A King is Born on the Road

Prologue

Is morality influenced by law?

Iris Lepos, Queen of Luwan, was now lost in meaningless thoughts to forget her fear.

The war that took place on this continent was on its way to the final chapter.

It was a war triggered by religion. It was the five ethnic groups of the two countries, Luwan and Siere, that were involved in this war.

There are two countries and five separate ethnic groups because even if the kings of the two countries claimed the borders, they could not control all the land.

The Kahif people of the central desert, the Kawat people in the mountainous south, and the people of the northern alpine region, overlapping the two countries, could not be ruled by either king.

Everyone served their own gods. However, the Luwans, who did not allow paganism, sometimes mocked and killed the pagans who entered the land of Luwan in search of a way to live.

When the Luwans killed the pagans in Luwan, there were many people who did not even consider it a sin because there was no law to punish them.

Born and raised in such a country, Iris’s husband, Sid Lepos, despised the people of the three lands that he could not control.

He asserted that no pagans were needed in this war, and as a result, Luwan lost the war.

The land of Luwan was covered with pagans.

In the royal castle from where everyone fled, the king’s office.

The queen, who always sat on the right side of the king, moved to the empty throne.

Although her learning was late and she still did not know the world, she was certain that someone should protect the throne.

It was because she thought that there should be someone to face the head of the enemy country, whether it was to negotiate or surrender. Only then will this war end.

Her red skirt swayed to and fro in the cool winter wind while waiting for the enemy.

In the empire, the king and the moon were inseparable. Therefore, the king’s office had windows facing the moon.

There, Iris was thinking that if there had been a decree punishing those who killed pagans, Luwan would not have been so disastrously defeated.

Then she heard footsteps.

In the maze-like royal castle, the king’s space was laid down within a corridor, where the loud sound of footsteps reverberated.

The king would sit in the office and learn to gauge the weight of the footsteps. But Iris had never been raised as an heir to the throne, so she hadn’t learned such things, and all she could do was keep her shaking hands on her lap.

Who could it be?

Is it the head of the enemy country?

Or is it the desert people who are known for their brutality?

Iris had never met any of the people of the three lands who considered themselves neither Luwan nor Siere.

So she thought of them as just barbarians, but she hoped for them to be more gentlemanly, the generals of the enemy country.

In front of Iris, there were knights who were from Luwan.

“Ah…”

Iris sighed in relief as she relaxed.

Although she didn’t know their faces, she recognized the blue waves of the Knights of Tejas painted on their sword sheaths.

For a very long time, they have waged a long war with bizarre beings in the farthest land that humans can enter.

Everyone knew that they were indispensable to Luwan, but Iris, who has lived in the royal castle for more than six years, did not hear any praise, to the extent that she knew none of their faces.

Even so, she could recognize only one.

He was the younger brother of Sid Lepos, the king who fled to save his own life, and the commander of the Knights of Tejas, Hayer Asheri.

Iris Lepos was the hidden child of Princess Celios, whom the king forbade from giving birth to.

She grew up in a convent from birth until she was 19 years old and married the heir to the throne without a choice, but in the meantime, she had her first love.

Iris was taken out of the convent and first met Hayer when she arrived in the capital.

When Hayer was ten years old, it turned out that his mother, who was the queen, actually had the second son from her paramour, not from the king.

His father was outraged, and in the end, Hayer took over the queen’s family name, Asheri.

Since then, Hayer has risked his life on the southern border to protect Luwan, so as to not be killed by the king.

Hayer, who had come to the capital for a while to attend the wedding of the next king and queen, was always smiling in Iris’s memory with a beautiful face that made one feel awe.

Then, Iris was captivated by him.

She grew up in a cold place, so she couldn’t help but be enchanted by the sun-like smile.

Six years after that day, her first love came into the office with his subordinates without anyone’s permission, smelling of blood.

To Iris, the 25-year-old bloodstained Hayer Asheri was more attractive than she remembered.

From the beautifully shaped forehead to the perfectly sculpted nose bridge, philtrum, lips, and jawline; he was excellent artistry. The lines were as beautiful as Mother Nature, neutralising the excessive masculinity of the hard eyebrow bones and fierce eyes.

Hayer, putting his bloody sword in its sheath, asked the unexpected person sitting on the throne.

“Where is the king?”

“He… ran away.”

In response to Iris’s trembling answer, the knights spat out swear words and took out their anger in their own ways.

Iris trembled with fear at the barbaric actions.

Hayer stared at Iris silently, unlike his men who quickly showed their anger, and then asked.

“Why are you here? Was my brother so cruel that he ran away from his wife?”

“I said I’d stay.”

“Why?”

“Someone… has to be here.”

The Knights of Tejas, who had been acting violently at her answer earlier, became quiet.

Hayer, who had been lost in thought for a while, broke the silence again.

“Can Your Majesty find the North Gate?”

“North… Gate?”

“Don’t the royals have a map of the world in their heads? Your Majesty the Queen is in fact a member of the Lepos family, so do you have it?”

Hayer’s subordinates, who were focusing on his words, turned to Iris.

Iris, who was intimidated by their fierce and strong eyes, lowered her head.

She swallowed the blood in her mouth as she clenched her teeth. Then she looked up at the moon slowly passing by.

As Hayer said, the people of the Lepos family, especially those close to the throne, had a map of the world in their heads.

They were born with the ability to find their way out of the middle of a desert, just as migratory birds know the way they travel.

Iris was the same, so she nodded.

Then, one of the knights, who regained his colour, said to Iris.

“You have to go to the North Gate right now.”

“What will happen if I go to the North Gate?”

“Isn’t there a boundary between the living and the dead? The heads of the living can’t think of a way to save Luwan, so let’s borrow the heads of the dead.”

Iris did not judge whether they were right or wrong.

She didn’t even wonder what the odds were. There was no choice. It was the only way.

“I see. Then I should go.”

Said Iris, rising from the throne.

The long dress that dragged to the floor was soaked in the rich blood that the knights brought in.

Iris was also tall, but the knights were all so big that it felt like she was standing alone.

She left the king’s office with the Knights of Tejas. Those who escaped took all the horses from the royal stable, but fortunately, one pitiful horse remained.

Iris got on the horse and left the royal castle for the first time since she got married.

afterword

this is where i’ll add any additional notes from the story!! as well as my own comments about the chapter since, like everyone else, i’m interested in the novel  all i can say now is buckle up and enjoy the ride, i hope you like it as much as i do! as always, no reposts (especially with yeondam novels).