Betrayal Knight's Joyful Faith

Chapter 125

‘I hope it was a mistake.’Unfortunately, His Majesty the Emperor seemed to have no intention of granting such a wish.

The people around them also noticed who the emperor’s gaze had landed on and looked puzzled.

“…Who is that young man?”

“He is an apprentice knight from the Third Division.”

He didn’t want to hear the foreign dignitaries chattering, but their words could still be heard.

Llewellyn poked Arendt in the ribs.

“Isn’t it wrong to say that you’re not noticeable?”

“…”

It was literal.

Arendt never expected this kind of situation to occur.

To make matters worse, the emperor began to stride towards them.

Llewellyn, who had been observing the situation, slowly stepped aside, and the other people who had been between Arendt and the Emperor also made way.

Thanks to this, the human-made path between Arendt and the Emperor was opened wide. The Emperor, too, did not refuse such consideration and walked briskly, stopping right in front of Arendt.

“…Arendt von Eckhart of the Third Imperial Knights’ Order, greets His Majesty the Emperor.”

Arendt paused for a moment, placed his hand on his chest, and bowed his head.

Then the emperor smiled bashfully.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to do this. I was so happy that I ended up moving first. As I said before, this is a comfortable place, so please refrain from being overly polite and raise your head.”

As he stared into the Emperor’s blue eyes, it felt like a deep sea was rising up.

What he felt from that gaze was…

‘Curiosity?’

Although he had a completely different vibe from the dignified Crown Prince, people could tell at first glance that the two were related by blood from their playfulness.

“I am sorry to say this, but I believe this is the first time I have met Your Majesty in person.”

“Yes. But lately, I’ve been hearing your name a lot.”

“…”

There were many things he ate in the palace. How many nobles had he taken advantage of so far, and how many had he made to grab the back of their necks?

Arendt answered sheepishly.

“I don’t think it was a very positive rumor. Rather, it probably bothered His Majesty’s ears.”

“Haha. Isn’t that how things are in this world? Thanks to you, this old man has been having a lot of fun lately.”

The emperor smiled mischievously.

Of course, it would be a horrifying experience for the person who was hit, but how much fun would it have been for the person watching from a distance?

It didn’t feel so bad to receive applause from the audience.

Arendt also chuckled.

“I’m glad you enjoyed it, Your Majesty.”

“Please continue to get along well with the Crown Prince. He seems to be having a lot of fun these days. Oh, dear. I’ve been holding the young man back too long. You should be having fun too. Let’s talk about it separately next time.”

The emperor lightly tapped Arendt on the shoulder and immediately turned around. The attendants who had been waiting followed him, and some of them, unable to contain their curiosity, turned their gazes toward Arendt.

‘Let’s talk about it separately?’

What was he talking about?

Arendt, who was watching the emperor chatting with Cantares and Laius, suddenly came to his senses when he heard a voice from beside him.

“Hey, what’s going on? Why is His Majesty looking for you?”

“I heard he had a lot of fun watching me. He asked me to come here often.”

“…Come here often?”

Arendt, who had just glanced at the disgusted Arthur, turned his gaze back to the Emperor.

The conversation naturally flowed back to the evil god and Laius who fought against the cult. Even so, Cantares and Laius were looking at him with a sidelong glance, as if they were quite nervous.

When Arendt met Laius’ eyes and simply shrugged his shoulders, the captain felt relieved and returned to his conversation with the emperor.

‘I overlooked that.’

The Emperor was said to be the deepest in the palace, but at the same time, he was the one who looked down on everything from the highest position. He probably knew most, if not all, of the things Arendt had done so far.

‘There was a proper audience.’

Besides, it seemed that the Emperor had no intention of interfering with what he was doing.

The corners of his lips slightly went up.

An audience that knew how to applaud, and above all, an audience that knew how to watch the stage, was always welcome.

He felt like he had gained an unexpectedly powerful ally.

After several days of ceremonies and banquets, Llewellyn did not return to his home country.

The chamberlain pleaded with him to return, but he pretended not to hear.

“Oh, I have some work to do in the Empire. You can return home first.”

“Prince!”

“It’s okay. I’m sure Father will understand. But before that, is it really okay if you don’t go first? I’m sure there’s news you need to deliver to the palace.”

“…”

At those words, the chamberlain shut his mouth tightly.

After the banquet, Cantares distributed an official document as he had previously announced. It contained detailed information on the actions of the Sword of the Broken Heart and the information he had learned about the Chernion Church.

The distinguished guests who visited the empire returned to their home countries with gifts prepared by the imperial family and news of the evil religion.

“So, go back quickly. I’ll go back on my own. Oh, I might take a little long. Inform my father about it.”

In the end, the chamberlain had no choice but to leave the palace in tears, leaving the prince behind.

Cantares, who had heard the whole story, grabbed his forehead.

“…So you were left alone in the empire?”

“Yes! But I’m not alone. The guys I’m personally working with will be arriving in the Empire soon. I’ll be accompanying them. Oh, by the way, please keep it a secret from the kingdom! My father and brothers don’t know about their existence yet.”

