Betrayal Knight’s Joyful Faith - Chapter 373



Only Noblemtl

The 373rd episode of The Merry God of Betrayal

The most important chamberlain’s room was tightly locked and inaccessible.

However, I wasn’t particularly disappointed, as I was able to retrieve a few notes similar to the ones I had first found in other rooms.

Before the servants left for work, Arendt was able to safely leave the dormitory and return to Llewelyn.

Llewelyn blurted out in disbelief as he saw Arendt return to her room through the window.

“He really looks like a thief.”

“What? Ah.”

Only then did Arendt realize what she looked like: her face and hair were covered in soot from all that digging around in the fireplace.

Just as I was about to roughly wipe it off with my hand, Llewelyn threw me a towel he had prepared in advance.

Arendt grabbed a towel and wiped her face roughly as she replied.

“Have you ever seen such a handsome thief?”

“What are you talking about now, with your face not even yours, and your childish appearance?”

Even so, he couldn’t bring himself to deny that the original was excellent.

Arendt, who had returned to her clean-cut state in an instant, tossed the soiled towel at Llewelyn.

“Lexion hasn’t arrived yet?”

“You are the only one in the world who would treat a prince like this.”

Llewelyn, who had accepted the towel again, expressed his annoyance.

“And when you got back, you would have been the first one to tell me. You were still on the phone, so what are you asking me?”

“I’m so sorry, Your Majesty. Why are you so irritable? Could you bring me some warm milk from the kitchen?”

“… … .”

Llewelyn began to curse with his eyes.

It was not difficult to read the meaning of, “Is this a joke in this situation?”

Arendt was happy to give it a try, because her face looked like it would burst at any moment if she scratched it just a little more.

“Anyway, one thing is certain.”

“what.”

“We’re in big trouble.”

“Oh, really! It really pisses me off, so can you stop saying it so nonchalantly? Who doesn’t know that? Don’t you have any sense of crisis?”

Finally, Llewelyn burst out in anger. Arendt shrugged, quite satisfied with the fact.

“Nothing will be solved just by stomping your feet. Haven’t I told you this over and over again? If you get angry unnecessarily, you’ll lose… … . Ugh!”

Bam! A rolled-up towel flew violently and hit Arendt straight in the face.

Arendt, who had thrown away the towel, said in absurd terms.

“Hey, even so, is it really necessary to use artifacts?”

“You’re saying that because you’re so angry. Why? If you don’t use that, are you the kind of person who would give a beating to anyone?”

Llewelyn snapped fiercely.

The breeze that wafted around him shook his blond hair a few times before soon becoming quiet again.

Arendt shrugged, balled up the towel again and tossed it toward the laundry pile.

“It seems like the servants were giving each other orders… … . The ashes in the fireplace are cleaned periodically, so this note is probably relatively recent.”

Llewelyn glared fiercely at Arendt, who was getting straight to the point.

“In the end, the evil cult guys are still actively moving around the palace.”

“That’s right. I’ll have to investigate the owners of these more when the sun rises. I’ve memorized all the room numbers, so finding the room owners should be easy.”

Arendt responded indifferently, showing Llewelyn the scrap of paper she had just written.

“First, let’s ask the information center… … It would be better to ask His Highness Crown Prince Victor and the Duke of Middleton as well.”

“What about the chief of staff?”

“I tried to go into his room, too. But it was locked.”

Arendt frowned at Llewelyn’s brief question.

“It’s still not certain whether the watchman is involved, but at this point, wouldn’t it be pointless to even check?”

“… … .”

Llewelyn said nothing. He simply kept his mouth shut and looked down in confusion.

Contrary to what that damn guy said, the situation was extremely serious.

The lifeline of the Kingdom of Lucain was now running towards its end.

Arendt’s indifferent voice continued, as if to confirm that the idea was correct.

“This probably isn’t the end. It’s probably just a small part. If we’ve only been searching for a couple of hours and this is what we’ve found, they must be deep inside the palace already.”

“… … .”

“Rather, we may be at a numerical disadvantage.”

Those were terrible words.

Llewelyn remained silent for a moment. Arendt sighed lightly as she saw him clench his fists.

“In that sense, I have a suggestion… … .”

“Don’t tell me to leave on my own. If I do, I’ll never see your face again.”

Before Arendt could finish speaking, Llewelyn growled irritably.

It was roughly the expected answer.

Arendt responded as if she didn’t like it.

“I don’t want to be at odds with the Everlan royal family.”

“It’s okay since he was born outside anyway. Even if he dies by chance, I’m sure he’d come to find his way back home.”

A bitter smile appeared on Llewelyn’s lips.

“Or should I write a will? It was my will from beginning to end, so don’t hold me responsible.”

“… … Okay. Do as you wish. It would be better if we had an extra pair of hands here too.”

