The Traitorous Prince

Or Yuri's sice

"Your Highness the Crown Prince."

At the call, Yuri opened his eyes,

“…”

His gloomy, purple eyes looked around quickly.

Yuri soon realized that he was lying on a hammock installed in a barracks, and that his face was covered with books.

He must have fallen asleep while reading a book.

"Your Highness, are you there?"

A woman's clear voice came from outside the barracks. Yuri answered immediately.

"Yes, come on in,"

A friendly voice, which still sounded a bit sleepy, came out through Yuri's red lips.

He lifted his upper body, loosening his proud shoulders, and placed the book that was covering his face on a table next to him.

The title of the old book called Complete CompUation of Brunhilt's Fairy Tales could be seen at a glance, but it was soon covered down, "Yawn..."

As he yawned and tried to smooth his tired brow, a woman with long silver hair braided from behind came into the barracks.

"Oh, my."

When she saw Yuri sitting on the hammock, she blinked in surprise.

"Were you sleeping? I'm sorry. Would you like to sleep a little more?"

"No, it's all right. I was just taking a break."

Yuri took a cloth next to him and tied his bluish black hair behind his head.

The knight enjoyed watching the crown prince's long and beautiful black hair neatly organized.

Soon afterwards, Yuri, who finished organizing his hair, faced the knight.

"What's going on, Sylphide?"

"Ah, Your Highness, I'm here to report the war situation."

The silver-haired knight, Sylphide, who was the 6th Dragon Knight of the Brunhilt Empire, smiled gently and confidently.

"We have captured the Ice Fortress."

"Oh, finally... we have it."

He smiled faintly.

"Well done, Sylphide."

"No, it's thanks to your help."

Sylphide scratched the back of her head awkwardly. Her black gauntlet, worn only on her right hand, made a creaking sound,

"If you hadn't come to support me, my corps would have been stuck to that fortress for years."

"Haha, you don't have to be modest, Sylphide. This is what you did."

Grinning, Yuri patted Sylphide on the shoulder.

She could not believe his words. There was no way it was true. Sylphide swallowed her dry saliva. It had already been three months since Sylphide and the 6th Brunhilt Corps attacked that fortress.

They killed the enemy commander and accumulated damage, but Eindel's soldiers fought hard.

The fortress with the canyon behind it was rugged, had sufficient supplies, and the morale of the soldiers was not dampened. There was no sign of breaking through for the Brunhilt Corps, who was weak when it came to holding a siege.

However, Crown Prince Yuri captured the fort in a week.

"I didn't imagine that diverting the water..."

The Ice Fortress had all kinds of supplies in stock, but not water,

This was because the river from the upper side of the canyon passed by the fortress. The river also served as a source of drinking water and a natural moat for the fortress.

On the first day of his arrival, Yuri took his corps to the upper stream of the river, bu ilt a dam, and diverted the water.

"Haha, I just tried, and I was lucky. Besides, it's winter, so they ran out of water quicker."

Yuri smiled with a nonchalant smile.

Simply put, the operation's performance was outstanding.

A week after the water supply was cut off, Eindel's soldiers collapsed from dehydration and were unable to fight.

Sylphide and the 6th Corps took the opportunity to attack and finally capture the Ice Fortress.

The impregnable fortress collapsed in a week under the support of the crown prince.

"I only thought of fighting with weapons, but I never thought of such a tactic."

Sylphide smoothed her braids shyly.

"...I've never actually met an enemy strong enough to have to use my head like this."

The Brunhilt Imperial Army was strong.

In particular, the seven Dragon Knights and their guards were all bearers of dragon blood. They had never been defeated in a situation where they could fight with weapons,

"...Surely our troops are strong, so when it comes to individual combat power, Eindel's soldiers are no match."

Yuri spoke calmly and put on its coat,

"But our army is small, No matter how strong it is, the war has already lasted half a year, and everyone must be tired. It's better to reduce unnecessary fights, isn't it?"

