Special Story 4

Roderick finished his state affairs and briefly stopped by the Queen’s palace garden. The garden, where Lee-Jae once spent her time decocting medicine or practicing archery, had long since been transformed into Leo’s playground.

Roderick watched Leo from a distance, a frown on his face. Leo was clinging to a totem pole, which was taller than him, struggling.

“What is my son doing?”

“Uh, well…”

Roderick asked in a tone of disbelief, and Jade trailed off, hesitant. He didn’t know where to begin to explain.

Just then, a surprisingly strong cry erupted from the young prince’s mouth.

“Inside leg sweep!”

Roderick’s eyebrows furrowed even more as he looked at the totem pole. Inside leg sweep?

“How can you sweep the leg of something that doesn’t have legs?”

Jade cleared his throat and belatedly began to explain the situation.

“Well, Her Majesty the Queen, a few days ago…”

“Yeah, what about Lee-Jae?”

“While playing with His Highness the Prince, she told him it was a traditional martial art passed down from her homeland.”

“…”

“She seemed to enjoy it, but why he’s doing it to that statue, I don’t really know…”

Roderick let out a short, incredulous laugh and then carefully observed his son’s movements, his center of gravity, and the direction of the force. Upon closer inspection, it looked like a part of a move Lee-Jae had used on him once. He vividly recalled the memory of her shouting ‘Aaaaaah’ and clinging to him, and him returning the move.

‘So that was a martial art.’

But could it have been exaggerated? How could you knock someone down with that?

In Roderick’s eyes, both Lee-Jae and his young son were no bigger than beans, and he thought that no matter how much they struggled, the totem pole wouldn’t budge.

Just then.

“Pushing strike!”

“…Huh?”

Look at that? The totem pole began to shake, defying his expectations, and Roderick’s eyebrows shot up. A mix of admiration and surprise filled the eyes of the knights surrounding the garden.

“Oh my god…”

The base must have been buried quite deep. Was this a result of Leo’s strength, the victory of technique, or the persistence of harassing the totem pole for so long? The towering totem pole finally began to lean toward the ground.

Because he had been watching the situation closely, Roderick was able to quickly grab his son by the scruff of his neck before he fell to the ground.

“Got you.”

A surprised Leo’s eyes widened, and upon seeing his father’s face, he threw his arms around his neck.

“Papa!”

“Yes, it’s Papa. You little troublemaker.”

“When did you get here?”

“I’ve been here for a while.”

Roderick set his son down on the ground, ruffled his hair roughly, and showed his affection in a somewhat forceful way. His gaze then shifted to the totem pole lying on the ground.

The totem pole, which was already hideous, had been ravaged by time and looked even more so. A hint of awkwardness lingered in Roderick’s eyes, as he had not completely overcome his unease with the totem pole.

However, this was a kind of gift and masterpiece that Lee-Jae had prepared for Roderick. Because she would come and carve again with a carving knife whenever it was about to fade, Roderick’s and her names were still clearly visible at the base.

Roderick, as if to say, ‘You’re in big trouble now,’ said to his son.

“What are you going to do? That’s your mother’s favorite possession.”

Leo flinched and rolled his big eyes. He was visibly anxious about getting scolded by his mom.

Although Lee-Jae wouldn’t scold Leo harshly for something like this, Roderick, wanting to tease his son, put on an even more serious expression. Leo then clung to his leg, acting childish.

“Please keep it a secret from Mama, Papa…”

“Well. I’ll have to think about that.”

“I’ll put it back up, okay?”

The child grabbed the wooden pole, which was taller than him, and began to struggle again. Roderick laughed, holding his forehead, and then instructed the knights.

“Help the Prince out.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Bury it well so it doesn’t show. The bean is quick-witted.”

The knights, who were well aware of how sharp the Queen was, all worked on the restoration with great care. They buried the totem pole in the exact same spot as before, and even paid attention to the color difference between the surface and the subsoil, attempting to execute a perfect crime.

*** 

After spending some time with his mischievous son, Roderick headed to the reception room. Lee-Jae had completed all her scheduled activities and was still in the reception room, continuing with what seemed to be either meditation or prayer.

Deborah was about to announce the King’s visit to Lee-Jae, but Roderick stopped her and watched his wife from a distance. It seemed she was quite focused, as her unique aura was emanating around her.

