A King is Born on the Road

Then Iris listened keenly to the whistles.

It was night, but the moonlight spread over the snow, so the visibility was not that bad. But Iris heard the cries of the beasts, who had not yet come into view.

Hayer would have heard it before her, but he asked regardless.

“There’s something I want to ask you.”

“What is it?”

“If I become king, will I be able to flee from the prairies of the Kahifs, and also arrive at the Dirfone family and join them?”

At his words, Iris recalled the route she had drawn in her head many times throughout the trip.

Iris shook her head when she thought that the Kahifs, who were said to be 1.5 times faster than the Luwans, were chasing them.

“You’ll be caught before then.”

“I see.”

Hayer went out of the tent first, and lifted Iris up with his strength.

“Then there’s only one answer.”

“What answer? I know for sure that Luwan will lose the war no matter what is done.”

“You just have to reverse all of this in the first place.”

“……How?”

“The eight noble families of Luwan, who fought over the legitimacy of the throne, came to an agreement because you were married to Sid Lepos. The three great noble families who said that you should be king withdrew their claim with the marriage.”

“……”

“Without that marriage, the premise that the noble families agreed on Sid Lepos’s accession to the throne would be overturned.”

That is why it was said that she should not marry Sid Lepos.

Iris grabbed Hayer’s arm as he tried to go towards the monsters.

“I have two questions.”

“What is it?”

“You’re from the Asheri family. It should be safe there, but why are you going to the North Gate with this cost? How did you know about the North Gate in the first place?”

Hayer did not answer her questions. He immediately ran to where he could hear the breathing of the monsters.

He was strong, so it didn’t seem difficult to deal with the monsters alone, but it was difficult to prevent them from attacking Iris.

In the three months leading up to this point, Iris learned from Hayer the spear techniques used by royalty. However, she was unable to wield a spear properly due to her lack of strength.

Still, Iris raised her spear to protect herself even for a moment, knowing that Hayer’s movements were limited because of her.

She moved the spear in the snowfield with her trembling hands from the weight and fear.

The monsters also hesitated a little in front of her, thinking that she was a beast, and that the length of the spear was a part of Iris.

In the midst of her short jabs, Hayer ran to a tree growing alone in the midst of a horribly snowy plain.

A huge tree that would have grown well for a thousand years and was covered in blue. It was a sacred tree.

In the two countries, five lands, as many religions as lands were divided, but all of these religions were based on the same roots.

It was said that ‘Tilla,’ the god of all things, planted five sacred trees on this continent, which was covered with evil monsters, creating a land for humans to settle in.

Luwan believes that Tilla decides the king by looking at the qualities of their successors through the moon, while Siere argues that the king themself is Tilla’s reincarnation.

On top of that, Kawat, the mountain people, believes that the god died and protecting the sacred tree is human practice.

Kahif, a desert nation, believes that the desert god killed the goddess and became the only god.

There were many sects, including ethnic groups that spread widely in the alpine region that created and followed their own scriptures, but no one had any disagreement about protecting the sacred tree.

It was shortly after Iris felt at some point that the monsters were retreating.

The ground vibrated with a loud noise. The sacred tree had fallen down.

Iris asked Hayer, who was standing in front of the cut-off tree, with a stunned face.

“What are you doing? Are you crazy?”

Iris ran frantically to Hayer. And she covered her mouth with her hand.

Just like the diagonal line where the tree was cut off, Hayer’s shirt was bleeding with the same wound.

Hayer didn’t look surprised at all. Only then did Iris know where the wounds she had seen earlier came from.

Hayer opened the medicine box he usually carried around and swallowed the medicine, as if it wasn’t a big deal.

In the meantime, the monsters surrounding the two completely withdrew.

When you cut down the sacred tree, the monsters retreat.

At that time, Iris knew why the number of monsters was rapidly decreasing in the south. The reason why Hayer failed to attempt the rebellion when he was 20 years old that Annamaria mentioned.

He was already dying, long ago.

Hayer couldn’t bear the growing wound and sat against the stump of the cut tree. Then he pulled out a handful of flowers and placed them on the wound. Then the wound slowly stopped bleeding.

Hayer said.

“I know the cure, but it’s too late.”

“A lunatic… who cuts down the sacred tree?”

“That’s right.”

Hayer laughed.

Iris only knew now that he had also been constantly seduced by death.

He had come to suppress that desire, to only bring Iris to the North Gate.

Iris murmured.

“Sorry, I can’t think of a joke. I’m a boring person.”

“Oh, I know.”

Iris glared at his mischievous reply, and Hayer laughed.

He went on.

“My subordinates are hard to deal with. Everyone has their own voice. If you thought you couldn’t find the way, you would have lied so that you couldn’t go, but for you to have gone this far, you must have seen something while guarding the throne.”

“……”

“As much as the fact that you’re a boring person.”

Hayer looked at Iris’s face with mischief and continued.

“I know you’re someone who’ll keep walking. That fact alone is enough for you to be surprising and fun.”

Iris stared at Hayer.

During the three months of repeated fighting and marching, how much she knew of him, only one fact was clear.

If she had met him in a better environment than this, she would have loved Hayer Asheri so much to the point where she couldn’t take care of herself.

The man who smiles well, is always relaxed, likes to set up jokes at the moment of his death.

Iris wanted to let him go with a smile, gritting her teeth in pain, so she tried to joke for the first time in her life.

She knelt down in front of Hayer for a moment and looked at him, saying something that could never be more than a joke.

“You are ugly.”

Hayer, who made a strange face for a moment at her words, burst into laughter.

When he laughed, Iris got up and walked past him without saying goodbye, as the other knights have done.

Then she heard his voice calling her from behind.

“Iris.”

Iris turned to his voice.

Hayer still leaned on the stump, and opened his mouth with his back to Iris.

“If something changes beyond the North Gate.”

“……”

“Don’t love me then. Never.”

Hayer was speaking in a soft voice, speaking more terrible words than the terrible wind blowing here.

Iris, who had been speechless for a while, asked.

“Why?”

“……”

“Hayer. What is the reason?”

“……”

“Since when did you know that I love you? Why, did you know but didn’t respond?”

He had already lowered his head.

In order to not cry, Iris clenched her fists so hard that her nails dug into the flesh.

Why on earth?

Was that such a big deal to say that it broke the rules of saying goodbye in jest?

Or was it just between the Knights of Tejas?

Iris was about to collapse on the spot, but she beat her chest with a trembling fist. Because this journey is not yet over, she violently killed her feelings.

afterword

good old angst