"Yuri."
As he stepped out of the ballroom, Cedric called after him.
"Brother."
"What were you thinking?"
For once, Cedric's face was flushed. It was rare for him to show such agitation.
"It's fine."
"What do you mean, fine?"
"I had no choice."
Yuri grinned.
"Was I supposed to just stand there and watch Ena die?"
Cedric silently looked down at him, then let out a long sigh.
"Honestly…"
"I had no choice, right?"
Cedric ruffled Yuri's hair.
"You little brat…"
A strange emotion washed over Yuri. It had been so long since Cedric had tousled his hair like that.
He had always longed for that touch.
"Yuri."
"Yeah?"
"Do you want me to help?"
Cedric asked, his expression serious.
What did he mean by help?
Though Yuri couldn't tell exactly what he was implying, he knew that if Cedric put his mind to it, he really could do something.
His older brother, Cedric, was someone who couldn't be stopped by anything.
"No."
But Yuri shook his head.
"I started this, so I have to finish it myself."
"I see. Just don't get hurt, no matter what."
"Don't worry."
"Alright."
Cedric lightly patted Yuri's cheek and smiled warmly.
"I believe in you, Yuri Briol."
"Of course. What about the ballroom?"
"I'll take care of it."
Since Fiore wasn't the type to handle the situation, Cedric had to step in.
"Go get some rest."
"Okay."
As he watched Cedric's back retreating toward the ballroom, Yuri strengthened his resolve.
Despite being so young, he already knew how to comfort and lead others.
If the Empire hadn't invaded, what kind of country would Briol have become under Cedric's reign?
"This time, I'll see it."
Just as he had stepped forward to save Ena, he would now stand against the Empire—for the future of Briol that Cedric would build.
The duel tomorrow meant nothing to Yuri.
It didn't matter who the opponent was.
***
The next day.
On his way to the dueling arena to witness the trial by combat, Ernando ran into Sanned.
"Hello."
Ernando greeted him cheerfully.
Though he looked like an ordinary middle-aged man, Sanned was the captain of the royal guard in the knightly nation of Briol—a man of skill.
"Sir Ernando. Are you heading to the arena?"
"Yes, I am."
"I see. Hah…"
Sanned scratched the back of his head awkwardly.
"Were you at the ballroom yesterday?"
"Of course."
"Are the rumors true?"
"Excuse me? What rumors?"
"Well…"
After hearing Sanned's explanation, Ernando couldn't help but laugh.
Yuri's actions had certainly been heroic. What kind of prince challenges the Empire to a duel to save a maid?
But it seemed the truth had become quite distorted as the story spread.
"They're saying the prince stained the imperial prince's robes, blamed the maid, and then got scolded by the second prince to prove her innocence?"
"Well, I thought it was nonsense too…"
Ernando laughed again and clarified.
"It was actually the opposite."
"I thought so…"
"Well, the twisted version is more entertaining, I suppose."
Just imagining how Yuri would react to the rumors was amusing enough.
But unlike Ernando, Sanned still looked troubled.
"Regardless of the details, I'm worried about the upcoming duel."
"What do you think, Sir Sanned?"
"His Highness has remarkable potential, but if we're talking about the Empire's royal guard, even their squires can't be taken lightly."
"Trust in the prince."
"You seem quite confident."
"We've been through a lot together."
"I hope things turn out well, as you say. What a mess this is…"
As they chatted, they arrived at the arena.
Sanned approached one of the royal guards who had arrived earlier.
"His Majesty?"
"He's on his way."
Given the uncertainty of the duel, only selected individuals were allowed to observe.
Aside from Fiore, only the cleric in case of emergencies, the mage Ernando, and a few royal guards were present.
In contrast, the Empire had brought numerous armed knights, Georg, and even Ekaterina.
It was a lopsided turnout, thanks to the presence of the outstanding Swordmaster Fiore Briol.
If he were to turn murderous, no one could stop him, so they needed at least the appearance of balance.
"That boy must be the opponent."
