Chapter 201
Chapter 201
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 201
Chapter Title: 81. Revenge (1)
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“The reason I called you all here is simple. Someone has to succeed Genad.”
Some of those who had been bowing their heads suddenly raised their gazes.
Yuri curled the corner of his mouth upward.
“Getting interested now? All of you who just raised your heads—stand up.”
Yuri decided to select Genad’s successor right then and there from among his relatives.
He wanted a puppet.
It would be perfect if he controlled Bordeaux, and Bordeaux in turn controlled the new duke. With that in mind, he was first looking for relatives who were weak-willed or young.
“You who stood up—line up over there.”
They glanced at one another, then rose from their seats and formed a line just as Yuri ordered.
“Now.”
Yuri clapped his hands.
“Let’s decide on the duke among ourselves.”
By Yuri’s standards, anyone who stepped forward on their own to become duke was automatically disqualified.
Those who had leaped to their feet at the mere mention of selecting a successor—even after hearing that Genad was dead—couldn’t be trusted. If left alone, they’d surely become another Genad.
Therefore, Yuri planned to choose the next Yuges Duke from among those who kept their eyes cast down like corpses.
“W-Wait a moment.”
One of the relatives Yuri had excluded protested.
“You’re looking for candidates, so why exclude us? We’re legitimate Jeteri blood too.”
“Because I feel like it.”
“What kind of nonsense is this? This isn’t some barony—it’s a ducal house. This is unfair...”
During that exchange, knights under Yuri’s command dragged something into the hall.
It was Genad’s corpse.
The protesting relative clamped his mouth shut.
“Your Highness. Shall we put it here? It might be unpleasant to look at.”
“Put it there.”
As it was dumped unceremoniously in the center of the hall, the relatives drew sharp breaths. The faint of heart turned pale and squeezed their eyes shut.
Yuri turned his gaze back to them.
“So, what?”
“That is...”
“Speak properly. I’m not here to play games with you. Quite the opposite. What—you want to be duke? Be duke and lie down next to Genad?”
“No.”
“Good. That’s more like it.”
Yuri grinned as he gripped Guilty’s hilt. The blade slid from its sheath with a harsh metallic rasp that echoed through the hall.
Yuri slung Guilty over his shoulder and spoke.
“I’m in a foul mood. As a prince of Brioll, it’s perfectly legal for me to round up and slaughter every last one of you Jeteri scum who colluded with the Empire—so don’t test me.”
In the end, the relative who had stepped forward shut his mouth and bowed his head.
Yuri nodded.
“Yeah. Stay like that.”
Yuri scanned the remaining Jeteri relatives once more.
They couldn’t be ambitious, but they couldn’t be complete idiots either. Even playing dead required a minimum of street smarts.
Yuri checked the documents Jared handed him.
They listed the profiles of all the Jeteri relatives gathered there.
“Hmm, hmm...”
Then, something caught his eye.
“Josephine Jeteri?”
“Yes?”
A woman who had been sitting expressionlessly looked up in surprise. She seemed uncomfortable with the situation, fidgeting with her fingers nonstop.
Yuri spoke.
“Genad’s niece, and you’ve tried running away plenty of times. To the imperial capital, no less.”
Brioll and the Empire were currently at war. Josephine’s face drained of color.
“T-That wasn’t... It wasn’t for any other reason...”
“The capital does have the best culture and arts. Wanted to be a musician? Headed to the Empire to study music?”
“Yes...”
Josephine Jeteri was the sort who had defied her family’s opposition to pursue a career in music.
“Nice dream. You still holding onto that passion?”
“Yes?”
“I mean, you haven’t given up on your music dreams yet, have you?”
“Uh...”
She glanced around at the others before giving a small nod.
Yuri said.
“What instrument do you mainly play?”
“P-Piano, but I’m more interested in composing than performing...”
“Good. You’re the duchess now.”
“P-Pardon?”
The hall plunged into silence.
Yuri closed his eyes.
“A pleasant silence. Some music would make it perfect. Well then, Duchess Yuges Josephine Jeteri—would you play a piece for me?”
