Chapter 189: Crossroads (2)

As soon as he heard those words, Yuri threw a punch. The thick leather gauntlet struck the cavalry captain’s helmet hard.

The commander staggered back, shouting.

“W-Wait! Why are you acting like this?!”

“Who did you say sent you?”

“Well, that…”

“Die!”

Yuri swung Guilty with force.

The moment the commander blocked the attack, Yuri’s hand coiled like a snake and grabbed both his wrists, then landed a low kick that knocked him over.

Immediately after, he kicked his helmet.

“Grah!”

The commander curled up, clutching his head with both hands. He likely had a concussion.

While he was unable to recover, Yuri shoved his hand through the helmet’s visor and ripped it off by force.

The face of a middle-aged man with a mustache appeared.

“Wait… I just…”

Yuri punched him again, grabbed him by the hair, and dragged him over to the gathered Briol soldiers before tossing him down.

“Tie up this bastard.”

“Yes, sir!”

“If he resists, kill him.”

“Yes, sir!”

And he returned to the front line.

Yuri muttered,

“Who sends whom?”

He let out a low laugh and headed to the spot the imperial soldiers had taken.

More and more enemies were climbing the ropes. A whirlwind of chaotic energy emanated from his sword.

“Hey!”

Yuri shouted, and his voice echoed atop the wall.

“Look at me!”

In an instant, all eyes turned to him. Yuri spun and unleashed a horizontal slash.

At the same time, the whirlwind of chaotic energy spinning around Guilty burst forth toward the imperial formation.

The whirlwind tore through the imperial soldiers. Jets of blood sprayed everywhere.

Weapons dragged into the vortex shattered, twisted, and turned into jagged blades, becoming part of a sharp gear that cut down their own wielders.

That section of the wall alone seemed dyed by another world, completely red.

On the faces of the imperial soldiers climbing the ropes fell the blood of their own comrades.

A moment of silence fell.

“Phew…”

Yuri caught his breath. Forcing the mana surge had left him shaken.

Suppressing the residual impact, he walked forward slowly. His foot kicked through flesh and dismembered bodies.

He spotted a hook anchored to the wall, still attached to a rope. He placed a foot on it and leaned out.

“Hey.”

A soldier, his face covered in blood and gore, clung to the rope, trembling.

Behind him, several more were hanging in a line. Yuri cut the rope with Guilty.

The soldiers fell.

They crashed onto their comrades waiting below, and due to the sheer number, not a few were crushed to death.

Yuri shouted,

“Pour the oil!”

“Yes, sir!”

The Briol soldiers, standing ready, approached with steaming cauldrons and tilted them. The boiling oil poured down on the imperial soldiers, melting their flesh as they screamed in agony.

Hell had been unleashed. That’s the battlefield.

“It’s more or less under control.”

Yuri turned without hesitation. Jared followed.

“My father?”

“He’s fighting over there.”

Turning his gaze, he saw Fiore facing the imperial knights, including the Black Knight.

Several corpses already lay at his feet.

“It’s going well there too. Won’t take long.”

As Yuri predicted, a horn soon sounded. The imperial army began to retreat.

The battle was over.

Yuri raised Guilty and shouted,

“For Briol!”

“For Briol!”

“Good work, everyone!”

“You too, Your Highness!”

The Briol army cheered.

Though they had secured another victory, Yuri felt the Empire was merely stalling for time.

As if they had no real intention of taking the castle.

Jared asked him,

“Prince, you don’t look very happy?”

“Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Your expression…”

“This is always my face.”

“Smile.”

Yuri brought two fingers to his cheeks and lifted them upward.

“Like this?”

“That’s enough.”

With Guilty slung over his shoulder, Yuri went to check on the captured cavalry captain. He was tied hand and foot, barely breathing.

“Oh, he’s still alive.”

“Ugh…”

He had a filthy rag in his mouth, and from the beatings, bloody saliva dripped from the corners.

