Betrayal Knight's Joyful Faith

Chapter 97

The young knight, having accomplished all his objectives, took the alcohol and returned to his room..

The voice of her subordinate pulled Rebecca out of her reverie and back to reality.

“Lady Rebecca, the Imperial Knights have made their move.”

Only then did Rebecca raise her head.

It seemed that putting up surveillance around the palace wasn’t a waste of time.

“How many people?”

“Commander Laius de Winfried and two other knights,” The stiff-faced subordinate reported.

There are only three.

“Warren, were you followed?”

“…I can’t give you a definitive answer that I wasn’t.”

Warren, who had been quietly sitting, muttered.

“But, Warren being followed…”

“It’s possible. They’re the Imperial Knights. They’re not easy people.”

Warren answered his subordinate’s cautious question bluntly.

Rebecca, who had been lightly thinking while stroking the ends of her hair, asked another question.

“Are they coming this way?”

“Yes, I think they will arrive here within two or three days.”

“Search the area. There might be some Templars hiding there.”

“Yes, I understand.”

As the prostrate subordinate stepped aside, Rebecca leaned back against the backrest.

“I’m sorry.”

“No, it couldn’t be helped.”

Rebecca responded indifferently to Warren’s brief apology and fell into thought again.

“This is absolutely ridiculous.”

The young knight quickly made his way through the mercenaries and eventually managed to extract the name Chernion.

He said he did it because he wanted to, but Rebecca didn’t believe such foolish words.

But…

‘I can’t read your mind.’

She was pretty confident in reading people, but she just couldn’t figure out what that young man was thinking.

Whether it was bravery or just childish recklessness… it was hard to tell even that.

Even if his intention was to obtain some information, it would only be meaningful if he could return to the palace with it.

‘Does he think he can come back alive from here?’

Laius de Winfried himself charged towards them.

Right now, there were only three people, including the captain himself, but that alone was enough to pose a threat. The strength of the captain of the Third Knights was already well known.

It was even confirmed that the Frosty Touch and the Shadow of the Strong were in their hands.

Moreover, since the location of the main unit had been revealed, it was obvious that the entire Imperial Knights would advance towards this area at some point.

To stop that, she had to nip it in the bud.

Somehow, she had to kill Laius here and now.

‘I can’t handle it alone.’

But if she asked the church for support, she would end up losing the toy she finally got her hands on.

Arendt von Eckhart was a recent figure to watch for in the church. In terms of notoriety, he might even be higher than General Laius.

Rebecca hesitated for a moment, but soon came to a conclusion.

“…It’s a shame.”

“What?”

“I want to be greedy, but I don’t have the confidence to handle it if something happens.”

The unknown was intriguing, but the unknowable was simply dangerous.

Arendt von Eckhart was the latter.

With a short sigh, Rebecca slowly sat up.

Warren asked curiously.

“Where are you going?”

“I need to call for assistance, and I also need to have a quick meeting with the young knight who I can’t handle.”

Warren followed Rebecca as she got out of her seat.

Rebecca tapped Warren on the shoulder and left the office ahead of him. Warren followed quietly behind her like a shadow.

Arendt, who had been buried in the sofa, raised his head at the sudden visitor.

“What?”

“I heard your colleagues were coming this way. You must be quite happy to see them.”

Even at those words thrown out of the blue, Arendt simply tilted his head naturally.

“Do you think so?”

“Isn’t that a situation worth looking forward to? There are only three of them, including the captain.”

Arendt’s face cracked slightly.

“…Three?”

“Yeah, I guess they’re coming to save you?”

Rebecca hummed as she sat down next to Arendt. Arendt leaned back slightly, putting some distance between them.

“Even if the captain is included, there’s no chance of winning with just three people. Right?”

“…”

Rebecca smiled brightly.

“That’s good. The palace may have abandoned you, but at least your captain seems ready to give his life for you.”

After a brief pause, Arendt scratched his head irritably.

“…Haa, I guess so. He’s a human who can’t do calculations. It’s obvious that he’d jump in without hesitation this time too.”

“I’m sure Warren won’t be able to handle Commander Laius either, so that’s why I asked the church for reinforcements.”

Rebecca continued, leaning back comfortably on the sofa.

“Thank goodness someone came directly from the church. He was someone who regretted Vincent’s death and had been waiting for the opportunity.”

“It wasn’t them who killed that kid, it was me. Isn’t he coming for my head in the end?”

“I told him that I captured you, so he probably will. I want to make sure of something now.”

Rebecca smiled faintly at his irritated grumbling.

“There is only one way for you to survive now— to cling to me.”

The words he had just given to Warren came back to him in full force.

For the first time, a crack appeared on Arendt’s face, which had always been indifferent. Arendt, who had been taking a deep breath, furrowed his brows.

“…Will your god save my life if I cling on to him?”

It wasn’t as much as she had hoped, but it was the first significant response she’d gotten.

“What if that’s the case?”

“Then… I must kneel before you, or before the deceiver god. I feel sorry for the captain.”

Arendt paused for a moment, then slightly curled the corners of his lips.

