The knight threw a punch. Fides dodged swiftly.
A faint aura stirred around the knight’s body. Fides responded in kind.
Though not highly skilled, he had learned mana methods as a soldier of Briol.
“So, you’re from the Alliance army,” the knight said, throwing another punch.
Trained since childhood, the knight’s blows weren’t weak. But from Fides’s perspective—used to fighting orcs—it looked easy.
“Yeah, you bastard.”
Fides charged forward and grabbed the knight’s waist. The knight tried to strike down with an elbow, but Fides held firm.
Compared to an orc, this knight was just a slightly bigger human.
“Yaaaah!”
Fides threw the knight to the ground.
They rolled and grappled fiercely, causing the baron to fidget nervously.
“Quiet, quiet…”
Anyone could tell they were evenly matched. In fact, Fides managed to get on top and started throwing punches.
“You call yourself a knight? You’re worse than a soldier in the Alliance, you bastard!”
His fists landed several times on the knight. Then, two other knights waiting beside the baron rushed at Fides and kicked him.
“Ugh!”
Fides, who had been throwing punches, collapsed as the knights stomped on him.
“So you need numbers to take me down? You call yourselves knights? Ha ha ha…”
How different these three idiots were from the knights who had fought alongside him in the Alliance army, risking their lives.
Even as he took the beating from all three, Fides laughed.
“You pathetic fools.”
“Attacking a knight?”
As the one-sided beating continued, the noise actually died down.
Only then did the baron relax and sit back.
“Keep it quiet.”
The baron chuckled as he watched the scene, when suddenly there was a knock at the door.
Knock, knock, knock.
The baron signaled the knights to stop.
“Wait, wait. Stop.”
The three knights covered Fides’s mouth with their hands to keep him from making noise, then struck his stomach. Fides curled up in pain.
The baron called out to the door.
“What is it?”
A staff member outside spoke.
“Is Fides here?”
“Fides?”
The baron frowned.
“What does he want with that guy?”
“I have something to inform him about…”
“What is it?”
“It’s difficult to say.”
“What?”
The baron scowled.
Though annoyed by the staff’s attitude, this was the royal palace. He couldn’t just mistreat an employee.
“He’s not here.”
“Excuse me?”
“He left.”
“Is that true?”
The baron nodded, and the three knights dragged Fides into a corner to hide him.
The baron cracked the door open slightly. The staff member stood there, looking uncomfortable.
“Do you know how awkward it was for me to be stuck in this tiny room with some nobody whose background I don’t even know? Are there no other rooms?”
“Sorry, sir. We’re crowded with guests…”
“Just have that guy wait outside.”
“Yes, so about Fides…”
“I said he left.”
“Where to?”
“How should I know? Honestly, what chance does a lowly commoner have to see the prince? He must have realized his place and just left.”
“That’s not right.”
“What’s not right?”
The baron’s eyes sharpened.
“So when can I see the prince?”
“Well…”
“Don’t bother me with that commoner’s nonsense. Call me when it’s my turn. Ugh.”
He slammed the door shut. From inside, Fides stirred.
The baron sneered cruelly.
“What’s the matter? Hurt, huh? Heh heh heh…”
Then—
Suddenly, with a loud bang, the door flew open again.
The baron spun around, startled.
“What the—?”
A black-haired boy strolled in.
“What are you doing, barging in like this!”
The baron shouted, but his heart sank instantly. In Briol, black hair meant only one thing.
“Huh…”
The boy glanced around, frowning. When those black eyes locked onto the baron, he felt his heart stop.
They looked like they were staring at an inanimate object.
The boy’s gaze briefly flicked to a stain on the wall, then casually shifted away.
“Oh, Fides. What happened, getting beaten up like this?”
He chuckled and walked toward the corner.
One knight tried to block his way but was grabbed by the collar from behind and dragged away.
“Black hair…”
The knight finally realized what was happening. The prince they had come to see—Yuri Briol—had appeared in person.
“Your Highness…”
Fides looked up at Yuri and grinned, then spat out some blood.
“If it had been one-on-one, I would’ve won. But three of them ganged up on me.”
“Are you sure you won?”
“At first, I was losing.”
“Really?”
Yuri looked at the three knights standing at attention.
“Really?”
“Uh, well…”
Two of the knights immediately looked at the third. The one singled out hung his head and spoke.
“Yes. No, that’s not it. Actually…”
“Did you really lose in a one-on-one fight?”
“N-no, that’s not it. If we’d had more time…”
“So you were losing then.”
“No. If those two hadn’t interfered…”
“Those two?”
Yuri looked at the other two knights standing behind. This time, they lowered their heads.
“Is what he says true?”
“Yes.”
“No, it’s not.”
They gave conflicting answers.
Yuri furrowed his brow. The two knights exchanged glances, then one spoke up.
“The fight was getting too intense, so we had to pull him off.”
“So he couldn’t handle it alone.”
“Not exactly…”
“Hit him.”
“Huh?”
“On the head.”
A brief silence followed.
One of the knights, quick to catch on, immediately bowed his head to the floor. The other two followed suit. As trained soldiers, their punishment drill was practiced and precise.
Yuri kicked the knight lying at the end.
Mana surged through the kick. The other two were caught in the blast, and all three crashed into the wall.
“Ugh…”
The baron stepped back.
Though he knew nothing about martial arts, even he could tell from that single kick that Yuri’s skill was extraordinary.
“You are…”
“Y-Yes, Your Highness. My name is…”
The baron stammered as Yuri looked at him.
“Not interested. Stop.”
