Iris, who was usually very sleep-deprived, used to get a good night’s sleep with strange ease when Hayer laid down next to her.
It was the same today. Iris was sleeping after a hectic late night, trying to make up for the sleep she had been lacking for a while.
Hayer got up early, but he put off all his schedules under the pretext of injury and laid down next to her, staring at Iris’s pretty face.
He wondered what she was thinking. After hearing whose son he was, he wanted to know her honest feelings.
Iris opened her eyes, as if his complex feelings had reached her.
She stared at Hayer with her calm and beautiful eyes that seemed to be filled with moonlight, and asked.
“What are you thinking?”
“I want to know what you’re thinking?”
“You’re the same as me…”
Hayer’s relationship with her, there was one strange thing. You feel anxious when you’re far away, and you feel relieved when you’re close.
All the relationships he had built so far had been the opposite. He was relieved when he was farther away, and the closer he got, the more anxious he was.
As Iris closed her eyes, the heaviness that had accumulated in his heart melted away when she asked what he was thinking.
Iris couldn’t get up because she was exhausted, so she closed her eyes again and muttered.
“Hayer.”
“Yes.”
“If your father starts a war, and the opportunity comes to me, I will kill Carl Lassor.”
She said something with a heavy face in the morning.
Hayer replied nonchalantly.
“I don’t mind at all.”
“…Really?”
“I don’t know him well, and I’ve never even seen him in the first place.”
Iris gave a small smile at Hayer’s unperturbed reaction.
“I’m glad to hear that. Now, it’s time…”
Iris, who was about to get up, gave up and laid down again.
“…I’ll have to rest a little longer before I get up.”
Hayer burst into laughter at Iris’s diminished voice.
Iris asked when Hayer sighed because he didn’t want to budge by her side, even though he couldn’t postpone the schedule any longer.
“Wounds, does it hurt a lot?”
“It’s all right because I smoked painkillers.”
“You didn’t smoke, did you?”
Hayer responded awkwardly to her words.
“Well, maybe the painkillers are very strong, but other people stumble just by smelling it.”
“Are you not using painkillers because of me?”
“Rather than that, I want to be with you…”
“Get out.”
“……”
“Don’t pretend you didn’t hear it.”
Hayer sighed heavily as Iris kicked him out. Then he buried his face in her chest and got up.
Iris had a lot of work to do after kicking out Hayer, who seemed to be dying because he didn’t want to be separated. First, she rang the bell to call Madeleine.
Madeleine, whose due date was not far away, approached the bedroom.
“What’s wrong?”
Madeleine looked very tired, perhaps enjoying the party in her own way the day before.
Iris said, tapping the bed.
“Sit down, I have a favour to ask of you.”
At her words, Madeleine sat on the bed.
Iris took a deep breath and opened her mouth.
“As you know, Hayer will now set out to prove the corruption of the sacred tree.”
“Will he be all right? If he gets hurt…”
“I will go too.”
“…Pardon?”
And Iris was going to find that talking monster.
Madeleine’s face went pale when she heard Iris was about to go down a dangerous path.
“What if it’s dangerous?”
“Even if I don’t go, Luwan’s land will eventually become dangerous.”
“Still…”
“Madeleine.”
Iris continued, looking at her with a determined face.
“Your baby is about to be born. We need to make sure that they can grow up too.”
Madeleine, who was worried by her words, paused.
A moment later, when she barely nodded, Iris said.
“I have a request to ask of you.”
“What… is the request?”
When Madeleine asked, Iris answered carefully.
“If anyone finds me, do my part.”
“…Pardon?”
Iris explained everything to Madeleine. That she must enter the country without permission, that she had to stay in Luwan to the king of Siere.
“I’ll tell everyone around me, so everyone will think of you as me.”
Madeleine was listening to her as if she had been possessed.
A stand-in for Iris Lepos.
“Can I do it?”
“Yes.”
Iris nodded.
“You are bold.”
“M-Me? I’m a coward!”
“The coward is me, I’ve been protected in the name of a monastery and a royal palace all my life.”
“No. The Princess is never a coward.”
Iris smiled gratefully at Madeleine’s firm words.
“Then let’s pretend that neither of us is a coward.”
“Yes, that would be better!”
Madeleine answered loudly, looked around, then covered her mouth with her hand and murmured.
