Betrayal Knight's Joyful Faith

Chapter 482

“Arendt! Are you okay? Answer me if you can hear me!”A shout burst out of his mouth, though he didn’t know where the strength had come from.

“Prince Llewellyn!”

“Your Highness! It’s dangerous!”

Ignoring Salem and Diana’s desperate cries from behind, Llewellyn rushed past the collapsed corpses and reached out toward the dormitory door.

Even before his fingers touched it, a chilling cold radiated from the doorknob.

“…!”

Llewellyn paused for a moment and realized that white frost had formed in the cracks of the door.

A shiver ran down his spine from the cold seeping into his body.

He couldn’t hear anything.

There was not even a hint of fighting.

Growing more anxious, he shoved the door open with all his strength.

“Hey, say something…”

The moment Llewellyn discovered the scene unfolding in the lobby, he stopped calling Arendt.

“…”

It was as if a snowfield had been transplanted indoors.

The ghouls, frozen mid-scream, were all reaching in the same direction.

Where the fearful gazes of the monsters trapped in the frost prison gathered was a young man cloaked in white.

It was Arendt.

More than ten magic stones were scattered at his feet, their light gone.

In that bleached, colorless world, the only thing that retained any hue were his golden eyes.

“…”

Llewellyn couldn’t bring himself to move.

There was something surreal about how Arendt stood there, sword hanging limply at his side, catching his breath as he gazed up at the ceiling.

Surprisingly, it was Arendt who moved first.

He turned around with a jerk and faced Llewellyn.

His golden eyes were empty from fatigue.

“Hey.”

“Huh, huh?”

A voice no different from usual flowed from Arendt.

“Don’t just stand there dumbly, help me or something. I feel like I’m going to drop dead. What the hell took you so long?”

For a moment, Llewellyn’s expression became blank.

“What?”

It was as if he had suddenly returned from a dream to reality. Llewellyn, feeling dazed for a moment, burst into laughter.

“I go through hell to pull you out of this mess, and that’s what you greet me with?”

Only then did the tension in his tense shoulders disappear. But that only lasted for a moment…

Arendt, whose sword fell from his hand, felt a wave of dizziness and lost his balance, staggering violently.

“Hey…!”

Just as Llewellyn came to his senses and was about to rush forward…

A vicious hand grabbed the back of Arendt’s neck. It was Glenn.

“You fucking bastard, were you trying to freeze us to death too?”

He, who was growling fiercely, didn’t look entirely well either. His uniform was a bloody mess, and blood was still dripping from a deep wound that exposed his bone.

Moreover, frost had settled all over his body as a result of the Frosty Touch.

“That’s too bad… I guess frozen boar wouldn’t be bad either…”

As Arendt, held limply by Glenn’s hand, muttered nonsense, Rider crawled out from behind the sofa, shivering.

“Wow, I thought I was going to freeze to death.”

He too had a multitude of wounds that made it difficult to move. Blood still dripped from his shoulder, where a bite mark was clearly visible.

Rider, who had risen to his feet, gave Arendt a reproachful look.

“Hey, you punk. No matter what, isn’t this too much…?”

“If you’ve got a problem with it, , then you should’ve moved first, senior. Like I always say.”

Even as he coughed up blood, Arendt continued to talk back.

Feeling dumbfounded, Llewellyn looked into space and burst into bewildered laughter.

In the middle of a frozen landscape where ghoul corpses were scattered around and dozens of ghouls were frozen mid-struggle, Arendt was talking nonsense while looking like he was in a state where it was a wonder he hadn’t died right away.

“I should have just left you trapped. I should’ve gone and helped Captain Laius.”

“You’re absolutely right.”

Salem, who peeked out from the side, chimed in.

Of course, he didn’t really mean it.

Just looking around gave them an idea of what the situation was like inside.

Arendt coughed a few more times, slapped Glenn’s hand away, and then struggled to regain his balance.

“What’s the situation like outside?”

“The ghouls were summoned in a surprise attack. The battle’s still ongoing. And now, a homunculus has been summoned, and Captain Laius is holding it back…”

Llewellyn, who was answering absentmindedly, suddenly looked at him incredulously.

“Hey, you’re not planning on fighting any more, are you?”

“What do you think?”

Arendt didn’t even acknowledge the question, simply bending down to pick up his sword.

“You should go into my room and wait. Surely they wouldn’t force their way in there.”

“Are you crazy? You can barely stand right now! It’s a miracle you haven’t passed out yet, so why bother fighting?”

Salem nearly shrieked, but Arendt just shrugged calmly.

“No. It’s fine.”

“Stop talking nonsense, please!”

Llewellyn snapped and looked at Rider and Glenn.

“Sir Glenn, Sir Rider! You guys have to stop that guy too…”

But he couldn’t finish speaking.

The two men were also checking their swords and preparing to fight again.

Llewellyn, stared blankly and asked in bewilderment.

“…Are you all crazy?”

They looked like they could barely take another step, let alone fight. But the three men showed no intention of backing down.

“We cannot sit idly by while the palace is under threat.”

“Because we are at war now.”

Following Glenn’s words, Rider added calmly. Salem opened and closed his mouth for a moment before finally speaking.

“Why is it only in times like this that you all act like real knights?”

“Lord Salem, we are real knights.”

Salem shouted as Rider answered awkwardly.

“Please look back at your own behavior!”

“Don’t try to embellish it, just say what you mean.”

Arendt added indifferently, dusting off his clothes.

