Sven breezed through the preliminaries without much trouble.
Cheers erupted from the crowd of Liberta’s people gathered nearby.
With a smug look, Sven pointed at the fallen competitors.
“Hey, you guys. Pathetic.”
Watching that, Yuri muttered under his breath.
“I just want to give him a good flick on the forehead…”
Soon enough, he vowed to teach Sven some humility with his fists.
Completely unaware of Yuri’s thoughts, Sven strutted off the stage, puffed up with pride.
Since time was limited, the preliminaries moved quickly.
“Your swordsmanship isn’t even worth a trickling stream. It’s just ditch water.”
“Ugh…”
“But even ditch water eventually flows into the sea. Train hard, and one day your sword will be as vast as the ocean—like mine.”
A pro from Bursen qualified as their representative.
“Easy enough.”
Fenek and Sibyl from the Holy Kingdom advanced to the main rounds without difficulty.
The duke’s son, his hair slicked back to a shine, won with ease, while Hassan quietly subdued his opponent without a word.
Though participants came from various nations, most qualifiers were from the Empire.
“The Empire really has some impressive talent.”
“Right? Hahaha…”
Ragna laughed at Yuri’s remark, though his expression wasn’t entirely cheerful.
He had just learned that the crown prince was spreading corruption throughout the Empire. His mind must have been tangled with conflicting feelings.
As dusk settled, the final stage began with the appearance of Laurent.
Five men stood on the stage.
Ragna looked at Laurent and said, “Laurent’s a solid guy. Still, Yuri, I wish you had entered.”
“I wanted to participate, too.”
“But?”
“I’ve been busy with various matters…”
“Hmm…”
There was a sharp edge to Yuri’s words. As the prince of Briol, he was struggling to resolve the Empire’s problems.
Ragna gave a wry smile.
“Don’t give me that look.”
“I’ll do my best so you won’t have to.”
“This guy really is giving me the look…”
As they talked, the fight began.
“Final preliminary match! We’ll select the last two survivors. Begin!”
Laurent moved with ease, twirling his wooden sword. The crowd gasped at his light, effortless movements.
“That’s Sir Laurent, right?”
“Impressive.”
“I heard he swept all the sword tournaments as a kid.”
As Yuri’s fame grew, Laurent’s name became more well-known by association.
His childhood victories in countless sword competitions made people pay attention.
Laurent stood calmly.
Then, suddenly, as if prearranged, the other four participants charged him all at once.
“Hey, what’s this?”
“That’s unfair!”
“Are they cheating?”
“Again! Again!”
The audience shouted curses.
But Laurent didn’t flinch.
He moved as lightly as a feather, slipping out of their encirclement, then struck the back of one man standing on the edge of the stage. The opponent collapsed in pain, and Laurent grabbed the back of his neck, tossing him offstage for elimination.
He didn’t forcefully display power or flaunt speed to toy with his enemies.
The entire sequence flowed naturally, as if it were no big deal.
Yuri smiled.
“He’s gotten stronger, Laurent.”
Laurent had been strong in his past life, but this time he was growing at an astonishing pace.
As his guardian, Yuri felt a deep sense of satisfaction.
“Yuri, now’s not the time to be smiling like that.”
“Why not?”
“If Laurent wins…”
Ragna’s eyes widened.
“That would mean he’s connected to Ekaterina. Ah, wouldn’t that be a shame? Yuri, aren’t you already worried?”
“I’m not.”
“That’d be a huge loss. You’ll regret it later when it’s too late.”
“Your Highness, I’ve been thinking about this for a while…”
Yuri placed a hand on Ragna’s back. Though such physical contact might be considered rude toward royalty, neither minded.
Between them, a friendship that transcended age had quietly formed.
“You should ask the princess what she thinks first.”
Of course, Ragna was only offering to introduce them, but the emperor had already gone ahead and arranged her marriage without consent.
Yuri gave a wry smile.
“Honestly, it doesn’t look promising.”
Ragna turned toward Yuri.
A flicker of intense emotion passed through his eyes.
“Yuri.”
“Yes?”
“You’re a remarkable guy…”
“…”
“If only I had a daughter…”
“I’m not really interested…”
“You really are something special.”
