A King is Born on the Road

“Iris!”

“I enjoyed the duel yesterday. I’ve never been so nervous in my life!”

Fortunately, because Celios was there, no one started talking about sleeping from the beginning.

Iris was relieved on one hand, but at the same time worried about how to get out of here or send them away.

In any case, Celios’s executive ability was great. It was just yesterday that the duel was won, but she prepared a tea time to welcome an unspecified number of guests today.

Celios, who knew most of the people walking around the palace, quickly set up another table and left, but Iris was left behind to Rosen’s group.

As expected, as soon as Celios left, the question came up.

“So where did you sleep last night?”

“How can you ask me that again?”

“No, did I ask you anything special? Where did you sleep?”

It started.

Iris let out a low sigh and pointed her hand to the east building room where she stayed.

“There.”

“My goodness, oh dear.”

It sounded like a voice of pity for some reason, and one of the noblewomen in the group said.

“It’s a bit weird to call a lover where your mother is…”

“It’s all right. That’s for me to take care of.”

Iris tried to restrain herself, but the opponent did not back down.

“No! You can’t possibly do it. Lord Hayer has a house on the outskirts of the capital, and Miss Iris is staying here in the east building…”

“Even the house on the outskirts of the capital is used by knights, so isn’t it smelly? Seriously, where do you meet!”

The talking here and there at the same time made her dizzy.

Iris was originally a person who felt exhaustion from speaking. She felt dizzy trying to focus on everyone’s words, thinking she was in a situation where she had to answer.

Then the woman sitting diagonally from her asked.

“So when will he propose?”

Iris paused at that question.

Where there was the duel, there was no marriage proposal. So it wasn’t a perfect duel.

Celios at the other table could hear what was being said.

“Absolutely not. With someone who doesn’t even know who my daughter is? I know he’s strong. But if it doesn’t work, it doesn’t work.”

Celios was making excuses for her daughter’s failure to receive a proposal.

In any case, Celios was right about today’s luncheon. If you were just in the room doing nothing, people who talked enough about the fight the day before would have started to talk about why there was no proposal.

Iris looked down at her tea and was lost in thought.

Is there any reason to meet with Hayer now?

She was with him in the name of avoiding marriage. But now that the marriage was over, there was no justification to go around with Hayer.

If she doesn’t ask to meet him, he won’t come looking for her. Because it was a completely one-sided feeling.

“The sort of relationship I have with Hayer…”

Tired of people’s questions, she was going to honestly say that she had nothing to do with Hayer. She heard a voice next to her.

“What kind of relationship?”

Hayer was leaning toward Iris and asking.

Iris looked up at Hayer and asked with surprised eyes.

“What are you doing here?”

“I’m here to see how you’re spending your first day out of an unwanted marriage. It’s all thanks to me.”

Hayer said that, then wrapped Iris’s head in his hand, turned it toward him, and said, looking into her eyes.

“Your lashes are stuck, can I remove them?”

Iris closed her eyes on impulse, and Hayer removed the lashes near her tear ducts.

The eldest of the group who was watching it said.

“If you don’t have a place to stay together, I’ll lend you my villa. After all, neither the place where your mother lives or the house where the Knights stay in will be romantic.”

Hayer smiled, moderately aware of the atmosphere of the gathering. Then he asked Iris.

“Shall we take a walk in the royal palace?”

“I haven’t finished my tea yet.”

When Iris showed him the teacup as if she had just received it, the group of people at the same table gave her a look. It was a glance to go on a date quickly.

Iris got up as if she had been waiting, wanting to get away from this table.

In the meantime, Hayer gulped down the tea Iris left behind.

Iris asked, her eyes round.

“What did you do?”

“I heard you had tea left?”

Then he picked up cookies in his handkerchief, wrapped them, and gestured to go.

Iris, abashed, crossed her arms and said.

“Go, then.”

When she said so, Hayer smiled and headed to the carriage.

Following him, Iris looked back at the table and greeted them, and the mouths of the people in the gathering moved. She couldn’t read it, but it was clear that it would be lewd talk.

Hayer, who looked back when Iris sighed, figured it out.

“They say my butt is pretty. Of course they’re talking about my butt.”

“…It’s noisy.”

“That makes me proud.”

At Hayer’s words, Iris slapped him on the arm. Hayer said he would not do it anymore, closed his mouth, and held out a cookie wrapped in a handkerchief.

After getting out of there for a while, Iris said.

“Thank you.”

“I don’t know what you’re thankful for, but can you take me to your room for a minute?”

At his words, Iris looked at Hayer.

Now that she’s checked, he was struggling for the first time since she saw him. It was like a flu.

“Are you sick?”

Iris asked urgently.

“The whole body.”

The aftereffects of the duel the previous day had not subsided. After all, he had a duel with an opponent who couldn’t let his guard down even for a moment, so it was no wonder that his body was so sore here and there.

Iris hurriedly ran around the building so as not to be caught entering her room by that group gathering.

“Why are you here when it’s so difficult? Can you move?”

“The duel I fought for you is over, but it would look strange if I didn’t visit you the next day.”

“I can just go find you if my body is fine.”

Hayer furrowed his brows at Iris’s words and scolded her.

“Obviously, it’s about letting the man come.”

It was a duel done solely out of a favour, but Hayer was paying the utmost attention to the people’s eyes toward Iris.

Iris asked, trying hard to ignore her tickling heart.

“Do you want me to massage you? Annie gave me a massage with a rolling pin earlier.”

At her words, Hayer glanced at Iris’s arm and said.

“I don’t think it’s going to be satisfactory.”

“…Still, it’s better than not doing it.”

“Then, please take this arm.”

Iris looked at him as if she wanted to be helpful, so Hayer threw his arm out like throwing a toy to a child.

Iris used her strength to massage Hayer’s arm, and perhaps because of her hard work, it felt satisfactory to Hayer.

Hayer brought a cookie to Iris’s mouth, who was moving slowly but diligently in her own way. Iris, who inadvertently took a bite, paused.

Hayer said after Iris put the remaining cookie in her mouth.

“The Knights will be delighted if I bring you.”

Iris munched on the cookie that suddenly came into her mouth. And when she casually turned to where Sid was staying, he was looking out, as expected. Hayer seemed to have done it knowing that his brother was watching him.

The two people cautiously entered the room where Iris was staying.

Iris said, pointing to her bed.

“You can lie down.”

However, Hayer pointed his chin at the sofa, as if a woman’s bed was burdensome.

“That will do.”

“No. It’s too small for you.”

Iris grabbed Hayer by the collar as he tried to go to the sofa and laid him back on the bed.

Iris opened the bag containing her belongings to treat him while he was here.

Iris said as she prepared for the treatment.

“Thanks to you, I’m not getting married, so you don’t have to hide me anymore.”

“I see.”

“I don’t have any reason to be with you anymore…”

Hayer paused at Iris’s words as she said that.

Is that so?

He rubbed the nape of his neck in bewilderment.

He fought the duel to keep Iris from getting married, which she hated. But after that, he never thought about it.

Was there no reason for us to go around together?

Hayer was feeling the aftereffects of using up 10 days of energy at once for the previous day.

Meppo Behad was that much of a difficult opponent. And he was a man who had to be in Luwan.

In any case, he was so distracted that he couldn’t figure out what to say to her right away.

Marriage proposal.

Do I have to propose to be with you?

No… why am I trying to be with you?

afterword 

the first person pronouns threw me off at the end lol but OMG THIS CHAPTER NAURRR IM KICKING MY FEET