Betrayal Knight's Joyful Faith

Chapter 207

A hasty meeting of the elders was called.Although they had gathered early, none of the elders in the meeting hall were able to speak first.

It was because Elder Polaris and the Grand Elder, who were at the center of the situation, did not say anything.

In the suffocating, heavy silence, Elder Meleph finally spoke first.

“Elder Polaris, what on earth is going on…”

“It would be better for you to ask the Grand Elder rather than me.”

But instead of the explanation that was expected, only a cold reply came.

From the moment he entered, Elder Polaris had been staring only at the elder.

After Meleph fell silent again, Polaris finally spoke to Altair.

“I know it’s ridiculous for me to say this when I’ve pretended not to know until now. But Your Excellency, you should have discussed it with the elders at least once.”

“…What kind of discussion are you talking about?”

“The whole situation right now.”

When Altair, who had been silent, asked briefly, Polaris answered coldly.

“As for Elder Helio’s situation, yes, honestly, I knew it would turn out that way. It’s true that I didn’t even think to look into it earlier. Things haven’t been sorted out yet.”

A muffled cough erupted among the elders.

If they came into contact with the father of a traitor who had defected to the evil cult, they may have found themselves in some difficult situation.

However, if they punished them using collective punishment, there would definitely be a backlash.

That was precisely why Elder Helio was confined to his home after receiving only minimal treatment.

“If he had been punished earlier, the young people wouldn’t have made such a fuss. No, he was just a victim, so if the Grand Elder had just said that he would take care of him himself, the situation wouldn’t have gotten this bad.”

“…”

“I know very well that I have no right to criticize you, Grand Elder. But I am afraid that if I don’t speak up, this will be swept under the rug again.”

The voice that had been expressing anger gradually changed into pleads.

The Grand Elder still remained silent.

Silence fell again in the conference room.

After a while, the Grand Elder opened his mouth.

“What did you hear from the human knights, Elder Polaris?”

“I have heard that the Grand Elder has said that he will give up all trade with humans. And I cannot agree to that.”

Altair closed his eyes tightly.

The other elders were surprised at those words and asked,

“What do you mean? Are you saying we should give up trade with humans?”

“Then, what do you plan to do about the remaining spirit stones? At the very least, it’s not something that can be said until they are recovered!”

“But in the current situation, that might not be a bad idea. The outside world is dangerous…”

When one of the elders who had been observing him brought up such a topic, Elder Polaris rebuked him.

“Is the outside world the only dangerous place? We are also in danger right now! Do you know what kind of person might be hiding inside? To put it bluntly, what would that little girl, Jiklin, know? There must have been someone who tricked her!”

The elves’ faces turned pale.

It was something everyone had guessed.

They’ve just been pretending not to know until now.

“We’ve sent only four people to pursue her, but why are we so anxious to the point that we left so many troops in the kingdom? Don’t you all know the answer? And we didn’t even investigate it properly. Were we afraid that we would end up stirring up a hornet’s nest?”

The reason Elder Polaris was so angry was simple.

He did not want to see the knights of the Holy Empire wreaking havoc on the Elven kingdom.

His pride was hurt, and at the same time, he was filled with anger.

Elder Polaris, obsessed with such thoughts, ended up staying up all night.

After spending hours lost in his thoughts, all that remained was a feeling of resentment.

Thanks to that, Elder Polaris was able to move Elder Helio back home, making a fuss.

“If the enemy had invaded, we should have thought about fighting back! Nothing will be solved by locking the door late!”

“So now you’re saying I was wrong?”

“Yes!”

The Grand Elder eventually fired back with a cold-blooded stern look, but Polaris did not back down.

“Since my mouth is already open, I might as well speak more. I heard that the young apprentice knight said the Grand Elder was shameless. There’s not a single thing wrong with that. The Grand Elder, and all of us, are shameless.”

“Elder Polaris!”

Bam!

As the elder rose from his seat, the chair rolled across the floor.

Elder Polaris also did not give up and jumped up from his seat.

“So, try to refute it!”

As soon as he shouted, silence fell.

In the meeting room, where everyone was paralyzed with fear, Elder Polaris’s hoarse voice filled the space.

“What will you do when they return? Are you just going to lock the doors tight and only peek out after the fighting is over? Why should humans bear the blame for the rise of the Evil Cult? Was it only the Elves who almost faced extinction in the last war?”

“…”

“So how will you see Lord Luce after you pass away? I know you only intended to sacrifice Captain Sylvian and a few of her subordinates, those young men!”

The Grand Elder said nothing.

He just quietly closed his eyes.

Polaris continued speaking.

“If that child had not returned alive, you would have pretended to mourn, saying that it was a noble sacrifice, and then acted like you didn’t care. I can’t stand seeing that.”

Elder Polaris fired one last shot.

