Yuri arrived at his former palace.
Yekaterina was in the garden, gazing at the flowers.
She soon sensed Yuri’s presence and smiled.
“Hello?”
Yuri approached without saying anything.
At his unusual attitude, Yekaterina tilted her head in curiosity.
“You seem more imposing today.”
“Lady Yekaterina.”
“Hmm?”
“We need to talk.”
Yekaterina looked at Ena, who was standing behind Yuri. Ena waved her hands exaggeratedly at chest height.
Ignoring the exchange of glances between the two, Yuri led her into the palace.
The door closed immediately.
“…”
At the end of a long hallway stretching from the entrance, their eyes met.
It was the first time, in this life, that they were alone somewhere where others couldn’t see them.
“Don’t you have anything to say to me?”
“I suppose you’re the one who has something to say to me, aren’t you?”
Yekaterina stared at him.
Her emerald eyes shifted in depth depending on the angle, leaving anyone speechless.
For some reason, that calmed Yuri’s heart. The confusion he had felt subsided.
Yuri spoke in a steady voice.
“I know you also returned to the past.”
“Oh, really?”
“I’m sorry.”
In his previous life, he had blamed Yekaterina.
He believed the fall of Briol was her fault.
But after returning to the past and living anew, he understood it had all been Cedric’s conspiracy.
Yekaterina had also been a victim. That was why Yuri apologized for his misunderstanding.
After hearing his words, Yekaterina only tilted her head slightly, showing no great reaction.
With a mischievous smile, she looked at him with clear eyes.
Yuri frowned.
She was always like this. Even in a serious conversation, she simply looked at him with that expression.
“…That’s why I thought I should apologize.”
“I see.”
“And you have nothing to say?”
“Me? I don’t know…”
Yekaterina tilted her head.
“The truth is I don’t remember things exactly. Especially after giving back the necklace…”
Before the fall of Briol, she had returned the necklace to Yuri. And at some point, she went back to her childhood.
Her memories of the previous life were not so clear, and the scenes appeared blurred.
But the time she wore the necklace she remembered more vividly.
Yekaterina smiled.
“I suppose I returned thanks to that necklace.”
“Maybe.”
“Then, Yuri…”
She called to him in a soft voice, the same as in his previous life.
“Is that all you have to say to me?”
“Hmm?”
“Just that you’re sorry?”
“Then what else should I say…?”
“Hmm, I see.”
“And you? Don’t you have something to say?”
“No.”
“If you have nothing to say, why interrogate me?”
“It’s just…”
Yekaterina’s hands circled Yuri’s neck. In that instant, his body tensed.
At the edge of his vision, Yuri caught sight of Yekaterina’s feet lifting slightly onto tiptoe.
Her face drew slowly closer, then veered to the side until her breath brushed Yuri’s ear.
“I don’t intend to say it in words…”
Her fingers were slender and delicate.
Even so, Yuri couldn’t resist Yekaterina’s touch as she gently moved her head.
Her scent drew closer and closer.
***
All this time, Yuri had been hesitating over whether it was right to tell Yekaterina about his regression.
After all, it was a battle in which the probability of losing was greater.
He might end up dead, and he didn’t want to complicate the situation unnecessarily.
If he confessed impulsively and that left her with some attachment, he thought he wouldn’t be able to die in peace when the time came.
He believed it would be better to pretend neither of them knew anything. But his decision changed.
“I died at Laurent’s hands, and when I opened my eyes, I was in the royal palace. So…”
Of course, it wasn’t possible to tell that whole long story in a brief conversation. But just mentioning it briefly already brought him some relief.
Yekaterina, who had been stroking Yuri’s hair, nodded.
“You’ve been through a lot.”
Then, suddenly, she looked at him playfully and said:
“Did you really think of leaving without saying anything?”
“Yes.”
“If you had, I’d have been truly angry.”
“And how would you have been angry?”
“I’d have gone on a date with Joshua.”
“Eh…”
Yekaterina laughed out loud. Yuri also gave an ironic smile.
Even so, Yuri still didn’t know if what he was doing was right.
But he wanted to be honest.
After hearing from Oliver and Raphael about Cory, Yuri experienced a change in mood.
And he decided to completely alter all the plans he’d had until then.
Not only regarding Yekaterina, but also how the final battle to come would unfold.
“I’m leaving tomorrow.”
“So soon?”
“I have something to do.”
Yekaterina watched him silently for a moment. It seemed her eyes trembled slightly.
But soon they returned to their usual unreadable clarity, and she smiled.
“Alright, I’ll wait for you.”
Their lips met.
After a moment, when the kiss ended, Yekaterina said.
“Yuri, for today you’d better go.”
“Why?”
“A visitor will be arriving soon.”
“What visitor?”
Yekaterina pulled Yuri to his feet. He stood as if pushed and asked again.
“Who’s the visitor?”
“It’s a secret.”
Yekaterina went to the window, looked outside, then waved her hand to signal him to leave.
“They’re here. Quickly, go.”
“Who is it?”
“You don’t need to know.”
“I think I do.”
Yuri moved closer to her and looked outside. Then, surprised, he stepped back.
“Eh?”
“I told you there’s no need to know.”
Yekaterina patted him on the back.
“Now, go.”
“Why are those two together…?”
“Is there a problem?”
