Betrayal Knight's Joyful Faith

Chapter 525

“…Another riot? Again?”Cantares threw the papers onto the desk. Jereon looked at him with pity after hearing his fed-up voice.

“What is it this time?”

“What else could it be? It’s the people who are demanding that the Luce Church be reinstated as the national religion again.”

“Ah…”

When Jereon offered him some snacks, Cantares began to chew them.

“It’s been almost two years since the war ended, and we’re still hearing this kind of nonsense?”

“I guess people’s hearts don’t change easily. It’s probably because it’s harder to deny the things they believed in and followed than anything else.”

It wasn’t easy to erase the past all at once.

Because strong repression was avoided due to the strong arguments of Laius and Arendt, the work of removing Luce’s shadow from the Empire was bound to be delayed even further.

The reason was that provoking them unnecessarily would only result in a greater backlash.

Cantares also agreed on that point, but…

“But isn’t one every three weeks too much?”

He couldn’t help but feel the fatigue building up day by day.

“Haha… For now, it’s fortunate that each territory can respond to the situation to some extent. Most of the lords are of the same opinion as Your Highness.”

Jereon offered him comfort.

One consolation was that the area around the Imperial Palace was much quieter than other areas. This seemed to be due to the large number of people who had witnessed the war firsthand.

“I guess the Director is going to be busy again.”

At Jereon’s words, Cantares groaned.

“I didn’t originally plan on doing this…”

Most of those arrested for rioting were sentenced to volunteer work at the Imperial Welfare Center. During this time, Lumiel was in charge of their mental education.

Originally, they were supposed to be sentenced to prison, but it was Lumiel who suggested it herself.

“Instead of imprisonment, may I house them at the welfare center and speak with them at length? I’ll have them help with the work there while trying to change their hearts.”

…Or so she had said.

With the Luce Church being removed from its position as the national religion of the Caerleon Empire, the title of High Priest no longer held any meaning.

Because of that, Lumiel was now more often referred to by her title as the Director of the Welfare Center.

“Still, it seems to be effective. It seems like spending time with Director Lumiel and hearing her stories changes people’s perspectives.”

“Of course. She’s an extraordinary person…”

“Even the mighty Arendt becomes a docile lamb before her.”

Jereon chuckled. Cantares sighed deeply at the mention of Arendt’s name.

“Come to think of it, is there any news about that guy?”

“I heard he was released from his disciplinary confinement today. I heard he was imprisoned in Captain Laius’ private villa. This morning, Lord Lexion brought him back to the palace.”

Cantares pressed his temples.

“What was it for this time?”

“I heard he hid alone among the crowd preparing for a riot near the palace… Then, the day before they were to act, he revealed his identity on purpose and fought about fifty of them by himself.”

“Without orders from the Captain?”

“Yes. He acted alone. I heard he obtained the information through the Neumann Informants.”

Cantares’ sigh deepened at Jereon’s answer.

“Haaaaaah… Why doesn’t this bastard ever change?”

“Hahaha. Those fifty people swore to Sir Arendt that they would never glance toward Luce again.”

Jereon smiled awkwardly.

“So they were let off with a warning, and Sir Arendt was confined to the villa… I’m not sure if we can call this a good outcome.”

“I’m sure they’ve come to their senses. They must have been beaten physically and beaten mentally to death by that guy.”

Doing time in prison would probably be preferable to getting on Arendt’s bad side. When Cantares clicked his tongue, Jereon slyly took Arendt’s side.

“Still, judging by the fact that Sir Arendt personally stepped forward, it seems they were a group difficult to deal with with moderate measures. I heard they were even preparing an armed demonstration.”

“…He charged into that place alone?”

Cantares asked in disbelief, and Jereon nodded plainly.

“Yes. In that regard, I think the disciplinary confinement was deserved.”

“He’s a pain in the ass. If he’s back today, he’ll probably show up here soon and cause trouble.”

“Shall I prepare some snacks? The ones Sir Arendt likes.”

“Do you even have to ask?”

Cantares added, responding somewhat sharply.

“Prepare as much as possible.”

“Understood.”

Jereon bowed his head slightly and left the office. He was carrying out the Crown Prince’s order to prepare the snacks.

Cantares was back to pouring over his papers.

‘It would be impossible to uproot their faith right now.’

With Lumiel’s declaration, the Luce Church, which had been centered around the Great Temple, was effectively disbanded.

It was natural that the Imperial Family would come into conflict with those who could not abandon their old beliefs.

‘It’s a miracle the nobles didn’t object right away.’

Now that even the Great Temple has collapsed, the current power essentially rested in Cantares’ hands.

The nobles were unable to even raise their heads in front of the Imperial Family, let alone express their resentment.

The Imperial Family centered around Cantares was closely connected to figures from other kingdoms, and the war hero Laius.

Moreover, it was natural that the royal families of the countries that joined the Allied Forces also expressed a negative attitude toward the Luce Church.

‘Furthermore…’

With the Caerleon Empire’s Imperial Family at the center, exchanges between elves and humans were becoming more active, so there probably weren’t many capitalists who wanted to be disliked by the Crown Prince.

Those with quick calculations quickly severed ties with Luce. Now, only those who could not abandon their old faith remained.

But those stubborn few caused trouble every time things seemed to quiet down, leaving Cantares with a constant headache.

“This is so annoying.”

Cantares sighed, resting his chin on his hand.

But who was to blame?

It was all a result of his own choices.

In the end, giving up on thinking further, he released a long, heavy sigh.

“Senior, did you hear?”

While on patrol, Arthur suddenly brought up the topic. Richt replied listlessly.

“What?”

