Betrayal Knight's Joyful Faith

Chapter 379

A few hours later, the Lucain Palace began to stir.It was because the Crown Prince, who rarely showed his presence in normal times, had suddenly issued a summons.

“What’s the sudden occasion?”

“I heard that His Majesty has some health problems… Could that be the reason?”

Those who gathered in the conference room continued to chatter, unable to hide their curiosity, even after each of them had taken their seats.

The largest conference room was instantly filled with people, as if all the nobles within the palace had been summoned.

The nobles waited with some anxiety for the King and Crown Prince to appear.

But they couldn’t help but be surprised once more.

The Queen, the Royal Consort, Prince Louis, and Princess Rieta made their appearance.

“…”

The unexpected appearance of those people left them so stunned that they even forgot to murmur among themselves.

The Queen, Lady Violetta, the Prince, and the Princess also looked bewildered. It seemed that they too had not been informed of the Crown Prince’s intentions.

“What on earth is going on…?”

An elderly noble muttered the words like a groan. But there was no one who could offer an answer.

The Crown Prince entered the conference room at last. Just one step behind him was Prince Llewellyn, who had been staying in the kingdom for the past few days.

All the nobles who had been seated rose to their feet.

“Everyone, you may be seated.”

Having said that, the Crown Prince took his seat at the head of the table.

Prince Llewellyn did not enter the conference room, but stood at the door as if he were guarding it.

Though they didn’t fully understand the situation, the nobles took their seats for the time being.

As the room fell silent, Victor spoke once again.

“…I asked you all to gather here urgently because of a very important matter.”

His voice was shaking a little.

The Crown Prince’s complexion was also paler than usual. Finally, unable to bear the tension any longer, a young noble cautiously spoke up.

“I apologize, Your Highness, but you look quite pale. I’m worried that you might not be feeling well.”

“I’m fine.”

But Victor replied curtly. Even that was not like the usual Crown Prince, so the nobles couldn’t help but feel nervous.

“I’ll get straight to the point.”

After swallowing dryly once, Victor began to speak.

“There is someone within the palace who has endangered His Majesty the King’s safety.”

Before entering the conference room, Arendt had a few requests.

First of all, everything should be attributed to Victor himself.

To do that, in this conference room, on this stage, he had to be the main character.

“These wicked villains dared to harm His Majesty and overthrow the Lucain Kingdom. I will never forgive them.”

An eerie atmosphere hung in the conference room.

Everyone was shocked by the sudden statement.

“…Please wait a moment, Your Highness! Are you saying that there is a traitor in this palace?”

“How could His Majesty have been harmed… Is His Majesty safe?”

Before long, shocked voices erupted from all around. Victor raised his hand to silence them.

“Prince, send someone to bring that person here. And please ask my uncle to escort His Majesty to this place.”

“Understood, Your Highness.”

Llewellyn, who had been waiting at the door, bowed his head politely.

A moment later, the door opened again and Otis was dragged in, his limbs bound and gagged.

The faces of the nobles who saw his face turned pale again.

“The chief chamberlain?”

“Could it be that Chief Chamberlain Otis was the one who harmed His Majesty?”

Murmurs erupted from all around. Otis, dragged in by the knights, was forced to kneel in the middle of the conference room.

“This man acted under the influence of the Evil Cult to bring harm to His Majesty. It wasn’t just Chamberlain Otis. Those who acted with him were also arrested and confessed.”

“…”

The noisy nobles suddenly became quiet. They were at a loss for words at the mention of the Evil Cult.

Otis took a deep breath and looked straight at the Crown Prince.

Victor unconsciously gripped the edge of the armrest tightly.

His hands were shaking.

He was terrified by Otis’ betrayal, whom he had trusted and followed since childhood, and by the reality that a mastermind lurked within the family he loved.

His stomach was turning and he felt like he was going to vomit at any moment.

But Victor remembered Arendt’s second request.

‘The more fearful you are, the more indifferent you should act.’

The role he was given was not that of a weak Crown Prince, but that of a true successor to the kingdom who set out to avenge his father.

Victor took a deep breath and opened his mouth again.

“However, the real mastermind has not yet been uncovered. And His Majesty is no longer in a state to take care of state affairs.”

“…Brother, what do you mean?”

Louis, who had been staring blankly, asked urgently.

“Is he badly injured?”

“You will know when you see him in person. Prince Llewellyn, is my uncle here?”

Victor answered stiffly and looked at Llewellyn.

“Yes. Should I have let him in?”

“Please.”

Llewellyn nodded and opened the door himself.

And Duke Middleton slowly entered the conference room, supporting the King.

Victor just shut his eyes tightly.

There were gasps here and there. Finally, the door closed again and the conference room became as quiet as a mouse.

“….”

It would have been better to just be killed. Duke Middleton dressed him up, but even that seemed pointless.

The once handsome king had become a completely emaciated corpse.

His outstretched hand shook as if it would snap at any moment, and beneath his skin, dried blood vessels and bones were clearly visible.

Even a walking corpse would seem to be more at peace than the current king.

“…Ugh.”

Someone retched, but no one blamed them.

The King, who had lost his wits, could only stare into space with empty eyes. Not even saliva flowed out of his gaping mouth.

