A King is Born on the Road

By the time he arrived at his home on the outskirts of the capital, Hayer’s body was drenched in cold sweat.

As soon as he tied the horse up, he got cold water and poured it over his head. After washing the blood and sweat from the wounds, he took out his uniform and put it on his body. His whole body ached with unchanged pain.

He buttoned with one hand and smoked a painkiller with the other. Edwin, who arrived one step late and entered his room, said, stirring away the thick smoke of the painkiller with his hands.

“What if the captain arrives faster than me, a courier?”

“You try harder.”

“Would you like to change your words?”

“Then you think you’re going to win?”

Hayer said teasingly and smiled.

It was already terribly late for a partner going to a wedding together. Having no intention of making excuses for his wounds, Hayer hurriedly dressed and left the room spraying cologne.

Hayer, who returned to the stable, mounted his horse again and asked Edwin.

“How much will you be scolded if the escort is late?”

“You may get dumped.”

“I’m doomed.”

Although Hayer sighed, he urged his horse forward.

He reached the palace with such difficulty, but the east building was already empty.

As soon as Hayer was found, he came out of the building again, listening to Annie, the Asheri family’s maid, who was relieved and nagging.

“What escort in the world shows up just before the ceremony!”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry… Ah, I’m hurt.”

“Don’t make a fuss about nothing!”

Annie ignored the words that Hayer was hurt at once because he was usually so mischievous.

Hayer felt rather comfortable with it, so he bent down with a smile and entrusted his hair to Annie.

After roughly arranging his tousled hair with her deft hands, Hayer headed for the ceremony hall.

When he arrived in front of the ceremony hall, the Tejas Knights, who were invited to the ceremony, welcomed him restlessly.

“Captain, hurry and go in!”

“How can you be late on a day like this?”

Even though his subordinates knew everything, they did not leave anyone out and said something to Hayer.

Today’s wedding was such a big event. It was important to go as Iris’s partner, and it was also Hayer’s aunt’s marriage. He should have come and waited a long time ago.

Leaving behind the guests in front of the ceremony hall waiting to enter, Hayer entered the temple to meet Iris.

The first thing he saw was Iris’s back, sitting in the family seat in the distance.

Wearing a light green dress, she had her long black hair straightened out, covered with a beautiful veil fixed by a headdress of multi-colored jewellery. Just the mere sight of her back took his breath away.

He jumped over the chair and sat next to Iris. Looking at her eyes widened in surprise, he felt his mind wander for a moment.

Iris gazed at him silently with her beautiful blue eyes. Hayer thought those eyes were one of her most powerful weapons.

“Is it mine?”

When he asked, Iris looked at the boutonniere in her hand. He thought for a moment that he wanted to kiss her white hands because they were pretty. He also thought that it was too indecent to do in a temple.

As he stuck out his left chest, Iris asked while putting the boutonniere on him.

“How have you been?”

Hayer burst into laughter when she asked. Hayer quickly explained the reason for the laugh when Iris asked why he was laughing.

“I didn’t expect you to ask me such trivial things first.”

After listening to him, Iris thought that too. She was more curious about Hayer’s condition than about the world or Luwan’s safety right now.

Hayer stopped joking around and answered calmly.

“I’ve been well. The roots of the sacred tree were removed as much as possible, but I couldn’t fully grasp it because it extended to an unidentifiable point.”

While saying that, Hayer kept thinking about something else in his head, whether this was important or not. Iris asked, feeling confused by his complicated gaze.

“You look busy. You’re here when you have something to do?”

“No, rather…”

“Rather?”

“…You look a bit too pretty today, I wonder if this is right.”

His embarrassing words made Iris blink.

She was speechless, looking into Hayer’s eyes and not answering any more. Thanks to this, Hayer was able to look at Iris’s sparkling eyes as much as he could.

Iris replied.

“Some money on my clothes… it did cost a lot.”

