Special Story 5

The Royal Family, for a change, visited the temple. It was because the temple, which had recently finished its expansion work, had requested their presence to grace the completion ceremony.

However, Roderick’s initial reaction to the request was rather indifferent.

‘I have someone who is more of a cleric than any priest right at home, so why should I go all the way there to pray? My wife’s prayers are much more effective, you know. I’m not just saying that, I can actually see things with my own eyes…’

Lee-Jae poked him in the side in surprise, but Roderick remained calm.

‘She doesn’t understand what I’m saying at all. Little Bean. Having too much to see compared to others… is actually quite frustrating, isn’t it?’

The temple officials tilted their heads as the King spoke in riddles. Lee-Jae had to take charge of the cleanup, forcing out a strained laugh.

‘We’ll go. He means he’ll gladly attend. His Majesty is very fond of jokes…’

‘Gladly? I…?’

Lee-Jae pinched Roderick’s side, telling him to stop joking, and Roderick, impressed by her desperate damage control, finally decided to go to the temple, following his wife’s wishes.

After all the events were over, the family of three got into the same carriage on their way home.

Leo was sitting on his father’s lap, looking at the world outside. When the long river that cut through the capital came into view, the child’s eyes filled with admiration.

“Mama! Look over there!”

Lee-Jae leaned her forehead against the window, following Leo’s gaze. The riverside was full of vacationers enjoying themselves in groups.

“There are a lot of people. It must be hot, so they came out to bathe.”

As Lee-Jae smiled gently and responded, the child seemed to feel a sense of envy.

“Mama, can we go too?”

“Where? To the river?”

“Yes, I want to go too…”

Roderick, who was offering his lap to the child, groaned softly. He somehow sensed the beginning of a tantrum.

However, Lee-Jae was actually intrigued by the child’s request. Her biggest concern these days was how to drain the energy out of this troublemaker. The child would often whine for more playtime at night, even after pulling out the totem pole by its roots during the day. It seemed his energy was overflowing and uncontrollable. The attendants would often fall into despair because of the prince who never got tired.

Perhaps playing in the water would be a perfect activity for Leo. He would have to use more energy when playing in the water.

‘Learning to swim early would be good too, I guess.’

However, the moment the Royal Family went down to the riverside, it would cause great chaos. Lee-Jae didn’t want to disturb other families’ peaceful time, so she offered a suitable compromise to the child.

“Leo, let’s do it at home.”

“At home?”

“Yes, because we can play in the water at the palace too.”

“Then promise me. That we’ll definitely do it at home.”

The child only quieted down after making a pinky promise with Lee-Jae. But Roderick kept glancing at Lee-Jae, as if something was not right. When Lee-Jae met his gaze in confusion, he tried to have a silent conversation with her using only his mouth, with his son’s head between them.

Are you really going to do it?

Do what?

Play in the water.

Of course, I already promised, didn’t I?

Lee-Jae shook her pinky as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. But Roderick still looked doubtful, frowning as he mouthed back.

You’re going in too? Are you sure you’ll be okay?

As the two continued to whisper above him, the child tilted his head back and looked up.

“Papa, Mama, what are you doing?”

It wasn’t even a secret conversation. Lee-Jae flinched for no reason and pretended to be busy. But Roderick smirked and answered the child’s question with a straight face.

“Us? Kissing.”

As Roderick gave Lee-Jae a light peck on the cheek, Lee-Jae glared at him in embarrassment. But Leo burst into a clear laugh and wanted to join the game.

“I want to do it too!”

Leo, still at an age full of cuteness, gave a firm kiss on his father’s cheek once, and on his mother’s cheek once. Roderick, who received an unexpected kiss from his son, touched his cheek and laughed, then asked playfully.

“Son. Until what age are you going to kiss us?”

Leo tilted his head. He clearly didn’t understand the question. But Lee-Jae, who understood the meaning behind Roderick’s question perfectly, flinched in surprise.

“Huh? When he grows up… he won’t do it anymore?”

“Usually not. So you should accept it while you can.”

“…”

“From what I can tell, you don’t have many years left.”

“Already? He’s still a child…”

Suddenly feeling a sense of urgency, Lee-Jae looked at Leo with sad eyes and this time, pointed not to her cheek but to her lower lip. Leo gave her a quick peck on the lips with a pop sound, and all three of them burst into laughter.

