Chapter 72: 72

After the farewell of Iris and the Knights of Tejas, who were leaving for the desert, King Eswa went up to the tower.

There were Sid Lepos, a son who thought he was already king, and Madeleine, the daughter of Kernin Lepos.

Despite inheriting royal blood, Madeleine, who was born as an illegitimate daughter and lost her mother early, has lived on the streets for a long time.

Then, with Sid’s child, she was dizzy and almost collapsed from looking down at people from this high place.

Sid pointed to Iris, who was on Rane, an exceptionally small horse that could be distinguished even from above.

“You’re going to be that woman now, Madeleine.”

Madeleine looked down at Iris Lepos with blank eyes. It was also seen from the tower that she was embarrassed by the farewell of the citizens. Nevertheless, she was trying to answer the farewell with her own sincerity.

Even though she was watching from such a high place, she could feel how warm and how upright she was.

Sid, who was glowering at her, continued.

“Your father Kernin will use you and throw you away soon, but not me. I didn’t know at first, but now my child in your stomach has grown this much. I’ll take the responsibility as the father of this child.”

“Prince…”

“Iris Lepos will never get out of that maze. No one has come out for decades. So then, you will become Iris Lepos.”

Sid planned to head to the Traitor’s Labyrinth only when Iris could not get out of the maze. Then, pretending to enter the maze and rescue Iris, he was going to have Madeleine play the part of Iris Lepos.

After that, even if Iris comes out of the maze a few years later, he thought it would be enough to treat her like a lunatic.

But the Traitor’s Labyrinth was too difficult to even think about.

Madeleine nodded for now, thinking of the child in her belly. She wanted to save her own life, and she didn’t want to make this child live on the streets like herself.

Madeleine once again looked at the woman she was supposed to resemble.

Then, as if she had fallen in love at first sight, she was looking at Iris with a stunned face.

She was hoping, deep down, that Iris Lepos would not die.

The future that Sid promised she would get after she died didn’t look beautiful either.

* * *

After leaving the capital, the Knights of Tejas ran for three days toward the Kahif Desert, southeast of the capital.

There was no village on the way, so everyone pitched tents and slept in it.

However, even if it was a tent, it was made of several layers of tanning leather, so to Iris, it looked better than most houses in the north.

Perhaps because she had nothing to do in the tent, Iris remembered what happened in the convent from time to time.

Since she had only used tallow in the convent, she was shocked when she first learned that a night was lit by wax candles.

The wax candle night was a little longer than the night she spent conserving the tallow in the oil lamp.

Iris could not erase the idea that she had been living less time than those who grew up with wax candles.

When the sun went down, the children who ran out of tallow just spent time crouching down because they had nothing to do or could do, but the children who had wax candles would have done something useful in the future at that time.

That time must have accumulated for 19 years, so Iris, before crossing the North Gate, did not have the confidence to keep up with the brilliant children her age.

Then, six years later, she walked on the line of time once again.

Iris returned to the undefeated Luwan and was grateful every day for the chance she had been given, even if it was the size of a needlehole.

But even after six years of rewinding, Hayer was still one of those brilliant and enviable children who spent wax candle nights to Iris.

Most of the time he spent drinking at night when he had time, but sometimes he sat at an angle in a chair that was made easy to lean on and read a book.

Iris read almost nothing but books about theology in the convent, so she couldn’t enjoy reading.

Therefore, she always wondered what Hayer was reading with so much interest.

As Iris, who had finished treatment in Hayer’s tent, was looking at his library for a while, Hayer also calmly examined the books he carried. Then he handed over a book tightly wrapped in dark red silk that he was reading.

“If it’s hard to choose, read this. It’s interesting.”

“Okay. I’ve never read a novel before.”

Iris accepted the book quickly.

Hayer laughed as she began to read carefully from the first chapter, trying to understand all the hidden meanings as if she were reading a scripture.

“You can read in a more relaxed way.”

“Relaxed?”

“I read to enjoy it.”

“Hmm.”

Joy.