“…As you can see, this is what happened. He was affected by the magic of the Evil Cult, and there is no chance of recovery. He is also no longer able to take care of state affairs.”

Although his throat tightened at the sight of the King’s miserable appearance, Victor forced his voice out.

No one could refute Crown Prince Victor’s words, because it seemed impossible for the King to return to his original form.

Victor bit his lips once and then opened his mouth again.

“Right here and now, I declare that I, the rightful successor to the Lucain Kingdom, will carry out His Majesty’s will.”

A clearer voice filled the otherwise silent conference room.

“I’ll give you exactly one day. There are still followers of the Evil Cult inside the palace. If you turn yourself in willingly, you may atone for your sins with your own life and receive leniency… but…”

Victor slowly closed his eyes and opened them again, declaring coldly.

“If you are discovered later, three generations will be destroyed. Tell that to those who are not here.”

“…”

Unable to bear to look at his family sitting on one side, Victor simply looked at the miserable King.

“Uh, uh uh… Uh…”

An indescribable sound flowed from the King’s twisted throat.

That was all.

Silence still reigned in the conference room.

“It’s like a marketplace out here.”

Arendt blurted out while standing by the window.

It was already quite late at night.

A procession was seen hastily leaving the palace from the castle gate.

There were a group of nobles returning to their estates, officials who had taken a quick vacation, and servants.

Llewellyn, who had been watching Arendt from behind, added a word.

“If they have any sense, of course they’ll try to run. It’s obvious a bloodbath is coming.”

“It seems like His Highness the Crown Prince has treated you quite well?”

Arendt looked away from the window and turned away. Llewellyn pouted.

“What else could he do? You threatened and pressured him so much.”

“I’m doing this hard work for him, so of course he has to treat me well.”

Arendt shrugged his shoulders, looking no different than usual. Only then did Llewellyn relax a little.

“You are truly… an unfathomable person.”

“What are you talking about out of the blue? I’ve always been great.”

“Not that, you bastard.”

Llewellyn’s eyes widened and he glared at Arendt. Then he let out a short sigh.

“By the way, how long are you going to stay like that?”

“For as long as I can. It’s not my time to step forward yet.”

Llewellyn nodded vaguely at the plain response.

“Well… I can understand why you insisted on putting His Highness Victor out there.”

At least in matters involving the Chernion Cult, Arendt was bound to receive more attention than the Crown Prince of a kingdom.

In that case, there might have been confusion even among the allies within the Lucain Kingdom.

‘By now, they probably already know that Captain Laius is nearby…’

If it became known that Arendt was inside the palace, the enemies would surely become more alert.

Arendt shifted his gaze back out the window.

“Indeed, His Highness seems to have no luck with people. The King has ended up like that, and instead of revenge, there’s an endless stream of those fleeing.”

“That’s exactly what I expected would happen. No need to act surprised now.”

Llewellyn grumbled.

It was a measure to save at least one more person, but still, he felt uneasy watching the procession.

The kind-hearted Crown Prince seemed hurt by the new reality he had to face, but he still did not blame those who ran away.

Even now, he must be swallowing his bitter heart just looking at that sight.

After they all slipped away, the steward and servants who had been thoroughly screened would also be dismissed.

Duke Middleton objected, saying that remnants of the Evil Cult might escape, but Arendt dismissed it.

“So what if they escape? They’ll soon come charging back here armed. We can kill them then. If they were just scared cowards running away, there’s no need to chase them down now. It just shows their loyalty to Chernion was that shallow.”

And anyway, everyone entering and leaving the palace was required to leave their name on the list, so once the situation settled, they could just investigate later.

‘Whether he was ruthless or merciful…’

He had no idea.

But Llewellyn could not refute Arendt’s claim, knowing that his goal was to minimize the damage.

But there was still something that had not been resolved.

The dark secrets within the royal family had not been revealed.

‘You seem to have something in mind.’

Llewellyn’s eyes became complicated as he looked at Arendt’s back. It seemed as if he had some kind of conversation with Victor, but Llewellyn had not yet heard the content.

Then, as if reading his thoughts, Arendt spoke.

“You have something to do as well.”

Llewellyn was suddenly snapped out of his thoughts.

“Huh? Aside from assisting brother?”

In a situation where no one could be trusted and manpower was scarce, Llewellyn was by the Crown Prince’s side, assisting him.

“Once the fighting starts, you won’t be able to do that.”

“Huh? Oh. Right.”

Llewellyn, who was answering in a bewildered manner, only then realized that Arendt’s gaze was directed in a strange direction.

Llewellyn, who had been dazed for a moment, realized a beat later what was reflecting in his eyes.

“Spirit? Is Salem here too?”

“It seems like the little one is doing his part well. It’ll probably take some time, but whatever. I’m sure it’ll work out somehow.”

Arendt, muttering to himself, turned to face Llewellyn.

“The Chernion Cult’s main branch must have noticed that the plan was amiss. That’s why they’ll probably come flocking here too.”

That is why Arendt gathered as many people as possible who could be of help.

Arendt met Llewellyn’s eyes and asked in a quiet voice.

“You know what I’m going to say, right?”

“…”

Llewellyn stayed silent.

Like always, it was hard to refuse Arendt when he spoke like that.