Chapter 83: A Corrupt City (1)

“What did you just say?”

The guard’s face turned threatening as he puffed out his chest and stepped toward Yuri. It was clear he worked hard on his physique—his pecs were well-defined.

“You little brat…”

The guard rammed Yuri with his chest, shoving him back hard. Before Laurent’s eyes could widen in alarm, Yuri raised his hand to stop him.

“What exactly did I say, in your opinion?”

Yuri let out a slight chuckle as he subtly slipped a few coins into the guard’s back pocket. Then he whispered into his ear:

“I was just trying to give you the money discreetly, sir. Hehehe…”

The guard felt the weight at his backside. Thanks to his long experience as a corrupt guard, he could estimate the amount just by the feel.

Like ice melting under the spring sun, his heart softened.
A slow smile spread across his face.

Apparently, he still remembered how to smile.

“Don’t you dare act rude again. Got it?”

“Yes, sir!”

“I’ll let it slide just this once. Be grateful.”

“Thank you!”

“Get in and do your thing. Next!”

And just like that, Yuri’s group passed through the city gates without issue.

Jared looked at him as if he’d just witnessed a miracle.

“Your Highness…”

“What?”

“It’s just…”

“You’re looking at me weird.”

“Are you sure you grew up in the palace?”

“Yes. And so did you.”

“Then how come you’re so… streetwise?”

“What was that?”

Yuri kicked him in the rear.

Between teasing and grumbling, they found themselves fully inside the city of Yuzes.

Though not as majestic as the capital, it was a lively city.
Carts laden with goods constantly moved along the streets, and the bustling sounds of the open market could be heard in the distance.

“Welcome to Yuzes.”

A small child standing by the street ran up to them and offered a flower.

“Would you like a flower?”

He was clearly one of those kids who earned a few coins selling to visitors.

Laurent smiled and took the flower.

“Little one, how old are you?”

“Seven.”

“Already working at that age? How admirable.”

“It costs…”

“No matter.”

Laurent pulled out a silver coin from his clothes and handed it over.

“Buy something tasty with your parents.”

“Thank you!”

The child’s eyes widened. He pocketed the coin and bowed deeply to Laurent.

Laurent smiled, touched.

“How adorable.”

But that feeling didn’t last long.

Before the boy could walk away, two ragged men appeared out of nowhere and grabbed him by the collar.

“Where’s that silver coin?”

“Hand it over.”

In the end, the coin went into the pocket of those thugs.

Laurent stared in disbelief. The men gave him a crooked smile and disappeared down a dark alley.

Maybe the coin was too tempting—they couldn’t resist acting immediately.

Yuri placed a hand on Laurent’s shoulder.

“Do you know what a aengbeori-i is?” [1]

“What’s that?”

“You just saw one.”

“They’re exploiting children?”

Yuri gave him a pat on the shoulder before walking on.

“Yeah. Just make sure there are no kids like that in Francese.”

“Isn’t there any way to stop this?”

“The problem lies in how the region is structured.”

“What if we at least take that kid with us…?”

“Laurent.”

Laurent fell silent, knowing he was pushing it.

Seeing this, Yuri let out a small laugh.

“It’s fine. I’ll do what I can. Trust me and be patient.”

“Yes, understood.”

“For now, let’s focus on our task.”

Yuri kept walking and looked around.

“If we’re near the market… it should be around here…”

Then he spotted a flyer lying on the ground.

While Yuri looked it over, Jared chuckled.

“Wow, today’s loan sharks really have style. ‘Uncle Loans,’ huh? They pretend to be friendly so people borrow money. Hahaha…”

“Exactly.”

Yuri memorized the general address printed on the flyer and continued walking. Gorio and Uncle Loans already controlled most of Briol’s slums.

Wiping out one child exploitation ring wasn’t the issue. The bigger concern was how to protect the kids left behind.

“Laurent.”

“Yes?”

“What if we open an orphanage? Does your family have money?”

“Enough, though not as much as Your Highness.”

“I’m the third prince. I’m not that wealthy.”

“I’m the eldest son, but only from a count’s house.”

