“Hmm…”
Maryrose narrowed her eyes as she looked at Yekaterina.
“Then, it was a pleasure to see you, Your Highness.”
That was all.
Maryrose winked at Yuri and then said she would go find lodging. Yuri had suggested she stay in the royal palace, but she refused with a smile and headed toward the capital.
As Yuri watched Maryrose’s back grow distant, someone approached him.
“Your Highness.”
To his surprise, it was Raymond.
“Sir Raymond.”
When the Anti-Empire Coalition marched against the Empire, he had found him voluntarily enlisted as a soldier, and they had exchanged a few words. Now, as always, he had come.
Yuri shook Raymond’s hand.
“Thank you for coming. I’m always grateful to you.”
“It’s my duty.”
Both during the time of the allied army and the founding of the Army Comrades Association, Raymond had always taken on the most difficult tasks. That was why Yuri always felt he owed him something.
Raymond smiled faintly.
“By the way…”
“Mm?”
“I’d like to give you some personal advice.”
“What kind?”
“I’m sure everyone’s already given you their advice. But sometimes, the opinion of elders can be more useful than that of the young.”
“What do you mean…?”
Raymond looked at him with kind eyes.
“Your Highness, you don’t need to choose only one person.”
“Eh?”
“You’re a member of the royal family and a hero of Briol. Don’t forget that.”
“Mm?”
“Well then, I’ll be going. I need to train with the soldiers. Please take care of yourself.”
“Wait, what?”
“Hahaha…”
Leaving behind those cryptic words, Raymond departed. Yuri shook his head.
“Huff…”
He appreciated everyone’s intentions.
But.
“Seriously, what do they think I am…?”
Why did everyone seem desperate to give him relationship advice?
He was Yuri Briol. In this life he had no official partner, but in his previous life he had been very popular. More than a few women had cried over him. If he counted them, they would outnumber everyone present in the training field.
He could form a four-column formation and march it around the training grounds twice.
“I could organize a battalion with that.”
Yuri thought that the fact that, being so handsome, high-ranking, intelligent, good-natured, and skilled with a sword, there was no one besides Maryrose showing interest in him was already proof enough of his deep understanding of the female heart.
He had always cut off any sign of interest the moment he noticed it.
That he had avoided a serious conversation with Yekaterina until now wasn’t just because of emotional baggage, but also a calculated strategy.
Just as Yekaterina’s calm attitude shook Yuri, Yuri’s calm reaction shook Yekaterina.
Even if unseen, both inflicted emotional wounds on each other in an invisible duel.
That the lock opened didn’t mean one should jump right in. That was the instinct of a stray dog.
And he was no stray dog — he was a cheetah.
Yuri smirked to the side.
“Well, I guess I can’t avoid it anymore…”
Yes, in the end, they were excuses.
Yuri looked up at the sky. The final battle was approaching, and he could no longer put it off.
The time had come to settle things with Yekaterina.
He drew Guilty and spun it in the air as he glanced over.
Under the parasol, Yekaterina was drinking tea, watching the knights train.
On the field, a knight, exhausted from hard training, had taken off his shirt and was shouting with all his might.
One, with a sculpted torso, knocked down his opponent in a duel, spread his shoulders, and roared. Yekaterina clapped.
“…”
Yuri closed and opened his eyes, taking a deep breath.
“I’m a cheetah, I’m a cheetah. A wild cheetah. Not a dog…”
From behind, Laurent watched him silently. Moyongchan, resting beside him, spoke.
“Laurent, don’t look at him like he’s an idiot.”
“Ah, I did it without realizing.”
***
Two days passed.
Yuri still only maintained surface-level conversations with Yekaterina.
They didn’t talk about what they needed to talk about, but the chats flowed naturally, and when they walked together, time flew by.
It was like when they had first met, leaving him with a strange feeling.
“Fuu…”
As he was lost in thought, an unexpected visitor arrived.
“Your Highness, you have a visitor.”
“Who?”
“They didn’t say, but mentioned you’d know when you saw them. Should I refuse?”
“No, I’ll go see. These days, anyone seeking me piques my curiosity.”
In the reception room, someone completely unexpected awaited him.
Yuri’s mouth opened in surprise.
“You… you. What are you doing here?”
It was Oliver Elgast, knight of the Empire.
“It’s been a while.”
He was a promising knight of the Empire who had participated in a tournament, but was eliminated by an unexpected blow from Sven of Liberta.
Back then, he had formed a kind of rivalry with Yuri, though that was only in Oliver’s mind.
Oliver shrugged.
“Is there a problem?”
“Don’t tell me…”
Yuri, placing his hand on his sword’s hilt, asked.
“Did you come as a spy?”
“No, no.”
“Then as an emissary of the Empire?”
“If that were the case, would I come in this state?”
He looked as if he had fled in a hurry; his appearance was disheveled, and his once perfectly groomed hair was dull.
“Then, don’t tell me…”
Yuri narrowed his eyes.
Memories from the past came to mind. Oliver had been in love with Yekaterina.
Perhaps, upon learning she was there, he had deserted the Empire to reach the palace of Briol.
“Yes, that’s exactly it.”
When Oliver nodded, Yuri’s brow furrowed.
“This bastard…”
“I’m Imperial, but the current Empire is wrong. It must be stopped. That’s why I came to cooperate.”
“Oh, really?”
“I think you just insulted me…”
“No, it’s a misunderstanding.”
In a way, it made sense why during the entire war against the Empire, he hadn’t shown even the tip of his nose.
Yuri nodded.
“Alright. You did well to come. Tell me.”
“My family, ever since the Emperor began losing his sanity, noticed something was wrong and prepared in advance.”
“Oh…”
“When we discovered that the Imperial Palace was being consumed by black magic, we tried to stop it in secret. But it was impossible. His Majesty had already fallen into the hands of the black mages.”
