The Traitorous Prince

Meetin

"Is it true?"

With his spear straight ahead, Gilliam clenched his teeth.

"Are you really BrunhiIt's 2nd Dragon Knight, Yuri Kanna Brunhilt?"

There was no way he did not know that name.

Was he the Crown Prince of the Brunhilt Empire, who had been appointed commander-in-chief of the Brunhilt Army three years ago?

It was all because of that commander that the Kingdom of Eindel got devastated in just half a year,

He was cold-blooded, ruthless, and used perfect strategies.

He was the worst enemy, with overwhelming force, combined with both literary and martial arts. But he was such a young boy?

Gilliam, who had received countless reports on his resourcefulness and feats, could not help but be puzzled.

But apart from embarrassment, there was a thought that crossed Gilliam's mind,

'This is an opportunity.'

The enemy commander-in-chief and the next Emperor was in front of him without a single piece of armor.

'It's a golden opportunity that will never happen again!'

If this man couId be killed here, there would be an opportunity for revival in the kingdom of Ei ndel.

It may of course be impossible to fight and win against the Dragon Knight. But if he could give his life to bring him on the road to the underworld...!

“…”

However.

However!

Gilliam glanced back, He saw an old mansion.

'Sig h...1

He could not be prepared to d ie so easily. It was because ofthe person he was guarding now.

When he died, they would fall into the hands of these savages.

'That's not enough. That's not enough...!'

Gilliam had an obligation to open a way for them to escape. To do so, he had to turn around and run away immediately.

However, the benefits that the Kingdom of Eindel would gain would be so great if he could deal with the Dragon Knight in front of him.

Would he live to save one person or die to save countless ones? Gilliam could not decide easily, The anguish between life and death, duty and gamble clouded his sight.

And it was his loss,

Stagger.

Was it because he was tired of the long confrontation? Yuri's posture faltered for a moment. After agonizing over retreating or rushing in, Gilliam's tensed body reacted automatically.

Tat-I

Gilliam flew offthe ground and slammed his spear like lightning. At that moment, Gilliam had a hunch.

'Damn it.'

He saw his own defeat.

Yuri's sword, which showed a gap on purpose, was swung opposite.

Flash-!

The battle ended at once.

Gilliam's spear broke in two before reaching Yuri. From the edge of the spear to its handle, it was long and cleanly split in two. Eindel's flag, which was wrapped around the spear, and Gilliam's body, which was holding the spear, were split in two.

Only then did Gilliam realize.

His worries were useless in the first place.

Running away to escape alive or dying together with the Crown Prince of the Empire were both impossible as the gap between the Prince and him was as large as between Heaven and Earth.

He realized it only at the moment when he put his arms together, and at the moment he felt the pain, everything was already over.

Gilliam murmured bitterly, vomiting blood.

"Damn... it..."

Thump!

Gilliam fell to the ground in the same posture as he stabbed with the spear.

“…”

Yuri held his sword still for a moment. There was not even a drop of blood on the blade.

"...Whoo,"

The glass, which exhaled and put the sword back into the sheath, looked down at Gilliam's fallen body.

"It was great, Sir Gilliam."

A satisfied smile hung over the boy's face.

"I will remember your name,"

Yuri tried to pass Gilliam's body and enter the mansion.

Grab!

At that moment, Gilliam moved his arm and grabbed Yuri's ankle. Surprised, Yuri looked down. Gilliam vomited blood and barely managed to speak.

"Don’t... don't touch the... Princess..."

"You punk!"

As soon as Sylphide pulled out her long sword and tried to hit Gilliam, Yuri raised his hand again to block it.

"Stop."

"But-I"

"He's already dead."

"What?"

When Sylphide looked again, Gilliam had indeed stopped breathing. Even though he was supposed to have an instant death from his fatal wound, he held onto his life for a few more seconds to say these words.

"That's a great will,"

He reached out to the bent glass and closed Gilliam's wide eyes.

"I want him buried properly. He is a knight worthy of that."

"...Yes, Your Highness."

Yuri, who took his foot out of Gilliam's loose hand, turned his head toward the mansion.

'He said it clearly.'

The words uttered by the knight just before his death.

They were not nonsense,

'The... Princess?'

So this knight was guarding the Princess of the Kingdom of Eindel?

Yuri examined the exterior of the mansion.

"What are you all doing? Collect the bodies and make a list of the dead soldiers on our side!"

Yuri said to Sylphide, who ordered the disposal ofthe dead soldiers.

"Sylphide, take care of this. I’ll go to that mansion."

Sylphide waved her hand in a hurry.

"Oh, wait a minute, please! I will follow you."

"No, I don't mind being alone, you stay here."

Surprised Sylphide shouted as Yuri tried to enter alone,

"B-But! We don't know what's inside. It could be dangerous, Your Highness!"

"...Dang erous?"

Smiling, Yuri tapped the sword on his waist.

"Who are you worried about, Sylphide?"

Sylphide stuttered, speechless.

"Well, right, but...!"

"It's all right. I’ll be right back. Or you don't trust me?"

"Ugh, that can't be!"

Sylphide nodded reluctantly.

"All right, but you have to go and come back quickly."

"Yes. Oh, do you prepare dinner, too? I'll look forward to it."

"Yes! I'm sure Your Highness will be satisfied with the meal...!"

Yuri, who smiled at Sylphide, who was burning with enthusiasm, entered the mansion alone.

His eyes were filled with doubts.

'The Princess of Eindel is here...?'

Walking inside, the purple eyes of the Crown Prince of Brunhilt narrowed.