“We’re all pissed off because of those guys who ruined our dormitory, so we figured we might as well vent our anger a little… .”

Arendt added, coughing dryly.

“But you know what? There’s nothing more embarrassing than venting your anger and then getting killed.”

“Shut up, you bastard. Right back at you. Whatever happens, I’m confident I’ll outlive you.”

Rider snapped back fiercely, looked around, reached out, and tore the curtain. Then, with clumsy skill, he began to bandage his bleeding wounds.

“These seriously vicious bastards…”

As Llewellyn sighed, Salem let out a long breath.

“Please wait. I will give you some first aid.”

Only then did the three people who seemed ready to run out at any moment stop.

“Ray, Luna!”

At Salem’s call, the spirits that had been lounging outside fluttered in.

“Could you share some of your magic with these damn knights? If they die like this, my dreams will become nightmares.”

Ray and Luna tilted their heads in annoyance. But soon the two spirits flew towards the knights.

Luna, who had settled on Arendt’s head, bit his hair roughly.

But Arendt didn’t seem to have the energy to chase it off, so he just sat there, silently accepting the spirit’s mischief.

A shadow fell over Llewellyn’s eyes as he watched them.

Although they were pretending to be calm, everyone, including Arendt, was physically and mentally exhausted.

Still, they couldn’t rest. The reality was that they couldn’t even faint comfortably.

No matter how badly injured they were, if they could move, they had to fight.

‘You can’t endure it with a half-hearted resolve.’

Because this was the middle of a battlefield.

The fight in the palace ended in a disastrous outcome.

The number of people sacrificed to the unexpectedly summoned ghouls reached dozens.

Among the fallen were the servants and attendants who remained in the palace, and even the nobles who stayed behind instead of running away.

Not only the guards and soldiers who fought against the enemies, but even the First and Second Knight Orders suffered fatalities.

The Third Knights suffered no fatalities, but a considerable number were seriously injured.

It was an unprecedented situation since the outbreak of war.

“…It’s fortunate that the damage didn’t spread beyond the palace walls. Prepare a funeral for the fallen soldiers, with the utmost respect. Provide generous condolence money to their families.”

Those were the first words Cantares spoke after hearing the detailed report. Jereon nodded calmly.

“I will make the arrangements.”

“Lord Lexion hasn’t returned yet.”

Cantares continued, pressing his temples. Then Arendt, curled up on the sofa in his office, spoke.

“It’s not that he didn’t return, it’s that he couldn’t return.”

“…”

Cantares glanced at him.

It was a sorry sight.

The Third Knights’ dormitory was reduced to ruins, and the infirmary was not in a condition to immediately admit the wounded.

So, patients in urgent need were asked to stay at the palace…

Arendt, one of the seriously injured patients, insisted on joining the meeting despite his condition.

Cantares was used to seeing the bandages and plasters all over Arendt’s body. He was even able to get over his blue-tinged fingertips from frostbite.

But he couldn’t bear to see him sitting close to the fireplace, shivering under a thick blanket, on a day that wasn’t even that cold.

Finally, Cantares, who could no longer stand to watch that sight, spoke.

“Can’t you just go there? I told you I even prepared a room for you.”

“No, I don’t want to.”

A hoarse voice returned from somewhere buried under the pile of blankets, his silver hair barely visible.

Jereon shook his head and brought another blanket from somewhere and draped it over him.

Even Laius sighed deeply as he wrapped his cloak around the thick layers of blankets.

“Duke Lancelot, how is your injury?”

Laius asked Duke Lancelot, who was sitting on one side of the office. The Duke also had one arm thickly bandaged.

He suffered a fracture because he fell while moving too quickly.

“It’s okay. I’m embarrassed to call this a wound in front of you all. Please give my thanks to Sir Helen, Captain Diana. Thanks to her, I’m safe.”

“I will convey your gratitude to Sir Helen. I’m sure she will consider it an honor to assist you as well.”

Diana nodded lightly.

“More importantly, I heard you gathered some information from outside.”

“Please explain in detail.”

“Of course, Your Highness.”

At Cantares’ request, Duke Lancelot nodded gravely.

“Count Byte was someone I’d worked with for a long time. Even recently, he carried out his duties faithfully and earned my trust. So, I doubt he’d suddenly change his mind and betray me.”

Duke Lancelot swallowed dryly before continuing speaking.

“There were several other strange things as well. It was incomprehensible how a large number of enemies could enter the palace, deceiving even the palace guards and Lord Lexion’s senses.”

If they had used the summoning stones they normally employed, it would have been detected before it was even brought into the palace.

“So I escaped from the palace with Sir Helen and went straight to his residence.”

“Did you find something?”

Duke Lancelot hesitated briefly before answering Captain Kendrick’s question, then spoke in a distressed tone.

“…Count Byte’s body was there. He must have been switched.”

“…”

“His family and the workers at the mansion were all brutally murdered. And…”

The expressions of those who had been listening quietly hardened. Duke Lancelot continued speaking slowly, as if trying to hide his agitation.

“As for Count Byte… I feel terribly sorry to say this about the Count, but…”

But despite his effort, the Duke couldn’t help but pause once more.

“…His skin was peeled off.”

“Huh?”

Diana, unable to fully comprehend his words, asked back. Lancelot met her gaze with a troubled look.

“It’s literal. The enemies killed Count Byte and took on his appearance.”

Count Byte was found dead, his bones and muscles exposed.

Like a well-trimmed piece of meat.