Betrayal Knight's Joyful Faith

Chapter 456

“Oh, you’re back.”A familiar voice suddenly caught their attention. Jereon, who had just entered the Crown Prince’s private training ground, looked slightly surprised.

Laius was the first to greet him.

“We are back, sir.”

“Thank you for your hard work this time, Captain. I heard you achieved great results.”

Jereon, who had bowed to the captain, smiled bitterly when he saw Arendt among the knights.

“Like everyone else, you, Sir Arendt, are as tattered as ever.”

“It’s been a while, Aide.”

Arendt nodded at him.

“I thought you wouldn’t even acknowledge me, but you’re being quite kind to me.”

“Hahaha… Sir Arendt’s jokes never seem to get old no matter how much time passes.”

Jereon answered calmly.

“His Highness the Crown Prince will decide whether or not you are guilty. I am merely serving His Highness as his aide. This is not a matter where personal feelings can interfere.”

“It sounds like you are saying that you are very sorry about it privately.”

“Thanks to Sir Arendt, I’ve been up all night for days. That’s truly regrettable.”

Jereon answered nonchalantly and changed the subject.

“You’ve all worked hard. You must be extremely tired, so His Highness has ordered you to return to the dormitory for today’s rest. Captain Laius, you are included with that too. I’ve prepared a separate guest room for Prince Llewellyn as well.”

“…”

Laius’ face hardened slightly. The other knights also swallowed briefly.

A moment later, the expected words came out of the aide’s mouth.

“Sir Arendt, please come with me for a moment. His Highness said that he would like to hear a detailed report from you.”

“I will go with him as well.”

“No.”

Laius opened his mouth, but Jereon answered firmly.

“His Highness has ordered that only Sir Arendt be brought in.”

An eerie silence flowed through the training grounds. Salem, who had been observing the situation, looked at Arendt with apprehension. But Arendt simply shrugged, as usual.

“Let’s go.”

“Yes. I have also prepared some refreshments that Sir Arendt likes.”

Jereon smiled and nodded. There was a chill in his affectionate voice.

As he left the training ground and followed Jereon, he felt the gazes of people pouring in from all sides.

Naturally, the atmosphere wasn’t particularly friendly. If Jereon hadn’t been there, it seemed like anyone would have rushed in.

This situation where everyone was on guard against him was not so unfamiliar.

Because Arendt von Eckhart originally played the role of a traitor.

As he was thinking about that, the aide who was walking ahead suddenly asked him a question.

“Are you feeling better?”

“It’s okay. Lord Lexion somehow fixed the broken and punctured parts. I can’t say I’m completely fine yet, though.”

“Yes, it looks like it.”

Jereon slowed down his pace a little for Arendt, who was limping a little.

“Can I ask what happened?”

“I’m sure Sir Arendt knows that Her Excellency Lumiel has formed a separate force.”

“It looks like she was the one who caught the tail first.”

Arendt answered leisurely.

“Well, the imperial troops must have been busy fighting.”

“Seeing you speak so calmly, it seems like it wasn’t a false accusation.”

“Aren’t you already sure of that?”

Arendt shrugged as Jereon glanced at him.

“He must have already completed a thorough verification. I don’t believe His Highness is so incompetent that he couldn’t even detect the trickery of a mere apprentice knight.”

“Well… It seems His Highness is already very upset.”

While they were having that conversation, the two stood in front of Cantares’ office.

Jereon knocked quickly twice and opened the door.

“Aren’t you going in, sir?”

“As I said before, His Highness wishes to speak with Sir Arendt alone.”

Jereon smiled and stepped back.

“If you need anything, please call me. I’ll be waiting nearby.”

“…”

It seemed that Cantares had made the right decision. Arendt didn’t ask any further questions and went into the office alone, as he had instructed.

The door closed behind him, and a heavy silence settled into the office.

Cantares, who would normally have greeted him, simply leaned back in his chair and stared blankly at him.

“Are you tired?”

With a single, blunt remark, Arendt limped towards him.

Cantares looked up and down at the apprentice knight standing in front of the desk.

“You look like a mess again.”

“Well, I’m still handsome.”

Arendt shrugged. Cantares looked slightly put out by the nonsense he’d been rambling about.

But that was only for a moment.

“…Okay, let’s get to the main point first.”

Cantares let out a short sigh and changed the subject. It was a signal that he didn’t want to drag out the conversation. Cantares, his eyes slightly wide, looked straight at Arendt.

“You. What on earth are you up to?”

In the blue eyes directed at him, Arendt could read emotions different from usual.

Distrust, wariness, and anxiety.

Thanks to that, he felt more at ease.

“First, please tell me the general story. How did it all unfold?”

“Well.”

Cantares tossed a wad of paper onto the desk. It was a report from an investigation team dispatched from the temple.

Arendt picked it up without saying anything and began to read it.

As he turned over a few pages outlining the general details of the investigation, he found the key points written there.

Cantares continued speaking coldly.

“God Luce allowed the heretic cult to rebel again in order to strengthen the faith directed toward Himself.”

“…”

“As a result, the Evil God Chernion, who had already been destroyed during the Great War, began invading this land once again, and the god Luce succeeded in firmly consolidating his faith just as he intended…”

Arendt looked straight at the Crown Prince, urging him to continue.

“In essence, this means the two gods conspired to bring chaos to this land. God Chernion was able to increase his power once again, while God Luce was able to bring tension to the land and assume the role of absolute good.”