Yuri chuckled.

“That’s right. If you want to live, best stay still.”

“Mmph! Mmph!”

“Jared.”

“Yes.”

“Put this guy in a cell. I’ll interrogate him personally.”

“Understood. Shall I prepare the usual tools?”

“Yes.”

“I’ll bring red-hot tongs in all sizes. And steel needles too.”

“¡Mmmmph!”

Of course, those torture tools didn’t actually exist, but Jared exaggerated on purpose.

“You know something? When you burn skin, it peels off easily. After that, even things you didn’t know you knew come pouring out. There’s no better interrogation method. Curious how it works?”

“¡Mmmpf! ¡Mmmpfp!”

“You’ll learn firsthand.”

Yuri confirmed Jared was taking the commander away, then went looking for Fiore again.

Fiore was returning to the castle after pursuing and eliminating the fleeing enemies. Not only had he smoothly faced the Black Knight, but he had also gradually taken down several high-ranking foes.

That day alone, Fiore had killed over ten—each one worth dozens of regular soldiers.

His skill was simply absurd. As long as nothing happened to him, Briol’s defensive line would hold.

Yuri smiled with satisfaction and applauded.

“Good work, everyone!”

***

After celebrating the victory once more, Yuri and Jared headed to the underground dungeons of Castle Bezos, where several prisoners from the Imperial army were held.

“Where’s that guy?”

“He was here… where did he go?”

Yuri quickly found the captain of the Order of the Lance and Sword. He was still lying on the floor, a rag stuffed in his mouth.

“You still haven’t let him loose?”

“They said he’s a commander. Just in case, we kept him tied.”

“Well done.”

As soon as he heard his voice, the man began squirming.

“¡Mmmph! ¡Mmmph!”

“Take him to the interrogation room.”

“Yes, sir.”

Yuri entered the interrogation room, located in a corner of the dungeon.

It was a completely enclosed space with a table, two chairs, and an old lamp swaying with the breeze that entered when the door opened.

Jared soon brought in the commander, tossed him on the ground, and sat down across from Yuri.

“Shall I take the rag out of his mouth first?”

“Do it.”

Jared removed the rag.

“How dare you treat me this way?! You’ll regret it!”

Jared gave him a knock on the head.

“Shut up. If you don’t want more, you’d better stay still.”

“Understood.”

The commander immediately shut his mouth. Jared chuckled.

“He learns fast.”

“…”

“Doesn’t like getting hit, huh?”

“…”

“Come on, say something.”

“Hey, in this kind of situation… shouldn’t I be the one sitting across from you?”

“My legs hurt too, idiot.”

In the end, Yuri and Jared were seated facing each other, while the captain remained sprawled on the floor.

Yuri leaned back in his chair.

“What’s for dinner tonight?”

“Spicy pork.”

“Not bad.”

“Seems we’ll get a special meal for the win.”

“And no booze?”

“Who knows…”

As they chatted, the commander interrupted.

“Hey, do prisoners get the same food?”

“No.”

“I want spicy pork too…”

Yuri let out a laugh.

“Well, you’ve got guts. Hey, commander of the Order of the Lance and Sword. What’s your name?”

“Enox.”

“Enox.”

From the floor, Enox squirmed like a worm and arched his back to sit up.

“I am Enox Seia, commander of the Order of the Lance and Sword! My title is Baron, and my fief is—!”

“Just tell me your name. I didn’t ask for the rest.”

Yuri cut him off and leaned forward.

“Keep going with what you were saying. Who sent you?”

“We should take that guy out of here.”

“No need.”

“We’re going to talk about very confidential matters.”

“He can listen.”

Jared looked touched by Yuri, but Yuri ignored him.

Enox nodded.

“Fine. It was Princess Yekaterina who sent me.”

Jared covered his mouth in surprise and looked at Yuri.

“Why?”

“To give you a warning.”

“A warning?”

“Yes, a warning.”