“Uh, uh...”
“There’s a piano right over there, so if you would. No pressure—if it’s too much, feel free to refuse.”
Josephine stared blankly at Yuri for a moment before stumbling awkwardly to her feet.
She sat down at the piano, rested her hands on her lap, scratched at her thighs, then glanced back over her shoulder.
“What should I play?”
“It’s your day, so something of your own composition. Make it upbeat.”
Josephine hesitated before placing her fingertips on the keys. She closed her eyes, thought for a moment, then began to play.
Even to Yuri, who knew nothing of music, the skill level was impressive.
Her music—which she had never once been permitted to play—now sweetly drifted through the hall of Yuges Castle, where Genad’s corpse lay sprawled.
She no longer needed anyone’s permission.
She was the duchess now.
“Beautiful.”
Yuri closed his eyes and savored the melody.
“A superb musician. Perfect fit for a duchess.”
Most of those present tilted their heads in confusion, but a few quick on the uptake realized Yuri’s intentions and let out sighs of relief.
If Josephine became duchess, she wouldn’t meddle in territory management. That meant the man Yuri had put forward would handle most of the duties in her stead.
And right on cue, that someone appeared.
“Lord Bordeaux here! I have carried out Your Highness’s orders! The nearby lords have arrived first. What are your instructions?”
“Bring them here.”
“Yes, sir!”
Seeing Bordeaux more full of vigor than ever before, the Jeteri relatives immediately sensed that he had completely fallen under Yuri’s sway.
Soon the hall doors swung open, and a group of bewildered nobles filed in.
They spotted the Jeteri corpse sprawled on the floor and recoiled in horror.
“My God!”
“What in the world!”
“Insane...”
They displayed the shock and terror that the Jeteri relatives really should have shown.
One of them went even further, venting outright rage.
“What the hell happened here! Third Prince—you did this?”
“I’m listening to music. Keep it down.”
“Even as royalty! How could you treat a duke like this!”
“He colluded with the Empire.”
“E-Even so! You can’t just—!”
Yuri swung his sword.
He sliced lightly through the air, but a thin line appeared across the shouting noble’s neck, followed by a gush of blood.
The head tumbled down.
The body collapsed a beat later.
A noble’s life snuffed out with effortless ease.
Not only the Jeteri relatives but even the nobles who had been suddenly summoned—all fell silent, mouths clamped shut.
They were learning firsthand just what kind of man Yuri Brioll was.
“Colluded with the Empire, and you say ‘even so’? This bastard...”
Yuri shot the nobles a glare before resting Guilty across his knees and closing his eyes once more to enjoy Josephine’s melody.
“Josephine. What’s it called? Upbeat and grand.”
“‘Victory March.’”
“Victory March...”
Josephine paused her fingers for a moment and explained.
“I composed it when... when Your Highness returned after driving off the orcs.”
“For the Allied Forces?”
“Yes. For the Allied Forces—and for Your Highness. Actually, I was thinking more of Your Highness. It was originally a symphony, but now it’s just...”
“Thank you, Josephine.”
“Th-Thank you too.”
Her cheeks flushed as she nodded, then resumed playing the piano.
Knowing the title made it all the more enjoyable.
“I picked a good duchess.”
The purge of blood continued.
Yuri cut down every last insolent fool. The survivors swore unwavering loyalty to the Brioll royal family.
“Collude with the Empire or undermine Brioll from the shadows, and you’ll see me again. Understood?”
“Yes, sir!”
“Cooperate.”
The hall floor was already littered with several corpses.
The Jeteri relatives and nobles were utterly cowed.
He might have made a name for himself on the battlefield, but no one had expected this mere youth—still so boyish—to handle matters with such brutality.
They realized the truth.
Fiore Brioll’s disappearance didn’t mean the royal family’s grip had weakened.
A far worse monster had appeared.
The most terrifying part was that he wasn’t simply venting emotion with his blade.
Yuri Brioll wielded his sword as an efficient tool to achieve his goals.
“You know?”
