“Yuri.”
As he stepped out of the ballroom, Cedric called after him.
“Brother.”
“What were you thinking back there?”
Rarely did Cedric’s face flush with emotion. He seldom showed excitement.
“I’m fine.”
“Fine? How can you say that?”
Yuri gave a faint smile.
“You want me to just stand by and watch Ena die?”
Cedric looked down at him quietly, then let out a long sigh.
“Really…”
“There was no other choice, right?”
Cedric ruffled Yuri’s hair.
“You stubborn fool…”
A strange wave of emotion washed over Yuri. It had been so long since Cedric had tousled his hair like that.
He had always longed for that touch.
“Yuri.”
“Yeah?”
“Want me to help?”
Cedric’s expression was serious.
Yuri wasn’t sure exactly what kind of help he meant, but he knew that if Cedric set his mind to it, he could accomplish anything.
His older brother, Cedric, was a man who could do anything.
“No.”
Yuri shook his head.
“I caused this mess. I have to finish it myself.”
“Alright. But promise me you won’t get hurt.”
“Don’t worry.”
“Good.”
Cedric tapped Yuri’s cheek lightly and smiled warmly.
“I believe in you, Yuri Briol.”
“Of course. So, what happened to the ball?”
“I’ll handle it.”
Since Fiore wasn’t exactly the type to smooth things over, Cedric had to step in.
“Go get some rest.”
“Got it.”
Watching Cedric’s retreating figure as he headed back to the ballroom, Yuri steadied his resolve.
Despite his youth, Cedric already knew how to calm and lead people.
If the empire hadn’t invaded, what kind of country would Briol have become under Cedric’s reign?
“This time, I’ll see it through.”
Just as Cedric had stepped into the duel to save Ena, he would stand against the empire to protect the future Briol would build.
Tomorrow’s duel was nothing to Yuri.
No matter who his opponent was.
The next day.
On his way to the training grounds to observe the duel trial, Hernando ran into Saned.
“Good day.”
Hernando greeted him warmly.
Though he looked like an ordinary middle-aged man, Saned was a formidable figure—the captain of the royal guard in the knightly nation of Briol.
“Sir Hernando, are you headed to the training grounds?”
“Yes.”
“I see… well…”
Saned scratched the back of his head awkwardly.
“Were you at the ballroom yesterday?”
“Of course.”
“Is that rumor true?”
“Excuse me? What rumor?”
“Well…”
After hearing Saned’s explanation, Hernando chuckled.
Yuri’s actions were undeniably heroic. Which prince would dare challenge the empire to a duel just to save a maid?
But as the rumor spread, the truth had become distorted.
“The prince dirtied the crown prince’s robe and blamed the maid? And the second prince had to step in to prove his innocence?”
“I thought it was nonsense too…”
Hernando laughed again and explained the real story.
“It was actually the opposite.”
“I thought so…”
“Well, that version is more interesting.”
Just imagining how Yuri would react to the twisted rumors was entertaining.
But unlike Hernando, Saned still looked deeply worried.
“Regardless of the details, I’m concerned about the upcoming duel.”
“What do you think, Sir Saned?”
“The prince is talented, but even the empire’s royal guard—though they’re mere clones—are not to be underestimated.”
“Trust the prince.”
“You have faith in him?”
“I’ve seen enough.”
“I hope things go well, just like you say. This whole thing feels like a thunderclap…”
By the time they finished talking, they had arrived at the training grounds.
Saned asked a guard who was already there.
“His Highness?”
“He’ll be here soon.”
Only a select few were allowed to witness the duel, given the unpredictable nature of the event.
Aside from Fiore, there were only the priest and mage Hernando, and a handful of royal guards.
On the empire’s side, however, there were numerous armored knights, along with Georg and even Ekaterina.
It was an uneven match, all thanks to the extraordinary swordmaster Fiore Briol.
If he unleashed his murderous intent, no one could stop him, so they at least tried to balance the numbers.
“That boy is the opponent?”
