Laurent asked Jared about Cedric, but the answer was much the same as before.
He was a man so perfect it almost seemed inhuman.
“Why do you ask?”
“No reason. Just curious.”
Laurent shook his head.
Maybe it was just his imagination.
Perhaps Cedric was a little different from the rumors, but that wouldn’t change anything.
He just had to follow the third prince.
Jared rambled on.
“I see. Well, it’s natural to be curious. He’s an impressive man, after all. I wish the prince were more like the crown prince… maybe he’d be kinder…”
Meanwhile, the Briol army was approaching Francaise.
They wouldn’t stay long—just one night outside the territory—before heading straight to Bezose on the border with the Flandre forces.
The troops arrived at dusk and set up camp.
Laurent joined Yuri in pitching the tents.
Suddenly, one of Briol’s knights came looking for Laurent.
“Sir Laurent.”
“Yes? What is it?”
“I have news to deliver.”
He spoke calmly, as if trying to spare Laurent any worry.
“The Count of Francaise has sent word that he likely won’t be able to join this war.”
“What? What happened?”
Laurent frowned.
His father, Count Lian Flandre of Francaise, rarely missed any major battles alongside Briol.
He was as loyal to Prince Fiore Briol as Laurent was to the third prince.
“He’s said to have a minor illness.”
“An illness?”
Laurent was surprised.
He had never seen his father sick. Most knights were like that—strong and rarely falling ill.
The knight nodded.
“Yes. The message said he suddenly developed a fever and is having trouble moving.”
“How did that happen…?”
“He asked me to tell you not to worry. The symptoms aren’t serious, so you should proceed to the border without concern. No visits, please.”
“I understand…”
“The clerics say it’s nothing severe.”
Laurent blinked, studying the knight for a moment before nodding.
He could guess how his father had phrased it.
“Thank you for your efforts.”
“Yes, sir.”
The knight bowed lightly and turned away.
Yuri, sitting nearby on the ground, spoke up.
“Laurent, maybe you should go see him?”
“No. The war comes first.”
“Right…”
Yuri shrugged.
“Don’t worry too much. It’s probably nothing serious. I heard from my older brother that Count Lian is as healthy as if he’ll live forever.”
“Really?”
“Yeah.”
“The crown prince… he’s met your father?”
“Oh, yeah. He stayed at Francaise for a while during his studies. They met often then.”
“I see…”
“Why? Are you worried about Count Lian?”
“No.”
Laurent felt a strange unease again but pushed the worry aside.
Cedric was the crown prince and future king of Briol, and his father was a loyal knight who had served the royal family for years.
It would be stranger if they hadn’t met while staying at Francaise.
“My father will be fine.”
“Of course.”
Yuri smiled and stood, pointing somewhere.
“Hey, look at that.”
Laurent turned his head.
There, perched atop a thick tree, was a bird.
Not very large, but its calm eyes and elegantly fanned tail feathers gave it a noble air.
Most striking of all was its pure white color.
“A Chai bird.”
Laurent raised his eyebrows. It was a name he’d become familiar with recently.
“They’re rare to see.”
“Really?”
“Too much hunting. People keep them as pets or stuff them for display. The sad thing is, captive Chai birds don’t breed, so their numbers keep dwindling. Even laws banning hunting don’t help…”
It was strange.
He had barely seen the bird before, yet here it was, the day after his odd conversation with Cedric.
Laurent forced himself to shake off the distraction.
“The prince knows a lot about birds.”
“Not really. My older brother explained it to me once.”
Yuri smiled.
“He said it’s a shame that because of human greed, we might not get to see these beautiful white birds anymore. When he becomes king, he wants to do something about it. Pretty impressive, right? He even cares about the birds.”
Yuri laughed aloud, and Laurent awkwardly joined in.
“I see…”
It was different from what he’d heard before. When he talked with Cedric, the prince’s tone had been more cynical.
Birds were just birds, he’d said.
The gap between the Cedric people knew and the Cedric Laurent had met was growing.
“Well then, how about we check out tonight’s camp? What do you say, Laurent?”