The modestly paid escort knight from common birth, Jared, stared at them, mouth agape.

But the conversation between the two privileged nobles carried on.

“Francese is a rich land. They say everything you can see from the castle tower belongs to the Flandres.”

“And what good is that? In the end, the whole country belongs to His Majesty.”

“I’m telling you, I’m only the third prince.”

“And I’m just a count.”

Jared looked up at the sky and let out a deep sigh. His mind wandered to his friends back in the village who admired him for landing a palace job.

“This is so damn lonely…”

***

Yuzes was a vast domain.

Although most of the population was concentrated in the city around the lord’s castle, many people lived scattered throughout small villages.

That’s why Yuri didn’t expect to run into anyone familiar upon arrival.
But something unexpected happened.

“We’re transporting a criminal! Clear the way!”

Just after leaving the inn where they had left their horses, a commotion erupted in the street.

People moved aside, and down the middle came a prison wagon surrounded by soldiers, carrying someone.

Yuri recognized the face of the person sitting with their head down inside the cage.

“I knew it…”

“Knew what?”

“After the war, there’s no one who went back to living a normal life.”

“Huh?”

“Don’t you recognize him?”

“Oh…”

Jared’s mouth dropped open.

“Is that Brother Raymond!?”

“Since when do you call him brother?”

“In the Allied Army, we agreed to treat each other like brothers.”

“What a surprise. Sir Raymond getting along with someone as vulgar as you?”

“Us knights without fortune understand each other. Royal blood can’t relate.”

“You’re definitely vulgar.”

Maybe because of that bond, Jared’s eyes burned with intensity. He began counting the number of soldiers in the escort.

Yuri elbowed him in the ribs.

“You’re crazy.”

“Let’s take them on!”

“When the time comes, we’ll clear everything up. First, we need to find out what’s going on.”

“With who?”

Yuri nodded toward the back of the prisoner convoy.

“With them over there.”

Jared followed his gaze.

Just as Yuri said, a group of men was marching behind the procession, holding signs and protesting. All were familiar faces.

“They’re all veterans of the Allied Army from Yuzes.”

“I see.”

“Raymond being in that state must be connected to our arrival.”

Yuri grinned slyly.

“Let’s follow them.”

Yuri’s group blended into the crowd like ordinary citizens and began tailing them. From time to time, the group of former soldiers raised their voices to attract attention.

“Sir Raymond is innocent!”

“Free him now!”

“That damn lord needs to come to his senses!”

“Stop the persecution of Allied Army veterans!”

The knight leading the convoy frowned and turned back.

“If they keep shouting, beat them to death.”

“Yes, sir!”

The soldiers responded firmly, visibly irritated.

So the protesters went quiet for a while. But once the tension eased, they started shouting again.

“Free Sir Raymond!”

“He’s an honorable knight!”

They were protesting right on the edge of what was allowed, without giving the authorities a clear reason to arrest them. Jared murmured as he watched.

“They act just like you, Your Highness. They’ve learned well.”

“Do I act like that?”

“You’re a master at hitting and running.”

“That’s called military strategy.”

In the end, Raymond was taken to the prison. The group of veterans stopped in front of the entrance, sighing and placing their hands on their hips.

“If even Sir Raymond ends up like this, won’t they take all our money too?”

“Shut up, idiot. First, we rescue Raymond!”

“Let’s save them both!”

They dropped their signs and began dragging their feet away. Yuri stepped into their path.

Since they were walking with their heads down, they didn’t notice him until they looked up with annoyed expressions.

“And who are you…?”

The man in front locked eyes with Yuri. He frowned. His face showed that Yuri looked familiar, but he couldn’t place him.

Yuri spoke first.

“Shameless.”

“Huh?”

The tone made the man instinctively show respect.

“Already forgot me? No wonder you were terrible at cards. Goldfish memory.”

“No way…”

“Yes, it’s who you think.”

“Wait… the hair…”

“It’s a magic artifact, idiot.”

Then the man’s eyes widened, and he ran up to hug Yuri.

“Your Highness!”

