A King is Born on the Road

The chatter was offensive, so the Royal Knights went and punched.

A fight broke out between the citizens and the Royal Knights. There were many citizens, but most of them backed down because they did not want to get entangled with the nobles, so some of the citizens who punched were dragged out.

Since non-nobles were not imprisoned in the dungeon of the royal palace, they beat them up and kicked them out of the royal palace.

After that, the spectators became quiet, but soon after when the duel began, they started shouting again in excitement.

“Kill! Kill him!”

“Hayer Asheri!”

“Meppo, Meppo!”

The lances of the two knights made an unpleasant sound as they dragged on the stone floor.

The spear techniques used by the two knights were completely different. Hayer used the royal technique of wielding the spear to secure distance, while Meppo used a stabbing-oriented technique.

Iris noticed that Hayer was at a significant disadvantage in this fight.

Hayer, unlike the people of the Lepos family, is unable to find a way or grasp the distance.

So for him to use the royal technique, he couldn’t use any of the advantages. There was not much difference from fighting with your eyes closed.

However, Hayer seemed to have some kind of thought and was unable to let go of the spear.

Meppo couldn’t have missed that loophole, and poked the spear right into Hayer’s gap.

The tip of the spear narrowly grazed Heyer’s cheek, and blood trickled down.

Onlookers were extremely excited from the moment they saw the blood.

“Meppo Behad!”

“Meppo! Kill him!”

Onlookers chanted Meppo’s name. Seeing this, Sid found some composure and smiled leisurely. And said to Iris.

“Iris, why don’t you give your lover some cheer? I don’t think you’ll see him again after today.”

The onlookers burst into laughter at Sid’s words.

Iris shouted at Hayer when he said she could cheer.

“Get off your horse, Hayer!”

The moment he heard her voice, Meppo pierced Hayer’s heart with the spear.

However, he had already jumped off his horse and rolled on the floor before Iris had finished speaking.

Meppo clicked his tongue and turned around.

Hayer raised his sword this time.

Meppo knew Hayer’s spear skills would bring him to his death.

He couldn’t give up the spearmanship because he was unyielding, and Meppo was not satisfied that his opponent was fighting blindfolded in this duel of honor. But it was a kick that he didn’t point out because it was his choice.

Meppo, who turned his horse from afar, whipped his horse toward Hayer.

At that moment, Hayer raised the sword with one hand that ordinary people could not hold with both hands.

When he swung it in one big turn, the horse’s leg fell over and Meppo fell to the ground.

Since it was a duel of knights, Hayer stood and waited until Meppo got up from the ground and took his sword out.

Thus, the full-fledged battle between the two knights with swords began.

The onlookers clenched their sweaty fists at the scene that could not be seen anywhere else in the world.

Every time the swords collided, the earth’s axis shook. Then, due to Hayer’s inhumane strength, the sword flew from Meppo’s hand.

Hayer gestured for a new sword, but Meppo clenched his fist instead and charged. Hayer did not refuse, and threw down his sword and accepted the brawl.

The excitement of the spectators was at its peak. The fight to the death made the blood boil.

“Hayer!”

“Well done!”

“Ah, I can die now that I’ve seen this!”

The victory or defeat was going over to Hayer. It was because the strength he had was not something humans could produce by training.

Meppo was reeling from a previous impact and got up. Still, the moment he gritted his teeth and attacked again, Hayer lifted him up and threw him against the stone wall of the arena.

Meppo flew away, hitting his head against the wall, and passed out. It was Hayer Asheri’s victory.

“Asheri! Asheri!”

Everyone in the arena shouted Hayer Asheri’s name. The Royal Knights immediately called a doctor to check Meppo’s condition.

Sid banged his fist on the table. He was also born strong enough to crack the wooden table, but a difference was felt from Hayer where he wouldn’t even have to try.

Sid, who was about to enter a fit of rage, looked down at Hayer’s shoulder, which was slightly exposed as the button was torn off by Meppo.

You wouldn’t be able to see it from the front, but you could see the wound from where he and King Eswa were.

