A King is Born on the Road

The suffocating greeting is over.

Leaving the office, Iris argued with Hayer.

“I told you no duels!”

“I didn’t give you a choice. It was my decision.”

“Hayer!”

Iris knew how strong he was, having already seen Hayer fighting the monsters.

But he was not in perfect shape now. With such a big wound, she didn’t see a chance of winning against Meppo, one of Luwan’s best knights.

Iris asked with a sigh.

“Why? Because you want to beat Sid? What on earth are you…”

Iris, who was about to yell if he felt inferior to that guy and thought he was not good enough, shut her mouth, thinking there might be someone listening.

Then Hayer said.

“I think you hate it too much. This marriage.”

“……”

“I don’t want you to be unhappy. So this is just my wish.”

At Hayer’s words, Iris was speechless and couldn’t speak any more.

By nature, was being a good man the thing that made a witness crumble like this?

Iris was going to say something more, but just brushed past him.

Hayer just stood there, as if he knew by intuition that he shouldn’t follow.

* * *

She came to the royal palace even though she knew she would fall into a complicated situation to prove that she was Iris Lepos.

Iris, who was angry at Hayer, entered the building where her mother, Celios, stayed.

After going through all the fuss, Celios sat in a long horizontal chair, welcoming Iris.

“Come and sit down here. There are many people who need to be introduced.”

“Yes.”

Before crossing the North Gate, Celios felt sorry for Iris and even erased the idea of her own child from her head, so the two never drank tea alone without other guests.

In particular, it was the first time today that the two of them were drinking tea while ‘introducing somebody.’ Iris carefully sat down in the same chair as Celios.

Soon a tea table was set up in front of the two. Subsequently, representatives from the great noble families came in to greet them.

Iris continued her greetings in a quiet and relaxed manner.

Then Celios’s maid came and whispered something, and Celios looked surprised. Then she said, checking the menu on the table.

“What in the world is going on, the representative of the Hall family is coming. You know, the Hall family was supporting Sid, and they were angry that you had run away. But it’s strange to come here.”

Then Iris asked.

“Are you referring to Dane Hall, a relative of Sandra Hall?”

“How do you know that?”

“We’ve met before.”

“What?”

Celios thought that her daughter should make great efforts to get Sid’s supporters on her side.

Among them, the most difficult and important, was the Hall family. However, the representative of the Hall family came to greet Iris.

Celios couldn’t help but be surprised.

Soon after, Iris smiled as Dane Hall entered the drawing room.

“You’re here?”

“Have you been comfortable?”

Dane Hall, the representative of the Hall family and Sandra Hall’s relative, smiled brightly upon seeing Iris.

Celios was surprised that Iris had destroyed the animosity of the Hall family while on the run. Looking back at Peter, he had already shed tears of pride for his daughter.

Iris chatted with Dane happily and exchanged how they were doing.

Celios considered the Hall family, which holds Luwan’s food supply, very important. She stood up, so proud of her daughter.

“Ah, I’m a little tired. You young people can talk amongst yourselves.”

She said that and left her seat.

After Celios left, Iris asked Dane.

“You look like you have something to say. Is that right?”

“D-did it look like that?”

“Honestly, yes.”

Dane sighed when Iris answered. Then he looked around and said to Iris,

“I know you’re complicated by the marriage problem. So by no means am I saying this for any reason or purpose. I just want you to consider it after the schedule is over.”

“Yes.”

Dane got to the point while Iris was thinking about what he was in such a hurry to say.

After hearing it, it was indeed a long story.

“By any chance… is there any way you can make sure that Ruben Everhart, the eldest son of the Everhart family, is still alive in the Everhart family’s dungeon?”

“Hmm.”

“Our Lord is someone who seems to lack nothing but… In fact, she’s really curious about the current situation of Ruben Everhart, who has been a friend since she was young.”

“If it’s Ruben Everhart…”

Iris recalled the memory of when she was heading for the North Gate.

“The culprit was only found out later. He was the eldest son of Everhart. It turned out that he had a crush on Sandra, so after a quarrel with his brother, the murder took place…”

He was the eldest son of the Everhart family, who was said to have killed the second son of the Everhart family, whom Sandra was trying to marry.

It was natural that it would be strange to find out the current status of the person who killed her husband-to-be on their first marriage night. That’s why she came here asking for a favour.

But Iris was rather pleased with this request. She was the one who hoped the relationship between the Halls and the Everharts would improve. Therefore, it was natural to be glad if there was anything worth exchanging.

“I’ll do that.”

Dane’s expression brightened when Iris nodded.

“Thank you! By the way, you really seem like you’ve been a royal all your life.”

Iris looked down at her skirt as Dane said in wonder. Then Hayer, who prepared this outfit, came to mind, and she bit her lip unconsciously.

Dane said what her expression worried about.

“There’s really nothing to worry about. Lord Hayer is one of the strongest knights in the land of Luwan.”

“But the Royal Knights are also strong.”

“That… is true.”

Dane nodded in agreement.

Iris tried to put her mind at ease, but it wasn’t as easy as it sounds. She kept feeling anxious that a major injury would be added to Hayer.

* * *

Each great noble family had its own strength.

It was like holding food like the Hall family, or having a huge port like the Everhart family, which had a great influence on commerce.

Among them, the most terrifying force was the Asheri family on the border. There was a danger of not knowing when they might join hands with the enemy because they were located on the border and had frequent exchanges.

Therefore, no matter how much a king he was, he could not look down on the great noble families.

As a result, politics was important to the great noble families. It was natural to want to hold hands with the heir who would become king if possible.

As Iris headed to the North Gate in the past, she learned more and more about it.

Sid was undoubtedly the most likely successor to the king in the eyes of most of the great noble families today.

However, the fact that the representative of the Hall family came to Iris meant that he saw some possibility in her as well.

Celios confided her anticipations to Iris.

“The Halls seem to have some expectations for you?”

Iris responded with a smile. In her eyes, her mother was a very transparent person.

After Dane left, Iris finished the day after greeting more guests.

After greeting so many people, her arms were all sore. She loosened her tight muscles by kneading her weak arms with her fist.

At the end of the hectic day, worries about Hayer filled her head again.

Perhaps because of her anger, Hayer did not show up. She wondered if she should go to him first, but she stopped because her complicated thoughts about him jumping into danger have not yet been sorted out.

Iris, who is still not good at establishing a relationship between people, was at a loss about what to do.

In the midst of all this trouble, she had a question.

Iris asked Celios.

“Where is Hayer staying?”

“You mean Hayer? Doesn’t that man have a place to stay? An old bar. Anyway, there are too many knights who are like that.”

“…There is no space for Hayer in the royal palace?”

Iris’s voice sank.

afterword

“i don’t want you to be unhappy”  he cares about her so much my poor heart can’t take this