"Yes."
Ernando looked at the boy standing across from Yuri.
He looked three or four years older than Yuri and had a well-balanced physique.
"Hm…"
Sanned let out a low murmur.
"The opponent's energy is very stable."
"Is that so?"
"For a squire to handle a sword that well… he really is from the royal guard."
The boy was swinging his sword through the air, and the speed was astonishing.
The Empire's royal guard was among the most elite forces on the continent. Even a mere squire was known to be as strong as a regular knight.
How would this duel end?
He should've been worried, but instead, Ernando felt his heart pounding with excitement.
"Sir, why are you smiling?"
Sanned asked quietly—not accusatory, just genuinely curious.
"Look."
Ernando pointed to Yuri.
Sitting casually, he didn't look nervous at all. In fact, he even winked when he noticed their gaze.
Sanned chuckled.
"Do you see it now?"
"I do. But I'm still uneasy."
"There won't be any serious incidents. His Majesty is present, after all."
"I suppose so…"
Though he brushed off Sanned's concerns, the real reason Ernando was smiling was something else.
He was simply enjoying this.
Yes, ever since that day—
The day he lost all his money to a prince at a card table—his heart had been pounding nonstop.
"We're ready on this side. How long are you going to keep swinging at air?"
Yuri asked, stretching his arms.
The boy didn't respond directly. Instead, his sword moved with even more menacing energy.
Georg laughed.
"No need to prepare further?"
"Anytime's fine."
"Good."
He gave a nod, and the boy nodded back.
"I'm ready too."
"Excellent."
Georg spoke to Fiore.
"Shall we begin now?"
Fiore gave a nod.
All unnecessary formalities were discarded. As soon as both entered combat stance, Fiore started the duel.
It was a trial in name only—a brutal sword fight until one could no longer stand.
Two immature boys clashing—no outcome would be surprising.
"Commence."
The sound of metal clashing rang out immediately.
To Ernando, the sight unfolding before his eyes felt strangely unreal.
Who could have imagined it?
That the young third prince would duel a warrior of the Empire to save a maid who stained the imperial prince's robe.
The one who was supposed to die lived, and the one who should have lived stood at death's door.
What greater magic could there be?
A strange light flickered in his eyes.
"Hm…"
Sanned let out a faint groan.
Even to Ernando, who wasn't versed in swordsmanship, the opponent's level was clearly high.
Though the fight wasn't overwhelmingly one-sided, it was clear that Yuri was struggling.
"Ernando."
For the first time since arriving at the arena, Fiore spoke.
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"What do you think?"
"You mean the duel?"
"Yes."
"You'd see it better than I would, Your Majesty."
"I want to hear your opinion."
"I…"
Ernando answered honestly.
"I don't know."
Those words carried many meanings.
Fiore's expression didn't change.
"Ernando, you once said that coming to Briol was in accordance with the Heavenly Secret."
"That's right."
"Let me ask again. Is it time for you to leave?"
Ernando shook his head.
"No, it isn't."
"I see."
Fiore smiled faintly.
It wasn't the expression one would expect from someone watching a duel that could cost his son's life.
"That's good. I'm glad you're not leaving."
"There you go again. You flatter this humble mage far too much. I don't deserve it."
"Humble? That's absurd."
People saw Ernando as nothing more than a combat mage.
That was only half true.
To stay beside a monster like Fiore, being decent at combat magic wasn't nearly enough.
"You are a Grand Mage."
The official title granted to Ernando by the Mage Tower was "Grand Mage."
A rank above the so-called "Master Mage," who was said to be capable of miracles.
To receive the title of Grand Mage, one must attain a unique magic path no other could replicate—a sole-path magic.
The level Ernando had reached was known as the Heavenly Insight Method.
He had been granted a magic that allowed him to glimpse into the fate of the world.
"Can I take that to mean nothing terrible will happen?"
"Well…"
Ernando looked back on the past.
As he had said before, he first came to Briol because of the Heavenly Secret.
