Betrayal Knight's Joyful Faith

Chapter 361: Dont trust anyone

“Captain, this crazy person… what on earth were you trying to feed me?”Watching the healer snoring deeply, Arendt spoke in a horrified voice.

He remembered Laius handing him the cookies and boasting that they would definitely work.

Well, since it was made to put to sleep someone as strong as a royal knight, a healer who wasn’t even physically trained properly would be no match.

Just like right now.

‘Good thing the healer was a bit slow-witted.’

He was worried that the healer might notice that there were sleeping herbs in them, but judging by the way he ate it all, it seemed like his worries were unfounded.

It was a moment when Laius’ tearful efforts to make delicious cookies to feed to Arendt, who hated bitter things, shone.

If he had known that his efforts had been put to use in a place like this, he would have felt a little bitter, but that was none of Arendt’s business.

‘It’s a bit of a shame there’s no sword…’

Without the sword he always carried like a shadow, his waist felt somehow empty.

It was because he had left it in Llewellyn’s hands for a while in order to disguise himself as a servant who didn’t even know how to fight properly.

“Tsk, it can’t be helped.”

Because a sword was not a prop that suited the role of a servant.

Arendt tied up the unconscious healer, gagged him, and threw him roughly on the patient bed. Dusting off his hands, he took the Frosty Touch out of his pocket and put it on.

Though he had to limit his use of magic power due to the polymorph spell, it was still a precaution in case of an emergency.

“Let’s start moving slowly.”

Finally, after checking the barrier bracelet that Count Stadler had made for him, Arendt jumped out the window.

Perhaps because it was nearing the end of dinner time, the palace was rather noisy.

Arendt climbed up a tall garden tree, staying quiet, and hid himself among the branches.

It was a position from which one could effectively observe the busy servants coming and going, the noble officials leaving the palace, and the attendants following them.

“I think this will suffice.”

Arendt, who had settled down properly, took out the communication device from his pocket. Soon after, the communication device began to glow and sparkle. It was Llewellyn who had made the call.

Arendt cleared his throat briefly to slip back into the tone of a rude apprentice knight, then answered the call.

Then Llewellyn’s voice, now very muffled, was heard.

– Where are you? Is it okay to talk now?

“I’m out of the infirmary. As long as you don’t speak too loudly, it’s fine.”

– It looks like there aren’t any problems yet. I was worried that something might go wrong. Anyway, how did you get out of here?

Llewellyn muttered in relief and asked. Arendt was happy to answer his curiosity.

“I fed him some sleeping herbs and put him to sleep, then tied him up and slipped out.”

– …

There was a brief silence. And then, after a while, a very shaky voice was heard.

– …So you’ve already caused trouble. How exactly are you planning to clean this up later?

“How should I know? That’s your problem. Figure it out, Your Highness.”

– You fucking bastard.

It was a familiar curse, so Arendt simply ignored it and continued to ask his questions.

“It seems that Crown Prince Victor is quite anxious. Have you found out Duke Middleton’s location?”

Letting out a deep sigh, Llewellyn gave in and answered without resistance.

“I already asked the little errand boy. Apparently, he’s staying at the main palace now. His Highness has even prepared a room for him personally.”

“So, how is His Majesty the King? Have you managed to find out anything yet?”

– Uh, well. It’s a sensitive issue to ask outright. But judging by the atmosphere…

Llewellyn trailed off. The Lucain Palace was peaceful. No matter how you looked at it, there was so sign of anything wrong with the King.

– It seems no one has seen His Majesty in person for the past few days. Duke Middleton also appears to be hardly leaving his chambers.

“If we add to that the fact that Crown Prince Victor was fidgeting, we can come up with a few hypotheses.”

Arendt said nonchalantly, leaning his back against the tree trunk.

“Either he is alive and well, but someone tricked Crown Prince Victor, or he was imprisoned and Crown Prince Victor requested rescue through extreme means… or maybe he has already passed away, but someone is hiding it.”

– Do you mean Duke Middleton? Or another prince or princess?

Arendt glanced at the people passing by under the tree and replied:

“It is true that those people are the most likely suspects, but it is too early to jump to conclusions. We still have not fully grasped the situation, and we do not know the purpose of those who tried to harm the King.”

– …First of all, there’s no need for Brother Victor to do that.

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

– The succession to the throne was already decided anyway. But if the Evil Cult had intervened and stirred up trouble, things would have been different.

“Then why does the Evil Cult want to harm the Lucain Kingdom at this point?”

When Llewellyn fell silent again, Arendt added:

“Anyway, act with all the little details in mind. Don’t trust anyone or let your guard down until something is certain. Keep a close watch on everything and double and triple-check every detail.”

– …

“If you act stupidly nervous and arouse even the slightest suspicion, I’ll just leave you here and run off on my own. So just know that.”

There was silence for a while beyond the communication port. Just as Arendt was about to brush it off, thinking that he was stewing in frustration, an unexpected answer came through.

-You son of a bitch, you’re finally nagging me like you usually do.

“What?”

Arendt frowned slightly at the unexpected remark.

– You always tell me not to be so serious. Have you had a change of heart?

For some reason, his voice sounded a bit lighter. Only then did Arendt truly understand what he was saying.

