The moment he heard those words, Yuri threw a punch. The thick leather gauntlet slammed into the knight order commander's helmet.
The knight order commander staggered back and said,
"W–wait! Why are you so angry?"
"Who sent you?"
"Well, I…"
"Die!"
Yuri swung Guilty in a wide arc.
The moment the knight order commander blocked the attack, Yuri's hand coiled in like a snake and bound both of his hands. Then, he kicked low, knocking him over.
Yuri followed up with a kick to the helmet.
"Argh!"
The knight order commander curled up, clutching his head. He must have gotten a concussion.
While he was still dazed, Yuri shoved his hand into the visor of the helmet and forcibly yanked it off.
A middle-aged man with a mustache was revealed.
"Stop, I was only…"
After landing another punch, Yuri grabbed him by the hair, dragged him to where Briol's troops were gathered, and threw him down.
"Tie this bastard up."
"Yes, sir!"
"If he resists, kill him."
"Yes, sir!"
Then, he returned to the front line.
"Who sends who, huh?" Yuri muttered.
He gave a faint smirk, and moved toward the position occupied by the Imperial Army.
More and more Imperial soldiers were climbing over the ropes.
From Yuri's sword, the aura of a vortex began to rise.
"Hey!"
Yuri shouted. His voice echoed atop the castle wall.
"Look at me!"
In an instant, everyone's attention was on him.
At that moment, Yuri spun once and slashed his sword horizontally.
At the same time, the chaotic energy swirling around Guilty poured out from the blade toward the Imperial Army's formation.
The vortex swept over the Imperial troops.
Fountains of blood erupted.
The weapons caught in the whirlwind broke and twisted in all directions, exposing sharp severed edges, which in turn became parts of a spinning gear that helped slice through their owners' bodies.
That section of the wall became dyed red, as if it belonged to another world.
The faces of Imperial soldiers climbing up the ropes were splattered with the blood of their own allies.
For a brief moment, the surroundings fell silent.
"Huu…"
Yuri caught his breath. His insides churned from hastily drawing up mana.
Suppressing the backlash with effort, he trudged forward. Corpses and chunks of flesh brushed against his feet.
An anchor-shaped hook connected to a rope was stuck in the wall. Yuri stepped on it and leaned over to look down.
"Hey."
A soldier, his face covered in blood and flesh, was clinging to the rope and trembling. Behind him, more soldiers were lined up, hanging in place.
Yuri sliced the rope with Guilty.
The soldiers plummeted.
They fell onto the allies waiting their turn below. Because there were so many, a considerable number of enemy troops were crushed to death.
Yuri shouted immediately,
"Pour the oil!"
"Yes, sir!"
Briol's soldiers, who had been standing by, came over carrying boiling cauldrons and tipped them. As the oil poured down, the flesh of Imperial soldiers melted, and their screams rang out.
It was a scene of carnage.
This was what a battlefield was.
"That's roughly taken care of."
Without hesitation, Yuri turned away. Jared followed after him.
"Where's Father?"
"He's over there, in the middle of battle."
Turning his gaze, he saw Fiore facing off against the Imperial knights led by the Black Knight.
Corpses already lay on the ground, slain by Fiore.
"That side's going smoothly too. This should be over soon."
Just as Yuri expected, before long the sound of a horn echoed.
The Imperial Army began to retreat.
The battle was over.
Raising Guilty high, Yuri shouted,
"For Briol!"
"For Briol!"
"Well done, everyone!"
"Yes! You fought well too, Your Highness!"
Briol's soldiers roared.
Another victory had been won, but even so, Yuri couldn't shake the feeling that the Empire was stalling for time.
It was as if they had no intention of truly taking the castle.
Jared asked,
"Your Highness, you don't seem all that happy."
"Of course I am."
"It doesn't look like it."
"This is just my normal face."
"Then smile."
Yuri put two index fingers to his cheeks and pushed them upward.
"Like this?"
"That's fine."
With Guilty slung over his shoulder, Yuri went to find the knight order commander he had captured.
The man was still among the soldiers, bound hand and foot, breathing heavily.
"Oh, still alive?"
