Chapter 76: Someone (2)

When she saw Yuri, Maryrose smiled brightly.

“Did you come to see me? At this hour?”

“Not exactly.”

“Should I throw him out?”

“You can’t.”

Yuri entered the room and closed the door.

“I want to hear the rest of that conversation.”

“What conversation?”

“About who gave that to Okua.”

Hernando opened his mouth.

“You heard all of it?”

“Yes.”

“How?”

When he entered Maryrose’s room, he had set up a mana barrier that blocked all sound. So how had Yuri heard?

Hernando hadn’t planned to share anything about the scroll with anyone but Maryrose. That’s why he was baffled.

“I don’t know.”

Yuri pulled out a dagger and waved it. It was one of the Four Knives: the Sword of the Wind Ring.

With it, he had channeled the power of the Cut of the Soul and the Heart to pierce Hernando’s barrier. That’s how he was able to hear the conversation through that gap.

“I see.”

Hernando understood. But another question weighed on his mind.

“Setting that aside… what were you doing in Maryrose’s room at this hour? Don’t tell me, Your Highness…”

Maryrose nodded at his gaze.

“I’m curious too. What brings you to my room so late?”

Yuri shot them both a cold look.

“That’s the only thing you can think of?”

“What else would it be?”

“Hernando, I was keeping an eye on you.”

“Me?”

“Yes.”

Yuri motioned toward the scroll on the table.

“You kept carrying that thing around, reeking of rot. I got curious about what you were planning to do with it.”

Hernando’s eyes widened.

“You knew?”

“Yes.”

“How?”

“I told you it smelled foul.”

“But I sealed it with magic.”

“But I can still feel it.”

Yuri glanced over. Dark energy oozed from the scroll, just like when the black shaman had appeared. The others couldn’t sense it at all, but Yuri felt it clearly.

“I’m going to take a look.”

“It’s dangerous.”

“Relax, we have two great mages here.”

“Even so…”

“Wouldn’t it be more exhausting if I resisted?”

Yuri grinned boldly.

“Better to get it over with now, right?”

Hernando sighed. There was no avoiding this chaos, not with the third prince involved. He signaled to Maryrose, and she gave Yuri a light pat on the shoulder.

“This is bad for your mental health. Are you sure you want to see it?”

“Yes.”

“All right.”

Maryrose clenched her fist.

“Trust me. I’ll protect you.”

“Thanks.”

“I’m going to break the seal now. Are you mentally prepared?”

“It’s not that big a deal…”

Yuri positioned himself in front of the scroll, with Hernando and Maryrose on either side.

“Here I go.”

Maryrose broke the seal. Yuri looked at the scroll.

⋯

He felt dark energy creeping into his mind. The edges of his vision darkened and rippled. Not being able to see clearly was annoying.

“Get lost.”

Yuri infused the Sword of the Wind with the power of the Cut of the Soul and the Heart and slashed. The dark energy approaching him dispersed.

“No way…”

“Wow…”

The two mages stared in disbelief. Yuri leaned in closer to the scroll.

For any normal person, just looking at it would be a challenge, but he bent forward like he was trying to read blurry text.

“Hmmm…”

Then the letters began to twist. A black tower appeared before him. Inside it, an eye stared at him. They locked eyes in a visual duel. The eye frowned from time to time but did nothing more.

“I see the tower and the eye. Is that it?”

“For now, yes…”

Yuri poked the eye with his sword. It distorted and vanished with a faint groan. The hallucination ended.

All that remained in front of him was an old scroll.

Yuri straightened.

“What a disgusting object.”

Hernando and Maryrose looked at him in awe.

“What is it?”

“Why are you so unharmed?”

“I’m Yuri Briol.”

“It’s not just that. Did you really stab it with the sword?”

“It was giving me a smug look.”

“How is that even possible…?”

Yuri looked down at his chest.

“Seems like my mana method is a bit unusual.”

The dark energy in the scroll seemed to fear the Cut of the Soul and the Heart.

“Just because of your mana method?”

“You saw it yourself on Sword Mountain.”

