Betrayal Knight's Joyful Faith

Chapter 381

“…We must also leave the palace quickly, Mother. The enemy will soon launch an attack on this place.”Queen Liliana simply listened quietly to her son’s words.

Consort Violetta, Prince Louis, and Princess Rieta also looked at the Crown Prince with very nervous expressions.

“Uncle… Duke Middleton and Prince Llewellyn will escort you. Once you leave the castle, reinforcements from the Caerleon Empire will protect you.”

“…Is that really the only way, Crown Prince?”

After a brief silence, the Queen spoke.

“If a member of the royal family cannot protect the palace, then what was the point of saving their life?”

“For now…”

Victor swallowed hard and answered.

“Shouldn’t we live first, Mother? And this isn’t just a fight for our kingdom. In the name of Lord Luce…”

Victor added after a brief pause.

“For Lord Luce’s sake, we have a duty to survive. We must return to the palace alive.”

“Then what about the palace?”

When Rieta asked anxiously, Victor gave her a faint smile.

“Don’t worry, Captain Edgar and the soldiers will protect it. Everything will be alright.”

This time, Violetta was the one to speak.

“Your Highness… will you also come with us?”

“No.”

Victor shook his head.

“His Majesty has passed away today. He is now resting in peace.”

“…”

They could easily read the hidden meaning in it. It must have meant that the Crown Prince personally ended the life of the King who could neither live nor die.

Violetta smiled sadly.

“So this is how it is in the end. I understand, Your Highness the Crown Prince. We will simply follow your will.”

“When you’re all ready, we will depart immediately. It will be a rough journey, so change into clothes that are easy to move in.”

No one dared to contradict the Crown Prince’s words. Only the young princess, looking frightened, clasped her hands tightly together.

Llewellyn, who had been looking at Arendt with anxious eyes, finally expressed his concerns out loud.

“Are you really going to be okay on your own?”

“I’d rather be alone. It’s better than having a bunch of annoying people hanging around.”

Arendt replied indifferently, examining his sword. Llewellyn responded with a look of bewilderment.

“Am I included in those annoying people?”

“No.”

But surprisingly, a quick reply came back. Arendt, who had just sheathed his inspected sword at his waist, added:

“They’re precious, yes, but utterly useless, yet I can shamelessly dump them onto others…”

For a moment, when Llewellyn’s eyes were about to light with emotion, Arendt poured cold water on him.

“You’re a bit noisy, but you’re useful.”

“…What’s that? I was just starting to have a little hope. Is that an insult or a compliment? Pick one.”

Arendt scolded Llewellyn who was glaring at him sulkily.

“I said that you were useful. What are you complaining about?”

“Ah, this consistently shameless brat.”

“Thanks for the compliment.”

“That’s not a compliment!”

Having just finished a pointless argument, Llewellyn looked drained as he rubbed his forehead. Arendt glanced at him and quickly tossed him a robe.

Llewellyn reflexively snatched it from the air.

Arendt’s blunt voice followed.

“You can’t make any mistakes either. You know that, right?”

He too was wearing a robe that reached down to his toes.

“As I said before, the thing to avoid the most is…”

“I know, you bastard. How many times do you have to repeat the same thing?”

Llewellyn snapped in annoyance.

“I’m getting tired of hearing it, seriously. Stop nagging and take care of yourself first.”

“I’m already good at that. What about the magic stones?”

“Don’t worry about it, I always carry them with me. Even if it annoys you, I’ll never die before you do, so don’t worry.”

Arendt chuckled, clearly pleased with the sharp response.

“Good, that’s a great attitude.”

“You think you’re so great, huh?”

Llewellyn draped his robe over his shoulders, his expression grim.

It was now time for the sun to set. The time was drawing near.

“Please, show up in one piece this time. I’m begging you.”

“That’s ridiculous. Who’s worried about whom when you’re such a weakling?”

“Think about your track record. Do you look like someone I wouldn’t worry about?”