Yuri stood up and kicked him in the stomach.

“Ack!”

“Stop pretending there’s more. Talk straight through from beginning to end. Or do you want to play twenty questions with me?”

“Alright, alright.”

Enox grumbled.

“I have my pride too… you could be a bit nicer…”

“What did you say?”

“Nothing, nothing! I didn’t know you had such a rotten temper…”

“Cut the crap and explain.”

Enox cleared his throat and began.

“Princess Yekaterina ordered me to deliver a warning to you. I owe her a favor, so I couldn’t refuse. I volunteered for this war hoping to face you, and today it finally happened. Though I had a mission, as a knight I couldn’t resist testing myself against you, and I ended up dueling. Then I remembered my duty and decided to get captured.”

Jared asked Yuri.

“Should I hit him?”

Yuri nodded.

“Hit him.”

“W-Wait!”

“Too late.”

Jared gave him three hard knocks. Enox groaned.

“That’s more humiliating than a kick…”

“Keep talking.”

“The warning is this. Yuri Briol. Listen carefully.”

He inhaled, paused, and slowly opened his eyes. Tied up and with a swollen face, he didn’t look very dignified.

“Be careful of Cedric Briol.”

Yuri stared at him. Jared stood up on his own.

“I’m going to hit him.”

But Yuri stopped him.

“Wait.”

“Your Highness, this guy’s just spouting nonsense…”

“Let’s hear a little more.”

“Excuse me?”

Yuri rested his elbows on his knees and propped his face in his hand.

In other circumstances, he wouldn’t have allowed an Imperial knight to talk like that about Cedric.

To him and to Briol’s royal family, Cedric was absolutely trustworthy. But lately, Laurent had mentioned Cedric several times, which made him uneasy.

He hadn’t paid much attention until now, since Laurent’s only basis was a few conversations with Cedric in the palace. But now that his name came up again, Yuri wanted to be sure.

Jared asked,

“What exactly should we be careful of regarding the crown prince?”

“Just be careful.”

“That’s it?”

“That’s it.”

“Are you kidding me…?”

Jared stood, and Enox scooted backward on his butt.

Jared caught him right away and gave him another knock.

“Argh! Wait! The princess said if you doubted, I should also say this!”

“What?”

“Do you still have the necklace?!”

“What necklace?”

“I don’t know! She just said ‘the necklace’!”

Jared looked at Yuri.

“Should I hit him, Your Highness?”

“Yes.”

“Understood!”

“Give him a light beating and step outside. I’ll wait for you.”

“As you wish.”

Yuri stood and left the interrogation room. Enox started screaming inside, but Yuri didn’t stop.

He shut the door behind him, silencing the cries completely. He leaned against the wall beside the door, arms crossed.

“What… is this supposed to mean…?”

Suddenly, Yekaterina told him to be wary of Cedric.

And she mentioned a necklace. Yuri closed his eyes.

There was no bond between him and Yekaterina.

In this life. His thoughts drifted back to his past life.

Yes. There had been a necklace.

Yuri always wore the necklace that belonged to his mother.

When his relationship with Yekaterina grew deeper, he gave it to her as a promise of the future. She accepted it with a bright smile, thanking him for such a precious gift.

Then, the Empire invaded Briol. Yekaterina returned the necklace with a letter.

That was her answer.

That’s how their bond broke, and when he returned to the past, the necklace disappeared. Yet now, in this moment, she mentioned the necklace.

Yuri reviewed his past.

No matter how he thought about it, there was no other necklace between them. Just that one. In the previous life, it was that. In this one, not even that.

Then, he arrived at a possible conclusion.

He clenched his fist… then opened it. Finally, Yuri opened his eyes.

Just then, the interrogation room door opened.

“Your Highness. I gave him a proper beating.”

“Wait.”

“Excuse me?”

Yuri brushed past Jared, grabbed Enox by the scruff of the neck, and dragged him back inside.

“I need one more talk… in private.”