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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 9
Chapter Title: 4. Confession (2)
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Bernard spoke.
"I've heard the whole story."
"Already?"
"His Majesty and I are closer than you might think, Your Highness."
"I didn't realize."
"The deepest scar among all the sword marks on my body was given to me by His Majesty himself."
"Ah, right..."
"Didn't you see it yourself?"
Yuri nodded.
Bernard had originally been a wandering swordsman who challenged the strong to duels wherever he went.
The reason he ended up staying in Brioll was none other than his father, Fiore.
Even young Yuri had watched that duel.
Bernard had charged like a demon, and while Fiore had tried to show some mercy, Bernard was no weakling. He couldn't be stopped with half-measures.
In the end, Fiore drove his sword into Bernard's gut.
The image of Bernard staring blankly at Fiore with wide, incredulous eyes before collapsing, blood pouring out, was still vivid in his mind.
When Bernard woke up in his sickbed, he whined.
'Fight me again!'
At his persistent demands, Fiore finally agreed: in exchange for Bernard teaching the princes, they would duel once a year.
Cedric had trained with Royal Guard Captain Saned once he reached a certain level, and Joshua had no interest in the sword at all. So now, Yuri was his only pupil.
"Bernard."
"Yes."
"At first, I thought you were some emotionless beast of a swordsman..."
"Go on."
"But haven't I grown fond of you now?"
Yuri said.
From what he remembered, Bernard would soon leave Brioll.
He wanted to keep him here.
"If Father says he won't duel you anymore, will you leave?"
"Of course."
"Bernard."
Yuri put on a sad expression.
There wasn't much real emotion stirring, but with his years of experience, he could at least fake sorrowful eyes.
Yuri deliberately lowered his voice.
"You are my teacher."
"Yes..."
"I think Brioll needs a swordsman like you. Someone unbound by convention, fighting like a back-alley thug with that sticky, serpentine swordplay."
"Is this you trying to hold me back?"
"Of course."
"Doesn't feel like it."
"You'll duel Father soon, and you'll lose miserably again."
"..."
"Then Father, tired of you, will declare no more duels..."
"Why do you think that?"
"Just a hunch. Maybe he doesn't want to torment poor Bernard anymore..."
"Why say all this?"
"To ask you to stay."
Yuri said.
"Brioll needs you."
Bernard stared silently. Yuri didn't look away.
The two locked eyes for a while.
Surprisingly, Bernard agreed easily.
"Fine."
"Really?"
"So, what will you give me?"
"Me?"
"There has to be a condition."
"Well..."
Yuri scratched his head.
He was a prince in name only, with nothing to his name. At best, he had foreknowledge of the future, but that wouldn't convince anyone right now.
But Bernard spoke first.
"I'll suggest one."
"What?"
"Erich Brioll's swordsmanship."
A demand worthy of the Sword Demon.
Yuri hesitated.
It wasn't because teaching an ancestor's sword art to an outsider was taboo.
"That's tricky."
"Even if you haven't mastered it fully, that's fine. I'm accounting for that."
That was partly true.
Yuri had only experienced Erich Brioll's swordsmanship through the dummy; he hadn't made it fully his own.
But there was a bigger reason.
"No, even if you see it, it won't help you at all."
"Why not?"
"This sword art is one with the Mana Circulation Method."
The two were usually treated as separate things.
The Mana Circulation Method was like a force multiplier for power; it never interfered with swordsmanship.
But Erich Brioll's sword art wasn't so much a form of swinging a blade as it was an expression of the Mana Circulation Method.
In other words, Heart-Soul Severing was both a sword art and a Mana Circulation Method.
It was so novel that even he questioned if he was learning it right.
Bernard's eyes changed.
"Never heard of that before."
"First time for me too."
"Your Highness has a sheltered view of the world, so everything's new to you. But I'm the Sword Demon Bernard."
"Ah, sure..."
"If I don't know it, no one on the continent does."
"Impressive, impressive."
"Yes. I'm quite impressive."
Yuri made a sour face.
Lately, he'd realized Bernard's personality was lighter than he'd thought.
He was probably always like this. In his past life, they hadn't talked much, so he'd misunderstood.
Maybe all the people he remembered were misconceptions.
That thought brought fresh regrets about the past surging up.
"What a regret."
The words slipped out unbidden. Bernard smirked.
"You mean how rude you were to me?"
"I should've convinced Father to cut you down somehow..."
"..."
"Kidding. Enough nonsense."
Yuri said.
"Alright, if I show you the ancestor's sword art, will you stay in the kingdom?"
"You want me to stay."
"Of course."
"Why?"
"I told you earlier."
"Answer sincerely."
"Fine. Because you're the Sword Demon Bernard, like you said."
"Ho..."
"Can't I just admire your swordsmanship?"
"You said no more nonsense."
Bernard stepped closer.
The constant tension he always carried was gone.
"Be honest."
"About what?"
"Your Highness changed suddenly. And you went to Sword Mountain and found a dungeon."
"So?"
"His Majesty said it was because of a dream."
Yuri frowned, wondering how much Father had blabbed.
"Don't worry. No one else knows. I'm your teacher, so he told me for your training."
"Good."
"Anyway, you saw a great war in your dream."
"Yeah."
"And Brioll falls."
"Without putting up much fight."
"Fine."
Bernard nodded.
"Show me the sword art, and I'll stay. One more thing."
"One more?"
"Call me Master, and use honorifics."
"You're serious?"
"Yes."
"You really want my polite speech that badly?"
"It has no value."
"Then why stay?"
"Because I trust your intuition, Your Highness."
Yuri looked at Bernard.
So, he believed his dream story.
"You believe my dream?"
"Yes."
Bernard raised his sword and ran his eyes up and down the blade.
A strange light flickered in his gaze.
Enraptured eyes.
A scene he'd seen somewhere before.
Like the bizarre moment his father had shown him, he could tell Bernard's fate was tied to the sword.
"Swords change fate."
His voice deepened.
"I've seen this sword turn life to death countless times. That's why I believe swords hold a strange power. And Your Highness is gifted with sword talent. What you saw might really happen..."
Yuri was a bit moved.
Who else would believe his blatant lies like this?
"Doesn't matter if it's not true. It's my choice. So, even if it's half-baked swordsmanship, I'll stay in Brioll on that condition. I owe His Majesty too."
Yuri nodded vigorously.
"Smart choice, Bernard."
Since returning to the past, he'd been working to change the future. It seemed his efforts were paying off.
Not only had he claimed the founder's legacy, but he'd also kept Bernard—who was fated to leave the kingdom—from going.
Yuri smiled broadly.
"Good. I'll show you. This Yuri Brioll's 'Heart-Soul Severing'."
"Honorifics."
"Uh... yes."
Yuri barely continued.
"I'll show you... Master Bernard?"
"Master."
"Ugh. Master..."
"Good."
Yuri gritted his teeth, gripped his wooden sword, and stepped back. Bernard swung his own wooden sword through the air.
As Yuri took his stance, Bernard suddenly spoke.
"Your Highness."
"Yeah?"
"'Yeah'?"
"Got it. What?"
"One thing's wrong."
Thinking he was critiquing his form, Yuri glanced down at his body.
But Bernard said something else.
"His Majesty beat me, but he didn't say he was tired of me or pitied me."
"What are you..."
Bernard lifted his shirt slightly. Blood faintly seeped through the bandages around his abdomen.
Anyone could tell it was a sword wound.
And only one swordsman in the palace could have inflicted it.
"Huh?"
"I dueled His Majesty yesterday. He said to keep it up."
"What?"
"He said I'm an outstanding swordsman and dueling me is always fun. He even wants to discuss swords for another ten years."
Yuri stared blankly.
The changes he'd sparked were happening in deeper ways than he knew.
In other words, Bernard was staying anyway.
"You bastard?"
"Honorifics."
Bernard swung. Yuri took hits to his thighs and hopped around.
"Eek..."
"Just show me the ancestor's sword art."
"Damn it!"
"Use honorifics."
"That was to myself!"
"Hey?"
"Yes."
"Yes. Demonstrate."
Yuri sighed deeply.
"Watch closely."
He synced his will with the core in his heart. Mana spread through his body.
"Here I come."
"Yes."
He glared at Bernard.
He imagined slashing him.
Mana surged from the core with his heartbeat.
Countless images of striking the enemy flooded his mind.
Yuri seized the one he thought most efficient.
Did the mana move first, or the body?
Or his imagination?
Maybe it all happened at once.
His world shifted toward the scene of cleaving the foe. But just before reaching it, his vision warped violently.
Blocked.
"Your Highness."
Bernard, who had parried the sword, wore an expression Yuri had never seen.
Perplexity.
Yuri had never rattled him before.
"Why?"
"Try it once more."
"Got it."
He was quite surprised, slipping back into casual speech without noticing.
"And..."
He hesitated, then said,
"Unify your thoughts. The sword wavers. Your Highness isn't ready to see multiple paths yet."
This time, Yuri was surprised.
As expected of Bernard.
After seeing it just once, he already understood Heart-Soul Severing and offered advice.
He felt ashamed of his past self for wasting time with such a teacher by his side.
Yuri smiled bitterly in self-reproach and gripped Guilty tightly.
"Alright. Here goes again."
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
"It's changing."
Yuri muttered.
Even without stepping in himself, his father Fiore had kept Bernard.
It hadn't happened in his past life.
Did his dream story work?
The fact that the future was shifting little by little filled Yuri with hope.
But the road ahead was still long.
The Empire's forces were bizarrely powerful, no matter how he looked back.
The Black Legion.
He had to stop them.
"No matter what."
"Yes. No matter what."
Ena had slipped into the room unnoticed and echoed his soliloquy.
"No matter what, you can't cause trouble this time."
"This time?"
"You caused trouble last year."
"What trouble?"
Yuri tilted his head.
He didn't remember every childhood incident. His days had been a string of mishaps, so he wasn't sure what specific one Ena meant.
"You cause trouble every day, so of course you don't even know which one I mean?"
"Spot on."
"Exactly. So, for the sake of your loyal servant, put in a good word for a raise, Your Highness."
"I thought you were already the highest-paid maid?"
"Because you're the only one who can handle your temper."
"I've been quiet lately, though?"
"That's what worries me."
Ena shuddered anxiously.
"Imagining what huge mess you're planning by being this quiet makes my lifespan shrink. I'm getting nervous just thinking about it."
"You really twist things."
"Twist? Why do you think I'm like this? Anyway, in a week..."
Ena spread her arms toward the wall.
"The Royal Ball!"
A gaudy dress uniform hung there.
It was so flashy Yuri couldn't even look at it directly and covered it with his hands.
"Ugh..."
"You have to dress up nicely in that and meet pretty noble ladies."
"No way. I'm skipping it."
"That won't happen. His Majesty entrusted you to me."
The Royal Ball.
I hate it.