Betrayal Knight's Joyful Faith

Chapter 340

Not long after the return of the Imperial Knights, the Nephele Kingdom announced its intention to join the war.Crown Princess Isabella declared that she would focus on participating in the war, as well as trade with the elves and helping victims of the Evil Cult.

The flow was roughly as Arendt had expected.

Official documents were exchanged between Cantares and Isabella, and soon after, personal letters from the Kingdoms of Everan and Lucain joined the correspondence.

And several of the amnesiac prisoners imprisoned in the Caerleon Empire were also transferred to the Nephele Kingdom for research, and Isabella also finished preparing to join the fight against the Evil Cult.

“I feel like we’ve become a complete entity now.”

Arendt commented as he leisurely munched on some snacks in front of Cantares.

Though it was a leisurely posture with his legs crossed and him leaning against the sofa, Cantares did not point it out.

“The Elven Kingdoms have also declared that they will open their doors to countries other than the Caerleon Empire and the Everan Kingdom… an unprecedented unification has been achieved.”

“If this is the case, we won’t have to worry about internal traitors for the time being.”

Arendt nodded.

At the very least, no nation would side with the Chernion cult, so it was a decent outcome.

While such discussions were going on, Arendt’s tattered hand had almost completely healed.

Although Lexion’s healing magic could not completely remove the burn scars, Arendt was satisfied because he could hold a sword again without issue.

Cantares, who was sipping tea, suddenly asked.

“But why are you here?”

“I ran away. The captain’s lost it again and is training the senior members like crazy.”

For some reason, Zakar also joined Laius, and Salem and the elf warriors were also suffering together.

Cantares looked at him tiredly.

“You are the only one in the world who would use the Crown Prince’s office as a hideout.”

“A hideout? I brought you a report and am keeping you company. I hope you appreciate it.”

It was ridiculous to see him talking so proudly while eating snacks.

Cantares, who had been glaring at him, simply sighed deeply and changed the subject.

“Anyway, Princess Isabella, no, now the Crown Princess. The Crown Princess seems to have quite a strong impression of you. And who wouldn’t?”

The atrocities Arendt committed in the Nephele Kingdom had already reached Cantares’ ears.

“Congratulations. You’ve earned the dragon’s wrath. This will go down in history.”

“Holding a grudge against someone like me won’t get him anywhere.”

Arendt shrugged.

“And Lexion will take care of it, you know. That’s what the dragon was brought here for.”

“It would be really fun to see the dragons fight each other in the palace. Half of the capital would be blown away.”

Arendt was indifferent to the Crown Prince’s sarcastic words.

“Then I’ll tell my seniors to do something and then I’ll run away. I’ll farm somewhere and live quietly.”

“Quietly live your life with that personality of yours?”

Cantares looked at Arendt and scoffed, but Arendt ignored him and changed the subject.

“About the underground ruins that were underground in Count Motier’s territory; Llewellyn is going to send explorers to investigate. He’s sent a few people who are familiar with ruin exploration over there.”

“Tsk. How were the results?”

“There are none yet. Nikephoros completely wiped it out, so there are hardly any traces left. So even if we continue the investigation, it seems like it will be difficult to pinpoint what it was before.”

As Cantares readily played along, Arendt continued her explanation.

“On the surface, it was arranged as if the explorers were hired on behalf of the Neumann Group’s intelligence division. The funds will come from my money, which I’ve entrusted to the Neumann Group.”

“…You’re planning to bill me for that too?”

Arendt nodded his head plainly in response to Cantares’s question.

“Yes, of course. Including the commission I get to keep.”

“…”

“There’s no such thing as a free lunch. As always, make sure the receipt leaves no trace.”

Cantares became distraught as he watched Arendt shamelessly extend his hand.

He was too annoying to give in to easily, yet too capable to scold harshly.

Finally, Cantares rubbed his temples and waved his hands.

“Haa… Take as much as you need from Jen tomorrow. I’ll prepare it.”

“Yes. They say they’ve found a few more fragments, so I’ll report back if we learn anything. At this point, we can only speculate that it might be the Chernion Temple from before the Great War.”

“By the way… isn’t it a bit dangerous to continue investigating? The dragon might attack again to completely destroy the evidence.”

“That’s why I left Lexion’s messenger there. It might be impossible to fight him head-on, but we can buy some time and evacuate the people.”

Arendt shrugged.

In that regard, he was so thorough that it was disgusting.

But he didn’t feel like complimenting him much, even because of the burn scars that were slightly visible under his sleeves.

‘Why does this guy seem more and more mysterious as the days go by?’

If you think you know something about Arendt, you will realize once again how big of a mistake that is.

However, if he were to ask questions openly, Arendt would definitely draw a clear line and shut him out completely, so he couldn’t bring himself to ask easily.

Instead, Cantares decided to ask something that had been bothering him for a while.

“By the way, you couldn’t sleep?”

