Chapter 202
Chapter 202
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 202
Chapter Title: 81. Revenge (2)
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Yuri returned to the royal castle and immediately met with Joshua. Reports about what had happened in Yuges had already reached them.
As he entered the throne room, the attending ministers rebuked him.
"Your Highness, that was too much."
"Even so, to cut off a duke's head..."
"The lords will be terrified."
"You should have handled it according to the law!"
Yuri simply shrugged.
The ministers then turned their arrows toward Joshua.
"Please speak to His Highness yourself, Your Majesty. There are laws and procedures—even so, if he swings his sword recklessly like that..."
"Is that so?"
"Yes. Brioll is a kingdom of knights, not ruffians!"
"I see. I suppose I need to discipline him."
Joshua abruptly rose from his seat.
He swept the documents beside the throne off with his arm.
"Yuri, you bastard!"
His voice boomed through the throne room.
"I was trying to be a benevolent ruler in Father's stead, but you're testing my temper. You rotten little..."
He set down his crown and began unfastening the jewelry on his wrist.
"Everyone, out."
"P-Pardon?"
"I said, everyone out!"
The ministers' eyes wavered. They had egged him on, but they hadn't expected him to react so fiercely.
One word flashed through their minds.
Disaster.
Was the Brioll royal family, without Fiore and Cedric, truly falling into chaos?
Joshua stomped his foot and bellowed in a way that was utterly unlike him.
"I said get out, now! Hurry up!"
"Y-Yes, sir!"
The ministers hurriedly fled the throne room, lamenting the kingdom's future.
"Is Brioll's fortune waning...?"
"I miss His late Majesty."
"How can brothers be so savage?"
The moment the doors closed, something shattered inside. The explosive sounds didn't stop at one but continued assaulting their ears.
The ministers shuddered as they spoke.
"What on earth is he doing in there...?"
"But His Highness is even better at fighting, isn't he?"
"He wouldn't strike back, right? He'd show mercy."
"The man who took a duke's head—do you think he'll hold back...?"
"I wonder if the throne will change hands again."
"Either way, it's worrying..."
Contrary to their concerns, inside the throne room, the two brothers were conversing peacefully.
Whenever Joshua threw an object, Yuri smashed it with his fist to create the noise.
"Hey, you really killed him?"
"Dead."
"How?"
"Cut his head off with my sword."
"That's my brother."
Joshua's lips curled into a sinister grin.
"That pig bastard was an eyesore. He finally met his match. He never dreamed he'd die, huh? How could he know my little brother had such a foul temper?"
"Exactly. He thought the new king would rein him in. Should've pinned his hopes on someone reliable."
With Fiore and Cedric gone, Joshua had become king. Few truly understood what that meant.
They had changed with age, but at their core, they were still those two hellions.
And now, they could run the country as they pleased.
"Heh heh heh..."
"Heh heh heh..."
Yuri dragged over a chair, sat across from Joshua, and crossed his legs.
Joshua asked.
"So, what now?"
"What?"
"We need revenge for Father and Cedric. But where do we start...?"
Joshua had relied on Cedric as much as Yuri had, so Yuri had withheld the full truth to spare him shock.
Thus, Joshua believed it was all the work of black mages manipulating the Empire from the shadows.
Yuri tapped the hilt of Guilty as he spoke.
"Brother, listen closely. The Empire will raise an army soon."
"They already have."
"Something worse is coming."
Hoping his sincerity would convey, Yuri looked at Joshua with a grave expression.
"A black army."
"What's that?"
"They modify soldiers with black magic, turning them into fearless war machines."
"Sounds like a novel."
"Reality surpasses novels."
"How do you know?"
"I just do. Trust me."
"Fine, I believe you."
"We can't stop it with our strength alone."
Through his past and present lives, Yuri had come to a vague realization.
No matter how strong, one person couldn't win alone.
To face Cedric, the unprecedented black mage—not just Yuri, but all humanity needed to unite. First, they had to reassemble the scattered alliances.
"I'll go to the Holy Kingdom. Hold Brioll down until then."
"What for?"
"I'll convince Sibylla."
"Good luck. She already seemed unhinged. Do you know how brutally they're fighting? It's do-or-die."
"If I have to, I'll stop her even if it means killing her."
Joshua blinked at Yuri's words.
"Your ex?"
"What nonsense."
"You said you dated."
"That was a lie."
"I figured you were embarrassed and brushing it off. 'Let's bury the past' or whatever—adult stuff."
"Where do you read this crap? You've never even dated."
"Me? Me? What? I'm super popular."
"Anyway, when's the coronation?"
"Do we have to?"
"We need to nail it down properly so Brioll's strength is known. Once you're officially king, I become a royal prince and get called 'Your Highness' too."
"Maybe you're right..."
"Yeah. Right after the coronation, I'll head to the Holy Kingdom with my knights. Keep that in mind."
"Got it. Ah, this is stressful. Let's break one more. Chair toss."
"Sure."
Rumors spread through the castle that Joshua had thoroughly scolded Yuri.
Those who knew them well didn't believe it for a second, but on the surface, that's how it was presented.
So when Joshua suddenly announced a coronation, some speculated he'd realized the need to project royal dignity while disciplining his brother.
Either way, the ministers welcomed the decision.
"Now he'll truly feel like a king."