“Can you see it?”

Sid carefully asked if he had noticed the wound too.

Eswa replied.

“There was an injury.”

Why are you hurt?

Sid’s questions about the injury temporarily relieved him of the terrible fact that he had lost the duel.

As soon as the duel was over, Hayer staggered, then came to his senses and walked toward the servants. The water urgently handed over by the servants was poured from above his head.

He had a fever all over his body. Every muscle felt alive.

His subordinate grinned, understanding Hayer’s feelings.

“Did you have that much fun?”

“Yes.”

Indeed, Meppo was the best knight in Luwan. Hayer thought that Meppo’s martial arts itself was better than his, although he only won by a difference in strength.

Iris was seen standing in the distance as Hayer was cooling down. She couldn’t approach Hayer and was staring at his wounds with a blank face.

From the beginning, Hayer thought Iris was overly fond of him. It’s their first time seeing each other, but it’s like they knew each other.

Her eyes, which were always cold, wavered only when she saw him.

What should he think of this?

Oddly enough, however, he often heard a voice in his mind telling him that he had to take a step away from her.

Why?

He always knew his weaknesses and strengths. He’s never been ignorant of how he felt.

Strangely, however, whenever he just looked at her, it felt like someone was pulling him from behind, telling him not to approach her.

“Get off your horse, Hayer!”

He heard her voice.

For him, royal spearsmanship had no merit. So he had to quickly throw away the spear and pick up the sword. His head knew he should, but his body refused.

He hated King Eswa. Nevertheless, on the other hand, there was a desire to be recognized. But the moment Iris told him to get off his horse, he strangely escaped that desire for recognition.

For a moment, her voice sounded like it belonged to a goddess to him. Like an order that should never be refused. As if she was the lord who he swore to as a knight.

* * *

Sid angrily threw the glass he was drinking towards the tournament grounds.

The spectators laughed at the sound of the glass breaking on the floor. Then again, where in the world would there be a man who lost his woman and be okay?

Even after the duel, Iris did not approach Hayer willingly. It was because of the tradition of dueling over a woman’s love.

The victor could ask the woman for a wish. The wish was almost one hundred percent a marriage proposal.

It would be nice if the person you loved won the duel, but there were times when it wasn’t.

The wish was not necessarily granted since it was a ‘request,’ but it was practically impossible to refuse in front of numerous spectators, especially for aristocratic women.

A duel was a violent form of trial. It was a duel in which the winner was absolutely right. Since Sid Lepos accepted the duel, Hayer was no longer the villain who stole his brother’s woman.

Hayer strode over when his eyes met hers. And he was looking straight into Iris’s eyes.

Hayer asked.

“Shall I propose?”

“……”

Iris shook her head.

“I don’t like it because I’m still angry. I told you not to do it because it’s dangerous, the duel.”

Due to the heated duel, the tournament venue was almost filled with screaming cheers, so it was thought that no one would hear the conversation between the two.

However, everyone in there had their ears open toward the two of them. They couldn’t help but want to hear.

Hayer continued.

“When will your anger go away?”

“Not today.”

“Then I will propose to you then.”

“Why not now?”

When Iris asked, Hayer replied with a smile.

“If I propose to you here, you won’t be able to refuse even if you want to.”

He’s good at making excuses. Without proposing, he just found a way out that Iris wouldn’t be ashamed of.

Iris laughed, and the cheers in the arena didn’t subside easily.

Both the 25-year-old Hayer and 19-year-old Hayer knew all too deeply that he had no intention of marrying her.

Still, he is alive, and she has escaped her marriage to Sid. Although she didn’t know how this would affect Luwan in the future.

Iris soon smiled as if she had forgiven everything, and hugged Hayer’s neck.

Hayer also hugged Iris at her action to show off to the spectators.

afterword 

oh my god this chapter was so good with us being able to see hayer’s feelings more clearly (and him technically calling iris a GODDESS), with the duel (even if it was obvious who would win), and the giggle-worthy end there omg im kicking my feet