Betrayal Knight's Joyful Faith

Chapter 296

He felt a strange silence.He blinked slowly.

The room, with its door and windows tightly shut, was shrouded in darkness.

Because of that, he couldn’t even tell what time it was.

The dark chandelier, the ornate ceiling decorations, the luxurious bed, and the luxurious bedding slowly came into view one after another.

His mind felt hazy, and a wave of nausea washed over him.

It was to the point where he couldn’t even tell if this was reality or not.

‘So… am I still on stage?’

It wasn’t likely, but even if he had dozed off while pretending to be lying in bed, it wouldn’t have been all that strange, because he was working several jobs to cover living expenses and theater operating costs.

However, the surroundings were too quiet for that.

He couldn’t hear the voice of the other actor who was supposed to be synchronizing with him, and he couldn’t sense the audience holding their breath.

It was only then that he realized something was wrong.

The things he saw weren’t stage props or anything like that.

The high-quality items were real, and this place was no rundown theater.

Only after realizing that did his mind fully snap into focus.

‘Ah.’

Even though he knew it was out of character, he took Roger’s sword in Laius’ place.

After his breath stopped, what he was faced with was a god with a beautiful face and an eerie smile.

“…!”

Arendt instinctively jolted upright.

But the next moment, the excruciating pain that engulfed his entire body made him collapse back onto the bed.

“Ugh… this fucking…”

He barely managed to suppress his scream, but the curses he couldn’t contain came out.

Cold sweat poured down his face.

“Damn this fucking life, seriously…”

It hurt so much that he couldn’t even think about God or anything else.

As he cursed at anyone and everyone, groaning for a while, the door that had been tightly shut clicked open.

Light streamed in through the open doorway, and a person popped his head in.

Soon he found Arendt curled up on the bed, struggling, and ran over in fright.

“Hey, hey! What are you doing now!”

It was Arthur.

Arthur gently laid Arendt back down, holding his wound and not knowing what to do.

“Seriously, this damn…”

Only after burying his body back into the pillow and finding a comfortable position did Arendt finally manage to breathe properly.

Arthur looked down at him and spoke in disbelief.

“If you’re awake, you should call someone. Who in their right mind tries to get up without thinking?”

It seemed like he could easily guess what happened without even needing to ask.

Arendt groaned in frustration, still catching his breath.

“Who could’ve known this would happen… , I thought I was gonna die.”

Arendt, pressing his palm firmly against his forehead where cold sweat had gathered, lifted his gaze to look at Arthur.

It seemed like both of them were in pretty bad shape, yet Arthur appeared to have already recovered, with only a few bandages left on his face.

Arendt took a deep breath and spoke.

“…Come closer.”

“Huh? Why?”

Arthur asked curiously, but he moved closer to Arendt.

When the distance was close enough, Arendt spoke again.

“Help me.”

“…?”

Arthur, still bewildered, extended one hand toward Arendt.

Then…

Arendt pinched the back of Arthur’s hand with his fingernails as hard as he could.

“Kwaaaaak!”

Arthur, suddenly attacked, yelped and stepped back, and only then did Arendt nod in satisfaction.

“It doesn’t seem to be a dream.”

“What the hell are you doing, you bastard!”

Arthur, holding his red, swollen hand, shouted in anger.

But Arendt only responded indifferently.

“It’s nothing. I just wanted to check if I was still dreaming.”

“Then why are you doing this to me?!”

“I can’t pinch myself like that.”

It wasn’t funny to see him talking so shamelessly with a pale face.

Arthur felt a soreness in the back of his neck for the first time in a long time and put his hand on his forehead.

But that was only for a moment.

Arthur lowered his head, covering his face with his hands. He remained motionless in that state for a long time.

“…What.”

Arendt, who had been laying there blankly, asked, doubting his eyes.

“Are you crying, senior?”

“It’s because of you, you bastard!”

Arthur, who had let out a frustrated scream, rubbed his eyes as if to wipe them away.

But his efforts were in vain, as tears began to well up in his eyes again.

“I swear, I thought you were dead… and then, as soon as you wake up, you start acting up… you’re unbelievable…”

After worrying so much, the moment Arthur saw Arendt’s shameless behavior with his own eyes, his tension suddenly melted away, and tears started to well up uncontrollably.

Arendt looked up at him in bewilderment.

“Senior, are you a kid or something? You look really ugly right now. Get out of here.”

“You’re the one who told me to come closer! What the hell is wrong with you, seriously?”

“We’re done here, so just go. Unbelievable, seriously.”

Arendt waved his hand dismissively with a sulky look, then let out a faint, weary laugh.

“Well, looks like I’ve got something to tease you about for a long time.”

“Shut up, you little bastard… huh?”

Arthur paused as he glared at Arendt, who was responding in a sarcastic manner.

Arendt frowned slightly when his senior, who seemed ready to swear at him at any moment, suddenly became quiet.

“What, why are you acting like this?”

“No, you…”

He was so stunned that even his tear glands, which had been acting on their own, abruptly stopped.

It was only for a moment, but he saw a smile flicker across Arendt’s face.

It wasn’t his usual mocking or sarcastic grin— it was a faint, resigned smile, as if to say, ?

Arthur was speechless, frozen in place, when another person suddenly came in through the open door.

The visitor who checked the room looked surprised for a moment, then muttered in disbelief.

“No wonder it was so noisy.”

