The 3rd Prince of the Fallen Kingdom Returns

8. The One Who Transcends the Heavenly Mandate

“Yuri.”

As he exited the ballroom, Cedric called to him.

“Brother

“What were you thinking?”

Rarely did Cedric’s face flush. It was unusual for him to display excitement.

“It’s fine.”

“Fine?”

“What else could I do?”

Yuri smiled broadly.

“Just stand by and watch Ena die?”

Cedric quietly looked down at him and let out a long sigh.

“Really… ”

“What else could I do?”

Cedric ruffled Yuri’s hair.

“This guy… ”

Yuri was engulfed by a strange emotion. It had been so long since Cedric had tousled his hair like this.

He had always missed that touch.

“Yuri.”

“Yes.”

“Should I help you?”

Cedric asked with a serious expression.

How exactly would he help?

Though Yuri couldn’t be certain of his intent, he knew Cedric could genuinely make anything happen if he wished.

His brother, Cedric, was capable of anything.

“No.”

But Yuri shook his head.

“I started this, so I need to finish it myself.”

“Alright, but don’t get hurt.”

“Don’t worry.”

“Okay.”

Cedric tapped Yuri’s cheek lightly and smiled warmly.

“I trust you, Yuri Briol.”

“Of course. What about the ball?”

“I’ll handle it.”

Since Fiore couldn’t be expected to restore the situation, Cedric had to step in.

“Go and rest.”

“Alright.”

Watching Cedric’s back as he returned to the ballroom, Yuri gathered his resolve.

Even at a young age, Cedric knew how to console and lead people.

What kind of nation would Briol have become under Cedric’s reign if the Empire hadn’t invaded?

“This time, I’ll see it.”

Just as he had taken on a duel to save Ena, he would confront the Empire for the future that Cedric would build for Briol.

The duel scheduled for the next day posed no problem for Yuri.

It didn’t matter who the opponent was.

* * *

The next day.

On his way to observe the duel trial, Hernando encountered Saned.

“Hello.”

Hernando greeted him cheerfully.

Saned, who looked like the typical man one would find anywhere, held the position of Commander of the Royal Guard in Briol, a Nation of Knights.

“Sir Hernando. Are you heading to the training ground?”

“Yes, I am.”

“I see… this is quite… something.”

Saned scratched the back of his head, looking a bit troubled.

“Were you at the ballroom yesterday?”

“Of course.”

“Is the rumor true?”

“Rumor? What rumor?”

“Well…”

After listening to Saned’s explanation, Hernando couldn’t help but chuckle.

Yuri’s actions were certainly heroic. What prince would challenge the Empire to a duel to save a maid?

However, as rumors spread, the truth seemed to become distorted.

“They say the Third Prince soiled the Second Prince’s robe and shifted the blame onto a maid, prompting the Second Prince to reprimand him and demand he prove his innocence?”

“Though I also thought it was nonsense… ”

After laughing aloud again, Hernando explained the situation.

“It’s the opposite..”

“I knew it…”

“Well, that version is more interesting.”

Imagining how Yuri would react to the skewed story was amusing.

Unlike Hernando, however, Saned still seemed burdened with concern.

“Regardless of the circumstances, I’m worried about the upcoming duel.”

“How does it look to you, Sir Saned?”

“While His Highness is quite talented, if it’s the Empire’s Imperial Guard, even a mere squire wouldn’t be an easy opponent.”

“Trust in His Highness.”

“You hold the Prince in esteem.”

“I’ve spent time with him.”

“I hope very much that it unfolds as you say. What an ordeal… ”

Still conversing, they arrived at the sparring ground.

Saned asked the royal guard who had arrived before them.

“Is His Majesty here?”

“He’s coming soon.”

Since no one knew what might happen, the duel was observed by a select group.

Aside from Fiore, the attendants included Hernando, a priestess and mage for emergencies, and several royal guards.

In contrast, the Empire was accompanied by many heavily armed knights, Georg, and even Yekaterina.

The asymmetric arrangement was due to King Fiore Briol, a distinguished sword master, being present.

If he intended to cause harm, no one could stop him, so they at least prepared a lineup.

“That boy is the opponent?”

“Yes.”

Hernando looked at the boy standing opposite Yuri.

