Betrayal Knight's Joyful Faith

Chapter 407: I dont know anything.

Upon hearing the news of Arendt’s awakening, Victor convened a meeting for late that evening.Actually, he wanted to call him in right away and ask him all sorts of questions, but he decided to give him some more time to rest.

Thanks to this, Arendt was able to eat a hearty meal and even get a bunch of snacks before entering the conference room.

But it wasn’t all good for Victor.

Arendt, who was in peak physical condition, was acting even more arrogant than when they first met.

“…”

At first, he let him sit on the sofa because he was injured, but he never expected that he would leisurely cross his legs and munch on snacks.

Victor spoke, trying to maintain his dignity as Crown Prince.

“Well, first of all, it’s a relief to see that you’ve recovered quite a bit, Sir Arendt. Thanks to you, we were able to defend the palace. You have my gratitude.”

“If you’re not going to give me money, you can skip the formalities. I just hate being bothered.”

But his effort ended up in vain.

Yes, that’s what he was like. He had forgotten for a moment.

Victor’s gaze began to wander into space. Behind him, Knight Captain Edgar averted his gaze and coughed a couple of times.

Laius, who had been watching quietly, calmly pointed out.

“Arendt. How many times have I told you to be careful about your speech in official settings?”

“What did I do? Who was the one who called a resting person over and started talking nonsense?”

Regardless, Arendt simply sipped his tea with elegance.

Richt and Arthur, who were guarding the door as escorts, didn’t seem particularly surprised.

Laius let out a short sigh and simply changed the subject.

“…First, I have a question to ask. What exactly are the relief supplies delivered in my name and in His Highness the Crown Prince’s name?”

“What else could it be? I did the work in place of the captain, who doesn’t have an ounce of delicacy, and His Highness.”

Arendt added, putting down his teacup.

“Don’t you know how to appease the public?”

“Of course I know, but it was too much. His Highness should have taken care of it himself, and there was no need to attach my name to it.”

“The more extreme it is, the better. After all, people can’t help but focus on what they see.”

Just yesterday, while Arendt was in a deep sleep, a large amount of relief supplies and personnel to assist with reconstruction arrived at the temporary shelters for those displaced by the war.

They quickly renovated the flimsy temporary shelters and filled it with plenty of food and daily necessities to ensure a comfortable living environment.

As these were mainly procured by the Neumann Group, which primarily dealt with nobles, each and every item was naturally of the highest quality.

Thanks to this, people were living comfortably and enjoying luxury out of season.

“I heard there’s a peddler heading to the Neumann Merchant Group nearby. I’ve requested that they supply goods and personnel to us.”

Arendt continued indifferently.

“With the Lucain Palace now in ruins, securing supplies and manpower within the kingdom will be limited. Asking for help from neighboring kingdoms now would obviously take too long. So, I’ve taken a light approach.”

“Light…”

Edgar muttered dumbly, his mind blank.

It was admirable that he had the audacity to express this situation with just such a few words.

“With the kingdom in shambles, public opinion toward His Highness the Crown Prince, who had been neglecting the matter, must not have been entirely positive. But there’s one more name to sell…”

Arendt’s gaze briefly fell on Laius.

“If you spread the rumor that you’re the next king, recognized by the Hero of the Holy Sword, it’ll at least bring some peace. The rest is up to you. Even if your pride is a little hurt, it can’t be helped. Your Highness’ position is at its lowest point right now… .”

Just before he could finish speaking, Llewellyn picked up a snack and stuffed it into Arendt’s mouth.

“I’m sorry, brother. Let me apologize on his behalf.”

“…Yes? No, no, it’s fine. It’s okay.”

Victor, who had been sitting there dumbfounded, answered with a start.

“Honestly, what Arendt said was right. And I was suspicious of my uncle for no reason.”

“…I’m not saying anything wrong. I’m just calling someone who’s like a piece of scrap metal scrap metal, .”

Llewellyn stuffed another snack into the mouth of the apprentice knight who was stubbornly saying what he wanted to say.

“I sincerely apologize.”

Laius bowed his head, but it was already too late.

Victor’s pupils were shaking uncontrollably on his face that was trying hard to appear calm.

And instead of scolding the apprentice knight, Captain Edgar chose to act disloyally and quietly turn away from his prince.

It was because he had already learned while fighting together that Arendt was not an opponent that could be dealt with by just talking.

Victor, who had finally regained his senses after a long time, pressed his temples and spoke.

“…I understand what you mean. Thank you for taking care of things I hadn’t even considered. I’ll bill you for the expenses later. The royal family will pay as soon as the situation is resolved.”

“That’s enough. I plan to collect payment from His Imperial Highness later anyway. I have a feeling he’ll pay better.”

“…”

“I’m planning on adding some extra cash as a commission. His Imperial Highness is a bit wealthier than the Lucain royal family. This is also my own business, so please don’t interfere.”

He really had nothing to say.

Victor just gave up on thinking.

Arthur whispered in disgust.

“Didn’t that bastard just say he’s a scapegoat?”

“Leave him be. It’s not like it’s the first time.”

Richt also pursed his lips with a tired expression.

Regardless, Arendt continued.

“If you really want to show your appreciation, then give Captain Laius a big congratulations for coming all this way and defeating the villains. Throw a victory banquet, or whatever.”

Even though he dared to speak to the Crown Prince in such a manner, he showed no signs of discomfort whatsoever.

“You seem to be quite oblivious, so I’ll tell you in advance: the moment my name is mentioned, I’ll cause so much chaos, so just keep that in mind. I hate being annoyed.”

