A King is Born on the Road

Iris stayed up almost all night awake. The smell of cologne disappeared quickly, but the moment where their wrists touched was not easily erased from her head.

She tried to think it was a meaningless action, but it wasn’t easy.

Even on their way to the North Gate, he acted sweetly as if he were trying to win her heart, but then he flatly refused her heart.

Since returning from the North Gate, Iris has spent a lot of time pondering why he refused her heart only at the last moment.

Before reaching the North Gate, she thought that maybe he became sulky and would then run away.

But it couldn’t be. He was never such a mean man to hold people’s hearts hostage.

Based on the Hayer Iris knew, this was the most likely one.

Because he knew she loved him. Maybe he tried to love her, too.

Did Hayer Asheri think at the last moment that effort alone cannot create love?

The more she thought about it, the more the pain increased. In the end, knowing in advance that her love would only leave a scar, Hayer seemed to have pushed himself away so resolutely.

In any case, she couldn’t afford to be engrossed in unanswered private feelings now. First, the relationship between Everhart and Hall had to be unravelled.

They continued to growl at each other in this state, and three years later, when Luwan’s economy seriously deteriorated, Everhart’s monumental tower collapsed without relying on anything.

At the time, if they had interacted with the Hall family right next to them and exchanged some help, it wouldn’t have collapsed like this all at once.

Already on bad terms, they had a problem with the second son of the Everhart family, who they were trying to bring as a son-in-law, and the gap between the two families became so wide that it could no longer be crossed.

Iris thought about it all night, but no answer came.

* * *

When she woke up the next morning, the rain had stopped for a while, and the miraculously bright sun was shining over the vast plain.

The Hall family estate was in the middle of a remarkably beautiful plain. Looking beyond the trees planted around the mansion, there was a landscape that made you wonder if this place is heaven, and who could offer a better alternative.

the most fertile land in Luwan.

The mildest weather.

Adequate fresh water.

Based on the natural resources of cloth, the lord and farmers, who know farming as their calling, have cultivated this land together.

Right after the war, this was the place that the Sieres tried to occupy before the capital.

The people of the Hall territory, who have a strong attachment to the land, fought for their lives, but failed to overcome the wave-like power of Siere, who prepared for war for a long time.

At the time of Luwan’s fall, from the mouths of the Knights of Tejas, who came to the capital from the south through the Hall territory, she heard how ruined the territory had become.

“Hall had already become a military town. The surrendered farmers were enslaved and were growing food for Siere’s army. Those who rebelled were executed on the spot.”

At the memory, Iris shut her eyes tightly.

Can knowing nothing be an excuse?

Does it make sense that she, the queen, did not know that this beautiful land was burned and that the farmers who fed the entirety of Luwan died?

It can’t be. She should have known. There must have been something she could’ve done.

While blaming herself like that, the rain gradually stopped.

Iris thought Sandra would soon let her go, so she began to get ready to go.

After some preparation, she went to greet Sandra, and it turned out that she was already out at the mess hall.

When Iris went to the mess hall, the knights had already finished their meals and went out for training, and Sandra said, tired of waiting for her.

“You’re late for the meal after I did my best to welcome uninvited guests.”

“Ah, I’m going to leave right away because it stopped raining…”

Sandra frowned at her excuse.

“No matter what, if my guest skips their meal and I send them out, it will be my fault. Are you asking me to be a host who sent a guest away without breakfast?”

“…I’m sorry, I was short-sighted.”

Iris sat down in the seat the servant pulled out before Sandra could become more angry.

The Hall family’s breakfast was utopia itself, full of milk and honey. Honey, milk, and food made her feel lively; a rich savory taste remained in her mouth even after swallowing.

Over breakfast, Sandra continued to offer the wine she made this year.

Growing up in the north, Iris was used to drinking hard liquor to warm herself up. Perhaps that’s why she didn’t get drunk easily even if she drank a lot of alcohol. She just didn’t enjoy drinking alcohol.

Iris gulped down the drink Sandra kept on offering. Sandra is a person who likes the guests to empty all the food she prepared, so she thought it would be the same with alcohol.

Sandra, who kept offering her drinks, stood up for a moment.

“Wait and see.”

As she went out into the hallway, her agent and her relative’s brother, Dane Hall, walked along and asked.

“Still short on alcohol?”

“That’s what it looks like. Where does all the alcohol go in that body……”

Sandra’s face was full of satisfaction. The day before, she thought Iris ate well despite her size, but today it was more than just that.

She was pleasantly drunk, so she returned to the mess hall with something to brag about.

Sandra had all the dishes cleaned up from the meal, and then laid out a map on the table with tea and ‘some refreshments’ based on her standards.

“These are farmlands centered on our Hall Territory.”

“…Ah.”

“Look at this. Each region has a different seed that grows well. I do research every day. I think about the fertility of the land, and plant something different every quarter.”

“You’re amazing.”

“Of course I’m amazing.”

Iris saw Sandra’s confident face.

Iris knew that Sandra wasn’t just showing off the map in front of her. It was to test how much Iris of the Lepos family could read the map.

Sandra had a map of the entire granary area, which takes three to four days to tour, even on Luwan’s famous horse, which can travel 160 kilometers a day if desired.

Iris carefully examined each small vial of grain or dried fruit, which Sandra placed on the huge map, one by one.

Just as the Tejas Knights felt honored in protecting Luwan, Sandra felt honored in cultivating this land.

Envying her honor, it strangely overwhelmed Iris.

Iris, who was listening to Sandra’s story with concentration while checking the map, opened her mouth, which had been repeating compliments that she was great.

“Just a moment…”

Then she examined her clothes and pulled out a long thread from the seams. Then she wrapped it around both index fingers and checked the ratio of the reservoir.

On her way to find the North Gate, she realized how important it was to scale the map in her head to the real world.

If she had known the distance more accurately, if she had estimated how long it would take, the trip would have been easier.

Iris opened her mouth.

“I think the size of the reservoir is different. The depth of the water.”

What she said made Dane angry first.

“This is a map I made only two years ago. So are you saying that the Hall family’s measurement is wrong?”

The map in her head wasn’t clear. Most of the time, it was blurry, and she had to rely on her senses.

However, when she had an almost accurate map in front of her, the blurry outlines were enhanced and it became clear at once.

Iris pretended not to hear Dane, and said to Sandra.

“Let’s check it out.”