Betrayal Knight's Joyful Faith

Chapter 244

The two men, who had finished their report, took off their heavy robes and casually sat down on the chairs.“The master is also worrying too much.”

As Frederick muttered with a sigh, Alec frowned.

“The master is just being cautious.”

“I know, I know. But I never thought the master would doubt the relationship between brothers.”

The two men were errand boys from the East Merchant Group.

News spread through the East Merchant Group that Arendt was going to the Khan Union for his vacation.

As soon as they received the information, the leader sent someone to the Union.

Since the two people happened to be staying at a nearby branch, they were able to arrive faster than Arendt and his party, who had set out from the palace.

“Don’t you think things have gotten a lot better? I heard they fought so fiercely in the palace.”

“He rebelled against his father and ran away from home. If the cause of the discord was Count Eckhart, there would be no need to fight anymore.”

Frederick asked Alec again, who nodded.

“Then we can just go back like this? I think we’ve figured out pretty much everything we needed to know.”

“Okay, let’s withdraw tomorrow. If we stay too long, we’ll only arouse suspicion. If we haven’t found anything, then there’s no need to take any more risks here.”

They also confirmed that the relationship between the brothers wasn’t as bad as they thought.

And it was confirmed that Arendt was involved in the Union’s affairs.

No matter how young he was, he was part of the Imperial Knights.

Even though they were lucky and didn’t get caught today, they might get caught spying tomorrow if they hung around.

Frederick smiled contentedly.

“Then I guess we can just get some sleep and leave as soon as the sun rises.”

“I’ve already finished reporting, so we can take our time.”

“Report? Who did you report to?”

At that moment, an unfamiliar voice suddenly interrupted their conversation.

“…”

“…”

Frederick and Alec reflexively shut their mouths.

There was an awkward silence for a few seconds.

The two men, startled, quickly jumped to their feet.

In their haste, their chairs tipped over and tumbled to the floor, but they had no time to worry about that.

A familiar young man made his presence felt by waving his hand outside the window.

Their minds went blank, and they didn’t even think to scream.

Frederick was the first to recognize the face of the young man hanging leisurely outside the window.

“…Ah, Arthur, Norbert?”

Alec then muttered as if he had seen a ghost.

“Hey, it’s the third floor…”

“Ugh, you’re always taking the easy way, you little punk.”

Arthur grumbled annoyedly and shoved his torso into the room, ignoring the two’s mutterings.

“I got my clothes dirty by climbing up through the window.”

The two men stumbled backward as if they had seen a monster, unable to even think about stopping him as he landed lightly in the room.

Then, this time, a voice was heard from the doorway.

“I can’t help it. I was raised properly, so such undignified actions don’t really suit me.”

Both people’s heads turned towards the sound.

This time, their faces turned as pale as a sheet of paper.

The person they had spied on today, someone they could never forget, was standing there blocking the door with an expressionless face.

Frederick’s jaw trembled uncontrollably.

“Ah, Arendt von Eckhart…”

“You’re out of your mind.”

Arthur shot Arendt a glare with distaste and cursed under his breath.

But Arendt pretended not to hear him and spoke to the two people.

“It’s a nice night, isn’t it? The moon isn’t even up, and it’s so dark you can’t see a step ahead. Just like your future.”

“Uh, when…?”

As Alec mumbled, unable to control his wildly shaking pupils, Arendt frowned.

“You’re not going to ask when we came, are you? You know better than anyone who we are.”

.

Arendt kicked the door shut with his foot and strode into the room.

Arthur also closed the window and moved closer to Frederick and Alec.

“You said you already reported everything, so all you have to do is return? Who did you report what to? That’s interesting.”

“…”

The two men exchanged silent glances, their faces drained of color.

Their escape route was completely blocked.

In the first place, it was impossible to escape or shake off the two members of the Imperial Knights.

So there were only two options.

Either keep silent or lie.

If the fact that they were caught spying reached the master’s ears, it would be the end for them.

After finishing his thoughts, Alec barely managed to speak.

“…What have we done to deserve this? Breaking into someone’s private room like this, isn’t that a bit rude?”

“Rude?”

Arendt tilted his head slightly.

“You eavesdropped on our conversation like a rat and now you dare call me rude?”

“Hey, do you have any proof that we eavesdropped?”

Alec stammered a rebuttal, but of course it was to no avail.

“So what if there’s no proof? I said that you did.”

“…”

If he came out like that, they had nothing to say.

While Alec was speechless and frozen, Frederick finally came to his senses and stepped forward.

“What, what are you talking about? How can you suddenly accuse someone of being a spy?”

“Hey.”

But he too froze stiffly at the cold voice.

A pair of terribly cold eyes were staring at him silently.

“Do I look like I’m joking? Who sent you?”

The unwavering golden eyes seemed to bind his entire body, as if paralyzing him.

.

At the heavy noise that followed, the two people looked at Arthur with a start.

It was the sound of him slamming his sword, still sheathed, onto the floor.