After one last round of bickering, Llewellyn thrust his fist out toward Arendt.

“See you later.”

“…”

Arendt blinked several times and then shrugged his shoulders.

. The two fists lightly touched before pulling apart. Only then did Llewellyn’s expression brighten a little.

Outside the window, the sun was slowly setting.

The royal knights and the royal guard, led by Captain Edgar, stared tensely at the darkening sky.

Complete darkness fell over the deserted palace.

The palace would normally be sparkling with splendid lights, but tonight it was different.

Instead of chandelier lights, the darkness was illuminated by torches carried by soldiers.

Standing atop the castle wall, Edgar straightened his back and looked down over the bustling streets below.

Although it was still somewhat early to call it late at night, even the usually bustling streets were plunged into silence.

“Why are you so stiff?”

Just then, a sudden youthful voice came from behind. Startled, Edgar turned around to see a young knight cloaked in a robe.

“Oh, Sir Arendt? When did you come?”

“Just now. How can someone called the Captain of the Royal Knights be this dull?”

Arendt responded indifferently and stood next to Edgar.

The surrounding area of ​​the palace shrouded in darkness came into view at a glance.

“Most of the people around here were evacuated, right?”

“Uh, uh… Right. Since we don’t have enough manpower or time to move them to another city right away, we’ve guided them to the plains near the palace for now.”

“They became homeless overnight. Well, that’s better than dying, I guess.”

Edgar kept glancing at Arendt, who answered indifferently.

It was only a few hours ago that they were informed that Arendt von Eckhart would be moving with the Royal Knights.

‘It’s like he fell from the sky.’

It was also unclear how long he had been inside the Lucain Palace.

He could only guess that he came with reinforcements from the Caerleon Empire.

It was quite questionable in the first place how the Imperial Knights came to provide support so quickly.

It was a question that could have been easily resolved by asking Arendt von Eckhart, who was right in front of him, but he couldn’t open his mouth easily.

Despite his young age, he exuded an unapproachable aura that set him apart.

‘Is it because he received Lord Luce’s grace? He has a different vibe.’

Edgar swallowed hard and spoke to hide his nervousness.

“It is an honor to be able to fight alongside the famous Sir Arendt.”

When Edgar made a lighthearted joke, the indifferent eyes under the robe turned to stare at him.

Why were the eyes of such a young kid so cold and piercing?

Edgar felt a pang inside but kept pretending to be unfazed and continued speaking.

“You’re the hero who saved Captain Laius’ life, aren’t you? I’ve heard that story myself.”

“Well, that’s true.”

When the answer came willingly, Edgar secretly felt a bit relieved. But shortly after, words beyond his imagination followed.

“Thanks to him, I was able to rope in a pushover, so I’m at least quite satisfied with that.”

“…Huh, huh?”

“Captain Laius is quite the pushover himself. It’s easy to take advantage of him using that as leverage.”

Despite Edgar’s embarrassment, Arendt simply continued speaking calmly.

Even though he finally mustered up the courage to speak, the Knight Captain was left speechless after just two sentences and remained silent for a long moment

The Hero of the Holy Sword, Captain Laius. And “pushover”.

It was a dizzyingly incongruous set of words.

Silence fell again.

The only difference from before was that the air had become much more awkward.

“…”

Even the other knights and soldiers who had overheard the conversation between the captain and Arendt began to act differently.

The tension that had existed until just now was completely shattered, and only an awkward atmosphere remained.

Even in the midst of all this, Arendt von Eckhart remained calm.

Feeling a sense of duty to somehow break this silence, Edgar opened his mouth again.

“I heard that you have received the grace of Lord Luce? The future of the Caerleon Holy Empire looks bright indeed. A young knight who has received the grace of God… His Majesty must feel well assured.”

But Edgar unknowingly made a fatal mistake.

The apprentice knight spoke without changing his expression.

“How would I know? The gods can go chew on their grace for all I care. And I’m just doing my job. I get paid, so I do the work. Can’t see why His Majesty would find that particularly reassuring.”