“…”

Arthur stared blankly at Arendt with bewildered eyes, not even thinking of greeting Richt.

But Arendt’s face returned to its usual sullen expression.

It felt like it was just a momentary illusion.

“What on earth makes you guys start arguing the moment he opens his eyes?”

Richt closed the door, came in, and pulled back the curtain covering the window.

Sunlight poured in from outside.

Arendt frowned at the sudden light.

Judging by the blue sky, it must have been early afternoon.

“Still, judging by the loud voices, you seem to be in good spirits. At least that’s a blessing.”

Arendt grumbled at Richt, who had approached him after drawing the curtains.

“It wasn’t me who was making the noise, it was that person.”

“It’s obvious even without looking. You must have started the fight first.”

While scolding him, Richt pressed his hand against Arendt’s forehead.

He was checking his temperature.

“Your complexion doesn’t look too good… but I don’t think we need to worry about it. I should report to His Highness and the Captain now.”

Richt, who said that, looked quite relieved.

Arendt brushed his hand away and asked about something that had been bothering him since earlier.

“Where am I? It doesn’t look like the dormitory.”

“It’s a vacant room in the Prince’s palace. The living quarters and treatment room were too chaotic, so His Highness gave you this room.”

Arendt nodded roughly in response to Richt’s reply.

Still, after having an exchange with these two, he felt like his head was clearer.

He was still Arendt von Eckhart.

He was back on the damn stage.

‘Honestly, I thought it wouldn’t be strange if I died like that.’

Even though he made a bet, he couldn’t guarantee that the crazy god would listen to what he said.

However, Luce seemed to have accepted Arendt’s conditions.

Or maybe Luce really had no other option.

‘Then the Holy Sword must have gone to the captain.’

It was now impossible to leave in the middle.

Whether it turns out well or not, he must lead Laius to his rightful place as a true hero.

Maybe he’ll never be able to stop acting.

As he was thinking about that, Arthur grumbled irritably.

“You should be honored. The High Priest herself stayed in the palace for ten days and personally looked after you. She said your condition seemed stable and went to the Great Temple for a while, but she will probably return soon.”

“What…”

Arendt suddenly frowned.

“Wait a minute, what? Ten days?”

“Yeah, you bastard. I really thought I was going to suffocate. Do you know how worried the captain was?”

Arthur immediately shot back with a scolding.

But Arendt couldn’t even hear those words properly.

“This is crazy…”

“Ugh, seriously! I told you not to move!”

As Arendt tried to push himself up again, Arthur, frustrated, firmly grabbed both of his shoulders and pushed him back down.

“You said you were dying from pain? What on earth did you eat to make you so stubborn?”

“Ugh, move aside, will you?”

He resisted for a moment, but his body was in no condition to overcome Arthur’s power.

Eventually, Arendt had no choice but to give up again and bury his head in the pillow.

Richt, who was standing next to him, clicked his tongue.

“Just stay still until the High Priest and the healer arrive. For the time being, try not to go outside. If you need anything, I’ll bring it to you.”

“This is driving me crazy.”

Richt frowned as Arendt muttered in frustration.

“Don’t you think it’s a miracle that you came to your senses in ten days? Even with the High Priest’s divine power, you still haven’t fully recovered. That alone says it all.”

His breathing stopped for a moment.

Just thinking about it still sent a chill down the two people’s spines.

Arendt simply stayed silent, knowing full well that there was no room for excuses on that point.

However, in another way, it made his stomach turn.

The moment he realized that he had been relying on that damn god’s divine power to recover for days on end, he felt sick to his stomach.

Arthur asked in surprise as Arendt’s face suddenly turned pale.

“What’s wrong? Are you okay?”

Arendt forced himself to suppress the nausea that was about to rise.

“…Do you think I’ll be fine? Move aside. Let me sit up.”

Unable to lie down any longer, Arendt pushed himself up into a sitting position again.

Arthur glanced at Richt and helped Arendt sit up.

Even that small movement made Arendt break out in a cold sweat, but he still sat up in bed.

“Huh, first of all, tell me what’s going on.”

“Don’t talk nonsense. You’ve been awake for less than an hour.”

Richt frowned at Arendt’s words.

But Arendt pretended not to hear.

“This is the Prince’s palace in the first place… why are you guys here?”

As Cantares began to work in earnest and moved his residence to the main palace, the Prince’s palace was practically empty.

It was understandable that Cantares would use the Prince’s palace as a treatment space, as it was a space that was rarely used.

Because he thought there would be peace and quiet here.

But it was strange that Arthur and Richt were the first to come running when he was struggling.

Even if they were members of the Imperial Knights, they could not just come and go from the Prince’s palace without having any special business.

Arthur gave a half-hearted reply with a begrudging expression.

“Don’t sweat the small stuff.”

“I don’t think it’s something small.”

Arendt muttered grumpily, but neither of them seemed inclined to answer him.

“It looks like quite a commotion happened, huh? Judging by the fact that they’ve locked me in here.”

“…”

Arthur and Richt shut their mouths tightly at those words that hit the nail on the head.

After a while, Arthur let out a deep sigh.

“He’ll keep bothering us until we tell him.”

“It would be a relief if that’s all he does.”

Richt also responded in a begrudging tone.

Given Arendt’s nature, it was obvious that he would not be able to relax until he knew that he was in a truly secure situation.

In the end, they had no other choice.

Arthur and Richt exchanged glances and simultaneously let out a deep sigh.