“And?”

“But at some point, God Chernion’s power began to exceed what God Luce could handle. Soon, their growth became uncontrollable, and he belatedly issued the Holy Sword to stop the Evil Cult.”

In other words, the current war started from the two gods’ self-directed play… and in the end, the cause of this war was the desire and inaction of God Luce.

“. There was even a signature left at the end, implying that he was the sender.”

“…”

Most of the letters were delivered to crowded inns, halls, etc. in cities that were quite far from the imperial palace.

Originally, it was a place where all kinds of goods and letters came and went.

Because of this, the person who received the letter broke the seal and checked the contents without even properly checking the sender.

“Moreover, the letter contained evidence to support that opinion.”

It was explained in such detail that even the ignorant could understand it if they could read the text.

It went without saying that most of the evidence at the forefront was what Arendt had been investigating with Prince Llewellyn.

“I traced the original senders, but they were all thugs you knew. They all unanimously testified that they handed it over to the information broker on your behalf. They have no idea what the contents were.”

“That’s true. Surely they haven’t been sentenced to death. They’re all bad guys, so it might be a good idea to keep them in prison for the time being.”

Arendt answered calmly. Cantares let out a hollow laugh at his audacity.

“Ha, Captain Laius is a true hero, and there are even rumors that the temple and the imperial family are using him.”

“That’s unfortunate. But I’m not really sorry. It’s not entirely wrong.”

The coldness in Cantares’ eyes grew even more intense at the calm voice.

“What exactly is your goal? Do you want to start a real rebellion, led by the true hero Laius de Winfried?”

“Do I seem so ambitious? Are you asking because you really don’t understand why I’m acting this way?”

Arendt tilted her head.

“I am the Crown Prince of this country. His Majesty the Emperor is also alive and well.”

Cantares, who had been silent for a moment, slowly began to speak again.

“The Caerleon Empire was founded under the name of holiness. Under the protection of Lord Luce, the First Emperor, and the hero Khan, we have grown to proudly call ourselves an Empire spanning the continent.”

“That’s right. That’s why we can interfere in this country and that country while acting as Luce’s watchdog.”

Arendt, putting his hands in his pockets, answered leisurely.

“Can you really say that the letter is a lie from beginning to end? I’ve already shown the evidence to Your Highness, and I’ve told you this countless times.”

“Whether we act like a dog loyal to its master or not, that’s for me to decide. At the very least, it shouldn’t have reached my ears in this manner.”

That one remark seemed to irritate Cantares even more.

“There’s widespread opinion that you should be dismissed and summoned for trial and punishment. Orders were also given for Leader Henry and Vice Leader Arcus to appear, but so far, they haven’t shown their faces.”

The rumor had already spread widely among the nobles.

Since the temple had obtained the information first, there was no way for Cantares to counter it.

“How long am I supposed to tolerate you climbing up like this?”

Anger began to creep into the Crown Prince’s voice.

“You, a man of many talents, surely know that division in a wartime situation is tantamount to death. I have a duty to protect the Empire at all costs.”

Arendt didn’t answer, and just stared at him.

“Even if that means serving God Luce, whom you hate so much, as your master.”

Cantares already knew vaguely.

Why the hero Khan insisted on separating the temple and the imperial court. And the evidence that Arendt had single-handedly gathered and presented before him.

God Luce was never simply a merciful and just being.

But he didn’t care.

“That’s what survival is all about. Are you willing to put everyone in danger because of your recklessness?”

It was already too late to be dealt with.

As the chaotic war continued day after day, public sentiment was shaken to the core.

While Laius’ support was growing day by day, people were also turning their backs on God Luce.

They couldn’t violently suppress them. Using force in such a situation would only backfire.

In the end, all Cantares could do was to prove that it was false and punish the person who spread the rumor.

“…”

And the culprit was standing before his eyes, his body completely injured from fighting the Chernion Cult.

In this dispatch, he even achieved the feat of killing Jiklin, a senior member of the Evil Cult.

That was precisely why Cantares felt even more frustrated.

Clenching his fist tightly, Cantares slammed it down on the desk.

“Say something! What do you want me to do now?”

Even in front of the Crown Prince who was shouting fiercely, Arendt remained calm.

“I was just thinking about it for a moment.”

“Thinking? Do you think I’m joking right now?”

Cantares’ face crumpled. But what Arendt replied with was an unexpected answer.

“Should I act like I always do, or should I be honest with you… I haven’t decided yet.”

“…”

Forgetting his anger for a moment, Cantares’ eyes widened slgihtly.

Arendt lowered his gaze as if deep in thought.

“Would you like to choose, Your Highness?”

Somehow he could sense it intuitively.

As he looked at that sight, his head, which had been hot, seemed to cool down.

His fists clenched tightly on the desk loosened.

“…Be honest, then.”

Cantares hummed briefly. It was a word that really didn’t suit Arendt.

As the apprentice knight’s gaze turned back to him, Cantares spoke coldly.

“Go ahead and tell me. I’m curious how truthful you’ll be.”

Arendt didn’t seem likely to reveal his true feelings so easily. If he deliberately concealed his expression, it would be hard to notice at all.

“At least this time, there mustn’t be a single lie, before I end up even more disappointed.”

But Cantares allowed him to speak.

As a reward for his achievements so far, he was giving the impudent apprentice knight one last chance to explain himself.