Genard Jattery.
The greedy duke of Yuzes.
Whatever else he lacked, he had an uncanny talent for sensing the scent of power.
Had he been born in the Empire, he might have enjoyed far greater wealth and status.
But that was a meaningless hypothetical.
Genard was a noble of Briol—and so he was stabbed through the throat by the prince of Briol.
“Ugh…!”
As Genard collapsed, his eyes rolled in disbelief.
Yuri paid him no mind. Like ignoring a fly struggling on the floor before it dies, she didn’t bother to watch Genard’s final moments after piercing his throat. She immediately turned her gaze elsewhere.
And so, Genard died a miserable death, his last breath barely audible.
“Hey, Genard’s knight. What’s your name?”
As always, Yuri asked the name of anyone who caught her interest.
It was the knight who had blocked Genard’s path at the end.
“I—I’m Vissius.”
“Vissius, huh? That’s a fine name. So, will you die, or will you join me?”
“Excuse me?”
“If you protected Genard out of loyalty, then just die now. But if you did it out of duty as a knight, then come to me.”
Yuri smiled slyly.
“I think your life is meant for something else. If you want to risk it, do it for a better master. In other words, serve a true lord like me.”
From behind, Jared muttered grumpily.
“Wow, saying that yourself…”
“Shut up.”
Vissius hesitated.
As a knight who had just lost his lord, he couldn’t shamelessly pledge loyalty to the one who had just killed him.
But his doubts were unfounded.
“Please spare me!”
“I swear loyalty to the prince!”
“We hated Genard too!”
Before he could respond, everyone in the room dropped to their knees and swore allegiance to Yuri.
There was no god in this place.
Vissius opened his mouth.
“Um…”
“Look at them, Vissius. I know what you’re thinking—is your pride really that important? If so, I won’t stop you. I’ll just cut your head off.”
“If I follow the prince, then I…”
“Then when you die by an enemy’s blade someday, you won’t hesitate like you just did.”
“Uh…”
“Well, it’s best if you don’t die at all.”
How blessed it was to face death with honor.
Vissius remembered the turmoil that had swept through his mind while defending Genard.
Standing before death, he could finally be honest with himself.
His body moved, but he didn’t want to die for a man like that.
Vissius nodded immediately.
“It’s shameful, but I will follow the prince.”
“Good. There won’t be anything to be ashamed of from now on. Come here and stand with my men.”
Yuri gestured.
“Uh…”
“It’ll feel awkward at first, but they’re still awkward too, so just feel it out and get along.”
“Yes…”
“Everyone’s supposed to get along. Got it?”
Though it felt rough, like tossing a child into a group, Vissius sided with Yuri’s knights.
“Hey, Vissius.”
“Dalton?”
“Long time no see.”
He even ran into a familiar knight there.
And so, Vissius joined Yuri’s ranks.
With one knight recruited in this haphazard way, Yuri pressed the retainers who had served Genard.
“Hey, remember what I said? Gather all the nobles who followed Genard.”
“Yes?”
“Hurry up and assemble them.”
One of them had been following Genard around with a sly grin, acting as a sort of strategist.
“Most of them are from nearby lands, so they should come quickly.”
“Ah, understood!”
He was quick-witted.
To win Genard’s favor, he had to be good at flattering. So he nodded without protest at Yuri’s command.
“Sir Bordo! I will do my best for the prince! Loyalty!”
“Loyalty? You want to die?”
“Sorry.”
“Get to work.”
Bordo brought Genard’s seal and began preparing letters.
“There are quite a few.”
More than ten.
Bordo crafted the letters, stamped the seal, and wax-sealed them with the Jattery family crest. Then he gathered the messengers, lined them up, and warned them sternly not to leak anything outside. He even kicked one messenger’s shin when his eyes wavered.
“Get your act together! Understand?”
“Yes!”
“Your fate depends on these letters. Bring back the best possible results with all your might!”
“Yes!”
“Go!”
The disciplined messengers left the room.
Yuri watched from the window as ten horses left the castle one after another.
“Bordo.”
“Yes!”
“Don’t slack off.”
Yuri kicked his shin.
Bordo hopped around but smiled.
“Hehe, sorry.”
He truly had a natural talent for flattery. His quick mind made him useful if handled properly.