Ragna put an arm around Yuri’s shoulder.
“Yeah, you’re right. That’s how it should be.”
“That’s all you need to know.”
“So I’ll talk to Ekaterina and arrange a proper introduction…”
“Excuse me…”
While they exchanged this trivial banter, Laurent subdued the remaining three opponents.
Though only two were supposed to survive, Laurent quickly knocked them all out. The referee decided to advance the last man to fall to the main rounds.
And so the preliminaries ended.
The key players for the upcoming tournament were set.
“The first match will be held the day after tomorrow. See you then!”
The referee announced the end of the preliminaries.
People began to disperse.
Yuri and Ragna also left their seats.
Passing citizens occasionally spoke to them, and Yuri responded kindly.
“Why isn’t the prince competing?”
“Laurent is fighting in his place.”
“Is Sir Laurent stronger than the prince?”
“That’s a childish question. Of course, I’m stronger.”
“How’s Gote doing?”
“No idea. We’re not that close.”
“Huh?”
The imperial palace was alive with a festive atmosphere.
After all, the tournament not only involved the princess’s marriage but also featured the Empire’s top knights advancing to the main rounds.
It was an event the Empire’s people could truly get excited about.
But despite the mood, Yuri was busy dealing with the drug issue.
“What about Gorio?”
“Since then, no one’s been seen selling drugs.”
“Did they catch on to the pursuit…?”
What had been mere speculation was starting to look like fact, and Yuri felt a sense of helplessness.
It was as if all his efforts had been in vain, and the Empire was steadily marching toward war.
He wanted nothing more than to storm the palace, cut down the crown prince, and shout that the bastard was a wicked dark sorcerer.
“Dark magic…”
That was the root of the problem.
“For now, all I can do is wait…”
Yuri stood up. The deep thoughts made him want to sweat it out somehow. Then an idea came to him.
“Jarred.”
“Yes?”
“Let’s take a break today.”
“Sounds good.”
“Come with me.”
“You just said we were resting…”
“Just kidding.”
Before leaving Briol, Bernard had told him to seek out Sparrow from the Swordsmanship Guild if he ever needed help.
He didn’t need Sparrow’s help immediately, but Yuri wanted to meet him at least once.
Yuri took Jarred and, after some inquiries, found the location of the Swordsmanship Guild.
The guild was housed in an old building.
A rusty sign hung outside, bearing only a sword emblem and the words “Swordsmanship Guild.”
Inside was a fairly spacious training hall, where several people were swinging wooden swords at each other.
A man wiping sweat from his brow approached.
“What brings you here?”
“I want to meet Sparrow, the guild master.”
“You mean the master?”
“Yes.”
“Do you have business with him?”
“Just want to work up a sweat.”
“Looking for a sparring match?”
“Maybe.”
Lately, Yuri had felt the urge to test himself against a new opponent.
Perhaps he was unconsciously regretting not entering the tournament.
“The master’s not here right now.”
“When will he be back?”
“Who knows…”
The man scratched his head.
“He’s pretty unpredictable…”
At that moment, the door suddenly swung open, and someone entered.
“Yeah, I’m unpredictable!”
“Oh, master, you’re back.”
Yuri turned around. A middle-aged man with a mustache stood there.
He was quite large, but not muscular—more on the heavyset side. It was nothing like the image Yuri had imagined of Sparrow.
“Who’s this?”
“Well…”
The man whispered something to Sparrow.
“Briol?”
“Yes.”
“The prince of Briol…”
The man seemed to recognize Yuri.
Sparrow glared at Yuri and said,
“Are you prepared? I’ve got a grudge against you…”
“A grudge?”
“Bernard, right?”
“I’ve never heard of a grudge. I thought you were on good terms.”
“Bullshit.”
He drew a slender sword from his waist and brandished it.
Jarred stepped forward, blocking the space between him and Yuri.
“Don’t disrespect the prince.”
“Bringing a bodyguard, huh?”
Yuri thought Jarred was finally acting the part after a long time.
“Let’s see how good your guarding skills are.”
Sparrow strode forward and suddenly swung his sword.
It was incredibly fast.
Though the strike was almost invisible, Jarred instinctively raised his sword to block it, thanks to his beast-like reflexes.
