Chapter 76
Chapter 76
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 76
Chapter Title: 36. Someone (2)
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Marie Rose beamed brightly upon spotting Yuri.
"Did you come to see me? At this hour?"
"Not exactly."
"Should I send this old man packing?"
"No can do."
Yuri stepped into the room and closed the door behind him.
"I want to hear that story all the way through."
"What do you mean?"
"Who gave that thing to Oqua."
Hernando's mouth fell open.
"You heard all that?"
"Yeah."
"How?"
He had erected a mana barrier around Marie Rose's room the moment he entered, blocking all sound. So how had Yuri overheard them?
Hernando felt a pang of dismay. He had no intention of sharing details about this parchment with anyone besides Marie Rose.
"Who knows?"
Yuri pulled out a dagger and waved it around.
It was the Wind Ring Sword, one of the Four Wheel Swords.
He had wrapped it in the aura of Heart-Soul Severing to pierce Hernando's barrier. Through the gap it created, he had eavesdropped on their conversation.
"I see."
Hernando nodded in understanding.
But he had a far bigger question.
"That's beside the point. Why are you in Marie Rose's room in the dead of night? Surely, Your Highness isn't..."
Hernando shot Marie Rose a pointed look, and she nodded.
"I'm wondering the same thing. Why my room, so late at night?"
Yuri glared coldly at them both in turn.
"Is that really all you can think of?"
"Well, isn't it?"
"I've been keeping an eye on you, Hernando."
"Me?"
"Yeah."
Yuri jerked his chin toward the parchment on the table.
"You kept that rotten-smelling thing tucked in your robes everywhere you went, so I got curious what you were up to and watched you."
Hernando's eyes widened.
"You knew?"
"Yeah."
"How?"
"I told you. It stinks."
"I sealed it with magic."
"I can still sense it."
As he spoke, Yuri glanced sideways.
Black energy was wafting up from the parchment. It was just like when the black shaman had appeared.
No one else noticed a thing, but Yuri could sense it crystal clear.
"Let me take a look."
"It's dangerous."
"It's fine. You've got two amazing mages right here."
"Even so..."
"Or would you rather make this even more exhausting?"
Yuri flashed a grin.
"Isn't it better to handle it here?"
Hernando sighed.
Once the willful Third Prince got involved, there was no slipping away quietly anymore.
He signaled to Marie Rose with his eyes, and she patted Yuri's shoulder.
"This thing's seriously bad for your mental health, but you're still set on seeing it?"
"Yeah."
"Got it."
Marie Rose clenched her fist.
"Just trust me. I'll protect you, Your Highness."
"Thanks."
"I'm lifting the seal now. Ready?"
"It's not that big a deal..."
In the end, Yuri stood before the parchment with Hernando and Marie Rose flanking him.
"Here goes."
Marie Rose released the seal.
Yuri gazed at the parchment.
...
He could feel the thick evil energy seeping into his mind.
The edges of his vision darkened and rippled. It was annoying not being able to see around him.
"Get lost."
Yuri channeled Heart-Soul Severing into the Wind Ring Sword he held and slashed. The encroaching black energy scattered.
"No way..."
"Whoa..."
The two mages groaned in disbelief at the impossible sight.
Yuri leaned in closer to examine the parchment.
A normal person would struggle just to glance at it, yet he bent forward as if peering at faint handwriting.
"Hmm..."
Soon, the text on the parchment began to writhe.
A black tower loomed in Yuri's vision.
Eyes within it glared at him.
A staring contest ensued.
The eyes scowled at Yuri now and then but showed no other noticeable change.
"I see a tower and eyes. That's it?"
"For now, yes..."
Yuri thrust the Wind Ring Sword at the eyes.
They distorted wildly, letting out a faint scream-like wail before vanishing.
The hallucination ended.
All that remained before him was an old parchment.
Yuri straightened up.
"What a repulsive thing."
Hernando and Marie Rose stared at him in shock.
"What's with you two?"
"How are you so fine?"
"I'm Yuri Brioll."
"That's not the point! Did you seriously stab it with a sword?"
