Betrayal Knight's Joyful Faith

Chapter 210

“Grand Elder.”In the quiet office, Laius started to speak.

Altair did not respond.

There was no longer any leisure or smile on his face.

His fine hair was disheveled and his beautiful face was hidden by his hands.

Laius called him again.

“Your Excellency, you must have heard about the situation.”

“…The captain seems quite calm even though one of his subordinates has gone missing.”

After a long time, the Grand Elder raised his head and laughed.

He had been through a lot of mental anguish, so his face was rough.

“I know what the captain is going to say. He’s going to hold me responsible for the disappearance of the apprentice knight.”

Laius looked at the Grand Elder expressionlessly.

Altair continued speaking as if spitting out words.

“Now even the elders say that I was wrong, so I have to admit it. You said that this situation happened because I behaved badly, but I have one question to ask.”

“Please speak.”

“Is it really true that all this is a coincidence?”

As someone who was an elder, he could have guessed.

The timing of everything happening was just too coincidental.

“Elder Polaris, Captain Sylvian, Instructor Zakar… is it really a coincidence that they suddenly started to act up? And that the apprentice knight was injured? I need to know this much. Is it okay if I ask what exactly happened?”

The Grand Elder who asked that question seemed desperate at first glance.

“Captain Laius, please tell me. What on earth have you done?”

Laius let out a short sigh.

“Grand Elder, first of all, let me apologize. That guy is too much for even me to handle.”

“Yes?”

The Grand Elder, not understanding what Laius was saying, asked again.

“…What are you saying?”

“This means that both him and I are responsible for this situation. However, it is too late to turn back now, so I have no choice but to do the job he has entrusted to me.”

The Grand Elder still had no idea who the guy Laius was talking about was like.

The captain added without hesitation.

“Grand Elder, it is not too late. If you change your mind, you can easily resolve the situation.”

“It’s hard to understand what you mean by me changing my mind.”

Altair spoke stubbornly, as if making a final rebellion.

Laius shook his head.

“No, Your Excellency, you already know. We should prepare to fight against the evil cult. Then, let’s just cover up what has happened so far as an unfortunate incident that occurred while we were working together to find the spy. It is natural for a knight to make sacrifices for his comrades.”

It was a groundbreaking proposal to cover up all the wrongdoings.

At the same time, it was also a cruel idea that pushed the elves’ backs into the battlefield.

Laius’ blue eyes pressed at the Grand Elder.

“If you will show your faithfulness, the Holy Empire will gladly serve as the sword and shield of the elves.”

“…Do we really have to do that?”

After a long silence, Altair spoke pleadingly.

But Laius was resolute.

“This is good for the elves as well. The karma of war is not directed only at humans.”

“…”

“You must accept reality. It is time to cut out the rotten flesh and prepare to fight. Otherwise, the situation you so feared, Your Excellency, may really come true.”

Altair, who had been silent for a long time, slowly sighed.

He raised his hand and wiped his face, as if he didn’t want to be caught with that miserable expression.

“…So this is what it ends up being like.”

A single sentence, like a sigh, came out.

His hands, which had become withered over the past few days, were trembling.

Looking at him with some pity, Laius added.

“For your information, if the Grand Elder does not change his mind… Arendt will never show up again.”

“…Yes?”

The Grand Elder raised his head at the unexpected words.

Laius added, averting his gaze.

“Arendt is that kind of person. He is the kind of person who single-handedly beats up a spy and subdues him, and then hides himself in the forest and lives carefree.”

“Huh? No, wait. What did you just say…?”

The Grand Elder had to ask stupidly several times.

A hint of anger began to creep into Laius’ calm voice.

“I’m sorry, but you asked me what I did. It’s not me who should be answering that question. It’s that damn guy.”

“…”

“We also have to find that bastard… no, Sir Arendt from now on. So this is our last chance, Grand Elder.”

The more the Grand Elder listened, the more distant he felt.

Only after a long time did Altair realize.

Laius was now answering the question Altair had posed.

Altair, who had been blankly staring, forced his motionless mouth open.

“So… Lord Arendt…”

“Of course, I am also responsible for the situation. It was my incompetence that caused him to make such an outrageous choice.”

It was an absurd thing.

Altair looked at the knight captain with his mouth agape.

“Lord Arendt… really…”

“If I had found the spy first, he would not have thought of such a reckless method as going into enemy territory alone.”

Laius spoke with nail-biting precision to the dumbfounded Altair.

“Because I failed to stop him, I am now here doing the shameful thing of threatening the Grand Elder. So I must make sure to do this properly.”

“…”

“I don’t want to become a more incompetent captain than this.”

Altair remained frozen for a while.

It was not Laius who created this board, but his apprentice knight.

And the Knight Captain was furious at that fact.

But what angered Laius was not the action of the apprentice knight.

It was Laius himself who failed to stop him quickly.

The Grand Elder who had been blankly staring opened his mouth with difficulty.

“Therefore…”

But in the end, he couldn’t finish the sentence properly.

Laius de Winfried, standing in front of him, naturally added strength to his unconventional behavior.

The captain believed that Arendt would somehow survive.

At the same time, he was confident that he would not be holding his colleagues back.

The same was true of the apprentice knight who disappeared without even telling his colleagues.

