The Imperial Army was drawing closer and closer.
Reports on the main force kept coming into the royal palace. Their numbers were great, and the standard of their knight orders was formidable.
But Briol had no intention of giving up even a single city.
The Briol army decided to face the enemy at a fortress on the border.
Every powerful knight planned to set out.
Yuri, Laurent, and Jared were no exception.
"Haa, haa…"
By evening, as the sun was setting, Laurent was swinging his sword alone in the training grounds.
"Damn it…"
Uncharacteristically for him, he cursed, then sank to the ground.
Laurent was feeling impatient.
He had watched Yuri's dazzling growth with his own eyes.
When they had first marched under the Allied Army, when he had knelt on one knee before Yuri in respect, the gap between them had not been so wide.
Yuri had been strong, yes, but Laurent had believed that, if he kept working hard, he would one day be able to stand shoulder to shoulder with him.
But it hadn't turned out that way.
Now, he was nothing more than baggage.
Perhaps, for Yuri's sake, he should no longer remain by his side. The thought made Laurent uneasy.
Laurent murmured,
"This isn't enough."
He gripped his sword tightly.
"I mustn't be a burden. I can't… to His Highness any longer…"
When they had faced the Empire's 9th Knight Order, he had been of no help at all.
While his eyes were closed due to the Turtle Breath Great Art, Yuri had faced all those knights alone.
The reason Yuri had decided that way was obvious — it was better to act alone. And he had been right. Yuri had even killed the commander of the 9th Knight Order by himself.
The gap was too wide.
Laurent clenched his teeth.
He recalled the first time he had heard of the Third Prince, through his father, Lian Flandre.
The Imperial Prince, Georg.
A man before whom anyone would take a step back.
Even the king of a decent-sized nation would bow his head first.
But the Third Prince had not.
For nothing more than a mere maid, he had thrown himself into a trial by combat that risked his life.
That story had struck deep in his heart.
He had wanted to meet him one day.
And when that time came, he wanted to be the strongest knight of all, to stand by his side and guard him.
When he had heard that the Allied Army was forming, and that he would be serving alongside him, he had been so excited he could hardly sleep, like a child. It had felt as though his dream had come true.
And so, he met the Third Prince.
Because he was younger than Laurent, he had thought there might be parts where he was lacking. And if there were, Laurent had wanted to fill them himself.
But it wasn't like that.
The prince was such an outstanding man, he needed none of Laurent's worry.
He ate the same food as the soldiers, and slept in the same barracks.
He was the first to leap into battle, and the last to leave.
No matter how brutal the war, he never hid behind others.
He stood at the very front, took the enemy's attacks head-on, and to his allies, he always showed only his back.
In a world overflowing with hollow nobles and false knights, how noble was a royal who fulfilled duties that no one else would?
Laurent had decided.
He would fight for him for the rest of his life.
That feeling had not faded in the least. But another problem had arisen.
He was becoming a hindrance to the prince.
It was unbearable to know that fact.
He had once been called a genius with the sword, unmatched among his peers, but the Third Prince had left even him far behind.
A genius beyond the reach of common sense.
"Huu, damn it…"
Laurent rose to his feet once more. And swung his sword.
His blade kept cutting through empty air.
Unusually for him, his sword path was rough.
Just then, a voice approached.
"You seem to have a lot on your mind."
Laurent turned his head. And immediately bowed in greeting.
"Ah, I greet Your Highness the Crown Prince."
It was Cedric.
As always, he wore glasses and had a gentle smile on his face.
"The tip of your sword is wavering. Do you have something troubling you?"
"Well, that is…"
As Laurent hesitated, Cedric came closer. When he drew near, it somehow felt as though the surrounding air grew warmer.
Cedric smiled faintly.
"It's been a long time since I held a sword, but I can still manage a little, you know."
Then he picked up a spare sword Laurent had set beside him and gave it a swing through the air.
Seeing the clean trajectory, Laurent was impressed.
"That's remarkable, Your Highness."
"For just this?"
The Third Prince had always said that his elder brother was a genius, born with talent for both learning and martial arts.
Laurent had wondered if that was just brotherly exaggeration, but it wasn't.
Though it had been a long time since Cedric had put down the sword, with only a brief bit of practice Laurent could already feel his level. He didn't seem behind someone like Laurent, who had spent his entire life with the blade.
"How about it?"
When Cedric turned his head and smiled, for some reason Laurent saw the face of the Third Prince overlap with his.
It might have been only natural, since they were brothers.
But compared to Yuri, Cedric exuded a warmer atmosphere.
Without realizing it, Laurent replied,
"You are truly impressive."
"Come on, you must be better."
"I am a knight, after all. But Your Highness…"
"A bespectacled man who only reads books?"
"No, absolutely not. That's not what I meant…"
"I'm joking."
Cedric laughed. Laurent began to feel he understood why the Third Prince followed his eldest brother so deeply.
"Is it Yuri that's making you impatient?"
"Well…"
Cedric, still holding the sword, came closer and sat beside Laurent.
"You want to follow Yuri, but the gap between you keeps widening, so you're getting impatient, right?"
"Mm…"
"I understand."
Laurent looked at him.
"Everyone feels that way."
Cedric said that as he gazed up at the sky. The lenses of his glasses caught the sunlight and shone.
Laurent asked,
"Even you, Your Highness?"
"Me?"
Cedric gave a vague smile.
"Laurent, why is it you follow Yuri so devotedly?"
"The reason, Your Highness?"
Laurent tilted his head.
"It's hard to explain. I was drawn to him from the very first meeting. No, even before that, from the moment I first heard about the Third Prince. It just happened that way."
"Like a human attraction?"
"Yes, that's right. And it's not just me. I believe anyone who has been with His Highness would feel the same way."