Llewellyn answered Cantares’ question brightly. Arendt stood next to him, pretending not to know and acting like nothing happened.

It was a headache.

How else should he apologize to the Kingdom of Everan?

But the person who created this situation was just naturally witty.

“Hey.”

“…”

“You must answer when the Crown Prince calls, you damned apprentice knight.”

“Why.”

In short, provoking people with just one word was a talent, if anything was a talent. However, Cantares used superhuman strength to suppress his anger.

“What are you going to do?”

“I’ll take care of it, like I always have, so don’t worry about it.”

“That’s right. His Highness the Crown Prince, don’t worry about it. I’m treated like a half-sent-out child even in the palace. They won’t be surprised at all.”

“Prince, please be quiet.”

“Yep.”

At Cantares’ one word, Llewellyn immediately fell silent.

As the Crown Prince’s gaze fell on Arendt again, the apprentice knight opened his mouth.

“How was the atmosphere?”

“You, no. It went as we intended. Captain Laius became a total hero, and everyone will go back to their home countries and talk about the evil god. It seems that exhibiting the dragon had quite an effect.”

When he spoke of the evil god in front of the dragon he had personally hunted, no one could doubt it. The visitors all claimed to have been indebted to the first emperor, the hero Khan, and the god Luce…

Whatever the case, for the time being at least, there would be no choice but to side with the Caerleon Empire.

“So what are we going to do now, Sir Arendt?”

“What should we do? We have to move again. I’ll tell you the details when the others come…”

Before Arendt could finish speaking.

Knock knock.

There was a polite knock.

“Ah, you’re here.”

“Jen, come in.”

“Yes.”

As Jereon opened the door, Lord Neumann, Count Stadler, and a large man appeared.

“Neumann Den East meets His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.”

“It’s been a while, Lord Neumann. And… your name was Warren, I think?”

The man who followed Neumann, Warren, bowed his head politely.

“I’m sorry, I don’t know much about human etiquette.”

“It’s okay. You know, I live every day with the guy who threw me in the gutter as far as manners go.”

When Cantares gestured towards Arendt, Warren nodded as if he understood.

After a while, Laius joined the Crown Prince in his office and the full-fledged meeting began.

“First, I would like to introduce you guys. This is Prince Llewellyn. I have invited him here as an explorer.”

“…You invited him. Politely? With your personality?”

“There were some threats exchanged, but no bloodshed occurred. Can’t we call that polite?”

“That’s not it.”

When Warren asked in a trembling manner, Arendt answered shamelessly. Laius, who had been listening quietly, pointed it out, but the damned apprentice knight pretended not to hear.

“And that one is Warren. He’s a werewolf. I picked him up a while ago after he was abandoned and gave him to the Neumann group.”

“Werewolf?”

As expected, the prince reacted violently to those words.

“Why is there a werewolf in the palace?”

“I told you that I picked him up. Anyway, that’s not important.”

Arendt cut him off and changed the subject.

“Let’s get straight to the point. From now on, we need to find the dragon’s lair.”

“What?”

“We need to find out where that big reptile is living.”

No one was able to open their mouths at the sudden words.

After a moment of silence, Llewellyn began to speak seriously.

“There are cases where dragon lairs have been discovered, of course. However, in most cases, the owners have either died or left, leaving them abandoned. In reality, no lairs where dragons reside have been found.”

“Why?”

“Dragons are good at magic. They usually hide the lairs they inhabit by covering them with several layers of magic. In addition, there are cases where they don’t even have entrances. You can just use teleportation magic to get in and out.”

“Hoo.”

Arendt nodded indifferently.

“You know very well, Prince. Then where are they usually found?”

“Huh? Well…”

Llewellyn, who had been momentarily hesitant at the sudden question, began counting on his fingers one by one.

“Usually, they are found in uninhabited mountains or places with gold veins. It is said that they prefer places where clean magic power is gathered. Records say there are dragon lairs in the ocean, but that is an area that humans cannot invade.”

“Aha.”

Arendt nodded slightly and turned his gaze towards Count Stadler.

“Isn’t there a place like that, Count?”

“…”

The Count did not answer easily. The others also had strange expressions. The only ones who did not understand the situation were Warren and Llewellyn, who had been mumbling until just now.

“There it is.”

“There is.”

“That’s right.”

These were the words of Cantares, Laius, and Jereon, in turn.

Llewellyn blinked blankly and looked around at the people.

“There is? What are you talking about?”

“Actually, I’m a bit hesitant, but some of the conditions fit perfectly.”

Arendt, rubbing the back of his neck, listed them one by one in a calm voice.

“There was no separate entrance, and the mine was so full of magical power that it was almost overflowing… In addition, there were ruins that contained books and objects from before the war.”

“…”

“Don’t you think we missed something that was right in front of us?”

It was a magic stone mine that was once owned by the Chernion Order and was now Count Stadler’s laboratory.