Chapter 178
Chapter 178
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 178
Chapter Title: 73. White Bird (3)
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The spy's intrusion ended as a minor incident.
Having reconfirmed the fact that the empire's intelligence network was spread far and wide, the Brioll forces pressed on toward Bezos without letting their guard down.
However, Rolang was somewhat confused by the stuffed white bird the spy had been carrying.
It felt as though it was connected to Cedric somehow.
As he rode, Yuri suddenly spoke up.
"That spy from yesterday."
"Yes."
"The crazy bastard at the end."
The last one who died had been clutching a taxidermied white bird to his chest.
He hadn't been in his right mind.
"There was a black magic aura on it."
"Pardon?"
Rolag looked at him.
Yuri grinned.
"I saw a faint black aura on the corpse. That confirms it was a spy sent by the empire."
Rolag knew full well how sensitive Yuri's senses were.
"In that case..."
Rolag kept circling back to Cedric.
But the spy carrying the stuffed white bird had been enthralled by black magic.
Without realizing it, Rolag blurted out,
"Your Highness."
"Yes?"
"What if..."
It was an irreverent thought, so he couldn't easily voice it.
"...there might be someone inside Brioll who's been tainted by black magic?"
"Could be."
"Close by."
"From what I can sense, not that bad."
Yuri pointed to his eyes.
"At least I haven't spotted anything yet. Why, worried?"
Watching Yuri grin, Rolag felt an inexplicable unease.
He lowered his voice.
"Your Highness. Just a moment..."
Yuri tilted his head, then pulled aside from the column alongside Rolag.
The two conversed quietly, away from the others.
"Your Highness. There's one thing that's been bothering me."
"Speak freely."
Rolag hesitated briefly before opening his mouth.
"His Highness the Crown Prince..."
"My brother?"
"Yes."
Yuri gave Rolag time to continue.
Rolag stared straight ahead for a moment before speaking.
"You said he has ties to Princess Katrina."
"That's right."
"The princess we met was a good person, but the empire has already been consumed by black magic."
"True."
"I'm worried the Crown Prince might have been affected too."
"Ah..."
Yuri nodded.
"Yeah, that's a valid concern. But they haven't met in ages. I talked to him and sorted out their relationship. Since then, it's just been occasional letters. What could anyone do with that?"
"That's true, but..."
"And my brother isn't foolish enough to fall for something like that."
Yuri's faith in Cedric was evident.
Rolag ended up confessing what had happened with Cedric in the training grounds.
But explaining the strange sense of wrongness he felt was no easy task.
Rolag had sensed that ominous vibe face-to-face, but to others, it just sounded like Cedric's tone had been a bit cynical.
The same went for the white bird.
Cedric had mentioned it, and the next day they'd spotted a rare one, plus the spy had a stuffed specimen—but linking that to Cedric felt odd.
In the end, it was just Rolag's intuition.
"Hmm..."
Yuri stroked his chin.
Rolag could tell he was troubled.
They were on their way to war, after all. It was hard to act on mere testimony like this.
"Rolag."
"Yes."
"Once this war ends and we get back, I'll look into it for sure."
Rolag delayed his response.
Deep down, he wanted to turn back right now and check on Cedric.
But Yuri was right. They'd come this far. Turning back wasn't an option.
"Understood. Sorry for troubling you."
"No problem."
And so their conversation ended without resolution.
The Brioll forces steadily advanced on Bezos.
Yuri soon arrived at Bezos.
The Brioll army entered the castle amid the lord's welcome.
"The imperial forces keep advancing."
The Bezos frontier count looked tense.
He wasn't that old, and despite being on the border, he had no real war experience. He wasn't a trained warrior either.
"Your Highness. We've heard all about your exploits with the allied forces."
"Good, that's a relief."
"What are your plans going forward...?"
"Plans? What plans."
Yuri grinned.
"We hold and fight. You got any better ideas?"
"Well..."
"It'll be a siege defense. We need to prepare properly."
The empire wouldn't bypass Bezos; they'd make it a stronghold.
Yuri recalled the siege from his past life. It had been grueling. They'd held the castle against far more enemies.
Blood-curdling tension, every moment.
By comparison, this war was a walk in the park.
"Here."
Yuri handed over a sheet of paper. The lord's eyes widened as he read it.
"Prepare everything listed here."
It detailed supplies for siege defense: boiling oil, fire arrows, and other countermeasures against the enemy.
But sieges ultimately hinged on the knights' ability to repel them.
Knights leaped over walls with spring-loaded gear, swarming like locusts. Hard to stop.
Inferior knights and soldiers couldn't manage it, though, so arrows and hot oil could handle them.
"I-I'm counting on you, Your Highness."
"I'm counting on you."
"Pardon?"
Yuri grinned.
"I trust you all who united for Brioll. So let's do this right."
"Yes, understood."
"Alright. Shall we?"
