A King is Born on the Road

“Hmm.”

Zeniel pretended to ponder, then grabbed Iris’s arm, pulled her closer to him, and whispered in her ear.

“The monster’s blood flowing through half of my body would have wanted that.”

“…Lies.”

Iris shook him off and retreated. And she continued with a deadly glare.

“I saw the talking monster. It didn’t want this situation.”

“The talking monster?”

Zeniel unknowingly stiffened his expression, then soon his eyes crinkled as he smiled.

“Where?”

“……”

“What? Where did you see it?”

With instinctive fear, Iris felt that she should not tell the sage the details and kept her mouth shut.

Knowing her intentions, Zeniel gave up and turned away.

“Anyhow. I was deeply impressed by Princess Iris at that time. Besides, you brought me out of the maze early after turning back time.”

“That’s not what I did.”

“What do you mean? All the history was going the same way as before the princess crossed the North Gate. The only thing that’s changed is the princess.”

“……”

“You decided not to become the queen, and you had to fulfil it. Thanks to Your Highness, this land is a little faster…”

Zeniel trailed off with a pondering look on his face.

Then someone approached them.

“Princess, you were here.”

When Iris turned around, Madam Vered, the representative of the Kitasha family who made history books, was approaching.

She looked at Zeniel and said with a soft expression she had never seen before.

“You’re the sage from the rumors. My name is Vered, the representative of the Kitasha family.”

“Hello.”

“There are a lot of things I want you to confirm in history. Someday, please visit the Kitasha family.”

“Yes, if you invite me, I will definitely visit you.”

Zeniel said that, bid the two women farewell according to the sage’s rules, and left.

After the two of them were left alone, Vered spoke to Iris.

“The princess asked me to find out if the sacred tree was tired, right?”

“Did you find anything?”

“Yes. I would like you to go with me first.”

Iris nodded at Vered’s words and followed her.

───  ⋅ ∙ ∘ ☽ ༓ ☾ ∘ ⋅ ⋅  ───

After returning to the reception, Hayer looked around for Iris. But he didn’t see her.

Hayer hurriedly approached Iris’s ladies-in-waiting.

“Do you happen to know where Iris is?”

Agatha scolded him.

“She just went to the royal library. First, the escort disappeared several times throughout the day, so this time even the princess disappeared.”

“…I’m sorry.”

“That’s not for me to hear. Anyway, it’s late, but from now on, you’ll have to be the flower of the party. Please smile a lot.”

“Yes, I don’t know what that means, but I’ll do my best. I’ll find Iris first.”

After Hayer answered moderately, just before heading to the royal library to find Iris, King Eswa also arrived at the reception.

He gestured to Hayer, who was about to leave, to stop, and then rang the bell to draw people’s attention.

The beautiful melody stopped for a moment, and after all the guests’ eyes gathered, the king opened his mouth.

“I feel sorry for the new bride to say this at the reception.”

As he spoke, he looked at Celios out of courtesy, and she opened her mouth.

“If you knew you were sorry, it would have been better not to do it.”

She spoke coldly, but she smiled anyway, so the guests laughed awkwardly as if they had heard a joke.

King Eswa continued, pretending to apologize.

“But since something so big happened, I had no choice but to deliver it right now.”

Eswa stood there, and soon opened his mouth with a bitter expression.

“Many people must have already heard that two sacred trees have fallen. One tree managed to be saved, but the other one could not be.”

The guests nodded at his words. Everyone’s expression darkened at the unbelievable tragedy.

Eswa continued.

“But it’s been found out that the sacred trees had fallen because of Hayer Asheri, the leader of the Tejas Knights.”

The uproar just now had already spread quickly among the guests. Only those who were slow to receive rumors among them were surprised and let out short, sharp screams.

Hayer closed his mouth and looked at the king with an expressionless face. He was pointed out as a vicious criminal who had cut the sacred tree, but his hard face was exceptionally beautiful, so the guests felt the absurdity of his evil deeds and glare.

King Eswa continued.

“The problem is that Hayer Asheri is talking nonsense that he was justified in cutting the sacred tree.”

Hayer motioned to his subordinates, who were reeling, not to respond to the way he was pictured.

The king went on.

“Of course, I can never believe that. As a king, and as a father, how can you ignore such a strong claim?”

Eswa spoke again.

“Hayer says he can prove his words, so it’s not too late to wait for a certain amount of time and then punish him. I will give Hayer Asheri a month to prove his words. If he proves his point, cutting the sacred tree will still result in a felony or light punishment. But if you can’t prove it.”

As Eswa beckoned, Kernin Leos, the leader of the Royal Knights, took a step forward.

“My brother and the leader of the Royal Knights, Sir Kernin, will find him wherever he flees in the world and slit his throat.”

In an instant, the wedding reception became quiet.

Hayer, who soon broke the silence and rubbed his neck as if he had already got a knife in his throat, said to the king.

“A month is too short. Give me one hundred days.”

“Now that there is no evidence, one hundred days is too long for you. No matter how much you are my son, isn’t it wrong to show excessive favouritism?”

“It’s not because of favouritism. I won’t be able to do anything in a month.”

Judging from Hayer’s head, a month was enough time to go to Siere and return. Although one hundred days was short, there was still about two months to spare, excluding the time to travel.

However, Eswa’s attitude was unyielding.

“What you did in the first place doesn’t make sense.”

“Your Majesty.”

“Bring me even a tiny piece of evidence right now. Shouldn’t there be a reason to wait for you for one hundred days?”

At his words, Hayer was lost in thought to find something to prove, and Hencke said urgently.

“I saw it, Your Majesty! Obviously, all of the Tejas Knights have seen that the monsters were weakened the moment the sacred tree was cut down!”

“How can I believe that?”

When the king cut it off like that, someone’s voice was heard.

“To those who don’t believe it, you have entrusted the border well.”

Thinking Celios Lepos had said it, they turned around and saw Iris Lepos standing there.

It was said blood could not fool, but there was a part that looked just like her mother. Their voices were similar, but the mother and daughter’s unique way of speaking was so annoying that it drove him (Eswa) crazy. The fact that they were directly descended from the previous king made them arrogant.

Eswa thought that neither mother nor daughter of that lineage would recognize that they had such arrogance. Still, he understood Celios’s case. She grew up in the royal palace and lived alone with the love of the former king and his wife as the only princess.

But what about that woman? How could she be so arrogant after spending all her life in a convent?

King Eswa faced Iris Lepos. For the first time, a girl was placed among the few men he considered a threat to his throne. That was how much she bothered him.

King Eswa opened his mouth.

“You are impudent.”

At his words, Iris bowed her head slightly as if to be polite. Then she opened her mouth again.

“You said to bring even the smallest piece of evidence, didn’t you? If so, Madam Vered has something to say, so please listen.”

As people’s eyes turned to Madam Vered, Madam Vered took out a letter from the Kitasha family and said.

“Not long ago, I was informed that the sacred tree may have been corrupted.”

One of the guests dropped his glass in surprise at her words.

Today’s bride, Celios Lepos, who was nearby, said.

“It’s all right.”

“Yes, thank you. Princess.”

The guest managed to keep a smile and greet her.

Celios was inwardly amused by this series of events on her wedding day. It was because her wedding would continue to be talked about in the wake of today’s events, and it would be a day remaining strongly in history.

When Vered looked back at her, the main character of this reception, Celios gestured to continue.

Vered bowed slightly and then continued.

“So I immediately sent someone to the Kitasha family to confirm the facts. And this is the letter.”

Then she beckoned a servant to read the letter. It was a letter from Wimby Kitasha, the head of the Kitasha family and the younger brother of Madam Vered.