Chapter 119: Fall of Petals (2)

The Entire Empire Fell into Mourning

The festive mood of the tournament felt like it had only just happened yesterday, but the death of Imperial Prince Ragnar had wrapped the streets in a somber atmosphere.

Ragnar was deeply loved by many, making the impact all the greater.

The funeral was held in a solemn setting.

The official cause of death was declared to be an accident. It was said that while drinking on a high balcony, he slipped and fell. A valet was the first to find him and immediately called a priest, but by then, Ragnar had already passed away.

“I heard you were close to my brother.”

Ivar spoke as he looked at Ragnar’s coffin.

Yuri stood in the imperial family’s cemetery, located outside the palace. It was not a dark place. The white walls, the lamps on each column, and the golden ornaments made it resemble the interior of a temple.

“Ragnar didn’t like me, but I liked him. The strange thing is… the reason he hated me and the reason I liked him were the same. We were completely different. I suppose it was because we were half-brothers.”

Yuri listened in silence, eyes fixed on Ragnar’s coffin.

“Yuri Briol.”

“Yes.”

“Ragnar was a great man, wasn’t he?”

Yuri looked at Ivar. In his eyes, tinged with a bitter smile, many emotions were swirling.

Yuri simply nodded.

“Yes.”

Even though he still suspected the emperor deep down, he couldn’t deny that those words fit perfectly.

Ragnar was a great person. He wasn’t perfect. He had flaws. But those flaws were overshadowed by his greatness.

“He was a great man.”

“Yes, he was…”

Ivar sighed.

“I thought he’d go after me. But here we are. It pains me.”

He gave Yuri a pat on the shoulder and turned around. The funeral wasn’t only attended by members of the imperial family. Others close to Ragnar were there as well. Ivar greeted each one, offering condolences.

Yuri looked up.

Behind the coffin, a large door remained closed. Beyond it was a deep chamber that not just anyone could enter.

Like the other members of the imperial family, Ragnar would rest there.

So this was the final moment. Yuri approached the coffin and placed his hand on it. Though the imperial guards glanced at him, they did not stop him.

He rested his forehead on the coffin and whispered, low enough for only Ragnar to hear.

“I swear I will avenge your death.”

Suddenly, an image of Ragnar laughing in the meadows came to mind. Superimposed over that was the uncomfortable face of Ragnar he had seen in his previous life.

Though they had met in different times and places, he was always the same man.

He never looked down on Yuri for being merely the third prince of Briol and valued him for who he was, not for his status.

“I swear on my honor.”

With those words, Yuri lightly pressed his forehead against the coffin. The mission he had to fulfill now carried the added weight of Ragnar.

It was a path that seemed endless. But he had no choice but to keep walking.

He closed his eyes, silently said farewell to Ragnar, and stood up. At some point, someone had come to stand beside him.

Yekaterina was there, standing with her fingertips resting on the coffin. A deep shadow lingered beneath her long eyelashes.

“Are you going to leave?”

At first, he thought she was speaking to Ragnar, still unable to accept his death. But Yekaterina looked straight at him.

Meeting her gaze, Yuri parted his lips for a moment, then nodded.

“Yes.”

The tournament had ended. Ragnar, who had been investigating the palace’s inner workings, was dead. There was nothing more Yuri could do in the Empire.

He had changed many things, but he couldn’t change everything. A war was approaching.

The one responsible for Ragnar’s death was the same person who, in his past life, plunged the entire continent into a storm of war. They would feed off the accumulated suffering, growing ever stronger.

Before that happened, Yuri would do everything in his power.

“I see.”

Yekaterina nodded and removed her hand from the coffin.

“By the way…”

Just as she was about to say something, someone else approached.

“Yuri.”

It was Katrina. She greeted Yekaterina briefly with her eyes and turned to Yuri.

“I still can’t believe something like this happened…”

Her eyes were swollen.

“It’s so sad.”

Then, Katrina took Yekaterina’s arm, and the latter wrapped an arm around her. Katrina sighed.

“I can’t believe someone so healthy died from drinking…”

Her eyes grew moist. Yuri didn’t believe Ragnar had died from a drunken fall.

But he couldn’t question the body or the cause of death. If he did, he might draw the attention of Ragnar’s killer.

For now, Yuri could only be a grieving companion. No one could know that he and Ragnar had shared a secret investigation.

Yuri turned his gaze. Beside Ivar stood Crown Prince Eugen, listening with an expressionless face.

“Yuri. When you return, give Cedric my regards.”

Katrina, wiping her tears with a handkerchief, spoke. Yuri nodded.

“I will.”

He then glanced briefly at Yekaterina. Cedric and Katrina didn’t have a public relationship. Their love was secret.

But it seemed Yekaterina already knew.

“Yekaterina knows.”

“Yes.”

“He, too, was someone who knew His Highness well…”

As they conversed, the funeral director conducting the ceremony raised his voice.

“Only those of noble blood may now remain. Please vacate the premises.”

Yuri had to leave. As he exited the crypt with the other nobles, he turned one last time toward the coffin.

And at that moment, he locked eyes with Eugen, who was also turning back. For a brief instant, Yuri felt something.

An ominous sensation.

His mana method activated on its own. His vision shifted into the realm of the deep soul.

The scene in the imperial crypt, where the royal bloodline was gathered, began to distort, as if appearing in another form. The imperial guards closed the crypt door.

At that moment, his vision returned to normal.

“Are you alright?”

Asked a knight of the Imperial Guard. Only then did Yuri nod and turn away.

His back was drenched in sweat. Perhaps it was already too late.

Recalling what he had just seen, Yuri hurried out.