“No…”
“Then, goodbye. I’ll go down to greet her, so leave on your own, alright?”
Yekaterina went downstairs to receive her guest.
Meanwhile, Yuri remained in the room, scratching his head before turning around.
Since it was a place he had lived in for a long time, it wasn’t hard for him to avoid the visitor.
As Yuri was about to jump out of a hallway window, he heard voices at the foot of the stairs.
“Sister, I’m glad to see you.”
“Hello. Yeka, you’re beautiful today as well.”
“You too. That dress is lovely, where did you buy it?”
“This one…”
Yekaterina and Maryrose were coming up together.
Hearing their lively conversation, Yuri hung outside the window, clinging to the ledge with his fingers.
“Hmm…”
They were already speaking so familiarly. He had no way of knowing when or how they had become so close.
When the two of them entered the room together, Yuri dropped down. He landed without a sound and brushed off the dust as if nothing had happened.
Looking up, he saw a maid passing by who froze in surprise.
“It’s a secret.”
Yuri brought a finger to his lips and walked away calmly.
Then he thought to himself.
“Hmm… What the hell was that…?”
He couldn’t understand how Yekaterina and Maryrose had become so close.
After being perplexed for a while, Yuri shook his head.
He was glad to have repaired his relationship with Yekaterina, but he had matters to attend to.
He couldn’t let his emotions distract him and ruin everything. The relationship between those two wasn’t important.
The smile on his lips faded.
The final battle was approaching.
It was time to cast aside any unnecessary feelings.
***
The next morning, Yuri prepared to leave Briol.
He didn’t plan a grand event or mobilize a large military force.
“I’m going to travel around the continent.”
During the month Cedric had granted him, Yuri intended to move without rest.
“I’m not going to drag anyone along by force. Only those who want to fight will join. I’ll make them come to me on their own.”
“I understand.”
Joshua nodded at his words.
“I respect your decision. But why the sudden change? Weren’t you planning to wait here until it was time to depart?”
Originally, Yuri planned to remain in Briol until the right moment and then head directly to the Empire.
But he decided to change his plan and personally travel the continent to gather people.
“Something happened.”
Yuri smiled.
“Instead of sitting still preparing for a grand exit, I’d rather fight to the end, even if I end up looking bad.”
“Alright, I get it.”
Joshua ruffled Yuri’s hair with a smile.
“Go, and come back.”
Yuri looked at him and gave a small laugh.
In his previous life, Joshua had been a libertine, but in this one he seemed much more mature. People were unpredictable.
This time, the group leaving was much smaller.
In the past, when Yuri had formed the Anti-Imperial Union, he had set out amid cheers with a large army. Now, the troops were few and there weren’t many people to see them off.
But Yuri thought that was fine.
“Come on, raise the flag.”
He told Tirbo, the standard-bearer of the Order of Vengeance. Tirbo nodded and raised a thick, specially made flagpole.
A large flag unfurled in the wind.
Over the faintly drawn emblem of the Empire, in red letters, were the words “Anti-Imperial Union,” and beneath them a slogan inviting all who wished to oppose the Empire.
It was a simple banner, but full of determination.
Yuri planned to travel the continent with that flag, spreading his message. If people joined, good; if not, it didn’t matter.
“Alright, let’s go.”
Just before leaving, Yuri looked into the distance.
There was Yekaterina, behind the palace ladies, tightly holding Ena’s hand as she watched him.
She seemed to be trying to appear calm, but her nervousness was clear.
Their eyes met.
Yuri smiled.
It had taken too long to see her again. And it wasn’t over yet. To be together, they had to survive a harsh battle.
Perhaps they would never see each other again.
Yuri murmured to himself.
“I’ll come back.”
Then something unexpected happened — the ladies began to move aside, opening a direct path toward Yekaterina.
“Huh…”
Jared, who was behind him, gave him a shove.
“Why are you just standing there?”
Yuri hadn’t planned on going, but now he couldn’t avoid it.
He approached Yekaterina.
The closer he got, the more her beauty struck him again.
He smiled.
“I’m leaving. Take care.”
“You too.”
“I’m going to win, but if by chance I lose, live well without me.”
“I don’t want to.”
“Eh?”
Yekaterina smiled sweetly, took him by the nape, and, standing on tiptoe, kissed him.
The kiss was brief.
“If you die, I’ll have no reason to live either. I’ll throw myself after you and follow you, so fight without worry.”
It was a line that didn’t match her gentle tone, but it strangely put Yuri at ease.
“Understood.”
“This time you’re not alone, luckily.”
“Right?”
They laughed briefly.
Yuri caressed her cheek one last time and turned away.
“I’m going.”
“Go.”
When he returned to the front of the troops, Jared whistled.
“Alright, let’s move.”
“Yes!”
The horn sounded and the troops began to march.
As they walked, Yuri asked Jared:
“That path that opened between the ladies… wasn’t that planned?”
“Of course not. They saw a couple staring at each other so intensely that they stepped aside instinctively.”
“And how do you know that?”
“The whole palace knows, Your Highness. The rumor that you and the princess are together has been going around for a while.”
“Really?”
“You two walked around together every day. You’d have to be a fool not to notice.”
“I suppose…”
“Don’t you want to look at her one last time?”
“No.”
Yuri smiled as he looked ahead.
“I’ll see her again.”
Whether in this world or the next.
____
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