Right after he said that, Laurent regretted his words.
Even if they were close as brothers, it felt careless to praise Yuri's popularity in front of Cedric, the man who would one day be king.
But Cedric only nodded, as if unconcerned.
"Yes, my little brother is that kind of man."
"Yes…"
"Laurent, you trust Yuri completely, don't you?"
"Yes, I do."
"You'll follow him to the end?"
"Of course."
"No matter what happens?"
"Yes."
Laurent nodded without hesitation.
That day, after hearing his true feelings before the battle with the orcs, Laurent had vowed to give all his loyalty.
Cedric laughed out loud.
"Good to see, keep it that way."
"Thank you."
"But, can you really do that…"
"Yes?"
Laurent looked at Cedric.
For a moment, a strange sensation passed through him. But he could not pinpoint what it was.
"Laurent."
"Yes."
"Men like you are rare."
As Cedric said that, the reflected light on his glasses kept Laurent from seeing his eyes.
But he did notice that the warmth in his voice had dropped a degree.
"Do you know the chai bird?"
"Yes."
"A bird with beautiful white feathers. But it's an unfortunate bird. It was so beautiful that people tried to stuff and sell it, so it's almost extinct now. Hard to find in the wild anymore."
"I see."
"On the other hand, ugly birds breed as they please. These days there are so many pigeons that they say bird droppings cover the royal palace square."
"Hahaha…"
"Well, the chai bird is beautiful, yes, but in the end, a bird is just a bird. Even if it goes extinct."
What was he talking about? Was it that clever people also had a different way of speaking? Laurent found it hard to follow Cedric's words.
Cedric rose from his seat.
"Well, that's enough. I like seeing your effort, your feelings for Yuri, all of it."
"Thank you."
"Still, it won't work. Falling behind is only natural."
"Yes?"
"Francaise, it's a beautiful place."
Saying that, Cedric put down the sword and smiled faintly.
Laurent stared at him blankly.
Cedric soon turned away.
Laurent, still bewildered, bowed toward his back.
"Ah, farewell, Your Highness the Crown Prince."
Cedric suddenly stopped walking.
"Laurent."
"Yes."
Looking back, he said in passing,
"What can't be done, is simply something made not to be done. Isn't that so?"
Leaving those words behind, he turned and walked away again.
The moment he heard that last sentence, Laurent felt goosebumps all over his body.
He felt no emotion from him at all. It was as if he had been speaking with something that looked human, but was not human.
It felt like he had been under some kind of spell.
Speaking with a kind face, giving words that sounded like advice, but whose content was strange.
"What is this…"
The image of Yuri, proudly speaking about his elder brother, came to mind.
Everyone who knew Cedric praised his character without end.
Laurent too, at the beginning of the conversation, had thought they were right.
But as the conversation went on, something didn't fit together.
Laurent shook his head.
"It must be my imagination."
Yes, a misunderstanding. Cedric had been speaking to comfort him, and he had simply misunderstood.
Laurent decided to think so.
"Uh…"
But when Laurent gripped the practice sword Cedric had used, he flinched in shock.
Its edge was chipped and its blade dead, as if something had ground it away.
It looked fine at a glance, but it could no longer be called a proper sword.
He had only swung it through the air a few times, yet it had ended up like this.
Laurent looked in the direction Cedric had left.
But he was no longer in sight.
Left alone, Laurent stood still for a while, wrapped in an unknown sense of foreboding. No matter how he tried to think positively, it didn't work.
Suddenly, Cedric's voice echoed in his ears.
"Francaise, it's a beautiful place."
Laurent shook his head.
It had to be his imagination.
And yet, for some reason, the hand holding the broken sword was trembling ever so slightly.
***
Yuri was leading the army toward the border.
On the way, they would stop by Francaise to join forces with the troops of the Flandre family.
Not only them, but the forces owned by the lords from all over Briol would also join them.
As Yuri rode at the head of the column, Laurent approached his side and spoke.
"Your Highness."
"Yes, Laurent. Did you sleep well? You didn't stay up all night, did you?"
"Haha, yes."
After a light laugh, Laurent spoke.
"This time, His Majesty…?"
"He's wrapping things up, so he decided to depart a little later. He'll join us soon. Since my father is stepping in, this war should go well."
Yuri thought of the many battles in his past life that had been fought without Fiore.
If Fiore had been there then, the results would have been completely different.
"Then…"
Unusually for him, Laurent trailed off. Yuri tilted his head.
"Why? Do you want to go to District 96?"
"Yes?"
"Just joking. Jared couldn't take his eyes off the place when we were there…"
"What are you talking about all of a sudden? Stop it!"
Jared shouted.
It was disrespectful behavior toward a prince, but the knights around them, used to Yuri's teasing, burst into laughter.
Laurent laughed as well.
"So, what is it?"
"Will His Highness the Crown Prince not participate in this war?"
"My elder brother is more of a scholar than a knight. Well, if he joined in now, he could still fight as well as any decent knight, but he decided to handle the supplies from the rear. Why?"
"It's nothing."
"Ah, right. My brother said he met you at the palace. Is it about that?"
Laurent's eyes flicked up in surprise.
Yuri smiled.
"He said you were training so hard that he advised you to take it easy sometimes. But he also said your effort was admirable. Told me I'd better be ready so you wouldn't catch up to me. My brother's usually stingy with praise, so I think he really took a liking to you, Laurent."
"Ah, yes…"
Laurent nodded stiffly.
Yuri, looking ahead, didn't see his expression and kept talking.
"When this war is over, you should have a talk with him. Maybe even a light sparring match. He said your swordwork was very neat."
"Understood."
Even as he answered, Laurent felt confused.
Had the Crown Prince said such things? No. And they had never even sparred.
Something was wrong.
To be precise, Cedric was wrong.
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