Betrayal Knight's Joyful Faith

Chapter 220

The people there looked at Llewellyn with pity.It was a natural thing.

Because he suddenly had to declare war on the dragon.

Llewellyn, realizing that others were pitying him, cried out in indignation.

“No, if you’re going to look at me like that, at least try to stop him!”

“Because he’s not the type of person who listens when people tell him to stop.”

Jereon answered with a bitter smile.

It wasn’t a wrong statement, so Llewellyn ended up glaring at Arendt for no reason.

“You, promise me instead. You’ll continue investing even after the dragon thing is over.”

“Just tell me. Should I add a few magic stones?”

Llewellyn was left with no choice but to bury his face in his hands once again at the shameless answer.

“This son of a bitch…”

It was quite a rare sight to see the youngest prince of the Everan Kingdom, a troublemaker and overly free-spirited, being helpless.

But the reason why that appearance didn’t seem strange was because the opponent was Arendt.

Jereon muttered softly.

“I think he’s become a bit more mature these days…”

“Jen, you’re mistaken. It’s because the guy next to him is an exceptionally crazy one. It’s not normal to infiltrate someone else’s dragon’s lair with your subordinates.”

“Okay.”

When Cantares responded with a disgusted expression, Jereon nodded obediently.

Leaving Llewellyn alone, who was grumbling sadly, Laius began to speak again.

“Arendt, what was the conversation you had with the Grand Elder on the last night?”

He thought he had forgotten, but it seemed to have been on his mind.

Arendt, who had been teasing Llewellyn and feeling proud, furrowed his brow.

“Why are you suddenly asking about that?”

“Wasn’t there something quite important being discussed? I didn’t ask about it until now because it didn’t seem like something to talk about on the way back.”

But Laius asked back calmly.

It was an urging to hurry up and clarify.

Arendt clicked his tongue, paused for a moment, and then answered in his usual nonchalant tone.

“I found it strange that none of the elves of the Grand Elder’s generation remained, so I asked what had happened.”

“…”

Their expressions suddenly became strange.

Arendt took the opportunity to ask the Crown Prince.

“Haven’t you ever asked the elves before? No matter how much war there was, it would be unnatural for anyone to see that there were no survivors.”

The apprentice knight responded with an indifferent expression to Cantares’s sigh that had been mixed with a moment of silence.

“Haa… of course I thought it was strange. But it’s not like they’d answer easily just because a human asked. Up until now, the Caerleon Empire and the Elven Kingdom weren’t on good terms.”

“He answered me.”

“So now I’m feeling lost again. I have no idea how much you’ve ripped off the Grand Elder.”

The Crown Prince, who had begun to press his temples, asked briefly.

“So, what did he say?”

“He said that there were some who returned from the war, but then one day, suddenly, one or two elves started to die. Except for a few who committed suicide, the cause of death was not properly identified, and so it is said that no one was left behind.”

Cantares’ face hardened.

“What was the cause?”

“In the end, they couldn’t reveal it.”

Arendt shrugged.

The explanation omitted any mention of God or divine punishment.

Llewellyn, who had been listening quietly, groaned.

“It’s clear that something happened… It’s getting worse by the minute.”

“The last death occurred around the time Grand Elder Altair came of age. It’s been about 80 years since then, so it’s virtually impossible to investigate further.”

“Hmm…”

Cantares groaned at Arendt’s addition.

“Were they attacked by the remnants of the Evil Cult?”

“The timing is ambiguous for something like that. It means that deaths continued long after the war ended.”

Llewellyn also frowned and fell into serious thought.

As he stared blankly at those who were quiet, he began to feel a little uncomfortable.

‘I guess we can get past this for now.’

There wasn’t a single person in this place who was slow-witted.

Yet it seemed as if they had not yet considered that this mass death was an act of God.

Then, suddenly, Laius opened his mouth.

“Is that all?”

“Yes?”

Arendt blinked for a moment at the unexpected question, then furrowed his eyebrows.

“What more do you want from me? I told you, I haven’t found out anything more. And there’s no way to find out.”

“No, that’s not it. It seemed like you were thinking about something else the whole time you were moving. Isn’t there something you haven’t said yet?”

Laius looked at him blankly, as if demanding an answer.

Llewellyn and Cantares also stopped talking, and turned their gazes to Laius and Arendt.

The same went for Arthur and Richt, who remained silent.

Arendt frowned and grumbled.

“I thought about it a lot. He said that people slowly started dying for a long time after the war ended. Of course…”

“So what did you think? It seems like you’ve come to a conclusion, so tell me. I’ll listen.”

“…”

Laius cut off his rambling.

This time, Arendt was momentarily speechless.

But that didn’t last long.

“Am I some kind of god? Think for yourself. If even the Grand Elder doesn’t know, how could I know?”

“…I see.”

Laius, who had been looking at him with indifferent eyes, slowly nodded his head.

However, that did not mean that the doubts in his blue eyes disappeared.

Arendt faced him shamelessly.

“Is there a problem?”

“No. Let’s move on for now.”

Only then did Laius take his eyes off the apprentice knight.

That didn’t mean he seemed to truly believe it all.

The others also looked uneasy, but they didn’t say anything else.

Cantares, who had been quiet for a moment, changed the subject.

“…Anyway, even though there were some incidents here and there, it’s true that you worked hard, so go back and rest. Jen, guide Prince Llewellyn.”

