Fairy (3)
Fairy (3)
"The king has already been born... as a human...? No, but you are clearly the king...?"
Kariade, who had been told part of the truth, had completely frozen up.
Her dark eyes, thrown into confusion, spun in circles. Her gaze alternated between Lee Ji-yeon, who wore a wry smile, and me, held in her arms.
"Lady Lee Ji-yeon is... the queen...?"
"Uh-hum. We don't know the full situation in detail on our side, either. Because a certain someone keeps their mouth firmly shut, holding onto secrets."
Clearing her throat with a cough, Lee Ji-yeon glared down at the top of my head. Having been steeped in languor for a while, I hunched my shoulders.
- There were circumstances, so it was difficult to talk about it...
"Including this incident?"
Her voice, instantly lowered, stabbed at my eardrums. I shrank back under her icy green eyes.
This incident. She must be referring to the time I saved Baek A-rin just a few days ago.
...Even I thought I had no excuse. If I had even a trace of conscience left, I couldn't have done that.
- I'm sorry...
I tightened my arms around Lee Ji-yeon's waist and let out a quiet telepathic message.
At the trembling in my telepathic voice, Lee Ji-yeon raised an eyebrow.
In an instant, the surroundings grew quiet.
The four who had followed Lee Ji-yeon tactfully excused themselves, and Kariade, who remained at our side, silently closed her mouth.
Lee Ji-yeon, who had been staring intently at the crown of my head, swallowed a sigh.
"...Haah, I'll scold you with everyone else later. Since your condition is like this right now..."
- Nyehh...
The verdict was suspended.
I hadn't expected her to just let it slide, so I wasn't flustered.
Still, I had avoided an immediate scolding.
Waving my wings gently, I buried myself deeper into Lee Ji-yeon's embrace.
- So soft...
As it happened, I was in a body that was considerably younger, so I could bury myself in her arms even more snugly.
Lee Ji-yeon, who had been holding my younger form with a familiar ease, let out a soft laugh.
"Like last time: whenever I try to scold you a little, you get younger, or you cry and dodge pretty cleverly. It must be my imagination, right?"
She said it with a grin, playfully, but a hint of suspicion leaked from her slightly narrowed eyes.
- I-I... didn't do it with that intention.
To be honest, I couldn't completely deny it.
Of course, the reason I became younger was because I sustained a near-fatal wound and rejuvenated semi-forcibly.
And the tears welled up because this younger body has trouble regulating emotions.
But... I hadn't exactly failed to think: wouldn't crying right now help me avoid getting scolded?
"Hmm... I'll let this one slide for now, too."
When I buried my face deeper into Lee Ji-yeon's chest to hide my twitching eyes, she shrugged, adjusted me in her arms, and stood up.
"So, you're saying you can't move around or leave here right now, junior?"
"Yes, His Majesty is... well... at least the current His Majesty was just born, so he must remain under the care of the Fairy Tree and focus on growing for some time."
"By Fairy Tree, do you mean that one in the center?"
"That is correct."
Kariade, who had also risen, answered with a small bow of her head.
At her tone, now markedly more respectful than before, Lee Ji-yeon made an odd expression and lifted me up with one arm.
Soon, her free hand touched the hologram that appeared in the air.
- Krrrk...
The hologram flickered. Lee Ji-yeon tilted her head.
"As expected, I can't get a signal here."
- If it's about the signal... wouldn't that be because we're inside the Fairy Tree's barrier?
"That's part of it, but the mana wave disturbance is also chaotic around here to begin with. Even when I came here before, it would sometimes cut out... but I need to contact them quickly..."
At the word "contact," I raised my face, which had been buried in her chest. Under her gaze looking down at me, I pursed my lips slightly.
- Um... you heard the alarm I left on the necklace, right?
"There's not a single person who'd be reassured by just that alarm and then sprawl out to sleep peacefully."
- Hng...
Having instantly seen through what I was getting at, Lee Ji-yeon grumbled.
I made a teary face and buried it in her voluptuous chest, then timidly raised my face again.
- Then... are you leaving now, Miss Lee Ji-yeon?
"Leaving where?"
Lee Ji-yeon narrowed her brow. The arm holding me tightened, burying me even deeper into her embrace.
