Yuri froze the moment he spotted Marie-Rose lying beside him.
Her fiery red hair was tangled messily across the pristine white sheets.
Her long, deep auburn lashes rested quietly, drawing his gaze.
“…”
But Yuri didn’t make a sound or betray his confusion.
He had no idea what was going on, but he knew he needed to get out of there—fast.
Like the skilled swordsman he was, he moved silently and stealthily.
Just as he planted his feet on the floor and began to rise—
The door opened.
“…!”
His heart nearly stopped, but Yuri, a swordsman who had mastered his instincts, suppressed every reaction except widening his eyes.
Standing in the doorway was a maid from the Bezos estate.
She gave a quiet bow toward the frozen Yuri, then placed a water jug and a glass filled with a red liquid on the bedside table next to Marie-Rose. Covering it with a cloth, she quietly left the room.
Yuri hurried after her.
“Um… excuse me.”
Once in the hallway, Yuri hesitated before speaking to the maid, who walked calmly ahead.
“What’s going on?”
She looked serene.
But anyone accustomed to serving high-ranking nobles was a master of maintaining a composed expression. She might very well be thinking of Yuri as a shameless royal.
“W-why was I sleeping there?”
Yuri asked, desperate to understand. The last thing he remembered was drinking with everyone at the banquet hall. Faces flushed red, tongues loosened by the alcohol.
The maid looked up at him silently.
Her clear eyes seemed to silently reproach him, and Yuri quickly averted his gaze.
“Your Highness.”
“Yeah?”
“Last night…”
“Yesterday.”
“You said you would sleep in that room. So you must have woken up there.”
Yuri’s mouth opened, but no excuse came to mind.
He squeezed his eyes shut. For some reason, Ekaterina’s face flashed before him—her brows furrowed, her expression full of disdain.
As self-reproach washed over him, the maid’s voice reached his ears.
“So, instead of asking why Your Highness was there, you should be asking why the Mage Lord was.”
“Huh?”
“Your Highness went to bed first. That room is, after all, Your Highness’s.”
“My room?”
The maid pointed behind Yuri. When he turned, he saw a piece of paper taped to the door.
“Yuri’s Room.”
Scrawled in messy handwriting.
Suddenly, memories of last night came back in fragments.
Drunk, they had assigned rooms in the Bezos estate by playing rock-paper-scissors. To avoid confusion, they wrote their names on the doors.
Yuri’s room.
Right, that was his room.
Looking around, he saw papers on every door: Jared’s Room, Francesco’s Room, Ainger’s Room, and so on.
A little further off was Marie-Rose’s room.
True to her nature, instead of writing her name, she had drawn a rose with a heart beside it.
“What was that you brought earlier?”
“The Mage Lord asked me to place it by the bedside this morning as a hangover cure before he got too drunk.”
“That red stuff—is that medicine?”
“It’s wine.”
“Huh?”
“He said he’d cure his hangover with wine…”
It made no sense at all. But honestly, Marie-Rose coming to his room in the first place was the real oddity.
Shaking off his guilt, Yuri nodded.
“So, it wasn’t my fault.”
“That’s right.”
“And nothing happened.”
“I know.”
“How?”
“You can tell just by looking.”
“I see.”
Yuri was still dressed in last night’s clothes, having drunk so much he’d fallen asleep without even brushing his teeth.
“How embarrassing.”
“Shall I prepare a bath for you?”
“Please.”
Looking outside, the sun was just rising. Yuri had gotten up early.
He bathed, tidied himself up, then returned and made a ruckus.
“Hey, Jared! Simon! Guiness!”
He was waking the knights of the Vengeance Order who would be traveling with him. But his loud voice ended up waking everyone else, too.
Thus began the morning at the Bezos estate, thanks to Yuri.
“Ugh…”
“Ugh…”
Those who had drunk heavily the night before staggered in.
Yuri calmed his mind and body with a spirit technique, then, looking sharp and composed, leisurely ate breakfast alone.
As he sipped tea, Jared, Simon, and Guiness appeared, looking haggard.
“Your Highness…”
“Can’t even beat a little hangover, knights?”
“Um, at least with spirit techniques…”
Mana methods couldn’t completely dispel intoxication, but they could stabilize the turmoil inside. Still, the three looked miserable just sitting there.
“Ow, my head…”
“You should’ve paced yourself.”
Yuri called the entire Vengeance Order to get them back on their feet.
“Everyone, up!”
While they prepared, Yuri took it upon himself to ready their departure from Bezos.
The soldiers were grateful, but Yuri paid them no mind as he checked weapons and horses.
“I take care of my own affairs.”
“Impressive, Your Highness.”
“One should always tend to their own horse and weapon.”
“Indeed…!”
“How can someone who can’t manage their own gear hope to manage the world?”
“Truly, Your Highness!”
Caught up in the mood, Yuri realized he’d just made a near-treasonous remark—but the soldiers were too busy praising him to notice.
He cleared his throat.
“We’ll procure food along the way, so jerky and dried provisions will suffice.”
“Are you sure that’s enough?”
“Yes.”
The quartermaster nodded.
This was another of Yuri’s quirks. Unlike nobles who couldn’t stand even one poor meal, Yuri had no problem with the same preserved rations the soldiers ate.
His past life as a mercenary had taught him that even these were luxuries he often went without.
“Hey, how’ve you been? Thanks for your hard work.”
The horses looked well-fed, and the men seemed in good condition.
They were ready to depart.
Yuri suddenly remembered something.
“By the way, how are the ronin resting?”
“They’re fine. Since they came from the East, we treated them well last night. Having an interpreter made things easier.”
“Well done.”
The Eastern ronin had been organized into a foreign unit and would remain in Briol.
They were promised the same treatment as regular soldiers, which pleased them greatly.
