After bidding farewell to Joshua, Yuri headed straight for the city gates. The residents of Française recognized Laurent and greeted him warmly.
“Greetings, Your Highness.”
“Have you returned?”
“Please don’t abandon Française!”
Laurent smiled and offered a kind word to each of them.
Yuri suggested that Laurent visit his family, but he politely declined.
“Don’t regret it later.”
“Your parents will understand. You can see them next time.”
“That may be true, but…”
As they exchanged words, they reached the gates, but something felt off. A crowd had gathered at the entrance, murmuring among themselves.
Yuri’s instincts kicked in.
“A fight.”
“Huh?”
“When that many people gather, there’s usually some spectacle. Most likely a fight.”
“I see.”
“Considering it’s the city gate, it’s probably a dispute between the guards and visitors, or maybe among the visitors themselves.”
Yuri’s group rode their horses closer to the gate. The crowd parted to let them through.
Yuri asked a guard standing nearby, observing the scene.
“What’s going on?”
“Ah, Your Highness, Prince. Welcome back so soon.”
“Our business is done.”
“Please wait a moment. Someone is causing a disturbance…”
“Who dares pick a fight with the Briol guards? Who is it?”
“Well…”
From beyond the guards came a familiar voice.
“I—I only came to see the prince! I came to see Prince Yuri!”
Everyone nearby turned to look at Yuri.
Even Laurent and Jared glanced his way.
Yuri sighed, pressing a hand to his forehead.
“Why are those two staring at me like that?”
“We don’t want to get involved.”
“Are you ashamed of Sir Jose?”
“A little…”
“I won’t deny it.”
“Alright.”
Yuri stepped forward. The guards blocking Jose recognized Yuri and hesitated before stepping aside.
Jose lay sprawled in front of the gate, still shouting.
“I lost my identification, but I am Jose of Bursen! Jose Aratur! I’m no suspicious character! I want to see Prince Yuri!”
“Sir Jose.”
“I came here to meet Prince Yuri…!”
Jose’s shouting suddenly stopped. He sat up straight.
“Your Highness!”
“Sir Jose, why all the commotion?”
“Ha ha, this is embarrassing.”
“If you don’t have your ID, you should just wait at the entrance…”
“Well, you see…”
Jose scratched the back of his head as he stood. When lying down, he looked like a crouching tiger; now standing, he resembled an awkward bear.
“I didn’t know how long you’d stay. If you had a drink, wouldn’t it be rude if I wasn’t there?”
He meant he wanted to join them quickly before they went off to have fun as a group of three.
Yuri chuckled.
“No time for that. I’m leaving right away.”
“Ah…”
Jose nodded.
“Well, that’s fine. Even cold beer on the street tastes good with the prince.”
“Will you come along?”
“That’s disappointing. Aren’t we already in the same boat? No need to ask. To leave without me—I’m disappointed.”
“I felt bad dragging you in since you’re from Bursen.”
“Half Bursen, half Briol.”
“Half and half? Generous.”
“Hmm… let’s say 60% Bursen, 40% Briol.”
Yuri laughed and patted his shoulder, then turned to the guards.
“Seems there was a small misunderstanding. Regardless, I commend your dedication to your duties. Continue protecting Française well.”
“Yes, sir!”
The guards saluted Yuri’s group.
Now reunited as four, they left Française behind.
As they rode, Jose suddenly pulled something from his pocket.
“Ah, Your Highness.”
“Hm?”
“There’s a letter for you. Miss Ena asked me to deliver it.”
“A letter…?”
Jose handed it over. The envelope bore no address, but the wax seal revealed the sender.
Yuri broke the seal and read the contents.
“Sibyl, huh.”
The other three’s eyes naturally shifted to the letter.
Having been involved with Yuri in various matters, they hoped she might have expressed some emotional sentiments.
Yuri read it privately, not showing them.
“Hmm…”
Then she took out a firebrand and burned the letter.
As the ashes scattered, the others looked on, disappointed.
“That wasn’t necessary…”
“It was a secret letter.”
“Secret? What kind?”
“No need to know.”
Yuri said, urging the horses forward with quicker steps.
The letter was brief.
Since returning to the Holy Kingdom, Sibyl had faced many difficulties. Especially Larson, the next in line for the throne, seemed to be giving her a hard time.
It was a burden she had to bear. Once Larson inherited the crown and found peace of mind, things would calm down.
“Hmm…”
But Yuri felt uneasy.
Though the letter was written plainly, the very fact that Sibyl had written it showed she was under mental strain.
“I should write back.”
Muttering this, Yuri unfolded a map atop her horse.
The route to Yohaim required passing through several countries. Avoiding the empire meant taking a longer detour.
“By the time we get there, it might already be fallen, right?”
“No.”
Yuri shook her head.
“Sir Graham isn’t one to rush.”
Graham was commanding the army. No one knew why the emperor entrusted him with the troops, but Graham was skeptical about this war. His approach was gentlemanly.
Rather than speeding up, he advanced calmly, minimizing casualties.
“That may be, but I heard the Fifth Order already moved to Yohaim’s capital. With Yohaim’s forces, won’t it be tough?”
Jose spoke with concern.
He was right. Yohaim lacked the strength to hold off an imperial order.
At least, they used to.
But now it was different. Under Yuri’s command, Yohaim’s knights had been reborn as mountain warfare specialists.
They were no longer a traditional order but reorganized into a new kind of unit.
Called the “Owl Brigade,” named for guarding the Aloy Mountains.