“Your name’s Bordo, right? What’s your life’s goal?”
“Eh?”
“Money? Honor? Why did you work so hard beside Genard?”
“Well…”
Bordo rolled his eyes.
As Yuri’s tone grew serious, he stopped flattering and gave a more honest answer. He was good at reading the mood.
“Money. Honestly, it was for the money. To earn enough to support a sly wife and some rabbit-like kids…”
“Enough of that.”
“Yes, money.”
“Got it. I’ll give you more money than Genard ever did, so from now on, you follow my orders.”
“Of course! Then I’ll head to the castle…”
“No, you’ll stay in Yuzes.”
“Y-You don’t mean to make me a duke…?”
“Of course not, you idiot. Are you crazy?”
“Ah, yes, yes…”
“You’re going to manage the one who will rule Yuzes in the future. Understand?”
“Ah, yes.”
“Don’t try anything funny, or you’ll end up like that.”
Yuri gestured toward the center of the room.
Genard’s corpse lay there, blood pooling thickly on the floor beneath him.
Yuri’s sharp gaze passed over Vissius and cleanly pierced Genard’s throat.
To most, Yuri appeared as a swordsman who had reached an unfathomable level.
“Summon all of Genard’s blood relatives. Let’s settle this all today.”
Once Yuri revealed his legitimacy as the king’s proxy through Joshua’s letter, no one dared oppose him. Even the knights who had resisted for Genard acknowledged Yuri.
He had completely taken control of Yuzes Castle.
Yuri searched Genard’s office and found several hidden crystal orbs. He also uncovered correspondence exchanged with the Empire.
“So it does exist.”
Though the connection wasn’t very deep, it was enough proof that the Empire had been trying to undermine Briol from within.
However, the figure suspected to be a dark mage seemed to have already fled.
“Prince.”
As Yuri skimmed the documents, Jared approached him.
“I’ve summoned the entire Jattery family.”
“Well done.”
Yuri left the office with Jared.
In the large hall where Genard had always held banquets, the Jattery family members sat gathered.
Confused and unsure of what was happening, the relatives fell silent when they saw Yuri’s face.
“Hey, everyone. Good to see you.”
Yuri sat at the head seat, crossing his legs. Then he looked at Genard’s lawful wife sitting beside him.
“Well, Genard’s fate is sealed. It’s unfortunate.”
After a brief silence, she closed her eyes and nodded.
“Yes.”
There was little regret in her voice.
It seemed she had anticipated this day would come.
“He committed many sins. I could overlook his backstabbing, but since he conspired with the Empire, I can’t let him live. Don’t you agree?”
No one responded. They all quietly lowered their heads.
Yuri shrugged. Knowing Genard’s temperament, he could easily imagine how cruel he had been even to his own kin. Perhaps they were secretly relieved.
Yuri continued.
“The reason I called you here is simple. Someone has to succeed Genard.”
Several of those who had been bowing suddenly raised their heads.
Yuri smiled.
“Starting to get interested? Those of you who just looked up, stand up.”
While Yuri was consolidating control over Yuzes, Kori found himself cornered.
“Hey, you.”
Kori bowed his head to the man.
“Come quietly, understood?”
“Yes…”
Kori’s hands were cuffed, bound by a curse that suppressed his mana, preventing him from using magic even if he wanted to.
He staggered pathetically, following the man’s lead.
“Walk straight.”
“Yes, yes…”
Kori replayed recent events in his mind.
How had it come to this?
He had been learning language magic under Cruar.
Though born with the Dragon Language Organ, his skills were still crude, and his progress slow.
Still, Kori trained steadily.
He wanted to master language magic fully someday and be of help to Yuri.
Then one day, Cruar said this:
“Briol is in danger. The great dragon Cruar could help avert the crisis, but because of the contract with the Empire, that might be difficult…”
“Is that true?”
“The great dragon Cruar never lies.”
Kori grew desperate.
He often went down to the village to buy necessities and checked on Briol’s situation each time.
The Empire had set up camp in Bezos. The continent’s strongest swordsman, Fiore Briol, and his son Cedric Briol had disappeared. And Yuri Briol lay unconscious, unable to regain consciousness.
As news like this kept coming in, Kori finally made up her mind to leave.
