“There was no accurate record of your treason. It is written that you tried to curse the king to kill him, but it’s not clear whether it’s possible to kill someone only with a curse like the ruling at the time. The Kitasha family wants a reinvestigation.”
To his words, Zeniel replied.
“The Kitasha family’s suspicion is correct. I… have never actually committed treason.”
Zeniel continued to talk with a stiff face just thinking about it.
“My only sin is that the blood of the monster flows in me. For that reason, one day…”
It really just happened one day out of the blue. Zeniel remembered the moment when he was suddenly being dragged out of the temple, saying that he was mixed with monster blood. The moment when both arms were caught and dragged facing the statue of Tilla.
At that moment, he remembered the cruel god Tilla, who was gradually moving away.
But he soon slipped out of the memory. The time spent trying to escape was too long, and the memory was already hazy.
Zeniel smiled as usual again and said.
“Too much time has passed in the meantime. If I were dissatisfied with the regime, wouldn’t 300 years be enough to forget?”
While he was talking calmly, a Royal Knight came running from outside.
“It’s a son!”
Upon hearing that, Kernin smiled. After driving out King Eswa and overturning the country, a child was born to be his strong successor.
─── ⋅ ∙ ∘ ☽ ༓ ☾ ∘ ⋅ ⋅ ───
Iris, who changed her clothes, looked very embarrassed.
Originally, Siere was a hot country compared to Luwan. Luwan had never been so hot that it took her breath away in midsummer, and Iris had even grown up in the cold north.
Therefore, she was used to wearing clothes long enough to cover her wrists and ankles, so it was awkward to wear clothes that exposed her shoulders and was thin enough to flutter in the wind like butterfly wings.
“…Isn’t it strange?”
When she looked at Hayer because her clothes were embarrassing, he also looked very awkward.
“Shoulders are too… Well, if you like it, that’s fine, but…”
“I don’t like it.”
It wasn’t until she expressed her opinion that Hayer gave his opinion.
“Me too. Seriously. Why does it show so much of the shoulders? Was the cloth a waste? Do you think fabric is expensive for Siere?”
Hayer quickly spilled his discontent. As expected, it was evident that he didn’t like the dress either.
Iris said while looking in the mirror.
“Though, it would be comfortable when dancing. My clothes are light.”
“You don’t have to find a good point.”
“Is it that bad?”
She still thought the clothes were pretty, but Hayer was so abhorred that Iris looked back at him and asked.
Then Hayer hesitated and shook his head hastily.
“No. Of course… Of course you’re beautiful, but…”
Hayer, who was usually so good at talking, gave up explaining after uttering gibberish. Then he said with a face that knew he didn’t make sense.
“If you’re cold, I can take off my jacket.”
“This is the desert, Hayer.”
“…It is.”
Hayer replied a beat late.
After that, he inadvertently grabbed her by the shoulder as they moved to the dinner venue, and hurriedly removed his hand as soon as it touched her bare skin. And eventually, he put out his arm so that they could link arms.
Even as he was walking down the hall, he made it clear that he didn’t like people looking at Iris.
Only after seeing his behaviour did Iris realize that Hayer was having a very hard time with her shoulders being revealed.
“You don’t like others seeing me?”
“…Those sorts of words make me look crude.”
“It’s just a question. Don’t overreact.”
“I’m not overreacting… No, is this right? Showing your shoulders this much? Isn’t this dress failing to function as a garment?”
Hayer took out his anger on her clothes like that, then took Iris’s hand back and wrapped it around his arm and said.
“Honestly, you’re pretty. Well, you’re always pretty. I’m a little dizzy today.”
“You exaggerate…”
“What do you mean exaggerate? I’m serious. If I stumble in the middle, it’s because I saw you. I’m afraid you’re a fairy, by the way. You shouldn’t be.”
Iris was embarrassed by Hayer’s joke-mixed seriousness and stepped on his foot slightly.
“Stop it.”
“What?”
“Complimenting.”
“How is it a compliment to worry about being a fairy? I’m concerned.”
His impudence made Iris’s ears turn light pink.