“I heard they’ve been trained, but can they really pull it off? Swordsmanship doesn’t improve that fast…”
“War isn’t a duel. The only weapon to kill the enemy isn’t the sword.”
Even from fragmented reports, Yuri could picture what was happening in Yohaim.
The Fifth Order, eager to make a name for themselves, had stopped before the forest surrounding Yohaim’s castle. Though they should have been cautious, their excitement to capture the city left them unguarded.
To the Owl Brigade, they were the perfect prey.
The imperial knights, unfamiliar with this style of combat, would be caught off guard. Perhaps, thinking it unknightly, they charged recklessly.
Yuri was certain Yohaim had not fallen. In fact, they were likely holding their own against the empire.
“The empire’s probably getting a harsh lesson. I trained them, after all. They’ll pay for underestimating Yohaim’s guerrillas.”
Though the others knew Yuri had trained Yohaim’s knights, the details were classified, so they only exchanged puzzled looks.
“Is it really that good? What exactly did you teach them…?”
Yuri had accomplished too much for it to be mere confidence.
If she said it would work, it would.
So the three couldn’t dismiss her words lightly.
Yuri smiled faintly.
“The Briol spirit.”
“The Briol spirit?”
Not just Jose, but Laurent and Jared—both born and raised in Briol—tilted their heads in confusion.
“What’s that?”
Jared asked, and Jose looked at him.
“You don’t know the Briol spirit, Sir Jared? Are you serious?”
“Do you, Sir Jose?”
“I don’t.”
“Neither do I.”
“I’m from Bursen.”
“Then, Sir Jose, do you know the Bursen spirit?”
“No…”
Yuri clicked her tongue.
“These young ones, tsk…”
Jared looked at Yuri, dumbfounded.
“The Briol spirit is…”
“What is it?”
“I’d like to tell you, but you’re not ready yet.”
“Huh?”
“I’ll explain later. For now, we have urgent matters.”
“You’re changing the subject.”
“It’s really important.”
“What is it?”
“Disguise.”
Yuri said.
“It wouldn’t be wise to openly go to Yohaim and fight alongside them, would it?”
“Yeah, that’s true.”
As the third prince of Briol, if he openly aided Yohaim, the empire’s reaction would be obvious. With the continent’s political landscape shrouded in confusion, there was no need to draw unnecessary attention.
Yuri knew the enemy, but the enemy didn’t know him yet.
They had to keep that advantage.
“Change your hair and eye color, wear a mask like before—that should do it, right?”
“Foolish.”
“Huh?”
“Changing appearance isn’t enough. If skilled fighters like us suddenly appear, wouldn’t the empire get suspicious?”
“Well…”
“That’s why we need a story.”
“A story?”
“We need a believable background. Something that won’t raise suspicion. It doesn’t have to be elaborate.”
“That’s tough.”
“Don’t worry.”
Yuri tapped her temple.
“I’ve already worked it all out. First, let’s change your face.”
Just as Yuri had said, Johaim was expertly repelling the empire’s assault.
There was an old legend that the forest surrounding the royal castle protected the king of Johaim, and true to that tale, the Owl Brigade used the woods to drive the 5th Knight Order to the brink of annihilation.
The 5th Knight Order couldn’t find rest anywhere, as arrows rained down from all directions, and one wrong step would send them plunging into a trap.
The Johaim knights were masters of stealth—just moments ago, one had sprung from the bushes they’d just passed and stabbed at their rear.
The commander of the 5th Knight Order gritted his teeth. He, too, was wounded in several places.
“Damn it…”
“Are you alright, sir?”
“What kind of bastards are these…”
The Owl Brigade refused to engage in the kind of battle the 5th Knight Order wanted.
Whenever the knights tried to face them head-on and clash swords, the brigade would immediately retreat. If the knights pursued, arrows would fly again, or traps would ensnare their feet.
“We need to fall back.”
“Retreat from Johaim? No way.”
He was furious.
They had already lost too many knights. If they retreated now, severe punishment awaited—he would likely be stripped of his command.
“Johaim… those damn—”
He tried to stand but staggered, collapsing heavily into the underbrush.
His adjutant rushed over.
“Commander?”
“My body…”
Only then did he realize.
“Poison.”
“What?”
“They used poison.”
He had been cut by a trap, and the wound was definitely coated with poison.
“Wait a moment. I need to activate my mana method. Cover me.”
“Yes, sir.”
The 5th Knight Order commander sat down and summoned his mana method.
The Lion’s Heart Technique began to fight the poison seeping into his body. Sweat dripped down his forehead.
A knight of his caliber wouldn’t normally succumb to poison easily, but under such physical and mental strain, his resistance was dangerously low.
“Co-Commander…”
“…”
“Sir!”
The commander, lost in his own mind, snapped awake at his adjutant’s shout.
He immediately grimaced.
“Damn it…”
Johaim’s knights had surrounded them.
Under normal circumstances, he would have been confident in cutting down any number of them, but now he was barely able to move. The poison was eating away at his body by the second. If he fought now, death was certain.
One of the enemy stepped forward.
“You’re the commander of the 5th Knight Order, right?”
“And you are?”
“I’m Gonte Murchin, leader of the Owl Brigade.”
“You, a third-rate knight, dare to—”
“Not exactly third-rate. But whatever.”
Gonte shrugged.
“If you don’t like it, then beat me.”
The last thing the 5th Knight Order commander saw was Gonte’s infuriating smirk—and then the darkness of the sack being pulled over his head.