After the alliance in Ossibus failed, Xerxez traveled to the country of Blooded Phoenix—Peronica. He was accompanied by soldiers in elegant bronze armor that glimmered like goldfish, radiating with novelty. The thud of their hooves and the wiggle of their ponytails preceded them. They valorously rode horses out of the Thallerion border, then boarded a tank-train whose echoes zig-zagged throughout Peronica’s border.

Chief Commander Matheros accompanied Xerxez on this visit to purchase weapons offered by Peronica.

Red canopy forests reflected from afar, and yellowish-green trees embellished the Peronican atmosphere, alongside the squeaking of an earthly-phoenix bird soaring above the clouds. This magnificent plumage, crescent moonlit yet glaring like a rose petal, was a domesticated bird found only in Peronica. According to one historical account, the Phoenix bird once appeared, believed to have transformed into a human and married mortal women. However, others say the people of Peronica merely originated from Elanthro and migrated to Peronica.

Xerxez and his company passed by a stream where women frolicked like white swans, captivating to behold. In truth, when the young Peronican maidens heard that the King of Thallerion was visiting, they immediately waited for Xerxez by the stream to draw attention to their beauty, hoping that at least one of them might be chosen by the young king.

“Dear King Xerxez, are we beautiful in your eyes?” Their beauty was dazzling like stars. The stories were true; their hair was reddish, and their skin was smooth. “Please notice us, oh~” The young women wanted to entice the King of Thallerion, but Xerxez only smiled as his horse moved forward.

Suddenly, something caught his eye: a goddess, uniquely beautiful among all the women there. Xerxez couldn’t take his gaze off this woman with long, vibrant red hair, even more vivid than the others. Her movements were graceful, and she smiled at Xerxez. That was Xerxez’s first glance, the one that made his heart pound. His heart felt different; he sensed a volcano erupting deep within.

Xerxez and his companions rested for a few days in Peronica’s sanctuary, but the woman’s face remained etched in his memory, like a precious masterpiece locked in his mind. Xerxez seemed to be falling in love. He wondered if she might be the Princess of Peronica, Queen Pyramia’s daughter. However, when they visited the Peronican palace, they were told the queen’s daughter was ill and contagious. So, he had no idea what the princess truly looked like. Even the people of Peronica said the princess was never allowed out, claiming she was under a curse, which was why she hid. But many whispered that the queen kept the princess locked away because she didn’t want her to marry the men who courted her. Xerxez began to ponder the true reason behind these whispers against the queen and the real story of the princess. Since Xerxez allied with Peronica, the mystery of the Peronican princess’s true story became a puzzle for him, as she supposedly hid like a bedbug.

Xerxez was at a feast in the Peronican palace. He knew the Queen of Peronica had a daughter and wanted to clarify the stories the Peronican people told about the princess, but the queen merely changed the subject.

“I heard you strictly forbid your daughter, the princess, from going out. Is it because of a curse?” Xerxez asked.

A spoon clinked against a glass plate holding a sweet dessert made of tea cake. The queen merely chuckled, covering her mouth with her hand, and slightly raised an eyebrow. However, Queen Pyramia’s blood boiled inside her heart at Xerxez’s questions.

“The princess is not feeling well right now, which is why she cannot go out. So please, do not believe the gossips out there—please, do not mention those rumors here in front of the food.”

Xerxez dared not inquire further about the princess’s life; even her name was withheld by the queen. But that wasn’t important to Xerxez because, in truth, his eyes yearned more for the face of the woman by the stream. So, he ordered a soldier to search for the woman throughout Peronica, but Xerxez’s soldier failed. No one else was frolicking by the stream anymore, which saddened Xerxez when he heard the news.

As Xerxez and his company were leaving, Xerxez’s heart hoped to savor the place where their eyes last met, even for the last time. So, Xerxez dismounted and breathed in the fresh air that embraced him. At the same time, his thirsty horses were given water. But then, he heard a sound not far off—a woman’s voice. He followed the source of the sound, and you wouldn’t believe what Xerxez saw, for heaven granted his wish that the woman would appear to him, even for the last time. The maiden was frolicking and singing like a gentle bird humming—it was indeed her! The woman of divine beauty.

“Maiden, why are you alone?” Xerxez approached, driven by his longing, leaving his companions who were watering the horses. When love whistles, Xerxez would brave to encroach the thickest forest. This seemed to be Xerxez’s chance to get to know the woman.

“With your beauty, you shouldn’t be frolicking here alone.” There was a hint of concern in Xerxez’s voice. Xerxez saw a bird-of-paradise near the maiden; her voice was truly captivating, even the birds rejoiced.