Hayer thought it was lovely to have her fair skin coloured, but on the other hand, he thought it was a little racy, so he stopped playing around. The mere exposure of her shoulders raised his dissatisfaction enough.
Iris, wearing a veil covering her face, moved with Hayer to the banquet hall.
The two soon arrived at the banquet hall in Virore Castle. Since it was not completely out of the desert, it could still enjoy the desert night sky.
Since it hardly rained in the desert, the banquet hall was located on a huge terrace.
Iris smiled vainly as she looked down at the high castle walls.
“I’ve never seen such a dangerous banquet hall.”
“This, you could get drunk and die instantly.”
“The sand is surprisingly soft, so it might be okay.”
Hayer burst into laughter at Iris’s answer.
It was an unfamiliar place, so Hayer muffled his laugh and replied with a grimace.
“I have to ask if anyone has fallen. When someone gets a little drunk.”
While they were talking like that, Carl Lassor entered the banquet hall.
Hayer turned to him, bowed slightly, and went back to the table to eat with Iris.
Carl Lassor opened his mouth.
“Come and sit down, my son.”
At his call, Hayer had no choice but to head to the seat next to Carl Lassor. He spoke politely to the king before sitting down.
“The woman I brought is of humble status, so it is difficult to have her sit at the same table as Your Majesty.”
While he was talking, he saw a woman standing behind him, brought by Carl Lassor.
She looked five or six years younger than the king, and a woman of an aristocratic family. Probably the king’s lover. By looking at her dress, Hayer could immediately tell whose Iris was wearing.
Carl Lassor said.
“Sit close.”
At the returned order, Hayer had no choice but to go back to the railing to pick up Iris. And he whispered in her ear as he took her with him.
“My father wants a great deal of things. I’m glad I didn’t grow up here.”
Iris laughed softly at the joke to ease her tension.
Soon the four sat at the table, and dinner began. Iris involuntarily bit her lip at the simple dishes on the table.
Carl Lassor, who moved here to avoid the monsters, was eating a meal that was hard to call a dinner. She considered it reasonable.
Iris had no choice but to accept little by little that no matter how evil he was to the Luwans, he was a monarch who created a place to live for the people of his country.
Obviously, at least, King Carl was a better person than King Eswa.
Iris cut the well-steamed potatoes without additional ingredients and put them in her mouth. It was only potatoes for the royal family of Luwan, but it was a delicacy for people who crossed the desert eating only dried food.
Iris ate the potatoes in admiration, while Hayer asked King Carl.
“What’s the situation in the capital? Did all the people in the capital come to Virore?”
“The situation is not that dangerous and bad. It’s not that there are many monsters. However.”
“Yes.”
“It has become increasingly difficult to distinguish between monsters and humans, so we just reduced the population of the capital.”
“…If there are many people, the monsters will imitate them.”
“Instead, we are bringing wild dogs and taming them. We want the monsters to imitate a wild dog.”
Hayer nodded, and Iris paused.
A monster in human form.
Iris once again knew why the Sieres were able to capture Luwan and kill countless people without hesitation.
It was impossible to completely separate form and essence. The Sieres, who had been dealing with monsters in human form, could have gotten used to killing people in human form.
Therefore, the Sieres would have easily killed the Luwans for their own livelihood. Whether it was a child or an old man. Since they had been killing beings that might be monsters.
What would have happened if they hadn’t gone back in time?
There was no law keeping the increased monsters from the capital of Siere from crossing the Luwan border. Perhaps they were increasing and killing the Sieres who took possession of the land of Luwan.
Eventually, this land must have become the land of monsters.
Iris closed her eyes for a moment.
Until she came here, she never wanted to understand the Sieres in the slightest. But from the very moment she arrived in Siere, she was finding out the reasons for their actions. The manifestation and purpose of the cruelty.
As Iris swallowed the pain, disgusted with herself for understanding it, King Carl looked at her and said.
“I want to see your face.”
