A King is Born on the Road

He went on.

“Only courtesy was received.”

“Courtesy to the Asheri family?”

“Yes?”

“Courtesy to yourself?”

“No, it was just courtesy to the Asheri family.”

Hayer said flatly.

Of course, he was quick-witted and knew that every woman who approached him talking about the Asheri family was interested in his sexual appeal.

But he thought he would get hit by Iris if he revealed that.

No, that’s right. He’s just worried about her hand hurting, not himself. What was more distressing was to see her upset face.

…Now that he thought about it, he wondered why it was so painful to see her be upset.

Iris said.

“Anyway. It’s not the time to be dating.”

“Wow, really. When was I dating again?”

“The duel is just around the corner. Are you feeling okay? What if you lose? What if you get hurt?”

“I just heard what Sid said. Even if I have to give up an arm, I won’t lose. If I lose and think that someone is living with that kind of treatment, I won’t be able to live in my right mind.”

There was confidence in what he said.

It was just amazing how he didn’t feel any tension when he was going to deal with a knight that was said to be in the same top three fingers as himself with such a big injury.

《t/n: sounds kinda funny, but a reference to the top 3 knights listed on one’s fingers》

She was lost in her worries, but when she came to her senses, Hayer was wrapping his handkerchief around Iris’s wrist.

He said.

“I applied the painkiller I always carry around, so it won’t hurt.”

“It won’t hurt.”

“You don’t think I applied painkillers?”

“You’re so wounded.”

“Are you and I the same? In spite of being a crow-tit.”

《t/n: here they say 뱁새/baepsae, which is a bird & refers to being a try hard, silver spoon, or used in a certain idiom to refer to people who ruin themselves by trying to imitate people who are better than them.》

“…Crow-tit? Did you say I’m a crow-tit just now?”

“I blundered. Really, I made such a big mistake. It hurts to say this to someone who is just a crow-tit.”

As Iris raised her hand in anger to give him a smack, Hayer took her hand and said.

“With the other hand. This arm is injured… Ah. Wow.”

When Iris raised her opposite hand and smacked his arm as if she had been waiting, Hayer pretended to be in pain.

After going back and forth between worrying about Hayer and being dumbfounded and angry, Iris returned to the luncheon table.

Rosen, who sat next to Iris and was her second cousin, said.

“How is it? How is it to date Lord Hayer?”

Iris turned to look at Rosen.

Having never been in a relationship, she didn’t know what to say, so she kept her mouth shut. Then the other women at the table spoke.

“Of course it would be nice. It’s fun just looking at the face.”

“Is it all about the face? Of course, you have to do well at night.”

Iris’s eyes widened at the words of the woman sitting opposite from her.

She (the woman) may be close to the rest, but she only said hello to herself once, and she says something like this?

No. Even if you’ve seen someone many times, you’re still saying this?

While she was in shock, the women at the table said things without thinking.

“Of course it’s good.”

“Unexpectedly, there are times when such a gentleman is stiff in bed.”

“It reminds me of my ex-lover. So we broke up, but…”

Iris couldn’t adjust to the atmosphere and was just blinking. Rosen said a word from the side.

“What are you saying in front of the lady from a convent?”

“Oh my, you’re right.”

“Sorry.”

It wasn’t until later that Iris realized that maybe they were having this conversation to embarrass herself.

She was the first, so to speak, newcomer to this palace. It was clear that they wanted to suppress her.

However, Iris did not intend to be suppressed, nor did she intend to suppress it.

After all, it was only for a short time that she would be embarrassed and teased because she was a newcomer in society. In the end, the rank was quickly established.

Iris took a sip of tea from her cup, set it down, and told Rosen.

“It’s all right. Let’s hear it. Maybe there’s something I can say to help you later.”

She said, looking one by one at the people who brought up bed stories.

“Go ahead.”

Honestly.

She thought they would stop talking about this.

On the contrary, stories broke out as if they had been waiting.

“That’s why that actor has so much confidence in dealing with…”

“Ah, that was the source of confidence.”

“If you could only sleep with one of these two knights, who would you sleep with?”

“I don’t know if it’s just me…”

Iris tried to pretend nothing was wrong, but the outpouring of talk was so explicit that it made her dizzy.

The corners of her mouth hurt from smiling indifferently. She even memorized the faces of the participants, vowing that she would never join this table again.

Of course, it was true that they tried to step on the spirit of the newcomers at first, but they were also a group of people who actually enjoyed obscenities.

As soon as they knew Iris wasn’t a person to be easily discouraged, the group members just blossomed into stories that they found interesting.

The luncheon was finally over, so Iris was trying to run away, but Rosen grabbed her by the shoulder.

“Iris.”

“Yes.”

She thought she made a mistake, so she turned around and Rosen said.

“It’s a must.”

“…What?”

“Next time, tell me about Lord Hayer.”

“Rosen!”

“No, we’ll talk about everything!”

“I don’t want to!”

“You’ll see, I’m sure you’ll have a problem and come to consult with me.”

Then another member of the group next to her spoke.

“I will definitely make you open your mouth!”

Gosh, these people.

Iris’s face flushed and she quickly turned to the east building. Indeed, she didn’t intend to join that group again.

It’s ridiculous, but thanks to that, she forgot for a moment about tomorrow’s duel. Of course, Hayer’s boast that he would win unconditionally was of little relief.

Iris thought it was wrong to sleep soundly tonight. Since meeting Hayer, fatigue has really accumulated day after day.

* * *

On the day of the duel.

Iris looked at her hands, which were as blue as a corpse.

“Are the clothes small? I don’t think my blood is circulating.”

Annie, the maid who stayed in the east building and took care of her, said to Iris as she talked to herself.

“It’s not small. It’s because you’re nervous.”

It was as she said. Iris was feeling the coldness, as if ice was starting to freeze her with tension from the depths of her heart.

Her tension was evident from her steps out of the east building. Thinking this shouldn’t be the case, Iris stopped and took a deep breath.

He will win.

He will win. He has to win.

This had never happened before crossing the North Gate. Since she did not avoid marriage in the first place, Hayer continued to stay at the Knights of Tejas garrison on the southern border.

What if she hastened Hayer’s death?

If she had been a more tactful person, he wouldn’t have chosen such a high-risk escape. Blaming herself, she headed to the tournament arena where the duel was to take place.

In Luwan, a duel begins with jousting, and when one falls off the horse, a sword fight begins.

A duel also had personal honour at stake, but it was also one of the few things enjoyed in Luwan.

It was a duel between Hayer Asheri and Meppo Behad, who are said to be the strongest in Luwan. It even involved a fight between brothers over a woman.

Word about the duel quickly spread throughout the capital, and all the nobles who could come came flocking. Among the citizens of the capital, those who could afford it also bought seats and came in.

After checking the two knights, the onlookers immediately found the princess, who had split the brothers into a fight.

Iris hardened her expression at the pouring attention.

“Is that the princess?”

“If you’re a man, you’ll want to fight at least once.”

“Just looking at how they fight, that princess is no ordinary wicked woman.”

“It’s fun when one of them dies!”

The noisy voices made Iris’s expression stiffen.

Originally, the people of Luwan were far from good. When the weak fall, they get excited to jump in and beat them up; if they think they are different from them, they have no guilt in criticizing them and inflicting violence.

Luwan, which she decided to protect, was a country of such people.

Iris gripped her skirt tightly. She wanted to abandon everything right away and leave to a place where there were no humans.

afterword 

iris is so valid i honestly wouldn’t bother w these ppl like… anyway the irrational part of me wants a hayer and iris victory smooch to happen but i know it won’t