CIATB Chapter 94
Chapter 94
“I heard that shortly after leaving the village, a mercenary group formed by Rebecca herself was stationed nearby. It was a warning to me.”Warren let out a self-deprecating laugh.
“Anyway, I lived as her faithful lover for several years. If she told me to kill someone, I killed them, if she told me to fight, I fought, and in private, I whispered sweet nothings to her.”
Otherwise the village would suffer a great blow.
“Then, either last year or the year before, a guest I had never seen before came to see Rebecca. She was quite particular about how she treated them, so I figured there was something there, and decided to dig into it.”
That was where the real main topic started.
“Rebecca trusted me completely as a lover… so I could naturally know this and that. They were exactly the people you were talking about.”
Warren looked up and looked straight at Arendt.
“At first I thought they were just some odd business partners, but that wasn’t the case. Rebecca was also quite heavily involved with them.”
“And the others from the upper ranks?”
“Rebecca and her men all seemed to be completely obsessed with them.”
Warren answered Laius’ question calmly.
“Rebecca, in particular, was completely absorbed in them, but she never really shared important matters with them. She just occasionally ordered me to handle things related to them.”
Most of that was harmful to people.
“Then how do you know about the artifact?”
“I overheard it. They were talking while holding onto the communication crystal ball. It seems that there was a traitor within.”
The traitor they were talking about was, of course, Arendt. Naturally, the knights’ eyes turned to him.
Arendt met their gazes with an infinitely indifferent expression.
“The story of a traitor follows me wherever I go. It makes me happy.”
“…”
The gazes that had been there left. They had made a silent decision to ignore him. Warren muttered indifferently as he looked at those knights.
“I see why you draw a line.”
“Don’t worry about it and keep going.”
Laius pressed his forehead and urged.
“After that, news came in from time to time. Something like territory being taken, or someone in a high position being killed. In that situation, you completely destroyed one of Rebecca’s gambling houses.”
After that, they could easily guess what happened without him saying anything else.
Arthur groaned.
“Whoever it is, has the order been given to kill the current owner and retrieve the artifact?”
“Yeah, that’s about it.”
“Hmm…”
Arendt glanced around.
“There’s someone who gives Rebecca orders. It’s probably one of the main figures from that damned cult of Broken Hearts or something.”
“Is she doing the work in return for payment?”
“No, I think it’s probably voluntary.”
Arendt, who had been responding to Richt frankly, frowned slightly.
“Is that woman a fanatic?”
“…Maybe.”
Warren, who had been silent for a long time, nodded slowly.
“Since when?”
“Probably since a few years ago.”
“That hometown you mentioned? Is it still there?”
“Probably.”
“Let’s send someone to check that first.”
When Laius realized the situation, he said something, but Arendt remained silent for a moment and fell into thought.
“That’s a cliche.”
And after a while, he burst into snickers.
Warren’s face twisted into a grimace.
“What?”
“No, that’s right. It’s about a witch who goes mad from being obsessed with a strange religion and the beast she raises.”
Although the novel didn’t properly reflect such circumstances, Warren’s story was a story worthy of the “Blue Knight of the Holy Sword”, which exuded a powerful and dramatic atmosphere.
“Anyway, I understand the general context. If you run away, the village will burn, and if your love for Rebecca fades, the village will burn…”
“…”
“You thought that if you went on a mission and failed and died cleanly, at least your family wouldn’t get hurt?”
Arendt was sullen.
“Wow, what a villain with a great story.”
There was a strong murderous look in Warren’s eyes that was directed at him.
“Shut up.”
“If you don’t kill me and remain in custody, Rebecca will think you betrayed her, and your family’s lives will be over. That’s why you were so desperate to be killed.”
But Arendt paid no attention to Warren’s glare and just laughed again.
“I don’t know why everyone likes such a tragic death. It’s just a dog’s death.”
“Hey, hey!”
Arthur was horrified and tried to cover his mouth, but his hand only cut through the air. Arendt, who easily avoided it, continued speaking without hesitation.
“Even if it had gone your way, that village would probably have disappeared without a trace, if what you’ve been saying about Rebecca’s personality is right.”
“What?”
“Your adoptive father rebelled against Rebecca once anyway, so why did that crazy woman just leave him alone after doing something like threatening her?”
“…”
As Arendt’s unusually clear voice continued, Warren’s face hardened. It was only later that he understood what he was saying.
“She was trying to get her hands on you from the beginning. She deliberately caused trouble with your father in front of you. Maybe it was Rebecca herself who leaked the information to your father.”