In his eyes, the inside of the crypt had been nothing but absolute darkness.

***

Yuri Went to Hernando’s Workshop. In front of the log cabin, Inariel was smoking a pipe. The long-stemmed pipe looked curiously fitting between the boy’s lips.

“Are you alright?”

“Yes.”

“What a mess…”

Every time he exhaled smoke, his long ears twitched slightly.

“You’re suspicious, aren’t you?”

“Yes.”

“I figured you would…”

At that moment, Hernando came out of the cabin.

“My condolences, Your Highness.”

“I’m fine.”

“So? How was it?”

“I didn’t see the body. I didn’t notice anything unusual.”

“Is there any chance it really was an accident…?”

“No.”

“I see.”

“I also find it suspicious that we couldn’t contact him for days. And the secret base he used was completely empty.”

On the way to the Tower of Magic, Yuri had stopped by the pawnshop where he used to meet Ragnar, but now it was deserted.

“Hmm…”

Inariel murmured.

“I thought it was a coincidence, but it seems it was inevitable…”

Yuri and Hernando looked at him. Inariel jumped down from the log he was sitting on and spoke with his hands behind his back.

“I came here on a whim, and ended up tangled in all this. I’ve been researching black magic, and it’s more dangerous than I thought. If your theory is right, that prince died tracing black magic.”

“Yes.”

“If the Empire—even the imperial family—is tainted, then this is extremely serious.”

Inariel picked up the staff he had left on the ground.

“Half of the Ten Greats are linked to or closely associated with the Empire.”

And he was right.

The Empire not only harbored the Dark Knight. Three members of the Ten Greats, including him, were directly under the emperor’s command, and two others were under his influence.

“If this power goes unchecked, the entire continent will fall into chaos.”

“Yes.”

Yuri had already witnessed that scene with his own eyes. Like a dam bursting, the Empire’s power had flooded outward in all directions.

No one could stop the dark army. Thinking back, all of them had moved under the power of black magic.

Just like the orcs in Okua.

“Since it’s come to this, I’ll look for a solution in my own way. Yuri, how do you plan to stop it?”

“First…”

Yuri recalled the map of the continent.

“Before returning to Briol, I want to pass through Adelein.”

“Adelein…?”

There was only one reason to go there.

“Maryrose said it would be good to have more scrolls.”

She was working on deciphering a scroll imbued with black magic in Valshard. But she didn’t have enough samples.

She said that with just one more, she could make much faster progress.

If she managed to decipher it, they might be able to create magic to counteract black magic.

“And you, Inariel, said the scroll was in Adelein.”

“Don’t tell me…”

“If I’m right, Gert became a death knight because of that scroll.”

Yuri believed that, just like in Okua, Gert carried that scroll with him.

“I’ll retrieve it there.”

With those words, Hernando and Inariel fell silent. Yuri had just declared he was going to face Gert, one of the Ten Greats.

“You’re crazy.”

Said Inariel.

“I’ll say this now—I have no intention of getting involved in your fight.”

“I understand.”

Yuri nodded. Inariel, after all, was an elf, not a human. He usually didn’t get involved in human affairs.

“And how do you plan to capture Gert?”

“The same way I’ve done things until now.”

“Gert is one of the Ten Greats.”

“I know.”

“Are you going to ask your father for help?”

“Of course not. I’ll go in secret.”

“Then?”

Yuri had memories of his past life. And he knew that Gert had been defeated before his own death. After Gert fell, a new member of the Ten Greats had emerged.

And Yuri knew who it was.

“Isn’t it strange for a death knight like Gert to be one of the Ten Greats?”

“And what about that ogre?”

“At least he can talk. But Gert only kills. That’s why…”

Yuri smiled slyly.

“It’s about time a new member appeared among the Ten Greats.”

Hernando’s eyes widened.

“Your Highness.”

“Yes?”

“I don’t want to take a position like that. It’s way too much trouble.”

“What?”

“It’s embarrassing…”

“Not you.”

“Then who else has that kind of talent?”

Yuri shook his head.

In any case, it was someone he already knew very well. He wasn’t the type to run from dangerous fights. He would surely join, excited, if Yuri made the offer.

“There’s a guy who owes me a full-course dinner. This time, I plan to collect.”

Jose Aratur.

The Sword of Brusen, and in his past life, one of the Ten Greats.

“Hmm…”

Hernando stroked his chin.

“In any case, it’s time to leave the capital.”

“Yes.”

“Your Highness, I don’t think I’ll be able to go with you this time.”

“Why not?”

“Given how serious the situation is, I’ll go to the central headquarters of the Tower of Magic. I’ll seek help there.”

“Hernando. Thank you.”

“No need to thank me.”

Yuri didn’t know exactly what Hernando’s standing was in the world of mages, but lately he’d come to understand he was a rather prominent sorcerer.

Maybe even the Tower of Magic could intervene.

“But that leaves me without a mage…”

Yuri looked at Inariel. He shook his head. Hernando smiled.

“Your Highness. Don’t worry.”

“Hmm?”

“There’s someone we hadn’t seen in a while. He just finished a long period of secluded training.”

“No way…”

Hernando clapped.

Then, the cabin door opened. Someone stepped out.

“Allow me to introduce him. A newly reborn mage. Officially recognized as a Novice Wizard: Cory.”

Yuri stared, bewildered.

“What…?”

Though he still walked a bit clumsily, his body had grown a lot. Had his clothes turned to rags from training as a mage? And why did his body now have muscles and scars?

He looked more like a martial artist who’d trained in the mountains than a mage.

Cory clenched his fist and declared:

“I, Cory, will accompany the prince in place of Master Hernando!”