“I don’t know when Lady Agatha will come running and nag me, so I’m scared… I can’t say anything.”
Iris burst into laughter at her grumbling. She already felt a little lonely to be away from Madeleine and Agatha, whom she had been together with for a while.
─── ⋅ ∙ ∘ ☽ ༓ ☾ ∘ ⋅ ⋅ ───
After persuading a stand-in to fill her vacant position, Iris moved on to the second task.
What she wanted to do now was to meet Zeniel, the sage who came with Kernin. Iris was appalled by the man’s presence, and she didn’t want to go near him, but she couldn’t pretend not to know forever.
Iris headed toward the small chapel inside the palace where Zeniel was.
This small chapel was a space where only the king’s immediate family could enter, unlike the royal temple where everyone went in and out of. And a sage could also enter there.
Iris was moving toward the small chapel, and spotted Annamaria entering the gate of the palace.
“Dame Annamaria.”
When she called, Annamaria, whose expression was hardened, smiled and said.
“Princess.”
“Where did you go…”
Iris, who was glad to ask so, fell silent as the wind blew in her direction and she smelled the scent of blood.
Annamaria broke the rules of the Knights of Tejas and said she would kill her subordinate Don with her own hands for leaking the secret that Hayer had cut off the sacred tree. So, maybe.
Iris initiated conversation without asking her in detail.
“I’m going to the small chapel.”
“Uh, I… of course.”
“Do you want to go with me?”
“I…”
When Annamaria felt terrible guilt and couldn’t speak, Iris quickly noticed and murmured.
“You didn’t kill him.”
“H-How did you know?”
Annamaria asked back, wide-eyed, then continued with a sigh.
“No. You know, Don is trash. Freya, who married him, is a very nice person. How can a pagan woman run away alone?”
“So?”
“I just… I cut off one arm so that he couldn’t hold a sword again. As a knight, I definitely killed him.”
Annamaria made a blubbering excuse.
Iris said.
“I’ll keep it a secret.”
“Are you okay? Because of that light-mouthed guy, the captain…”
“I’m fine. I don’t know if Hayer will be okay.”
“Please keep it a secret…”
“All right.”
When Iris nodded, Annamaria was relieved and said.
“Then, you can call me Ann instead.”
“Dame, too.”
“I can’t. Knights, we can’t be friends with royalty.”
“I see. All right.”
Iris nodded in agreement.
The two soon arrived at the small chapel deep in the palace. Annamaria waited in front of the chapel, and Iris went inside.
This very small dome was built with ancient technology, and was now a structure that could not even be rebuilt. Iris walked to Zeniel, who was praying on one side of the chapel.
No matter how much she judged him to be an enemy, she couldn’t talk to him while he was praying, so Iris stood still and waited for his prayer to end.
After a while, Zeniel finished praying and got up. Then he asked Iris.
“What brings you here?”
Iris stared vacantly at Zeniel. At first glance, she thought he looked kind, but when she looked closely, she thought he was giving off a sharp impression with his glasses.
“I have a lot of questions.”
“Which parts?”
“Are you going to tell me?”
“If you come closer.”
Zeniel said and beckoned.
Iris said to the outside.
“Ann, if I don’t come out after counting to one hundred, please come in.”
“Yes, Princess.”
Hearing Annamaria’s answer, Iris walked closer to Zeniel.
As she approached, Zeniel strode right in front of her and opened his mouth.
“Ah, you are as beautiful as the portrait.”
“Don’t say useless things.”
“I am saying what I want to say. It has nothing to do with being useless to the princess.”
In order not to get caught up in Zeniel’s leisurely talk, Iris immediately brought up the main topic.
“What I want to ask is.”
“It was before crossing the North Gate.”
“……”
When he intercepted her question, Iris shut up because she couldn’t think of anything to say for a moment.
Zeniel continued.
“You wonder if Sir Hayer knew at that time that he was the son of the king of Siere?”
“…Yes.”
“He knew, that Sir.”
“All right.”
Iris felt danger and said.
“I wish he knew that.”
He grabbed her arm as she tried to distance herself from Zeniel. Then he said, pulling her towards him.
“Even knowing that, he sided with the king of Siere during the war.”
Iris, who was about to shake off her arm at his words, paused.
afterword
clingy hayer at the beginning </3 now i’m even more curious about hayer’s pov from before the north gate, i rly hope we get to see it one day (editor me: we do)
Iris, who was usually very sleep-deprived, used to get a good night’s sleep with strange ease when Hayer laid down next to her.