Arthur muttered darkly.

“You’d better talk while you can. The crime of defying the Imperial Knights is never taken lightly.”

“…”

Like startled turtles, the two men retracted their necks and began glancing nervously at each other.

The Imperial Knights were terrifying.

But the East Merchant Group was also terrifying.

Whichever one they chose, they were doomed.

While they were hesitating, Arendt spoke.

“Alright. So you’re not planning to speak, huh?”

“…”

“You have exactly thirty seconds. If you don’t answer within that time, you will be thrown in jail for threatening the security of the Empire.”

“Huh?”

Frederick and Alec’s eyes widened as if they were going to pop out of their sockets.

Arendt continued calmly.

“In these turbulent times, when it comes to the Imperial Knights, especially someone following my every move and eavesdropping, there’s only one group I can think of.”

“…”

“If you don’t answer honestly, I will consider both of you as collaborators of the Evil Cult. You have twelve seconds left.”

The two people were silently shocked.

If they were to be accused of being members of the Evil Cult, it wouldn’t be strange if they were immediately put on death row.

No, even before they would be put on the scaffold, they had nothing to say even if they died by the swords of the knights before their eyes.

Especially because these were the knights who were most active by Captain Laius’ side.

If they just said that they dealt with the remnants of the Evil Cult by killing the two men, no one would question it.

Of course, the master of the East Merchant Guild wouldn’t offer any clarification either

Arendt began to count down slowly with an expressionless face.

“Ten, nine, eight…”

“Wait, East Merchant Guild! It was the East Merchant Guild!”

A sharp, high-pitched scream erupted.

Alec started to speak in a flustered manner.

“Oh, the Evil Cult! That’s ridiculous! How could you say such a thing!”

“It’s not a lie! Who would we lie to?”

There, Frederick waved his hand and confessed with a pale face.

Arendt stopped counting and stared blankly at the two men.

They were completely on edge, carefully watching Arendt’s every move.

They looked like criminals awaiting judgment.

After a while, Arendt blurted out.

“How can I believe that?”

“Huh?!”

When an unexpected response came back, a dumbfounded voice slipped out.

Arendt stood there with his arms crossed and asked.

“How can I believe you guys? Do you have any way to prove it?”

“Ah, no, didn’t you just tell us to be honest?”

Alec, who had suddenly come to his senses, protested that it was unfair, but Arendt did not budge.

“Yeah, but does that really prove you guys weren’t lying?”

Arthur, who was watching all this from behind, let out an exclamation of admiration.

“Wow…really, this guy’s temper…”

The mysterious talent of the guy who played with people felt new no matter how many times he watched it.

In the end, the two were barely able to save their necks after showing their identification cards proving that they were members of the East Merchant Group.

Frederick and Alec sat on the floor, gasping for breath, each handing their cards to Arendt.

The ten or so minutes they had just spent were the most excruciating time they had ever experienced in their lives.

“…Well, okay.”

Arendt, who had been pretending to look at the identification cards carefully, finally nodded.

Just as a smile was about to bloom on the faces of the two men who were drenched in cold sweat, instead of returning the identity cards he had obtained, Arendt tossed them to Arthur.

Arthur caught them smoothly and tucked them naturally into his pocket.

The two people, who had not yet grasped the situation, looked back and forth between Arthur and Arendt.

Arthur spoke to them with pity in his eyes.

“Well, you should have picked the right person to mess with.”

“…”

Alec and Frederick, who had been watching Arthur, turned their heads towards Arendt.

As soon as their eyes met, Arendt spoke calmly.

“There are two ways to get these back. Oh, if you give up your identification cards and run away, I’ll wrap them up nicely and send them to the East Merchant Group’s Headquarters myself.”

“…”

“Are you curious about your master’s reaction? Should I give it a try?”

“No, no! Absolutely not! I’m not curious!”

The two spies screamed.

Arendt nodded with satisfaction.

“Okay, then let’s go back to the two methods I mentioned at the beginning. First, fight us, win, and rob us.”

“…”

“It looks like you’re about to say ‘Does that even make sense?’ with that expression. Are you not going to open your eyes nicely?”

They, who had unknowingly showed a horrified glance, quickly lowered their eyes.

“And second, this one might be a little more comfortable for you guys.”

At those words, they slowly raised their heads with a little hope.

Arendt still looked down at the two of them with his characteristic blank expression.

He was the epitome of a bad-tempered nobleman who was optimized to look down on others.

“Come to the Khan Union tomorrow afternoon, when there are the most guests.”

Alec blinked dumbly, not really understanding what he was saying, and asked again.

“…Huh?”

“Then I’ll give you back your identification cards. Anyway, you guys just need to return to the East Merchant Group by tomorrow, right?”

Considering that he even brought up the Evil Cult, it was a less serious request than they expected.

Frederick and Alec, who had been exchanging glances blankly, soon nodded their heads in bewilderment.

Of course, neither of them could have anticipated the consequences that small action would bring.