"The glare was too cheeky."
"How is that even possible..."
Yuri glanced down at his chest.
"Looks like my Mana Circulation Method is special or something."
The black energy in the parchment seemed to fear Heart-Soul Severing.
"Just the Mana Circulation Method?"
"You saw it at Sword Mountain too, right?"
Hernando fell silent. Yuri continued.
"Fine, I get it. This parchment is tainted with black magic and extremely dangerous."
Yuri picked up the parchment, shook it, and paced away. He subconsciously moved to sit on the bed but caught himself and halted awkwardly.
Marie Rose smiled sweetly.
"You can sit."
"Nah, I'm good."
Yuri shifted to a chair by the vanity and sat.
He shook the parchment again.
"This came from Oqua's corpse, right?"
"Yes."
"Marie Rose is right. This is a conspiracy."
Yuri had felt a chill while listening to her speculation.
The Allied Forces had been sent to die from the start. Now black magic was thrown into the mix.
He recalled his previous life.
Back then, the Emperor had suddenly launched a war of conquest. Purges and oppression flooded the Empire with blood.
Rumors spread that the Emperor had gone mad.
"A normal person would lose their mind just looking at this, huh?"
"Most would."
"Does black magic do that to people?"
"It's possible."
Yuri examined the parchment again. The squiggly script was utterly indecipherable.
He shook it roughly.
"What the hell kind of writing is this?"
Suddenly, a voice echoed in his mind.
'Beware the demon's grimoire.'
Yuri's hand stopped shaking the parchment.
In the ruins of the old kingdom, Yuri had witnessed past events.
The mage who left those memories had warned to beware the demon's grimoire.
Were they all connected?
Perhaps the parchment in his hand was torn from that very demon's grimoire.
"Alright."
Yuri handed the parchment to Marie Rose.
"Marie Rose, about what you were going to say earlier."
"Huh?"
"The thing Coward Hernando stopped you from saying."
"Right. Coward Hernando shut me down."
"I'm thinking the same."
"Oh?"
Hernando called out to Yuri.
"Your Highness."
"What?"
"Jumping to conclusions will only make things worse."
"Who's jumping to conclusions? And seeing you get so touchy, it seems we're all thinking of the same culprit."
"That's because of Marie Rose..."
"We have to go to the Empire anyway."
Yuri casually dropped the word "Empire."
Hernando sighed.
"Haa..."
Yuri understood Hernando's hope that the incident wouldn't escalate, but he had already lived one life and returned to the past. There was no need for caution.
At minimum, the Empire had clearly used the Allied Forces as bait.
They needed to prepare sooner, before the Empire made its real moves.
"Let's go to the Empire together. Check it out ourselves. See if they're up to something or not."
"No helping it. Very well."
"By the way, the Empire definitely planned to discard the Allied Forces. We succeeded by some miracle thanks to me."
"Any reason you think that?"
"Reasons? Even Ragnar thought so from the start."
"Is that so..."
If the Empire wanted the Allied Forces to succeed, they wouldn't have put Ragnar in charge. He was someone the Emperor disliked.
Hernando finally nodded.
"Understood."
Marie Rose flashed Yuri a thumbs-up with both hands and a wink.
"You broke stubborn old Hernando."
"This much is nothing."
"You're brilliant all around. What can't you do?"
"Betray people's expectations?"
Marie Rose burst out laughing.
"Can I come to the Empire too?"
"Marie Rose, analyze this parchment for me."
"Got it. If it's for you, Your Highness."
"Thanks."
She touched her lips thoughtfully, then spoke.
"In return."
"Yeah?"
"Grant me one wish later."
Yuri eyed Marie Rose.
She wore a mysterious smile.
"A wish?"
"Yes."
Another way to say "what I want" was "a wish."
He had already promised Sibylla one wish.
Handing out wishes carelessly could topple households and collapse societies. Debts you couldn't repay led to ruin.
Yuri didn't want more liabilities.
But Marie Rose was firm.
"No deal, no analysis."
"For real?"
"Yes."
She crossed her arms.
