Betrayal Knight's Joyful Faith

Chapter 235

Even though the esteemed Duke was spilling tea everywhere, there was no one to clean up after him.Cantares gaped in disbelief at Arendt, and even Jereon was staring wide-eyed in surprise.

But the person who brought it up was relaxed.

Arendt crossed his legs and took a sip of his perfectly cold tea.

His impeccable movements and haughty mannerisms suited him to an annoying degree.

“Shall I lend you a handkerchief?”

“Cough, Cough!”

“Ah, this is not the time. Are you alright, Duke?”

Jereon suddenly came to his senses and ran over.

While Jereon was hurriedly cleaning the duke’s clothes, Cantares suddenly lost his temper.

“You set the mood like that to say that? Huh?”

“What? I just did it because even the aide was frowning.”

Arendt gave him a mock bewildered look.

The attitude was that he had absolutely no understanding of why the two people were reacting that way.

But Cantares could stake his Crown Prince’s seat on the fact that it was clearly intentional.

“You little punk…”

“How many times have I told you? Once you get serious, you’ve already lost.”

Arendt added sarcastically, putting down his teacup with an elegant gesture.

Duke Lancelot, who had barely stopped coughing, looked at him in bewilderment.

“Huh, sloppy? What do you mean, Lord Arendt? Up until just now, it was clearly…”

“Is it just sloppy? It’s petty and shoddy. And it’s also childish. She polished and prepared, but the fact that it got dealt with by the three of us says it all.”

Arendt picked up a snack from the middle of the table and put it in his mouth.

“What was the reason she spread ghouls everywhere like this?”

“The reason?”

The Crown Prince raised his eyebrows.

Arendt waved his hands in a leisurely gesture.

“She was trying to test out her new creations? Training her ghouls? Well, I guess they’re both right. We’ve been wandering around for weeks because of her.”

Duke Lancelot, who had barely managed to control his coughs, raised his head.

“, so, what on earth are you trying to say?”

“It’s simple. These bastards are making a huge mistake.”

The Duke asked curiously, wiping his damp beard with a handkerchief.

“Lord Arendt, did you just say they were making a mistake?”

“Yes, what does it take for a religious order to become powerful?”

The Duke arched his eyebrows slightly at the returned question.

“Well, if you ask so suddenly, I can’t think of anything.”

“Think about it simply. If there are no people praying, the church cannot exist.”

“That’s… true, but.”

Cantares nodded vaguely.

To the two who still seemed unable to keep up with the topic, Arendt gave a simple answer.

“Who would want to follow a god who kills civilians while spewing out strange monsters?”

“Ah.”

A sigh burst from their mouths.

“Of course, it’s possible to threaten them by saying, ‘.’ That’s probably one of Jiklin’s goals. It’s not clear if there was someone above who gave such a stupid order, or if Jiklin acted on her own.”

Arendt picked up another snack and put it in his mouth.

“…Anyway, it’s clear that it’s not a good choice in the current situation.”

“But instilling fear is also a good strategy, and it seems to be working.”

“If they had moved a little earlier, it would have worked. But not now.”

Arendt shrugged his shoulders at Duke Lancelot’s rebuttal.

“Before things got this bad, Chernion’s name was already widely known as evil itself. We were the ones who spread it.”

They bided their time and held talks at an appropriate time, and whenever the opportunity arose, they did not miss the opportunity to tell tales of Laius’s exploits.

If, like in the case of “The Blue Knight of the Holy Sword”, they had not been able to detect the existence of the Evil God and prepare for it in advance, then Jiklin’s method might have been quite effective.

“We have an iconic hero, and the god Luce, who has long been a defender of justice, is also strong. In such a situation, doing bad things just makes you a son of a bitch.”

“Is the hero you speak of Captain Laius?”

Arendt simply nodded in response to Duke Lancelot’s question.

“Yes. He is an old-fashioned idealist, somewhat naive and unnecessarily upright, but he is the best swordsman in the empire.”

The faces of Duke Lancelot and Cantares immediately turned pale.

Arendt was probably the only person in the world who can say that about the great Laius de Winfried.

“Anyway, bad guys are destined to be trampled by heroes.”

The apprentice knight added with a mocking voice.

“What people in the world want these days is the triumph of good over evil, not the exchange of power between good and evil.”

In fact, after moving and looking around, he found that all those who were mentally shaken by being forced into a battlefield with strange monsters all sought out God Luce.

Ironically, the more the cult ran wild, the stronger the people’s faith in God Luce became.

‘That dragon has a point.’

Those who are driven into extreme situations end up looking for a savior, and in the process, they often find faith they never had before.

Lexion had foreseen this situation and had set such conditions for Arendt.

“In that sense, they’ve chosen the wrong way to show off their strength. If they wield violence like this, people will only feel threatened and run to Luce’s temples.”

“That’s not wrong either, but…”

Just as Cantares was about to respond, Arendt raised his index finger and brought it to his lips.

