Marie-Rose checked on Yuri and smiled brightly.
“Did you come to see her? At this hour?”
“Not exactly.”
“Should I send this gentleman away?”
“No, that won’t do.”
Yuri stepped into the room and closed the door behind her.
“I want to hear the whole story.”
“What story?”
“Who gave that to Okua.”
Hernando’s mouth dropped open.
“You heard everything?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
As Hernando entered Marie-Rose’s room, Mana cloaked the space, blocking all sound. So how had Yuri managed to listen in?
Hernando felt a flush of embarrassment. He hadn’t intended to share anything about this parchment with anyone but Marie-Rose.
“Well?”
Yuri pulled out a dagger and waved it.
It was one of the Four-Wheel Blades—the Wind Wheel Sword.
She wrapped the energy of the Soul Slash around it and pierced through Hernando’s mana barrier. Through that gap, she’d eavesdropped on their conversation.
“I see.”
Hernando nodded in understanding.
But he had a bigger question.
“By the way, why are you here in Marie-Rose’s room at this hour? Surely not, Your Highness…?”
Marie-Rose nodded at Hernando’s glance.
“I’m curious too. Why am I here in my own room so late at night?”
Yuri’s cold eyes flicked between the two of them.
“Is that the best you can come up with?”
“Of course.”
“Hernando, I’ve been watching you.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
Yuri gestured toward the parchment lying on the table.
“You kept carrying that thing around, reeking of rot. I was curious what you were up to, so I kept an eye on you.”
Hernando’s eyes widened.
“You knew?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
“I told you. It stinks.”
“I sealed it with magic.”
“I can still feel it.”
Yuri glanced sideways as she spoke.
Black energy was rising from the parchment—similar to what had happened when the black sorcerer appeared.
No one else noticed it, but Yuri could sense it clearly.
“Let me take a look.”
“It’s dangerous.”
“It’s fine. There are two great mages here.”
“Still…”
“If we don’t, it’ll only get worse.”
Yuri smiled slyly.
“Better to do it here, don’t you think?”
Hernando sighed.
With the third prince acting on his own whims, there was no chance of this going quietly.
He gave Marie-Rose a look, and she tapped Yuri’s shoulder.
“This isn’t good for your mental health, but are you sure you want to see it?”
“Yes.”
“Alright.”
Marie-Rose clenched her fists.
“Just trust me. I’ll protect you, Your Highness.”
“Thank you.”
“I’m going to break the seal now. Are you ready?”
“Is that really necessary…?”
In the end, Yuri stood before the parchment, flanked by Hernando and Marie-Rose.
“Do it.”
Marie-Rose broke the seal.
Yuri stared at the parchment.
…
She could feel the thick, dark energy seeping into his mind.
The edges of her vision darkened and flickered. It was annoying not being able to see her surroundings.
“Get lost.”
Yuri channeled the Soul Slash energy into the Wind Wheel Sword and slashed. The black energy approaching him scattered.
“No…”
“Wow…”
The two mages groaned at the unbelievable sight.
Yuri stepped closer to the parchment.
For an ordinary person, just looking at it would be overwhelming, but he leaned in as if trying to read faint, illegible letters.
“Hmm…”
Soon, the letters on the parchment began to writhe.
The image of a black tower flickered before Yuri’s eyes.
Within it, a pair of eyes glared at her.
A silent standoff ensued.
The eyes glared and occasionally furrowed their brows, but nothing else changed.
“I see the tower and the eyes. Is that all?”
“For now, yes…”
Yuri jabbed the eyes with the Wind Wheel Sword.
They twisted in agony, let out a faint scream, and vanished.
The hallucination ended.
What remained before him was just an old, worn parchment.
Yuri straightened up.
“Disgusting thing.”
Hernando and Marie-Rose stared at Yuri in shock.
“What’s wrong?”
“Why are you so calm?”
“I’m Yuri Briol.”
“That’s not the point. You didn’t stab it with a sword, did you?”
“The eyes were too arrogant.”
“How is that even possible…?”
Yuri glanced down at her chest.
“I guess my mana method is a bit unusual.”
The black energy in the parchment seemed almost afraid of the Soul Slash.
“Just a mana method?”
