Chapter 285: Fascination (2)
QiXThe tea table was splendidly set.t5ckL
FbAiDEna, as a maid working in the royal palace, mastered perfectly the art of preparing tea leaves. Thus, she brewed black tea with the finest ingredients and filled the cups to just the right level.iEl
rW88FKWThe accompanying sweets matched perfectly.XHI5
uEXHQAnd Yekaterina was sitting quietly in front of the tea table, looking at the garden.4kVW
VrPK4It was a beautiful scene.Yf8aS58
nKg“…”L64kXZK
OXahaiYuri, who had been observing her for a moment, sat down across from her.qhoe
aUtsrr“You came?”oxJv
wNO4“Yes. To what do I owe your visit?”Gc9p
28ztDhYuri suspected that Yekaterina might have returned in time.bD8R
bnZIn the past, a knight named Enox Seia had come to tell him about her warning.3PVnXD
DSvkaIf he took into account her habit of drinking Helgrey Milk Tea without stirring it, but rather by swirling the cup, and the message about the necklace, the possibility existed.sXyJ
DUK3In addition, Yekaterina was speaking to him informally.DkHem
G3DIzaIt was very suspicious.QSgai
ozGdw0B“Can I only come if I have some business?”2No
hoL“I don’t think we’re the type of people who meet without a reason.”UpFIG3D
uu7bH“I just came because I wanted to see you.”SW0dlV
3LhhSotYuri, somewhat taken aback, saw her laugh.YyDRaZ
8aH5W“Why? Am I not allowed?”yDEZ
bBVQVYekaterina looked at him intently with her emerald eyes and a smile on her lips, and Yuri couldn’t speak for a moment.nFwVE
V33FL6sThe way she treated him reminded him far too much of the Yekaterina from his previous life.xQapA
25JShe asked again.tcwv2
ZxN“How was the war?”MnZKS
Mstx9R“Difficult.”z7SK
MJR1N“They say you were suddenly transported from the Empire to here — does that mean such a formidable enemy appeared?”Jxxlpj
fiz6“Yes.”1JlmOnk
H0LuS“What a problem. Will it be hard to win?”PAAvC
0z2NhmY“Maybe…”4AP5cJR
Pfla“Maybe?”xfIk0
Q35a7KYekaterina took a sip of tea while looking at Yuri.s5gm
SSLkSA drop of tea shone for a moment on her lower lip before being erased by the contact with the upper one.fVQdl
N1FOIt was an image Yuri had seen countless times in his previous life.NPhZx
yUJCsWith his gaze lowered, stroking the cup, Yuri replied after a silence.IRB
mTcY“It will be difficult.”KDwir
oiC5“Hmm…”Hy7F40w
BASYekaterina smiled faintly.aVGbg0w
1zaV“The topic is too heavy. Shall we talk about something else?”zeHb5v
WjhFr“I think that would be better.”ZTVItwm
qvIhMShe changed the subject.nSP
bPPhFor a while, they maintained a light conversation, speaking naturally like old friends.3T01d
0VuTPLittle by little, the topic shifted toward the past, recalling the royal palace ball where they first met and the tournament held in the imperial capital.WaaIMG
Z4TYT“I told Georg not to do that.”Vckd
KBQ9L0J“For saying that, you seemed to enjoy it.”oeMtvE8
6BY“Well, that’s also true.”nyV0Bj
8yODYZt“Weren’t you the one who egged him on?”lKWH
V6LfN“No. I tried to dissuade him, but my brother insisted that he wanted to test your worth and took it all the way.”4hpM
Cu3ccBj“And when I won, how did he react?”Tfbn
43EN“He seemed interested. And in the tournament, since you didn’t participate, he was very disappointed.”FlapS
3FS“It was Laurent who participated in my place.”Zhc
JIOd0uf“I would have preferred it to be you.”AEaqaN
Mul“That would never have happened.”o5QMdn
YOy“And what were you going to do with the medal?”xumNn
c6sUIB“I don’t know.”r5Ya
0WV6BveYuri smiled ironically.0rP9S
319A“Then, Your Highness, what did you talk about with my knight?”PpcxLdr
NsBp“Your knight?”pFC9
RwuDb“Before the tournament, didn’t you meet alone with Laurent?”60XF
