Betrayal Knight's Joyful Faith

Chapter 276: Mercy without a Price

It was strange to see a child like Salem among the warriors dispatched to war.It seemed that he had a special ability that stood out, and he didn’t go into battle directly like Zakar, Shekhinah, or Ragnald.

The Shadow Race Elf warriors also seemed to be quite protective of Salem, but that was merely because he was someone they needed to protect, and it was a far cry from the attitude they would have toward a respected commander.

And then there was the body-covering clothing.

The same was true of the situation where he set a condition of wanting to study the Unquenchable Heart.

That alone was enough evidence to guess Salem’s identity.

“You’re not moving?”

Salem came to his senses at Arendt’s urging.

As he followed him in a flustered manner, Arendt also began to walk at a leisurely pace again.

“I don’t know how it’s inherited, but it’s not like the previous generation has to die before the next generation can be born. If that were the case, the gap would be too long.”

“…”

“If you think about it normally, it seems like the next generation is born while the previous generation is active, and the next generation goes through a period of apprenticeship and is educated by the previous generation…”

Dragging out the end of his words, Arendt subtly glanced at Salem.

The small head, covered by a hood, was slowly drooping lower.

“No matter how you look at it, there must be a reason why Salem, who is only in his teens, came to the Empire. Besides, I understand that the Elven Kingdom has a custom of not sending children out until they become adults.”

“…”

There was still no response from Salem.

He just followed Arendt around silently.

Even if his identity was exposed, he was determined not to easily reveal any information.

But Arendt knew exactly what to do in such a situation.

He shoved his hands deep into his pockets and, in a casual tone as if saying it in passing, began speaking indifferently.

“It seems that the Grand Elder of the Fourth Kingdom is not a proper person. Sending a young child to the battlefield…”

As expected, Salem shouted.

“Oh, no! I just insisted on coming here myself! Don’t insult the Grand Elder!”

Salem, who had raised his voice without realizing it, soon realized his mistake and quickly covered his mouth.

Salem glanced up and checked Arendt’s expression, then flinched and stepped back.

“Oh, you volunteered?”

A wicked smile graced his overly handsome face.

“Then, I guess your Grand Elder was against it until the end, and you insisted on going so that you could personally check the artifact.”

Salem’s face turned pale.

“No, so…”

“I was a bit curious why the elves who didn’t even flinch when told that the dragon was involved suddenly decided to join because of the artifact. I guess the shamans have a lot of say in shadow elf society?”

“Ah, no…”

Salem opened his mouth quickly to try to sort things out, but Arendt didn’t give him a chance to speak.

“I can understand why you tried so clumsily to hide your identity. The artifact of the Evil Cult recovered by the Caerleon Empire is exactly the same as the traditional healing spells and methods of the Shadow Elves, so it’s only natural you’d be cautious.”

“Wait, wait a minute, Sir Arendt.”

“That means that in the past, a Shadow Elf shaman may have sided with the Evil Cult…”

“Ahh! Sir Arendt!”

The last words were overshadowed by Salem’s screams.

Without realizing it, Salem rushed out and blocked Arendt’s path, soon noticing that the passing priests’ gazes were fixed on them.

It was only natural, as a loud scream suddenly erupted from the previously quiet temple.

“Ah…”

The face hidden beneath the robe turned bright red in an instant.

Arendt cast a look of blatant disdain on Salem.

“What’s the point of covering your body? You can’t hide your expression at all.”

Salem awkwardly put his arm away and shouted fiercely in a muffled voice.

“Do you know that you are really bad-tempered, Sir Arendt?”

“Well, that’s interesting. I wonder how many people have said something like that to me before?”

But Arendt just waved his hand dismissively.

Salem’s shoulders began to tremble as he became even more agitated by the indifferent response.

“Anyway, please follow me. Let’s finish our conversation in a quiet place.”

Regardless, Arendt brushed past him and began to stride ahead.

Though grumbling from behind, there was a distinct sound of someone quickly following.

Arendt glanced at Salem, who was diligently following a few steps behind, and the corner of his mouth briefly lifted into a small smile before returning to its usual expression.

‘The reaction is good.’

It was always fun to tease a child who gets upset easily.

The place Arendt took Salem to was a prayer room that also served as a reception hall.

The space overlooked by the statue of God Luce was, as always, filled with soft light coming through the windows in the ceiling.

When the door closed and they were finally left alone in the quiet space, Salem finally felt a little relieved.

Salem, who had been hesitating, barely opened his mouth.

“Well, Sir Arendt. I didn’t really mean to deceive you. So…”

“Of course you didn’t intend to deceive me. As I said earlier, you have to be deceived to be deceived. I’m sure His Highness the Crown Prince and Captain Laius already know.”