It was the same today. Iris was sleeping after a hectic late night, trying to make up for the sleep she had been lacking for a while.
Hayer got up early, but he put off all his schedules under the pretext of injury and laid down next to her, staring at Iris’s pretty face.
He wondered what she was thinking. After hearing whose son he was, he wanted to know her honest feelings.
Iris opened her eyes, as if his complex feelings had reached her.
She stared at Hayer with her calm and beautiful eyes that seemed to be filled with moonlight, and asked.
“What are you thinking?”
“I want to know what you’re thinking?”
“You’re the same as me…”
Hayer’s relationship with her, there was one strange thing. You feel anxious when you’re far away, and you feel relieved when you’re close.
All the relationships he had built so far had been the opposite. He was relieved when he was farther away, and the closer he got, the more anxious he was.
As Iris closed her eyes, the heaviness that had accumulated in his heart melted away when she asked what he was thinking.
Iris couldn’t get up because she was exhausted, so she closed her eyes again and muttered.
“Hayer.”
“Yes.”
“If your father starts a war, and the opportunity comes to me, I will kill Carl Lassor.”
She said something with a heavy face in the morning.
Hayer replied nonchalantly.
“I don’t mind at all.”
“…Really?”
“I don’t know him well, and I’ve never even seen him in the first place.”
Iris gave a small smile at Hayer’s unperturbed reaction.
“I’m glad to hear that. Now, it’s time…”
Iris, who was about to get up, gave up and laid down again.
“…I’ll have to rest a little longer before I get up.”
Hayer burst into laughter at Iris’s diminished voice.
Iris asked when Hayer sighed because he didn’t want to budge by her side, even though he couldn’t postpone the schedule any longer.
“Wounds, does it hurt a lot?”
“It’s all right because I smoked painkillers.”
“You didn’t smoke, did you?”
Hayer responded awkwardly to her words.
“Well, maybe the painkillers are very strong, but other people stumble just by smelling it.”
“Are you not using painkillers because of me?”
“Rather than that, I want to be with you…”
“Get out.”
“……”
“Don’t pretend you didn’t hear it.”
Hayer sighed heavily as Iris kicked him out. Then he buried his face in her chest and got up.
Iris had a lot of work to do after kicking out Hayer, who seemed to be dying because he didn’t want to be separated. First, she rang the bell to call Madeleine.
Madeleine, whose due date was not far away, approached the bedroom.
“What’s wrong?”
Madeleine looked very tired, perhaps enjoying the party in her own way the day before.
Iris said, tapping the bed.
“Sit down, I have a favour to ask of you.”
At her words, Madeleine sat on the bed.
Iris took a deep breath and opened her mouth.
“As you know, Hayer will now set out to prove the corruption of the sacred tree.”
“Will he be all right? If he gets hurt…”
“I will go too.”
“…Pardon?”
And Iris was going to find that talking monster.
Madeleine’s face went pale when she heard Iris was about to go down a dangerous path.
“What if it’s dangerous?”
“Even if I don’t go, Luwan’s land will eventually become dangerous.”
“Still…”
“Madeleine.”
Iris continued, looking at her with a determined face.
“Your baby is about to be born. We need to make sure that they can grow up too.”
Madeleine, who was worried by her words, paused.
A moment later, when she barely nodded, Iris said.
“I have a request to ask of you.”
“What… is the request?”
When Madeleine asked, Iris answered carefully.
“If anyone finds me, do my part.”
“…Pardon?”
Iris explained everything to Madeleine. That she must enter the country without permission, that she had to stay in Luwan to the king of Siere.
“I’ll tell everyone around me, so everyone will think of you as me.”
Madeleine was listening to her as if she had been possessed.
A stand-in for Iris Lepos.
“Can I do it?”
“Yes.”
Iris nodded.
“You are bold.”
“M-Me? I’m a coward!”
“The coward is me, I’ve been protected in the name of a monastery and a royal palace all my life.”
“No. The Princess is never a coward.”
Iris smiled gratefully at Madeleine’s firm words.
“Then let’s pretend that neither of us is a coward.”
“Yes, that would be better!”
Madeleine answered loudly, looked around, then covered her mouth with her hand and murmured.