"Mmm…"
A filthy rag was stuffed in his mouth, and blood-tinged saliva leaked out, likely from being beaten by the soldiers.
Yuri smirked.
"Yeah, if you want to live, you'd better stay still."
"Mmph, mmph…"
"Jared."
"Yes, sir."
"Throw this guy in a cell. I'll interrogate him myself."
"Understood. Should I prepare the tools as usual?"
"Yes."
"Very well. I'll lay out heated tongs of various sizes. And needles made of steel, too."
"Mmph!"
Of course, there were no such torture tools to begin with, but Jared exaggerated on purpose.
"You know, once you burn the skin, it peels right off. After going through that once, even things you never knew come spilling out. There's nothing better for an interrogation. What do you think? Curious to see how well it works?"
"Mmm! Mmmph!"
"You'll find out soon enough."
After watching Jared drag the knight order commander away, Yuri looked again toward Fiore.
Fiore was returning to the castle after chasing down and cutting down retreating knights until he seemed tired.
Not only was he skilled enough to deal with a Black Knight with ease, but he also consistently cut down enemy knight order commander–level opponents. Today alone, Fiore had slain about a dozen men, each of whom was a force capable of taking on dozens by themselves.
It was truly an unbelievable feat.
As long as nothing happened to Fiore, Briol's defensive line would hold firm.
Yuri grinned and clapped his hands.
"Well done, everyone!"
***
After celebrating the victory once more, Yuri and Jared soon headed to the underground prison of Bezos Castle, where many Imperial prisoners were being held.
"What about that guy?"
"He was here, but… where'd he go?"
Yuri quickly found the knight order commander of the Spear-and-Sword Knight Order. He was still lying on the ground, the rag still stuffed in his mouth.
"You didn't untie him?"
"He's a knight order commander. Just in case, we kept him bound."
"Well done."
Hearing the voice, the man squirmed.
"Mmph! Mmph!"
"Take him to the interrogation room."
"Yes, sir."
Yuri entered the interrogation room tucked in a corner of the prison.
In the enclosed space, there was only a single table and two chairs, and as he entered, the breeze made the worn lamp sway.
Soon, Jared dragged in the knight order commander.
Jared tossed him to the floor, then sat down opposite Yuri.
"Shall we start by taking out the gag?"
"Yes."
Jared pulled the rag from his mouth.
The Spear-and-Sword Knight Order commander shouted,
"To treat me like this! You'll regret it!"
Jared smacked him in the head.
"Shut up. If you don't want to get hit again, be quiet."
"Fine."
The knight order commander immediately closed his mouth. Jared gave a short, mocking laugh.
"Good boy."
"…"
"Looks like you don't want to get hit."
"…"
"Say something."
"Hey, normally in this kind of situation, wouldn't I be sitting across from you?"
"My legs hurt too, punk."
In reality, Yuri and Jared were sitting across from each other, and he was thrown onto the floor.
Yuri leaned back against the chair.
"What's for dinner tonight?"
"Stir-fried pork."
"Not bad."
"Looks like they're giving us a special meal for winning the war."
"No booze?"
"Not sure…"
While the two chatted, the knight order commander cut in.
"Hey, do prisoners get the same meal?"
"No."
"I want stir-fried pork too…"
Yuri smirked.
"You've got thick nerves. Hey, commander of the Spear-and-Sword Knight Order, what's your name?"
"Enox."
"Enox."
Enox squirmed on the floor like a worm, then arched his back to raise his upper body.
"I am Enox Seia, commander of the Spear-and-Sword Knight Order! My title is Baron, my domain is—"
"Just your name. I didn't ask for the rest."
Cutting him off, Yuri leaned forward and looked at him.
"Now, continue what you were saying earlier. Who sent you?"
"You might want to get this guy out of here."
"It's fine."
"Some very secretive things will be said."
"He can hear it."
Jared looked at Yuri with a moved expression. Yuri ignored his gaze.
Enox nodded.
"Alright, Her Imperial Highness Princess Ekaterina sent me."
Jared's eyes widened, and he covered his mouth while glancing at Yuri.
"Why?"
"To deliver a warning to you."