“Prince Llewellyn is said to be visiting the Empire soon, accompanied by Lord Salem. It seems they’re stopping by briefly during their travels.”

“Hmm.”

Only then did Richt show some interest.

After the war had settled down to a certain extent and the elves had all returned, Salem remained in the Empire alone, hoping to further explore the human world and broaden his horizons.

So Salem joined Llewellyn on his expeditions across the continent.

“Didn’t they say that they were in the Lucain Kingdom until recently?”

“They left a few days ago. Since Arendt was under discipline, I received the call on his behalf. They said they’ll send another message before they arrive.”

“The palace is going to get noisy again.”

Just imagining it made Richt’s head ache, and he frowned slightly.

Every time Llewellyn visited the palace, a considerable disturbance would occur. Most of it involved Arendt, which was bound to be a headache for the Third Knights.

“Does Arendt know?”

“He probably does, right? I’ve already reported this to the Captain and His Highness.”

“But why hasn’t he said anything…”

Richt abruptly stopped mid-sentence.

“…By the way, where is Arendt? Where did he go?”

“Huh?”

Arthur let out a dumbfounded noise at the sudden remark. Richt, who had stopped walking, turned to look at Arthur.

“Where did that guy go?”

“He was under discipline until this morning, but… now that you mention it, I haven’t seen him. He wasn’t in the dormitory either, and he’s not supposed to return to duty until tomorrow.”

A cold chill ran down their spines.

Arthur asked with his mouth wide open in bewilderment.

“Wait a minute, by the way, where did the apprentice kid go? Did you see him, senior?”

“No. I haven’t seen him since training this morning. He must be on duty too…”

An ominous feeling came over them.

Richt’s expression instantly dropped its calm facade.

“Damn it, go tell those guys hanging out in the dorms. Find out where Arendt went!”

“Yes, yes!”

Arthur turned around and started running back to the dormitory.

“This damn brat…!”

Richt scratched his head irritably.

After being stuck in the mountains for two weeks, it was clear that he had become a poisoned wildcat.

Richt quickened his pace as well. He intended to quickly finish his patrol and join the group searching for Arendt.

“Ah.”

They both came to an abrupt halt.

They had spotted a very familiar scene in the distance.

“…”

Laius, looking like he had a stomachache, and Arendt, firmly gripped by his right hand. And the new apprentice, trailing behind them with his head bowed, looking thoroughly guilty.

It seemed they were on their way back to the Third Knights’ dormitory.

Arthur asked calmly.

“…It seems like the situation has ended, so should we just keep patrolling?”

“…Yeah.”

Richt nodded and gave a wise answer.

“Let’s stop by the infirmary on the way back for some stomach medicine.”

“Yes.”

Laius, who had returned to the captain’s office with the two men in tow, asked calmly.

“Why did you go there?”

“Just…”

“Arendt, you keep quiet.”

Arendt, about to respond with a complaint, closed his mouth. Laius’ gaze fell on Ash, the apprentice knight standing behind Arendt, who was seated on the sofa.

“Ash. You explain.”

Ash answered hesitantly.

“Oh, Senior Arendt… hasn’t beaten up those punks he doesn’t like yet….”

“Haaah…”

Laius sighed deeply and raised his hand, indicating that it was okay to stop. Ash, terrified, fell silent, and Arendt grumbled in displeasure.

“This kid’s got no guts.”

“Yours are just excessively large. And please, how many times do I have to tell you not to act on your own?”

Laius’ voice grew louder, but Arendt pretended not to hear.

“It’s those rioters from last time. Turns out there were still some guys left who sold them weapons.”

“Report that, report it! Why on earth are you moving alone?”

“Well…”

In front of the exasperated Laius, Arendt crossed his arms shamelessly.

“Because it’s fun?”

In the end, Laius ended up pressing a hand hard against his own forehead.

It had been exactly three hours since he’d been released from confinement. In just a brief moment of averted attention, Arendt had already found his way to the den of thugs and beaten them all up.

And what’s even more frustrating was…

“Why didn’t you think to stop him, Ash?” ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ novelhall.com

“…Me? Stop Senior Arendt?”

“Yes. I didn’t expect you to stop him, but you could’ve at least reported it to me. Does it make sense to go along with him and then beat them up together?”

“…”

The apprentice knight who had recently arrived was also steadily becoming influenced by Arendt. Ash bowed his head deeply, as if he had nothing to say.

The guy who was reflecting over there had been throwing punches at Arendt’s side barely thirty minutes earlier.

Laius sighed deeply and muttered.

“Haaah… You, stay away from Arendt.”

“W-what?”

Ash immediately looked like he was about to cry. Seeing that only worsened Laius’ headache.

It was good that Arendt was instantly elevated to the status of a war hero, but… the aftermath was too great.

The young ones started to idolize Arendt.

‘Who can I blame?’

It was all his own karma.

“Neither of you are to leave the dormitory today. You’re grounded.”

“Yes… I understand.”

“Yep.”

Ash, his shoulders slumped in reflection, and Arendt, nodding absentmindedly, answered simultaneously. It was clear as day that at least one person would escape within the hour.

“Go get lunch.”

Laius, who had been pressing his temples, gave up and waved his hand. Ash asked cautiously.

“Aren’t you going to eat, Captain?”

“I have a stomachache because of you guys, so I’ll go later.”

In other words, it meant for them to quickly disappear from sight. Arendt shrugged and stood up.

“See you at the evening meeting.”

As he limped slightly out of the office, Ash quickly approached him and matched his pace.

Watching the backs of the two leaving the office together, Laius couldn’t help but sigh deeply again.

“Those guys are a pain in the ass.”

Thanks to a certain someone, it was yet another day that refused to stay peaceful.