35. Victory (2)
The Allied Forces returned to Balshad.
Marirose held a grand banquet to celebrate the victory.
Caught up in the moment, those who were fond of her offered her flowers and even challenged each other to duels.
“Youth truly is wonderful!”
Ragna clapped and cheered, but Marirose’s reaction was cold.
“Why don’t you ask for my opinion first? I’m not interested in any of you. If you want to have a sword fight, take it to the courtyard.”
Leaving all the commotion behind, Yuri went out to the balcony and looked down at the nightscape of Balshad.
Although it was a city isolated on the grasslands, traces of ancient civilization remained, and magic-powered lamps here and there illuminated the streets.
The residents gathered below played musical instruments or chatted amongst themselves.
It’s a lovely place to live.
“What are you doing?”
Marirose approached, a mix of alcohol and perfume wafting around her.
“Just watching.”
“Ah, I see…”
Marirose swirled her wine glass and laughed.
“Looks nice, doesn’t it? Makes you want to live here, right?”
“I heard that farmers who fled are flocking to Balshad.”
“That’s true. They say they can’t survive due to the high taxes. Oh, but there are hardly any from Briol. I suppose there aren’t any wicked nobles there.”
“There must be some, though.”
“Hehe…”
Marirose winked playfully.
“Who knows?”
Yuri wasn’t intent on digging further, so he chuckled softly and turned his gaze back.
Balshad’s magical defensive array was formidable. If she truly locked the gates, they could even withstand an attack from the Empire.
“Can I ask you for a favor?”
“Depends. Let’s hear it first.”
“In the future…”
Yuri cleared his throat.
“If Briol is ever in danger, please take in our people.”
At those words, Marirose’s eyes widened.
As if to confirm his sincerity, she leaned in, scrutinizing Yuri’s face before following his gaze.
“Hmm…”
Marirose stroked her chin, tilting her head in thought, before giving her answer.
“Okay.”
She asked no further questions.
Yuri looked at Marirose’s profile. The light spilling from the banquet hall behind her faintly illuminated her face.
Her pale nose and red lips stood out sharply against the night sky.
“Thanks.”
Yuri responded promptly.
That was the end of it.
Silence fell between them until Marirose suddenly grabbed the hem of Yuri’s clothes.
“If I answered so casually, shouldn’t you at least ask why I didn’t question anything or what made me agree so easily?”
“What’s there to ask when you already said yes?”
“Wow, this guy, seriously…”
Marirose had planned to catch him off guard with her smooth response, but Yuri went a step further, shattering her expectations.
She laughed in disbelief and twirled her wine glass a few times.
“How is it that you feel older than me when you’re younger?”
Well, he actually was older, but there was no need to explain that.
Yuri chuckled softly.
“Maybe it’s just that your mental age is younger.”
“Are you serious?”
“A little?”
“Ha….”
Marirose leaned against the railing and looked up at Yuri.
“If you keep oozing charm like that, I might seriously try to seduce you.”
“Am I oozing charm?”
“You’re young, but you’re already flirting around.”
“You’re slipping into informal speech.”
“So what?”
She emptied her wine glass and turned around.
“Don’t make things awkward, let’s go.”
Surprisingly, she was strong.
Yuri allowed her to drag him back into the banquet hall.
As he opened the door and stepped inside, the chandelier’s light shimmered and cascaded down.
The scene inside gradually came into view. Below, the knights who had ended the war were celebrating and reveling in camaraderie…
“You, do you want to die?”
“You too.”
Two knights who had offered flowers to Marirose and quarreled earlier were still facing off.
Marirose put her hand to her forehead.
“They’re still at it.”
Normally, onlookers would intervene, but since this was a gathering of swordsmen, everyone simply watched with interest instead.
Yuri tried not to pay attention to this foolish behavior.
But the back of one of the standing knights looked familiar.
“Simon…”
Yuri couldn’t help but chuckle.
It seemed like the once naive young man had gained confidence after going through the war.
