”

By now, the commander knew.

Every carving she made had a purpose.

Still, he had little hope when it came to the aesthetic side of things.

He kept his mouth shut, but silently thought:

‘So this castle’s about to get even weirder. Guess that wasn’t the end of it after all.’

But Lee-Jae was sure that the King would burst into laughter.

Of course, she also knew he’d pinch the bridge of his nose while doing it.

The two of them stepped out of the shed, chatting lightly.

There wasn’t a proper place to sit in the garden.

After looking around, Lee-Jae settled into a chair in front of a medicinal water pot, then looked up at Jade.

Her gaze said it clearly: ‘It’s okay. If there’s something you want to say, go ahead.’

Jade cleared his throat awkwardly and took off his formal jacket.

He laid it over the chair and offered her the seat instead.

Lee-Jae moved and sat down where he suggested, but the knight commander still hesitated to speak.

So she, watching him quietly, broke the silence first.

“Jade. Did you fight with your lover again?”

The knight commander scratched the back of his head, mouth falling open.

He wasn’t sure if she was a fox spirit or a ghost, but it was definitely one of the two sitting before him.

“Your Majesty… you can see things like that?”

Lee-Jae silently shook her head. It wasn’t that clear.

What she saw in his face was only that he was seeing someone.

But he seemed troubled, so she figured there must’ve been some discord—just the kind of conclusion a shaman would naturally draw.

“I didn’t realize I was that obvious… I apologize for troubling you with such petty concerns.”

Jade sighed, but Lee-Jae gave him a soft smile.

Because of the words he chose.

“It’s not petty. And most people who come to see me don’t exactly have grand things to say either.”

Most people’s troubles were the same: family, friends, money.

Almost no one came hoping for world peace or the restoration of humanity.

And if they did, Lee-Jae would probably just get a headache.

Besides, she actually liked hearing about the small details of people’s lives.

“I don’t even know what the problem is exactly, but sometimes it feels like I’m going into battle. Of course, I always lose. Not that I’m doing this because I want to win.”

Jade continued speaking, bit by bit.

The gist was this: he wanted to do well, but he couldn’t figure out what the other person was really thinking.

He gave a self-deprecating laugh, and Lee-Jae struggled not to burst out laughing too.

People did say birds of a feather flock together, and in this case, it seemed to be true.

Even the stoic knight commander had a soft spot when it came to the woman he liked.

‘So… she must be pretty formidable,’ Lee-Jae thought.

She studied Jade’s face closely.

There was no sign of a looming breakup—but she didn’t say anything.

If there wasn’t any ill fortune, there was no need to add extra words.

Instead, she picked up a branch to offer a silent prayer in place of advice.

She bent down and drew a talisman on the ground.

‘May the wind blow after the rain clears, and the moon be bright. May all things unfold according to your heart’s desire.’

Breathing energy into the talisman, Lee-Jae said, “When something good happens later, introduce her to me and His Majesty, too.”

“Then I don’t think His Majesty will stay still.”

“What will His Majesty do?”

It was obvious she meant he would tease her—“Behave yourself and don’t act immature.”

Then it happened.

A shadow fell over the two sitting side by side.

At the same time, a familiar voice echoed in their ears.

“So, what will I do?”

Startled, Jade jumped up and saluted.

The King waved his hand, telling him it was unnecessary, but narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

“Why do you keep startling me like this?”

“…”

“You’re making people feel strange.”

“Not at all. Please, have a seat.”

The King tried to sit in the chair the knight commander had offered.

But then he noticed Lee-Jae sitting on the knight’s jacket.

His feeling of unease grew.

He couldn’t let the Queen of the kingdom sit in such a messy spot.

Seeing that and doing nothing would have been disrespectful, so the knight commander’s action was indefensible.

Though aware of this, the King furrowed his brows slightly.

The situation was oddly displeasing.

Why would someone take off their clothes for another man’s wife?

The King took off his own jacket and tossed it on the chair, then helped Lee-Jae up.

In the end, Lee-Jae had to change her seat again.

“Take this back with you.”

Roderick handed the knight commander his uniform jacket and gestured for him to leave.

After Jade saluted and withdrew, Roderick stared intently at Lee-Jae.

His voice, which escaped, sounded somewhat curt.

“You like secretly going on dates with other men behind your husband’s back?”

Lee-Jae stifled a laugh. The King’s expression grew displeased.

“Why are you laughing? I’m serious.”

“Roderick’s saying weird things again, even though he knows it’s not true.”

The King was silent for a moment, then sighed and shook his head.

“Quite a curious thing.”

“What is?”

“Even in this situation, my mood brightens the moment you call my name.”

Still feeling unsettled, the King couldn’t help but ask again.

He didn’t want to seem like he was interrogating them, but seeing them whispering side by side wasn’t exactly pleasant.

“But what did you two really talk about? Excluding the Head maid?”

“…”

“Aren’t you going to tell your husband?”

“We didn’t say much. I just asked if he had any worries since he seemed unhappy lately.”

Lee-Jae gave the King a vague but appropriate answer.

She felt sorry for unintentionally exposing the knight commander’s private life last time.

Besides, she was a little startled.

Just moments before, she had shoved the wood and carving tools into the shed, and yet the King had appeared suddenly, without any notice or even a sound.

The King looked at her steadily.

He was not naïve enough to miss the awkwardness in her reaction.

He understood why she answered that way.

When she didn’t want to lie, but couldn’t reveal everything, she always responded like that.

Why was she evading?

The King crossed his arms and raised one eyebrow.