“In that case, why don’t you join me here?” the maiden said coaxingly. Her lips were alluring, and she slowly looked into Xerxez’s eyes, feeling Xerxez’s unexplainable joy. “That is, if it doesn’t bother the King of Thallerion?”

“Why not? I respect all of Peronica for the sake of the alliance.” Xerxez raised his eyebrows, and a joyful smile formed on his lips. “But I think if I do that—it won’t be about the alliance anymore.”

The maiden saw Xerxez’s companions waiting ahead, so she knew Xerxez was returning to Thallerion. Her eyes grew heavy, and the cold wind embraced her, signifying the truth that the man she admired would soon leave. However, Xerxez sat on a rock near the maiden, tenderly watching the ripe leaves drift away with the water.

“This seems to be the right time,” Xerxez whispered to himself. It was as if his question came from the drifting leaves, hoping that if his heart fell, it wouldn’t be into the water but onto the woman before him now.

“King Xerxez, do you know you’re the first man to sit beside me?” Perlend said shyly, her cheeks burning but she tried to keep it from showing like smoke. Perlend’s heart felt sad thinking that Xerxez and his company were leaving for Thallerion, while she would just wait for Xerxez to visit Peronica again.

“But how long will I wait?” Perlend’s mind cried, visible in the heavy loss of vigor in her shoulders.

“Really, is it okay if I sit close to you?” Xerxez felt a bit awkward but couldn’t control himself. Even from the first time he saw the maiden, his heart had pounded, and there wasn’t a day or night he didn’t think of her.

“Can you, from this day forward, call me by my name, Xerxez?”

“My name is Perlend, Xerxez.” Xerxez liked the maiden’s name—Perlend. At that moment, Xerxez fully got to know the maiden; he learned that she was unmarried.

“Do you know I had you searched for throughout Peronica because—” Xerxez bit his tongue, his cheeks blushing like plums. Xerxez wanted to confess but was too shy, especially since it was his first time confessing his feelings to a woman.

“Do you also know I came back here because—I like you, Xerxez.” Perlend bravely confessed, not letting the opportunity pass to admit her feelings, unlike Xerxez, a hero of Thallerion, whose tongue faltered in expressing his true feelings for the maiden.

Xerxez breathed a sigh of relief when he heard Perlend’s words. “Perlend, I love you… will you agree to be the partner of my heart?” Xerxez immediately confessed his feelings without hesitation. He no longer cared about the woman’s status in life, whether she was rich or an ordinary citizen of Peronica—he would love her—the purpose of his heart would prevail. Xerxez held Perlend’s hand and moved a little closer.

In truth, he had hoped to meet Queen Pyramia’s daughter but failed to see her. Xerxez had planned to court her for a stronger alliance, but the queen was too protective. So, he poured his true feelings into Perlend instead. There was no politics involved, and certainly no family agreement to unite their feelings.

“Xerxez, I am ready to leave my home because I love you too.” Xerxez embraced Perlend, and suddenly red leaves rained down. There was no denying for a maiden to accept the king’s courtship because she knew Xerxez was a kind man. When Xerxez embraced Perlend, he smelled a sweet flower like an orchid. Xerxez promised himself that he would never make his future wife shed tears.

That stream was connected to the Cirtax River, which had a route to the port of ships that Xerxez frequently passed. The woman’s return to that stream meant only one thing—she was in love!

“I will go with you, Xerxez, because I have no parents to care for me anymore. We are both alone in life,” Perlend said. “But you are a king, while I am just a humble woman.” Xerxez saw that Perlend’s clothes were not wealthy, but even if Xerxez didn’t admit it, the woman’s body was truly clean, as if bathed in milk, due to Perlend’s excellent self-care. Peronica might be a vast country, but love connected their paths to bring them together. Xerxez confessed his love to the maiden, and the maiden, like a hooked fish, refused to deny Xerxez’s true love. The king felt like the luckiest man in the world, about to marry a beautiful woman.

“In that case, I will take you to Thallerion, and we will get married.” Xerxez said and helped Perlend onto his horse. It was springtime then. A reddish breeze leaves gently touched their feet, freshly crisped. The fallen leaves were like flowers at the feet of the two lovers, bloomed like a fallen phoenix feather, caressing the hooves pathway.

Xerxez understood Perlend’s situation as an orphan, so he didn’t ask further about Perlend’s family because an orphan’s life, like his own as an orphan from the war against Moonatoria, was difficult and painful. Matheros and his companions didn’t object; instead, they were happy that Xerxez would finally have a wife, and he wouldn’t be alone forever.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep