Chapter 105: Academy (4)

As soon as the lecture ended, Laurent and Jared quickly kidnapped Edran, dragged him to an empty classroom located with Dale’s help, and threw him to the ground. In the blink of an eye, they had him tied up.

Fear was clear in Edran’s eyes.

Yuri pulled a knife from inside his clothes. It was the Flame Sword, one of the four swords from the auction.

When he scraped it against the wall, sparks flew.

He pressed the blade to Edran’s cheek.

“Is it warm?”

“Mmgh…”

“If you cooperate, it’ll stay warm. If not…”

Yuri waved the Flame Sword. A bluish flame flared up and then disappeared.

“It’ll get hot.”

Edran nodded frantically. His eyes were already full of tears. His terrified expression made it clear this would be over soon.

“This’ll be a boring interrogation…”

Murmured Yuri as he removed the gag. Edran gasped for air. Then asked in a trembling voice:

“W-Why are you doing this to me…?”

“You know why. I know why. Why pretend you don’t?”

Yuri grabbed him by the hair.

“If you don’t speak clearly, you’ll have a scar.”

“I’ll talk! I’ll talk, I swear!”

“That’s better. Then tell me, what do you think I want to know?”

“Um…”

When Yuri brought the Flame Sword closer to his face, Edran’s eyes widened in fear.

“It’s about Pamia. About Pamia.”

“So you knew.”

“I’m sorry. I’m really sorry!”

“Why did you do it?”

“It was just out of curiosity.”

“Well…”

Yuri waved the Flame Sword through the air again.

Around it, faint flames flickered like mirages. Though small, the heat they emitted was enough to warm the room.

The blade neared Edran’s face.

“I’ll talk!”

“You should’ve done that from the start.”

Yuri pulled back the sword. Part of Edran’s sideburns were scorched. It didn’t touch his skin, but the heat left his cheek red.

“Do you understand now that we’re not joking?”

Edran nodded frantically. He had seen in the prince’s eyes not a trace of emotion.

If he hadn’t talked, his face would’ve been disfigured by a burn.

“Come on, tell me.”

Yuri smirked and patted his head. Then he used the knife to cut away the scorched sideburns.

“Who ordered you?”

“T-That…”

Edran wanted to lie. But the prince’s eyes stopped him. The heat of the knife so close finally forced him to speak.

“The ducal house…”

“A duke?”

“The Elgast ducal family…”

A familiar name.

Oliver, the flashy noble Yuri had met at the banquet, belonged to that very family.

“Oliver?”

When Yuri mentioned the name, Edran visibly flinched. He didn’t dare speak aloud—he just nodded.

“And what exactly did he tell you?”

“Uh…”

“I mean, why did you approach me?”

Since he had started talking, Edran had no choice now. After all, he didn’t even have a close bond with Oliver.

He answered before the knife could get any closer.

“He told me to use a woman or any method to get close to Your Highness and make you take drugs…”

“And the reason?”

“I don’t know.”

“Do you really not know?”

“Yes, yes. We’re not close…”

“Come on, be more honest.”

Yuri got close and stared straight into his eyes.

Edran’s pupils trembled uncontrollably.

“If you lie, I’ll stab you.”

Yuri’s voice rang out coldly.

“When Oliver asked you that, what did you really think?”

“T-That it was unfair, that I didn’t want to hurt you, p-prince…”

“Don’t give me dressed-up answers. Be honest.”

The tip of the knife touched his cheek. The skin cracked, and a thin line of blood emerged.

“Didn’t you wonder why he asked you something like that? Didn’t you try to imagine it?”

“I just…”

“Humans are made to imagine. Just like I’m now imagining your face deformed by a burn.”

“E-e-e…”

“Speak.”

“I…”

Edran stammered as he parted his lips.

“I thought it was because of Princess Yekaterina… That’s what I thought.”

“The princess?”

“It’s just my guess, I’m not sure…”

“And what does the princess have to do with this?”

“Oliver is in love with Her Highness… I mean, obviously, because she’s… very beautiful…”

“And what does that have to do with me?”

“The princess showed interest in Your Highness… I’m not sure, but that’s what Oliver said. That she showed interest. So I thought he did it out of jealousy. That’s all. It’s the truth!”

Yuri tossed the Flame Sword into the air and caught it several times.

“I see…”

It wasn’t unusual for Yekaterina to show interest in him.

After all, he had led the alliance army to victory. At that moment, Yuri Briol was undoubtedly the most popular man on the continent in social circles.

It was an objective fact. And knowing how curious Yekaterina was, she had surely looked up everything about him.

That was the problem. Men who got close to the princess almost always ended up falling for her.

And guys like Oliver, with inflated egos, took it even further.

He had likely seen Yuri as a potential rival and decided to act on his own.

Though it was only Edran’s assumption, Yuri found it quite plausible.

He had lived through similar situations many times in his past life.

“I see.”

“That’s all I know. I swear…!”

“Alright. Relax, Edran.”

Now it was time for another question.

“This time it’s about something else.”

“Eh?”

“Where did you get that drug? Did Oliver give it to you too?”

Edran shut his eyes tightly.

Yuri didn’t press him further. He no longer sensed any resistance from him.

After a moment’s thought, Edran opened his mouth.

“Please believe me. I don’t really know either. The person who sells it…”

He took a few deep breaths before continuing:

“Shows up out of nowhere at night.”

“What?”

“I don’t really know. I was walking through the alleys at night, and they suddenly appeared, offering me a medicine that supposedly helped with swordsmanship.”

“Explain in more detail.”

