“Your Highness, today’s breakfast is all about bread.”
“What?”
At Simon’s words, Yuri’s shoulders slumped in disappointment.
“I’m not eating breakfast today.”
“Why not?”
“I’m sick of bread. Don’t you feel the same, Jared?”
“Yes, absolutely…”
Yesterday, Katrina had practically forced them to keep eating bread nonstop.
Of course, it was delicious.
But even the tastiest food becomes unbearable if you keep shoving it down your throat. They couldn’t bring themselves to refuse and ended up stuffing bread into their mouths until they felt like choking.
“I still don’t feel well.”
“Shall we go buy some digestive medicine?”
“Good idea…”
“If someone saw us, they’d think we’d been drinking heavily last night.”
With that, the two trudged out of the Duphoria Hotel.
Just then, they bumped into Roland, who was just entering the lobby.
“Roland?”
“Oh, Your Highness.”
“Don’t tell me you…”
Yuri flashed a sly smile.
“Stayed up all night…”
Roland froze, looking at him. Yuri chuckled low and continued.
“Training your swordsmanship all night, huh? Heh heh heh…”
Jared followed Yuri’s lead, grinning.
“Wow, Sir Roland himself, cramming sword practice like it’s a last-minute cram session.”
“I didn’t think Roland would do that. Guess he’s nervous?”
“Could be. After all, this is the Empire. Even Sir Roland can get tense.”
“Next thing you know, he’ll be praying at the temple.”
They both burst out laughing.
Roland sighed.
“Think whatever you want…”
There was a reason Yuri and Jared were acting like this.
Today was the day the tournament began.
“Don’t tell me you’ll get knocked out in the preliminaries?”
Traditionally, the tournament had 64 duelists, but because so many had applied, they held large-scale preliminaries to narrow down the numbers.
Roland smiled and shook his head.
“No way. I’ll bring honor to Briole.”
“Good luck, Roland. We’ll be cheering for you.”
“Thank you. Well, I’m tired, so I’ll be going…”
Watching Roland’s back as he entered the hotel, Jared tilted his head.
“He’s really putting in the effort. If Sir Roland wins and presents a medal to the princess, won’t he outrank Your Highness?”
“Uh, would that really happen?”
“Must be nerve-wracking.”
“Not at all.”
Yuri smirked.
Then he grabbed Jared’s sleeve and started walking.
“First, let’s go to the apothecary.”
They bought some medicine for overeating, popped it into their mouths, and set off again.
This time, their steps were cautious.
They slipped into an alley, pulled their hoods up to conceal their identities, and reemerged onto the street.
Then they entered a pawnshop in the bustling district.
No customers were inside, and the owner was dozing behind the iron bars.
The bell jingled as Yuri entered, and the man looked up.
“Hmm… Welcome.”
“I have something to leave with you.”
“What is it?”
“My heart.”
“Excuse me?”
“And my passion.”
“Are you crazy…?”
“I want to leave my heart and passion with you.”
“If you’re joking, get lost!”
They were promptly kicked out.
Yuri looked at Jared in disbelief.
“What? Wasn’t that the code?”
“Your Highness.”
“What?”
“You went to the wrong place.”
“Huh?”
“That’s Hanareum Pawnshop.”
“That’s right.”
“We need to go to Hanmaeum Pawnshop.”
“Oh…”
Hanmaeum Pawnshop was near Hanareum Pawnshop.
“They made the names too similar on purpose…”
Anyway, after exchanging the code about entrusting heart and passion, they reached a secret underground room beneath Hanmaeum Pawnshop.
Someone was waiting for them there.
“Your Highness.”
Yuri bowed respectfully.
Ragna was waiting.
“Sit down.”
They faced each other across the table.
Ragna closed his eyes with a serious expression, then suddenly asked Yuri.
“Why didn’t you enter?”
“Huh?”
“The tournament. You didn’t submit an application.”
“What’s the point?”
