A King is Born on the Road

Hayer smiled and said, probably thinking he was being overly honest.

“Just kidding. No way. There seems to be a definite plan to move here in the future.”

Iris thought what Hayer had just said was not a joke, but rather an answer from a terribly realistic point of view.

She didn’t expect Hayer to draw a conclusion so soon.

Iris stopped walking and asked him.

“You think there could be a war?”

“No.”

Hayer knew Iris didn’t like to avoid this conversation, so he answered her face to face.

“I think the Sieres may no longer be able to live in Siere.”

“Why?”

“Let’s talk when we build more trust.”

After Hayer said that, he didn’t talk about the topic anymore.

As expected, the size of the newly measured reservoir was clearly reduced. As with the circumference, but above all, the difference in depth was severe.

Dane could not contain his anger after confirming the reality revealed by the numbers.

“Who would do such a thing…”

He gnashed his teeth as if he were going to kill the one who touched the reservoir at any moment, and later turned to Iris.

Until now, the Hall family had naturally considered the current king’s legitimate son, Sid Lepos, as the next heir to the throne.

Preference for Sid Lepos wasn’t the issue. The children of the Hall family were educated to weigh practicality, whether in a broad or narrow sense. It was believed that that was the power that cultivated this land.

For them, Iris Lepos, who had been raised in a convent her whole life, was not an option from the beginning.

Of course, the Halls also believed in Tilla devoutly, and in some ways more fervently than the other people of the region.

However, the religious learning and practical learning such as farming were recognized as completely separate.

So at first, they declared that Iris Lepos, the princess who refused to marry, could not be admitted to the territory. Sandra as well as Dane had no hesitation in this decision.

However, Iris Lepos, whom they actually met and communicated with, was a far cry from the person they expected.

She didn’t carelessly look at the ground.

She didn’t talk only about the map.

She ran all the way to the place herself and was checking the reservoir with her own eyes.

She was as close to a royal that the Halls wanted.

As soon as Dane realized that, he immediately bent down on one knee.

“I was ignorant. I’m sorry, Princess.”

Then Iris said in a voice that was neither strong nor weak.

“I’ll forgive you, so get up. I also admire your pride in your family.”

Dane, who bowed his head, could not hide the slight rise in the corners of his mouth when he heard her answer.

She was better than any royal Dane had ever seen, and would benefit the Hall family. There will be a day when people realize their eyes are so wrong, he thought.

“Thank you.”

Dane bowed his head once more.

* * *

The party rode their horses back to the Hall family’s mansion.

Sandra, who heard everything from Dane, ordered all her soldiers and vassals to find the Siere.

Hayer said.

“The Knights of Tejas will also join the search.”

Sandra shook her head at the words.

“Today’s indebted work alone is overflowing.”

“This is not for the Hall family.”

Hayer went on calmly.

“It’s for the whole of Luwan.”

He wasn’t wrong. The appearance of a spy from a neighboring country in Luwan’s most important granary may mean a war that befalls Luwan.

Sandra replied.

“The Lord is right. Then please.”

Soon after, the rain poured, and the Knights of Tejas, the servants of the Hall family, and their soldiers disappeared into it.

Iris wanted to go with them, but she couldn’t because she was already exhausted from going to the reservoir. Moreover, she couldn’t help but know that if she walked around in that rain, she would suffer from a serious illness.

She sighed deeply, feeling very inconvenienced by her feeble body.

If only King Eswa hadn’t poisoned her mother when she had her.

Even so, she could have had a healthy body at least as good as Celios’s.

Sandra, who was struggling to calm her anger over the incident on her land, said to Iris, who was looking out the window with a face that said she wanted to run out at once.

“You’d better have a glass of wine and get some rest.”

“Everyone is busy searching, so how…”

“I’m just saying to drink enough to relax.”

Sandra scolded and, as usual, hurriedly walked towards the wine cellar.

She soon headed for a rack wedged in the corner of the storage.

Sandra, who pulled it out of the wedge and loosened the layers of chain, took out a bottle of dusty wine from it.

Dane, who followed her, asked because he was nervous for no reason.

“Th-that… Are you taking that out?”

“She said that the circumference and depth of the reservoir have changed. Without measuring it again, it would have been impossible to predict the flooding of the reservoir. That princess saved the people of my land. She should be treated this much.”

Sandra said and wiped the dust off the bottle herself. It was such a precious alcohol that she didn’t even let others touch it.

She went out with the bottle of wine and placed it between Iris and herself.

Iris paused when she saw the name on the wine label.

[6 years with Eswa]

Six years after King Eswa Lepos was enthroned, was a year that adults never left out when explaining the words ‘heat wave.’

Although Luwan is located in an area where the term ‘heat wave’ is not used, it seems that it was exceptionally hot that year.

And the wine that came out that year was exceptionally delicious and fragrant, so many people looked for it.

Though Iris had been drinking quite a bit, she wasn’t a big drinker, but refusing that wine didn’t seem to be polite to all the grapes in the world.

“Isn’t it too precious for an uninvited guest like me?”

“If you’re trying to be sarcastic for being cruel at first, stop it. Because I still don’t support the princess. This is just a reward for helping our fiefdom.”

“I see.”

Iris nodded.

She didn’t get drunk very much, and she didn’t like alcohol that much, but she was happy to see Sandra’s goodwill, so she just accepted the wine that the head poured herself.

The newly brought out wine was a good wine that had a strong honey scent, and the scent of burning wood left at the tip of the tongue exhilarated people.

Iris took a sip and smiled.

After sharing a good drink, Iris returned to her bedroom. She looked out the window, feeling a little more intoxicated than usual, perhaps because she had ridden a long way.

She was worried if they could find a Siere in this vast land, who was not even distinguishable by appearance.

* * *

There were people searching in the rain, but she couldn’t fall asleep, so she dragged a chair to the window and sat down with her head against the wall all night.

No one came back during dawn, and it was not until morning that some searchers returned empty-handed.

In the end, humans were also animals, and since they couldn’t do anything if they didn’t get enough sleep, they collapsed and fell asleep as soon as they returned.

However, among those who returned like that, none were the Knights of Tejas. Through that image, Iris realized how much training the Tejas Knights went through.

In Luwan, there were many knights with names and many without names. Among them, the Tejas Knights belonged to an order that was not very famous, despite its leader being a royal.

However, Iris was sure that they would fight the best if she looked at their skills alone.

A full day passed there. On the second day of the search, around sunset.

“Found him!”

A voice was heard from afar.

Iris opened the window and saw the Knights of Tejas.

She got up quickly and ran outside.