Marirose said,
“What should we do?”
“Leave them alone. They’ll fight or not, it’s up to them.”
“That’s harsh, considering he’s your subordinate.”
“He’s a knight. He should know how to handle himself.”
Yuri ignored the situation and plopped into a seat—but then it happened..
“Come on.”
At Simon’s words, the knight standing opposite him scowled.
“You punk, what makes you so cocky? Briol? Are you relying on your background?”
“Do I need a background to deal with the likes of you?”
“Briol or whatever—I’ll teach you a lesson. I am Amunson of Joachim.”
This knight appeared to be from Joachim, and his name was Amunson.
“I am Simon of Briol.”
Yuri, casually pouring himself a drink, suddenly paused.
He had tried to dismiss it as just a youthful fight between two young knights, but it turned out that the opponent was from Joachim.
His mind raced with political calculations.
“Your Highness?”
Marirose called out to him, but Yuri ignored her and stepped forward.
“Sir Amunson.”
As Yuri suddenly stepped forward, all eyes were on him.
Both Simon and Amunson were caught off guard. Meanwhile, the onlookers from other nations grew even more excited, raising their glasses in celebration.
Yuri walked forward and glanced at Joachim’s side.
His eyes locked with Gonte Merchin, a knight from Joachim he had befriended during the war.
They had spoken before.
‘Our forces have weakened. Joachim is not what it used to be.’
‘Is that so?’
‘Yes. The new generation is weak…’
At first, Yuri had thought of Gonte as just another old-fashioned knight, but he soon realized that Gonte was genuinely worried about Joachim’s future.
There had been a promise between them.
‘Sir Gonte. Once this war ends, I’ll invite Joachim’s knights to Briol. I’d like to offer a joint training course.’
‘Really? It would be a great help to the friendship between our two nations.’
It wasn’t just empty talk.
Yuri was genuinely planning to invite Joachim to Briol and offer them training.
Joachim, a mountainous country, shares the Alloy Mountains with the Empire.
Because of this, in Yuri’s past life, when the Empire began expanding, Joachim was one of the first to fall victim.
If they hadn’t collapsed easily and had carried out guerrilla warfare to the end using the characteristics of the mountainous terrain, they would have remained a nuisance to the Empire, like a dagger hanging from their neck.
If they had the same enemy, they could become allies.
“Sir Gonte!”
“Yes?”
Gonte, sensing something from Yuri’s gaze, immediately stood up.
“This friend from Joachim just insulted Briol.”
Amunson was startled by Yuri’s remark.
“Excuse me? Did I?”
“You just clearly said you’d teach Briol a lesson, didn’t you?”
Although he had made a similar remark, Amunson had been referring to Simon. But Yuri escalated it into a diplomatic issue between nations.
“How can we tolerate such an insult! Am I wrong?”
Yuri’s shout elicited a response from other nations, even those uninvolved.
“That’s right!”
“Briol can’t stand for this!”
“Joachim is disrespecting Briol!”
“If it were me, I couldn’t let it go!”
Though it wasn’t their affair, they eagerly escalated the situation.
Amunson’s face, which had been fierce just a moment ago, turned pathetic. Even Simon, who had been confronting him, looked at him with pity.
Yuri said,
“Since it’s come to this, let’s settle which nation’s knight is superior.”
“Pardon?”
“Let Simon and Amunson fight. The losing nation will send knights and squires to the winning nation to learn their ways.”
Yuri smoothly took control of the situation, like water flowing.
“I’m in favor. A knight should have that much pride.”
Gonte supported him.
It seemed that he held a fairly high standing in Joachim, as no one protested his words.
Only Amunson’s face turned red.
“What in the world are you doing?”
“I’ll explain later.”
Marirose asked softly, but Yuri didn’t have time for idle chatter; he had to seize the opportunity quickly.
Although the Allied Forces had won, it was only the beginning of a long journey for Yuri.