Through the Heavenly Insight Method, he encountered someone most closely aligned with the fate of the world—
Fiore Briol.
People believed Fiore to be among the strongest on the continent.
But Ernando, who could glimpse the world's destiny, knew better.
It wasn't "among."
He was the strongest.
The most powerful martial force on the continent.
If he ever drew his sword, even the Empire could be brought to its knees.
Every decision he made shook the world's fate.
But Fiore never wielded that power for conquest—he simply walked the endless path of the sword.
The heavenly balance was restored, and the mightiest blade remained sheathed.
Perhaps Ernando no longer had reason to stay in Briol.
Then, one day—
He lost all his money to the third prince at a card table.
Everything. Gone.
He had tried to win—yet still lost.
Since attaining his unique magic path, he had never lost a game when playing seriously.
For the mage of fate to lose to a thirteen-year-old boy in a card game—it was absurd.
He could normally tell at a glance whether someone had a good or bad hand.
But with that boy, he saw nothing.
There was no fate.
"Your Majesty, who do you think is stronger?"
"The opponent."
"I see."
When he climbed Sword Mountain with Yuri, he experienced something.
Though he told Yuri it was a casino, that wasn't the truth.
Briol in flames.
A knight holding a sword.
Bleeding from every inch of his body, yet never yielding, swinging his blade until the end.
There was no mistaking it.
The black hair and eyes were symbols of Briol's royal bloodline, and the arrogant gaze belonged to the third prince himself.
When that boy collapsed in despair, Ernando finally awoke from the vision.
Even then, Ernando wasn't entirely convinced.
He suspected it might've been a delusion.
But after witnessing the reckless acts Yuri committed outside the palace, Ernando was driven by impulse to activate the Heavenly Insight Method.
He used that once-in-a-lifetime miracle just to look into the fate of a single boy.
And yet—
He saw nothing.
Not a single hint of fate.
As the weight of that realization struck him again, Ernando opened his mouth.
"Your Majesty. To be honest, I thought it was time for me to leave."
He had come to Briol in pursuit of the Heavenly Secret.
The one with the greatest fate had let it pass him by, obsessed with the sword.
He thought their paths had diverged.
But now he knew.
The one he was truly meant to meet wasn't Fiore Briol.
"But I was wrong."
He had followed fate to this place, only to meet someone who defied it. Was it the will of the world?
Or had the third prince, by defying fate, summoned him here?
He would watch with his own eyes—
Whether the fate of the world would devour that boy, or whether he would devour the world's fate instead.
Ernando's heart raced beyond control.
"I'll be counting on you from now on."
In that moment, a low cry rang out.
It came from the Empire's warrior.
The boy had stumbled, caught off guard by Yuri's sudden attack, and fell backward.
Yuri moved with a strange rhythm, seizing the upper hand and bringing his sword down.
Ernando could see it clearly.
The boy's fate—like a flower bud gathering dew to bloom—suddenly withered, blackened.
As Yuri's blade plummeted, the once-bright fate of a person veered into ruin.
Death was unavoidable—it came crashing down.
But then, again—
"Ah…!"
The flower bud that had completely withered turned again toward the sun.
In a twist between life and death, the boy's fate shone once more.
Sanned's voice muttered under his breath.
"Dear heavens… to twist his sword like that in that moment…"
Yuri had landed a strike that could not be dodged, and yet just before it pierced the opponent's throat, he altered its path.
Life to death, and death back to life.
A chain between survival and demise.
To Ernando, every instant of it was a miracle.
"How was that?"
"I lost."
The Empire's warrior admitted defeat.
Ernando beamed brightly.
A being detached from the world's destiny.
Yuri defied fate with his every step.
Life and death tangled in the same breath—and not just his own. The fortunes of all who watched the duel crumbled to ash.
Even Ernando's own future, as the one observing, collapsed into complete chaos.
Yuri Briol.
One Who Transcends Fate.
What is his role, and how will he reshape the fate of the world?
And then—
Five years passed.