Sparrow whistled.
“Not bad, quick.”
“Swinging a sword, huh? You want to do this for real?”
“For real? If I were serious, you wouldn’t still be standing.”
Their swords clashed, and the man who had guided Yuri stepped in to stop Sparrow.
“Master, what are you doing? This is the prince.”
“I heard you’re close with Bernard.”
“Still, you can’t do this.”
“Tch…”
Yuri asked him,
“What happened between you two to make you so bitter?”
“What happened?”
Sparrow rolled up his shirt, revealing his ample belly and sideburns.
Yuri and Jarred frowned.
“You’re blind.”
“My eyes…”
Sparrow chuckled and rolled his shirt higher.
“No, not this. Higher…”
There, on his right chest, was a long scar.
“That sword demon suddenly charged at me, saying he wanted to see my swordsmanship. That’s how I got this wound. He could’ve at least given me a warning, but no—he just appeared in the dead of night and recklessly attacked without a second thought. A complete lunatic!”
Yuri shook her head.
Bernard had really been reckless back then. Thankfully, after meeting his father, it seemed he’d finally learned some manners.
“What a terrible guy.”
“Exactly!”
“But that’s his problem. Why pick a fight with me?”
“Isn’t he your student?”
“That’s true, but it’s a bit much to blame the student for the teacher’s mistakes.”
“The teacher’s sins are the student’s sins.”
“How old-fashioned.”
“It’s just accurate accounting.”
“Alright, let’s do it this way.”
Yuri smiled and stepped forward.
“So…”
She trailed off as if about to make a suggestion, then suddenly grabbed the man standing next to Sparrow and threw him to the ground.
Sparrow drew his sword in surprise, but Yuri’s draw was faster—her blade was already at the man’s throat.
“A little lesson for you. Since you dared to swing your sword at the third prince of Briole, I’ll hold your student accountable. How’s that sound?”
“That’s cowardly…”
“Is it calculation when I do it, but cowardice when you do?”
“The circumstances are different. In my case, Bernard wasn’t around, so I had no choice. But in your case, I’m here!”
“What kind of nonsense is that?”
“Fine, just let him go for now.”
Yuri gave a dry laugh and released the man she’d taken hostage.
“Hey, sorry about this. Blame your master for all of it.”
“Y-yes…”
Sparrow wrinkled his nose and approached Yuri.
“Alright, fine. Since you came to me, you must have a favor to ask. What is it?”
“What?”
“If Bernard’s student came to me, it must be for a favor, right?”
“That’s true, but you just called me an enemy a moment ago.”
“Enemy or not, I agreed to do you a favor.”
“What kind of strange situation is this?”
Sparrow rolled up his sleeves again. Yuri and Jared looked away, not wanting to see that sight.
“Why are you avoiding my gaze? Look!”
“Alright, alright.”
“After I got stabbed in the chest!”
He said.
“I begged for my life, and in return, they asked me to grant a favor next time. I agreed and barely survived. Whew.”
Sparrow spoke with pride.
Even with the sword guild members watching, he openly admitted to begging for his life in the past.
For Yuri, who had suffered guilt over a similar experience in her previous life, it was a refreshing shock.
“Doesn’t that embarrass you?”
“Why? You can lose a fight sometimes. If I were invincible, would I be standing here like this?”
“True.”
“But things are different now. I’ve perfected our family’s secret technique, Iljeomsa!”
“What?”
“Iljeomsa. It pierces through everything. Next time I meet Bernard, I’ll stab him through with a single strike.”
“What kind of family are you from?”
“A prestigious swordsmanship clan that once produced a Swordmaster.”
“Don’t tell me… Sparrow Apache?”
“Oh, you know them?”
The author of the book titled Iljeomsa, which Yuri had seen in the royal archives, was named something Apache.
Could Sparrow really be a descendant of that author?
“Is that Swordmaster Jackson Apache?”
“That’s right. So, Your Highness, you’ve heard of his reputation too!”
“Whether ancestor or descendant, they sure know how to get on people’s nerves…”
“What do you mean?”
“Alright. I have a favor for you.”
Yuri looked at Sparrow.
“Teach me Iljeomsa.”