novelAlta Chapter 457: Prove it to me.
Chapter 457: Prove it to me.
Arendt, who had promised to speak frankly, remained silent for a long time.It was quite unusual for him to stay silent for so long, so Cantares decided to wait.
But the wariness and cold gaze toward him remained.
After a long time, Arendt began to speak.
“Someone has to do it. And that someone just so happens to be me.”
“Why? Why now of all times?”
“Because it’s now.”
He answered Cantares’ somewhat sharp question calmly.
“I thought this would be the last chance before a new order is established. Right now, there’s even a hero who can stand in for the god. And, coincidentally, that person is very favorable toward me.”
There was no regret whatsoever on his expressionless face.
“Now is our only chance to snatch the believers from the clutches of God Luce. If we blindly expose the truth, we don’t know what He might do, and the impact on this land is uncertain. So, I’ve created a suitable scenario and attached it.”
Arendt declared this with great confidence.
It was a completely different matter from collecting evidence to expose God’s other face.
“…So, why did it have to be like this?”
Cantares spoke slowly, suppressing his anger.
“Do we need to escape from Lord Luce’s grasp? We’ve already lived under His protection for so many years.”
But the anger that was evident in his voice that followed was something he couldn’t help.
“Why should you decide the fate of the Empire? Do you have the right to dare to shake the very identity of the Caerleon Holy Empire? Even if Lord Luce is unjust, that doesn’t give us any justification to betray Him.”
“Why?”
“It’s not Lord Luce who threatens us right now. It’s the Chernion Cult. And it’s only by His grace that we’ve survived. Even a dog wouldn’t bite the hand that feeds them.”
In response to Arendt’s indifferent question, Cantares continued speaking, engraving each letter.
“Thanks to Lord Luce’s protection, we survived the Great War and have lived peacefully ever since. So how dare we?”
“No. Even dogs that are raised and fed can bite their owners.”
Arendt responded coldly.
“If they’re going to fatten us up by feeding us too much food and then eat us, shouldn’t we at least put up a fight? And above all, we’re not dogs.”
His golden eyes stared at Cantares without a single waver.
“We were worse than dogs to begin with. The Caerleon Empire was nothing more than a puppet, a toy, to God Luce.”
“What?”
“Even animals kept in a cage can eat their fill and live comfortably for the time being. But just look at our current state.”
Arendt held up one of his hands. It was the spot where the burns from Nikephoros still remained.
“There’s only one reason why God Luce protected the Empire and the hero Khan. If He lost them, He would have no one to serve Him.”
A terribly calm voice continued.
“He needed faith to devour them, so he kept us alive like sheep, and when the time came, He pushed us forward, telling us to defeat the Evil God. The Holy Sword? Sure, it’s great. We keep fighting until we collapse from exhaustion… and even when the moment comes where we’d rather just die…”
Arendt could be sure.
That’s how Laius of “The Blue Knight of the Holy Sword” would have felt.
“Because the hero will be able to rise again and fight.”
“…”
“Is that any different from a ghoul or a homunculus?”
Arendt’s voice, once perfectly composed, slowly began to grow agitated.
“What responsibility did God Luce bear for the lives lost fighting the Chernion Cult so far?”
This was also a topic that Arendt would never have brought up usually.
“The priests’ healing abilities? Even that’s just a means to keep us constantly on the battlefield. Just as Chernion’s believers have lost their fear, we’ve lost even the right to collapse from exhaustion.”
Cantares, opening and closing his mouth a few times, barely managed to refute him.
“Why are you so sure? No one knows God’s intentions…”
“I know.”
But Arendt cut him off.
“I know what you don’t know.”
Only he knew everything behind the scenes of this world and this stage.
“I know better than Lord Lexion. I’ve seen and heard it. The fact that I’m still alive and talking is proof.”
Luce’s smiling face, as He suggested a bet, still lingered vividly in his mind. Sometimes, when he fell asleep at night, he found himself confronting that distorted darkness.
In all those moments, Arendt was once again forced to confront the dark side of this world.
“You asked why it had to be that way. We could have just pretended not to know and lived comfortably under God’s protection.”
Arendt began to scratch his neck out of habit.
“Even if we survive, this war will never end as long as we remain under the stage Luce has orchestrated. We will be treated as nothing more than Luce’s playthings.”
Cantares, who had been standing there blankly, noticed that Arendt’s breathing had become somewhat ragged.
“Hey, you…”
“The Captain is simply a captain. Even without the Holy Sword, if the Empire faced a crisis, he’d be a man who would readily step forward and fight. Yet that god imprisoned such a person within his grasp, all under the guise of the ‘Hero of the Holy Sword.’”
It seemed as if Arendt couldn’t even hear Cantares’ calling out to him.
“We could have just lived ordinary, happy lives. The same goes for you, Your Highness. Had this not been the case, you would have simply been a mischievous, eccentric Crown Prince, inheriting the Empire, instead of taking on the role of supreme commander in a war.”