“Yes.”
Hernando looked at the boy standing opposite Yuri.
He appeared three or four years older and had a well-balanced physique.
“Hmm…”
Saned let out a low groan.
“The opponent’s ki is remarkably stable.”
“Is that so?”
“To wield a sword so skillfully as a clone, he must be from the royal guard.”
The boy swung his sword through the air at incredible speed.
The empire’s royal guard was one of the continent’s most elite forces. Even clones were said to be as strong as seasoned knights.
How would this duel end?
Hernando should have been worried, but instead, his heart raced with excitement.
“Sir, why are you smiling?”
Saned asked quietly, genuinely curious rather than reproachful.
“Look.”
Hernando pointed at Yuri.
Sitting casually, Yuri showed no sign of tension. He even winked as if he sensed their gaze.
Saned smiled too.
“Do you understand now?”
“I do. Still, I can’t help but feel uneasy.”
“There won’t be any major accidents. His Highness is here, after all.”
“That’s true.”
Though Hernando gave a vague answer to Saned, the real reason for his smile was different.
He was simply enjoying himself.
Yes, it had started then.
From the day he lost all his money to the prince at the card table, his heart had been pounding nonstop.
“I’m ready. How long do you plan to keep swinging that sword in the air?”
Yuri stretched and asked.
The boy didn’t respond directly but swung his sword with even fiercer intensity.
Georg laughed.
“Ready to start?”
“I’m good to go.”
“Good.”
At Georg’s nod, the boy also nodded.
“I’m ready too.”
“Excellent.”
Georg turned to Fiore.
“Shall we begin?”
Fiore nodded.
They skipped all unnecessary formalities. As soon as both took their stances, Fiore signaled the start.
Though called a trial, it was really a brutal fight until one could no longer wield a sword.
Two unseasoned boys facing off—any outcome was possible.
“Begin.”
The clang of steel rang out immediately.
Hernando felt the scene before his eyes was somehow unreal.
Who would have imagined that the third prince would duel the empire’s greatest warrior to save the maid who dirtied the crown prince’s red robe?
Those who should have died lived, and those who should have lived stood on the brink of death.
What greater magic was there than this?
A strange light flickered in his eyes.
“Hmm…”
Saned groaned softly.
Even Hernando, who knew little of swordsmanship, could tell the opponent was highly skilled.
The fight was fairly even, but it was clear Yuri was struggling.
“Hernando.”
For the first time since arriving, Fiore spoke.
“Yes, Your Highness?”
“What do you think?”
“The duel?”
“Yes.”
“You’ll see better than I will.”
“I want your honest opinion.”
“Well…”
Hernando answered honestly.
“I don’t know.”
His words carried many meanings.
Fiore’s expression remained unchanged.
“Hernando, I told you your coming to Briol was fate.”
“That’s right.”
“Let me ask again. Is it time for you to leave?”
Hernando shook his head.
“No.”
“I see.”
Fiore smiled faintly.
It wasn’t the kind of expression one would expect from a father watching his son’s life on the line.
“That’s a relief. I’m glad you’re not leaving.”
“You say that again, and I’ll feel unworthy of your praise, Your Highness.”
“Unworthy? Nonsense.”
People thought Hernando was just a mage skilled in battle magic.
That was only half true.
To stand beside a monster like Fiore, mere battle magic wasn’t enough.
“You are a Grandwizard.”
Hernando’s official rank, granted by the Mage Tower, was ‘Grandwizard.’
One step above the ‘Masterwizard,’ who was said capable of miracles.
To earn the title of Grandwizard, one must possess a unique, unmatched magical path.
Hernando’s was the ‘Heaven’s Mandate Contemplation Style.’
He had been granted the magic to glimpse fate itself.
“Should I take that to mean nothing serious will happen?”
“Well…”
Hernando thought back.
He had come to Briol because of fate.
Through the Heaven’s Mandate Contemplation Style, he had met the one closest to the world’s destiny.
Fiore Briol.