Iris had little thought about her enjoyment. In the first place, joy was not a very encouraged feeling in the convent.

Not to mention, the most ‘joyous’ moment in her life was when she met Hayer Asheri.

Where the convent where Iris was, how precious was the sun to the people of the north?

People in the northern lands used to buy objects depicting the sun even at unreasonable prices. In particular, sunstone, which is found very rarely in quartz veins, was the favourite gemstone of the people in the northern land because its light resembles the sun.

For Iris, Hayer was a blazing hot spot beyond a person who gave warmth. It was a beautiful sun that she could look at even if she was blind.

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Iris found it more interesting to stare at Hayer quietly than anything else, but she thought he would be offended, so she decided to read the book he recommended instead.

It was the story of an adventurer.

Iris flipped through the pages and unknowingly laughed softly at a funny scene. Finally, she realized that there was something interesting in the world besides Hayer’s face.

While reading so busily, Iris looked up when she realized that Hayer’s gaze was fixed on her.

Iris opened her mouth.

“You’re looking at me again.”

Hayer also belatedly realized and apologized.

“Ah, I’m sorry. It’s become a habit, and we’re heading to a dangerous place again anyway, so I keep watching.”

‘I didn’t stare at you that hard even though I was curious.’

While Iris hid her disgruntled innermost thoughts, Hayer turned.

“Your hair, isn’t it uncomfortable? Do you want me to tie it for you?”

When Hayer pretended to tie his hair, Iris asked curiously.

“…Can you tie it up?”

“I’ve been a wanderer all my life, I know all kinds of knots.”

Hayer said, and came back after getting some thread from outside.

Iris was taken aback, but Hayer sat behind her, casually sweeping her hair gently, and began to braid her long hair delicately.

Iris closed her eyes tightly because she was unfamiliar with the touch of others. She was used to the hands of maids, but she’s never seen a man’s hands this big.

Hayer elaborately braided her black hair in pigtails with fingers long enough to hold Iris’s small head. Then he cut the thread in two, and skillfully knotted them on both sides.

Iris looked in the mirror and murmured with round eyes.

“You must have done it often.”

“As I said, I know it well because I’m a wanderer.”

Iris thought Hayer would have played with the hair of the women he had met so far, but she didn’t dare say it.

In fact, she wondered the whole time what kind of 19 years he would have lived. He was virtually kicked out of the royal palace and began his wandering life, and how he became the leader of the Knights of Tejas.

But Hayer told her little about his life.

Iris suppressed her curiosity and looked in the mirror quietly. The hair of the same weight felt light.

Hayer gently brushed her hair with his fingertips. Then the tip of his finger stroked the nape of her neck, and Iris’s body shivered.

Iris, who wrapped her hand around the nape of her neck as if she were defending herself, looked at Hayer with a discontented expression.

Iris obviously thought Hayer was wrong to make her heart flutter even though he didn’t like her. But there was also dissatisfaction in his eyes.

‘What did I do for you to make such a face?’

Iris thought, but Hayer opened his mouth with a slightly wronged face.

“You touch my wound, too.”

“That’s for therapeutic purposes.”

“You stroke.”

Iris paused at the words that seemed to barely come out, forcing herself to hold back other things she wanted to say.

Hayer continued with a slightly distressed look.

“Didn’t you do it first?”

“……”

Iris blinked in a belated panic.

Hayer continued with a sigh.

“I’m a man too, Miss Iris Lepos. It seems you don’t know.”

“…I’m sorry.”

“You just need to know.”

Hayer seemed more distressed than she thought, and it seemed somewhat difficult just to talk about it. He gulped down water.

Iris said in an apologetic tone.

“I’ll go, I think I’ll have to pay attention to see if the desert people are approaching.”

Hayer nodded, and Iris returned to her tent. The image of Hayer rubbing his neck with a crumpled expression while drinking water remained as an afterimage in front of her eyes.

“…Tell me earlier if it’s so.”

She mumbled reproachfully, and hurried back to her tent. And she fiddled with her hair that Hayer had braided.

afterword 

the neck caress im blushing!!

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