CIATB Chapter 142
Chapter 142
Perhaps because they had both been destroyed by war and then rebuilt around the same time and had maintained long-term exchanges with each other, there was no sense of great cultural difference even though they were different countries.The language was almost the same, with only subtle differences in pronunciation, and the architectural style of the palace and the clothing of the people were also very similar.
But if he had to pick one thing that was unique about this country, it would be the food.
Dishes seen for the first time were a delight to the guests’ eyes and mouths.
“…You eat well, you know.”
Cantares awkwardly raised the corners of his lips as he watched Arendt stuffing dessert into his mouth and munching on it.
If he thought about it, that guy never missed a snack during his trip.
Arendt answered indifferently, putting another snack in his mouth.
“Your Highness, try eating only stale bread in a dungeon for a few days. You will understand how important food is.”
“I’m good.”
“What a shame.”
Rather than being in an underground prison, the influence of living in a one-room apartment and eating only instant noodles was probably greater.
This meeting, where Arendt was diligently enjoying refreshments, was originally only open to representatives of each country, but Arendt and Laius were able to attend as escorts for Cantares.
“That’s him. Crown Prince Alois.”
“Hmm.”
Putting the macaron in his mouth, Arendt looked in the direction Cantares was pointing.
A man was seen talking to Victor, the Crown Prince of the Lucain Kingdom.
Although his handsome profile and well-groomed manners seemed okay at first glance, as if he was a member of royalty, Arendt could still see the mask behind him.
‘The exact opposite of Prince Llewellyn.’
His refined tone and demeanor were clearly those of a great Crown Prince, but even while talking to Victor, his eyes that searched everywhere showed a sharpness that he could not hide.
“Who is the person behind him?”
“The Third Prince, Matthias.”
This answer came from Laius.
“It seems he accompanied His Highness Crown Prince Alois.”
“Hmm…”
Unlike Alois, Matthias looked quite intimidated for a royal.
“It seems like they’re not on very good terms.”
“Crown Prince Alois has taken control of the palace through a reign of terror. After losing the battle for the throne, he had no choice but to bow down before the Crown Prince.”
“Bow down…”
Arendt repeated Cantares’s subsequent explanation in his mouth.
“Why? Is there something bothering you?”
“No, just.”
The apprentice knight, who had been thinking for a moment, added lightly.
“I wonder if someone who calls himself a prince would be that obedient.”
Even an earthworm starts to squirm when you step on it, but he didn’t get a chance to say those words out loud.
Crown Prince Alois turned his gaze towards them.
As the Crown Prince began to approach with a broad smile, Cantares whispered in a low voice.
“That guy seems to be interested in you.”
“This shitty popularity.”
“…”
Laius looked indifferent at the pointless conversation between the Crown Prince and his subordinate.
In the meantime, Alois, who had come closer, lightly bowed to Cantares. Laius and Arendt also took a few steps back and bowed to Alois.
“It’s been a long time, Your Highness the Crown Prince.”
“Crown Prince Alois, it’s been a while. I’m glad to see you looking well.”
As if the words he had been telling Arendt until just now was a lie, Cantares held out his hand to Alois with a kind smile on his face.
“This is all thanks to His Highness the Crown Prince’s care.”
“It’s been a long time, Prince Matthias.”
“Yes, yes! Thank you for remembering, Your Highness the Crown Prince.”
Matthias was startled and quickly lowered his head. Alois glanced at his younger brother and then turned his gaze to the two people behind Cantares.
“The two behind Your Highness… are the renowned Captain Laius de Winfried, and next to him is apprentice knight Arendt von Eckhart, is that correct?”
“It is a pleasure to meet you, Your Highness the Crown Prince.”
Leaving Arendt behind, Laius took a step forward.
“I’ve heard a lot about Captain Laius’ accomplishments. I’m looking forward to his future.”
“Thank you.”
Alois nodded to Laius, who answered bluntly, and then inadvertently looked away, but ended up making direct eye contact with Arendt.
Alois involuntarily stopped in his tracks at the sight of the cool golden eyes staring straight at him.
And the next moment.
A crooked smile appeared on the corner of his pretty mouth.
“It is an honor for the Crown Prince of a country to remember the name of an apprentice knight like me, Your Highness Alois.”
“…”
The words themselves were certainly polite and respectful. However, the look in his eyes clearly held a mocking expression.
“Crown Prince Alois?”
Cantares called out in surprise as Alois’ face suddenly hardened.
Alois, who came to his senses at the voice, forced a smile.
“You have wonderful knights, Your Highness, as I have heard. I look forward to having a longer conversation with you soon.”
“Me too. Next time you visit the Empire, I will treat you well.”
When Cantares smiled coolly, Alois bowed his head once more to show his respect and left.
Prince Matthias, who was left alone, looked back and forth between his older brother and Cantares in confusion.
“Why, Prince? Do you have something to say?”
“…Although it may be presumptuous of me to do so, Your Highness…”
“Matthias!”
As Matthias, who had been hesitating, finally opened his mouth, Alois called out to him sharply.
In the end, the prince had to bow his head and quickly follow Alois without being able to finish his sentence.
When the two were far away enough, Cantares spoke first.
“It seems like the Third Prince has a lot to say.”
“When it comes to this, only boring scenarios come to mind.”
Alois Nephele.
He was arrogant, sensitive, and seemed to have a desire to show off, as he insisted on seeing his prey with his own eyes.
In that case, there would be no need for this side to be humble.
Cantares smirked and raised the corners of his lips.