But Cruar wouldn’t allow it.
“Kori, I can’t let you go until you’ve fully mastered the Word Magic. If you want to leave, it has to be after you’ve learned it.”
She set a condition.
But if Kori waited until she mastered Word Magic, Briol might not be safe.
So, using the excuse of going to town to buy supplies, Kori slipped away and immediately set off on her journey toward Briol.
She felt sorry for Cruar, but there was no other choice.
However, before she had gone far, a band of bandits captured her.
And she was sold into slavery.
“You look unusual, and since you seem to know magic, selling you to a circus troupe will fetch a good price.”
“But slavery is banned on the continent…”
“What nonsense is that?”
The slave trader laughed.
“No one around here dares to say a word. The empire’s nobles tacitly allow it. They turn a blind eye because they find it useful.”
Cruar’s lair was in a remote mountain in the empire’s northwest.
Briol, on the other hand, lay in the southeast—almost the exact opposite side of the continent. Perhaps because of that, the local customs and atmosphere were completely different.
“As long as you don’t resist, I won’t beat you. Beating someone like you is just pathetic.”
“Should I be grateful?”
“Just saying.”
The slave trader took Kori to a small village.
If the villages Kori had passed through near Briol were small but cozy, the people here eyed each other warily, exchanging hostile glances.
In a corner of the village, a small circus troupe wandered about.
“No sale.”
“Just take a look at the merchandise.”
At first, the circus leader showed no interest, but when he saw Kori’s appearance, his eyes widened.
A half-orc, just as the stories said.
But she could speak, and moved with surprising agility.
“She even uses magic?”
“Yeah. It’s rough, but she can manipulate mana. Nothing dangerous, though. After a few beatings, she’s too dazed to cast anything.”
“Do those shackles count?”
“Yeah. As long as she’s chained, she can’t use magic. We only loosen them when she performs. A magic-using hybrid—how rare is that?”
“Ugly as hell, though. But if she uses magic, maybe she’s smarter than other hybrids.”
“Right. She’s got magic, and she talks like a pro—using fancy words, too. She even smoothly lies about being friends with Briol’s third prince…”
Kori snapped.
“That’s not a lie.”
“Shut up.”
The slave trader’s fist hit Kori, and she collapsed to the ground.
“Been spoiling you too much, huh? Trying to butt into grown-ups’ conversation?”
Until now, he hadn’t been very violent, but once money was involved, he got edgy.
Wiping the blood from her mouth, Kori got back up.
The trader and the circus leader continued their conversation.
“They’re performing soon in front of the empire’s nobles, right?”
“Yeah, but…”
“Will what they’ve done so far be enough? We need something special to draw a crowd.”
“A magic-using hybrid. Interesting, but not that impressive.”
“If she’s smart, maybe we can teach her some tricks. How about making her grunt like a pig?”
“A pig?”
“Yeah. Treat her like an ugly piglet, then suddenly have her cast magic. Wouldn’t that surprise everyone?”
“That’s not a bad idea.”
Eventually, their negotiation ended.
Kori was sold to the circus troupe for a hefty price.
The slave trader warned her sternly.
“If you try any funny business, a bounty will be put on you. Ugly like you can’t hide anywhere. So you better behave. My reputation’s on the line.”
“Slave traders have reputations too?”
“Don’t talk back.”
The trader raised his fist again but sighed instead.
“Everyone has their limits. What else can someone like you do? Look in the mirror. Tsk, tsk…”
Kori was furious but had no choice but to hold back.
“You’ll regret this later.”
“Yeah, right.”
It was true that his face was hideous.
But the people Kori had met in Briol had accepted even someone like her warmly, even teaching her magic.
She desperately wanted to see them again.
So, as the circus leader dragged her away, she said firmly,
“Please let me go.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Fine. If I earn enough money, you’ll let me go, right? How about that?”
“Hmm…”
“If not, I won’t perform or do anything. You can beat me to death if you want.”
“Alright, fine.”
“Really?”
“Most of the troupe’s members are in a similar situation. If you pay off your debt, I’ll let you do as you wish. But interest keeps piling up. Usually, even after paying, they come back and keep working. What else could you do outside?”
“I have something I must do.”
“Then work hard.”