12. Flowing Star – 15
“…Then, I’ll go to the banquet hall first. Please, please follow me slowly.”
Leaving those words behind, Iris walked out of Cain’s room. Slowly closing the door and walking toward the banquet hall with a relaxed attitude, only the leisurely attitude of a victor could be felt from her.
…that’s how it should be. The trend had already been decided, and everything was as if it had already been determined. I didn’t teach him the ‘Flowing Star’ to use it for this purpose, but that said, there was no reason why he wouldn’t use a weapon that brought her such a clear cause.
Unless Cain reveals that he is a regressor who has returned from the future, and that the ‘Flowing Star’ was also learned from Iris of the future, it will not be easy to find a way out of the current situation. In the first place, the majority of people were much more likely to think that the Duke of Estelle was slightly out of his mind due to the pressure of getting married rather than believing that he was a regressor.
again. again.
In the eyes of Iris, who was walking toward the banquet hall, stepping on her heels in a relaxed manner, as if she had been waiting for Iris, leaning her back against a wall far away, staring at her. The figure of a woman came in.
it was aria
“…Iris. Was this the third reason you said?”
I knew I was going to get angry at first, but Iris slightly twisted the corner of her mouth at Aria’s calm voice, which unexpectedly kept her cool. Is Arya really keeping her composure? Or are you pretending to be calm? Where are her emotions pointing right now?
“Oh, Arya. Have you forgotten the advice I gave you the other day? I would have definitely advised you. It doesn’t matter what you do, but don’t cross the certain line towards me. There are only two people in this empire who are qualified to call my name, Your Majesty and Cain. Aria, do you want to see how far I can tolerate your rudeness?”
Despite Iris’ provocative words, Arya never wavered. As if he was shouting that he would never be shaken by such cheap provocations.
“Yes, Iris. Not too long ago, you threatened me like that. If Cain and I want to be together, we must follow the laws of the human world. Because the person I want to serve is also the person who is in the middle of the world’s laws, so if you want to live as a lady-in-waiting, Aria, rather than a temporary ‘witch’, you have to know how to obey the laws.”
“…But I thought it through, and it didn’t seem necessary. Iris.”
“…What?”
Arya’s bold words made Iris’s eyebrows twitch.
“Because I’m paying attention to Cain-sama, not you or the empire at all, right? In other words, if Lord Cain isn’t around me, then doesn’t that mean I can do as I please? If not, there is also a way to erase the light-mouthed person from the world who might say something to Cain.”
“…that’s the theory.”
Iris burst into laughter at Arya’s sharp opinion. Certainly, Arya was right. It’s because the law of public tax cannot be applied to someone with great power like the ‘witch of winter’.
In the first place, the law is a rule that only applies to those who want to be protected within the boundaries of the law. If it wasn’t for a man named Cain, it would have been impossible to bind Arya, who had no interest in public tax, as a law.
“Rather than that, I want you to start by answering my question. Was the bullshit I just said to Cain the third reason you said?”
…Somehow, Cain asked me to stay out for a while, but I went out so obediently that it seemed like I was overhearing all the conversation from outside.
“okay. That’s the third reason. Cain and I will soon make a sacred, once-in-a-lifetime promise that we will look out for each other. Wouldn’t it be no problem if she became a wife from ancient times and entered the room where her husband was living without any sign? Sooner or later we will have to share a lot of more manly sights than that.”
For example, towards Iris, who added unnecessary gossip, saying, “We’re each other’s naked bodies,” Aria ended up chewing her own lips carefully. He didn’t want to show his faltering appearance in front of that woman, but the moment he heard Iris’ nonsense, his composure was shattered, albeit just a little bit.
“Did you teach Cain about ‘Flowing Star’ with that intention from the beginning? On the surface, they talked about being the teacher who taught the sword, but in the end, was it just a means to entrap Cain-sama?”
At Aria’s words, Iris quietly shakes her head left and right.
“No, that is not true. It’s just that I chose that method because it was the most effective of the means I could take at the moment. Also, wouldn’t it be a better picture to say that their love for each other sprouted in their teacher-teacher relationship rather than tying him up politically?”