“I don’t have a hobby of committing suicide together. I have to find a way to live.”

It was an overly plain conclusion, omitting all the agony and conflict.

There Rebecca could be sure:

.

“You said that there were three people in the group, including the captain?”

“I heard that.”

“Then it would be Arthur Norbert and Richt von Chrysantha, those two.”

“Hmm, what kind of people are they?”

Arendt responded immediately to the question asked.

“One is a dog who can’t even run errands but is desperate to be a loyal dog, and the other is a stubborn guy who is so closed off that he believes he’s a strategist.”

“Cluck, cluck!”

“And the captain is an outrageous idealist and an inflexible man of principle, whose hobby is to do vain things.”

Warren, who had been silent, coughed dryly.

Rebecca, who had been blinking and forgetting the situation at the unexpected words, soon burst into laughter in dumbfoundment.

“Do you have any regrets about your colleagues?”

“It was a pity from beginning to end.”

Arendt shrugged and leaned back in his chair.

“You can’t deal with a bunch of idiots. Just pick the strong ones and prepare them. The rest will just be a burden.”

Rebecca frowned slightly, noticing the subtle change in tone. At some point, his golden eyes were looking straight at Rebecca.

Arendt continued speaking in a more subdued voice.

“Even naive humans can’t ignore their sword skills. Let’s deal with those two separately. It’ll be easier that way.”

It was a voice and gaze that naturally drew the attention of whoever was listening.

Rebecca looked at him as if she was possessed without realizing it.

“Even if the other two fall behind, the captain won’t care and will rush straight to where I am. That’s when I’m waiting.”

Even Warren, who had been acting strangely, had no choice but to turn his head and look at him.

“You said you had support, right? If he’s from the religious order, he’s probably an artifact user. If that person and the werewolf rush in at the same time, even Commander Laius won’t be able to hold out for long.”

“…”

Even as he suggested ways to deal with his colleagues, Arendt remained calm. He had no particular plan to hide things, and he showed no intention of confusing Rebecca with his wordplay.

That made it even more absurd.

“You… don’t have any hesitation?”

“I’ve heard that a lot. Especially from Arthur.”

Arendt shrugged.

Rebecca, who had been staring at Arendt coldly for a moment, soon chuckled and gave a short laugh. She had been laughing like this a lot since meeting this little kid.

“Okay, I understand for now.”

She got up and turned around without saying goodbye. Warren, who was naturally about to follow her, turned around in shock when a hand grabbed him.

“Throw it over the wall when no one is looking, just like the one I gave you earlier.”

Arendt handed him something with a quick movement of his hand.

Before he could answer, Warren was pushed out of the room and the door slammed behind him.

When he checked his hand, he saw that he was holding another white square cube, exactly the same as the one Arendt had handed him earlier.

The knights, who had been urging their horses since dawn, entered an inn without anyone noticing when the sun had completely set and it was late at night.

“Welcome… Huh?”

“Shh. I’d like to stay for just one night and then leave. If there are no other guests, would we be able to rent the entire building?”

Laius gave the embarrassed owner a bunch of money.

The owner, who had been looking back and forth between the three men in the uniform of the Imperial Knights and the bag of money that had fallen into his hand, nodded hurriedly.

After roughly throwing their luggage into a corner, Laius, Arthur, Richt, and Rider gathered in the largest room and took out their communication crystals.

Then the crystal ball took on a bright light and a familiar voice flowed out.

– Sir, are you okay?

“Yeah, did you get the stuff back?”

– Yes, sir. I don’t think he was caught.

It was Glenn who accompanied Warren and Arendt.

His mission was to retrieve the video recorder and relay its contents to the captain.

– I have confirmed all the details. I will pass them on to you right away.

Glenn explained the internal structure of the castle, based on what Warren had recorded on the video recorder while walking around.

After Arthur carefully copied it over and over again several times, a plausible internal diagram soon emerged.

“There are four entrances and one back door… where does the back door lead to?”

– I couldn’t see that far. I guess there was an area that even the werewolf couldn’t approach.

Glenn hesitated for a moment in response to Richt’s question before changing the subject.

– And the second record contained the conversation between Arendt and that woman… it’s…

As Glenn trailed off, the group fell silent.

They felt like they knew the gist of what was going on without even having to listen to the rest.

“…I will hear it myself.”

– Yes, I understand.

With Laius’ permission, Glenn manipulated the video recorder.

Soon, a young woman’s alluring voice flowed through the crystal ball.

– Even if the captain is included, there’s no chance of winning with just three people. Right?

That was where it all began. Arendt and Rebecca continued their tense conversation.

The group couldn’t help but tense up without realizing it, but that was only for a moment.

– One is a dog who wants to be a loyal dog even though he can’t even run errands. And the other is a stubborn guy who believes he’s a strategist even though he’s completely closed off.

– Cough cough cough!

– And the captain is an outrageous idealist and an inflexible man of principle, whose hobby is to do vain things.

“…”

“…”

“…”

The expressions on the knights’ faces as they listened attentively to the conversation gradually became more and more rotten.