Yuri said, slinging the bloodied sword over his shoulder.
“Slave traders are still running wild near the northern Empire. So if a whole family vanishes overnight, who’s going to notice? Even nobles—no one’s going to come looking.”
It was blatant intimidation, but not a single soul dared raise a banner of rebellion.
They merely kept their eyes averted downward.
“Josephine. Keep giving us good music from now on. I’ll have to invite you to the palace sometime.”
“Thank you.”
“For running the territory, work well with Bordeaux here. If he pulls any funny business, come straight to me.”
“Your Highness, as if I would!”
“Quiet.”
“Yes, sir...”
Yuri summoned the knights he had brought with him—including the newly recruited Vicious.
“Everyone, you’ve done well. Time to head back.”
“Yes, sir!”
Yuri led his knight order out of Yuges Castle.
Under the watchful eyes of countless soldiers, Yuri and his knights—who had slain the castle’s lord—passed through the gates without a hint of obstruction.
In the span of a single day, they had subjugated not only the ducal house but its entire faction.
The knights following Yuri swelled with pride at his unrelenting momentum.
The protagonist of a new era was their leader.
“Wait! Your Highness. Your Highness!”
As he rode at the head of the group, someone called out insistently from behind. Only Jared had the guts to speak up so boldly.
“What?”
“Haven’t we gathered thirty strong now?”
“And?”
“We’ll keep operating like this going forward, so don’t we need a proper name for ourselves?”
“A name?”
“Yes.”
The knights all voiced their agreement.
In essence, they were a knight order assembled by Yuri himself.
Knights placed great stock in honor, and a knight order that made a name for itself naturally elevated the prestige of its members.
Yuri tilted his head.
“Haven’t given it any thought. Got any suggestions?”
Jared replied without missing a beat.
“How about Invincible Knights?”
Yuri clicked his tongue.
“Sigh. Next.”
“Why not?”
“Someone else?”
One of the knights who had been keeping quiet raised his hand.
“I recommend Peerless Knights!”
Yuri stared at him for a moment before shaking his head.
“Next.”
“What about Inevitable Victory Knights?”
“Next!”
“Lethal Strike Knights!”
“Sigh. Fine, fine—go ahead and throw out whatever. Everyone, one at a time.”
As if they’d been waiting for it, the knights began shouting out names that reflected their personal tastes.
“I recommend Forward Charge Knights—relentlessly advancing!”
“Tidal Surge Knights—crashing in like a tsunami!”
“White Bone Knights—since we leave nothing but bones behind!”
“Key Knights! Let’s be the key that unlocks any castle gate!”
“Blue Star Knights—like the brightest star in the sky!”
“Better Seven Star Knights, modeled after the Big Dipper!”
“How about Resilient Knights—rising again no matter how many times we fall?”
Yuri let out a sigh. They were just stringing together random words they’d heard somewhere.
For an ordinary knight order, those names might have fit just fine.
But not this time.
“I’ll decide.”
Yuri closed his eyes and sank into thought for a moment.
He was preparing for one singular purpose.
And this knight order would fight for it.
“Revenge.”
Yuri turned to look at them.
“I gathered you all for revenge. The disappearance of Fiore Brioll—previous king and my father. The fall of Franchese and the massacre of its innocent people. Our land of Bejos seized. Our comrades closing their eyes one by one amid endless war. All of it—every last bit—is the Empire’s doing. And I have no intention of letting it slide.”
Rumors had swirled endlessly, but the Empire’s involvement in all these events had never been officially acknowledged.
Until this moment—declared by Yuri himself.
Brioll’s mortal enemy was the Empire.
He hadn’t mentioned it explicitly, but the same went for his brother Cedric.
As Yuri thought of them all, he ground his teeth and spoke.
“That’s why we are the Revenge Knights.”
The weight of those words hung heavy in the air.
The knights’ expressions turned solemn.
A true knight repaid their enemies.
A grudge sealed in blood demanded repayment in blood.
And so, the Revenge Knights—led by Brioll’s Third Prince, Yuri Brioll—were born.