aPCf“Ah…”GkJ
Utb5LbYekaterina set down the teacup and leaned forward.ZQJ9NJ
4lwOxRw“Are you… jealous?”0Rnzw
BIgS“No.”AwlJ3bh
wng3P“Then why do you care?”eABo
1QejW“I just remembered and asked.”UHC1D
pXFNM3I“Didn’t Laurent tell you anything?”BLO
UhEY9U7“Laurent is not someone who talks for the sake of talking.”HE6g2nK
PQB9P“Oh, no?”FNaUwl
8cE7SNShe smiled and brought a sweet to her mouth, chewing it calmly.68xO1hu
7s8efBO“Neither am I.”6Qek4
KLF4C“Pardon?”xo6
nnQ1OGw“That I’m also not one to talk for the sake of talking.”f13Im
xKC“Ah, well…”fXxP7HQ
ZwrOOwYuri shrugged.jLuJ
DnTeXp7“As you say.”oOOSA
s78MfHe didn’t mention anything about returning in time, just like with his previous life. He treated her as if it were the first time they met, and she did the same.Oyf4fv
KhZhEven so, the conversation kept flowing.1tyY
sO7Without realizing it, both of their teas had finished.7rE6HK8
SNeEna, who had been waiting in the distance, approached.Cbpu
lA3fOfv“Shall I serve more tea?”SJO
ZwFZ6K“No, that’s fine.”6Xfb
jD2Yekaterina shook her head.MCgM
tXZm0“This is enough.”qTK0u
u1SgKF“I understand.”VNaISt
BK77VAt her words, Yuri felt a slight pang of disappointment, but quickly set it aside.fZit
ZVL4tqYekaterina stood up.SGVh6X
IriYow“Then, I’ll take my leave.”hwnU
TEyDZ“Yes.”nP7Nr2
bYrYuri also stood.IT4y
tmDER“Allow me to accompany you.”ybcy
QCG“You’re even going to escort me?”P5GDwln
5MXP“You came alone. And it’s already starting to get dark.”LHqxL
AazJoshua surely would have assigned her an escort, but it seemed she preferred to move alone. In his previous life, she also felt uncomfortable with people following her.5h0hX5
k87Yekaterina nodded.WYBP
wwFVEe“All right.”9jWM
gxsE2UrWalking beside her through the royal palace of Briol was a new experience.BLVUIq
ApU1w5j“The royal palace of Briol is beautiful.”qLbbA6E
feQU“It doesn’t compare to the imperial palace.”8NotvQ
4iEEY“I prefer this one.”EGfK
GFGKbq“Is that so?”BcmFs
aWJAlthough they had walked together incognito through the streets of the imperial capital, it was the first time they spent time together in what could be considered each other’s residence.mz3
nqSkFrom time to time, some palace servants recognized them and greeted them.HmXC
Q5ga5“Even the atmosphere is better than that of the imperial palace.”DWMgM
B8ab“Really?”O0m
15C“It’s too dark over there. Surely because of the black magic…”sRe
FrsMFinally, the two arrived at the palace where Yekaterina was staying, the same one where Yuri had stayed before.CiwxPy
tuHrqw“I’ll be here for a while. Thanks for lending it to me.”exVe
s0aBPG5“No problem.”hWH
OZ3“Or do you want us to live here together?”giuWJTg
KytMO7S“No.”z3cq
GmuIZaYekaterina smiled.Dz6CB
5qffDC8“Then, see you.”ONHQMhu
tn5TIrMYuri stood still, watching her walk away.u1A1
ph3O7oHe could have asked her if she retained the memories of her past life, but he didn’t.ls6
MKyD483“Well…”UR4
3mwnq4Just before Yekaterina fully entered the palace, she waved her hand toward him, making Yuri smile.aUY
tStmGn“Fuu…”A2Lovj
4Uv44He sighed and turned around, only to find a familiar face watching him.qUP
x5pv“What’s this?”UcklMfm
SYpJared asked.wuu1
tcbaHDJ“What is it?”xXS
JExwfAN“What do you mean, what is it?”TW7k
jpkGRAk“What’s going on between the two of you?”CNJdft8
kVsSkw“What do you mean?”kJuEb
kFKWzv“When did you get so close?”rpGx
JemPr“I just walked her to the palace.”nPkPJ
R7xP“It didn’t look like that at all. Right, Gaiden?”19ggG
0XAIElHJared turned to the gardener who was tending to the royal plants. The man, who was holding large shears, nodded.yPRNK
mr8R39M“Yes, that’s right.”0ZxV
NiNO“See?”aRL