“Hey, not so close!”

Not only him, but the entire group of veterans rushed toward Laurent and Jared to hug them. They seemed genuinely worn down by everything they’d been through.

“Since the Allied Army disbanded, we’ve been through so much…”

“Fides already told me.”

“Yeah. Since similar things were happening all over the country, we sent Fides just in case. But for Your Highness to come in person…!”

“Now you get it?”

“You must have way too much free time.”

“What did you say?”

“Just kidding, just kidding! Hahaha…”

At first, they were awkward about reuniting outside the battlefield, now as nobles and commoners. But seeing Yuri was still the same, they relaxed.

“Didn’t you say you lost all your money playing cards?”

“What are you talking about? I don’t touch those games anymore!”

“Just teasing.”

“But it’s true we lost the money. Damn those feudal lords…”

Yuri accompanied them to a house tucked away in a quiet corner of the city. It was a simple, ordinary home. In the yard, a dog wagged its tail to greet them.

“It’s humble, but it’s home.”

Yuri was a little surprised.

“Might be small for Your Highness…”

“So you did have a decent house?”

“Huh?”

“Since you came because of gambling debts, I figured you lived in a rundown shack.”

“Well, my wife’s from a well-off family.”

“And the debt?”

“That was mine, personally.”

“You bastard…”

Still, at least he hadn’t mortgaged the house or dragged his family into it—so he was a gambler with limits. Inside, his wife greeted them and led them to a room.

Since Yuri hadn’t revealed his identity, she treated him as just another of her husband’s friends.

Once seated, Yuri smiled.

“You’re an ace, and yet you landed a wife way too good for you.”

The man’s name was Ace.

Yuri always teased him that he was born to play cards with that name.

“Hehehe…”

Ace grinned sheepishly.

“By the way, what happened?”

“Huh? Oh, just now… it’s my irresistible charm…”

“No, I mean with the Allied Army stuff.”

“Oh, right. I don’t know exactly. Suddenly they started charging us taxes…”

“The compensation was supposed to be tax-exempt.”

“That depends on the wording. They invented something called the Veteran Security Contribution…”

“And what’s that?”

“Since we fought orcs, they say we might’ve turned violent. So they’re charging us extra to strengthen public safety.”

“Wow…”

Yuri couldn’t help but be impressed. It was a very creative excuse.

“Also, they took all the funds from the Allied Army Comrades Association. We haven’t seen a single coin.”

“Genard’s doing?”

“Most likely. All the lords doing this are aligned with him.”

“Yeah, that noble group exists.”

“They say it’s because the money has an unclear origin…”

“Unclear origin? It’s an anonymous donation!”

“They want to know who donated every coin—otherwise they treat it as dirty money.”

“Meanwhile, their sealed warehouses are ‘private property’…”

Yuri closed his eyes.

He had been a mercenary in his previous life, so he knew noble exploitation well. Even his own company had been scammed once.

Back then, they recovered the money by force. But what could common people do against nobles of this level?

“Your Highness…”

Jared, who had been listening quietly, asked:

“Even if the compensation and loss payments are substantial, is it really worth all this trouble for the lords? It can’t be enough money to matter that much.”

“If you see money lying on the ground—even a little—you pick it up. For them, it’s easy money.”

“Bastards…”

“Still, something doesn’t add up.”

Yuri tilted his head. As Jared said, it all seemed like overkill.

So he asked Ace:

“Did anything happen before Genard started all this?”

“Before? Hmm…”

Ace thought for a moment.

“I’m not sure, but something did seem off.”

“What was it?”

“That’s when they really started bothering us.”

“Since when?”

“Well…”

Ace scratched his cheek awkwardly.

“Every day, I’d talk about how amazing and cool the prince was. What Allied soldier didn’t do that? But one day, some knights came and told us to stop talking about the army.”

T/N:

(1): “앵벌이” (Aengbeori) is a colloquial Korean term referring to children or vulnerable individuals who are forced to beg or sell items on the street—such as flowers, chewing gum, or lottery tickets—typically under the control of an organization or an exploitative adult.