The crown prince could have joined the front line and smashed the enemy's defense head-on,

But he did not, He hid his power, put down his sword, and found another breakthrough to solve the problem.

Such an accident itself was unfamiliar and phenomenal to a warrior like Sylphide.

With his coat on, Yuri smiled kindly.

"All right, shall we go?"

"Yes, Your Highness!"

The two walked out of the barracks side by side. Yuri raised his head,

Smoke was rising throughout the fortress in the distant canyon. And the Black Dragon flag was hanging on the highest wall of the fortress. It was the Brunhilt imperial flag. It meant that the capture of the fortress was over.

"You didn't touch those who surrendered, did you?"

"Of course. Your Highness said not to even before the war started."

The two rode their horses leisurely toward the fortress. The bodyguards who had been waiting hurriedly followed them.

"The territory of the kingdom of Eindel is five times larger than our Empire, and the population is twenty times larger, so we may win the war, but we cannot rule it by force forever."

Sylphide looked at the smart, thoughtful prince's profile with a pleased face.

"If you want to rule a subordinate state peacefully after the war, you shouldn't incur excessive resentment. Keep this in mind, Sylphide."

"I've heard it so many times that I feel like I'm going to get a scab on my ears, Your Highness,"

"But I'll tell you again next time. You know, right?"

Yuri smiled. Sylphide covered her mouth and chuckled.

"Now that we took this fortress... Is the capital Eindelgrass the only thing left in the West?"

Yuri drew a map of the continent in his head.

In the North was the Brunhilt Empire, their homeland on a desolate land of snow and ice,

South from there was the Kingdom of Eindel, which controlled the warmest and richest land on the continent. Both the west and south of the continent belong to the Kingdom of Eindel.

To the east were about a dozen small countries. They united to form a single faction, which was called the City-State Federation.

Thirty percent of the Eindel army was on the northern front and seventy percent on the eastern front.

The Brunhilt army had to fight a fierce battle in the eastern part of the kingdom to defeat the main forces of the kingdom.

And when the eastern part was cleared up to some extent, it began to target the Ice Fortress, a key fortress in the west, and the capital city of Eindelgrass at the western end of the kingdom.

"Canis, you're doing well in Eindelgrass, right?"

Yuri murmured anxiously. Sylphide burst into laughter again.

"Haha, he's the Silver Wolf. I'm sure he'll do well on his own."

"It's still the capital, I thought that it may be too much to attack with just one corps."

"Is Sir Canis an ordinary man? He'll probably come back triumphantly in a few days."

"But since this situation here is over, I wonder if I should bring my corps in support..."

Yuri frowned and looked toward the west.

Sylphide pointed to the fort ahead.

"Let's take a rest today. Aren't your soldiers tired after joining the siege? You need to give them a day to rest."

"Well..."

"It's the day we destroyed the most powerful fortress in the kingdom of Eindel, Shouldn't we celebrate by giving meat and alcohol to the soldiers?"

Sylphide looked at the Brunhilt soldiers who were sitting all over the battlefield and resting, Everyone had dark complexions.

The winners were tired of the war as well.

"Since the war is getting longer, we have to comfort our soldiers' morale."

“…”

Yuri, who was listening quietly, smiled and nodded.

"You're right, Sylphide. I will do that."

"Hum, it's been a while since we had a nice meal together."

Sylphide, who was thinking about what kind of dish the exclusive chef should cook, clapped her hands.

"Come to think of it, you're an adult now, so you should drink too! Are you all right, Your Highness?"

Yuri's face hardened in a heartbeat,

"Ugh! Please cut me some slack, Sylphide. I don't like alcohol..."

"Huh? Drinking and dancing are definitely a requirement to be king though? I'll teach you well. Whoo-hoo, there's a couple of good bottles of alcohol that just happened to be captured."

"Give me a break, you drunkard!"

Yuri and Sylphide entered the fortress with a smile on their faces. The soldiers, who had been aligned in advance, saluted the Dragon Knights all at once. Yuri got off his horse and looked around.