"A warning?"
"Yes, a warning."
Yuri stood up, then kicked him in the stomach.
"Gah!"
"Don't act all mysterious and cut things off, tell me everything from start to finish in detail. You're not trying to play twenty questions with me, are you?"
"Ah, fine."
Enox grumbled.
"I have my pride too, you could at least let me—"
"What was that?"
"Alright, alright. Who knew you'd have such a nasty temper…"
"Cut the nonsense, explain."
After clearing his throat, Enox began to speak.
"Her Imperial Highness Princess Ekaterina ordered me to deliver a warning to you. I owe her a great debt, so I couldn't refuse. After volunteering for this war, I waited for the chance to face you, and today I finally did. I had a mission to complete, but as a knight my competitive spirit got the better of me, so I ended up crossing swords with you. Then I remembered my duty, and allowed myself to be captured like this."
Jared asked Yuri,
"Shall I hit him?"
Yuri nodded.
"Hit him."
"W–wait!"
"Too late."
Jared flicked his forehead three times. Enox groaned.
"More humiliating than being kicked…"
"Keep talking."
"The warning is this. Yuri Briol, you must take this to heart."
He took a deep breath and opened his eyes slowly. Bound and with a swollen face, he didn't look very dignified.
"Beware of Cedric Briol."
Yuri looked at him.
Jared stood up on his own.
"I'll hit him."
Yuri stopped him.
"Wait."
"Your Highness, I think this bastard is spouting nonsense…"
"Let's hear a bit more."
"…Yes?"
Yuri rested his elbows on his knees and propped up his chin.
Normally, he would never allow a knight from the Empire to speak so carelessly about Cedric.
To him, and to the Briol royal family, Cedric was someone of absolute trust.
But recently, Laurent had been bringing up Cedric far too often.
There was no real evidence—only that Laurent had exchanged a few words with Cedric at the palace—so Yuri hadn't thought much of it. But now, hearing Cedric's name again here, he wanted to confirm it.
Jared asked,
"So, what exactly did His Highness the Crown Prince tell you to be careful of?"
"She just said to be careful."
"That's all?"
"That's all."
"Are you kidding me…"
As Jared stood, Enox scooted backward on his butt in a strange display.
Jared strode over and flicked his forehead again.
"Ow! Wait! Her Highness also said, in case you doubted her, to tell you this as well!"
"What?"
"Do you still have the necklace?"
"What necklace?"
"I don't know! Just a necklace!"
Jared glanced at Yuri.
"Your Highness. Should I hit him?"
"Hit him."
"Yes, sir!"
"Hit him a bit, then come out. I'll be waiting outside."
"Understood."
Yuri rose from his seat and left the interrogation room. Enox yelled after him, but Yuri didn't stop.
Once outside, he closed the door, and not a sound escaped.
Leaning against the wall beside the door, Yuri crossed his arms.
"What on earth…"
Out of nowhere, Ekaterina was telling him to beware of Cedric.
And she mentioned a necklace.
Yuri closed his eyes.
There was no connection between him and Ekaterina.
Not in this life.
His thoughts drifted back in time, into his past life.
Yes, there had been a necklace.
Yuri had always worn a necklace, a keepsake from his mother.
When he and Ekaterina had grown close, he had put that necklace on her, promising her the future. Back then, she had smiled brightly, thanking him for giving her something so precious.
Then, the Empire invaded Briol.
Ekaterina returned the necklace to him in a letter.
That was her answer.
Their bond ended there, and when he returned to the past, the necklace was gone.
Yet now, at this moment, Ekaterina was mentioning the necklace.
Yuri mulled over the past.
No matter how he thought about it, there was no necklace between them worth mentioning other than his mother's keepsake.
In his past life, there had been only that one, and in this life, not even that.
Yuri's thoughts reached one possibility.
He clenched and unclenched his fist.
Then he opened his eyes.
Just then, the interrogation room door opened.
"Your Highness, I beat him thoroughly."
"Wait."
"…Sir?"
Passing Jared, Yuri grabbed Enox by the back of the neck and dragged him back into the interrogation room.
"I need a more private talk with you."
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