“We saw it together at the Mana Mountain, remember?”
Hernando fell silent. Yuri continued.
“Yes, I know this parchment is tainted with black magic and extremely dangerous.”
She waved the parchment as she walked out.
Unconsciously, she almost sat on the bed but caught herself and stopped awkwardly.
Marie-Rose smiled.
“You can sit if you want.”
“No, I’m fine.”
Yuri moved to the chair by the dressing table and sat down.
She shook the parchment again.
“This came from Okua’s corpse, right?”
“Yes.”
“Marie-Rose was right. This is a conspiracy.”
Listening to Marie-Rose’s theory sent a chill down Yuri’s spine.
The Alliance army had been sent to die from the start. Now, black magic had been added to the mix.
Yuri recalled her past life.
Back then, the emperor suddenly launched a conquest war. Blood flowed freely within the empire through purges and oppression.
Rumors spread that the emperor had gone mad.
“If an ordinary person saw this parchment, they’d lose their mind, right?”
“Most likely.”
“Does black magic really do that to people?”
“Absolutely.”
Yuri looked at the parchment again. The twisting letters made no sense.
She shook it roughly once more.
“What kind of script is this?”
Suddenly, a voice echoed in her mind.
“Beware the demon’s grimoire.”
Yuri’s hand stopped shaking the parchment.
At the ruins of the old kingdom, she had witnessed past events.
The mage who left those memories had warned to beware the demon’s grimoire.
Could it all be connected?
Maybe the parchment in her hand was torn from that very demon’s grimoire.
“Alright.”
Yuri handed the parchment to Marie-Rose.
“Marie-Rose, about what you wanted to say earlier.”
“Hm?”
“The thing that coward Hernando stopped you from saying.”
“That’s right. That coward did stop me.”
“I think the same.”
“Oh?”
Then Hernando called out to Yuri.
“Your Highness.”
“Yes?”
“Jumping to conclusions will only make things worse.”
“Who’s jumping to conclusions? And judging by how sensitive Hernando is acting, I think all three of us are thinking about the same person.”
“That’s because of Marie-Rose…”
“We have to go to the empire anyway.”
Yuri said the word ‘empire’ casually.
Hernando sighed.
“Haah…”
He hoped the situation wouldn’t escalate, but Yuri had already lived through one life and returned to the past. She didn’t need to be so cautious.
At least it was certain the empire had sent the Alliance army as bait.
If anything, they needed to prepare sooner, before the empire made its move.
“Let’s go to the empire together. See for yourself if they really pulled strings there.”
“Can’t be helped. Understood.”
“Just so you know, it’s clear the empire intended to use the Alliance army as a sacrificial pawn. It only succeeded miraculously because of me.”
“Do you have a reason to think that?”
“Reason or not, even Lord Ragna thought so.”
“I see…”
If the empire had planned for the Alliance army to succeed, they wouldn’t have appointed Ragna as commander-in-chief. He wasn’t favored by the emperor.
In the end, Hernando nodded.
“Understood.”
Marie-Rose gave Yuri a thumbs-up and winked.
“You broke stubborn Hernando, didn’t you?”
“Just a little.”
“Now I see you’re sharp too. What can’t you do?”
“Disappoint people’s expectations?”
Marie-Rose laughed out loud.
“Can I come to the empire too?”
“Marie-Rose, I want you to analyze the parchment.”
“Got it. If it’s a request from Your Highness.”
“Thanks.”
She put a finger to her lips, thought for a moment, then said,
“But on one condition.”
“Hm?”
“You have to grant me one favor later.”
Yuri looked at Marie-Rose.
She wore a sly smile.
“A favor?”
“Yes.”
A favor was another word for a wish.
She had already promised Sibylla one wish.
Issuing wish rights carelessly could destroy families and collapse society. Debts that couldn’t be repaid only led to ruin.
Yuri didn’t want to take on any more liabilities.
But Marie-Rose was firm.
“I won’t do it without that condition.”
“Are you serious?”
“Yes.”
Marie-Rose crossed her arms.
“There are plenty of other mages. You can leave it to them. Though none are as close to transcendent analysis as I am.”
Yuri looked at Hernando. He shrugged.
