Iris said, glaring at him.
“Do not lie.”
Zeniel grinned at her sharp voice.
“There’s nothing to be surprised about, isn’t there? That’s the only way to live.”
“Hayer went to the North Gate with me. He thought there was no other way to save Luwan.”
“No, the Lord entered the royal palace because he thought there was no one there.”
“……”
“Even if it’s not. In common sense, do you think Lord Hayer thought his brother was capable of finding the North Gate?”
“Nonetheless.”
“Yes.”
“Nonetheless, he went, after all.”
“……”
“Nonetheless, Hayer trusted me and went to the North Gate.”
Zeniel smiled at her words.
“Indeed, I have no choice but to admit that. Yes. Lord Hayer must have changed his mind the moment he saw the princess sitting on the throne.”
“See?”
“I’d fall in love with you, too. If I saw you protecting the royal palace alone, where everyone else had fled, with this fragile body. However… I’m sure even that changed mind wasn’t for Luwan.”
“……”
“The Lord hates Luwan, on the inside. I can feel it. Because he cut down the sacred tree. He and I are, so to speak, connected through the roots of the sacred tree.”
“Hayer chose Luwan at the end. That is the final decision he made.”
“No. That alone does not define Hayer Asheri.”
Zeniel shook his head and continued.
“Don’t you know? Life is the sum of countless moments.”
“……”
“There are not many people in the world who are like Princess Iris. Is there one in a hundred? Most people follow circumstances. Although Lord Hayer possessed tremendous power, he was essentially an ordinary person. This time, too, he will choose to save himself, no, the people he cares about. Even if thousands of people choose to die.”
Having said that, Zeniel let go of her arm, and then Annamaria’s voice was heard.
“I shall go in, Princess!”
“It’s all right. I’m going out.”
As Iris turned around, she heard Zeniel’s voice.
“Of course, I also know that the Lord loved the princess at that time.”
“……”
“Do you want to know?”
“No.”
Iris resumed her halted steps.
“The only thing that matters is now.”
Hearing her receding voice, Zeniel laughed loudly.
Shortly after Iris left, Zeniel also left the chapel. He looked up at the white moon that rose during the day and tried to figure out who it wanted.
Zeniel murmured.
“Tilla, whoever you want to be the king… they won’t be able to sit on the throne anyway.”
The monsters will bite off their head before then.
He smiled delightedly.
─── ⋅ ∙ ∘ ☽ ༓ ☾ ∘ ⋅ ⋅ ───
Iris’s face was pale as she came out of the chapel, and Annamaria asked anxiously.
“Did something happen?”
“Hmm…”
Iris stopped and asked Annamaria.
“Can I ask you something about Hayer?”
“Yes, of course. I’ll tell you everything.”
“Is Hayer good at lying?”
“At lying?”
When Annamaria was puzzled, Iris added an explanation.
“As needed. A white lie.”
Annamaria had a slightly troubled look on her face. After a long pause, she replied.
“Yes. The captain, if necessary, would be willing to lie.”
“I see.”
Iris nodded and asked again.
“When?”
“Hmm. Probably when we seem to be stubborn, right? It’s troublesome to persuade one by one.”
“Troublesome?”
“It’s an important issue, but when there’s no time for that. We try to follow orders as best as possible, but the captain always accepts our opinions, so we end up asserting ourselves.”
“……”
“First and foremost is His Majesty the King, who must be protected, and then our lives. In those two cases, he would lie.”
Iris nodded at Annamaria’s words.
She didn’t completely believe what Zeniel said. But she thought it made some sense.
Before going to the North Gate together, he might have really come there to get his hands on Luwan’s royal palace.
But the moment he met her, he changed his mind and headed for the North Gate together. And on the way, he suggested a game to find a way to save Luwan. It made her aware.
He acted like a laid-back old man who originally lived in the terrible northern cold. Walking like that, he took her to the North Gate.
Iris closed her eyes for a moment and recalled Hayer’s voice.
“My subordinates are hard to deal with. Everyone has their own voice. If you thought you couldn’t find the way, you would have lied so that you couldn’t go, but for you to have gone this far, you must have seen something while guarding the throne.”
She had thought about it many times, and considered many things. But the answer was the same.
What he said at that time had the real intention that she should become king. He obviously thought so, then. That was the way to save Luwan, which he thought during the long journey to the North Gate.
After thinking that way, Iris returned to her room and immediately began preparing to go to Siere.
No matter who became king, the outcome was the same if all the sacred trees on this continent were not cut down. The continent would be covered with monsters, and humans would die out.
Iris was sure. Therefore, she had no choice but to walk on the visible road to Siere now.
When she came out of the convent, there was only one bag of luggage, but while she was in the royal palace, the items increased tremendously.
However, she didn’t need a lot of clothes anyway, and she couldn’t carry jewellery. She wore the things she had to take, mostly gifts from Hayer. Her hands became busier and busier as she packed so much.