Hernando stayed silent. Yuri continued.

“All right, this scroll is tainted with dark magic. It’s very dangerous, that much I get.”

Yuri waved the scroll as he walked. He was about to sit on the bed but stopped himself and remained standing.

Maryrose smiled.

“You can sit. It’s fine.”

“No, I’m good.”

Yuri sat in the chair in front of the vanity. He waved the scroll again.

“So this came out of Okua’s body.”

“Yes.”

“Maryrose was right. This is a conspiracy.”

Yuri shivered as he recalled her theory. From the start, the allied army had been sent to die. And now, a new factor had appeared: dark magic.

Yuri thought about his past life. The emperor had suddenly begun a war of conquest. There were purges and repression across the Empire. Everyone said the emperor had gone mad.

“If an ordinary person saw this scroll, would they lose their mind?”

“Almost certainly.”

“That’s how dark magic works?”

“Totally possible.”

Yuri looked at the scroll again. The twisted letters were indecipherable. He shook it violently.

“What kind of writing is this?”

Then a voice echoed in his mind.

‘Beware the demon’s grimoire.’

Yuri froze. In the ruins of the ancient kingdom, he had seen visions of the past.

A mage who had left that memory had warned about the demon’s grimoire.

Was it all connected? Perhaps this scroll was a torn page from that grimoire.

“All right.”

Yuri handed the scroll to Maryrose.

“Maryrose, what you were about to say earlier…”

“Yes?”

“What cowardly Hernando stopped you from saying.”

“Right. That coward interrupted me.”

“I agree with you too.”

“Oh…”

Then Hernando called out.

“Your Highness.”

“What’s up?”

“If we jump to conclusions, we’ll only make things worse.”

“Who said I’m jumping to conclusions? And judging by your reaction, Hernando, it seems like the three of us are thinking of the same suspect, don’t you think?”

“That’s Maryrose’s fault…”

“Anyway, we need to go to the Empire.”

Yuri dropped “the Empire” like it was nothing.

Hernando sighed.

“Haa…”

It made sense to want to avoid escalating the situation, but Yuri had already lived once and come back to the past. He didn’t need to act cautiously.

At the very least, it was clear the Empire had used the allied army as bait. They needed to be prepared before the Empire truly acted.

“Let’s go to the Empire together. That way, you can see for yourself if the Empire is plotting something.”

“No helping it… Fine.”

“And just to be clear, the Empire did try to use the allied army as a disposable pawn. The fact it worked out was a miracle—and it was thanks to me.”

“Do you have any reason to believe that?”

“More than reason… Prince Ragnar himself already suspected it.”

“Seriously…?”

If the Empire had truly wanted the alliance’s operation to succeed, they wouldn’t have made Ragnar the supreme commander—someone the Emperor didn’t favor.

Finally, Hernando nodded.

“Understood.”

Then Maryrose gave Yuri a thumbs-up and winked.

“You convinced stubborn old Hernando!”

“That’s no big deal.”

“I see now you’re brilliant too. Is there anything you’re not good at?”

“Letting people down, maybe?”

Maryrose burst out laughing.

“Can I come with you to the Empire?”

“I need you to analyze the scroll.”

“All right. If the prince requests it…”

“I’m counting on you.”

She touched her lips with her fingers, thinking a moment before speaking.

“But in exchange…”

“Hmm?”

“I want you to grant me a wish later.”

Yuri looked at her.

Maryrose smiled mysteriously.

“A wish?”

“Yes.”

Asking for something was, essentially, making a wish. Yuri already owed one to Sybilla.

If he kept handing out promises carelessly, he’d end up ruined. Unpayable debts bring destruction. He didn’t want to rack up any more. But Maryrose was firm.

“If you don’t agree, I won’t do it.”

“Are you serious?”

“Yes.”

Maryrose crossed her arms.

“There are plenty of other mages, aren’t there? Find someone else. Though, of course, none will match my decoding skills.”

Yuri looked at Hernando, who shrugged.

“Stubborn isn’t the right word for Hernando. In the Magic Tower, when people talk about pigheadedness, they’re referring to Maryrose.”