“Stubborn Hernando is a misnomer. If anyone’s stubborn in the Mage Tower, it’s Marie-Rose.”
“Uh…”
He chuckled amusedly.
They had just been pressing Hernando, but now the tables had turned.
Yuri closed her eyes.
“Alright.”
“You’re serious?”
“But only if it’s something I can grant. No unreasonable requests.”
“Understood.”
“Can’t you just say your wish now?”
“Oh my, you’re even willing to grant my wish?”
“Isn’t a wish just asking for what you want?”
“Now that you mention it, that’s true. Wishes are nice. I’ll tell you mine later.”
“Why not now?”
“Because I haven’t decided yet.”
Yuri was already starting to regret it.
But if it meant stopping the Empire’s conspiracy and saving the kingdom from ruin, she was willing to make that sacrifice.
Even if it meant defaulting on debts and going bankrupt in the future, for now, she had to push forward.
“Alright. I understand…”
Yuri answered, then forced a bright smile to shake off the creeping regret.
“You’re both prepared to become enemies of the Empire, right?”
“Huh?”
“Yes?”
“Because, in the end, the royal family might be tainted by dark magic?”
Ernando’s mouth fell open at Yuri’s blunt words, while Marilose narrowed her eyes.
Suddenly, Yuri recalled what had happened at the banquet.
On the balcony, she had said something unexpected.
“If Briol is in danger, take in the people.”
Seeing Yuri’s attitude, as if she’d been waiting for proof like this, made Marilose wonder if he knew something.
When Marilose stared at him, Yuri tilted his head.
“Hmm?”
And just like that, all the negative suspicions faded.
She muttered to herself,
“A man with secrets is always more attractive…”
Then she nodded firmly.
“Alright. Let’s dig into this.”
Yuri welcomed her response, while Ernando sighed reluctantly.
And so, the three of them united in purpose.
Yuri smiled broadly.
“Let’s do our best from now on.”
She glanced at the parchment.
The Devil’s Grimoire—what kind of thing could it be?
What he had known in his past life was just the tip of the iceberg. Dark truths he hadn’t known before were gradually coming to light.
It felt like the enemy’s true nature was slipping further away.
But Yuri wasn’t worried.
As the situation grew more complicated, new allies had appeared, and the seeds he had sown were steadily bearing fruit.
“I’m curious—are there any signs or traces related to dark magic?”
“Signs?”
“I have a friend in the Empire. Someone who can quietly investigate. I want to have him look into it.”
“If it’s about dark magic… the user might lose their sight.”
“Really?”
“I think I read that somewhere. Not entirely sure, though. Maybe?”
“Now that you mention it, all the orc shamans were blind.”
“Seems like they’re connected to dark magic.”
Yuri nodded. Ernando, who had been quietly listening, asked,
“Your Highness, you say you have a friend in the Empire? But you’ve never been there yourself.”
“He’s a friend I met in Briol. He went to the Empire recently.”
“What kind of friend?”
“You’ve met him too, Ernando.”
“Huh? Who is it?”
“So I hear you’ve been acting up lately? Lost your nerve?”
“I wasn’t acting up. I was just doing my job properly. And I never had any fear to begin with.”
“Hah, a cocky bastard who’d just bob on the water if I dunked him…”
Trouble was brewing in the Empire’s back alleys.
A new gang had appeared, crushing the old powers and expanding their business.
With unknown sources of funding, they were practically monopolizing the dark loan shark market.
The established groups tried to solve the problem with violence, but their opponents were no pushovers.
“You really want to die? Huh?”
“Do I need to say more? Stop talking and if you want to settle this with fists, then do it.”
“Cocky bastard. I’ll make you beg for your life. Guys, attack!”
“Yes, sir!”
The center of the chaos, Gorio, sighed as he put on his gloves.
“Why do they always say the same obvious lines…”
He wasn’t in a good mood.
Why did he, the boss, have to come all the way to the Empire branch to handle this himself?
“Since the underlings can’t get the job done, I have no choice.”
As he punched an enemy charging at him square in the jaw, he shouted to his men,
“Show these Empire snobs what Briol’s really like!”
Thus, Gorio, Briol’s top gangster, was swallowing up the Empire’s back alleys under the banner of ‘Uncle’s Justice.’