Arendt cut him off with a cold tone.

Then Salem’s eyes widened.

“Is that true?”

“Yes, before I asked you to come out, I went to see His Highness the Crown Prince first. I went to borrow his Unquenchable Heart for a moment…”

Arendt paused for a moment, looking Salem up and down with indifferent eyes.

The words Cantares said while handing over the artifact with a trembling face were still vivid.

“He told me not to tease you too much as you’re still young.”

“…”

Salem froze stiffly.

All sorts of words seemed to be running through his head, but in the end only one sentence came out of his mouth.

“Why didn’t he stop you…”

Arendt shrugged his shoulders at the boy who muttered in a betrayed voice.

“He knows full well that trying to stop me won’t work. Oh, and I already told the captain and Instructor Zakar that I’ll be taking you to the Great Temple. Incidentally, both of them pretended not to know.”

“…”

Salem was again left speechless.

In the end, it meant that he was abandoned by everyone he trusted.

It seemed as if the shock he felt when he realized that even his own kind, Zakar, had helped to throw him before the beast-like apprentice knight was immense.

“That is to say, you were doing something useless. I don’t know what the Fourth Kingdom told you, but this place is not so relaxed that I can afford to entertain your lame plays.”

Arendt added, sitting comfortably in his seat.

“So, why don’t you take off that stuffy hood?”

“…Ha.”

After a moment, Salem sighed deeply, his shoulders slumping.

He pulled down the hood without much resistance.

.

The thick cloth flowed down, revealing his bare face, which had been hidden until now, under the sunlight.

The first thing that caught Arendt’s eye was the pointed ears characteristic of elves and the copper-colored skin that was hard to find in the Empire.

His jet-black hair, which seemed to reflect the night sky, curled around his neck.

His amber-tinted yellow eyes looked around anxiously, and finally landed on Arendt.

All three were the most prominent characteristics of the Shadow Race Elves.

His young face, similar to or slightly younger than Jiklin’s, had a peculiar red pattern.

The tattoo-like pattern made up of several letters was a symbol of a shaman that was passed down through generations only to the Shadow Tribe elves.

Arendt, who saw with his own eyes that his guess was correct, said with satisfaction:

“That’s much better. When you talk to people, you have to look them in the eye.”

“Is that all?”

When Salem, who had revealed his face, snapped back sharply, Arendt frowned and responded sarcastically.

“Then what else would there be?”

“Why did I try to hide it, why did I come all the way here… that’s what you were trying to find out, right?”

Salem’s tone became a little more fierce.

Arendt, who could easily read the wariness in his bright yellow eyes, raised his eyebrows.

“Why would I ask that?”

“Huh?”

Salem asked back in surprise at the unexpected words.

Arendt leaned back in his chair, crossing his legs leisurely.

“There’s no need for me to bother you with each and every question. You will start telling me everything from now on.”

Salem’s face crumpled at the uniquely indifferent tone that scratched his pride.

“Why should I do that?”

“Why? Are you saying this because you really don’t know who is in a hurry right now?”

Arendt’s fingers briefly searched through his pockets, and a necklace came out.

The red jewel that was bathed in sunlight sparkled with a beautiful luster.

The blood-red jewel, so beautiful that it stole everyone’s attention, had a hidden, indescribable magic.

It was the artifact he had borrowed from the Crown Prince in advance, the Unquenchable Heart..

Before Salem could even fully perceive its identity, Arendt asked subtly:

“What is this?”

The mocking intent was clearly revealed in the apprentice knight’s eyes.

“You must have come all the way here because of this, yet it seems like you don’t even want to try using it yourself? That’s a shame. I even asked the High Priest to make time for you.”

“…”

“If you don’t want to share, you can keep quiet. There are plenty of ways to get your hands on this. You could fight me and steal it yourself. Oh, I hope you’re not suggesting that someone who came here as the commander of the elf warriors can’t handle a mere apprentice knight, are you?”

Arendt’s voice, which continued to speak leisurely without blinking an eye, effortlessly reached Salem’s ears, and that made it all the more irritating.

Even the red jewel dangling from the end of the silver necklace seemed to tease Salem.

Salem’s small, clenched fists began to tremble.

The boy’s face turned bright red and then cooled down several times.

But there was no other way.

Eventually, Salem couldn’t control his anger and gritted his teeth.

“Really… you’re…really wicked.”

The childish remark, filled with anger, irritation, and frustration, was essentially a declaration of surrender.

“It seems like you don’t know anything.”

A satisfied smile appeared on Arendt’s lips as he spoke frankly.

“Originally, adults were vicious and wicked people who lived for the fun of teasing children.”