They'd believed Cedric would inherit the throne, but with his disappearance, it was unavoidable.
Cedric had been exceptional, but Joshua's qualities overflowed as well. He'd been mischievous as a child, but as an adult, he'd shown great scholarly achievements with his brilliant mind.
Thus, Brioll held its coronation.
With nobles and ministers gathered, Joshua stood in the throne room.
Following tradition, he recited Brioll's oath, then a larger, more ornate crown than his usual one was placed on his head.
"Your Majesty. Congratulations on ascending as King of Brioll."
"Congratulations!"
All paid their respects.
Yuri sat quietly in a corner of the throne room.
He'd once imagined watching Cedric's coronation from this spot. But those dreams had all vanished like bubbles.
Now, the brother he'd trusted most had become his worst enemy, blocking his path.
It couldn't be helped.
The road was longer, but he had no intention of yielding.
This picture of Joshua as king wasn't half bad either. Yuri applauded the grinning Joshua.
Jared, standing behind him, whispered softly.
"Your Highness—no, should it be Your Grace now?"
"Yeah."
With Joshua as king, Yuri would be addressed as "Your Highness" as a royal prince.
"It feels weird on the tongue..."
"Sudden realization?"
"It feels so distant. You were His Highness, and now you're Your Grace..."
"Say it."
"Y-Your... Gr..."
"Your?"
"Your Grace..."
"Good."
"Is an electrical property of matter."
"What?"
"Joking. Whew..."
"Just call me brother, then."
"Your Grace Yuri."
"You little..."
Considering the years Yuri's soul had endured, "big brother" wouldn't even suffice, but the oblivious Jared whined as if it were an insult.
"What's the difference between Your Grace and brother?"
"Your Grace feels like a title forced by power, while brother feels like total submission from the heart?"
"What is that?"
As the two bantered, Joshua sat on the throne, surveying the room.
Draped in royal robes and wearing the ceremonial crown, he exuded an unusual dignity.
The throne room soon fell silent.
As everyone awaited his words, Joshua spoke first.
"Some may disagree, I hope not."
He said abruptly.
"But it's clear the Empire is our enemy."
The throne room plunged into dead silence.
This was tantamount to the king declaring that all recent Brioll incidents were Empire-orchestrated conspiracies.
"However, we lack the means to hold the Empire accountable yet. So from now on, we prepare for revenge. I will not let the name Brioll languish in shame."
His gaze swept the room.
Some eyes burned with fury; others licked their lips in tension.
His eyes soon reached Yuri.
"As the first step, I order my brother—now Royal Prince Yuri Brioll—and his Revenge Knights to deploy to the Bursen-Holy Kingdom border dispute zone. I delegate all my authority; act as my proxy to mediate between the two nations and revive the alliance."
At those words, Yuri—who had been punching Jared's stomach in the corner—awkwardly dropped to one knee and bowed.
"I accept the royal command."
While Yuri prepared to depart, others were waging their own battles.
Duke Marilrose of Balshard and Hernando, temporarily parted from Yuri.
They had gathered in Marilrose's workshop deep in Balshard to decipher the parchment fragments.
Initially, the demonic energy prevented even approach, but persistent research had yielded results.
"So that's why you called me."
Inariel clicked her tongue.
"Because it's a cursed thing. Why didn't you explain beforehand?"
The three had convened in Marilrose's underground workshop in Balshard.
Marilrose said.
"If I had, you'd have charged right in."
"..."
"You said black magic even lifts a Grand Wizard's restraints. With your temper, you'd rush headlong. Looks can be deceiving..."
"What did you say?"
"Nothing."
"That last bit..."
"I said nothing. Anyway, even you wouldn't have emerged unscathed."
"I wouldn't lose."
"It's not a foe you can face alone. Neither that man nor this abomination."
Marilrose shrugged.
"Anyway..."
Her workshop walls were embedded with gems scattering light in every color.
The multicolored glow illuminated the interior, but the glass case in the center was different.
Darkness shrouded it like black fog.
Inside lay the parchment sheet Yuri had acquired.
"All the parchments are connected. Even torn from the book, the original controls the rest."
"So that's how they gripped the entire continent from Brioll's palace."
"Exactly."
Marilrose placed her hand on the glass case.
The lurking darkness surged toward her hand. The surface vibrated with the sound of clashing metal beads.
"The creepiest part is that this demonic grimoire has a will. Or rather, a grudge..."
"A will?"
"Yes."
Marilrose continued.
"I analyzed the information embedded in the parchment via Transcendent Interpretation. Nearly corrupted my mind, but anyway—this demonic grimoire was created for one purpose: to sow chaos in the world."
"What purpose?"
"Revenge."
"Revenge?"
"Yes, revenge."
Marilrose emphasized the word.
Inariel asked.
"Revenge for what?"
She closed her eyes. As if beholding something horrific, she shuddered once before speaking.
"How much energy does a human's final emotion hold at death? And where does it go?"
"You don't mean..."
"Yes. I don't know who made it, but this is the aggregation of the world's wandering grudges. Overflowing with hatred and resentment toward humanity. The essence forged from deathbed agonies, you could say. So this monster..."
Marilrose withdrew her hand.
The darkness receded, swirling inside the case once more.
"As a remnant of humanity, seeks revenge on the human race."