“…”
“It’s the same for the others. They might die meaningless deaths in this war, and if they survive, they’ll just become puppets of God Luce. How dare He claim to be a champion of justice, yet He continues to treat you like toys.”
For the first time, Cantares was completely frozen in place.
“Because of that bastard, Lord Lexion was robbed of his own time. Hero Khan must have been abused throughout his life.”
He was able to find out through a long conversation with Nereid.
The moment he refused to be ‘Lee Soo-hyun’, his body, which was barely holding on to its breath in the hospital, also died.
Just like the current Arendt, ‘Arendt’, who was transplanted to ‘Lee Soo-hyun’, also lost his life.
His fingernails dug into his wound and blood began to seep out.
Cantares, sensing something was wrong, suddenly got up from his seat.
“Hey, are you okay?”
“I had no intention of putting others at risk. In fact, this was supposed to be my last time in the palace.”
But Arendt continued speaking calmly, seemingly oblivious to the fact that his wound had burst open.
“Captain Laius and His Highness can handle the war. I’ve already done enough, so I figured it wouldn’t matter if I died soon.”
It was something he would say habitually.
Arendt was too worn out to even utter those hollow, comforting words.
“So I tried to at least give you all a push from behind. Your Highness, you wouldn’t be able to act freely because of the title of ‘Crown Prince of the Holy Empire.’ And who knows what that bastard Luce might do.”
“Hey.”
“Then it’s better for me, the one who’s been cursed to begin with, to face it. That bastard is the kind who would annihilate an entire generation if things don’t go his way.”
Cantares couldn’t stand it anymore and called out to him, but Arendt still didn’t notice.
“I couldn’t stand the idea of that bastard messing with you all however he wants. We’re the ones suffering and risking our lives, yet that son of a bitch not only steals the glory but holds the power over life and death. Does that even make sense?”
“That’s enough, stop it.”
“The first being to confront God Luce will undoubtedly be like a moth to a bonfire. Since I was the one who started it all, I intended to take that much responsibility.”
This was a harsh reality, so there would be no happy ending where everyone was happy.
Even if they won the battle against the Evil Cult, it would be a sluggish fight that would last for several generations.
“…So, I decided to leave the palace and try to move on my own. As you said, the sparks might fly somewhere unexpected. And if I die, there’s nothing I can do about it.”
So, he was willing to even resort to treason to protect the people from God Luce.
“Before that, I was planning on sending Llewellyn to Everan. If he stayed here, he’d likely be branded a traitor. In that case, it would be better for him to suffer in his homeland, fighting the enemy.”
Feeling as if his throat was burning, Cantares forced his lips apart.
“…Stop it. Can’t you hear me?”
His hands were clammy from cold sweat.
At some point, his heart started pounding like crazy because of all the words coming out of the brat’s mouth.
Arendt moved his eyes again and looked at the Crown Prince.
His golden eyes that seemed to have been wandering far away finally regained focus.
Arendt frowned as he noticed blood on his fingertips.
“…Ah, damn. This crap again.”
The tone cursing himself had somehow returned to the Arendt that Cantares knew.
Arendt shrugged, roughly stuffing his hands into his pockets.
“He was a traitor from the start, so the title ‘rebel’ fits him quite well. An apprentice knight so devoted to Captain Laius that he’s attempting to crown him as the new First Emperor.”
Arendt had regained his usual composure.
“But now I’ve changed my mind a little.”
He paused for a moment and then spoke:
“Judging by how things look, if I run, they’ll chase me all the way to the ends of hell.”
Although there was no subject, he could guess who Arendt was referring to.
The Third Knights, led by Laius. Then there were Lexion and Llewellyn. There were countless others who followed Arendt.
“That part wasn’t in the plan. I was just passing through for a bit. Why on earth would I risk my life for you lot?”
“…”
“In the end, only Luce will be happy. If I’m going to do it, I’d like to personally slit the throats of Chernion, the saintess, and those bastards.”
The usual playful tone followed.
“Even if Your Highness were to dismiss me, I still have ample justification to remain within the palace. Therefore, Your Highness, you may choose the direction you wish.”
Arendt met Cantares’ gaze and smiled.
“Will you continue to throw fish at me and keep me in your palm, watching over me? Or will you reject me and choose God’s protection?”
But Cantares couldn’t laugh.
“…Okay, I understand.”
Cantares, who had been pressing his temples, spoke in a slightly hoarse voice.
“For now, just get out of here. Go sleep or whatever. We’ll talk about it when you’re feeling better.”
“I’m still perfectly fine.”
Arendt responded sullenly.
“I suppose Your Highness needs some time to gather your thoughts. I don’t care what choice you make, so just suffer as much as you want.”
Arendt bowed his head in goodbye and then turned around without hesitation.
The office door closed again and the room was plunged into silence.
“Ha…”
Cantares sighed deeply and rubbed his face.
His head was so complicated that he thought it would explode.
Cantares heard reports that Arendt was seriously ill.