He appeared to be a few years older than Yuri, with a well-balanced physique.

“Hmm…”

Saned groaned faintly.

“His posture is remarkably stable.”

“Really?”

“For someone from the Imperial Guard to handle the sword so skillfully, it’s no surprise.”

The boy was swinging his sword in the air, and his speed was incredibly fast.

The Empire’s Imperial Guard was one of the most formidable military forces on the continent. Even if this boy was just a mere squire, he was said to be as strong as any knight.

How would this duel end?

Hernando, who should have been concerned, instead felt his heart racing with excitement.

“Sir, why are you smiling?”

Saned asked in a quiet voice. It wasn’t an accusation, but a genuinely curious expression.

“Look.”

Hernando pointed to Yuri.

Perched casually, Yuri did not seem the least bit tense. Instead, he sensed their eyes on him and winked.

Saned couldn’t help but smile, too.

“Do you see now?”

“Yes, but I’m still uneasy.”

“There will be no major incident. His Majesty is here, isn’t he?”

“True enough.”

Although he brushed Saned off lightly, Hernando smiled for another reason.

He was simply enjoying himself.

Indeed, it has been like that since then.

Ever since that day at the gambling table when he lost all his money to the prince, his heart had been racing nonstop.

“Are you done yet? How much longer are you going to keep waving your sword in the air?”

Yuri stretched and asked.

The boy didn’t respond directly. Instead, he swung his sword with a much fiercer aura.
Georg chuckled.

“Need not any more preparation?”

“I am ready anytime.”

“Very well.”

As Georg nodded, so did the boy.

“I’m ready too.”

“Good.”

Georg spoke to Fiore.

“How about we begin now?”

Fiore nodded.

After all the unnecessary formalities, the moment the two assumed battle stances, Fiore initiated the duel.

Though it was called a trial, it was essentially a brawl, continuing until one could no longer fight.

With these two unripe boys, any outcome was possible.

“Begin.”

The sound of metal clashing immediately rang through the air.

Hernando thought the scene unfolding before him was somehow unrealistic.

Who would have imagined it?

The young Third Prince would duel a squire of the Empire to save a maid blamed for soiling the Prince’s robe.

The one who should have died lived, and the one who should have lived was standing at the edge of death.

Is there any magic more wondrous than this?

A strange light gleamed in his eyes.

“Hmm…”

Saned let out a soft groan.

Even to Hernando, who had no expertise in swordsmanship, it was clear that the opponent’s skill level was high.

The match wasn’t overwhelmingly one-sided, but it was evident that Yuri was struggling.

“Hernando.”

For the first time since arriving, Fiore spoke up.

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“What do you think?”

“Are you referring to the duel?”

“Yes.”

“I think you’ve observed it better than I could.”

“I am curious about your opinion.”

“I… ”

Hernando responded honestly.

“I don’t know.”

Those words carried many meanings.

Fiore’s expression remained unchanged.

“Hernando, you said you came to Briol following fate.”

“That’s right.”

“I ask once more. Has the time come for you to leave?”

Hernando shook his head.

“No, it hasn’t.”

“Is that so?”

Fiore smiled faintly.

It was not an expression one would wear while watching a duel with his son’s life on the line.

“I’m glad you didn’t say you were leaving.”

“There you go again. You commend this humble mage so, it’s embarrassing.”

“Humble? Nonsense.”

People often saw Hernando as simply a battle-skilled mage.

That was only half the truth.

To keep a monster like Fiore by his side, mere combat proficiency was not enough.

“You are a Grandwizard.”

The official rank bestowed upon Hernando by the Mage Tower was “Grandwizard.”

A being one step above the so-called “Master Wizard,” who is said to be able to perform miracles.

To earn the title of Grandwizard, one must possess a unique and unreplicable form of magic—an “Exclusive Magic Path” (獨門魔道).

The realm Hernando reached was the “Method of Observing the Heavenly Mandate” (天命觀照式).

He was granted a magic that allowed him to glimpse the world’s fate.

“Should I understand that to mean there is no problem?”

“Well… I’m not sure…”

Hernando looked back on the past.

He had first come to Briol due to the aforementioned heavenly prophecy.

Hernando met the one closest to the world’s fate through the Method of Observing the Heavenly Mandate.