"There are plenty of other mages. Give it to them. Though none as transcendentally interpretive as me."
Yuri looked at Hernando, who shrugged.
"'Stubborn Hernando' is the wrong label. Back at the Magic Tower, 'stubborn' pointed to Marie Rose, not me."
"Uh..."
He chuckled amusedly.
Just moments ago, they had been ganging up on Hernando, but now the tables had turned.
Yuri closed his eyes.
"Fine."
"You mean it?"
"But only something I can grant. No outrageous requests."
"Deal."
"Can't you just tell me the wish now?"
"Oh? Granting wishes on top?"
"If it's what you want, isn't it a wish?"
"Huh, you're right. I like wishes. I'll tell you mine later."
"Why?"
"Haven't decided yet."
Yuri was already starting to regret it.
But to thwart the Empire's schemes and prevent the kingdom's fall, this sacrifice was necessary.
Even if it led to default and bankruptcy later, they had to push forward now.
"Alright. Got it..."
Yuri replied. Shaking off the creeping regret, he forced a bright expression.
"You two are prepared to become heroes of the Empire, right?"
"Pardon?"
"What?"
"The imperial family might be tainted with black magic, after all."
Hernando gaped at Yuri's blunt words. Marie Rose narrowed her eyes.
Suddenly, she recalled the banquet.
On the balcony, Yuri had said something out of the blue.
'If Brioll falls, take in its people.'
Seeing his attitude, as if he'd been waiting for evidence like this, made her wonder if he knew something.
As Marie Rose stared, Yuri tilted his head.
"Huh?"
All her suspicions melted away.
She muttered to herself.
"Men with secrets are more attractive..."
She nodded vigorously.
"Fine. Let's dig into it."
Yuri welcomed her response. Hernando sighed reluctantly once more.
Thus, the three aligned their goals.
Yuri grinned.
"Let's do our best from here on out."
He glanced at the parchment.
The demon's grimoire—what exactly was it?
What he knew from his past life was just the tip of the iceberg. Dark truths he hadn't known were gradually emerging.
The enemy's true nature felt distant.
But Yuri wasn't worried.
As things grew more complex, new allies joined, and the seeds he'd sown were bearing fruit steadily.
"One thing I'm curious about—any marks or traces tied to black magic?"
"Marks?"
"I've got a friend in the Empire. A discreet guy who can look into it quietly."
"Black magic traits..."
Marie Rose chimed in suddenly.
"The user loses their sight?"
"Really?"
"I think I read it somewhere. Not sure. Probably?"
"Come to think of it, all the orc shamans were blind."
"Guess they're connected to black magic."
Yuri nodded. Hernando, who had been listening quietly, asked.
"Your Highness, a friend in the Empire? You've never even been there."
"Met him in Brioll. He went to the Empire recently."
"What kind of friend?"
"You've seen him too, Hernando."
"Pardon? Who?"
"Heard you've been acting cocky lately? Lost your fear?"
"I wasn't cocky. Just steadily doing my job. Never had any fear to begin with."
"Hah, even if I dunked you in water, your mouth would keep flapping, you insolent punk..."
Chaos erupted in the Empire's back alleys.
A new gang had appeared, crushing established powers and expanding their operations.
With mysterious funding from who-knows-where, they dominated the shadowy usury market.
The old organizations tried solving it with violence, but the newcomers were no pushovers.
"You really wanna die? Huh?"
"Do words even matter? Quit yapping—if you wanna settle it with fists, bring it."
"Insolent bastard. I'll make you beg for mercy. Boys, get him!"
"Yes, boss!"
The ringleader of the turmoil, Gorio, slipped on his gloves with a sigh.
"How do they always spout the same clichéd lines..."
He wasn't in a great mood.
Why was he, the boss, handling things personally at the Empire branch?
"Can't rely on the underlings."
Gorio smashed a fist into an oncoming thug's jaw and bellowed at his men.
"Show these Empire softies a taste of Brioll!"
And so, Brioll's notorious thug Gorio led "Uncle Loans" in devouring the Empire's underworld.