Iris and Hayer packed their respective bags to depart for the capital of Siere.
They were having a quiet morning, but it was noisy outside. Iris looked out of the window, and children were running around after seeing the rain for the first time in a long while. The Tejas Knights were also seen kicking a ball and playing with the children.
Iris watched the scene quietly, and Hayer looked out together with her. He soon opened his mouth.
“Now, we play well with both desert children and Siere children, but when we first met the Kawats in the mountains, we couldn’t do that at all.”
“Really?”
Now that she had only seen the Knights play well with anyone regardless of religion, Iris found Hayer’s words peculiar.
When she thought about it, she was astonished, and Hayer laughed and continued.
“At first, the Kawats and our knights were very wary of each other and never talked to each other. As arrogant as our knights were, they didn’t treat us like human beings either.”
“How did you solve it?”
“Solve? Solve. I’ve never thought of it with those words…”
Hayer looked at the knights for a moment before carrying on.
“The only thing that went by was time.”
He first remembered Annamaria running with wide eyes.
“Captain! I found something really fascinating!”
“What is it?”
“The Kawats also enjoy telling ghost stories.”
“Is that fascinating?”
“It’s fascinating! Isn’t it that they also enjoyed something?”
Annamaria’s words, frankly, were a bit of a wonder for Hayer.
One day, when he remembered it, a walking monster appeared in the village. That day, Hayer lost a subordinate.
Somehow, the monster was defeated, but Hayer needed a place to cry.
It was rare to lose a subordinate in Luwan, where there was no war. Thinking about what to say to the parents and how to tell them made him want to cry.
Still, he couldn’t cry in front of his subordinates, so he went into the forest and sat under a big tree.
He settled down like that, but he didn’t even cry properly.
So just as he was lowering his head, a Kawat child sneaked up on him. Then he patted his leg with one hand, and found the child comforting him.
After talking with the child for a while, Hayer asked because he thought he should talk to him about something.
“Do you like scary stories too?”
When he asked, the child nodded, and Hayer said.
“If you know any, tell one for me.”
“Hmm… they say that hands stick out when you stare at our village well for a long time at night!”
“…Augh. How could you tell me a really scary story?”
Hayer turned his head with a shudder, and the child asked excitedly.
“Are you scared?”
“I actually can’t listen to scary stories. I’m scared of many things like that…”
“You don’t look scared at all!”
“Don’t judge me by my looks, will you?”
While he was talking like that, the child’s parents came running in surprise. Then they grabbed the child hastily and disappeared as if running away.
However, rumours circulated among the children that Hayer was afraid of ghost stories, so Kawat children appeared at the garrison and chatted about scary stories to Hayer. Then the Knights of Tejas also came and listened in secret, and told them ghost stories they knew.
Thus, the Kawats and the Knights of Tejas began to mix little by little.
Hayer continued.
“When the walls of the human heart don’t melt, they really don’t melt like a stone, and on some days they disappear like pieces of ice thrown into the desert.”
“Hmm…”
Iris nodded and looked out the rainy window again.
Then they heard a frantic knock on the door.
“Captain! Captain!”
Hayer ran and opened the door when the messenger called urgently.
The messenger held out a note.
“It’s red.”
A red note was an emergency. It meant that it was so urgent that it could not be postponed even for a moment.
Hayer immediately checked the note handed over by the messenger.
Kernin Lepos treason scheme
Expected to start within a month
Treason.
Hayer handed the note to Iris without delay.
Iris checked the note and staggered against the wall in shock.
Kernin Lepos was a man who entered the Traitor’s Labyrinth and returned. Of course, he was entitled to be king.
There was also a justification because the reigning king was remarkably incompetent. Kernin seemed to have planned to turn over the royal palace without fear of the judgement of history.
Hayer identified another note that came with the red note. It was a letter from Iris’s father, Peter Wick.
It was a letter from his subordinate, so Hayer checked the contents first.
[Iris, my daughter.
Don’t come back and run away]
After receiving and reading the letter he handed over, Iris let out a pained breath.
There was a moment of silence, and the Knights of Tejas, who rushed to the fact that a red note had arrived, gathered in the hallway.
Hencke delivered the note to Annamaria.
Hencke broke the silence and opened his mouth.
“Captain, Princess. You two are Sir Kernin… No, the traitor Kernin Lepos’s biggest competitors. If you two die, we will be executed immediately.”
