Chapter 33
Chapter 33
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 33
Chapter Title: 16. Ties (2)
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"Nice to meet you, Sir Graham."
"Please drop the title. I'm not a knight anymore."
Yuri smiled faintly.
He knew that Graham had once lost his knighthood. But he hadn't expected to run into him here with the Allied Forces.
"Are you busy by any chance? What's next on your schedule?"
"I'm planning to head back to Valshard."
"Then how about a cup of tea?"
Rolag and Jared gave Yuri strange looks.
They knew from his usual words and behavior that he didn't think much of the Empire. So his sudden invitation made them suspicious of his intentions.
The two imperial knights exchanged glances before accepting Yuri's offer.
"Understood."
The sudden appearance of imperial knights drew the unit's full attention.
Yuri led them to his own tent.
"Have a seat."
Yuri's tent was spartan. There was a foldable cot for sleeping, a table spread with a map, and a handful of chairs—that was it.
As Graham sat, his gaze fell on the map.
"Impressive."
"What is?"
"The markings on the map. You've recorded everything in such detail."
Yuri shrugged, cleared the map away, and set teacups on the table.
"Not many knights pay attention to terrain."
As Graham said, wars on the continent were usually decided by clashes of raw force.
But the mercenaries Yuri had known in his past life were different. They always scrutinized their surroundings.
Through battle after battle, Yuri had learned the hard way that victory sometimes hinged more on a good pair of boots than on a blade.
"Just in case."
With that, Yuri poured tea into their cups.
"Sir Graham."
"I'm..."
"How did a knight like you end up as a camp follower?"
Graham fell silent. Instead, Raifio, who was sitting nearby, answered.
"Because of a foolish superior."
"Sir Raifio."
"It was just jealousy from someone unfit to lead. A false knight who clung to those in power."
This wasn't the sort of thing to say in front of a foreign prince. But Raifio was that furious.
"Sir Graham will regain his position soon enough."
"I'm sure he will."
Yuri agreed. Raifio leaned forward eagerly.
"It seems His Highness the Third Prince knows Sir Graham well?"
"All too well."
Graham was a knight whose reputation spanned the entire continent.
Brioll might be the land of knights, but if you asked people who the true knight was, Graham's name—Empire knight though he was—would come up.
He was the epitome of chivalry.
"As expected of Brioll. The knightly kingdom recognizes a real knight."
"I personally respect Sir Graham as well. It's an honor to meet you like this."
"Of course..."
Graham, who had been sitting quietly, cleared his throat.
"You're laying it on a bit thick."
"I mean it."
Rolag, ever loyal to Yuri, eyed Graham with shining eyes, while Jared furrowed his brow, trying to read Yuri's intentions.
Yuri chuckled.
This time, there was no hidden agenda.
He had invited Graham simply to treat him with respect. His praise was genuine admiration.
Yuri set down his tea and looked up.
Graham was sipping his with eyes cast down. He hadn't lost his composure for a moment.
Yes... just like back then.
The final day of Brioll rose vividly in his mind.
Everything crumbling, Yuri resisting to the end until he fled the Empire's black legions—only to be captured by a single knight.
Graham.
With a somber face, he had apologized to Yuri. Someday, he said, they would pay for their crimes.
But Yuri had only one thought.
I want to live.
So that day, he begged for his life.
'Spare me.'
A scion of Brioll, who had sworn never to abandon honor even in death, begging the Empire knight who crushed his kingdom to let him live.
'I want to live.'
The ancestors who departed first would surely spit on him.
Graham neither scorned nor pitied Yuri. His expression didn't change. He simply closed his eyes, as if pondering something deeply.
What had he been thinking then?
After a brief silence, Graham stepped back without a word, clearing a path.
And so Yuri fled.
That was what happened.
A criminal who escaped punishment, too craven to die honorably.
Just before turning the corner, Yuri looked back at Graham.
He stood rooted in place.
That heavy silhouette etched itself into Yuri's eyes.
Graham must have paid a price for letting him go that day.
"Graham."
"Yes."
The Graham from back then was now sitting before Yuri in a completely different place, under completely different circumstances.
It was a strange bond.
On impulse, Yuri said to him,
"Come to Brioll."
Graham looked up, and Rolag and Jared stared at Yuri in shock.
Even Raifio, who had defended Graham so fervently, widened his eyes.
Yuri smirked and added,
"I'll take good care of you."
Graham smiled faintly in return.
"I'm sorry."
He neither elaborated nor questioned the offer. It was a straightforward refusal.
Yuri nodded.
"Suit yourself."
He drained his tea. Warmth spread through him.
He didn't feel bad at all.
At the very least, he'd shared a cup of tea with him.
The Brioll forces arrived at Valshard.
A massive wall of stone soared up. It was an odd sight amid the plains.
"Impressive."
Yuri marveled. The stones forming the wall were gigantic, as if some giant had carved them from the earth.
He turned to the side.
"Magic, right?"
Cory, who had been wearing a hood, flinched at the sudden question.
"I, I'm not sure..."
Someone else answered instead.
"Who knows? Maybe giants once lived in the Plains Kingdom?"
Hernando had appeared beside them at some point. Cory sighed in relief.
Yuri chuckled and patted Cory's shoulder before continuing with Hernando.
"If so, the buildings should be huge too. But it's just the stones that are big."
"True enough. Maybe they were just strong?"
