Betrayal Knight's Joyful Faith

Chapter 429

After deciding to head to the Everan Kingdom, Cantares proceeded with the next steps as quickly as possible.The people to be dispatched to the kingdom were decided to be the Third Knights led by Laius, Shekhinah’s warriors, and Salem.

Lexion decided to remain in the palace after moving his troops to the midpoint between the Everan Kingdom and the Caerleon Empire.

Since Nikephoros’ location was unknown, it was judged that it would be dangerous for Lexion to carelessly leave the area.

“No matter how many times I’ve been treated like this, I just can’t get used to it.”

Lexion grumbled at being treated as a means of transportation once again.

Even so, it was difficult to move all the troops, including the elves, at once, so Lexion had to go back and forth several times and cast the teleportation spell.

“Surely you won’t tell me to come pick you up when you get back.”

“I’ll contact you when I need you. Just come running.”

Arendt, who had suddenly approached him while he was grumbling, spoke. Lexion, wearing an annoyed expression on his face, disappeared without saying a word.

It meant there was no longer any point in talking.

“He’s so shy, geez.”

“…”

The elves’ tired gazes gathered around Arendt, who was spouting nonsense.

Disregarding the gazes, Arendt looked at Salem, who was standing close to him.

“But why did you follow me again?”

“Well, it would probably be better to have spirits for the search operation.”

Salem, who flinched for a moment, answered firmly.

“I can even provide first aid when Shekhinah or the priests can’t help. Since Lord Lexion has given me permission, I won’t hold you back.”

Instead of responding immediately, Arendt looked at the spirits wandering around Salem.

The two spirits had grown considerably since their visit to the Lucain Kingdom.

The spirits, who had only a vaguely Western appearance, now possessed quite sturdy wings and ornate tail feathers.

‘I haven’t been able to watch your training much lately…’

It seems that Lexion has been of great help so far.

But even considering that, it was an incredibly rapid growth rate. It was evidence of the tremendous effort he put in, despite being forced into an environment of rigorous training.

‘The way he holds the sword also looks quite good.’

It seems that the events in the Lucain Kingdom were quite a shock to Salem.

“…Well. Do whatever you want.”

Looking away, Arendt responded indifferently.

Although Arendt was originally just an apprentice knight with no authority over personnel matters, Salem smiled brightly at those words, as if he was incredibly happy.

“I’m sure I will be helpful to you, Sir Arendt!”

“I don’t need it. If you want to show off, do it in front of that guy.”

Arendt nodded at Llewellyn’s figure.

Salem let out a short sigh as he noticed him.

“Ah…”

Llewellyn, standing next to Laius and Shekhinah, looked anxious.

He had been like that ever since he heard the news that fighting had broken out again in the battlefield where there was a standoff.

It had been exactly two days since the request for assistance from the Everan Kingdom arrived.

In a situation with little progress, news arrived that Prince Ludwin, the second son of the Everan royal family, personally led the royal knights into battle.

Because of that, Llewellyn couldn’t help but feel increasingly anxious as time went on.

“Honestly, what an idiot.”

Arendt shrugged and moved on, leaving Salem behind.

Before going to his seat, Arendt deliberately passed Llewellyn and raised his hand.

“…!”

Llewellyn, who was staring at the ground, was suddenly startled by a strike to the back of his head and quickly turned around.

“Huh, what?”

Llewellyn, who was touching the spot where he had been hit blankly, looked at Arendt with a bewildered look.

But Arendt didn’t even glance at him and just walked towards Arthur and Richt.

“You, hey, don’t habitually raise your hand on the prince. You’ll get into real trouble if you do that.”

Arendt shrugged as Arthur started to lecture him.

“What did I do? It’s that idiot spacing out like a fool who’s to blame.”

“What should I say to you?”

Passing by Arthur, who was grumbling irritably, Arendt looked at Richt, who was standing a step away.

Richt met his gaze and frowned slightly.

“Why do you look like that?”

“Well.”

But Arendt just quickly turned away.

‘He’s acting quite calm.’

Although it was a bit more watchable than before, Richt’s acting was still quite awkward.

“Let’s go! We’re in a rush, so let’s move nonstop to our destination.”

Finally, Laius shouted to his men. At his command, the knights and elven warriors waiting mounted their horses in unison.

The same was true for Arthur, Richt, and Arendt.

As Richt stared at Arendt’s back, his face hardened for a moment.

“If I call that guy’s name out…”

Arendt would surely turn around without hesitation.

But Richt couldn’t bring himself to do that.

Although he had finally made up his mind before God Luce, it was clearly himself who had been avoiding Arendt all this time.

He couldn’t drag this out forever.

There would come a time soon when he would have to grab that damn junior and have a long talk.

However…

‘Not now.’

A great battle was imminent, and now was not the time to be consumed by personal thoughts.

Richt had no doubts.

It was his duty to stand shoulder to shoulder with them and to see with his own eyes that those he trusted were righteous.

Fortunately, they were able to join Prince Ludwin’s garrison before the fighting broke out again.

Upon hearing the news that the Caerleon Empire’s reinforcements had arrived, Ludwin, who had come out personally to greet them, spotted Llewellyn accompanying them and his eyes widened in surprise.

“No, you…”

“I am Laius de Winfried, Captain of the Third Imperial Knight Order of the Caerleon Empire.”

At that moment, Laius took a step forward and stood in front of Prince Ludwin.

