Yuri, after returning to the royal castle, went straight to meet Joshua.
A report about what had happened in Euzeth had already been submitted.
As soon as he entered the great hall, the attending ministers reproached Yuri.
"Your Highness, you went too far."
"No matter what, to go so far as to behead a duke…"
"The lords will be terrified."
"You should have handled it according to the law!"
Yuri only shrugged his shoulders.
Then, the ministers turned their arrows toward Joshua.
"Your Majesty, please speak to the prince yourself. No matter what, there are laws and procedures, and if he just swings his sword recklessly like that…"
"Is that so?"
"Yes, that's right. Briol is a nation of knights, not of executioners!"
"I understand, I must scold him."
Joshua suddenly sprang to his feet.
Then, he swept the documents piled next to the throne to the floor with his arm.
"Yuri, you bastard!"
His voice thundered through the great hall.
"I've been trying to be a benevolent ruler in place of my father, but you just have to provoke me. You rotten brat…"
Then he took off his crown, and began unfastening the ornament on his wrist.
"Everyone, get out."
"Y-yes?"
"I said, everyone get out!"
The ministers' eyes shook. They had incited him, yes, but they hadn't expected him to react this violently.
One single word flashed through their minds.
Mess.
Without Fiore and Cedric, was the royal family of Briol nothing but a broken household?
Joshua, uncharacteristically, stomped his feet and bellowed.
"I said get out now! Hey!"
"Y-yes!"
The ministers hurried out of the great hall, lamenting the future of the kingdom.
"Has Briol's national fortune waned…"
"I miss His Majesty."
"How could brothers be so fierce toward each other."
As soon as the door shut, the sound of something breaking rang out. The bursts did not stop with one, but continued to strike their ears.
The ministers shuddered.
"What on earth are they doing in there…"
"But His Highness is even better at fighting, isn't he?"
"Surely he wouldn't fight back. He'll go easy on him."
"With the temperament of someone who beheaded a duke? Will he really hold back…"
"At this rate, the king might change again."
"Either way, it's worrying…"
Contrary to their fears, inside the great hall the two brothers were having a peaceful conversation.
Whenever Joshua threw something, Yuri smashed it with his fist, creating the noise.
"Hey, did you really kill him?"
"I did."
"How?"
"Cut his neck with a sword."
"Yeah, that's my little brother."
Joshua smirked, an unpleasant grin curling his lips.
"That pig bastard, I really hated the sight of him, and now he's met his match. He surely didn't expect to be killed, did he? How could he have known my little brother had such a nasty temper?"
"Exactly. He probably thought the new king would hold me back. Should've counted on the right person."
Fiore and Cedric were gone, and Joshua had become king. Few truly understood what this meant.
Though age had changed them somewhat, at their core they were still the same two rascals.
Now, the two of them could run the kingdom as they pleased.
"Hehehe…"
"Kehehehe…"
Yuri brought over a chair, sat across from Joshua, and crossed his legs.
Joshua asked,
"Hey, so what do we do now?"
"What?"
"We have to avenge Father and Brother. But where should we start…"
Joshua, having relied on Cedric no less than Yuri did, was still unaware of the truth because Yuri had hidden it for fear of shocking him.
So Joshua only knew that all of this was because of a dark mage pulling the empire's strings from behind the scenes.
Yuri tapped the hilt of Guilty.
"Brother, listen well. The empire is going to raise an army."
"They already raised an army."
"Something worse is coming."
Yuri looked Joshua in the eye with a serious expression, hoping his sincerity would be conveyed.
"The black army."
"What's the black army?"
"They modify soldiers with black magic, turning them into fighting machines that can't feel fear."
"Isn't that something out of a novel?"
"Reality surpasses fiction."
"How do you know that?"
"I just do. Trust me."
"Alright, I get it."
"We can't stop that with just our own strength."
Through his past life and this one, Yuri had come to a faint realization.
No matter how strong you are, you cannot win alone.
To face Cedric, an unprecedented dark mage, not only his strength but the cooperation of all humanity would be needed. To achieve that, the scattered alliances had to be brought together again first.
"I'll go to the Holy Kingdom. Until then, take care of Briol."
"What are you going to do there?"
"I'll persuade Sibylla."
"Forget it, she already seemed out of her mind. Do you even know how brutally they're fighting right now? It's life-and-death over there."
"If necessary, I'll stop her even if I have to kill her."
Joshua blinked at Yuri's words.
"Your ex-girlfriend?"
"What nonsense."
"You said you dated her?"
"I told you that was a lie."
"I thought you were just embarrassed and making an excuse. You know, 'let's bury the past' and all that. Like adults."
"What kind of garbage have you been reading? I've never even dated, let alone—"
"You, you, you. What are you talking about? Do you know how popular I am?"
"Enough of that, when's your coronation?"
"Why bother?"
"You have to set it in stone so everyone knows Briol is strong. If you officially take the throne, I'll be the king's brother and be called 'Your Highness' too."
"Should I…"
"Yeah. After the coronation, I'll head straight to the Holy Kingdom with my knight order."
"Alright. Ah, this is stressing me out. Let's break one more thing. I'm throwing a chair."
"Alright."
***
A rumor spread through the royal castle that Joshua had given Yuri a severe scolding.
Of course, those who knew them well didn't believe it at all, but at least on the surface, that's how it was told.
So when Joshua suddenly declared he would hold a coronation, opinions arose that perhaps he had realized the need to uphold the dignity of a king during the process of disciplining his younger brother.
In any case, the ministers welcomed the decision.
"Now he will have a sense of being king."
They had believed Cedric would inherit the throne, but with his disappearance, it was inevitable.