It meant to be quiet.

Cantares quickly shut his mouth.

Duke Lancelot, who was about to add more, also hesitated.

“I’m sure she’s feeling a little bitter. All the plans she had prepared with such ambition were completely thwarted. Still, she probably hoped at least one or two of the royal knights would die, but unfortunately, that didn’t happen.”

A deep silence flowed through the Crown Prince’s office.

Arendt blurted out with a sly smile.

“Isn’t that right, kid?”

His gaze was fixed on a jewel that glowed bright red.

Cantares, Duke Lancelot, and Jereon couldn’t even breathe properly.

Arendt picked up the box and added:

“Tell your saint. If she wants to pick a fight, she should do it herself. I’ll gladly face her anytime.”

“…”

.

Finally, Arendt shut the lid of the box again.

As soon as the box with the anti-magic function was closed, the ominous magical power felt from the jewel instantly subsided.

Arendt handed the box to Jereon, who was still standing there blankly.

“Please give this to Count Stadler. He came into the palace yesterday, right?”

“Yes yes?”

Jereon, who had been blankly staring, accepted the box in surprise.

“The Count is currently at the palace… He said he came after receiving a call from Lord Arendt…”

“Since he’s not coming out, he must be obsessed with something else. I’ll tell the captain to go check with the Count later.”

Jereon nodded absentmindedly and looked at the Crown Prince.

Cantares waved his hand in permission.

As soon as the aide left, Cantares asked.

“What? What was it?”

“Even if it’s a fake, it wouldn’t have been easy to make one based on a spirit stone. If they were exposing such a precious thing to the Knights, they would have cast a wiretapping spell on it. Especially if it’s that braggart kid.”

Even if he wasn’t told, Count Stadler would easily notice that level of magic.

It was much safer to hand it over to the Count right away, as it was unsafe to leave it in the Knights’ quarters where all sorts of secret conversations took place.

Arendt shrugged.

“The conclusion was this. To make them mad.”

“…”

Cantares and Duke Lancelot openly showed expressions of being fed up with him.

They were at a loss as to where to start, but Arendt spoke first.

“But everything I just said was true. I wasn’t exaggerating at all.”

“Are you saying that their faith is becoming stronger?”

“Yes, it is an actual observed phenomenon. I don’t know how they will perceive it though.”

Arendt answered the Duke and ate the few remaining snacks.

The Crown Prince, who was watching this, asked in bewilderment.

“Is it delicious? Is it good?”

“Yes, it’s delicious. I’d like to get some more when the aide comes later.”

Although there was a clear intention to tease, what came back was, as always, an innocently casual reply.

After much thought, Duke Lancelot finally managed to say a word.

“It seems like it’s been a long time since we last met, but you really… are always the same.”

“You can just say it out loud. He’s a fucking consistent son of a bitch.”

Cantares added, pressing his temples.

“Now that you mention it, I’ve heard that you declined the formal title of knight. May I ask why?”

“What, do I really have to say it?”

When the Duke changed the subject, Arendt answered indifferently.

“In this mess, even if I receive an official appointment, I have nothing to gain.”

“Why?”

“It’s meaningless, unrewarding, and all it does is increase the amount of responsibility. I’m already so busy, what else do I need to do here?”

Arendt shrugged.

But Duke Lancelot still had a look on his face that was difficult to understand.

“Aren’t there different statuses between apprentice knights and full-fledged knights? If you were to receive a full title at your age, it would be a great honor.”

“The honor and position that comes with being appointed. Do you think that would mean anything to me?”

The Duke shut his mouth tightly at the question that was returned without a moment’s hesitation.

After a while, he admitted it.

“…I made a slip of the tongue.”

The Third Knight Order had already become no different from a scene of insubordination.

That apprentice knight, regardless of his position, was getting along very well with his seniors.

Moreover, Arendt’s name was now known to everyone, whether in a good or bad sense.

“Besides, even if the salary goes up a little, it’s only a few coins. Who would bother with that? I have a much more useful purse.”

“You’re something else, huh.”

When Cantares grumbled in discontent, Arendt responded shamelessly.

“I know I’m impressive without you having to mention it. And there’s something more important.”

“What is it?”

The apprentice knight answered the Duke’s question plainly.

“I can’t leave the annoying follow-up work to my seniors. I’m an apprentice so I don’t have any authority.”

“…”

After a brief silence in the study, Duke Lancelot spoke quietly.

“…Your Highness, I think you need to reconsider.”

Even now, that personality was unbearable, but the ones who would suffer even more if he was appointed were the knights of the Third Order and Laius.

Besides, after that guy becomes a full-fledged knight, if a junior apprentice knight comes in under him…

It was terrifying just to imagine.

“I was reckless.”

Cantares admitted it readily.

It was better to be consistent.

If something worse than what was happening now existed, then maintaining the status quo was the best option.