“By order of His Imperial Highness, I have just arrived leading the reinforcements as their commander. We will do our utmost to help the Everan Kingdom and Your Highness to defeat the enemy.”

“…I’ve heard of your reputation, Captain Laius.”

The prince, who had been looking at Llewellyn with a bewildered expression, straightened his expression and faced Laius.

Arendt, who had been watching from behind, tilted his head slightly.

‘Hoo.’

With his curly light blond hair and dark gray eyes, he looked quite similar to Llewellyn.

He looked to be in his mid to late 20s.

The age difference between him and Llewellyn didn’t seem that large.

But unlike the free-spirited and innocent Llewellyn, he possessed a calm and mature air.

‘If the second prince is like that, then the queen, king, and crown prince must have similar personalities.’

So, Arendt could easily guess that Llewellyn was inevitably treated as an outlier.

“I am grateful that you have willingly traveled this far to meet us in the kingdom’s time of crisis. It is an honor to meet Captain Laius, a man renowned as a hero.”

Ludwin looked very concerned about Llewellyn, but he still did not forget his original purpose and bowed politely to Laius.

“I apologize for not being able to properly pay my respects to His Majesty and His Highness the Crown Prince due to the current situation. I will pay a formal visit next time.”

“It’s okay. They both understand, and defeating the enemy is the most important thing right now.”

Hearing Laius’ concise answer, Ludwin looked around at the knights and elves standing behind him.

They didn’t seem to realize it, but the sight of the Imperial Knights and Elf Warriors together was quite a strange sight.

‘Llewellyn seems quite used to being with them.’

Ludwin, who was about to take his eyes off of him absentmindedly, suddenly noticed the apprentice knight standing near Llewellyn.

Arendt von Eckhart’s name was quite famous even within the Everan Kingdom.

There was the story of his activities with Laius and receiving Luce’s grace, but there was something else that was even more important.

Ludwin, who fell silent for a moment, awkwardly lowered his head.

“…My unruly younger brother has caused trouble. I would appreciate it if you could also convey my apologies to Sir Arendt.”

“…No. Rather, I should be the one apologizing. That guy has a rather peculiar personality, and he’s caused the prince quite a bit of trouble.”

Then, Laius bowed his head even more deeply.

Unfortunately, there was no one in this place who couldn’t hear that conversation.

Arendt made an incredibly cocky gesture, nodding toward Llewellyn.

“I’ve said it many times, but this guy was the one who clung on first.”

Then a complaint erupted from Llewellyn.

“I didn’t know you would treat me this badly.”

Ludwin and Laius’ gazes met in midair.

In their eyes was a shared sense of sympathy for one another.

It was a moment when a subtle bond formed among the allied commanders.

Prince Ludwin was setting up a camp in a location where he could oversee the castle occupied by the enemy at a glance.

It was so they could respond immediately to any enemy movement.

“Before I arrived here, another battle took place, and the previous commander was defeated. He was also severely wounded and was transported to his own territory, and now I am holding this position.”

After leaving the troops on standby, Ludwin took only the key personnel and went up to a higher ground to continue the briefing.

“After the battle, the enemies retreated back into the castle. We still don’t know what they’re doing inside.”

The area around the castle looked utterly miserable even at first glance.

The ground was stained a deep red with the corpses and pieces of ghouls that had not been collected.

Moreover, the heads of the lord and his family, the original owners of the castle, were hung on the walls, rotting away.

The red letters on the wall, visible from afar, were enough to make those watching feel an eeriness.

They could feel the cultists’ strong determination to finally avenge the defeated God Chernion in this generation.

Ludwin’s face hardened, his heart sinking once more.

“As you can see, the situation is not very good…”

“Then that means there must be another reason they’re dragging their feet.”

But an indifferent voice cut him off mid-sentence.

It was none other than Arendt, who was standing near Laius.

Ludwin reflexively squeezed his eyes shut, and Laius let out a deep sigh as he rubbed his face.

But unfortunately, there was no one to save them.

“Smoke is rising. Are they burning the bodies or something?”

When Llewellyn, who was observing the castle from a bird’s-eye view, spoke, Arendt rebuked him.

“Do you think that’s what it is? Don’t get in the way and just get lost.”

Arendt, who had pushed Llewellyn away, looked straight at Salem.

“Have those guys check out what’s going on inside first. Be careful, there might be someone on the other side who can see spirits.”

“Yes yes!”

As Salem nodded, a gentle breeze blew from somewhere, ruffling Ludwin and Laius’ hair.

The two spirits left to scout.

Ludwin was momentarily speechless at the sight of the apprentice knight acting as he pleased, right in front of his captain.

“…”

Besides, the spirit master elf and his younger brother seemed to be quite used to this situation.

Even Laius did not stop him, so even though Ludwin had heard the rumors and knew about it, he couldn’t help but feel perplexed.

The apprentice knight noticed the gaze staring blankly at him and raised his head.

Arendt, meeting the prince’s eyes directly, tilted his head cockily.

“Is this your first time seeing such a handsome person?”

“…”

Ludwin looked up at the sky in despair.

Laius slowly sighed and apologized as if he was in unbearable pain.

“…I am sorry. It is due to my lack of education.”

“No, it’s alright.”

Ludwin answered with an awkward smile.

Somehow, with that one remark, he felt like he had finally realized why Llewellyn liked Arendt.