While Cedric was exceptional, Joshua was no less capable in terms of qualifications. Though he had been mischievous as a child, after maturing he had achieved great academic success thanks to his brilliant mind.
And so, Briol prepared for the coronation.
Before the assembled nobles and ministers of Briol, Joshua stood in the great hall.
Following tradition, Joshua recited Briol's oath, then placed a crown larger and more splendid than usual upon his head.
"Your Majesty, congratulations on becoming the king of Briol."
"Congratulations!"
All paid their respects to him.
Yuri sat in a corner of the great hall, keeping his seat.
In the past, he had thought he would be watching Cedric's coronation from here. But those past hopes had all crumbled to dust.
Now, the brother he had relied on the most stood before him as his greatest enemy, blocking his path.
It couldn't be helped.
The road would be longer, but he had no intention of yielding.
Looking at it this way, Joshua becoming king didn't seem like such a bad picture. Yuri clapped toward the smiling Joshua.
Jared, standing behind him, quietly asked,
"Your Highness… no, should I now call you 'Your Majesty'?"
"Yeah."
Since Joshua had become king, Yuri was now to be called Your Highness as the king's brother.
"It really doesn't roll off the tongue…"
"Suddenly?"
"It feels too distant. You used to be 'Prince,' but now Your Highness…"
"Try saying it."
"I, Your…"
"Your?"
"Your Highness…"
"Right."
"…is the electrical property of matter."
"What are you talking about?"
"Just a joke. Phew…"
"Then just call me brother."
"Yuri, Your Highness."
"You little…"
Considering the years Yuri's mind had endured, it would have been more fitting to call him something like "big brother," but not knowing this, Jared shuddered as if it were some disgrace.
"What's the difference between Your Highness and 'brother'?"
"Your Highness sounds like a title you're forced to use because of power, but 'brother' feels like you've surrendered deep in your heart."
"What does that even mean?"
While the two were chatting idly, Joshua sat on the throne, overlooking the great hall.
Wearing the royal robe and a ceremonial crown, he radiated a dignity unlike usual.
Soon, the great hall grew silent.
Everyone waited for Joshua to open his mouth, and then he spoke his first words.
"Some may wish otherwise," he said abruptly, "but it is clear that the Empire is our enemy."
The great hall fell into dead silence.
It was, for all intents and purposes, the king's open declaration that all the recent incidents in Briol had been schemes orchestrated by the Empire.
"But for now, we are not in a position to hold the Empire accountable. Therefore, from this moment, we will prepare for revenge. I will not allow the name of Briol to be left rotting in disgrace."
His eyes swept over the hall.
Some people's eyes held rage, others licked their lips in tense anticipation.
Then, his gaze reached Yuri.
"As the first step, I order my younger brother, now King's Brother, Yuri Briol, and his Knight Order of Revenge, to be dispatched to the disputed region between Bursen and the Holy Kingdom. I will grant you all my authority. Act as my proxy, mediate between the two nations, and revive the alliance."
As soon as those words fell, Yuri—who had been punching Jared in the stomach in the corner—awkwardly went down on one knee and bowed.
"I receive Your Majesty's command."
***
While Yuri was preparing to depart, there were those continuing their own struggles.
Duchess Mariloz of Balshad, and Ernando, who was apart from Yuri for the time being.
In Mariloz's workshop deep within Balshad, they had been interpreting fragments of parchment.
At first, its demonic energy had been so strong they couldn't even approach it, but after continued research, they had finally made considerable progress.
"So this is why you called me here," Inariel clicked her tongue.
"Because that person is a murderous beast? Why didn't you explain beforehand?"
The three of them were gathered in Mariloz's underground workshop in Balshad.
Mariloz said,
"If I had explained, you would've fought immediately, wouldn't you?"
"…"
"They say black magic can even release the constraints of a Grand mage. With your temper, Lady Inariel, you would've charged right in. You just look cute…"
"What did you say?"
"What?"
"That last part…"
"I didn't say anything. Anyway, if that had happened, you wouldn't have come out unscathed either."
"I do not lose."
"He's not someone you can face alone. Neither he, nor this abomination."
Mariloz shrugged.
"In any case…"
Her workshop's walls were studded with various gems that scattered light.
The colored lights illuminated the interior, but one glass tube in the center was different.
It was shrouded in darkness, as if covered by a black mist.
Inside were loose pages of parchment that Yuri had obtained.
"All the parchments are connected. Even if they're torn from the book, the original can control the rest."
"So from the Briol royal palace, one could manipulate the entire continent."
"That's right."
Mariloz placed her hand on top of the glass tube.
The darkness lurking within surged toward her hand. With a sound like clashing iron balls, the surface vibrated.
"The most chilling part is that the Demon's Grimoire has a will of its own. Or maybe… a grudge."
"A will?"
"Yes."
Mariloz said,
"Through the Transcendent Interpretation Method, I analyzed the information embedded in the parchment. I almost had my mind corrupted, but in any case, this Demon's Grimoire was made for one purpose—for the sake of throwing the world into chaos."
"What is that purpose?"
"Revenge."
"Revenge?"
"Yes, revenge."
Mariloz put emphasis on the word revenge.
Inariel asked,
"Revenge for what?"
She closed her eyes, and as if seeing something terrible, shuddered once before speaking again.
"When a human is killed, how much energy do you think is contained in that final emotion? And where do you think it goes?"
"You mean…"
"Yes. I don't know who made this, but it's the result of gathering all the grudges wandering the world into one. It's filled with hatred and resentment toward humans. You could call it the distilled essence of death's final screams. And so, this monster…"
Mariloz removed her hand.
The darkness subsided once more, swirling within the glass tube.
"…as the remnant of humanity, seeks revenge against the human race itself."
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