Betrayal Knight's Joyful Faith

Chapter 143

And then the next day.“Last night, His Highness Crown Prince Cantares Al Caerleon was attacked.”

At the conference room where all the representatives from each country were gathered, Crown Prince Victor of the Lucain Kingdom delivered unexpected news with a stiff face.

“Unidentified assassins have raided His Highness the Crown Prince’s quarters. We are currently investigating the details.”

“…”

A cold silence fell, as if someone had poured ice water over them.

In a situation where it was difficult to say anything, someone muttered as if possessed.

“Oh my god, how could this happen…”

“Is His Highness the Crown Prince safe?”

“Has the culprit been caught?”

As if on cue, the conference room instantly became chaotic.

The people who had been making a fuss were silenced when Victor raised a hand.

At that moment, the door to the closed conference room opened and the person involved, Cantares, came in, accompanied by Laius and Arendt.

The person sitting in the front row suddenly sat up.

“Your Highness! I am so glad that you are safe!”

“Thank you for your concern. I am fine without any injuries. It seems I have caused trouble for no reason and caused trouble to the Lucain Kingdom.”

“What do you mean you caused trouble? I can’t believe something like this happened in the palace. I can’t even raise my head.”

Victor bowed his head deeply and apologized.

Cantares tapped his shoulder twice and looked back at the group.

“The assassins were all dealt with by the knights. They were all confirmed to be in possession of invisibility scrolls, and judging by the fact that none of their identities were revealed, they are presumed to be professional assassins.”

“How could this happen…” Thıs content belongs to novel•fire.net

Someone let out a sigh.

The Crown Prince of the Caerleon Empire was attacked! And there was no way to know how many remnants there were.

Victor continued calmly.

“I apologize to our distinguished guests, but would it be okay to postpone the meeting until we can fully assess the situation? We will do our best to accommodate you without any inconvenience during your stay.”

“…”

The faces of the guests froze for a different reason than before.

After a long while, someone suddenly came to his senses and continued to speak stammeringly.

“Now, wait a minute. What do you mean, extending the stay?”

“It is as I said. It may be a bit inconvenient, but I ask you to please do so. Since the background of the assassins has not been revealed, I am making this suggestion out of concern that something unfortunate may happen on your way back.”

Victor answered firmly.

He said it indirectly, but there wasn’t a single person here who didn’t understand what he meant.

There was a mastermind among them, so he could not send them back until he found the culprit.

“But…”

Someone opened their mouth without realizing it and then closed it.

He felt that if he came forward now, he would be directly accused.

As the surroundings became quiet, Cantares opened his mouth calmly.

“The invisibility scroll from the assassins’ corpses is something the evil cult has been using a lot lately, and there’s no other group that would target me so openly. This may be a bit of an exaggeration, but I’m not the only target…”

“…”

“Their targets would include the people here. We are practically their enemies.”

That is to say, other people could also be attacked at any time.

“…I’m sorry to say this, but I cannot help but suspect that there are some among us who are in league with them. If we do not reveal the mastermind here, I believe that our future safety cannot be guaranteed. So.”

Cantares’ frosty eyes slowly scanned the crowd before landing on Alois.

The Crown Prince smiled faintly as he saw Alois’ face harden.

“Please cooperate.”

If there was one thing Arthur and Richt had overlooked, it was that the Crown Prince was not a very sane person either.

Arendt suddenly barged in in the middle of the night.

“Would you like to play the victim threatened by an assassin?”

Even though he was shouting nonsense and pushing in the dead assassins, Cantares pretended to be embarrassed for a moment and then nodded.

Arthur and Richt saw it.

The sight of the Crown Prince with a face similar to Arendt’s, his eyes sparkling with amusement.

When Arthur and Richt, who had failed to stop the two, brought Laius to the scene, the conspiracy between the two had already been completed.

“These days, I’m feeling skeptical about becoming a knight…”

“Hold on. There’s nothing you can do.”

Even though he felt sorry for his junior who was grumbling, Richt had no choice but to speak firmly. His situation was no different.

Last night, they accomplished a tremendous amount of work.

Clearing out the assassins was just the beginning.

The bodies had to be moved to the Crown Prince’s room, the room had to be damaged, and blood had to be spread around to make it look like there had been a battle.

It was Arendt who spearheaded all this work, and it was Arthur and Richt who carried out the work, listening to the Crown Prince’s occasional encouragement.

Laius, who had come running after receiving the two people’s request for rescue, realized that even the Crown Prince had given permission for Arendt to act, so he just put his hand on his forehead and sighed deeply.

Of course, in the end everything worked out well.

To Crown Prince Victor, whose face turned pale upon seeing the scene, Arendt reported a report that was an exquisite mixture of lies and truth.

Prince Victor believed his words at face value because he was a good person and the evidence was perfect, and the situation had developed to the present.

Everything was according to Arendt’s intention.

If it had been a mere apprentice knight who had been attacked, it was obvious that everyone would have been screaming that they had to go back because it was too dangerous and that they had to track down the culprit.

And now, the place they were was Cantares’ new residence provided by the Lucain Kingdom.

Cantares, who was leisurely sipping tea, turned his gaze towards the scattered knights.

“Why are you here? The Lucain royal family has provided sufficient escort, so you can just go back.”

“I’m sorry, Your Highness. I don’t really want to go back…”

Arthur muttered in a voice that seemed to be dying. Laius and Richt also nodded quietly, as if they were feeling the same way.

