Side Story: Yuri’s Great Runaway Commotion! (3)
After a lively round of play with the children, Yuri came over to Marie-Rose, panting heavily.
“Huff, huff… So, how is it? It really is something important, right?”
“Yes, it is.”
“Because children are… huff… the future of the nation.”
Marie-Rose smiled softly, gently patting Yuri’s head.
“I’ll admit that.”
Just then, Laurent returned after washing up. Yuri quickly turned away, avoiding his sharp gaze.
“I’ll make sure to repay this humiliation.”
“Are you seriously declaring revenge on those kids? Didn’t expect that from you…”
“…”
“Well, anyway, we accomplished something important here. Now…”
Yuri trailed off.
He was on the run.
Though he claimed there was something important to do, in truth, he had no concrete plan. To keep wandering outside, he needed to come up with a more pressing reason.
He couldn’t just stay holed up in the ‘House of Love’ forever.
For the runaway—or rather, the adventure—to continue, there had to be another justification.
“An important task…”
“A task? Is there another important thing to do?”
Marie-Rose smiled knowingly, as if urging Yuri to spill.
“Well…”
Yuri nervously bounced his leg, deep in thought.
“Co-Co…ri.”
“Yes?”
“Maybe the plumbing’s broken or something…”
“Everything’s working fine.”
“Or maybe some furniture’s broken…”
“The carpenter fixed it all.”
“Is there anything I can help with…”
Kori cleared her throat awkwardly.
“As much as I respect Your Highness, as the person in charge of the House of Love…”
“Yes?”
“If Your Highness stays here too long, it will attract unnecessary attention to the facility. That wouldn’t be good for the children or the patients.”
“R-Really?”
“I haven’t mentioned it before, but a few reporters tried to climb over the wall and were stopped.”
“Oh no…”
Yuri was a famous figure, the focus of the continent’s attention.
Though his close aides wouldn’t admit it, he was undeniably the continent’s most admired rational mind.
His casual demeanor was well known, and people followed him regardless of social rank.
If word got out that Yuri was at the House of Love, a crowd would surely gather.
“Being a celebrity is exhausting…”
“They say there’s even a job following actors and famous nobles around to find news. Everyone must be bored.”
“Too peaceful, that’s why.”
The continent was enjoying unprecedented peace and prosperity.
Thanks to their shared experience in the Anti-Imperial Allied Forces, inter-state conflicts had ceased, and the rights of commoners who fought in the war had expanded, allowing talented individuals from various backgrounds to shine.
Naturally, new cultural phenomena emerged.
One of them was gossip magazines.
The “Nights of the Imperial City” now had branches across the entire nation, churning out sensational stories.
Scandals involving celebrities spread across the continent in an instant.
“Hmm…”
As Yuri pondered, Kori smiled gently.
“So, I have a personal favor to ask.”
“Hm?”
“It might actually be very important.”
“Important?”
Yuri leaned forward.
“What is it, Kori?”
“There’s a child who recently came to the facility. But that child is from the East.”
“Really? Are they having trouble adjusting? Do they need a tall uncle to help?”
“No, it’s not that…”
Kori glanced around cautiously, as if worried her words might leak out.
“Actually, the child was brought here by a warrior from the East…”
Kori recounted the recent events.
On a stormy night, with rain pouring and thunder crashing, a dying man collapsed at the entrance of the House of Love, clutching something wrapped in a cloth bundle.
When the guards shook him, he muttered broken, awkward continental speech.
“Th-this child… of noble Eastern blood… must… survive…”
Then he died.
It turned out the man’s body was riddled with stab wounds.
He had sustained grievous injuries that should have killed him, but his extraordinary willpower kept him alive long enough to reach the House of Love.
“What… what on earth is going on?”
The guards unwrapped the bundle.
Inside was a peacefully sleeping infant.
“A baby?”
Lightning flashed, illuminating the child’s face.
The blood-soaked cloth contrasted starkly with the baby’s serene expression, as if foreshadowing a bloody fate awaiting the child’s future…
Hearing Kori’s story, Yuri swallowed hard.