OgB4rS“What do you mean it didn’t look like that?”U64
ANIAro“Gaiden, explain it to him.”6rM6
YgL“They were walking very close, shoulder to shoulder, talking cheerfully and with very happy expressions.”kk8Ix1
gFMSWhen Yuri frowned, the gardener quickly hid behind a tree and continued his work. The cut branches fell to the ground in a cascade.OV6
p8Ix4Jared burst out laughing.nzG
9Be“Anyway, tell me, since when are you like that? It’s lucky Lady Maryrose isn’t in the palace right now.”SLcrx
vBOlrw“What does Maryrose have to do with this?”oQMwc
0QFoRIh“Are you going to play dumb?”fj9HtkF
Q44“Just shut up.”hfnWvX
6uYYuri sighed.SDJpmcs
IDg“The god from another world is about to descend and ruin everything. Do we have time to waste on gossip?”yzfn
dK7X“Well, so what? Time will pass anyway.”K7v
KIvjhZJared smiled mischievously.p9ZUx
ldic“In a month, even if you don’t want to, you’ll have to fight. Until then, you should rest.”fGj
IeTYuri looked at him.NBx
tv1The fact that he spoke as if he were going to fight Cedric seemed admirable.cymTi
3e9uZt“I wish people from other countries were like you.”TEd
riZ“They surely will be.”wSL1l8
owiKing Joshua, after the return of Yuri’s group, had immediately contacted other countries.RsmpPr
SiGypmuThey still didn’t know what decision they would make.eUkE
yhyEven if they all refused, Yuri intended to fight alone.17hWXR
iOSk7n“Shall we spar a bit?”ABbF2
Qpzz18“It’s not that…”Cpnj0N
he8s“Come on.”un3ZcMC
qNZ“We just returned to Briol today.”eLJfkQ
mVX“And?”D2l3I
lvyj“The sun is already setting…”U3LHxeo
MLGYa“We can turn on the lights.”mkMp
xqcV“No, I…”Uj2G
PBH4e3“All right, we’ll do it tomorrow.”c5sZY
HaxA98“Understood.”0xD
44DDn6x***h8GqS
X27blYThe next morning, Yuri dragged Jared to the training grounds.XJ0MVU
QijGQGThe place was empty.PqZhsb1
SyZwe“Jared.”neF3y
EJflK“Yes.”5C1tG
kOO“Give it your all.”d83
SfAdhUHe didn’t know if Cedric had given him a month just so he would relax and lose his fighting spirit, but Yuri had no intention of doing that.lYuj
xOcBjbHe would improve as much as possible and kill Cedric.mXUn
MDOY“Yes.”l0EF
qCM65mbJared also gripped his sword with a serious expression.nNZZZ4l
HHXorMTheir swords clashed.6zdC
HaB66mSOf course, Jared couldn’t match Yuri. Again and again he ended up on the ground, and Yuri waited for him to get up before attacking again.2jOrUJh
zLfnXIt was tougher than usual.pP7QybO
wzhyBut, surprisingly, Jared didn’t complain.wdo
f4CeUHe gritted his teeth and kept up.W9iSJ
4KY8cSL“Tired already?”ahUBJ
k7gSr“No.”YxUJ7a
1j3U2N6Jared smiled defiantly.zdE2ucs
JQWhRY“Is this all you’ve got?”AVtp9
Ued43PYuri understood he was serious. Jared truly intended to go with him to fight Cedric.7NN
Dgg3“Good.”ewU8Nst
lGTliTYuri smiled sideways.qaYbBm
gz0“Then I’ll get serious.”A16dBx
2YCSThe aura of the Cut of the soul and the heart flowed into Guilty. The sword vibrated strongly. Jared spun his own in the air, moving in circles around Yuri.0ZT
zCxMtmThey clashed again.bibE
bCjbhYuri’s energy swept across Jared’s body.ksV
bGaxzpyIt wasn’t a deep wound, but enough to draw a little blood.md8Lwf
3oYFJared widened his eyes, trying to follow the attack.YRI
CheBut he couldn’t block them all.86xJLkm
TR7uRnx“Tch!”ztgtSpY
McqRyHe tried to counterattack in a moment of opening, but Yuri kicked him in the abdomen and sent him rolling across the ground.r3k83
dKrWqI“Fuu…”S2W7Fb3
H5NfUbVThe gap was still enormous.t5IdM
PYFIThe third prince, who used to be weaker than him, had now turned into a monster.9Ao
xGPJared gritted his teeth and stood up.wWiBvyN
0EYThen—kKsZny
DPyxS“Huh?”oSAVM