She hastily turned to Carl Lassor.
afterword
nooo hayer’s supposed to be a “it’s okay babe wear whatever you want, i can fight” guy noooo
“There was no accurate record of your treason. It is written that you tried to curse the king to kill him, but it’s not clear whether it’s possible to kill someone only with a curse like the ruling at the time. The Kitasha family wants a reinvestigation.”
To his words, Zeniel replied.
“The Kitasha family’s suspicion is correct. I… have never actually committed treason.”
Zeniel continued to talk with a stiff face just thinking about it.
“My only sin is that the blood of the monster flows in me. For that reason, one day…”
It really just happened one day out of the blue. Zeniel remembered the moment when he was suddenly being dragged out of the temple, saying that he was mixed with monster blood. The moment when both arms were caught and dragged facing the statue of Tilla.
At that moment, he remembered the cruel god Tilla, who was gradually moving away.
But he soon slipped out of the memory. The time spent trying to escape was too long, and the memory was already hazy.
Zeniel smiled as usual again and said.
“Too much time has passed in the meantime. If I were dissatisfied with the regime, wouldn’t 300 years be enough to forget?”
While he was talking calmly, a Royal Knight came running from outside.
“It’s a son!”
Upon hearing that, Kernin smiled. After driving out King Eswa and overturning the country, a child was born to be his strong successor.
─── ⋅ ∙ ∘ ☽ ༓ ☾ ∘ ⋅ ⋅ ───
Iris, who changed her clothes, looked very embarrassed.
Originally, Siere was a hot country compared to Luwan. Luwan had never been so hot that it took her breath away in midsummer, and Iris had even grown up in the cold north.
Therefore, she was used to wearing clothes long enough to cover her wrists and ankles, so it was awkward to wear clothes that exposed her shoulders and was thin enough to flutter in the wind like butterfly wings.
“…Isn’t it strange?”
When she looked at Hayer because her clothes were embarrassing, he also looked very awkward.
“Shoulders are too… Well, if you like it, that’s fine, but…”
“I don’t like it.”
It wasn’t until she expressed her opinion that Hayer gave his opinion.
“Me too. Seriously. Why does it show so much of the shoulders? Was the cloth a waste? Do you think fabric is expensive for Siere?”
Hayer quickly spilled his discontent. As expected, it was evident that he didn’t like the dress either.
Iris said while looking in the mirror.
“Though, it would be comfortable when dancing. My clothes are light.”
“You don’t have to find a good point.”
“Is it that bad?”
She still thought the clothes were pretty, but Hayer was so abhorred that Iris looked back at him and asked.
Then Hayer hesitated and shook his head hastily.
“No. Of course… Of course you’re beautiful, but…”
Hayer, who was usually so good at talking, gave up explaining after uttering gibberish. Then he said with a face that knew he didn’t make sense.
“If you’re cold, I can take off my jacket.”
“This is the desert, Hayer.”
“…It is.”
Hayer replied a beat late.
After that, he inadvertently grabbed her by the shoulder as they moved to the dinner venue, and hurriedly removed his hand as soon as it touched her bare skin. And eventually, he put out his arm so that they could link arms.
Even as he was walking down the hall, he made it clear that he didn’t like people looking at Iris.
Only after seeing his behaviour did Iris realize that Hayer was having a very hard time with her shoulders being revealed.
“You don’t like others seeing me?”
“…Those sorts of words make me look crude.”
“It’s just a question. Don’t overreact.”
“I’m not overreacting… No, is this right? Showing your shoulders this much? Isn’t this dress failing to function as a garment?”
Hayer took out his anger on her clothes like that, then took Iris’s hand back and wrapped it around his arm and said.
“Honestly, you’re pretty. Well, you’re always pretty. I’m a little dizzy today.”
“You exaggerate…”
“What do you mean exaggerate? I’m serious. If I stumble in the middle, it’s because I saw you. I’m afraid you’re a fairy, by the way. You shouldn’t be.”
Iris was embarrassed by Hayer’s joke-mixed seriousness and stepped on his foot slightly.
“Stop it.”
“What?”
“Complimenting.”
“How is it a compliment to worry about being a fairy? I’m concerned.”
His impudence made Iris’s ears turn light pink.