“All right.”
“Where’s Jared? Jared!”
Yuri started making a ruckus again as he moved, laughter trailing behind him.
It was hard to believe this was an army preparing for war—the mood was so light.
That was Yuri’s power.
Watching him walk away, Laurent scratched his cheek.
“Ha…”
Compared to the war ahead, this was a minor matter. Yet he couldn’t shake the nagging feeling in his chest.
If only Hernando were here—he would have asked for advice. But he’d been gone for a long time.
So Laurent swallowed the rising emotions.
“It’ll be fine.”
He muttered the words like a promise to himself and moved on.
Beneath the surface, the war was already underway.
Though Yuri’s group had stopped the Ninth Knights, there was no way the Empire lacked spies.
While the Briol army spent the night outside Francaise, an alarm suddenly rang out.
Yuri was the first to rush outside, with Laurent close behind.
Jared came running out after them, shouting.
“What’s going on? What is it?”
“An intruder.”
“An intruder? Who?”
“A spy, probably.”
“A spy? But we’ve got the Ninth Knights…”
“Not them. The ones already here.”
Given the Empire’s vast reach, there was no way they lacked intelligence networks.
They must have been hiding in Briol long before the war began.
“A spy, huh? Does Briol have any of those?”
“Of course.”
“What do you mean?”
“There’s a Briol Home Guard.”
“…”
“That way.”
Yuri moved quickly.
As he disappeared from sight, Laurent and Jared hurried after him.
Inside the camp, soldiers were already running about with torches, searching for the intruders.
Yuri grabbed a torch from one of them.
“Borrowing this!”
“Huh? Oh, sure!”
He sprinted toward where his senses detected the enemy.
There was more than one.
Several spies were trying to sneak into the Briol camp at once.
Maybe to scout troop numbers, set fire to supplies, or perhaps even assassinate someone.
But their efforts felt clumsy.
“We’ll find out when we interrogate them.”
Yuri stomped the ground.
He was the fastest, with Laurent, Jared, and other Briol knights close behind.
Francaise’s fertile plains weren’t good for hiding.
Yuri shouted.
“Stop running!”
But they didn’t stop.
While running, Yuri switched the torch to his left hand, bent down, grabbed a stone, and hurled it.
A sharp scream pierced the darkness.
“Grab the one who fell!”
Yuri shouted to the knights behind him as he passed the fallen man, picking up more stones.
Four targets were now caught by his senses.
He threw stones one after another.
Three collapsed, but one was quick, dodging the throws.
“Damn it…”
Yuri ran faster.
His footsteps dug deep into the earth.
Though the spy was nimble, he couldn’t shake Yuri, who was closing in.
Finally, Yuri caught the last one.
“Hey!”
He shouted as he leapt.
“Stop!”
Then, with a flying kick, he struck the man’s back.
Already running, the spy was knocked down, tumbling over rocks and bouncing off the ground.
“Ugh…!”
The sound alone told Laurent the man was coughing up blood.
Yuri approached, shining the torch on him.
“Maybe I went a bit too far?”
The man looked terrible—his face smashed, front teeth missing, blood streaming down.
Yuri scratched the back of his head.
“You should’ve stopped when I told you to. Let’s go.”
He grabbed the man’s ankle and dragged him along.
The spy groaned every time he caught on something, but Yuri paid no mind.
“Hey, did you gather them all?”
“Yes!”
Five Empire spies were dumped like cargo in the middle of the camp.
Briol knights surrounded them.
“Hey, who are you?”
“Want to die?”
“How dare you spy on Briol?”
“We’ll tear you apart. You’ll crawl for the rest of your life.”
“You’ll only digest death from now on.”
“Did you say goodbye to your mothers before coming here?”
They threatened the prisoners like gangsters.
This was the reality of the knights.
Yuri rubbed his forehead.
“Laurent.”
“Yes?”
“When you only use your sword from a young age, this is what happens.”
“Yes…”
“Martial arts are important, but you also need to read books and develop social skills. That’s how you grow.”
“That’s true,” Laurent agreed briefly.
Yuri stepped forward.