"Do you think I'm crazy enough to leave you alone again, junior?"
- Ah, uh... didn't you come here with people from your family?
"I can send them on ahead and have them tell the others to get in contact."
When I blinked and asked, Lee Ji-yeon nodded to herself as she answered, then shifted me in her arms.
"Don't even think about wandering around on your own anymore. For the time being, no matter what reason you give, you're to stay where I can see you."
Having said this firmly, Lee Ji-yeon turned to Kariade without waiting for my reply.
"I-in that case, I shall escort you further inside."
Kariade, who had flinched at her tone, turned around.
.
.
.
The place Kariade guided us to was the very Fairy Tree where I had opened my eyes, slept, and eaten.
- Grrrrnch...
As Lee Ji-yeon, holding me in her arms, slowly approached the Fairy Tree, a root as thick as a small house rose from the ground.
It was a root that presented itself at a suitably slanted angle, as if inviting us to come up.
When I nodded at Lee Ji-yeon as she looked down at me, she climbed onto the root with an awkward expression.
"...I've seen it from afar many times, but this is the first time I've approached it like this."
Lee Ji-yeon looked around with a fascinated expression.
The mana hanging in the air like mist, the leftover motes of light scattered by the fairies' wings—including my own—and the fairies hiding behind trees and leaves, stealing glances at us.
It was quite a mystical sight.
- You said you've come here a few times for work, right?
"But that was nothing more than stopping by the entrance briefly to inspect, exchanging a few formal words, and then heading straight back."
Lee Ji-yeon carefully sat down.
The moment her plump behind touched the root, the root moved on its own, reshaping itself to make it more comfortable for her to sit.
Blinking, Lee Ji-yeon patted the root.
"This Fairy Tree shows this much consideration, too? And its size is no less than the Fairy Tree at Siyoram..."
"...You were talking about the Fairy Tree?"
At Lee Ji-yeon's murmur, Kariade, who had quietly followed along her side, opened her eyes wide.
"We also have a Fairy Tree at Siyoram, you know. It's similar in size to this one, and its aura is of a similar degree?"
"How can that be... This Fairy Tree is a sapling personally raised by the previous king. Although the environment it took root in and my own power were lacking... for there to be a Fairy Tree of a similar degree in the outside world...?"
"Erm... I don't know the details about Fairy Trees, but maybe it's a bit special because our junior here raised it?"
When Kariade spoke in shock, Lee Ji-yeon rolled her eyes and immediately patted my back as I sat there quietly.
The sight of her pinpointing me as the cause whenever anything seemed strange. I puffed my cheeks up slightly.
"Ah! If it is a Fairy Tree personally raised by His Majesty, then of course I can understand it."
- Eh.
Kariade let out a cry of admiration and nodded in understanding.
- Kariade, you're convinced by just that? This child has been a special case since the time it was almost split into saplings...
"The most special Fairy Tree is the one personally raised by the 'king'."
- ...Ah-ha.
Well, even though my own awareness had been dim before, my status was certainly high enough that other fairies followed me as their king.
It seemed she was convinced because it was a Fairy Tree that someone like me had raised.
'...Then why did the pseudo-resurrection happen here?'
It was something difficult to guess at with the current information.
- Wooooong...
I could feel the vitality the Fairy Tree was steadily pouring into me. As I felt that flow, sleepiness gradually washed over me.
"Hyaam..."
"Ah, junior, if you're sleepy, rest comfortably."
Eventually, my pursed lips opened and a yawn escaped.
Lee Ji-yeon, who had been talking to Kariade about something, heard the yawn and patted my back.
At the touch patting my back, I tightened my arms around her waist.
It was a slender waist that was hard to believe was supporting the generous amounts of flesh above and below.
That wasn't the only contradiction.
Her firm and dependable aura naturally brought a feeling of security, but the body actually pressed against me was unbelievably soft and cushiony.
- Thump... Thump... Thump...
The sound of her heart beating inside the chest I had my face buried against caressed my ears like a lullaby.
The tension that had unknowingly built up from opening my eyes in an unfamiliar place melted away.
As long as I was in Lee Ji-yeon's arms, just about anything would be all right.
'So comfortable...'
In the front, the sound of her heartbeat. In the back, the touch of her hand patting my back. In time with both, my eyelids closed.