“That… really happened?”
“Yes…”
Kori nodded.
“If that were all, I wouldn’t be too concerned. There’s no child here without a story. But…”
Kori pulled something out.
“This came out of the bundle with the child…”
A book and a dagger.
The book looked very old, its cover inscribed with unknown Eastern characters.
Inside, alongside the text, were illustrations strikingly similar to those used to explain the Mana Method.
It was clearly a martial arts manual.
“And…”
Kori held up the dagger. Its golden sheath was studded with jewels, gleaming brilliantly.
With a soft slide, she drew the blade, revealing a sharp, translucent edge like crystal.
Golden letters were etched along the blade’s surface, though their meaning remained a mystery.
Still, it was clear this dagger was a priceless treasure of immense value.
“Seems like there’s more to this, doesn’t it?”
“I see…”
Yuri’s expression grew serious.
He had a rough understanding of Eastern affairs.
In the East, besides the martial arts sects, there was a vast empire ruled by an emperor, and the two powers had agreed to a non-aggression pact.
“Kori. You don’t mean you want me to…”
“Yes.”
Kori smiled.
“I want you to understand the meaning of this child, the book, and the dagger. And if possible, it’d be better to entrust the interpretation to someone trustworthy.”
A trustworthy Eastern person.
There was definitely someone.
Hearing Kori’s request, Yuri’s lips curled into a smile.
“Looks like I have no choice. For the sake of peace in the East, I’ll have to visit Master Moyongchan myself.”
Moyongchan was currently running the ‘Shinseong Sect’ in Liberta, teaching disciples.
There, along with the ronin Cheongun, Simon and Guiness were also staying, assisting Moyongchan.
“Kori, just trust me.”
Thanks to Kori, the spark of Yuri’s runaway adventure was barely kept alive.
Yuri turned to Marie-Rose.
“Want to come along?”
“No.”
Marie-Rose chuckled softly.
“You love it so much, but I’ll stay out of your way.”
“Out of my way? What are you talking about?”
“I have my own work to do.”
“Transcendental interpretation?”
“That, and Inariel asked me for a favor.”
“Ah…”
Inariel was conducting research on the ‘World Tree Forest.’
Following his theory that the elves left because of the ‘Demonic Grimoire,’ after the war ended, the existence of the World Tree began to be observed within the continent’s sea of trees.
But the inside and outside were still separated, and magical research was needed to enter.
“I hope Inariel meets his kin. It’ll be a heartwarming sight. He may look old, but by elf standards, he’s still a boy, right?”
“Who knows. He said he plans to find the parents who abandoned him and magically send them flying far away.”
“That’s touching in its own way.”
“Well then…”
Marie-Rose stood and approached Yuri, lightly ruffling his hair.
“Be careful on your journey.”
“I will.”
They smiled at each other.
Watching this, Jared grumbled.
“Ugh, I need to get married too…”
choke
“Laurent, did you just laugh at me?”
“No.”
“Phew…”
Yuri stood up.
“For the sake of peace in the East, and to find the lineage of one child, we leave for Liberta tomorrow.”
“Yes, sir.”
“So until then, let’s serve the children. Jared, get the plates ready again!”
“Yes, well…”
“And Laurent…”
Yuri looked at Laurent with a sly grin.
“You and Kori should have some time to reconcile.”
“What?”
“Go for a walk together and talk.”
“Uh, well…”
Kori smiled brightly.
“I’d like that.”
“I-I’m okay with it too…”
“You seem uncomfortable.”
“No.”
“Are you awkward around me?”
“No.”
After spending the whole day playing with the children, Yuri and his group left the House of Love early the next morning.
Marie-Rose had returned to the palace the day before, so only Kori came out to see the three off.
“Kori, I’ll come visit again!”
“Visit?”
“No, no, not just to visit. Anyway, if anything happens, just say the word. I’ll come help, even if it means putting state affairs on hold. The House of Love is a symbol of continental peace.”