“Ah…”

He chuckled. A moment ago, they’d been cornering Hernando, but now the tables had turned. Yuri closed his eyes.

“Fine.”

“Really?”

“But only if it’s something I can grant. Nothing outrageous.”

“Understood.”

“Can’t you tell me now?”

“Eh? You’ll really grant me a wish?”

“If you’re asking for something, that’s a wish, right?”

“Seen that way, you’re right. I like it! I’ll tell you my wish later.”

“Why?”

“I haven’t decided yet.”

Yuri was already regretting it. But if he wanted to stop the Empire’s plot and save the kingdom, he had to make some sacrifices.

Even if it meant going bankrupt from unpayable debts—he had to keep going.

“All right… I get it.”

He said that, and then, with a forced expression to hide his regret, added:

“Are you ready to become enemies of the Empire?”

“Huh?”

“What?”

“At the core, we’re talking about the possibility that the imperial family is tainted by dark magic, aren’t we?”

At Yuri’s blunt statement, Hernando was left speechless. Maryrose, on the other hand, narrowed her eyes.

She suddenly remembered what had happened at the banquet. On the balcony, Yuri had said something out of the blue:

‘If Briol is in danger, take in my people.’

And now, with this evidence coming to light, his attitude suggested he had known something all along.

When she stared at him, Yuri tilted his head.

“Hmm?”

And with that, all suspicions vanished. Maryrose murmured to herself:

“Men with secrets are always more attractive…”

Then nodded firmly.

“All right. Let’s investigate this thoroughly.”

Yuri gladly welcomed her answer, while Hernando sighed in resignation once again. Thus, the three joined forces.

Yuri smiled.

“Let’s work well together.”

Then he glanced at the scroll. The demon’s grimoire… what kind of object was it really?

What he had known in his previous life was just the tip of the iceberg. One by one, dark truths he had never known began coming to light.

He felt as if the true identity of the enemy was growing more blurred. But he wasn’t worried.

Even as things became more complicated, he was gaining allies. The seeds he had planted were beginning to bear fruit.

“I have a question. Is there any kind of mark or sign related to dark magic?”

“A sign?”

“It’s just, I have a friend in the Empire. He’s good at investigating in secret, so I wanted to ask him to look into it.”

“About the characteristics of dark magic…”

Maryrose suddenly chimed in.

“Probably, the user goes blind.”

“Really?”

“I think I read that somewhere. I’m not entirely sure. Maybe.”

“Now that you mention it… All the orc shamans were blind.”

“Then it must be related to dark magic.”

Yuri nodded.

Hernando, who had been listening silently, asked:

“Your Highness. You said you have a friend in the Empire? But you’ve never been there, right?”

“I met him in Briol. He left for the Empire recently.”

“What kind of friend is he?”

“Someone you know too.”

“Huh? Who?”

***

“They say you’ve gotten real cocky lately. Did you lose your sense of fear?”

“I’m not showing off. I just work hard. Besides, I’ve never been afraid to begin with.”

“Damn arrogant brat… You’d drown, and your mouth would still be floating.”

A storm was shaking the underworld of the Empire. A new group had emerged, crushing existing organizations and expanding their territory.

With money from an unknown source, they were taking over the black market for illegal loans.

Old gangs tried to settle it with violence, but their enemies were not easy to defeat.

“Do you have a death wish, huh?”

“There’s nothing else to say. If you want to settle this with fists, go ahead.”

“You damn punk! You’ll be begging for your life. Boys, get him!”

“Yeah!”

The one behind this storm, Gorio, sighed as he slipped on his gloves.

“Always the same pathetic lines…”

He was in a foul mood. Why did he have to come all the way to the Empire branch to handle things himself?

“This is what happens when the underlings don’t do their jobs right.”

While breaking one attacker’s jaw, he shouted to his men,

“Teach these Empire cowards how we do things in Briol!”

And so, Gorio, the most feared thug in Briol, was devouring the Empire’s underworld with his group, “Uncle Loans.”