“To win.”
“I’m not really interested.”
“That guy…”
Ragna shook his head.
“We’ll talk about that later. So, you found out about the drugs?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
“Thanks to a book of erotic paintings.”
“What?”
“No, no, I misspoke.”
After seeing Hasan’s erotic paintings, Yuri had a hunch that the Crown Prince was behind the drugs circulating in the capital.
Questions followed.
Why would he do such a thing?
He was in a position to get anything he wanted.
But drugs only bring corruption.
Yes, corruption.
Something black magic thrives on.
After this deduction, Yuri was half convinced that the tragedy from his past life was caused by the Crown Prince. Somehow, having fallen into black magic, he was poisoning the entire Empire.
After gathering his thoughts, Yuri spoke.
“I conducted a personal investigation.”
“I figured.”
“And I’ve reached a point I can’t handle alone.”
“A point you can’t handle…”
“Yes.”
That was why Yuri had called Ragna.
There was no way to deal with the Crown Prince living in the palace alone.
He needed an ally.
And Ragna fit the bill perfectly.
A royal who disliked the Emperor and cared about the Empire.
“Before I go into details…”
Yuri glanced around. Ragna’s secret subordinates stood nearby.
“I want to speak privately.”
At Ragna’s signal, the men left the room. Jared, sensing the mood, quietly stepped away as well.
Left alone, Yuri spoke seriously.
“From now on, I’m telling you this in confidence.”
“Go ahead.”
“I believe I’ve found the source of the drugs.”
“You mean that notorious stuff causing all the fuss lately?”
“Yes.”
Yuri pulled a small pouch from his pocket and tipped it over.
A few blue crystals spilled out.
“This stuff isn’t coming from outside the capital.”
“Then…”
“It’s being made inside.”
“Who on earth?”
“I’m here to tell you.”
Yuri sighed. He had prepared himself for hardships in this new life, but this was tougher than he expected.
After a pause, he continued.
“I think it’s the Crown Prince.”
“What?”
Ragna’s eyes widened.
The name was one that should never be spoken.
He leaned toward Yuri.
“Why do you think that?”
Yuri explained.
Tracking the drug distribution led to the final dealer, who entered the palace and was none other than Yugen’s shadow.
After hearing the testimony, Ragna closed his eyes.
“It’s not certain yet, is it?”
“The chances are high.”
“Why would he do this…?”
“What kind of person is the Crown Prince?”
“Yugen is a good guy. No, more than good.”
“That’s unfortunate.”
Yuri bowed his head.
“Whether by choice or not, I believe the Crown Prince has fallen into black magic and is causing this. I hope Your Highness will look into it.”
“Hah…”
Ragna sighed, pressing his forehead—a rare show of frustration.
If he were an ordinary man, Yuri would never have told him this.
But from what he’d seen, Ragna wouldn’t cover up the crime just because the culprit was the Crown Prince.
Besides, he had fought Okua and witnessed the damage black magic caused firsthand.
He understood the gravity of the situation.
“Yuri.”
“Yes?”
“Are you serious?”
Yuri met Ragna’s gaze.
“Yes.”
In this new life, Yuri had never fully entrusted anything to another. But this time, he had no choice but to leave it all to Ragna.
He decided to trust him—and his own instincts in choosing him.
“I’m serious.”
Ragna studied Yuri quietly, then nodded.
Choices weren’t made alone.
Just as Yuri chose to trust Ragna, Ragna must have made a decision to trust him in return.
“Alright. I’ll trust you.”
“I’ll trust you too, Your Highness.”
“I know what it means that you confided in me. So I’ll make a promise first.”
Ragna straightened his chest and spoke with clear eyes.
“If the Crown Prince’s guilt is proven, I will never turn a blind eye.”
Yuri returned his steady gaze.
“Thank you. I will do my best to assist Your Highness.”
“Good.”
“Shall we shake on it?”
“Gladly.”