“I don’t know when Lady Agatha will come running and nag me, so I’m scared… I can’t say anything.”
Iris burst into laughter at her grumbling. She already felt a little lonely to be away from Madeleine and Agatha, whom she had been together with for a while.
─── ⋅ ∙ ∘ ☽ ༓ ☾ ∘ ⋅ ⋅ ───
After persuading a stand-in to fill her vacant position, Iris moved on to the second task.
What she wanted to do now was to meet Zeniel, the sage who came with Kernin. Iris was appalled by the man’s presence, and she didn’t want to go near him, but she couldn’t pretend not to know forever.
Iris headed toward the small chapel inside the palace where Zeniel was.
This small chapel was a space where only the king’s immediate family could enter, unlike the royal temple where everyone went in and out of. And a sage could also enter there.
Iris was moving toward the small chapel, and spotted Annamaria entering the gate of the palace.
“Dame Annamaria.”
When she called, Annamaria, whose expression was hardened, smiled and said.
“Princess.”
“Where did you go…”
Iris, who was glad to ask so, fell silent as the wind blew in her direction and she smelled the scent of blood.
Annamaria broke the rules of the Knights of Tejas and said she would kill her subordinate Don with her own hands for leaking the secret that Hayer had cut off the sacred tree. So, maybe.
Iris initiated conversation without asking her in detail.
“I’m going to the small chapel.”
“Uh, I… of course.”
“Do you want to go with me?”
“I…”
When Annamaria felt terrible guilt and couldn’t speak, Iris quickly noticed and murmured.
“You didn’t kill him.”
“H-How did you know?”
Annamaria asked back, wide-eyed, then continued with a sigh.
“No. You know, Don is trash. Freya, who married him, is a very nice person. How can a pagan woman run away alone?”
“So?”
“I just… I cut off one arm so that he couldn’t hold a sword again. As a knight, I definitely killed him.”
Annamaria made a blubbering excuse.
Iris said.
“I’ll keep it a secret.”
“Are you okay? Because of that light-mouthed guy, the captain…”
“I’m fine. I don’t know if Hayer will be okay.”
“Please keep it a secret…”
“All right.”
When Iris nodded, Annamaria was relieved and said.
“Then, you can call me Ann instead.”
“Dame, too.”
“I can’t. Knights, we can’t be friends with royalty.”
“I see. All right.”
Iris nodded in agreement.
The two soon arrived at the small chapel deep in the palace. Annamaria waited in front of the chapel, and Iris went inside.
This very small dome was built with ancient technology, and was now a structure that could not even be rebuilt. Iris walked to Zeniel, who was praying on one side of the chapel.
No matter how much she judged him to be an enemy, she couldn’t talk to him while he was praying, so Iris stood still and waited for his prayer to end.
After a while, Zeniel finished praying and got up. Then he asked Iris.
“What brings you here?”
Iris stared vacantly at Zeniel. At first glance, she thought he looked kind, but when she looked closely, she thought he was giving off a sharp impression with his glasses.
“I have a lot of questions.”
“Which parts?”
“Are you going to tell me?”
“If you come closer.”
Zeniel said and beckoned.
Iris said to the outside.
“Ann, if I don’t come out after counting to one hundred, please come in.”
“Yes, Princess.”
Hearing Annamaria’s answer, Iris walked closer to Zeniel.
As she approached, Zeniel strode right in front of her and opened his mouth.
“Ah, you are as beautiful as the portrait.”
“Don’t say useless things.”
“I am saying what I want to say. It has nothing to do with being useless to the princess.”
In order not to get caught up in Zeniel’s leisurely talk, Iris immediately brought up the main topic.
“What I want to ask is.”
“It was before crossing the North Gate.”
“……”
When he intercepted her question, Iris shut up because she couldn’t think of anything to say for a moment.
Zeniel continued.
“You wonder if Sir Hayer knew at that time that he was the son of the king of Siere?”
“…Yes.”
“He knew, that Sir.”
“All right.”
Iris felt danger and said.
“I wish he knew that.”
He grabbed her arm as she tried to distance herself from Zeniel. Then he said, pulling her towards him.
“Even knowing that, he sided with the king of Siere during the war.”
Iris, who was about to shake off her arm at his words, paused.
afterword
clingy hayer at the beginning </3 now i’m even more curious about hayer’s pov from before the north gate, i rly hope we get to see it one day (editor me: we do)