If it had been small bricks piled up, one could imagine massive manpower. But with stones the size of houses, the method was a mystery.
Yuri looked up at the wall and nodded.
"Has to be magic."
"It's not great to blame magic every time logic fails."
"But it usually is."
"Fair point. Probably magic, then."
The theory that the Plains Kingdom was an ancient magical civilization was the mainstream view among most scholars.
Seeing it in person, Yuri couldn't help but believe it.
How else could manpower have built this?
"The lord of Valshard must be waiting."
Like Gid, Valshard maintained the form of an independent city-state.
But there was one key difference: to become Valshard's lord, one needed an indispensable qualification.
"Ever met him?"
"Yes, I've seen the Magic Duke before."
One had to be a mage skilled enough to activate Valshard's Magical Defense Array.
Fortunately, the blood of the Antre family, which had guarded Valshard for generations, ran thick with magic.
"What's he like?"
"Be careful. He's no ordinary person."
"Oh?"
"Lower your guard, and he'll eat you alive. Especially a type like Prince Yuri..."
Hernando didn't speak highly of many people.
Just then, Valshard's gates opened, and the lord's envoy emerged.
"Greetings to Brioll's Third Prince. It's an honor to meet you."
"Good to meet you."
"The Duke of Valshard awaits."
"I'll head over now."
"Very well. If you have a deputy, I'll guide them while you meet the Duke."
Yuri called Raymond to have the unit stand by and entered Valshard. Knights offered to accompany him, but he took only Rolag and Jared.
Beyond the massive gates lay an unexpected sight.
Though large, it was still an isolated plains city, so Yuri had expected something as barren as Gid.
But inside the walls, it was bright and bustling.
"Some call Valshard a hidden paradise. Remnants of the old kingdom keep the soil fertile."
"Unexpected."
"But becoming a Valshard citizen is tough. They control it very strictly."
The lord's castle came into view.
Like the walls, it was built of massive gray stones—sturdy rather than crude, almost antique.
A group of people stood at the entrance.
"The Duke has come to greet you himself."
"That's kind of him."
The Magic Duke appeared.
Yuri narrowed his eyes, appraising her. She was nothing like what he'd imagined.
Hernando explained in an amused tone.
"Valshard's title was recently inherited. That's the current Magic Duke."
A seductive beauty with flowing red hair looked up at Yuri with a smile. A butterfly tattoo stood out on her ample cleavage above her deeply plunging dress.
When she spoke, her scarlet lips—shaped like flower petals—moved playfully.
"Nice to meet you, Prince. I'm the Duke of Valshard, Marilou Antre."
Yuri dismounted and faced her. For a woman, she was tall—their eyes met at a similar level.
Without shying from her gaze, Yuri said,
"I'm Yuri Brioll, Third Prince of Brioll and commander of the Brioll forces."
"Just as I'd heard—you're quite the looker."
Marilou reached out a hand. She wore sheer gloves that revealed everything underneath.
Yuri shook it.
Marilou curved her eyes prettily as she met his gaze.
She was a captivating beauty who drew the eye.
But Yuri felt no stir. No racing heart, no tension from her looks.
"Thanks for the compliment."
Marilou's eyes gleamed at his calm reply.
She kept hold of his hand and continued.
"Prince, if you don't mind me asking, how old are you?"
"Eighteen."
"I see. I'm twenty-two. Just a four-year gap—no need to check compatibility. We should get along great, don't you think?"
"Maybe..."
A small laugh from Hernando came from behind.
Yuri smiled coolly at Marilou.
She knew her beauty and wielded it well, but it wouldn't work on him.
Because he didn't do love...
A flash of platinum hair and deep green eyes crossed his mind, but he shook it off.
"What's age matter? If our minds align, I could befriend a seventy-year-old. If not, even peers stay distant."
"Ah, so that's how you see it, Prince."
Marilou laughed lowly. Still holding his hand, she tugged him along.
"Let's continue inside. You're invited to the castle."
The castle interior was lavishly decorated.
Exquisite carvings adorned the stone walls, and gold-leafed statues stood in every corner.
"This way."
Through a corridor lay a vast hall prepared with a banquet. A long table draped in red cloth bore a spread of dishes.
But it seemed Brioll weren't the only guests.
"These are the delegates from Burssen."
More than ten nations had been called to the Allied Forces. Excluding the Empire, Brioll and the Holy Kingdom held the most sway.
Burssen was next in scale, a coastal nation to the west.
Men with dark, sun-tanned skin nodded curtly at Yuri. Not exactly friendly.
Yuri ignored it and took his seat.
"Let's talk about the path ahead."
Yuri quietly asked Hernando, who stood beside him.
"What's this woman's game?"
"No real scheme, probably."
"Then?"
"Just call her a social butterfly. Very face-conscious."
"Now that you mention it, why didn't you say hi?"
"We don't get along."
"Makes sense. Face-conscious, right?"
"Pardon?"
Yuri sat first, followed by Hernando and the knights.
The awkward meal among the three factions began.
Marilou rose and personally poured wine at each table.
"This is my favorite vintage. It's light, so just one glass each."
The Burssen group couldn't take their eyes off Marilou.
Every time she moved and her dress hem revealed a glimpse of white ankle, their heads drooped lower.
Yuri nudged Jared beside him.
"Jared."
"Yes?"
"Don't act like that."