Yuri clasped Ragna’s hand.
In his past life, the only time they’d met was when he caught Ragna in a secret meeting with Ekaterina. But now, they had forged a solid alliance.
Yuri was glad to have met Ragna.
“Alright, so….”
Ragna muttered something briefly, then smiled.
He was the kind of person who could lift spirits and lighten the mood by forgetting future worries for a moment.
“Well, now that that’s settled, how about we go watch something fun?”
“Something fun?”
“The tournament preliminaries.”
They were probably underway by now.
“Sounds good.”
Yuri and Jared headed with Ragna toward the bustling district in the heart of the capital.
A stage had been set for the preliminaries.
The crowd was packed shoulder to shoulder, but when Ragna appeared, everyone parted to let them through. Thanks to that, they moved forward easily.
The announcer stepped up and shouted.
“The tournament preliminaries will be held as a battle royale! Each group has five participants, and only the top two from each group will advance to the main event! For safety, the preliminaries will be fought with wooden swords!”
There were thirty-two groups scheduled for the preliminaries. Soon, a group of swordsmen took the stage.
The stage wasn’t very large, and five standing on it already felt cramped.
“Luck will play a part,” Ragna said.
Since only two out of five would survive, luck was definitely a factor.
Yuri shook his head.
“Surviving is a skill in itself.”
“True, but…”
Jared, looking ahead, said,
“Hey, isn’t that Sven over there?”
Among the five in the first group stood Sven, a knight from Liberta.
He gripped his sword tightly, eyes scanning the surroundings with caution.
“Whoa…”
Yuri couldn’t help but shout loudly when he saw his close friend stepping into the tournament.
“Sven, win this!”
His voice carried far, drawing the attention of those nearby.
The citizens of Hwangseong who recognized Yuri began whispering among themselves.
“Why isn’t the Prince of Briol participating?”
“To skip an event like this…”
“He must be scared.”
“Yeah, maybe he’s afraid of being humiliated by the Empire’s knights.”
Frowning, Yuri shot them a sharp look, and the murmurs quickly died down.
Since the prince hadn’t joined the tournament, all sorts of rumors were swirling around.
“Ugh…”
For Sven, standing on the stage, Yuri’s loud cheer only added to the pressure.
He was already a nervous type, and knowing that not only countless citizens but also Yuri himself were watching made his heart race with unease.
Showing weakness would only be a liability.
Suddenly, two of the other four charged at Sven.
“H-Hey?”
As if on cue, they launched a flurry of attacks. Sven glanced at the referee, silently asking if this was allowed.
“It’s part of the match,” came the reply.
So the fight went on.
“Ugh!”
Sven had no choice but to fend off the two attackers.
Blades came flying from his right and left, making it impossible to focus.
Still, he held his ground.
“Huh?”
He managed to withstand it.
In fact, the two attackers looked the ones caught off guard. Seizing the moment, Sven countered, striking one of them.
“Gah!”
His wooden sword hit the opponent’s head.
If it had been a real blade, it would have been fatal.
The man clutched his head, staggering before collapsing. That was the end of his match; he was dragged off the stage.
The last remaining opponent took a step back.
Sven raised an eyebrow in surprise.
“Could it be… I’m actually strong?”
Looking back, it made sense. In Liberta, he was recognized as a prodigy. Since childhood, no one had ever bested him in swordsmanship.
That was, until he met the third prince of Briol in the Allied Forces.
Since then, it had been nothing but humiliation.
Losing to the third prince was bad enough, but then there was that guy named Roland, the monster Jose who dragged him around, and even Jared, a commoner, had beaten him.
On top of that, he’d been crawling on the ground every day, fighting off orc brutes in a brutal war.
Maybe that’s why…
Compared to the opponents he’d faced before, the three left on the stage now seemed insignificant.
Sven twirled his wooden sword and let out a bitter laugh. The tension was gone.
“Well, well. Maybe I’ve just gotten too strong…”