“I’ll be waiting.”
Kori shook hands with Laurent as well.
Whatever they had talked about yesterday, Laurent now treated Kori with a noticeably more relaxed expression.
Seeing this, Yuri and Jared smiled warmly.
“Kori’s so kind. If it were me, I’d never forgive the one who branded me a traitor…”
“Exactly. Maybe if you’d given up a finger, it would have been resolved.”
With that, the three and Kori parted ways once more.
“Take care!”
“Come again!”
“Stay well!”
“Yes!”
Mounted on the black horse he had ridden since the Allied Forces days, Yuri continued on his journey.
Jared, who was riding alongside, spoke up.
“I have a strange feeling.”
“About what?”
“I get the sense this runaway won’t end so easily.”
“That’s a good thing.”
“I hope it stays at the level of just slacking off like now…”
“Slacking off?”
“From traveling with Your Highness, I’ve noticed incidents and accidents tend to follow you around.”
“Well, isn’t my nickname ‘Wind and Cloud Child’ after all?”
“I’m worried that another incident might get tangled up in Liberta, then another one after that, and before we know it, it could all lead to a massive war.”
“Tsk tsk, Jared. You’re worrying for nothing. War? As long as I’m around, that won’t happen.”
Yuri wasn’t bluffing.
At this point, military power across the continent was practically monopolized by him.
He was undisputedly the strongest on the continent, and his father Fiore, who was currently wandering alongside Bernard, was next in line.
All the other top-tier warriors were connected to Yuri by blood, friendship, or shared history.
When Yuri spoke, even wars came to a halt.
It wasn’t an exaggeration—it was a simple fact.
“Of course, that might be true for now…”
Jared furrowed his brow, still uneasy.
“There’s a chance something called a ‘world expansion’ event could happen.”
“What’s that?”
“Let’s start by going to Liberta.”
This matter was connected to the East.
Even someone like Yuri, who was on friendly terms with the martial arts alliance leader, couldn’t rule out unexpected developments.
Despite Jared’s concerns, Yuri remained completely unfazed.
“Look, I’ve eaten, drank, and swung swords with the martial arts alliance leader. That’s not all—I’m also on close terms with the Nine-Tenths Sect. I even gathered their masters and taught them as a group.”
“Teaching? You mean you knocked them out cold?”
“You learn best when you get hit. Anyway, even if something happens in the East, I can control it. Irein has deep ties with the Eastern royal family, too.”
“Hmmm…”
Still, Jared’s frown didn’t ease.
Laurent, who had been quietly listening, spoke up.
“Confident, aren’t you? Yuri Briol, if anything happens from now on, you’re the one responsible.”
“Why?”
“Because it’s all your responsibility.”
“Alright, alright, I get it. I’ll take responsibility. If anything happens, I’ll handle it, so don’t worry. Ha ha ha, you’re all so scared. Have you forgotten? I’m Yuri Briol.”
“Take responsibility.”
“Please take responsibility.”
“…”
Laurent and Jared crossed their arms and stepped back.
“Phew…”
Yuri sighed and trudged forward.
Then, with no energy left, he said,
“Guys, I’m Yuri Briol.”
The large men surrounding Yuri burst out laughing.
“Well, well. Yuri Briol’s here? Nice to meet you. I’m Yuri Briol Grandpa. Looks like you’re gonna get a good beating from the elders today.”
“So if you’re Yuri Briol, then you’re Jared, and you’re Laurent?”
“Oh, three famous people in one place? Today’s really our lucky day!”
“Just so you know, we don’t discriminate—we kill everyone. The Mad Dogs of Alois, that’s us. So hand over everything you’ve got!”
Yuri and his group had decided to cross the Alois mountain range to get to Liberta quickly, passing through Johann’s territory.
Along the way, they ran into some old acquaintances they’d long forgotten.
Yuri muttered,
“I keep running into bandits…”
“Bandits? We’re no insignificant gang like that!”
“Then what are you?”
“Call us the Green Forest Bandits!”