“Everyone, step aside. This isn’t how you conduct an interrogation.”
“Y-Yes, Your Highness!”
“I’ll show you what interrogation really looks like.”
“Ooh…”
The knights stepped back, curious.
Yuri had suddenly gained attention for his exploits with the allied forces. The knights accompanying him for the first time couldn’t help but feel a strange sense of anticipation. What kind of skills did the third prince, said to be Fiore’s successor, really have? And how skilled was he at interrogation?
Yuri grabbed one of the fallen intruders and crouched down in front of him.
“Hey.”
“…”
“I’m going to count to ten. Answer before I reach ten, or you’ll get a slap. Got it?”
“…”
“Do you understand or not?”
“Y-Yes…”
“Alright, listen up. Why did you break in? Counting now. One, two, three, four…”
A sharp slap echoed through the air.
“Does that hurt? You don’t want it to hurt more, right? If you keep quiet, you’ll get two slaps. Twice the pain. Counting again. One, two, three, four…”
The knights standing quietly behind exchanged glances. This was hardly a proper interrogation. Could this really be the third prince who had been called a butcher, spilling blood like rain against orcs?
Just as doubts began to creep in, right before Yuri’s second slap landed, the intruder spoke up.
“I-I was ordered by the Empire…”
“Is that so?”
The confession came immediately.
The knights were stunned, and Yuri turned back with a sly smile.
“This is how you interrogate. You have to be a little rough, like me.”
“Y-Yes…”
With every slap Yuri delivered, the prisoners started spilling their secrets. The knights watched in disbelief. No teeth were flying out, no eardrums bursting—just a sharp smack on the cheek. Yet each time, the notorious imperial spies revealed valuable information.
“What was your objective?”
“Y-Yes, sir. To gather intel on personnel, assess troop numbers, and if possible, burn supplies…”
“Vile scum.”
“I-I’m sorry…”
Smack!
“P-Please, stop hitting me…”
“You know it hurts, don’t you?”
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry…”
The knights stood dumbfounded, watching the scene unfold.
Meanwhile, Laurent suddenly felt something strange.
Among the five prisoners, one who hadn’t been questioned yet was sitting dazed, staring right at him. At first, Laurent thought it was a coincidence, but the man’s gaze was relentless.
Laurent met his eyes and studied him. The man looked almost vacant, as if his soul had left his body.
Then, suddenly, he gave a strange smile. He spread his arms wide and began to wave them slowly up and down, like wings flapping.
Laurent took a step back, startled.
The others, focused on Yuri’s interrogation, seemed oblivious to the odd behavior.
Flap, flap.
Laurent felt as if they were the only two left, locked in a silent exchange.
Then—
“Your Highness!”
The man who had been flapping his arms suddenly pulled a dagger from his coat and started swinging wildly.
Yuri stepped back, but the attacks didn’t stop.
It all happened so fast that even Yuri couldn’t react in time.
“Damn it…”
The spies nearby were all cut down cleanly, no chance of survival.
“You bastard…”
Yuri growled.
“You were dodging stones until the very end, huh?”
But the attacker’s eyes weren’t on Yuri.
He was staring at Laurent, twisting the blade toward his own neck.
His target was himself.
“Hey!”
He took his own life.
In an instant, all five spies met their deaths.
“Damn…”
Yuri sighed.
“That was my mistake. I should have stopped him.”
“No, it’s fine. We got all the information anyway.”
“That’s true, but…”
“Your interrogation skills were impressive.”
“Right?”
“Yes.”
“Let’s search their bodies.”
The knights rifled through the dead spies but found nothing unusual.
Then—
“Whoa!”
One knight suddenly stepped back, startled.
“What’s wrong?”
“This crazy bastard…”
He pointed at the body of the last man who had swung the dagger.
“What’s he carrying in his coat?”
“What is it?”
Another knight approached and searched the man’s coat. Then he too stepped back, visibly shaken.
“Wow, that’s unsettling…”
“Why would someone carry this around?”
Everyone fell silent for a moment.
Inside the coat was a taxidermied white bird.