The Imperial Knights were currently in an uproar at the news that the Crown Prince had been attacked.

The three of them didn’t have the courage to tell them the truth, because they were sure they would get a lot of hate.

Cantares, who had guessed the circumstances, even tolerated the rudeness of them using the Crown Prince’s residence as a refuge.

The atmosphere in the palace was like a sheet of ice, but at least this room was peaceful, so he thought, what was the big deal?

This peace was also shattered the moment Arendt returned.

Arthur, looking around, asked quietly.

“By the way, Captain, where did Arendt go? Is it okay for him to wander around alone?”

“…Worry about those who need to be worried about.”

Following Laius’ sigh-filled answer, Cantares added with a snicker.

“He should be catching some innocent person by now.”

Kwaaaaang!

The chair specially prepared for the VIPs flew and crashed into the wall. Still not satisfied with his anger, Alois kicked the table away.

Boom!

Alois, who was staring at the luxurious table lying on the floor, finally caught his breath.

‘The one who was attacked was the Crown Prince?’

He had been unable to suppress his anxiety since the assassins stopped sending regular reports last night.

He thought that in the worst case scenario, the assassination attempt would have failed and they would have escaped, but something unimaginable happened.

The assassins who were said to have attacked the Crown Prince were annihilated by the Imperial Knights of the Caerleon Empire. Among the knights who dealt with them was the original target, Arendt von Eckhart.

‘Did he move while he was with the Crown Prince?’

No, that couldn’t be true.

They were the most skilled assassins in the kingdom. They had never failed in a job before, and there was no way they would make such a rookie mistake.

They were guys he put a lot of trouble in raising.

‘No, that’s not it. There’s no way they were targeting the Crown Prince. I didn’t give such an order.’

The place where the Crown Prince was allegedly attacked was the residence where he was staying. It meant that the assassins were targeting the Crown Prince from the beginning. That didn’t make any sense.

“Brother, brother.”

Matthias, who had been observing from a corner of the room, spoke cautiously. However, Alois did not seem to be able to hear his voice properly.

Matthias swallowed hard and raised his voice.

“Older brother!”

“What! Don’t talk to me, I’m thinking!

As Alois burst with irritation, Matthias added cautiously.

“Why are you so angry? His Highness the Crown Prince was attacked, so it is only natural that we should cooperate with the investigation.”

“If you don’t know anything, just keep quiet. It won’t help!”

Alois growled fiercely, as if he were going to tear him to pieces at any moment.

In the end, Matthias just shut his mouth, which had been opening and closing several times.

Matthias, who had been staring at Alois with complicated eyes, left the room without even saying goodbye.

More sound of objects being thrown was heard behind him.

As he walked down the hallway, Matthias frowned in annoyance and pressed his temples.

He felt like his stomach would turn inside out if he didn’t do that.

‘Father…’

Before leaving the Nephele Kingdom, the face of his older sister holding his hand tightly and giving him earnest advice was still vivid in his mind.

So, Matthias came to the Lucain Kingdom, leaving his sick father in the care of his only older sister.

But the action had already begun.

He couldn’t get the thought out of his head that his older brother was the one behind the attack on the Crown Prince.

As a prince and as his father’s son, he could not sit idly by and watch the situation unfold.

Even if that meant going against the Crown Prince of the kingdom.

But…

‘I have no power.’

At first, he thought he had to somehow talk to the Crown Prince of the Empire. He had a vague idea that if he asked him for help, something would work out, but things turned out this way.

Now, that plan was scrapped.

If it was revealed that Alois was behind it, the Nephele Kingdom would be finished.

A cold sweat broke out in his hands.

If Alois really joined hands with the Evil Cult and attempted to assassinate the Crown Prince…

‘What should I do?’

He never wanted to see the kingdom fall because of one stupid brother.

Matthias, who was absentmindedly walking down the hallway, lost in thought, did not notice someone approaching him.

“Prince Matthias?”

“Yes, yes, yes?!”

He raised his head in surprise and his eyes met with a young knight who looked familiar.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you.”

“Ah, so…”

Looking at his pure white silver hair and boyish face, the knight’s name came to mind surprisingly easily.

“Ah, Arendt von Eckhart. Excuse me. I was thinking of something else…”

The apprentice knight of the Caerleon Empire.

Although he was not yet formally appointed, he heard that Arendt had already achieved great things and was trusted by the Crown Prince along with Captain Laius.

Indeed, the rumors were not an exaggeration; from his upright posture, he exuded the dignity and elegance of a well-educated knight.

“There may still be enemies left, so it is dangerous to go alone.”

“Oh, no. It’s okay. Thank you for your concern.”

Right now, he didn’t want to get involved with anyone from the Caerleon Empire.

Matthias tried to quickly leave, but Arendt’s voice stopped him in his tracks.

“Excuse me, Your Highness. Could you please stop for a moment?”

“…!”

A chill ran down his spine.

He turned around in a hurry and met eyes with an apprentice knight who was standing there awkwardly, looking at him coldly.

He couldn’t find the polite attitude Arendt showed when he first spoke to him.

“I don’t think you have a hobby of committing suicide with a sinking country.”

“…”

“Wouldn’t it be better to at least make a few excuses for the sake of the kingdom? If you want to see it end in a sea of ​​fire without being able to exert any power, then you can just leave.”

It was a blunt statement that said, “I already know everything.”

Matthias’ face turned pale.