Iris’s smile when she said that was so bright. As if he firmly believes that the way he chose was the best way for him.
“…Iris, you make a lot of sense, but you’re forgetting the most important thing.”
“Whoa, what is that?”
“Cain’s will. His free will.”
With those words, Arya takes a step forward toward Iris.
“What you said just now contains only your opinion, and Cain-nim’s will is nowhere to be found. If you truly love him, why are you so unilaterally ignoring his will? Is that the guy you call love?”
At Arya’s question, Iris raises her eyes as if she’s having fun.
“Aria, it seems that your words are somewhat ambiguous.”
The smile that stretched across the princess’s mouth shone brightly.
“I am not trying to bind his will. Rather, I act like this because I want to protect him.”
“…protect?”
For a moment, Arya wondered if her ears were broken. protection? this?
“Yes, protection. Other than this, I couldn’t possibly find a way to make him happy. Aria, as you know, Cain is a man like a candle. A man who, after burning himself for the sake of others, might one day even burn his own wick.”
“But, if I leave him alone like this, he will never be happy. I will teach him all the joys of the world. I will teach you how to smile brighter than anyone else. He will help you find your own happiness. First of all, though, after we get rid of some of the girls who wear him out just by hanging on to him and begging for his love.”
“…Does that lead to restraining Cain-sama’s will?”
“Didn’t I tell you? I have no intention of arresting him. I will grant him only freedom. As long as he’s by my side, he can do anything and go anywhere. The other girls clinging to him are also not going to care if they stay by his side. Of course, there is a small condition attached that you have to love me first.”
At Iris’s words, Arya laughed in vain. I was sure of this. Iris, that woman must have gone mad.
“…It seems that you don’t have the right to curse Kyrie. you are crazy It is also very coldly insane.”
At those words, Iris just ate and laughed.
“What? A subject with a track record of freezing the whole world, isn’t that a much more normal way of thinking than some woman brazenly sticking by his side?”
****
A spacious banquet hall located in the center of the Imperial Palace.
Currently, a banquet held by the emperor himself was being held here to commemorate the soon-to-be ‘celebration’ of the empire.
On one side, musicians belonging to the imperial family were playing beautiful melodies, and on the other side, there was a table with a lot of fancy food on the outside.
And in the upper seat on the north side of the banquet hall, there was a beautiful woman wearing a snow-white dress.
Her name was Iris el Devhart, and she was a person of the highest rank in the banquet hall today, and at the same time a woman who was the main character of the banquet.
However, even in the middle of the banquet hall overflowing with music and the good men and women dancing in pairs, the princess just sat there with a calm attitude. Like someone who has no interest in the banquet itself.
Originally, in an official event like a banquet, it was customary for the noblest among those who participated in the event to take the lead and lead the mood, but the princess just stared at a corner of the banquet hall, as if she had forgotten her duty.
Seeing her attitude, the eyes of the children of nobles attending the banquet quickly crossed. The opponent is the imperial princess. She is a woman who inherited the noblest blood in the empire and is praised as the most beautiful woman in the empire. Although she is a woman who may get married sooner or later, the opportunity to dance with a woman of that level will not come often in her future life.
In addition, there was nothing to lose in the eyes of the person who was expected to inherit the crown after the current emperor passed away. No matter how you think about it, this must have been a surplus business.
In the end, a handsome young man who couldn’t stand Iris’s youthful energy approached her and soon got down on his knees in front of her with respect.
“Sir, my name is Albert, the son of the Ricardo family. Could you bestow upon me the honor of being with the Moon of the Empire?”
Iris, who had been making a sad expression all the time at the young man’s remarks, had a strange look in her eyes.
“…Ho, you mean Viscount Ricardo, who is called the Lion of the East? I got acquainted with the previous Viscount Ricardo, but this is the first time I’ve met his heir.”
But it was just there. As soon as she realized who the young man in front of her was, the strangeness in her eyes disappeared again. Iris had no desire to give any attention to any man other than Cain.
“Sorry, but I have no desire to dance with anyone except my companion who has not yet arrived. So, I’ll take your offer as unheard of. Just let me back off.”