It had been seven years since he was unexpectedly gifted with the spirit eye by the First King. Roderick had truly come to love his ability. It was so delightful to watch the warm light that floated around her.

‘Who is she praying for peace and happiness for this time, that the surroundings are so bright and cozy?’ The tenderness was so great it was almost moving.

Just then, Lee-Jae also sensed the unique aura and slowly opened her eyes. When a gentle smile appeared on his wife’s face, Roderick’s heart fluttered, and he called her name.

“Lee-Jae.”

My apricot fox, our cute little bean. How lovely she is. Roderick rushed over and kissed her round forehead.

“When did you get here?”

Roderick thought, ‘The son and the mother ask the same thing,’ and gave a similar answer as before.

“I’ve been here for a while. But why do you pray for so long?”

“I know, right. As I pray for everyone’s well-being, it seems to get longer and longer…”

Lee-Jae said this with a somewhat enlightened expression, and Roderick couldn’t help but laugh. Lee-Jae smiled back at him and then suddenly remembered something, asking about their son’s whereabouts.

“But what’s Leo doing? Did you go see him?”

“Yeah. He was playing in the garden, and it was time for his lesson, so I walked him to the front. But…”

Roderick’s answer was ordinary. However, he trailed off, leaving a strong sense of lingering meaning. Although he was the one who ordered to commit the perfect crime, he also knew it was impossible to accomplish.

The statue in the garden wasn’t just a simple craft; it was a kind of barrier that Lee-Jae had completed by breathing her own aura into it. The moment that that aura was disturbed, it was only a matter of time before its creator noticed.

“Was something… going on?”

“Yeah. Something happened. Well, it’s nothing big.”

Roderick glanced at Lee-Jae and continued, hoping the story would sound like a minor incident to her ears as well.

“You know. Leo… pulled out the statue.”

“Pardon?”

“You know, the pair of wooden statues in the garden. That ugly… Anyway, that one.”

“…Pardon?”

“But I don’t know if he pulled it out by force or if it just fell on its own because it’s old. I guess it was buried a bit shallow from the beginning.”

Lee-Jae couldn’t quite grasp it and kept asking again and again before suddenly getting up from her chair. Her eyes were filled with shock.

“How could he pull that out… Did Leo get hurt?”

“No. Leo is perfectly fine.”

“…”

“How is it that my son doesn’t cry even when he falls? It seems like he doesn’t even get surprised anymore.”

Roderick spoke with an unconcerned, almost bored tone, and Lee-Jae glared at him. But his statement was the truth.

Their son, whose prenatal dream was already unique, was growing into an incredibly lively troublemaker. From small toys to expensive porcelain, anything that came into his hands was inevitably shattered. He often came back with injuries from playing by himself, but it was rare for Leo to burst into tears, even with blood streaming from both knees.

However, Lee-Jae was heartbroken that a six-year-old’s knees were never safe. The words of those around her, saying ‘kids just grow up getting hurt,’ didn’t provide her with much comfort. On the contrary, it sounded strange. No matter how hard she tried to remember, she didn’t recall being like that when she was Leo’s age.

“I was quiet when I was a child…”

Roderick then stared at Lee-Jae. He was thinking, ‘Why go that far back?’

“You’re quiet even now.”

“But why is our Leo like that… Who does he take after…”

Lee-Jae mumbled with a puzzled look and glanced at Roderick. He belatedly realized the arrow was subtly aimed at him and raised an eyebrow.

“Hey. I’m just strong, I didn’t cause any trouble.”

“…”

“I’m serious! I was just a little sturdier than others, that’s all.”

However, Roderick’s voice lacked its usual confidence. He also thought that his son probably didn’t cause trouble because he took after Lee-Jae. The temperament of a son who destroyed anything he touched and a wife whose hobby was meditation was quite different. But Leo was their son, so if the cause wasn’t Lee-Jae, then it naturally had to be…

“Fine, it’s me.”

“…”

“Let’s just say he takes after me.”

Roderick, though feeling wronged, admitted it as if there was no way to deny it. Lee-Jae found his grumpy expression so funny that she chuckled for a while before finally telling him the truth. She was so grateful that their child was growing up as strong as him. Every single day was simply a blessing.

Our favorite couple is back, everyone! Thank you to the reader who told me that there were new chapters. Also I know it’s a bit late but my editor said we should probably add an image of totem pole to show what it is to everyone so here it is!