The spy's intrusion ended as a minor incident.
Since it was once again confirmed that the Empire's intelligence network was spread far and wide, the Briol army did not relax their guard as they headed toward Bezos.
However, Laurent was somewhat unsettled because of the Chai bird the spy had been carrying.
It felt as though they were somehow connected to Cedric.
While driving the horse, Yuri suddenly spoke.
"That spy yesterday."
"Yes."
"That lunatic at the end."
The one who died at the end had been holding a taxidermied Chai bird in his arms.
He was out of his mind.
"There was a trace of black magic on him."
"…What?"
Laurent looked at him.
Yuri smirked.
"I saw a faint black aura on the corpse. That means he really was a spy sent by the Empire."
Laurent knew well that Yuri's senses were extremely sharp.
"If that's the case…"
Laurent kept getting stuck on Cedric.
But now, they were saying the spy holding the taxidermied Chai bird had been enthralled by black magic.
Unconsciously, Laurent spoke.
"Your Highness."
"Hm?"
"Could it be…"
It was an irreverent thought, so it wasn't easy to speak.
"There might be someone within Briol tainted by black magic."
"That might be the case."
"Someone nearby."
"From what I can sense, not to that extent."
Yuri pointed to his own eyes.
"At least, I haven't seen anyone like that yet. Why, are you worried?"
Looking at Yuri's smirk, Laurent felt an inexplicable unease.
He lowered his voice.
"Your Highness, a moment…"
Yuri tilted his head, then stepped out of the formation with Laurent.
The two cleared the surroundings and spoke quietly.
"Your Highness, there is one thing I am concerned about."
"Speak freely."
Laurent hesitated for a moment, then opened his mouth.
"His Highness the Crown Prince…"
"My brother?"
"Yes."
Yuri gave Laurent the time to continue.
Laurent stared straight ahead for a while, then spoke.
"He had a connection with Princess Katrina, didn't he?"
"That's right."
"The princess we met was a good person, but the Empire has already been permeated by black magic."
"That's true."
"I worry that His Highness the Crown Prince might also have been influenced by it."
"Ah…"
Yuri nodded.
"Yes, that is something to worry about. But it's been a long time since the two have met. I spoke to him properly and had their relationship settled. Since then, they've only exchanged letters occasionally. What could happen from that?"
"I understand, but…"
"And my brother is not foolish enough to be swayed by such things."
There was clear trust in Cedric.
Laurent eventually spoke about what had happened with Cedric in the training hall.
However, it wasn't easy to explain the strange sense of incongruity he'd felt.
Laurent had felt that ominousness in person, but to anyone else it would have simply sounded like Cedric's tone had been slightly sarcastic.
The same was true about the white bird.
Cedric had mentioned it, and the next day Laurent had seen the rare Chai bird, then the spy had been carrying a taxidermy of it — but connecting that to Cedric seemed strange.
In the end, it was just Laurent's feeling.
"Hmm…"
Yuri stroked his chin.
Laurent could sense that he was troubled.
Well, they were on the way to war now. It would be difficult to decide anything based on such flimsy testimony.
"Laurent."
"Yes."
"When this war ends and we return, I will definitely look into it."
Laurent delayed his reply for a moment.
In his heart, he wanted to go back immediately and confirm Cedric's state.
But Yuri was right. They had already come this far. Going back now was impossible.
"I understand. My apologies for troubling you."
"It's fine."
And so, with nothing resolved, their conversation ended.
The Briol army steadily advanced toward Bezos.
***
Yuri soon arrived at Bezos.
Welcomed by the lord, the Briol army entered the castle.
"The Imperial army is continuously approaching."
The border count of Bezos looked tense.
He was not very old, and though he was at the border, he had no real war experience. He was not someone who had trained as a martial warrior either.
"Your Highness, I have heard much about your exploits in the Allied Army."
"I'm glad to hear it."
"What are your plans going forward…?"
"What else?"
Yuri smirked.
"We block, and we fight. Is there some grand strategy for that?"
"Yes…"
"It will be a battle to defend the castle. You must prepare well."
The Empire would not pass Bezos by, they would try to use it as a base.
Yuri recalled the siege he had endured in his past life. It had been grueling. They had to hold out in the castle against far greater numbers.
It was, quite literally, a time when blood dried in your veins.
Compared to that, this war was almost easy.
"Here."
Yuri handed over a piece of paper. The lord's eyes widened when he saw it.
"Prepare everything listed here."
It contained the supplies needed for a siege — boiling oil, fire arrows, and other defenses to repel the enemy.
But in the end, a siege's outcome depended on whether the knights could be stopped.
Knights would use spring-loaded leap equipment to jump in. They descended like a swarm of locusts, and there was hardly any way to stop them.
However, knights and soldiers of lesser skill could not perform such moves, so they could be stopped with arrows or boiling oil.
"I will place my trust in you, Your Highness."
"And I will place mine in you."
"…Pardon?"
Yuri grinned.
"I trust all of you gathered for Briol's sake. So let's do our best."
"Yes, understood."
"Now, shall we go?"
Yuri gathered the major nobles and knights who had arrived in Bezos.
At the head of the large table sat Yuri, with the rest gathered around.
There was no air of suspicion toward the young prince.
On the way to Bezos, the Allied Army veterans had shown absolute trust in Yuri, and his personal act of pursuing and interrogating the spy had proven his decisiveness, making them acknowledge him.
And above all…
Yuri was not concealing his aura now.
