Yurik sat in the mansion and waited for Rudy.
As he sat still, his mind was full of doubts.
Rudy is the son of his older brother, Harpel.
He is the son of the person who betrayed him, so he can be betrayed at any time.
That thought didn’t leave my mind.
“hello.”
After a while, Rudy arrived at Yuric’s mansion.
“okay.”
Yurik responded to Rudy’s greeting with a short greeting.
‘The exterior is bungee.’
Rudy’s greeting was polite enough.
Still, Yuri didn’t like it.
Anyone can seem ok on the outside.
Because there were many ways to hide from the outside even if you had an insidious plan inside.
Yurik stretched out his hand in front of him.
“Sit down.”
“thank you for the invitation.”
“No need to thank you. I did not invite you to accept your offer.”
“Isn’t that what gave me that space? I am grateful.”
When Rudy looked at Yurik with a smile, Yurik snorted.
“Then let’s get to the point.”
Without delay, Yurik continued his speech.
“I can’t help you.”
It was a firm word.
“You must feel something when you see this mansion and me.”
Yurik’s mansion was very shabby.
There was only one maid as a servant, and even that was an old woman.
A shabby mansion with no family and no servants.
It was said to be a collateral related to the Astrian family, but the only property he had was this shabby mansion.
“I don’t know what you want, but I have already lost all my strength. I don’t have the money, I’ve been out of magic for over ten years, and my body has already rotted.”
He did not take care of his body, so his belly was thick, and his appearance was very ugly.
They used basic magic to survive in such a place, but they did not develop compared to the past.
Rather, it was degenerate.
He was kicked out of his family and never read a book about magic.
So, he had forgotten what he knew.
“I only have a few people.”
I felt betrayed by my older brother and never knew when I was going to die.
So Yurik made connections to survive.
At least if there were people around, even if he was the older brother who was the head of Astria, he wouldn’t be able to kill himself recklessly.
That didn’t mean I didn’t trust them.
“Even those people do not know when they will betray me.”
To keep people around, you have to have great abilities and backgrounds, but Yurik doesn’t have anything right now.
Now that I do not belong to the political world, even if there are people around, I do not know what will happen if I enter the political world to help Rudy.
Those people just like to chat with Yurik himself, not to be friends in politics.
“So don’t waste your time… … .”
“I don’t think so.”
“… … What?”
“As your uncle said, you don’t have anything right now. Even so, the people around you believe in and follow your uncle as much as you do. Even if you return to politics, they will follow you.”
At Rudy’s words, Yurik smirked.
‘I can see why Owen said he looked like he was looking at me.’
It wasn’t a pleasant laugh, though.
It was a bitter laugh.
Yurik once thought like Rudy.
The nobles who supported them at a time when the possibility of becoming a successor was low.
Even if he was less than Harpel, he believed in them as he supported him.
and was betrayed
“You trust people too much.”
“That is the basis of my strength.”
Rudy’s words were full of confidence.
“I give you one piece of advice. If you trust people like that, one day you will be stabbed in the back of the head.”
“You just have to get up again.”
“Can you say such a thing even after being betrayed?”
It hurts more than you think to be betrayed by someone you trusted.
so hard to get up again.
“Even if that person stole everything about you?”
“My original goal was survival.”
Rudy gave a small smile.
“I thought that I just had to survive somehow. As I struggled like that, I started seeing people around me one by one. I got help from him, and I also helped him. Living like that changed my mind.”
Rudy’s own survival came first.
Of course, he needed the people around him to survive, so he saved the people around him even if he suffered a little.
But not now.
“What would you do if you were suspicious of other people and pushed them away? What is the meaning of being so suspicious and surviving alone?”
Rudy already knows how to survive.
The future implemented that method, and in the end survived.
However, if you do that, everyone dies.
The academy burned down.
That scene was still vivid in my mind.
When I saw the situation, I looked into my own emotions.
It felt worse than dying.
No matter how strong you are, if you survived, what would it mean?
I felt like I had lost everything.
“Even if I am betrayed, I will trust the people around me and move forward. And I will build up my strength to protect the people around me.”
Life for those around you.
In a way, it was also a life for himself.
I need to have people around me.
that’s the happiest
For those around me, it was for me.
“From my point of view, I can only tell you not to push the people around you too much because you could be betrayed. As Uncle said, the people around you are those around you who have nothing. It won’t make a big difference if your uncle goes a different path.”
Yurik stared at Rudy like that.
It was like seeing an innocent child, or seeing a saint.
“Even if you are betrayed, are you going to trust the people around you?”
“yes.”
“Then how do you plan to react when betrayed?”
“I will think about it then.”
“Would the damage be severe?”
“I don’t want to doubt people, though. There are many strong enemies around me. It’s hard to identify those people, but if you doubt the people around you, will you be able to win?”
“… … .”
Yurik smiled sadly.
‘Did you say you were similar to me?’
It wasn’t at all.
Rudy is different from her past self.
He liked people and trusted people, but he didn’t think that way.
In a way, it was blind faith.
It was just a child who never even thought about betrayal.
However, Rudy had a purpose.
Rudy is an end in itself.
It was Rudy’s purpose to protect, trust, and be with her people.
However, he did not completely trust Rudy.
He wasn’t sure if those words were meant to be sincere, or if he was just making up for his own help.
However.
“What do you want me to help you with?”
A little bit opened his mind.
At least I wanted to see what Rudy did to make sure he was telling the truth.
***
Early morning when it snows.
tap. I hear the sound of a bonfire burning.
All kinds of papers were scattered around it, and behind it was a large map.
Aryandor was there, half lying on the sofa, fiddling with a dagger.
“Is he still hanging out near the Astrian family?”
“It seems there is no movement now. It doesn’t seem like I’ve given up, but I think it’s true that I procrastinated.”
In front of him stood Damon, who was guarding the necromancers near the Astrian family.
“Then you can come back now.”
“Yeah, as long as he doesn’t move, he’ll be here.”
“No, I don’t have time to be here.”
Aryandor got up.
“Go straight to work.”
“… … What are you talking about?”
At Damon’s question, Aryandor pointed backwards with the dagger in his hand.
A large map was spread out behind Aryandor, and an area was marked with an X.
“Astina Persia.”
When the name came out of Aryandor’s mouth, Damon’s expression turned cold.
The guy who killed Jeffrey.
Damon didn’t get along very well with Jeffrin, but at least he had a camaraderie.
“Are you planning to attack?”
“okay.”
“It will consume a lot of troops.” “That’s why I called you.”
Damon is a user of necromancy magic.
He is a wizard who can create an army by himself.
This was the reason why the rebels could continue to lead to victory even if they lacked troops compared to the empire.
Aryandor got up and put his dagger on the map.
The place where the dagger was stuck was Astina’s hometown, the Persian estate.
“You and I go.”
“It will not be easy. No matter how much the chief goes… … .”
“Know. The troops have moved toward the Persian territory.”
“you’re right. It is a commercial city, so it seems to be done to protect it.”
“It must also be to protect the people around Astina Persia.”
For whatever reason, it is true that many soldiers were deployed to the Persian territory.
“There is no need to occupy the Persian territory.”
Aryandor pulled out the dagger he had plugged into the map.
“I’m just going to warn you.”
He smiled and touched the blade of the dagger.