“What the Grand Elder is doing right now is the same as saying we should all just sit idly and die together. I want to live. And I will make sure that our people, who are like helpless infants, survive as well. So, whether you punish me or not, do as you please!”

With that, he kicked the chair and left the conference room.

Altair stood still for a while, taking deep breaths.

His clenched fists trembled.

Elder Meleph called him cautiously.

“Grand Elder…”

“…Everything will be okay.”

After a few moments, Altair slowly opened his mouth.

“It’ll be okay. Don’t be too upset.”

It was a tone that seemed to be soothing a child, but it also felt like a promise to oneself.

The Grand Elder had always been gentle and wise, but now he just looked shabby.

The other elders were speechless.

There was only an uneasy silence.

As expected, the kids were quick to get the news.

After a fierce battle in the open space, while taking a short break, the elf girl Talina was the first to speak.

“Did Captain Sylvian come to your house today?”

“That’s right. Instructor Zakar stopped by our house for a bit, and he talked to my brother for a long time.”

Felis, the boy who had been lying on the floor, gasping for breath, suddenly sat up.

Arendt, who was munching on snacks like usual under the shade of a tree, asked.

“What did you talk about?”

“He said he was looking for someone and asked if he could look inside the house for a moment. He left right away, but my mom seemed really surprised.”

Talina explained everything in detail.

Then Felis intervened, pretending to know something.

“Are they looking for the person who tricked Jiklin? They might be among the adults.”

“Really?”

The children’s eyes widened.

Arendt added:

“We’re looking for the person who tricked Jiklin into stealing the spirit stones. I don’t think anything will happen. No one will suspect a brat like you.”

“I told you not to treat me like a child!”

Felis screamed again, but Arendt pretended not to hear him.

Next to him, Talina brought up another story.

“Come to think of it, Elder Polaris and Grand Elder Altair had a huge fight at the meeting today.”

“Oh my, who did you hear that from?”

“I overheard the adults talking. Elder Polaris left the meeting in the middle of it.”

Talina answered Arendt’s question with intelligence.

There were no secrets in a city so small it was embarrassing to call it a kingdom.

Arendt roughly responded while stuffing the snack he had stolen from the children into his mouth.

“It’s chaos.”

“Yes?”

“So what will happen to Elder Polaris now? Will he become like Elder Helio?”

Talina screamed as Felis spoke seriously.

“Hey, what are you talking about! Elder Polaris didn’t do anything wrong!”

Arendt felt a little satisfied as he listened to the children’s chatter.

‘It looks like everything is going smoothly.’

No one knew better than Zakar and Sylvian that their search was useless.

But it might be enough to make a traitor nervous.

“So the Grand Elder ordered Captain Sylvian to search people’s houses? My father would be very angry. Is he suspicious of us?”

“I don’t think so. I guess the Grand Elder hasn’t said anything yet. I heard he fought with Elder Polaris.”

“Then what Captain Sylvian and the Instructor are doing… that…”

Felis frowned as he tried to remember the word.

Arendt spoke for him.

“Abuse of authority?”

“Yeah, isn’t that right? The captain of the Fog Forest Guard is supposed to follow the orders of the Grand Elder.”

“Well, maybe so.”

Leaning back, Arendt elaborated.

“Even if it wasn’t an order from the Grand Elder, the search is something the Grand Elder can’t easily do on his own. That’s what the Grand Elder is asking them to do.”

“Is that so?”

“That’s right. The Grand Elder is already a busy person, so how can he pay attention to every little thing? They have to do those things without being told to do them.”

Of course, it was none other than Arendt who criticized Zakar for exceeding his authority.

As the saying goes, “A phrase can have different meanings,” and interpretations of rights were entirely dependent on how one chooses to apply them.

The children nodded in understanding, although their faces looked uneasy.

Since the entire Fog Forest Guard, which had been on standby armed, was now in operation, the elves must have been quite flustered by the sudden situation.

The elders could step in and stop Sylvian and Zakar from searching, but Elder Polaris seemed to have done a better job than expected at the meeting, so they didn’t have to worry about that either.

“Someone who had been holding their breath must have suddenly felt like they were kicked in the behind.”

From the very beginning, they must have been anxious when the knights set foot in the kingdom.

Because they thought their identity could be revealed at any time.

Arendt, who had been listening to the children’s chattering, suddenly interrupted.

“By the way, is it okay for you guys to play like this every day? Don’t you study?”

“It’s okay. This is our secret place, so no one can find it!”

“Well, what if I go somewhere and tell people about it?”

The children’s faces instantly turned into shock at one mean sentence.

Talina screamed.

“What, Sir Arendt! Didn’t we agree not to tell?”

“You believe what humans say? How can you survive in this cruel world if you are so naive?”

Arendt chuckled as he popped another snack into his mouth.

“It seems like it was already discovered even without me telling them?”

“Huh? What are you talking about… ah!”

The children who had been asking questions in a puzzled manner soon became lost in thought when they sensed someone’s presence.