Each person had a different feeling of fear. Some people were afraid of ghosts, others were afraid of tiny dogs. Or there were people who were afraid of heights and dark places like Iris.
On the other hand, there were areas where fear was not particularly felt, and for Iris, it was to visit unfamiliar places.
Crossing the border at the risk of her life.
She was perfectly happy with the fact.
─── ⋅ ∙ ∘ ☽ ༓ ☾ ∘ ⋅ ⋅ ───
It was a denied entry. They were going to wait until late at night and quietly leave the royal palace.
It was late at night, and Hayer, who came to the room to pick up Iris, paused at her outfit.
Having black hair or blue eyes would not identify her as a member of the Lepos family, but Iris had both. Above all, her face had all the typical features of the Lepos family beauties.
So the choice was to dye her hair.
She chose red. This was because it was easy to spot the black roots showing up when the hair grew out if it was dyed too bright.
So Iris, with her red hair in a tight braid, was just new and lovely in Hayer’s eyes.
He asked.
“What about your clothes? Where did you get them?”
“Agatha saved me. These are the clothes you wear at a masquerade.”
Luwan’s masquerade was a very secret event.
If you deliver an invitation through someone you know, the place was written there. Then the nobles headed to the masquerade without knowing who was who.
Because it was a party to hide one’s appearance, most of them wore simple clothes and masks. In other words, the life of a petit bourgeois was used as the subject of the party.
The clothes Iris wore seemed to have been bought with money from a farmer.
The fabric used in ordinary clothes, worn by farm women and royalty, was not much different. The only difference was the number of clothes they had.
Most farmers had two sets of clothes. Old clothes for work and relatively clean clothes for going to temples.
The clothes Iris wore were made of wool and vermilion dye from the roots of plants. It was a moderately worn outfit.
Hayer asked with a playful look on his face.
“So how did we meet?”
“You came to our farmhouse to avoid the rain.”
“So what?”
“I fell in love and ran away from home.”
Hayer burst into laughter at her words and said.
“All right. Let’s go together with that kind of relationship.”
He seemed to like Iris’s disguise.
When Hayer was having too much fun, Iris rebuked him.
“What’s so funny? And we just met. I think it’d be better if it was a bit awkward.”
“I’ll do that.”
“Or, pretending to be the lover of another knight is safe…”
“Let’s go. We’d better leave early.”
Before Iris made an overturning suggestion, Hayer interrupted her and led her outside.
After a while, Hayer’s elite knights and Iris rode through the night on horseback.
Iris said, glaring at him.
“Do not lie.”
Zeniel grinned at her sharp voice.
“There’s nothing to be surprised about, isn’t there? That’s the only way to live.”
“Hayer went to the North Gate with me. He thought there was no other way to save Luwan.”
“No, the Lord entered the royal palace because he thought there was no one there.”
“……”
“Even if it’s not. In common sense, do you think Lord Hayer thought his brother was capable of finding the North Gate?”
“Nonetheless.”
“Yes.”
“Nonetheless, he went, after all.”
“……”
“Nonetheless, Hayer trusted me and went to the North Gate.”
Zeniel smiled at her words.
“Indeed, I have no choice but to admit that. Yes. Lord Hayer must have changed his mind the moment he saw the princess sitting on the throne.”
“See?”
“I’d fall in love with you, too. If I saw you protecting the royal palace alone, where everyone else had fled, with this fragile body. However… I’m sure even that changed mind wasn’t for Luwan.”
“……”
“The Lord hates Luwan, on the inside. I can feel it. Because he cut down the sacred tree. He and I are, so to speak, connected through the roots of the sacred tree.”
“Hayer chose Luwan at the end. That is the final decision he made.”
“No. That alone does not define Hayer Asheri.”
Zeniel shook his head and continued.
“Don’t you know? Life is the sum of countless moments.”
“……”
“There are not many people in the world who are like Princess Iris. Is there one in a hundred? Most people follow circumstances. Although Lord Hayer possessed tremendous power, he was essentially an ordinary person. This time, too, he will choose to save himself, no, the people he cares about. Even if thousands of people choose to die.”
Having said that, Zeniel let go of her arm, and then Annamaria’s voice was heard.
“I shall go in, Princess!”
“It’s all right. I’m going out.”
As Iris turned around, she heard Zeniel’s voice.
“Of course, I also know that the Lord loved the princess at that time.”
“……”
“Do you want to know?”
“No.”
Iris resumed her halted steps.
“The only thing that matters is now.”
Hearing her receding voice, Zeniel laughed loudly.
Shortly after Iris left, Zeniel also left the chapel. He looked up at the white moon that rose during the day and tried to figure out who it wanted.
Zeniel murmured.
“Tilla, whoever you want to be the king… they won’t be able to sit on the throne anyway.”
The monsters will bite off their head before then.
He smiled delightedly.
─── ⋅ ∙ ∘ ☽ ༓ ☾ ∘ ⋅ ⋅ ───
Iris’s face was pale as she came out of the chapel, and Annamaria asked anxiously.