“Huh? Why are you asking this all of a sudden?”

When Arendt frowned slightly, Cantares pointed to his own eyes.

“Well. Your eyes are a little bloodshot. I think they were like that a few days ago too.”

“Have I been looking at the paperwork too long? I’ve spent the past few days organizing what I need to send to Lord Neumann.”

Arendt responded by rubbing his eyes.

As always, he had a calm face, but there was a subtle sense of fatigue.

Cantares frowned.

“What on earth have you done and how much have you done? There’s no way you’d end up like that in just a day or two.”

“It can’t be helped that I’m busy. I’m such a talented person.”

“…Yeah, you’re really something.”

Cantares grumbled briefly and pulled back the documents he had pushed aside.

“Tch. Since you have to work, you’d better get going. Go back and get some rest or something. Judging by how things look, Captain Laius probably let you run away on purpose.”

“You don’t have to tell me. I’m going anyway. I’m not exactly free myself.”

Arendt responded sardonically, emptied his remaining tea, and got up.

Then Cantares’ displeased voice followed.

“I don’t know if you heard the sentence about getting some rest.”

“When have you ever seen me listen so well? I’m going.”

Arennt, arrogantly deeming a mere nod sufficient as his reply, walked straight out of the office.

He heard someone calling him a shameless brat from behind, but he ignored him as he was used to it.

‘It’s difficult.’

Arendt walked out into the hallway and squeezed his eyes shut.

Once he started to feel the tiredness, it just didn’t seem to go away.

Chronic fatigue was something he was familiar with, and hiding it with acting was not particularly difficult.

However, it seemed unavoidable that some physical signs were noticeable.

‘It’s been several days.’

He had stayed up all night with sleepless eyes.

He tried to count them briefly but soon gave up, considering it pointless.

Arendt headed straight to the training ground.

Thanks to the hard work of Laius and Zakar, a terrible tragedy unfolded before his eyes.

“Oh…”

Arendt stepped back, feeling disgusted without realizing it. The knights of the Third Order and the elven warriors were strewn all over the place like corpses on a battlefield.

Zakar, drenched in sweat, was sitting there looking quite exhausted, and only Laius was standing upright.

“You… traitorous bastard…”

Arthur, who had discovered Arendt, barely managed to raise his head and muttered something akin to a will.

Arendt replied with a disgusted look as he watched Arthur lower his head again.

“Well, I suppose that’s kind of my identity after all.”

“That’s good timing. Arendt. You come too.”

With a face free of sweat, Laius gestured toward Arendt. Then Zakar muttered in disbelief.

“You’re amazing, Captain Laius. Do you still have energy left?”

“I have experienced the strength of the enemy in the Nephele Kingdom. In order to minimize the damage, I must train in advance.”

Laius answered calmly.

Salem lay sprawled next to him, mumbling.

“Captain… are you a monster…?”

The spirits, whose light had become brighter than before, flapped their wings leisurely over Salem’s head.

Arendt hesitated for a moment, then turned around and walked away.

“I will decline. I feel like my injury hasn’t fully healed yet.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. I’ve even confirmed with Lord Lexion that it’s fine for you to move around.”

“…”

Arendt just pretended not to hear and quietly backed away, then quickly turned around and left the place.

“Hey, you little bastard! Do you only act injured at times like this?”

“You little bastard, why don’t you come here right now?!”

Behind him, the seniors’ cries erupted. But Arendt simply ignored them.

Rather than facing Laius’s harsh treatment, it seemed better to return to his room and review the remaining documents.

‘At this point, I’m starting to think maybe I was a bit at fault.’

In ‘The Blue Knights of the Holy Sword’, they were a knight order with a certain dignified charm, but when did they become like that?

Although he was aware that he was the biggest cause, he also thought that he had gone too far.

‘Still…’

A smile appeared on his lips without him even realizing it.

It was much better to look pathetic than to look unnecessarily desperate.

Those who had fought honorably in the ‘Blue Knights of the Holy Sword’ were now rolling around the training grounds in a pitiful state after being beaten by their captain.

They were probably swearing at the damn apprentice knight right now.

‘I guess Salem can protect his own life now.’

Judging by the spirits’ condition, it seemed that Count Stadler’s invention had been of some help.

And thanks to Laius, Arendt, and Lexion’s rigorous training, he was growing at a frighteningly fast rate.

The same was true for the other knights.

‘They say the First and Second Knight Orders have also begun training together with the Elf Warriors.’

The power of the Caerleon Empire now was definitely stronger than the one in the ‘Blue Knight of the Holy Sword’.

‘It looks like Llewellyn has become much more familiar with the artifact since last time.’

The Caerleon Empire gained allies who would stand together against the enemy on equal footing, rather than having to act as a defensive shield alone.

Even the elves who had been hiding their true feelings have become strong companions.

It was now common to see knights and elven warriors mingling.

So…

Sleepless nights stretching on for weeks were no problem at all.