Without batting an eye, Iris flatly refused the young man’s request. The young man’s face blushed as he felt the eyes of the people around him fly to him at his firm attitude that he would not allow any objection.
“…Me, low.”
However, the young man could not quietly withdraw from Iris. He had already become the target of ridicule by everyone in the banquet hall. In such a state, if the young man really followed the princess’s words and quietly stepped back, he would later become a simple object of ridicule among his friends, and Marya.
Crucially, seeing Iris up close was just beautiful. Indeed, she was said to be the most beautiful woman in the empire, and she thought that her reputation was not in vain. The thought of walking around the banquet hall and dancing with such a beauty made my heart seem to boil with countless lusts.
In the end, the young man gathered his courage once again, holding back the anxiety he felt somewhere, and opened his mouth to the princess.
“…But, sir, it’s only a matter of dancing once in the banquet hall. I believe that not only the Duke and I have the qualifications to dance as your partner in this banquet hall.”
The young man’s words could not be said to be particularly wrong. Regardless of their title, every man present at the banquet had the right to request a dance from all the women inside the banquet hall.
…Unfortunately, the young man’s words only sounded very annoying to Iris.
“Should I just…?”
A very small, somewhat languid voice.
The next moment, Iris looked down at the young man with a starkly different look from before—
“Hick…!”
The moment her eyes met, the young man unknowingly gave up his legs and collapsed on the floor unsightly.
“I will ask. On what basis did you think that I would dismiss contact with you as ‘only’? Did you really not know that I had a partner who promised me a future?”
“…big, huh…”
The young man tried to answer Iris’ words, but no voice came out. I couldn’t breathe properly. It was a terrible feeling, as if something had caught in the middle of my throat and didn’t want to come out.
Only then did I realize. Regarding the fact that the woman in front of him was not just a beautiful woman, but a peerless warrior who had reached the highest level in the empire.
“It just went well. Currently, many nobles from within the empire are gathered in this banquet hall, so I don’t think there’s any need to bother explaining it one more time later.”
Numerous nobles gathered in the banquet hall would claim to be wind-catchers and spread their words and actions far and wide.
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Match-!
Iris lightly touched her palms. The sound that echoed from her palm was very low, but strangely, everyone in the banquet hall recognized the sound and turned their heads to Iris without realizing it.
And the moment Iris and the figure of a young man sitting in front of her caught their eyes, only cold silence filled the banquet hall. The image of a young man sitting down in front of the imperial princess with a face of dismay. I didn’t want to know what had just happened between them, and I just didn’t want to get involved.
“…..”
“…..”
Sensing that the gaze inside the banquet hall was focused on her, Iris smiled coldly at the crowd gathered here.
“Let’s ask everyone in this room. If you also have ears, I believe you have at least once heard the news that I have a companion whom I dedicate my life to. If you haven’t heard of it, it’s really disappointing. The Empire’s intelligence department went to great lengths to spread that rumor. The members of the Ministry of Information would be so heartbroken if the rumors they spread day and night, working hard, did not reach the ears of nobles sitting in important positions in the empire. Don’t you guys think so too?”
“…..”
There was no answer coming back to her. In the first place, it wasn’t a question that Iris also asked them hoping for an answer.
“In order to lighten the intelligence department’s efforts, I will tell you personally in front of you. I, Iris el Devhart, have already been owned by a certain man. From the moment I promised to do everything with him, I made one oath. Until the moment this body collapses, I will not make contact with other men, do not mix words, and do not make eye contact. Until the moment this life comes to an end, I promised to love only him and look at only him. For I am his, and he has become mine.”
Turbuck-
Iris takes another step towards the young man who is sitting on the floor. After all the blood had drained from the young man’s face, his face was white. Facing such a young man, Iris slightly lifted the corner of her mouth and whispered in his ear.
“In other words, the seat next to me is a seat that you and the like should not carelessly overlook. I’ll stop here as a warning today, but if I get off topic one more time then-“
“…Let’s make a promise in Devhardt’s name. I will cut off your filthy tongue and pluck out your eyes.”