“Well, it seems like they’re more interested in you two than in me. Well, I understand if it’s you, Laius, but it’s surprising that the Crown Prince of a country knows the name of a mere apprentice knight.”
“That’s true. I’m looking forward to seeing what he has to show me. Maybe he’ll let me see an assassin.”
Arendt hummed as if he found it quite amusing.
Laius glanced at him and opened his mouth.
“Arendt.”
“What?”
“Later, go for a night walk with Arthur and Richt. It would be better if it’s near your quarters, near the east gate.”
“Ah… a night walk, you mean?”
Arendt blinked for a moment at the unexpected remark, then nodded with a faint smile.
The night walk was quite rewarding.
Because all three of them had their hands full of harvests.
“How many people are there?”
“Five people.”
“There are eight of them here.”
With a thud, Richt threw the assassin he had dragged along to the ground. Arthur also piled the people he found next to him.
“Here are five more. Eighteen in total. That’s a lot.”
Arendt also threw away the dead bodies without any care.
“You couldn’t capture those two people alive?”
“When I tried to subdue them, they committed suicide right away. They are not ordinary people.”
It seemed that they had gathered only those who were quite capable and sent them. Even so, it was impossible to avoid Laius’ monstrous aura.
“They must have been planning to wait and take action at dawn. They must be shocked to have been attacked instead.”
“Hey, Arendt. What the hell are these guys?”
“It’s probably the work of the Crown Prince of the Nephele Kingdom. It’s not confirmed yet.”
Arendt gave a cold answer.
“What a stupid person, sending an assassin when Captain Laius is here.”
“By the way, why would Nephele’s Crown Prince send an assassin? Wait. Now that I think about it, you asked something like “feel anything?” on our way here. Are you saying that they’ve been chasing us since then?”
“You just realized that now? What good are you going to do when you’re so dull?”
Despite their junior’s arrogant criticism, the two could only groan and moan.
Because it wasn’t a wrong statement.
“At this point, I can probably guess who they’re targeting…”
“I guess I know what’s behind it.”
After Arthur trailed off and Richt finished the sentence, their gazes naturally turned to Arendt.
There could only be one person who would go to such trouble to get at that guy.
Richt muttered in a trembling voice.
“After being treated so badly… they still think about picking a fight with that guy.”
“That’s true. How many people did he make have a hard time? At this point, isn’t this just recklessness rather than courage?”
“It’s nothing new, but you guys don’t seem to care about me at all.”
When Arthur also said the same thing, Arendt grumbled as if it was ridiculous.
But that was only for a moment, as he turned his gaze back to the piled up ‘harvest’.
In their pockets was the usual invisibility scroll he’d seen before.
It was a method that the cult’s thugs always used.
If they had rushed in all at once while using the scroll, he would have been able to deal with it somehow, but it would have been quite a headache.
‘Even so, that’s too bold.’
He was just an apprentice knight, right?
He had a feeling what their intentions were.
In a place where royalty was swarming and even the Crown Prince was present, the death of a single apprentice knight wouldn’t be a big issue.
Besides, Alois was also a Crown Prince, so even if something went wrong, he would shamelessly push it by saying it wasn’t him.
It was dirty and deadly, but that was the difference in status.
It was possible to direct it in a way that said, ‘The apprentice knight sacrificed his life to save the guests here.’
The Lucain Kingdom, which allowed the assassins to invade, would not be able to avoid responsibility, and by clouding the investigation in this way, Alois would have escaped like a loach.
‘That won’t do.’
Alois’ scenario was already ruined, so Arendt had no choice but to show him a more interesting story.
A faint smile appeared on Arendt’s lips.
Prince Matthias.
He remembered him following Alois around in fear, yet unable to hide his anxiety.
That would be more than enough prey.
“By the way, what should we do with the bodies? If we leave it like this, there’ll be a commotion. We have to report this to the royal family first…”
Arthur, who was looking down at the assassins piled up like a mountain, habitually checked Arendt’s expression and flinched.
“…Arendt.”
“What?”
“Don’t make that face like you just thought of something fun. It’s scary.”
Richt, who happened to feel the same thing, spoke to him in an annoyed tone.
But the opponent was Arendt. There was no way that he could be beaten.
“A commotion, that’s good.”
Arendt, who had finished calculating, looked back at his two seniors with a refreshed face.
“Seniors, please lend me a hand. I’ll tell you in advance, but this is an extension of the work His Highness the Crown Prince asked me to do.”
“…What are you going to do now?”
“I’ll explain it slowly later. So first.”
Arendt kicked the assassins who had fallen on the ground.
“Let’s move these guys first.”
“Move them?”
“Where?”
As Arthur and Richt’s eyes widened, a mischievous smile appeared on Arendt’s lips.
“To His Highness the Crown Prince’s room.”
“…”
“…”
The faces of the two knights distorted horribly.
Now, it seemed like there was no need to swear again.
The Crown Prince of a kingdom messing with an apprentice knight… maybe that wasn’t a big deal.
But what if the opponent was the Crown Prince of the Empire?
Not only would it be a great way to scare Alois, it would also be a more effective way to intimidate someone who was very scared.
Crown Prince Alois, thinking with ‘common sense’, probably thought that he could deal with at least one person regardless of the outcome.
Unfortunately, his opponent was an unreasonable apprentice knight.
Surely he would never have dreamed that an apprentice knight would dump the bodies of assassins into the royal guest quarters where Cantares resided.
“How can those who have been above from birth know the thoughts of those below them?”
“Please shut up.”