EWYasDAlthough at first it had only been the two of them in the field, suddenly there were more people.X0xvqRf
Fa6e8vq“You two have such a big difference in level that you’re not helping each other much.”kwWm
E7VMoyongchan, arms crossed, stood in front of Yuri.W7a
mCW“You, train with him.”YH0ikG1
R3x5Laurent looked at Jared and nodded.CnGZOEI
CIV5uBesides them, several knights of the Order of Vengeance were already gathered around.8CPN
Wre4lIt seemed they had come directly to the palace after being summoned.ORN
PyK“We’ll participate as well.”XPefo
x5yJ“Please train us.”ynqmBo
vY90tIYuri looked at them and smiled.aO0tfC9
SxJ“If you wanted to come, you should’ve done so yesterday. You’re a day late.”nKxPb
jls“Forgive us for that.”Xfo
1xW“And the others?”1WEQ
GEfm1oL“They’re probably on their way.”Fe41NpE
y6QBtnThe Order of Vengeance was made up of knights selected from all the fiefs of Briol. Those living in the capital had arrived immediately, but those from distant areas would take longer.vTc
Z9yP“All right, I hope so.”yRRWj
mBnWdKYuri looked over everyone.li4gaIx
fOWoZTJ“I’m going back to the Empire to finish this. Any objections?”HPydL
rEvM6e8“None!”EypgsJa
q7ax1Un“Perfect. Let’s train!”3rQRQ5
ERVpOWThe knights paired off and began sparring. Yuri stood in front of Moyongchan.bsLHE4
7YEI“Master.”79g9xIr
7b7Owq“What do you want?”cBRO0
Mmjrrb0“I’ll go all out.”j7r
stNPVFq“That’s fine.”rpuDEGs
LcXT6Moyongchan smiled.AUpG
p6pKs“Try it.”hYAdFXz
7tFmnThey stepped back a bit.yLAXL
rdvTZBoth released their energy.sNaKWcI
8LmciOVTheir clothes billowed from the pressure.eevG
e3np“In Eastern terms, how strong are you, Master?”xMaXn
MjoQKj“I don’t know…”xKZP
a0TYMoyongchan raised his sword.ntqyS
iNRXK“Right now, I’d probably be among the Five Great Masters.”bqLCm
tFyC“Is Dan Socheon among them?”VpoT
qbt2f“The Heavenly Demon is always included.”iFY
xNv“I see.”iiu
iMiOuqZYuri smiled.2xW
r6xAS“Then if I beat you, nothing bad will happen.”KyrcQIE
3erIjH0“Arrogant…”mraD7
9DY5They lunged at each other.AVl6fg
2N1Their swords were so fast that even the most experienced knights couldn’t follow them. The sound of metal rang out repeatedly, mixed with explosions that made the air vibrate.hAToLN
iyaIWhen Yuri and Moyongchan began fighting, everyone’s eyes focused on them.DHwX
L3IEven those who were training stopped their matches.hQM
zogohIt wasn’t common to witness a duel between experts of Ten Greats level.J6O9SZ
RhmgWatching it was a lesson in itself.zuVX
hedBUtTOf course, if the viewer’s level wasn’t high enough, they wouldn’t understand anything.vNX6
877LQ1b“Hmm…”wDMckMm
k9gHffAnd for an ordinary person, they wouldn’t even know what they were seeing.e9DQHqy
zMTAqSuch was the case with Yekaterina.e3LIz1
A7fnSitting under a parasol, she watched the fight from a distance.w0X
EzXtSome knights recognized her and greeted her; she returned the gesture.pfHhH
xiT“I don’t understand anything.”9wOGu
t5I8CEna, who was with her, was serving tea.fMyj82
UfU“But I do know it’s impressive.”Ljo
ST3“Same here. Ena, do you want to have tea with me?”QlPEz
DD2“How could I, with you, Your Highness…?”E0nuQF
qpVV“It’s fine. Sit.”X5IJCMC
ouCaEp“Hehe, thank you.”RzD
2e9qa11While they drank tea, Moyongchan was slammed into the ground once, and Yuri was sent flying, falling and spitting a little blood.NXHf4X
ccEW8qR“They look good, don’t they?”WMlNAs
l24bbhd“Yes. It’s always good to see someone working hard.”otuiq7
What did you think of this chapter?
Report comment
Please select the reason for reporting this comment. False reports may result in account suspension.
0 Comments
There are no comments yet. Be the first!