ML, Hayer Asheri: he's the second son of the king and queen, but illegitimate (the queen had an affair). so he is technically not part of the royal family and doesn't use their surname "Lepos, " and doesn't have a map in his head. as such, him and Iris are not related at all. he is the commander of the Knights of Tejas, and very dedicated to protecting his country. personality-wise, I love him. Iris describes him as the literal sun and she is very much correct (although he went through quite a bit in his childhood). he is very mischievous and charming by nature, and jokes around like it's his coping mechanism LOL. he's big and strong (twirls hair), and it isn't clear whether or not he actually loved Iris in their first life. he's so caring towards Iris and his knights, and I love seeing him secretly folding inside when he's with Iris. my favourite part of him is how he's so comfortable with physical contact with Iris!! he fell harder, or maybe they fell equally harder.

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• down bad for Iris quite literally the whole novel lol he even got h**ny when she got mad at him it was so funny to me
• suffering and on death's door like 90% of the novel but we love him
• ALWAYS must be in touch with his beloved (begged her to undress so he could feel her bare skin while he was sleeping when he was drunk; dw he would never do anything to make her uncomfy she lowkey made fun of him after for it lmao)
• another stamina king, wanted to do ~it~ every day and even made a deal with her lol (no it's not smut just obviously implied and only the first night was slightly more detailed but no mentions of private parts and what-not but still enough for butterflies)
• is very much obsessed with her but not in a yandere way it's more lowkey and shown through the fact that he can't bring himself to let go of her nor separate from her for long periods of time
• sososo SO respectful of Iris which I know is technically like bare minimum but i've had so many problems with other series bc of the lack of it with MLs towards their FLs it always made me upset but Hayer respects her choices and never forces her to do anything she doesn't want to but is still extremely protective of her
• when he said that so much of his love for her stems from respect and admiration MY MAN MY MANNN
• almost broke a bathtub trying to hold himself back (re: failed to hold back in the end)
• i think physical touch and acts of service/words of affirmation are his main love languages maybe
• i'll add more if there were any particular parts/quirks of his I remember and enjoyed immensely :)
  
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FL, Iris Lepos: my nun king!! she doesn't express herself well but she's honestly so thoughtful and her admiration for Hayer has me on the floor. I'm probably exaggerating but it doesn't matter lmao anyway she is very determined to save her country as well, though it stems more from her guilt of not doing anything while she was queen. she's weak physically, but mentally strong, plus she knows how to use a spear!! I'm very excited to see how her character fleshes out. she fell first!

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• maybe equally as down bad as Hayer but better at hiding it. the times where she couldn't help but stare at his face/body and practically drool was so real of her
• basically just a girl walking her dog (iykyk)
• jumped (not really) in freezing cold water to escape from a particular shithead despite her weak body that's as girlboss as it gets folks stan Iris
• spear user and she's damn good at it
• provokes Hayer, mostly calculated
• when she told him that she would always choose him over her own country and if the world was at stake. fav trope
• gets embarrassed when Hayer touches her a bit more... you know... it's super cute I love her
• SO BADASS I can't reiterate this enough like she died again and again and felt the pain, albeit temporary, and yet never stopped fighting. my king for f*cking real
• words of affirmation and quality time, probably
• will also add more if anything comes to mind
  
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