“Let’s go down and let Simon and Amunson settle it. They’re fighting for the pride of their nations, and the losing side will have to learn from the victor.”
He said this while looking more toward the other nations than Joachim. The atmosphere was already set to escalate.
In the end, after all the commotion, it was decided that Simon and Amunson would duel.
All the knights in the banquet hall followed to watch the duel.
Marirose sighed.
“Really…”
As she said, a duel was about to take place in the courtyard.
The courtyard wasn’t very large.
In the middle, Simon and Amunson stood facing each other, and the rest were squeezed between the garden trees and flowers to watch.
The most bewildered were the two.
They had thought they might compete with each other but neither Simon nor Amunson had known they would become a spectacle in front of everyone.
“What are you planning again this time…?”
Raymond laughed at the situation. Yuri simply shrugged.
“It’ll all work out.”
“What if we lose?”
“We can simply send our troops.”
Yuri didn’t mind.
Whether they came or went, all that mattered was creating a connection and giving Joachim the opportunity to train elite soldiers.
Still, he hoped for a win.
“Hey, Simon.”
Yuri called him. Simon hesitantly walked over to Yuri.
“Uh, Your Highness…”
“If you lose… you die.”
“Pardon?”
“Have you drunk too much?”
“A little…”
“Your opponent is in the same condition.”
There was no big reason why Simon and Amunson had gotten into a fight.
Marirose was pretty, and both of them had drunk a lot; a combination of two trivial things that led to this.
“I’ll teach you a secret technique.”
“A secret technique…?”
“There’s a secret technique, one that’s impossible to counter if you don’t know it.”
Yuri whispered something in Simon’s ear.
Simon’s expression turned strange.
“Are you serious…?”
“Yes. Trust me and use it.”
“I’m worried about Briol’s honor…”
“It’s better than losing.”
Having lived through his past life, Yuri knew that honor was sometimes more important than life.
But honor is relative. The kind used here wasn’t the kind he valued.
“Distinguish between pride and honor.”
“Understood.”
In the end, Simon straightened up and stepped forward.
Amunson stood there, his facial muscles twitching. He seemed like the type to build up his fighting spirit before a fight.
Both knights were drunk, so to prevent bloodshed, they were given wooden swords.
The referee for the duel stepped forward.
“Both of you, come here…”
It was Graham.
Someone had suggested that a referee be chosen, and then Graham’s name came up: he was a knight who could serve as a role model for the others.
It wasn’t clear whether personality was necessary to serve as a referee for a drunken brawl, but Ragna pushed him into the role, and Graham eventually agreed.
“Don’t get too excited. Think of this as a test of skill.”
“Yes.”
“Yes.”
“It’s over when one side becomes unable to fight or surrenders.”
The duel followed universally accepted rules, so no lengthy explanations were needed.
After Graham checked their readiness and confirmed their eyes were clear, he stepped back.
“Begin!”
Amunson charged forward the moment it began.
His technique wasn’t outstanding, but his momentum was excellent, and he had the disposition of a fighter.
“That’s a talent too.”
Simon kept retreating, trying to avoid Amunson’s strikes.
Amunson yelled and swung his wooden sword down relentlessly.
Yuri kept his eyes on Simon.
He wasn’t being outmatched, but he wasn’t dominating either.
It wasn’t an easy match.
However, if Simon used the secret technique Yuri shared, victory would be assured.
Yuri shouted.
“Simon!”
Amidst the chaos, Simon could clearly hear Yuri’s voice.
“How long are you going to keep yielding? Become the victor!”
Yuri wasn’t just talking about winning or losing this duel.
He was supporting Simon’s entire life—a life filled with hardship, born a bastard and bullied by legitimate sons.
Simon glanced at Yuri and nodded. He responded softly.
“Yes, Your Highness.”
To Simon, the Third Prince was a life-changer—someone he would follow without hesitation.
Simon raised the wooden sword.
It was time for the secret technique Yuri had shared to be put into action.