“Now, wait a minute. Isn’t that too much of a leap?”
“It may be a leap, but it’s not like it’s impossible, right?”
Arthur, who had hastily interrupted, opened his mouth at the coldly added words.
“What do you think? Is your lover so innocent that she is obsessed with a useless piece of shit?”
“…”
“Anyway, the move you were trying to make probably wouldn’t have worked, so now there’s only one move left. To rely on us.”
A cold silence fell over the dungeon.
Arthur and Richt looked at Arendt with slightly tired eyes, and Laius waited in silence with his mouth shut.
Warren’s jaw began to tremble slightly.
“This evil bastard…”
This brat might be worse than Rebecca.
“Okay, then let’s stop this pointless talk.”
“This kid is really ill-tempered…”
Arthur’s soft mutterings were naturally ignored.
Richt, who had been silent until now, opened his mouth.
“If all this testimony is true, things are about to get a little tricky.”
“That’s definitely true.”
Unless they act quickly, they can’t guarantee the village’s safety, since it’s been several days since Warren was arrested.
Laius thought for a moment with a serious expression on his face, then made up his mind and gave instructions.
“We must carry out the subjugation and rescue at the same time. After reporting to His Highness the Crown Prince today, we must begin preparations immediately.”
“You’re not saying that we should just sortie right away and defeat them one by one?”
“…”
A hateful voice cut off his words. It was Arendt, of course.
The poor captain just wiped his face.
“Why, again, what.”
“Hmm… split the troops into two groups, one to attack Rebecca, and the other to save the villagers. I never thought you’d be so relaxed about it.”
“…”
“No?”
Laius was silent.
He was always acknowledged as a spirited and strong knight, but for some reason, when that guy started talking in earnest, he lost all his fighting spirit.
Meanwhile, the arrow returned to Warren.
“How long does it take to get from the palace to that village?”
“It’s not something that can be done in a day or two. You have to climb a mountain.”
“What about to Rebecca’s main base?”
“I could get there in one night… but it usually takes two days or more.”
Warren, dumbfounded at the absurd scene of an apprentice knight complaining to his captain, answered absentmindedly.
Arendt gave the captain and seniors a look.
“And if Rebecca snaps her fingers, an entire village will be wiped out? People will die along the way.”
“…”
“Well, okay. Let’s say we got lucky and succeeded. Now, the guys we need to catch are not just Rebecca, but those damned cultists. Are they going to stay still until we get there?”
“…”
“They could just cut off the tail and run away, or they could gather their troops and prepare for war with the Imperial Knights. The former is problematic, and the latter is also problematic.”
What really pissed them off was that there was nothing wrong with what he said.
Laius frowned and suppressed his irritation.
“Then what, what do you want me to do?”
“Ah, Captain! That’s not right!”
Only after Arthur spoke did Laius realize his mistake. He quickly raised his head and met Arendt’s eyes, who was slightly quirking up the corners of his lips.
In fact, in the current situation, the direction suggested by Laius was the most ideal.
Since they couldn’t win everything, it was better to give up something.
But the problem was, Arendt always came up with some outrageous way to gain everything.
“There is just one way, it’s going to be a bit fun.”
The golden eyes, with their subtle light, strangely sparkled.
“Now that we have this good opportunity, it’s only polite to dig a little deeper.”
“…”
And as always, the anxiety became reality.
Warren, who had not been able to properly understand the situation, blinked his wide eyes stupidly.
Just 20 hours later, the palace was turned upside down.
The interracial prisoner who had recently attacked Arendt von Eckhart had taken advantage of a moment of lax surveillance to break out of the prison and escape.
The criminal who had taken down the two knights on guard duty engaged in a fight with Arendt von Eckhart, who was on patrol, subdued him, kidnapped him, and escaped.
The entire Imperial Knights set out to pursue him, but it was no easy task to catch the fleeing werewolf.
While the palace was in an uproar due to the search that did not end even in the middle of the night, only one space was covered in a quiet silence. It was the small reception room where the three knight commanders and Cantares were gathered.
They had just heard the report containing Laius’s complaints. He was a man who rarely showed his emotions, but he seemed to be showing a variety of expressions these days.
Most of them were related to his apprentice knight, Arendt von Eckhart.
“It’s a bit new, but.”
Cantares, who was comfortably leaning back on the sofa, sipped his tea and started to talk.
“That guy is really hard to handle.”
“…”
The sound of the knights continuing their search was heard from afar.
Laius just sighed deeply, covering his face.