Betrayal Knight's Joyful Faith

Chapter 498

“This is really…”The Saintess, who had been quietly listening to the contents of the letter, opened her mouth. She paused for a long moment, as if trying to decide what expression to assume. This caused the Chernion priest standing before her to tense up, sweat running down his back.

A slight smile appeared on Iris’ lips.

“I should say it’s a boldness that never gets old no matter how many times you watch it. It’s fun.”

Surprisingly, a rather cheerful voice flowed out. Thanks to this, the priest was able to relax his shoulders a little.

“What do you think, High Priest Lumiel? All the priests of the Luce Church, including you, are like pebbles lying on the road.”

“…If we compare it to the current situation, it doesn’t seem like a completely wrong analogy.”

Lumiel, who had been silent for a moment, smiled bitterly.

“We are just a bunch of baggage, and Sir Arendt is a great man who is active on the battlefield.”

“If that is your opinion, High Priest, then so be it.”

Iris giggled and gestured towards her priest.

“Bring me some paper.”

“…Forgive me for speaking out of turn, Saintess.”

The priest, after gauging her expression carefully, asked cautiously.

“I, a fool, simply cannot understand the point of dragging it out like this.”

“You’re immature. You just have to do what you’re told.”

Iris replied playfully, still wearing that faint smile.

“My apologies.”

“But I have no reason not to tell you. There’s no other reason. If we don’t use this method, we may never have the chance to eliminate Sir Arendt.”

Iris continued, leaning comfortably on the sofa.

“If I hadn’t done this, we wouldn’t have been able to have this conversation. He’s a very noble apprentice knight.”

“But…”

“Vincent, Blake, even Jin and Roger. They all lost their lives trying to eliminate him.” Thᴇ link to the origɪn of this information rᴇsts ɪn novel•fire.net

Just as the priest was about to refute, Iris gently cut him off.

“Even Lord Nikephoros failed. Don’t underestimate him. The child who ran wild without knowing what he was doing is finally being given a seat at the table.”

Iris’ unfocused silver gaze landed on where Lumiel was.

“It’s only natural for him to refer to the High Priest of the Holy Empire as a pebble. It’s arrogant, but not presumptuous.”

“…I was foolish.”

“No. You’re welcome to ask any questions you want. If you understand, why don’t you hurry up and run some errands?”

“Yes!”

At her soft voice, the priest quickly lowered his head.

“It seems that he insisted on weighing them even though he called them pebbles…”

When he left, Iris spoke to Lumiel again.

“As expected, Sir Arendt can’t ignore the High Priest. To have gained his trust is truly remarkable.”

“There’s one thing the priest doesn’t know. Sir Arendt is more generous than you might think.”

Lumiel answered in a calm tone.

“He has a bad habit of running away the moment you try to get even a little closer, and he always speaks harshly, but ultimately, he is a person who cannot bring himself to disparage another’s worth.”

“Indeed. What the High Priest said must be the essence of Sir Arendt. I’ve lived for a long time, but I’ve never met anyone with as many dualities as him.”

Iris, who was resting her chin on her hand, let out a small laugh.

“High Priest, I intend to propose exchanging all the priests, including you, with Sir Arendt.”

“I see.”

Lumiel nodded, as if she was listening to someone else’s story.

“But I don’t think you have even the slightest intention of sending them all away alive.”

“That’s right. I plan to use High Priest Lumiel as bait to lure out Sir Arendt… and annihilate the High Priest, Sir Arendt, and the priests of light.”

Iris continued speaking slowly.

“Of course, Sir Arendt is well aware of this. But even so, he’s willing to risk his life to save you. He’s not one to give up his life quietly, so I intend to do my best.”

Her silver eyes curved like crescent moons, creating a soft smile.

“It’s no exaggeration to say that the fate of the Caerleon Empire hinges on the survival of High Priest Lumiel. The High Priest and the priests of the Luce Church are worthy of it, no doubt.”

Iris, who had been silent for a moment, made a suggestion.

“…How about staying with me? I’m sure you’ll be a good friend to me, High Priest.”

“I refuse. My resolve remains unchanged.”

Lumiel shook her head with a soft smile.

“Saintess, you will not be able to achieve what you desire, no matter what happens to this old life.”

“Is that how you feel? What a pity.”

Iris nodded readily, as if she hadn’t expected much.

“But SIr Arendt will want you to survive to the end. I’m sure that will be the cause of his downfall.”

“No matter what happens, Arendt will not fall. He is a strong person.”

The tone of the High Priest’s voice was filled with strong conviction.

“Even in these small details, we don’t see eye to eye. I thought we could be good friends, but it seems I was wrong.”

Iris burst into a light laugh.

“Then, High Priest, we have some time left… Shall I tell you an interesting story?”