The situation was almost over. The corpses were being gathered together, and the captive prisoners were being dragged out.

"Everyone did a good job. Is the occupation completely over?"

"Your... Your Highness, it's..."

A captain of the 6th Corps reported in a cold sweat.

"Almost every section of the fortress is under control, but only one place is still..."

"One place?"

"There's a room in the innermost part of the fortress, It hasn't been taken yet."

Sylphide tilted her head and asked,

"How many enemy soldiers are there left?"

"Well, it's... It's only one man."

"What?"

"One knight from Eindel... is still resisting,"

Surprise flew across Yuri's eyes.

"That's funny. Can you guide me to the place?"

"Yes, yes! Please follow me!"

The captain took the lead, followed by Yuri with a leisurely pace.

Sylphide grumbled discontented next to Yuri.

"My guards will sort it out, so you don't have to go..."

"The castle fell. Anyone knows the situation here is over. It's normal to surrender."

Yuri grinned.

"But if there is still a high-spirited knight who resists, shouldn't I also show respect as the commander?"

“…”

This was another difference between Yuri and the other Dragon Knights. Yuri did not have a strong body, but a strong mind. That was why he respected the enemy. He considered noble an enemy who showed a willingness to fight regardless of death, even though he could be easily torn when confronted by force.

For Sylphide, things that could be smashed with one hand were all the same, whether it was a fly or a soldier from Eindel, so she could not quite understand...

Step, step.

The fortress was full of puddles of blood and corpses from the battle until a while ago.

Yuri and Sylphide walked nonchalantly around such a bleak landscape.

It was not unti I the innermost part of the fortress, aImost at the foot of the mountain, that the appearance of the mansion was visible. It was an old but luxurious place. It was probably the place where the commander lived.

"Ah!"

At the entrance, a young Eindel knight was swinging a spear, surrounded by Brunhilt soldiers.

He had arrows stabbed all over his body, his armor and helmet were damaged, and his cloak was torn. His lips were dry as if he had not had water for a few days.

But his eyes were shining brightly, and his spear swung like a lightning bolt. The flag of the kingdom of Eindel, wrapped around the spear, fluttered proudly even though it was soaked in blood.

Bodies of Brunhilt soldiers were on the ground around him. The knight instantly pierced with his spear the necks of the two Brunhilt soldiers who had just attacked him.

"I can't let you get past this, you filthy northern savages!"

A fresh smile formed around Yuri's mouth.

It was a satisfactory smile of praise,

"That's cool."

"Your Highness, I'll take care of it."

When Sylphide tried to pull out the long sword on her back, Yuri raised his hand to block her.

"No, I'll do it."

Swish

Yuri drew a long sword from his waist, It was a sword that looked a bit large for Yuri, who was not very tall.

From the handle to the guard was white, and the blade was black. The sword with a complex magical pattern was colored like the night sky.

A rare sword made by smelting the teeth of the last dragon and Emperor Krakelsus, the Emperor's treasured sword passed down from generation to generation in the Brunhilt imperial family. Sylphide muttered the beautiful sword's name unconsciously.

"White Night..."

As Yuri walked forward, the Brunhilt soldiers surrounding the knight moved to the side.

The knight looked at Yuri with slightly startled eyes.

Wearing nothing but a coat without armor, Yuri stood in front of the knight. A gentle smile hung on his face.

"Proud Knight of Eindel, what is your name?"

The knight's teeth clenched after realizing his opponent's skills.

The knight, who held the spear upright and stood forward, uttered his name in a dry voice,

"I am William Wright's son, Gilliam Wright."

"I am the second Dragon Knight of the Brunhilt Empire, Yuri Kanna Brunhilt."

Yuri, who slightly lowered his head, raised his sword in front of him.

"I'll show you courtesy, Sir Gilliam..."

There was a long silence between the two knights facing each other.

Then, the fight ended at once.