“You’re pretty, so don’t say anything else.”

“…I don’t agree.”

Her words made Hayer laugh in dismay.

“My taste doesn’t require your consent.”

“If you’re going to get married, your tastes should match.”

“If you’re going to hit me, hit me. I think your sense of beauty is wrong.”

The more they talked, the more Iris’s ears turned red.

Hayer teased her in a nonchalant voice, putting his hand close to her ear.

“Do you feel hot? It’s red.”

Iris slapped Hayer on the arm at his joke.

Guests began to come in while Hayer laughed. Soon, the two of them straightened in their seats.

After a while, the wedding began.

The wedding hall was beautiful. Agatha’s ability to extract the best efficiency from the money Iris gave her was outstanding.

Without compromising the dignity of the temple, all the sense of extravagance that could be afforded had been done.

Celios Lepos, who entered the ceremony hall, seemed satisfied with it. Knowing that she had a taste that was difficult to satisfy easily, Iris was relieved by Celios’s bright expression.

In front of the stone statue of Tilla, the two knelt down. The bishop led the prayer asking Tilla to bless the marriage of the two, and all the guests in the temple followed them in prayer.

After the prayer, all the guests raised their heads. From then on, the bishop began to preach.

“Marriage is a commitment to each other.”

Hayer then looked at the bishop for a moment.

The bishop continued.

“The couple, of course, should not lie to each other. But more importantly, before becoming a couple, an individual should not be ashamed of themself. Also, dedication is a difficult task. Everyone is thought to get married, so it seems like it’s a very easy thing to do, but don’t we already know that it is not?”

The bishop’s words were neither fast nor slow. However, each sentence and word entered Hayer’s ear at a very slow pace, like the bishop was speaking slowly.

Iris said it didn’t matter who his biological father was. So the fact that his father is the king of Siere, of course, will surprise her, but she will soon accept it. It was a conviction that he could have because he got to know a person named Iris Lepos quite well.

But how strong is Iris Lepos’s feelings for Hayer Asheri?

There was a greater ‘convenience’ than love in her wish to marry him. The question was what this convenience was for.

Iris continued to hope that Luwan would be safe, and was prepared to wander about for that safety. It was natural that her companion with strong force would help in the process.

It was by no means that she didn’t like him. However, the problem was that when Luwan’s peace and himself were put on a scale respectively, she would lean incomparably toward the former.

The king of Siere said it was an ‘order’ for Hayer to enter the country. What will happen if you go against it?

He couldn’t deny that the war was just around the corner. Siere had troops stationed closer than he thought to the Luwan border. It was information that Hayer, a member of the Asheri family, had received earlier.

The problem is the cause of war.

For that justification, ‘taking back the heir of the king of Siere’ was likely to be used. On the other hand, if he obediently went to Siere and lived faithfully as an heir, there was little room to prevent the war.

He inadvertently looked towards the king. At Hayer’s request, the queen, whom Cadella had briefly cleared her mind for, sat beside him.

Hayer had a mountain of things he wanted to ask his mother. The mountain pressed against his chest.

How on earth. How did you hide such a big secret?

While Hayer was deep in thought, the wedding was approaching the end. Iris gently held Hayer’s hand the whole time in silence.

“Hayer.”

Hayer looked back at Iris, who called him. And gripped her hand tightly.

Briefly, he wanted to keep it a secret. He wanted to spend time with her without any worries, even if only for a moment.

He knew how evasive this was, but he couldn’t help it. During this wedding, he was determined to fulfil his role as her escort properly.

Hayer replied with a smile.

“Yes.”

“I like you.”

“……”

Just a moment. A worry-free time.

Iris continued with a soft smile, as if to not be difficult.

“Just, hearing the bishop’s words, I wanted to say that.”

“……”

“I like you.”

Hayer knew he had to answer something. But he kept his mouth open as if he were going to say something, and couldn’t say anything for a while.