It was a somewhat unexpected topic. Lumiel looked at her questioningly. As if sensing her gaze, Iris opened her eyes and met her gaze.

“It’s about Sir Arendt. Perhaps it’s the last gift I can give to the High Priest… and perhaps it’ll even be a small way to avenge the resentment of the men I lost so pointlessly.”

“…”

Lumiel’s face hardened with a bad feeling. The silver in her eyes slipped back beneath her lids.

“And High Priest, you will understand the true reason why Sir Arendt hates the gods of this world so much.”

“…How does the Saintess know that?”

When Lumiel asked somewhat sharply, Iris answered.

“God told me.”

For a moment, Lumiel was speechless. Iris added with a small smile.

“I may oppose Him, but I don’t deny Sir Arendt’s hatred. What do you think? As the Light’s closest servant, would you like to glimpse behind the world’s veil?”

Count Stadler frowned.

“It’s certainly true, as you said, that it’s part of a ghoul. It seems to have a similar structure to the homunculus that spawns ghouls… but it’s not complete. To put it simply, you can think of it as the seed of a ghoul.”

As he continued speaking, Priest Benno’s face paled. Arendt, who had been watching from behind with crossed arms, asked briefly.

“Can you remove it?”

“It’s impossible in its current state. The moment you touch it, it will erupt immediately.”

Count Stadler took his eyes off Benno’s torso and straightened his posture. Benno, who had quickly wrapped his shirt around himself to hide the squirming ghoul, sobbed.

“Well, then there’s no way?”

“As I just said, if you tamper with it, even you, priest, will be affected by the mutation.”

Count Stadler spoke firmly.

“It’s not like there’s no way, but if something unusual happens to Priest Benno, the Saintess will definitely notice too…”

If the enemy knew Benno was free, they wouldn’t remain silent. If so, the lives of those still inside the Great Temple would be in danger.

Benno’s face went ashen at the thought.

But Arendt focused elsewhere.

“You’re saying there’s no way?”

“Yes. As I said, this is a type of ghoul, but even these aren’t as perfect as the ones Jiklin made while she was alive.”

“So, you’re saying this is also the type of ghoul that needs a core?”

Count Stadler nodded in response.

“Yes, that’s right. If we temporarily block the magic power and then remove the ghoul, we should be able to separate it from the body without much trouble. The most ideal method would be to gather the priests together, block the magic power of the entire space, and then remove the ghouls…”

The Count’s eyebrows furrowed.

“The problem is that it seems unlikely that the enemy will allow that to happen.”

“That’s right. Even if we rescue the priests safely, it’s still a problem. The moment they fall into our hands, they could be transformed into ghouls.’

As Arendt crossed his arms and said this, Benno’s face turned even paler.

“Well, then… you’re saying that rescuing the hostages is meaningless…”

“You, if you whine one more time, I’ll just throw you into a ghoul field. Just shut up.”

“…”

Count Stadler looked at Benno, who had suddenly become quiet, with a sympathetic gaze.

But that was only for a moment, as the Count turned to Arendt again and asked him worriedly.

“I’ve heard about the situation. Do you have any suggestions?”

“Well.”

Arendt gave his usual half-hearted reply.

“I’m thinking about it, but what should I do? I don’t think it’ll be resolved easily.”

“…”

Count Stadler, who was about to say something more, closed his mouth. He knew Arendt’s methods well.

. But even the Count wasn’t sure if he’d get what he wanted this time.

The Count, who had been thinking for a long time, finally spoke.

“Perhaps saving everyone might be difficult.”

“I know. This isn’t child’s play. They probably have no intention of letting me or the priests live.”

Arendt responded indifferently.

“We’re struggling because it’s hard. If it were easy, we wouldn’t be going through all this trouble, right?”

It was a remark perfectly typical of him. After remaining silent for a while, the Count nodded with a heavy face.

“I suppose so. I’ll trust only Sir Arendt. Then, shall we begin preparing for the barrier?”

“Yes. Lady Shekhinah will be here soon, so please move with her.”

Arendt spoke lightly and turned around. He was about to leave the room, leaving Benno and the Count behind.

“I’m getting busy, too. I think they’ll send me a reply soon. Besides, Salem seems to have finished the work that I assigned.”

“I don’t know what decision you’ll make, Sir Arendt.”

The Count added towards his back.

“Please refrain from doing anything dangerous. Your injuries haven’t fully healed yet.”

“I’ll handle it.”

Arendt shrugged and strode out of the room.

Looking at the door that had slammed shut, the Count put his hand on his forehead and sighed deeply.

After a while, Arendt’s premonition soon became reality.

With about twelve hours left until the day Iris had suggested, a reply came from the enemy.

The letter that flew in tied to the arrow read:

.