, Arendt put down his teacup.

“And publicly punish those who have joined the Evil Cult.”

“…”

Victor, who had been listening with a blank expression, paused.

It was because he felt a jolt of emotion in that one sentence.

Among those sinners was his own mother.

‘No.’

It couldn’t be explained by saying she was merely involved. She was a key traitor who assassinated the King.

Victor’s face darkened in an instant. Llewellyn began to look around furtively.

Arendt, who had glanced at the Crown Prince, said nonchalantly:

“Oh, by the way, there’s something I forgot to tell you. I’ve assigned a guard to the place where Prince Louis and Princess Rieta are headed.”

“What?”

Victor suddenly came to his senses at the unexpected words.

“Guard? Louis and Rieta are with my uncle right now. My uncle’s knights are also with them.”

Duke Middleton was currently away from the palace with Prince Louis and Princess Rieta.

It was because he was worried that there would be even more confusion in the royal family due to the issue of the king’s succession.

“So, it seems like there’s no need for Sir Arendt to go through all that trouble.”

“That’s exactly why it has to be done.”

Arendt clicked his tongue and leaned back on the sofa.

“Let’s assume Duke Middleton, the prince, and the princess are innocent. But what if, by some chance, among the people accompanying them, there’s still a follower of the Evil Cult? What then?”

“…”

Victor was speechless. Arendt shrugged, as if he’d expected that reaction.

“I’ve assigned a trustworthy person. If anything happens, they’ll contact me immediately.”

“Who would be someone trustworthy then?”

When Llewellyn asked curiously, Arendt gave a simple answer.

“One frozen wolf. That’s a hundred-man army, incomparable to those shabby knights.”

“A frozen wolf?”

Victor asked, bewildered by the strange words.

But for the others besides the Crown Prince and Edgar, that one phrase was enough.

Llewellyn muttered.

“Warren is having a hard time too.”

“He’s a quick-footed fellow, so he’ll be leaving from the Caerleon Empire, but he should be able to join us within a week,” Arendt added.

Victor pressed his temples as his headache grew increasingly worse.

“I… I understand. I should tell my uncle in advance so he doesn’t get surprised.”

“Honestly, he seems like a very thorough guy.”

A brief silence fell over the conference room as Llewellyn grumbled.

The commotion that erupted during the post-war recovery effort had now been fully explained. All that remained was to discuss what transpired in the underground ruins.

“…”

Up until now, they had been chatting in a relaxed atmosphere, but somehow, Victor felt his mouth dry again.

The Crown Prince, who had been drinking tea, began to speak with difficulty.

“And the next matter is… about the underground ruins of the palace.”

Then, Llewellyn, who had been pretending not to notice, also glanced at Arendt.

“Prince Llewellyn personally investigated. He concluded that it was an ancient temple of a previously undiscovered style, but the most important part was damaged, making it impossible to determine its exact identity.”

Victor asked, pretending to be calm, but was also cautious.

“Can you tell me what happened?”

It was quite funny that someone who was the Crown Prince would speak to a mere apprentice knight in such a way.

But the Crown Prince decided not to worry about such details.

From the time Arendt entered the kingdom until now, not a single thing has happened within the bounds of common sense.

“…”

Silence fell in the conference room.

Somewhat tense gazes looked at Arendt.

Instead of answering right away, Arendt stared blankly at those waiting for him to speak.

‘Objectively speaking, it’s a pretty difficult situation.’

In any case, destroying important evidence was a sufficiently punishable offense.

But it was possible to receive this level of treatment because of the things he had done so far.

‘I can’t explain it right now.’

Even at this moment, the silent darkness in the shadows of the room was watching him.

It was a situation where it was difficult to predict what kind of repercussions would arise if the contract with the saintess was broken.

So, it might not be a good idea to just talk carelessly.

In the end, it was a terrible trap where he couldn’t do anything.

Arendt looked down for a moment, then slowly rubbed his face and let out a shallow sigh.

“…I.”

A calm voice came out.

“I don’t know anything.”

“What?”

When Victor asked again, doubting his ears, Arendt repeated it again, word by word.

“I told you I don’t know anything. There’s nothing more I can explain here.”

He was still brash, but his voice cracked slightly as he continued speaking.

It was as if he was very anxious.

“We encountered the enemy, engaged in combat, and in the process, the space was somewhat damaged. There was nothing there originally.”

Arendt’s golden eyes, which had been calm throughout, suddenly grew filled with vigilance.

It looked akin to a wild dog cornered in a corner, terrified, ready to bite at any moment if you reached out.

Victor and Edgar’s faces couldn’t help but stiffen at the sudden change in atmosphere.

It was because he had a strong feeling that he had truly provoked his Achilles’ heel.

“…”

A chill flowed through the conference room, as if cold water had been poured over it.

And just outside Victor’s line of sight, focused on Arendt…

“Oh dear….”

Arthur sighed softly.

Richt quietly shook his head, while Llewellyn’s eyes narrowed as if he had caught on to something.

And then, as if he had seen something unbearable, Laius closed his eyes tightly and placed his hand on his forehead.

“…I should have told you in advance to prepare some stomach medicine.”

At Arthur’s barely whispered words, Richt replied in a hushed tone as well.

“Have it airlifted right after the meeting. I think His Highness will need it more urgently than the Captain.”

“Yes.”

Now that Arendt had spoken, the best course of action was simply to watch and wait for the time being.