Yuri gathered the key nobles and knights who'd arrived at Bezos.
He sat at the head of a large table, surrounded by the others.
There was no skepticism about the young prince.
The absolute trust from the allied forces veterans en route, plus his hands-on pursuit and interrogation of the spy, had earned their respect.
And above all.
Right now, Yuri wasn't concealing his aura.
To emit such a sharp presence at his age was downright unnatural.
This young man was pressuring Brioll's power players—the knights of the knightly kingdom—with a blade-like intensity.
Even the old knights who'd served young Fiore Brioll were stunned, staring at him.
It was a preemptive show of force to minimize disputes.
All eyes silently fixed on Yuri's mouth.
Yuri spoke.
"Is Brioll weaker than the empire?"
Most tilted their heads, not grasping his intent.
Yuri smiled and continued.
"What're you hesitating for? Of course the empire's stronger."
A few faces soured at that.
It was true, but prideful Brioll knights didn't like hearing it.
Yuri pressed on.
"But Brioll knights are stronger than imperial knights. Right?"
Someone quickly replied,
"Yes!"
Yuri nodded at him.
"Exactly. That's why we can't lose this war. No one's planning to lose to weaker foes, are they?"
"Of course not."
"Good."
Yuri grinned, scanning the room. Eyes burned with resolve. No one dared relax amid his razor-sharp aura.
"Father will arrive soon. We can't show weakness. No matter what provocations the empire throws, we smash them flat. We won't greet His Majesty with our tails between our legs. Got it?"
"Yes!"
"Now, let's talk real strategy."
Yuri stood, hanging a map of Bezos castle's layout and surrounding terrain on the wall.
He outlined troop deployments using the castle's structure and countermeasures against imperial attacks via the terrain.
He was flawless, fielding every question without flinching. Incredibly poised for his age.
All anxiety about the young third prince leading the front vanished.
Rumors said he could succeed Fiore Brioll as a knight, but he exceeded that.
"Get ready to fight at any moment. They won't make us wait long."
The imperial army Yuri remembered didn't drag out wars.
They'd charge right away.
"What about the Black Knight before His Majesty arrives?"
Yuri thought of the Black Knight. A warm-hearted man from the temple. But on the battlefield, he'd treat him as an enemy.
"I don't expect major clashes till Father arrives, but if he moves first..."
Yuri looked around.
Plenty of fine knights.
But he was stronger.
"I'll handle him."
"Isn't that too dangerous?"
"Of course, you'll all back me up. But I don't see anyone here stronger than me. So, regrettably, I'll have to take the lead in stopping him."
A few knights eyed Yuri.
They hesitated to step up against his aura, but clearly reluctant to admit inferiority so easily.
Competitive spirit wasn't bad—it drove knights forward.
But with war looming, no time for that.
"No more debate. This is my call. If you're worried, just do your jobs better."
With that, Yuri ended the meeting.
As he stepped out, he called over Jared, who was waiting.
"Jared."
"Yes."
"Wanna get some air?"
"Ah, yes."
The two headed to Bezos's ramparts. The sun was just setting. In the hazy horizon, imperial banners faintly appeared.
War felt real now.
This was what he'd returned to the past for.
"Jared."
"Yes."
"How's it going?"
Yuri placed a hand on Jared's shoulder.
"Have you been working hard?"
An out-of-the-blue question.
But Jared sensed some deeper meaning in Yuri's words.
"Well, ever since meeting you, Your Highness, I've been grinding."
Before Yuri, he'd been a lazy royal guard.
Talented enough to enter the palace, but no extra effort.
Then Yuri nabbed him.
Endless hardship followed.
Daily sword training summons, pushing limits he'd never tested. And through it, he'd grown leaps and bounds.
Without that, he'd have stayed a mediocre knight.
"By the way."
Jared suddenly looked at Yuri.
"Your Highness."
"Yeah?"
"Before we first met in the royal guard training grounds..."
"Yeah."
"Did you know me?"
Jared asked abruptly.
It was uncanny.
Sometimes it felt like the third prince had known him forever.
And occasionally, like he'd known the prince even before that.
Especially as the prince grew, his build filling out, features sharpening— an inexplicable sense of familiarity welled up.
Yeah, just like then.
The fleeting vision in the dungeon left by Brioll's founder.
The man who'd smiled wearily at him there resembled the third prince.
"Huh."
"How?"
"Saw you in the future."
The third prince grinned.
"For real?"
"Yeah. That's why I came back to the past to shape you up."
"I see."
"Regretted it big time back then."
"Regretted what?"
"Living half-assed."
"Got it."
"Grateful, right?"
"I'm regretting this life too, so go back one more time and teach me right this time."
"What?"
"To stay away from you."
"Wanna die?"
"Whoa, I'm really backing off!"
"Survive on your own."
As they bantered, something approached in the distance.
They stopped joking and stared.
It was an imperial envoy.