“The Emperor can’t be saved anymore, can he?”
“Exactly. In the process, my father was killed by an assassin. Now, in the Empire, my family is considered traitors.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.”
“It’s alright. We’re doing the right thing.”
Oliver’s voice didn’t waver.
Yuri felt ashamed for having doubted him.
He wasn’t the only one opposing black magic. Even if they didn’t get along, there were others who could tell right from wrong.
“In the last war, I supported the Anti-Empire Alliance, but…”
“Yes.”
“In the end, they ended up summoning a terrifying monster.”
Oliver let out a sigh.
“In the Empire, there still exists an organization resisting black magic. It’s the legacy of the late Prince Ragnar. They don’t move with us, but we maintain a cooperative relationship.”
At the name Ragnar, Yuri looked up.
“Prince Ragnar.”
“That’s right.”
He remembered Ragnar’s always-smiling face. If he had lived, perhaps the situation would be a little better.
“But recently a problem has arisen.”
“What kind of problem?”
“We knew in advance that a human sacrifice ritual was going to be held in Zveta. So we sent people to stop it.”
“And?”
“Of course, they failed. However…”
His expression hardened.
“The person who infiltrated there was none other than the Black Knight.”
“What?”
What he said next was shocking.
Oliver’s family had infiltrated their own spy into Zveta. He had been sending information regularly until one day someone was captured.
To everyone’s surprise, it was a woman.
“It wasn’t only shocking that the Black Knight was a woman, but that she was captured with barely any resistance was even more surprising.”
Yuri stared at him.
Having fought the Black Knight, he knew how formidable she was. And now they said she couldn’t resist.
“They say it was because of a mage. He used an unknown magic…”
Oliver glanced behind him. Behind him was a hooded figure.
“From here on, I’ll let him explain.”
The person pulled back the hood. It was also a familiar face.
Yuri, with a surprised smile, said his name.
“Raphael?”
“It’s been a while, Your Highness.”
It was Raphael Artem, knight of the Empire who had worked alongside Graham Hartfall. Since Graham’s death, he hadn’t seen him, and now he seemed to be collaborating with Oliver against the Empire.
Raphael gave a faint smile.
“Despite the situation, I’m glad to see you. You’re just the same as ever.”
“I’m glad to see you too.”
“Allow me to get straight to the point, Your Highness. It’s highly likely that the mage who defeated the Black Knight is someone you know.”
“Someone I know?”
Of the mages Yuri knew, only Inariel would have the strength to defeat a knight like her.
And even then, it wouldn’t be easy — in a one-on-one, a mage rarely defeats a knight, let alone one of her caliber.
As Yuri frowned, Raphael looked at him intently and said,
“I mean that Cory who followed you in the Alliance army.”
“What?”
Yuri’s eyes widened. That was not a name he had expected to hear.
Raphael continued.
“At first, I doubted it too, but the description our informant gave matches Cory exactly. And most telling, he calls himself Cory, and others call him that too.”
“It can’t be…”
“They say he’s recently begun to earn Cedric’s favor. Apparently, being a half-orc, he uses a strange magic. From what we’ve heard, they call it the Power of the Voice of Authority. With a single word, he can subdue a person.”
“Voice of Authority…”
Yuri had to accept it.
There was no doubt it was Cory, using the draconic language he had learned from Cruar.
With his hand on his forehead, he asked,
“You’re saying he subdued the Black Knight?”
“That’s right. The Black Knight had infiltrated disguised as an Imperial soldier, and he subdued her with a single word.”
In the past, Cory’s draconic language had not been very refined. But somehow, under Cedric, he had managed to strengthen it enough to trouble even the Black Knight.
Oliver resumed the explanation.
The informant in Zveta described Cory as brutal.
He would summon prisoners from the camp, experiment on them using magic, and then throw them into a pit as sacrifices for black magic.
Raphael added,
“And the Black Knight was also thrown in there. If that monster was summoned, then she’s no longer alive.”
“…”
“With someone like her as a sacrifice, it’s no wonder they were able to summon such a fearsome being. It’s truly terrifying.”
Yuri closed his eyes, deep in thought.
According to Laurent, Cory was no longer the same as before. And now, a covert group from the Empire claimed he was a loyal servant of Cedric.
When Yuri remained silent, Raphael spoke cautiously.
“Your Highness, I understand. I know you valued him when he was in the Alliance, and that’s why I’m saying this carefully. But that half-orc is now our enemy.”
“I understand.”
Yuri looked up.
Oliver and Raphael went silent at once.
In his eyes burned something intense, and the pressure he radiated was enough to make one’s hair stand on end.
“Now I know exactly what I have to do. Oliver, Raphael.”
“Yes.”
“Yes.”
“I’m going to leave Briol and gather people. The probability of victory in the final battle is minimal. Most likely, we’ll lose and die. Or perhaps suffer something so horrible we’ll wish we had died.”
Yuri smiled faintly.
“Will you come with me?”
Crushed by the intensity of the moment, both nodded.
“Yes.”
“Yes.”
Yuri smiled broadly.
“We leave tomorrow. I have to prepare the last details, so I’ll arrange lodging for you. Rest.”
***
Upon leaving the reception room, Yuri set off immediately.
Ena, who had been waiting for him, hurried after him.
“Where are you going?”
“To see Yekaterina.”
“Oh?”
Ena covered her mouth.
“At last?”
“At last what?”
“My lord, you’re finally a real man.”
“Shut up.”
“At least bring her a flower.”
“I don’t do that sort of thing.”
“That bad-boy style went out of fashion a long time ago.”
“I’m the flower, so it’s not necessary.”
“You’re insane…”
____
Join the discord!
https://dsc.gg/indra