As my blurry vision closed, my other senses grew sharper.
The warm body heat, the soft skin, the sound of her heart—and also my sense of smell, which opened up slightly as I distanced myself from my physical body.
My nose was too dull to properly sense the forest scent in the middle of this dense forest.
But, with my nose deeply buried in her voluptuous chest, I caught a faint scent, so slight I almost thought I imagined it.
Lee Ji-yeon's body scent. It was too faint, which left me unsatisfied.
Having surrendered my body to drowsiness, I pulled my arms tighter around her waist and buried my face even deeper into her chest, breathing in. Along with her faint scent, a sweet milky fragrance brushed the tip of my nose.
"...Snfff..."
"...Hnh..."
Lee Ji-yeon's body shuddered slightly as she placed a hand on my head.
"Don't worry... sleep soundly..."
The hand that came up gently stroked through my hair. Sleepiness surged in at that touch. Taking in Lee Ji-yeon's faintly felt scent, I surrendered myself to slumber.
* * *
"Khoo..."
A thin breath flowed out in the middle of the forest.
Lee Ji-yeon stroked the head of Lee Ha-yul, who was asleep in her arms.
The smile she wore was endlessly gentle.
Not just her face, but even her hand gestures radiated warm maternal affection.
"......"
Kariade, having witnessed that scene, blinked blankly.
Since Kariade attended the king, she had always kept watch by Lee Ha-yul's side when he slept in the Fairy Tree.
Because of this, she knew that Lee Ha-yul had nightmares every time he fell asleep.
How much effort had she and the Fairy Tree put into soothing Lee Ha-yul as he groaned, trapped in nightmares?
But Lee Ha-yul, held in Lee Ji-yeon's arms, didn't have a single nightmare. From start to finish. He simply breathed comfortably, letting out soft sleeping sounds as he drifted into a deep sleep.
"Junior Lee Ha-yul only sleeps well when someone else puts him to sleep. He can't sleep well on his own, and he has nightmares."
Kariade's shoulders flinched.
Before she knew it, Lee Ji-yeon had directed her gaze at her.
Even as she did so, her hands never stopped stroking Lee Ha-yul's head and patting his back.
Kariade, who had been opening and closing her mouth for a moment, quietly bowed her head.
"Yes, I will bear it deeply in mind, Lee Ji-yeon... my Queen."
"...Uh-hum. Well... yes... For now, anyway, have there been any inconveniences or strange happenings lately?"
Her cheeks delicately flushed, Lee Ji-yeon cleared her throat with a cough and changed the subject.
It was the formal inquiry she made whenever she occasionally visited this area.
Of course, her position now was different from back then.
Previously, she had been a benefactor, but a person affiliated with the Taesan Family, an unmistakable outsider.
Now... she was the Queen, no less, holding the king in her arms and putting him to sleep.
Naturally, her attitude was bound to be different from what it used to be.
Placing her hands respectfully on her lap, Kariade opened her mouth after a moment of deliberation.
"...Thanks to the consideration of the Taesan Family, we are enjoying peace. As for anything out of the ordinary... it is nothing serious, but recently, the number of undead lurking beyond the barrier has increased."
"That is something we have already noticed on our side."
It was a detail contained in the report she had quickly scanned earlier.
The Taesan Family's territory had no shortage of areas abundant with vitality.
Among them, it was fairly common for a dead monster to lie on the ground, somehow absorb vitality, and rise as an undead.
'The problem is that the frequency of these appearances has been greatly increasing lately...'
It wasn't as if this had never happened before, but this time, the number of appearances was reportedly surging within a short period.
'Did Mother grasp this matter and is that why she's staying at the Death Vein?'
The thought suddenly touched upon Lee Ji-ah.
Lee Ji-ah had granted Lee Ji-yeon the authority of acting Family Head and then installed herself at the Death Vein.
The timing roughly coincided with the period when the number of naturally appearing undead had increased.
Her head throbbed.
Still, it was much better because Lee Ha-yul was in her arms.
The breath tickling her chest was ticklish, but the honey-like scent rising from Lee Ha-yul helped ease her headache.
With a much more relaxed expression, Lee Ji-yeon gently stroked Lee Ha-yul's back.
* * *