Hayer sighed and looked back at Iris and his subordinates. And said to Hencke.
“Contact Ato. Take the knights and escape to the garrison. And tell them to identify the great noble families attached to Kernin. If it was enough to decide on treason, more than two families would have been on Kernin’s side.”
“Yes, Captain. And…”
“Now that we’ve come this far, we can’t go back. Let’s go to the capital.”
“Yes, we will prepare.”
The Knights of Tejas all left to prepare to depart for the capital.
Hayer looked back at Iris, and she was deep in thought.
Hayer approached her and asked carefully.
“What are you thinking about?”
“Um…”
Iris murmured with difficulty.
“My lady-in-waiting may be in danger.”
“I’ll tell Ato to protect her. With Princess Celios.”
“……”
Iris laughed bitterly at his remark. Then she muttered, leaning her head against the wall.
“If the Royal Knights revolt, I don’t know who can stop them.”
“……”
“Hayer?”
“……”
“Hayer.”
It wasn’t until she called twice that Hayer spoke heavily.
“…Perhaps, those who used to be the Royal Knights will stop it. They will think that they are responsible for raising their juniors.”
“……”
“Sir Peter knew in advance about the treason, so he must be getting ready.”
Iris was staring blankly at Hayer because she was speechless at the unexpected answer.
She thought she had no feelings for her parents thus far. Because they didn’t actually help her grow up.
However, for this year, she was heartbroken by his words, perhaps because she spent time bickering with her parents or learning something while staying in the royal palace.
Iris covered her mouth with both hands and staggered back.
“I see.”
She mumbled. Other than that, nothing more was said.
She knew how concerned Luwan’s nobles were about their names that would go down in history. It was clear to the retired Royal Knights that it would be an absolute honour to prevent treason.
On the contrary, it would be a great disgrace if it were not stopped.
However, she decided.
“I will write a letter to my father.”
“He won’t listen.”
“But I still have to try.”
She picked up her pen at once. Then she wrote a letter to her father, Peter Wick.
─── ⋅ ∙ ∘ ☽ ༓ ☾ ∘ ⋅ ⋅ ───
Celios Lepos, Iris’s mother and the only child of the previous king, was looking at her husband, Peter Wick.
“It’s been quite a while since you retired. You’ve managed the uniform well.”
“Well, you like me.”
Celios’s eyes widened at his words and she asked.
“When did I like you?”
“Didn’t you like me from the beginning? Since I came here as a child of the Royal Knights.”
“That’s ridiculous, I was a child then.”
“…Are you going to do this?”
Peter made a miffed face, feeling wronged.
It’s not that it wasn’t, but Celios thought he was a little brazen, so she laughed out loud.
To the boy assigned as an escort knight, young Celios said she liked him as a joke every day. The boy was always affectionate to the little lady, and he was not angry no matter what she did.
Peter Wick was the one who kneeled down next to Celios and comforted her when she was sobbing because she was sad that her father had given the throne to her cousin.
Celios spoke again.
“Are you going to wear it every day?”
“Yes, we haven’t confirmed when the treason will begin. I’ll have to run right away.”
“…I see.”
Her response was a little slow, so Peter turned around and asked mischievously.
“Why, you don’t want me to go?”
“No. I’d be ashamed if you didn’t go.”
Celios pressed down on her rising emotions and continued speaking calmly.
“I don’t want my husband to leave a historical record of not fulfilling his duty.”
Peter said with a wry smile at her words.
“Yes. That answer is one of the tens of thousands of reasons why I love you.”
“The same goes for our daughter.”
“Yes.”
Peter continued with a happy look on his face.
“To my daughter, I wish I were a father who worked hard to protect the royal family.”
When he said that, a Tejas Knight knocked on the door. And after greeting politely, he handed the letter to Peter.
“Princess Iris said to deliver it.”
“Iris did?”
Peter took the letter in puzzlement. And his eyes grew at his daughter’s letter.
[You said you would sacrifice your life for my mother and me at any time.
Father, if Kernin becomes king, another heir to the throne will have to judge him. You must fight on my side then.
You said you would sacrifice your life for me. Were you just determined to lose your honour?
Father.
For me, your daughter, Iris Lepos, give up your honour and save your life this time.]
afterword
sorry for not updating for like… 2 weeks… life was pretty hectic but happy late lunar new year to those that celebrate!