Hayer thought it was lovely to have her fair skin coloured, but on the other hand, he thought it was a little racy, so he stopped playing around. The mere exposure of her shoulders raised his dissatisfaction enough.
Iris, wearing a veil covering her face, moved with Hayer to the banquet hall.
The two soon arrived at the banquet hall in Virore Castle. Since it was not completely out of the desert, it could still enjoy the desert night sky.
Since it hardly rained in the desert, the banquet hall was located on a huge terrace.
Iris smiled vainly as she looked down at the high castle walls.
“I’ve never seen such a dangerous banquet hall.”
“This, you could get drunk and die instantly.”
“The sand is surprisingly soft, so it might be okay.”
Hayer burst into laughter at Iris’s answer.
It was an unfamiliar place, so Hayer muffled his laugh and replied with a grimace.
“I have to ask if anyone has fallen. When someone gets a little drunk.”
While they were talking like that, Carl Lassor entered the banquet hall.
Hayer turned to him, bowed slightly, and went back to the table to eat with Iris.
Carl Lassor opened his mouth.
“Come and sit down, my son.”
At his call, Hayer had no choice but to head to the seat next to Carl Lassor. He spoke politely to the king before sitting down.
“The woman I brought is of humble status, so it is difficult to have her sit at the same table as Your Majesty.”
While he was talking, he saw a woman standing behind him, brought by Carl Lassor.
She looked five or six years younger than the king, and a woman of an aristocratic family. Probably the king’s lover. By looking at her dress, Hayer could immediately tell whose Iris was wearing.
Carl Lassor said.
“Sit close.”
At the returned order, Hayer had no choice but to go back to the railing to pick up Iris. And he whispered in her ear as he took her with him.
“My father wants a great deal of things. I’m glad I didn’t grow up here.”
Iris laughed softly at the joke to ease her tension.
Soon the four sat at the table, and dinner began. Iris involuntarily bit her lip at the simple dishes on the table.
Carl Lassor, who moved here to avoid the monsters, was eating a meal that was hard to call a dinner. She considered it reasonable.
Iris had no choice but to accept little by little that no matter how evil he was to the Luwans, he was a monarch who created a place to live for the people of his country.
Obviously, at least, King Carl was a better person than King Eswa.
Iris cut the well-steamed potatoes without additional ingredients and put them in her mouth. It was only potatoes for the royal family of Luwan, but it was a delicacy for people who crossed the desert eating only dried food.
Iris ate the potatoes in admiration, while Hayer asked King Carl.
“What’s the situation in the capital? Did all the people in the capital come to Virore?”
“The situation is not that dangerous and bad. It’s not that there are many monsters. However.”
“Yes.”
“It has become increasingly difficult to distinguish between monsters and humans, so we just reduced the population of the capital.”
“…If there are many people, the monsters will imitate them.”
“Instead, we are bringing wild dogs and taming them. We want the monsters to imitate a wild dog.”
Hayer nodded, and Iris paused.
A monster in human form.
Iris once again knew why the Sieres were able to capture Luwan and kill countless people without hesitation.
It was impossible to completely separate form and essence. The Sieres, who had been dealing with monsters in human form, could have gotten used to killing people in human form.
Therefore, the Sieres would have easily killed the Luwans for their own livelihood. Whether it was a child or an old man. Since they had been killing beings that might be monsters.
What would have happened if they hadn’t gone back in time?
There was no law keeping the increased monsters from the capital of Siere from crossing the Luwan border. Perhaps they were increasing and killing the Sieres who took possession of the land of Luwan.
Eventually, this land must have become the land of monsters.
Iris closed her eyes for a moment.
Until she came here, she never wanted to understand the Sieres in the slightest. But from the very moment she arrived in Siere, she was finding out the reasons for their actions. The manifestation and purpose of the cruelty.
As Iris swallowed the pain, disgusted with herself for understanding it, King Carl looked at her and said.
“I want to see your face.”
She hastily turned to Carl Lassor.
afterword
nooo hayer’s supposed to be a “it’s okay babe wear whatever you want, i can fight” guy noooo