Judging by their pure combat ability, they far surpassed the soldiers, but they seemed content with this arrangement—proof that life in the East was truly harsh.
“Where are the ronin now?”
“They’re…”
Yuri stopped by their quarters.
Several were already outside, practicing their energy control.
He spotted Cheongun among them.
“Cheongun?”
“Your Highness.”
Cheongun rose and approached Yuri, who gave him a once-over.
“Why do you look so fine? What about the drinking?”
“I only had a few. I’m careful with alcohol.”
“Really? Not much of a drinker?”
“My sect avoided alcohol.”
“Is it a prestigious sect?”
“No.”
Cheongun gave a bitter smile.
“An abandoned sect. I regret it.”
Yuri patted his shoulder.
“That’s understandable.”
Despite his skill, Cheongun had wandered as a ronin and eventually left the East. There was clearly a story behind it.
Yuri spoke firmly.
“Cheongun, I don’t know your past, but I will never abandon you.”
Cheongun looked at him.
“If you don’t abandon me, I won’t abandon you. Understand?”
He stared blankly for a moment, then smiled and nodded.
“Loyalty, and more loyalty.”
“Yes. Be loyal.”
“Loyalty!”
“I’ll give you a task until I return. By then, you’ll have mastered the language. Can you do it?”
“Absolutely.”
Cheongun had only recently been exposed to the continent’s common tongue. He had come through contact with the Elaine Guild and crossed over to the continent, where he met Yuri and helped reclaim Bezos.
Still, his command of the language was already good enough for smooth communication.
With a little more time, he’d be indistinguishable from a native speaker.
“I was a prodigy.”
“Seems so.”
Yuri shook Cheongun’s hand.
“I look forward to the day we meet again.”
“Yes!”
While talking with Cheongun, word came that the Vengeance Order was ready.
Yuri headed straight to where they waited.
They were all remarkably disciplined for people who had drunk heavily the night before.
Their eyes were sharp.
“Ughhh!”
“…”
Someone in the back row vomited. Yuri immediately motioned for him to be taken away, then addressed the group.
Once the situation was under control, Yuri looked each of them in the eye and said,
“We’re going to suppress the small allied states in the center.”
All eyes in the Vengeance Order focused on him.
At the front stood Jared, Simon, and Guiness. Watching from a distance were Marie-Rose, Hernando, and Inariel.
“If we leave them be, they’ll fall into the Empire’s grasp. We have to go and wake them up. Right?”
“Yes!”
“The knights of Briol are the best on the continent. Am I wrong?”
“Absolutely!”
“So it’s just us going.”
Yuri surveyed the members of the Vengeance Order.
Though relatively young, their skills were more than sufficient.
Most importantly, Yuri himself, along with Jared, Simon, and Guiness, were top-tier knights who could hold their own anywhere.
“We’ll show those slackers what real knights are. We’ll make the alliance respect us. It doesn’t matter if their pride isn’t backed by skill—it deserves to be shattered. Right?”
“Yes!”
“We’re about to depart. Everyone, stand by.”
Yuri conveyed the message to the Vengeance Knights, then approached Hernando, who was watching from behind.
Hernando wore a satisfied smile.
“Your Highness, please travel safely.”
“Thank you. In the meantime, find the master of the Magic Tower.”
“Leave it to me.”
Hernando winked.
“I’ll make sure to track down that person, no matter where they are.”
Inariel nodded in agreement.
Yuri glanced one last time at Marie Rose.
“…Thank you for your help.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Marie Rose smiled as if nothing had happened. Just as Yuri nodded and turned to leave—
“I’m a little disappointed…”
Her voice came softly, almost a whisper.
“I told Your Highness you wanted me to come first, you know.”
“Huh?”
Yuri turned around, but Marie Rose was already walking away toward the castle, her back to him. Watching her retreating figure, Yuri blinked in confusion.
What did she mean by that?
Since last night’s events were hazy, Yuri couldn’t tell if Marie Rose was speaking the truth or not.
While Yuri stood there, lost in thought, Marie Rose glanced back once, offering a faint smile before disappearing inside the castle.
Yuri couldn’t take his eyes off her until he caught the pointed looks from Hernando and Inariel, prompting him to clear his throat awkwardly.
“Well then, let’s go.”
And so, Yuri set off on the journey around the Central Federation of Small States with the Vengeance Knights.
Deep within the imperial palace.
In a sealed underground chamber where no one could enter or leave, agonized groans echoed through the darkness.
“Haah… ugh… aaah…”
The only light came from countless candles scattered haphazardly around the room.
Where the wax dripped and pooled, countless bleached white bones lay strewn about.
This dungeon was so thoroughly corrupted by human sacrifices, forbidden rituals, and dark magic that no ordinary person could endure it.
“How are you feeling?”
Suddenly, a clear voice cut through the pained moans.
“Does it hurt a lot?”
“Please… stop…”
The voice belonged to Cedric.
He smiled as he looked at the mysterious figure bound tightly in chains. Despite being surrounded by overwhelming malevolent energy, Cedric seemed unfazed.
“Looks like it hurts quite a bit…”
The chained figure was indescribable—human in shape but grotesquely distorted.
Occasionally, tentacle-like appendages writhed beneath the chains.
“Hang in there. You’re the reason I’m stuck doing nothing. Meanwhile, my little brother must be running around busily even now…”
“Huff… huff…”
Cedric thought of his brother.
Because Yuri kept defying all expectations, Cedric had been forced to improvise plans he hadn’t anticipated.
He didn’t regret it. In fact, he found it thrilling.
While he caught his breath, what would he accomplish next?
Soon, he would find out.
Cedric spoke with a voice tinged with amusement.
“Don’t disappoint me, Ivar.”