Iris and Hayer packed their respective bags to depart for the capital of Siere.
They were having a quiet morning, but it was noisy outside. Iris looked out of the window, and children were running around after seeing the rain for the first time in a long while. The Tejas Knights were also seen kicking a ball and playing with the children.
Iris watched the scene quietly, and Hayer looked out together with her. He soon opened his mouth.
“Now, we play well with both desert children and Siere children, but when we first met the Kawats in the mountains, we couldn’t do that at all.”
“Really?”
Now that she had only seen the Knights play well with anyone regardless of religion, Iris found Hayer’s words peculiar.
When she thought about it, she was astonished, and Hayer laughed and continued.
“At first, the Kawats and our knights were very wary of each other and never talked to each other. As arrogant as our knights were, they didn’t treat us like human beings either.”
“How did you solve it?”
“Solve? Solve. I’ve never thought of it with those words…”
Hayer looked at the knights for a moment before carrying on.
“The only thing that went by was time.”
He first remembered Annamaria running with wide eyes.
“Captain! I found something really fascinating!”
“What is it?”
“The Kawats also enjoy telling ghost stories.”
“Is that fascinating?”
“It’s fascinating! Isn’t it that they also enjoyed something?”
Annamaria’s words, frankly, were a bit of a wonder for Hayer.
One day, when he remembered it, a walking monster appeared in the village. That day, Hayer lost a subordinate.
Somehow, the monster was defeated, but Hayer needed a place to cry.
It was rare to lose a subordinate in Luwan, where there was no war. Thinking about what to say to the parents and how to tell them made him want to cry.
Still, he couldn’t cry in front of his subordinates, so he went into the forest and sat under a big tree.
He settled down like that, but he didn’t even cry properly.
So just as he was lowering his head, a Kawat child sneaked up on him. Then he patted his leg with one hand, and found the child comforting him.
After talking with the child for a while, Hayer asked because he thought he should talk to him about something.
“Do you like scary stories too?”
When he asked, the child nodded, and Hayer said.
“If you know any, tell one for me.”
“Hmm… they say that hands stick out when you stare at our village well for a long time at night!”
“…Augh. How could you tell me a really scary story?”
Hayer turned his head with a shudder, and the child asked excitedly.
“Are you scared?”
“I actually can’t listen to scary stories. I’m scared of many things like that…”
“You don’t look scared at all!”
“Don’t judge me by my looks, will you?”
While he was talking like that, the child’s parents came running in surprise. Then they grabbed the child hastily and disappeared as if running away.
However, rumours circulated among the children that Hayer was afraid of ghost stories, so Kawat children appeared at the garrison and chatted about scary stories to Hayer. Then the Knights of Tejas also came and listened in secret, and told them ghost stories they knew.
Thus, the Kawats and the Knights of Tejas began to mix little by little.
Hayer continued.
“When the walls of the human heart don’t melt, they really don’t melt like a stone, and on some days they disappear like pieces of ice thrown into the desert.”
“Hmm…”
Iris nodded and looked out the rainy window again.
Then they heard a frantic knock on the door.
“Captain! Captain!”
Hayer ran and opened the door when the messenger called urgently.
The messenger held out a note.
“It’s red.”
A red note was an emergency. It meant that it was so urgent that it could not be postponed even for a moment.
Hayer immediately checked the note handed over by the messenger.
Kernin Lepos treason scheme
Expected to start within a month
Treason.
Hayer handed the note to Iris without delay.
Iris checked the note and staggered against the wall in shock.
Kernin Lepos was a man who entered the Traitor’s Labyrinth and returned. Of course, he was entitled to be king.
There was also a justification because the reigning king was remarkably incompetent. Kernin seemed to have planned to turn over the royal palace without fear of the judgement of history.
Hayer identified another note that came with the red note. It was a letter from Iris’s father, Peter Wick.
It was a letter from his subordinate, so Hayer checked the contents first.
[Iris, my daughter.
Don’t come back and run away]
After receiving and reading the letter he handed over, Iris let out a pained breath.
There was a moment of silence, and the Knights of Tejas, who rushed to the fact that a red note had arrived, gathered in the hallway.
Hencke delivered the note to Annamaria.
Hencke broke the silence and opened his mouth.
“Captain, Princess. You two are Sir Kernin… No, the traitor Kernin Lepos’s biggest competitors. If you two die, we will be executed immediately.”