For someone of his age to project such a sharp aura was abnormal.
This young man was unleashing a blade-like presence against the leading figures of Briol, the so-called land of knights.
Even the old knights who had once fought alongside the young Fiore Briol stared in surprise.
It was a kind of preemptive intimidation meant to reduce unnecessary disputes.
Everyone silently waited for Yuri to speak.
Yuri opened his mouth.
"Is Briol weaker than the Empire?"
Most of them tilted their heads, not understanding what Yuri meant.
Yuri continued speaking with a smile.
"What's there to hesitate about, of course the Empire is stronger."
At those words, a few people's expressions turned unpleasant.
It was the truth, but for the proud knights of Briol, it was not a welcome statement.
Yuri spoke again.
"But Briol's knights are stronger than the Empire's knights, aren't they?"
At that, someone immediately replied.
"Yes!"
Yuri glanced at him, then nodded.
"Right, of course. That's why we cannot lose this war. You're not thinking of losing to those weaker than us, are you?"
"Of course not."
"Good."
Yuri grinned as he looked around at everyone present. Every gaze was sharp. Because of the blade-like aura he was giving off, no one had relaxed.
"His Majesty will arrive soon. We cannot show a weak appearance then. Whatever provocation the Empire makes, we crush it completely. We do not show the sight of waiting for His Majesty with our tails tucked. Understood?"
"Yes!"
"Now, let's talk about the war properly."
Yuri rose to his feet, and hung a map of Bezos Castle's structure and the surrounding terrain on the wall.
He spoke of how to deploy friendly forces using the castle's structure, and how to respond to the Empire's attacks by making use of the surrounding terrain.
Yuri showed no hesitation, and answered every question without flinching. His demeanor was far too skilled for his age.
All the worries they had when they'd first heard the young Third Prince would stand on the front line had vanished.
They said the Third Prince was a knight worthy to succeed Fiore Briol, and he was even more than that.
"Make ready so that we can fight immediately. We won't be waiting long."
The Imperial army Yuri remembered did not drag wars out.
They would probably charge in as soon as they arrived.
"What should we do about the Black Knight before His Majesty arrives?"
Yuri thought of the Black Knight — the warm-hearted man he had met in the temple. But since they would meet on the battlefield, he would treat him only as an enemy.
"I don't think there will be any major clashes until Father arrives, but if he makes the first move…"
Yuri turned around.
There were many excellent knights here.
But, he was stronger.
"I will stop him."
"Wouldn't that be too dangerous?"
"Of course, all of you will help me. But in my opinion, there's no one here stronger than me. So, though it's troublesome, I should be the one to take the lead in stopping him."
At that, a few knights looked at Yuri.
Because of the aura he was exuding, they couldn't easily step forward, but still, they didn't seem eager to admit the difference in skill so easily.
A competitive spirit was not a bad thing — it was what drove a knight to improve.
But with war right in front of them, there was no time to waste on such matters.
"I'm not going to argue about this further. This is my decision. If you're truly worried, then work harder in your own position."
With that, Yuri ended the meeting.
As he stepped outside, Yuri called over Jared, who had been waiting.
"Jared."
"Yes."
"Shall we get some fresh air?"
"Ah, yes."
The two of them went together to the walls of Bezos Castle. The sun was just beginning to set. Near the horizon, the Imperial army's flags could be faintly seen.
It was starting to truly feel like war.
This was the very moment he had returned to the past for.
"Jared."
"Yes."
"How about it?"
Yuri placed a hand on Jared's shoulder.
"Have you been working hard?"
It was a sudden question.
But somehow, Jared felt that Yuri's words carried weight.
"Well, since I met Your Highness, I've been working hard."
Before meeting Yuri, he had been nothing more than a lazy member of the royal guard.
He had the natural talent to enter the palace, but had made no effort beyond that.
Then, Yuri had caught him.
Since then, it had been nothing but hardship.
He had been called out daily to train with the sword, constantly pushing himself to limits he had never tested before. And through that, he had grown much stronger.
Had he stayed the same, he would have remained nothing more than a mediocre knight.
"But, you know."
Jared suddenly looked at Yuri and said.
"Your Highness."
"Yeah?"
"Back then, before we first met in the royal guard's training hall…"
"Yeah."
"Did you already know me?"
Jared asked out of the blue.
It was a strange thing.
Sometimes, the Third Prince felt as though he had known him for a very long time.
And sometimes, Jared felt as though he himself had known the Third Prince from before.
Especially as the prince grew, his build becoming larger and his facial features more defined, that strange sense of familiarity only grew stronger.
Yes, it was the same as back then.
In that brief vision he had seen in the dungeon left behind by Briol's progenitor —
The man who had smiled wearily at him in that vision resembled the Third Prince.
"Yeah."
"How?"
"I saw you in the future."
The Third Prince grinned.
"Are you serious?"
"Yeah. That's why I came back to the past, to make you into a proper man."
"I see."
"At the time, you regretted it terribly."
"What?"
"Living half-heartedly."
"I see."
"Grateful, aren't you?"
"Well, I'm already regretting this life, so why don't you go back to the past again and teach me properly this time."
"Teach you what?"
"To stay away from Your Highness and avoid you."
"Want to die?"
"Oh, I'm really going to fall off!"
"Survive on your own."
As the two bantered, something suddenly approached from the distance.
They stopped joking and fixed their eyes on it.
It was an envoy from the Empire.
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