Upon arriving at the palace, Leo, full of excitement, was the first to get out of the carriage. But it was only much later that the son and the mother realized they had made a pinky promise with two different locations in mind.

Leo’s face fell in front of the fountain.

“Mama, I want to do it at the lake, not here! You promised!”

Lee-Jae shook her head firmly. She had said they would play in the water, but she had never mentioned the lake.

“That’s too deep. Even adults can’t go in there recklessly.”

When his always-gentle mother drew a firm line, the child looked at his father. His eyes were desperate, as if his father was his only hope. But unfortunately for Leo, Roderick was on Lee-Jae’s side.

“Son, just listen to your mom.”

“Papa…”

“The day will come when you realize there’s a reason for everything your mom says.”

“…”

“When that day comes, you’ll regret acting so pathetic, but it’ll be too late then, won’t it? So just listen to your mom.”

The child pouted, looking sulky. But when Roderick held out his hand, telling him to just go into the water, he no longer insisted and quickly took his hand. It seemed he had subconsciously felt that his father’s words were sincere and came from experience.

Lee-Jae sat on the edge of the fountain, leisurely watching the father and son play. However, their playtime wasn’t entirely peaceful, and she occasionally squirmed.

‘Aren’t they playing too aggressively?’

But was this how all boys were, or was her son just special? Leo seemed to enjoy it much more when his father or the knights played with him a bit roughly. Even when they splashed a lot of water on him, he wouldn’t cry, but would immediately get ready to counterattack.

Roderick dangled his son, dunking him in and out of the water as if he were doing laundry, and finally tossed him up in a celebratory way. After handing his son over to Jade, he approached Lee-Jae.

Lee-Jae flinched as she saw her husband approaching with narrowed eyes. It was a feeling of anxiety that she might be the next load of laundry. But instead of splashing water on Lee-Jae, he asked a very random question.

“Do foxes usually do the ‘dog paddle’?”

“What? What are you talking about?”

“You said foxes are canids*. So they’d do the same dog paddle, right? But I’ve never seen a fox swim, so I don’t really know.”

[T/N: Canine and Caninae are both members of the Canidae family]

“…”

Lee-Jae tilted her head, wondering what nonsense he was talking about. Roderick clicked his tongue and explained it to her in a way that was easier to understand.

“Aren’t you going to come in? Are you just going to keep your feet in?”

“Ohh…”

Only then did Lee-Jae understand that he meant for her to come and play with him, and she awkwardly scratched her cheek. After twisting her fate from a situation where she was meant to die, she had resolved a great deal of her long-standing feelings about water. She had learned that she didn’t need to be so afraid of it.

However, it wasn’t easy to change an old habit in an instant, and the past where she had drowned was not erased, so she still preferred to watch rather than go into the water. Splashing around with just her ankles or shins in the water was the most she could do.

“I’m just fine with this much. No, I can go in, but…”

Lee-Jae glanced at Leo and Jade and continued her sentence.

“I don’t think I’m needed over there.”

Leo and Jade were not just playing in the water; they were practically engaged in an aquatic battle. She could splash around with them, but she wasn’t confident in her ability to play so dynamically.

The aquatic battle between Cayenne’s best knight and the Prince ended in a customary draw. Leo looked crestfallen, as if he knew Jade had been going easy on him. This made Lee-Jae wonder.

‘Why is he so upset? Did he really think he could win?’

An adult? The Captain of the Knights?

Fortunately, Jade skillfully redirected the Prince’s interest to something else. He began to teach the Prince how to swim. Since this was Lee-Jae’s real goal, she watched the scene with great interest.

Leo had exceptional athletic sense, anyone could see that. But skill doesn’t come in one day. He sputtered and swallowed water again and again. Lee-Jae winced.

Lee-Jae let out a wry smile, thinking, ‘Oh dear, what should I do about that?’

“Will he be able to learn well?”

But even after hearing Lee-Jae’s concerned words, Roderick was full of confidence.

“Of course. Whose son is he? I’ll give him exactly three hours.”

Lee-Jae glared at him in disbelief.

“Aren’t you expecting too much? How can he learn that in one day?”

“Kids usually learn to swim faster.”

“Is that so…”

“Look at that. He’s floating.”

The two of them watched Leo, who was working hard to cut through the water, with satisfied eyes. They were full of encouragement, even gripping their hands tightly.

Did the parents’ encouragement reach him? A brilliant golden aura began to emanate around the child, who was burning with a competitive spirit.