He believed that even without him having to explain, the captain would understand his intentions and take appropriate action.

That was why Arendt also took such an impulsive action.

Anyone who saw it would see that this was an abnormal trust relationship. Latest content publıshed on Nov3lFɪre.ɴet

Altair, who had been opening his mouth several times, muttered without realizing it.

“…Everyone is out of their minds.”

Laius neither denied nor confirmed that statement.

He simply sent an emotionless blue gaze at the Grand Elder, as if urging him to make a quick decision.

Altair had no choice but to admit it.

In the end, he failed to protect the elves and ruined his relationship with humans.

He was so frustrated that he burst out laughing.

“I see. So I never had the right to choose a different path in the first place since I ruined everything.”

The Grand Elder raised the corners of his lips and leaned back in his chair.

“…Captain Laius, I will temporarily grant you command of the Fog Forest Guard. Search the Fog Forest with them to identify the Elf traitor and rescue the apprentice knight.”

He had a gut feeling that a rescue operation would actually not be necessary, but Altair did not go back on his words.

It was a belated sign of surrender.

At the same time, it was a declaration that they would recognize the existence they had been trying to ignore as an enemy.

“Search of restricted areas is also permitted. I need to take a short break. Sorry. I feel dizzy.”

Laius nodded silently, not pressing him any further.

“Thank you for your kindness. What you are worried about will never happen.”

It was a strange thing to say.

Arendt, with his expression crumpled, tilted his head.

“What, did the survivors die in groups as punishment from God?”

“…”

But Cheltan did not answer any further.

Arendt felt strange because somehow the silence felt like an affirmation.

Was it a simple metaphor or did it really refer to the phenomenon itself?

He hoped it was the former, but in this fucking world, the latter was also a possibility.

‘If that’s true, then it’s understandable why Grand Elder Altair reacted so sharply.’

It was an idea that Arendt could not understand with his common sense.

Arendt, who had been imagining the scene for a moment, couldn’t hold it in any longer and blurted it out.

“This is ridiculous.”

“That’s the way the world is, Arendt von Eckhart. Those who survive are all sinners.”

“You are a sinner. You touched the children and kidnapped me. But I did nothing wrong. All the people who died by my hands so far were people who deserved to die.”

“…”

Cheltan, who had been speaking seriously, froze.

Arendt added:

“Oh, I guess I’m guilty of being too smart. I’m sorry about that.”

“…Are you joking right now?”

“No, I’m serious.”

Arendt looked up at him with wide eyes.

Cheltan looked genuinely dumbfounded.

Arendt shrugged and changed the subject.

“What are you going to do from now on? It looks like everything is ruined. Aren’t you going to be unable to do anything?”

“Why do you think so?”

“Because you can’t do anything right now. If you hurt the kids, I won’t stay quiet, and if you kill me right now, you’ll have no way to escape later.”

He was at peace, as if he was talking about someone else.

Arendt met Cheltan’s gaze and smiled faintly.

“You don’t think you can subdue me with these kinds of ties, do you?”

“…”

Cheltan knew it too.

Now it was almost as if the knight was just staying still out of concern for the children’s safety.

Surely, if he put his mind to it, he could break out of the binds and run away.

“I’ll tell you the best way. Kill me now and run away. Then, won’t you succeed in your goal of eliminating me? If you kill me and go back, your saintess will be very happy to welcome you.”

“…”

“It looks like you’ve been in constant contact with the cult. You probably know what I’ve been up to.”

Cheltan still didn’t answer.

Arendt continued speaking as if offering subtle encouragement.

“Our leader is as capable as Captain Sylvian. He will probably find out about this hideout soon. Then you will be finished too.”

“That’s funny. Do you think you can pay for everything the Imperial Knights have done with just your life?”

“One neck of mine is enough. Isn’t it rather too much? It’s not good to be too greedy, Cheltan.”

After a long silence, when Cheltan let out a bitter laugh, Arendt answered leisurely.

“That jewel was the key to the spell, right? It looks like killing all the children at once would be quite a burden on your body. You might as well give up the holy relic and take my head instead.”

“…That’s funny. Would you rather give up your life than hold back your comrades?”

“They’re not the kind of people who can be caught just by grabbing their ankles. I’m seriously suggesting this to you right now.”

Arendt looked up at him and snickered.

“It wouldn’t be a bad idea to run away with me like this. The evil cult will be waiting for you outside the Elf Kingdom anyway, so it might be better to join them. I’ll follow you now.”

Golden eyes sparkled.

Cheltan realized that he had been listening to him absentmindedly without realizing it.

Cheltan gritted his teeth and spat out the words as if chewing them.

“I can die at any time. I will retrieve the relic. If I fail, you and I will both die.”

“Hmm, that’s a boring choice. Well, okay.”

Arendt, who had been pretending to keep his mouth shut, leaned back against the wall again.

“Let’s wait together. I’m curious to see how they’ll react.”

It was a phase that felt strangely out of place.

It was hard to tell whether it was a sense of indifference that he would not mind dying for the sake of a cause, or a conviction that he would not die.

Cheltan, who was about to say something in response, stayed silent.

It was because he had a gut feeling that if he continued talking, he would be helplessly caught up in the situation.