“…”

A hellish silence flowed.

With that, the conversation was completely cut off.

It was the moment when Edgar personally confirmed the rumors about his eccentric personality, along with all the praise he received, such as a genius, an apprentice knight having received God’s grace, etc.

He should have just kept quiet.

Edgar felt a brief regret.

“Captain Edgar.”

At that moment, Arendt spoke first. Before he knew it, Arendt was staring blankly down the wall.

“Yes?”

“How many troops are left in the palace? I understand that His Highness has given orders to just send out those who requested leave.”

“About twenty percent have left… the rest remain inside the palace.”

“How many of the remaining troops belong to Duke Middleton?”

Edgar frowned slightly at the subsequent question.

“Probably about thirty percent of those who remained. None of them left.”

“Then the rest must be those originally stationed in the palace… and with over half of the Royal Knights deployed outside the palace as well…”

Arendt, who had been muttering to himself, grumbled in discontent.

“It might be a bit tough.”

“What does that mean?”

The moment Edgar asked curiously, the sound of the weapons clashing rang in his ears.

At the same time, a terrified cry burst out from below the walls.

“Hey, you bastards! Are you traitors?”

“Have you lost your damn mind? Watch who you’re talking to…!”

“…!”

Edgar’s face turned grave. He immediately ran to the edge of the wall and checked where the noise had come from.

Under the flickering torchlight, he could see royal troops armed with the same protective gear, pointing their swords at each other.

“Those guys…!” This update ıs available on NovєlFіre.net

“Haven’t you heard already? The enemy you must face is not outside the castle, but inside it.”

A cold voice stopped Edgar from running down the stairs.

Edgar looked back at Arendt without realizing it.

!

The sword was smoothly pulled from Arendt’s waist.

“Of course, they might come from outside later, but let’s clean the inside up first.”

“Ah, cleaning?”

“Yes.”

Arendt took off the cloak that covered his face.

“If you have trouble telling friend from foe, just remember one thing.”

His pure white silver hair, golden eyes, and light blue uniform were all revealed.

“. Easy, right?”

A bitter smile appeared on Arendt’s lips.

“I just happen to be a very popular bait for those Chernion cultists.”

“What…?”

Edgar asked in bewilderment. But the next moment, Arendt had already kicked off the wall and jumped down.

.

At the sudden intrusion, those who had been glaring at each other reflexively turned their heads.

Arendt, who had landed stably on the ground, slowly rose to his feet.

Everyone’s eyes, regardless of friend or foe, were instantly focused on him.

Some people were puzzled, while others opened their eyes wide in shock.

“Can you see me clearly? You damn fanatic bastards.”

The unusually clear voice echoed through the palace, thick with the ominous tension of impending battle.

“The neck of the greatest person in the world is right here. Don’t you want it?”

The flickering torches on the castle walls didn’t make for a particularly satisfying stage.

“Even your pathetic god is pretty eager to have it.”

But he didn’t really regret it.

Because the murderous gazes that started to turn towards him one by one were quite satisfying.

“If possible, you should cut it off right now. Because one day, I’m going to kill that damn rat bastard.”

A blatant sneer filled his golden eyes.

“A god who drags around vermin… he’s a total rat. For such a lowly creature, a rude apprentice knight’s sword suits him better than one from a stiff, honorable hero.”

Arendt gave a bitter smile as he adjusted his grip on his sword.

“My name is Arendt von Eckhart. Though this sword is a bit too fine to waste on cockroach-like fanatics, I’ll make an exception and deal with you.”

“I…”

As Edgar, watching silently, let out an involuntary groan, someone else clenched their teeth fiercely with grim determination.

“That damn brat dares!”

The weapons aimed at the soldiers slowly shifted one by one, targeting the lone apprentice knight.

Edgar parted his lips and let out a shocked gasp of admiration.

“That crazy guy…”

It was the moment when the enemy’s target was narrowed down to one person: Arendt von Eckhart.