“All right.”

Jereon smiled kindly and bowed his head.

It was as if he hadn’t heard anything.

If they were to suspect and ask questions, he’d probably lie.

It seemed like no one had any such thoughts.

Clearly they realized that Arendt was hiding something.

And yet, they tried to pass it off as if it were no big deal.

‘These damn people.’

Arendt rubbed the back of his neck for no reason. One side of his heart felt uneasy.

Two days later, Count Stadler heard the news and came rushing in.

The Count, who had come to the dormitory out of the blue, grabbed Arendt by the shoulder and began shaking him violently.

“Ah, ah, ah, Sir Arendt! Is it true that the dragon’s book has been discovered?!”

“Wait a minute, wait a minute…!”

The sudden commotion caught the knights’ attention for a moment, but they soon confirmed the situation and turned their attention away.

Arendt easily got rid of Count Stadler with force.

“Wait a minute, don’t be so clingy. I was waiting anyway.”

“The book, where is the book?”

The Count could not hide his excitement as he held the apprentice knight’s hand tightly.

It looked like it was going to bubble up at any moment.

“Doesn’t Arendt have it? That’s why I came straight to the dormitory!”

Count Stadler was dressed in travel clothes, as if it was true that he had come looking for him.

It seemed like he had even left his servants behind.

“Please drink some water and wait. I have to call His Highness the Crown Prince and the Captains together.”

Arendt tightened his grip on the Count’s shoulder to keep him from clinging any closer.

Only then did Count Stadler calm down.

Then a little later.

The Count was able to stand in the conference room where the three Grand Masters of the Imperial Knights, Llewellyn, and Cantares were gathered, looking relatively neat.

“Ohhh…! This is it!”

When Arendt handed him the book, Count Stadler’s eyes sparkled.

Kendrick smiled awkwardly at the sight.

“Why does the Count’s condition get worse every time I see him?”

“I don’t think that’s something to be said with a smile, Sir Kendrick.”

Diana pointed out quietly from the side.

Regardless of that, Count Stadler was busy leafing through the books.

“This is… oh, it looks like a very old jewel. It seems to have a very powerful magic, but it is different from the artifacts you have shown me so far.”

It was the same conclusion that Laius and Arendt reached.

Count Stadler carefully flipped through the leather cover to check the contents and let out another exclamation.

“That’s right! It’s written in verb form. It’s a similar form of writing to those found in the mines.”

“Is it possible to interpret this?”

“No, unfortunately it is…”

The Count shook his head regretfully at Llewellyn’s question.

“I’ve tried everything I can, but the text itself seems to contain some sort of magic that’s preventing it from being read. Perhaps only their kind, the dragons, can read it.”

After a brief explanation, Count Stadler closed the book again and began to examine it carefully.

“…There’s a very powerful preservation spell cast on it. It’s definitely from a dragon.”

Contrary to his excitement, his hands were quite cautious when handling the book while wearing gloves.

“I don’t know for sure, but it seems to be some kind of preservation and cleansing magic that was also applied to the items found in the magic stone mine.”

“Can you analyze it?”

The Count nodded to Cantares’ question.

“If we move it to the lab, of course we can examine it more closely, but Arendt has already told me that this is not possible.”

Count Stadler nodded.

Strictly speaking, this belonged to Lexion, and there was no way to predict what the dragon would do in the future.

In that situation, it was decided that it would not be advisable to move the book to the laboratory.

“So, I brought the necessary items by carriage. If you permit, I will look into it right after the meeting is over.”

“How long will it take?”

Arendt, who was standing in the corner with his arms crossed, suddenly asked.

“If we start today, we’ll be done by tomorrow morning. Unfortunately, there’s not much we can find out.”

Count Stadler smacked his lips regretfully.

“It is nearly impossible to decipher the dragon’s magic with human technology. I have felt this strongly so far.”

He had struggled several times while investigating the items from the mine.

Arendt nodded and answered.

“Then please do it as soon as possible.”

“Yes, I will try my best.”

Count Stadler nodded with determined eyes.

Diana, who had been quietly listening to the conversation, opened her mouth.

“Is that book something that Lord Arendt is in charge of? I heard it’s something that the dragon is looking for.”

“Yes, I plan to keep it after the analysis is complete.”

“I will not interfere with this matter since His Highness has given his permission…”

Diana trailed off and furrowed her eyebrows.

“Isn’t that too dangerous? I heard that he was asked to go to the dragon himself.”

“Haha…”

Hearing that, Llewellyn burst into laughter as if liberated.

Diana and Kendrick, who knew nothing, looked puzzled.

“Is something wrong, Prince?”

“Don’t worry, Captain Diana. That bastard doesn’t seem to have any intention of going there alone.”

Llewellyn gave an empty answer to Diana’s question.

Naturally, Kendrick looked at Cantares.

But the Crown Prince also slowly turned his head and sighed deeply.

“Prince, have you done it?”

“Once I told my subordinates… they were all like, ‘Are you crazy?’…”

Llewellyn trailed off.

As a look of regret crossed Laius’ eyes, the three people who knew nothing about it became even more bewildered.

After a while, Laius briefly explained Arendt’s misdeeds to them.

The Count, Diana, and Kendrick facepalmed in a manner similar to Cantares.