People believed him to be among the continent’s strongest.
But Hernando, who could peer into fate, knew better.
Not just close.
The strongest.
The continent’s mightiest force.
If Fiore drew his sword, even the empire would find it hard to kneel.
Every moment, the world’s fate trembled with his decisions.
Yet Fiore never unleashed his full power, choosing instead to walk endlessly down the path of the sword.
Fate had stabilized, and the strongest blade remained sheathed.
Maybe there was no longer any reason to stay in Briol.
Then, one day.
He lost everything to the third prince at the card table.
Everything.
He had tried to win, but he lost.
After obtaining the Arcane Sword of Destiny, it was the first time I truly committed to a game and ended up losing money.
A mage of the Celestial Mandate Council losing to a mere thirteen-year-old boy? That was simply impossible.
Just a glance was enough to tell whether an opponent’s hand was strong or weak.
But with that kid, nothing showed.
No fortune.
“Your Majesty, who do you think is stronger?”
“The opponent is stronger.”
“I see.”
When Yuri and I ascended to the Sword Summit, he too had experienced something.
Though he told Yuri it was just a casino, it was far from that.
The Burning Briol.
A knight wielding a sword.
Bleeding all over, yet never yielding, swinging his blade with desperate resolve.
How could anyone not recognize him?
His black hair and eyes were the Briol royal family’s emblem, and that arrogant gaze belonged unmistakably to the Third Prince.
When he finally collapsed in despair, Hernando awoke from the vision.
Even then, Hernando wasn’t entirely sure.
He doubted it might be a hallucination.
But after witnessing Yuri’s reckless acts outside the palace, Hernando impulsively opened the “Celestial Mandate Sight.”
He used that miracle—whose next use was uncertain—just to glimpse the future of a mere child.
And yet.
He saw nothing.
Not just a lack of fortune.
That boy had no destiny.
Shuddering anew at what this meant, Hernando spoke.
“Your Majesty, I believe the time has come for me to leave.”
He had come to Briol following the celestial mandate.
The one with the strongest mandate had been so captivated by the sword that he let his era slip away.
He thought fate had gone awry.
But now he understood.
The one he was truly meant to face was not Fiore Briol.
“But perhaps I was wrong.”
Having met someone who defied the mandate in the very place he had followed it to—was this the world’s call?
Or had the Third Prince defied destiny to summon him?
He would see with his own eyes.
Whether the world’s fate would swallow him, or he would seize the world’s fate.
His heart pounded so fiercely he could hardly bear it.
“I look forward to working with you.”
Suddenly, a low cry burst out.
The Empire’s great warrior.
The boy stumbled backward, caught off guard by Yuri’s strike, his foot tangled, and he fell.
Yuri seized the advantage with a strange movement and brought his sword down.
Hernando could see it.
The boy’s destiny—the bud that had been gathering dew to bloom—suddenly blackened and withered.
Yuri’s sword plunged downward, and the brilliant destiny of a human being twisted abruptly into ruin.
At the moment when inevitable death struck—
Then, again—
“Ah…!”
The completely withered bud lifted its head toward the sun once more.
After the reversal of life and death, the boy’s fate shone again.
Saned’s muttering reached Hernando’s ears.
“My goodness. To twist the sword in that situation…”
Yuri had delivered an unavoidable blow, but just before piercing the opponent’s neck, he shifted the blade’s trajectory.
Life turned to death, and death back to life.
A cycle of life and death.
To Hernando, every moment was a miracle.
“How is it?”
“I lost.”
The Empire’s great warrior admitted defeat.
Hernando smiled brightly.
A being beyond the world’s fate.
Every move Yuri made defied destiny.
Life and death intertwined in a single instant. Not only that, but the fortunes of all who watched the duel turned to ash.
Even Hernando’s own future, as he observed, dissolved into complete chaos.
Yuri Briol.
The Transcender of the Celestial Mandate.
What was his role, and how would he change the fate of the world?
And then—
Five years passed.