“They wore a black hooded robe, I didn’t see their face. They move like ghosts. They told me if I talked about them, they’d kill me.”

“Better to die by my hand than theirs, don’t you think?”

Yuri patted him on the shoulder, as if to comfort him.

“You think I’m investigating this alone?”

“Eh?”

“The Empire is also aware of how serious this is and is already taking action. No matter how well they hide, we’ll catch them. You just need to give me the information.”

Those words seemed to bring him some relief, as Edran slowly exhaled.

“It’s just like I said. At first, they offered it saying it helped with swordsmanship, and I bought it out of curiosity. But then…”

“And then?”

“I also sold it to others saying it helped with swordsmanship or magic. It was a way to make some pocket money… and I also enjoyed having others under my control.”

“Did you sell a lot to the students?”

“Yes, yes. Especially to swordsmen and mages, since the drug helps them improve…”

“How do you contact the distributors?”

“I don’t know. Even if I look for them, they don’t show up. They only appear when they want to. Sometimes they even found me in my garden at home.”

“They’re not ordinary people.”

“No, not at all.”

“Do you still do business with them?”

“S-Since Got was caught by you, I don’t know how, but they sent me a warning. Told me not to say anything. And since then, they haven’t shown up again.”

“I see.”

“Really. I haven’t seen them again since then.”

“Understood.”

Yuri nodded, having grasped the essentials. But before ending the interrogation, he asked once more.

“Do you have anything else to say?”

“Eh?”

“Anything, no matter how insignificant. Tell me everything you know. If I later find out you knew something and didn’t say it, you’ll regret it.”

“A-Ah… let me think…”

Edran grabbed his head with both hands.

“Are you sure you’ve told me everything?”

“Yes, yes. Everything. A-Actually…”

Edran’s eyes darted nervously.

“O-Oliver knew I was getting drugs. Even though I wasn’t selling much, I wondered how he knew.”

“And?”

“That’s all…”

“I see.”

Yuri let him go.

“Edran.”

“Yes?”

“What happened today stays between us, alright?”

“O-Of course.”

“If this gets out, not only will Oliver be angry, but also the drug dealers.”

“Yes, you’re right.”

“I’ll keep quiet, so you keep your mouth shut too.”

“Yes.”

“And finally…”

While removing the restraints, Yuri grabbed one end of the rope and tightened it around Edran’s neck.

“Guhhh…”

“Don’t mess with the Briol kids anymore, including Got and Dale. Got it?”

“Ghh…”

“Answer.”

“Yes!”

Edran clawed at the rope with his nails.

“Don’t forget.”

Yuri let go and Edran coughed as if choking. A string of saliva dripped from his mouth.

Yuri tousled his hair.

“Did that hurt a lot? Sorry, I’m a little impatient.”

“N-No, no…”

Yuri straightened Edran’s clothes, which had become disheveled from being tied up.

“There. All done.”

He lifted his face by the chin and looked him in the eyes again. In Edran’s pupils, Yuri’s black eyes were reflected.

The atmosphere was icy. His gaze was so cold and relentless, it could make anyone tremble. Yuri smiled, satisfied.

Then Edran muttered in a trembling voice:

“I-I really told you everything…”

“I know.”

Yuri helped him to his feet. Edran staggered, but managed to stay upright.

As he smoothed the wrinkled collar of his shirt, Yuri said:

“Edran, even though we started like this, if things go well, maybe we can be good friends.”

Something similar had happened with Sven Gain. Of course, it took the will to change.

“Take care. And if we meet again, say hi.”

“Understood.”

“We’ll go out first. It’d be weird if you left with us, so wait a bit.”

“Okay.”

As Yuri turned, Laurent and Jared followed him.

Laurent shot Edran a cold look, and Jared pointed two fingers to his own eyes, then at Edran—signaling he’d be watching.

Edran nodded, looking dazed. As soon as they left the classroom, Yuri sighed.

“The Empire is complicated.”

“Right. Catch one and a ton of filth comes out after.”

“Exactly.”

He missed Briol’s simplicity.

“But at least we’ve got a lead. I’m going to dig into that Oliver guy.”

“It won’t be easy, he’s from a ducal house.”

“I’ll try something during the tournament.”

Like the other delegations, Yuri’s group would stay in the Empire until the tournament ended.

Shortly after, they met with the academy director to say goodbye. He clasped Yuri’s hands enthusiastically.

“Everyone’s praising today’s lecture. Thank you.”

“It’s nothing.”

“And…”

The director smiled.

“Please don’t be too hard on him. After all, he’s still young.”

Yuri looked at him. It seemed he’d realized they’d taken Edran.

The director waved his hand, trying to calm him.

“Well, if he did something wrong, it’s fair you stepped in. Thanks for what you did for Got. As teachers, it was our duty…”

“Thank you for saying that.”

As expected of the director of the Imperial Academy—he wasn’t an ordinary man. After saying goodbye, Yuri left the academy.

The streets were lively.

“Now that I think of it, was today the registration deadline?”

That day was the last chance to sign up for the tournament.

The Empire’s citizens were already excitedly talking about who would be paired with Yekaterina.

Yuri chuckled quietly. Beautiful flowers always have thorns.

Whoever won the tournament and ended up with her would have a rough road ahead.

Yuri joked with Laurent and Jared.

“If one of us had signed up, we’d have raised Briol’s name.”

Laurent nodded.

“Yes. I’ll go raise Briol’s name.”

“Huh?”

Yuri looked at him, surprised. Laurent held his gaze with a slight smile.

“I already submitted the application, Your Highness.”