Hayer sighed and looked back at Iris and his subordinates. And said to Hencke.
“Contact Ato. Take the knights and escape to the garrison. And tell them to identify the great noble families attached to Kernin. If it was enough to decide on treason, more than two families would have been on Kernin’s side.”
“Yes, Captain. And…”
“Now that we’ve come this far, we can’t go back. Let’s go to the capital.”
“Yes, we will prepare.”
The Knights of Tejas all left to prepare to depart for the capital.
Hayer looked back at Iris, and she was deep in thought.
Hayer approached her and asked carefully.
“What are you thinking about?”
“Um…”
Iris murmured with difficulty.
“My lady-in-waiting may be in danger.”
“I’ll tell Ato to protect her. With Princess Celios.”
“……”
Iris laughed bitterly at his remark. Then she muttered, leaning her head against the wall.
“If the Royal Knights revolt, I don’t know who can stop them.”
“……”
“Hayer?”
“……”
“Hayer.”
It wasn’t until she called twice that Hayer spoke heavily.
“…Perhaps, those who used to be the Royal Knights will stop it. They will think that they are responsible for raising their juniors.”
“……”
“Sir Peter knew in advance about the treason, so he must be getting ready.”
Iris was staring blankly at Hayer because she was speechless at the unexpected answer.
She thought she had no feelings for her parents thus far. Because they didn’t actually help her grow up.
However, for this year, she was heartbroken by his words, perhaps because she spent time bickering with her parents or learning something while staying in the royal palace.
Iris covered her mouth with both hands and staggered back.
“I see.”
She mumbled. Other than that, nothing more was said.
She knew how concerned Luwan’s nobles were about their names that would go down in history. It was clear to the retired Royal Knights that it would be an absolute honour to prevent treason.
On the contrary, it would be a great disgrace if it were not stopped.
However, she decided.
“I will write a letter to my father.”
“He won’t listen.”
“But I still have to try.”
She picked up her pen at once. Then she wrote a letter to her father, Peter Wick.
─── ⋅ ∙ ∘ ☽ ༓ ☾ ∘ ⋅ ⋅ ───
Celios Lepos, Iris’s mother and the only child of the previous king, was looking at her husband, Peter Wick.
“It’s been quite a while since you retired. You’ve managed the uniform well.”
“Well, you like me.”
Celios’s eyes widened at his words and she asked.
“When did I like you?”
“Didn’t you like me from the beginning? Since I came here as a child of the Royal Knights.”
“That’s ridiculous, I was a child then.”
“…Are you going to do this?”
Peter made a miffed face, feeling wronged.
It’s not that it wasn’t, but Celios thought he was a little brazen, so she laughed out loud.
To the boy assigned as an escort knight, young Celios said she liked him as a joke every day. The boy was always affectionate to the little lady, and he was not angry no matter what she did.
Peter Wick was the one who kneeled down next to Celios and comforted her when she was sobbing because she was sad that her father had given the throne to her cousin.
Celios spoke again.
“Are you going to wear it every day?”
“Yes, we haven’t confirmed when the treason will begin. I’ll have to run right away.”
“…I see.”
Her response was a little slow, so Peter turned around and asked mischievously.
“Why, you don’t want me to go?”
“No. I’d be ashamed if you didn’t go.”
Celios pressed down on her rising emotions and continued speaking calmly.
“I don’t want my husband to leave a historical record of not fulfilling his duty.”
Peter said with a wry smile at her words.
“Yes. That answer is one of the tens of thousands of reasons why I love you.”
“The same goes for our daughter.”
“Yes.”
Peter continued with a happy look on his face.
“To my daughter, I wish I were a father who worked hard to protect the royal family.”
When he said that, a Tejas Knight knocked on the door. And after greeting politely, he handed the letter to Peter.
“Princess Iris said to deliver it.”
“Iris did?”
Peter took the letter in puzzlement. And his eyes grew at his daughter’s letter.
[You said you would sacrifice your life for my mother and me at any time.
Father, if Kernin becomes king, another heir to the throne will have to judge him. You must fight on my side then.
You said you would sacrifice your life for me. Were you just determined to lose your honour?
Father.
For me, your daughter, Iris Lepos, give up your honour and save your life this time.]
afterword
sorry for not updating for like… 2 weeks… life was pretty hectic but happy late lunar new year to those that celebrate!