Fiore Briol.

People believed him to be near the strongest on the continent.

But Hernando, who could glimpse the world’s fate, knew otherwise.

It wasn’t just close.

He was the strongest.

The most powerful force on the continent.

If he took up a sword, even the Empire would easily bow before him.

Every decision he made shook the world’s fate.

But Fiore never expressed his power and simply continued down the path of the sword.

The heavenly mandate had been restored, and the strongest sword remained unsheathed.

There was no longer any reason to stay in Briol.

But then, one day.

He lost money to the Third Prince at the gambling table.

He lost everything.

Even though he had tried to win, he lost.

After obtaining the Exclusive Magic Path, this was the first time he had lost money in a game he had truly engaged in.

It was unthinkable that a mage who could observe the heavenly mandate would lose to a mere thirteen-year-old boy at cards.

One could tell at a glance whether the opponent’s hand was good or bad.

However, nothing was reflected in that little boy’s eyes.

There was no fortune to be seen.

“Who do you think is stronger, Your Majesty?”

“The opponent is stronger.”

“I see.”

When he ascended the sword mountain with Yuri, he too had gone through something.

He had told Yuri it was a gambling hall, but that wasn’t the truth.

The burning Briol.

A knight with a sword.

Despite bleeding profusely all over his body, he swung his sword without ever yielding in that desperate state.

How could he not recognize it?

The black hair and eyes were the symbol of the Briol Royal Family, and the arrogant eyes belonged to the Third Prince himself.

As he watched him collapse in despair, Hernando awoke from the vision.

Until that moment, Hernando wasn’t completely certain.

He suspected it might just be a misunderstanding.

But after seeing the crazy things Yuri did outside the palace, Hernando impulsively used the Method of Observing the Heavenly Mandate.

That miracle, which he didn’t know when he could use again, was used just to see the future of one boy.

Yet.

He saw nothing.

It wasn’t just the absence of fortune.

He had no destiny.

Shuddering again at the implication of that fact, Hernando opened his mouth.

“Your Majesty, the truth is, I thought it was time for me to leave.”

He had come to Briol following the heavenly mandate.

The one with the strongest mandate had been captivated by the sword, allowing his era to pass him by.

He had thought their connection had been severed.

But now he understood.

The one he was truly meant to meet was not Fiore Briol.

“However, it seems I was wrong.”

Having come here in pursuit of the mandate, he encountered one who defied it—was this the world’s call?

Or had the Third Prince defied the mandate to summon him?

He would watch with his own eyes.

Would the world’s fate consume him, or would he consume the world’s fate?

Hernando’s heart raced with excitement he couldn’t contain.

“I look forward to working with you in the days to come.”

At that moment, a low gasp erupted.

It was from the Imperial’s squire.

The boy, caught off guard by Yuri’s unexpected attack, stumbled backward and fell to the ground.

Yuri, with his peculiar movements, seized the advantage and swung his sword downward.

Hernando could see it.

The boy’s destiny—like a budding flower gathering dew to bloom in full—suddenly withered into a pitch-black husk.

Yuri’s plunging sword caused the radiant trajectory of a human’s heavenly mandate to abruptly veer into ruin.

The unavoidable death bore down in that fleeting instant.

And then, again—

“Ah…!”

The completely wilted bud lifted its head once more, reaching toward the sun.

At the reversal between life and death, the boy’s destiny reclaimed its brilliance.

Saned’s muttering could be heard.

“Unbelievable… to twist the blade in that situation….”

Yuri had unleashed an inevitable strike, but just before it pierced the boy’s neck, he altered its path.

From life to death, then death back to life again.

The cycle of life and death.

To Hernando, every moment of it was a miracle.

“What do you think?”

“I have lost.”

The Imperial squire admitted defeat.

Hernando smiled brightly.

A being beyond the grasp of the world’s fate.

Every step Yuri took defied fate.

Life and death intertwined in an instant. Not only that, but the destinies of everyone who had witnessed the duel crumbled into ashes.

Even Hernando’s own future, as he observed the scene, had dissolved into complete chaos.

Yuri Briol.

The One Who Transcends the Heavenly Mandate.

What role would he play, and how would he impact the world’s fate?

And so,

Five years have passed.