* * R=.R222R=.R

Yuri searched the mansion, but no one was there. There was a faint sense of life in the barren mansion, but no one could be seen,

But Yuri had confidence. It was the place that this great knight risked his life to protect.

And at the end, he clearly talked about 'The Princess'.

'Is she hiding somewhere...? Or maybe there's a secret space.'

He searched everywhere with that thought, but there was none.

Yuri frowned while looking around.

If someone was hiding, he would have found them earlier. After this much search, he became convinced of it. There was no one here.

"What is it...?"

Was the knight's will just a load of crap to confuse him?

Yuri tilted his head,

"Hmm?"

Then, a low sound came from somewhere.

Yuri listened attentively.

-Lalala, lalalala.

It was a pure, clear, sweet voice. It was quite far away, but he could hear it clearly. Bewildered, Yuri murmured.

"...Someone's singing?"

Someone was singing,

Yuri tilted his head again, Singing in a fallen fortress?

'That's a terrible taste.'

Or a huge indifference.

Yuri walked toward the source of the sound, After leaving the mansion, there was a narrow road leading to the canyon in the back. The song came from a deeper canyon.

Yuri walked carefully along the path. Soon a small hill appeared,

It was a hill full of flowers.

"What, this is..."

Yuri looked up at the hill tremblingly, and soon started walking forward again.

He walked carefully one step at a time so that he did not step on the flowers.

The sound of the song was so close now that he could understand the lyrics.

"Round flower, triangle flower, square flower~ all so pretty! Lala la~ Let's all get along well~"

“…”

It was a ridiculously beautiful voice, but the lyrics were childish,

It was so childish that even children would not sing it, or perhaps only young children,

'Is a child singing? No, this voice...'

Although it was tender, it was undoubtedly the voice of a young adult woman.

'What...?’

Yuri, who had just climbed the hill, finally saw her back.

"Lalala~ lalalala~"

Her long, beautiful platinum blond hair touched the dirt floor, but she did not care.

She was only focused on making what she had in her hands,

'What is she doi ng?'

Without approaching any further, Yuri lifted his head and looked at what the woman was doing.

What she had in her hand was... a crown made with flowers. Her long, slender fingers wove the stems skillfully. One could tell from her skill that she had not done just once or twice.

"Mom's flower, dad's flower, big bro's flower, Huey's flower~ Everyone get along well~"

Her voice was very sweet, but the pitch and beat were so messed up that it was painful to hear.

In addition, as the lyrics were childish, it was an Indescribable strange song.

'Who is this woman...?'

Embarrassed, Yuri stepped forward and stepped on a branch,

Crack!

"Ack?!"

Surprised by the sound he made, Yuri jumped up.

"Huh?"

Only then did the woman notice Yuri's presence.

She slowly turned her head back, facing Yuri.

Yuri was breathless.

Deep green eyes stared at him. It was a warm, peaceful gaze.

Even without makeup, her graceful features were beautiful. Her white face was red from the cold of late winter,

Dry white winter flowers were decorating both sides of her hair, Flowers as pure as her.

At some point, the eyes of the two crossed.

A soulless voice came out of Yuri's mouth.

"Ah..."

Swish-

The wind blew. Dry winter petals shot up into the air.

Her platinum blonde hair and Yuri's black hair also swung in the wind.

"...Ack?!"

Yuri, who had been out of his mind for a while, hurriedly came to his senses and opened his mouth.

"Ah, well, uh, I mean..."

“…”

"I'm, I'm not a suspicious man, I'm the Commander-in-Chief of the Brunhilt Army, which now occupies this fortress..."

Yuri spoke gibberish in front of her innocent gaze. He did not even know what he was talking about.

“…”

It was then. Her apricot lips, which had been singing a little while ago, twitched all of a sudden.

"Hehe!"

She started laughing.

"...?"

Yuri blinked foolishly.

She had a upper tooth missing. So with that big smile, it was very...

It looked silly.

"Hello!"

She suddenly jumped out of her seat and put a flower crown on Yuri's head.

"Eh? What?"

Surprised, Yuri looked up at the flowers above his head, not even thinking of refusing.

On the Crown Prince's head, where a golden crown should be located, was a crown woven with winter flowers,

It suited him unexpectedly.

"Hello! Nice to meet you!"

"Oh, no, it's..."

"My name is Luna! Luna!"

Luna soon opened her eyes wide. Her green eyes sparkled with innocent curiosity.

"By the way, what is your name?"

Yuri, who was at a loss, stuttered and replied.

"Me, me? I'm Yuri..."

"Yuri? Yuri... Yuri I"

Luna, who repeated Yuri's name over and over again with a serious look, soon smiled,

"Yu ri!"

"Yes?"

"Yuri! Yuri!"

"Uh, uh, yes...?"

Grab!

Luna suddenly grabbed Yuri's hand.

"What?!"

Surprised Yuri tried to shake off his hand without realizing it.

"Yuri! That's a pretty name!"

Luna's hand, unlike her fine face, was surprisingly rough and incredibly warm.

'Yuri!'

It was like this person's hand.

“…”

So Yuri could not shake his hand off anymore.

Luna laughed as she shook his hand up and down.

"Yuri! Do you want to be friends?"

"Eh? What?"

Yuri's purple eyes opened wide with embarrassment.

Friend...?

"Yes? Let's be friends! Yes? Yes?"

Luna smiled brightly.

Yuri replied to her smile with a trembling smile.

It was something he had never seen in his life.

Such an incredibly pure smile...