“Yes!”
“Here to see me?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Do you know me?”
“No personal acquaintance, but I’ve admired the Third Prince’s heroic deeds in the Alliance army, wiping out orcs, so I brought a gift…”
“You don’t know me.”
“No, well…”
“You don’t know me, yet you came all this way…”
Yuri helped Fides to his feet.
Fides leaned on Yuri, smiling.
“Picking on my friend?”
“Excuse me?”
The baron’s face went pale.
“Friend…?”
“We fought side by side on the battlefield. You could say we’re very close friends.”
Yuri took a step toward the noble.
“It pains me deeply to see someone like you sullying the honorable spirit of Briol, built on the blood of our ancestors.”
The baron lowered his head, trembling.
He had assumed Fides was just a lowly soldier trying to scrounge scraps by forcing an awkward meeting. He never imagined they were truly close.
A prince and a soldier having a friendship? It made no sense.
“What’s going on here?”
“What is this?”
“Uh? Your Highness?”
As Yuri knocked the three knights to the ground, a commotion stirred. Guests waiting in other rooms began to emerge—some high-ranking nobles among them.
“S-sorry…”
The baron muttered in a small voice. Yuri smirked.
“My friend Fides doesn’t need me to step in for him. You there, come here.”
Yuri pointed, and the knight who had first fought Fides, lying against the wall and watching nervously, jumped in surprise.
“Yes?”
“Come here.”
“Uh…”
“Hurry.”
He dashed over.
Yuri lined up Fides and the knight side by side.
Then, standing between them, he declared:
“Fight again. One-on-one. Fair and square.”
“Seriously? You can’t even win when given a chance?”
“But I won!”
“You have to win with style. What’s the point otherwise?”
Under Yuri’s mediation, Fides and the knight resumed their brawl.
What followed was a brutal, messy fight that made it hard to believe one of them was a knight.
They swung wildly, exchanging blows, then locked together and wrestled.
Spinning around, they took turns mounting each other and throwing punches.
Even a rotten fish is still a fish—the knight gradually pushed Fides back.
Fides was nearly unconscious but summoned his last strength to throw the knight down and choke him into submission.
Though Fides won, his face was far worse for wear.
“That’s enough since you won.”
Yuri summoned a priest to treat Fides, then invited him to the best guest room.
Tasting the palace refreshments, Fides’s eyes widened in amazement.
Yuri even pushed his own plate forward.
“Eat up.”
“How could you eat this and still share meals with us?”
“Now you’re feeling my fiery comradeship?”
“I respect you.”
“So, what brings you here?”
“Your Highness…”
Fides’s expression grew troubled.
If a soldier like Fides came to see him personally, something serious must have happened. It was surely not just his problem alone.
“Do you remember the Alliance Veterans’ Association?”
“Of course. I was the one who initiated it.”
“I’m here about the consolation money that came through the association.”
After the Allied Forces disbanded, the government awarded substantial compensation to the soldiers who had participated in the war.
On top of that, Yuri established an organization called the “Allied Veterans Association,” which provided additional consolation payments to the families of soldiers who were disabled or killed in action.
“We have a problem.”
“A problem?”
“They’re taxing us.”
“Huh?”
“They say since there’s income from an unknown source, it has to be taxed. But the tax is more than half of the consolation money.”
“Who on earth is doing this?”
Yuri let out a bitter laugh.
On the surface, the Allied Veterans Association was funded through donations. But in reality, all the money came from Yuri’s own pocket.
He had used the fortune he’d amassed as the major shareholder of Elaine Trading Company to fund the association under its name. So who in the world would dare demand taxes on the prince’s gifts?
“It seems the lords have conspired together. They noticed a sudden influx of money and agreed to use taxes as an excuse to seize it.”
“How long has it been since the Allied Forces disbanded…?”
“There’s been a lot of grumbling, so they appointed me as their representative.”
Yuri sighed deeply.
Briol had been relatively spared from exploitation, but perhaps because of the long peace, the lords had grown corrupt.
“Well, that’s good.”
“Pardon?”
“Looks like I have some business to take care of before heading to the empire.”
Before fighting an external enemy, you have to bring order to your own house.
Yuri resolved to use this incident as a turning point to restore order in Briol.
“Give me the names of those bastards.”
“Your Highness…”
Fides looked at Yuri with a moved expression.
He had come hoping for some help, but never expected Yuri to actually step forward. They had been comrades-in-arms on the battlefield, but now, that bond was gone.
All that remained was the vast gulf between prince and commoner.
Yet Yuri was the same as he had been during the war.
Fides suddenly realized that every action Yuri took was genuine.
“Thank you…”
“No need to thank me. It’s the least I can do. If it weren’t for you, those Okua bastards would have wiped us out.”
“I didn’t do much…”
“You ran like the wind to deliver my message. Without that, do you think Hernando would have even considered using magic?”
“Hahaha…”
“So, who are these guys?”
Fides pulled a sheet of paper from his pocket. It listed the names of the lords who had confiscated the consolation payments.
Yuri scanned the list and spoke.
“Fides.”
“Yes?”
“What’s the easiest way to win a battle?”
“I don’t know. Soldiers like me just follow orders.”
“Right. I’ll tell you. You take out the leader.”
“You mean…?”
“If we deal with the highest-ranking bastard on this list, the rest will fall in line.”
Yuri pointed to one name on the paper with a sly smile.
“Looks like we’ll be paying a visit to Sir Raymond again. That gambler, too.”
At the tip of his finger was the name Genard Jattery, written in bold letters.