“Did something happen?”
“Hmm…”
Iris stopped and asked Annamaria.
“Can I ask you something about Hayer?”
“Yes, of course. I’ll tell you everything.”
“Is Hayer good at lying?”
“At lying?”
When Annamaria was puzzled, Iris added an explanation.
“As needed. A white lie.”
Annamaria had a slightly troubled look on her face. After a long pause, she replied.
“Yes. The captain, if necessary, would be willing to lie.”
“I see.”
Iris nodded and asked again.
“When?”
“Hmm. Probably when we seem to be stubborn, right? It’s troublesome to persuade one by one.”
“Troublesome?”
“It’s an important issue, but when there’s no time for that. We try to follow orders as best as possible, but the captain always accepts our opinions, so we end up asserting ourselves.”
“……”
“First and foremost is His Majesty the King, who must be protected, and then our lives. In those two cases, he would lie.”
Iris nodded at Annamaria’s words.
She didn’t completely believe what Zeniel said. But she thought it made some sense.
Before going to the North Gate together, he might have really come there to get his hands on Luwan’s royal palace.
But the moment he met her, he changed his mind and headed for the North Gate together. And on the way, he suggested a game to find a way to save Luwan. It made her aware.
He acted like a laid-back old man who originally lived in the terrible northern cold. Walking like that, he took her to the North Gate.
Iris closed her eyes for a moment and recalled Hayer’s voice.
“My subordinates are hard to deal with. Everyone has their own voice. If you thought you couldn’t find the way, you would have lied so that you couldn’t go, but for you to have gone this far, you must have seen something while guarding the throne.”
She had thought about it many times, and considered many things. But the answer was the same.
What he said at that time had the real intention that she should become king. He obviously thought so, then. That was the way to save Luwan, which he thought during the long journey to the North Gate.
After thinking that way, Iris returned to her room and immediately began preparing to go to Siere.
No matter who became king, the outcome was the same if all the sacred trees on this continent were not cut down. The continent would be covered with monsters, and humans would die out.
Iris was sure. Therefore, she had no choice but to walk on the visible road to Siere now.
When she came out of the convent, there was only one bag of luggage, but while she was in the royal palace, the items increased tremendously.
However, she didn’t need a lot of clothes anyway, and she couldn’t carry jewellery. She wore the things she had to take, mostly gifts from Hayer. Her hands became busier and busier as she packed so much.
Each person had a different feeling of fear. Some people were afraid of ghosts, others were afraid of tiny dogs. Or there were people who were afraid of heights and dark places like Iris.
On the other hand, there were areas where fear was not particularly felt, and for Iris, it was to visit unfamiliar places.
Crossing the border at the risk of her life.
She was perfectly happy with the fact.
─── ⋅ ∙ ∘ ☽ ༓ ☾ ∘ ⋅ ⋅ ───
It was a denied entry. They were going to wait until late at night and quietly leave the royal palace.
It was late at night, and Hayer, who came to the room to pick up Iris, paused at her outfit.
Having black hair or blue eyes would not identify her as a member of the Lepos family, but Iris had both. Above all, her face had all the typical features of the Lepos family beauties.
So the choice was to dye her hair.
She chose red. This was because it was easy to spot the black roots showing up when the hair grew out if it was dyed too bright.
So Iris, with her red hair in a tight braid, was just new and lovely in Hayer’s eyes.
He asked.
“What about your clothes? Where did you get them?”
“Agatha saved me. These are the clothes you wear at a masquerade.”
Luwan’s masquerade was a very secret event.
If you deliver an invitation through someone you know, the place was written there. Then the nobles headed to the masquerade without knowing who was who.
Because it was a party to hide one’s appearance, most of them wore simple clothes and masks. In other words, the life of a petit bourgeois was used as the subject of the party.
The clothes Iris wore seemed to have been bought with money from a farmer.
The fabric used in ordinary clothes, worn by farm women and royalty, was not much different. The only difference was the number of clothes they had.
Most farmers had two sets of clothes. Old clothes for work and relatively clean clothes for going to temples.
The clothes Iris wore were made of wool and vermilion dye from the roots of plants. It was a moderately worn outfit.
Hayer asked with a playful look on his face.
“So how did we meet?”
“You came to our farmhouse to avoid the rain.”
“So what?”
“I fell in love and ran away from home.”
Hayer burst into laughter at her words and said.
“All right. Let’s go together with that kind of relationship.”
He seemed to like Iris’s disguise.
When Hayer was having too much fun, Iris rebuked him.
“What’s so funny? And we just met. I think it’d be better if it was a bit awkward.”
“I’ll do that.”
“Or, pretending to be the lover of another knight is safe…”
“Let’s go. We’d better leave early.”
Before Iris made an overturning suggestion, Hayer interrupted her and led her outside.
After a while, Hayer’s elite knights and Iris rode through the night on horseback.