What he had just casually said wasn’t typical ‘Arendt’ meddling. That said, it also didn’t quite seem like something ‘Lee Soo-hyun’ would say either.

Arendt, at a loss for words for a moment, snapped back at him curtly.

“If you have time for useless talk, just get moving.”

– Ugh, I’m telling you, you’re always so shameless. Anyway, it’s almost time for our appointment. My brother said he would come to my room.

Then came a grumbling reply.

“I understand. What about Lexion?”

– He went out to look around the palace.

“It looks like he smelled something.”

– …I’m saying this because he’s not here right now. Please don’t talk about Lord Lexion like he’s a hunting dog. Because of you, I sometimes forget that he’s a dragon.

Arendt ignored Llewellyn’s weary voice.

The fact that Lexion had left the area meant that it seemed safe to assume that there were no particular dangers within the palace at the moment.

‘This guy also has an artifact, so he should be able to protect his body.’

He thought it would be okay to move a little more boldly. They didn’t have much time anyway.

“Let’s come to a conclusion before morning. It’s your decision to make whether we can trust Crown Prince Victor or not.”

– Tch, I understand. We need to resolve this somehow before the situation changes, right? I agree that we have to hurry as much as possible.

For now, it seems the King’s absence wasn’t widely known, but that wouldn’t last long.

They had to accomplish their objective before chaos broke out in the palace.

– You can trust me. I pride myself on having a keen eye for people, after all…

.

But Arendt didn’t wait to hear the rest of his words and abruptly ended the communication. Then, waiting for a moment when the area was quiet, he swiftly jumped down from the tree.

Arendt landed silently and turned his gaze toward the largest building in front of him.

‘That’s the main palace.’

It was the place where the King resided and where most of the administration took place. The fact that the Duke was occupying such a place during the King’s absence felt quite significant.

Arendt began to move towards the main palace, hiding in the darkness and making as little noise as possible.

‘If the King disappears…’

The throne would naturally go to the Crown Prince. However, Crown Prince Victor was not ready yet, so it wouldn’t be impossible for others to find all sorts of faults and delay the succession.

Arendt recalled the genealogy of the Lucain royal family that he had heard from Llewellyn before coming here.

Unlike Cantares, who had no other blood relatives, Victor had two more blood relatives below him.

They were a prince and a princess born of a concubine.

‘They say that all the siblings get along well, and even the queen and concubine are like friends.’

No one knew what the inside story was.

Arendt frowned slightly.

‘If the Crown Prince loses his right to succession or is murdered while the King is absent…’

The cliché tragedy of a succession dispute would unfold in the Lucain Kingdom.

The most regrettable thing was that it was not a play, but a real, bloody reality.

Moreover, if fanatics who were crazy about God also barged in, it would be impossible to estimate how much damage would occur.

Arendt swore, pulling the hood of his robe down low.

“Oh, damn it. I’ve seen all sorts of things in life.”

He really, truly did not like getting involved in other people’s family squabbles.

“This shameless bastard…”

As he held onto the darkened communication port, trembling slightly, a polite knock sounded not long after.

Llewellyn, who suddenly came to his senses, quickly put the communication device deep inside his bag. Almost at the same time, a servant’s voice was heard from outside the door.

“Prince Llewellyn, His Highness Victor has arrived.”

After a while, the door opened and Victor, whose complexion was even worse than before, came in accompanied by his attendants.

“Did you enjoy your meal, Prince Llewellyn?”

“Yes, brother. I should have come to see you… thank you for coming all the way here.”

Llewellyn greeted him with a bright smile, pretending not to know anything. In response, Victor also wore a pale but gentle smile.

“Not at all. When a precious guest arrives, that’s only proper. I’ve prepared some fine liquor for the occasion.”

The servants moved swiftly and placed two glasses and luxurious snacks on the table.

“Please call us anytime if you need anything.”

The servants who had left their final greetings bowed their heads to the two and then left the room.

.

The door closed, and finally the two of them were left alone in the room.

Victor, who sat down first, offered Llewellyn a seat.

“Please sit down, Prince Llewellyn.”

“A fine drink from the Lucain Kingdom, I’m really looking forward to it.”

Llewellyn smiled and sat down across from him.

But somehow, now that they were having this private meeting, his palms felt strangely clammy.

‘I’m going crazy.’

Honestly, he didn’t think much of it until he entered the kingdom…

His conversation with Arendt just before brought him to his senses.

Only now was he beginning to realize just how much depended on his tongue.

“Let me pour you a drink first, brother.”

But Llewellyn kept his expression steady and grabbed the bottle and filled Victor’s glass.

‘Since I arrived first, he’ll probably bring something up later.’

Since it was a major matter that would determine the fate of the kingdom, Victor would not be willing to reveal too much at the beginning.

The role that Arendt assigned to Llewellyn was to extract as much information as possible from the reserved Crown Prince.

“I took a quick look around the palace during the day, and it had a very comfortable atmosphere. I would have regretted it greatly if I had declined your offer.”

Llewellyn smiled kindly as he filled his own glass.

Then, as if proposing a toast, he extended his glass toward Crown Prince Victor.

“The night is long, so shall we take our time talking?”