Arendt waved her hand as she glanced at him.

“And before you start talking about wills and such, think about how to avoid getting hurt. It’s better not to create any trouble if you’re going to do it anyway.”

“You really are a worthless bastard… … At least you don’t want to hear it from me?”

Llewelyn growled, but the damned apprentice knight paid no attention.

I’m always the first one to run to the temple.

Llewelyn barely swallowed the words that were on the tip of his tongue.

It was the same now.

Even though they were talking about the royal family and all, what Arendt was ultimately worried about was Llewelyn’s safety.

“That being said, what should we do now… … . First, I should report to His Highness the Crown Prince.”

If there had been no problems, the 3rd Division and the Foggy Forest Guard would have already set out for the Kingdom of Lucain.

But I had a feeling that maybe they wouldn’t be able to handle it on their own.

Arendt, lost in thought, suddenly asked a question.

“… … Hey, how far is it to other cities near the royal palace?”

“It’s not that far. It takes about two or three hours by horse.”

Llewelyn responded curtly.

“The entire Kingdom of Lucain is formed around the royal palace. The population is also large compared to its area.”

“That’s right.”

Arendt’s brow furrowed slightly as she muttered those words.

The side profile of a silver-haired young knight seemed to be visible from his pensive face.

“Why all of a sudden?”

“… … It seems like the perfect form for an infectious disease to spread.”

“what?”

For a moment, Llewelyn had difficulty understanding those words.

But soon, Llewelyn felt his heart sink.

Arendt continued to recite with a blank expression on her face.

“Faith, you know. It’s a bit like an epidemic, isn’t it? At least that’s what I think.”

“… … .”

Llewelyn made no reply.

Surely those words were not directed only at the evil spirits.

It was an extremely insulting statement, but I couldn’t bring myself to refute it.

“… … If this continues, it will be dangerous to continue using the information service.”

Arendt frowned slightly.

As his business grew, Neumann had no choice but to hire quite a few people, even from within the Kingdom of Lucain.

Because it was impossible to know who might have gotten involved in it and how.

Llewelyn, who had been looking at Arendt with a complicated expression, tried to speak calmly.

“Let’s not jump to conclusions for now. It would be better to wait until Lexion arrives.”

“… … .”

Instead of answering, Arendt simply nodded slightly.

‘A traitor who has dug in from the inside, and a crown prince who knows nothing… ‘

His gaze was fixed on the burned piece of paper.

After a brief moment of contemplation, Arendt took up the opportunity.

“Let’s inform the Duke and Duchess of Middleton first. This is no longer the time for us to be racking our brains.”

“……okay.”

Llewelyn read the meaning and answered with a stern face.

* * *

Even when morning came, Lexion still hadn’t returned.

As soon as breakfast was over, Llewelyn called in the Duke of Middleton and Crown Prince Victor.

As soon as everyone gathered in the Crown Prince’s office, Llewelyn spoke first.

“I don’t have much time, so I’ll get to the point first. I found this in the fireplace in the servants’ quarters.”

Llewelyn placed a few burnt scraps of paper on the table. Crown Prince Victor’s face turned pale as he recognized a familiar pattern on them.

“… … Isn’t this a symbol used by the evil cult?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

Llewelyn nodded.

“Perhaps the evil cult has infiltrated deeply among the servants.”

“Excuse me, Your Majesty. You said you found them in the servants’ quarters?”

The duke who had been listening opened his mouth.

“I would like to hear how you obtained this. I do not doubt you, Your Majesty, but I ask for your understanding as this is a special situation.”

“My servant is more nimble than I look.”

Llewelyn nodded to Arendt, who was standing quietly behind him. He had already declared that he would always act as a servant to the Duke.

As soon as the Duke of Middleton’s gaze fell on him, the young servant quickly lowered his head.

Victor’s expression must have been rotten when he found out his true identity, but fortunately, the Duke did not seem to notice the discomfort.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t know how far they’ve penetrated. While the servants were away, I had, uh, Ren search the quarters. I apologize for acting so rashly, but… … .”

Llewelyn continued speaking calmly and without wavering.

“This is the result. It seems that some kind of order was passed between the attendants. This was found in the third room on the second floor.”

“That means they are already moving in an organized manner within the palace.”

Even with that alone, the Duke of Middleton seemed to have quickly grasped the situation.

“Then it would be urgent to interrogate that servant and find out who the gang was.”

“No. We need to approach this more cautiously now.”

Llewelyn retorted to the Duke’s words.

“If we’re not careful, they might just cut off their tails and disappear. Right now, we can’t even guess how big the enemy is. If we’re not careful, we might end up getting hurt instead of eradicating them.”

“then…….”

Victor, whose lips were moving as if he was groaning, spoke with strength in his voice.

“I guess we need to find someone trustworthy first. Is that right?”

“Yes. That’s what I wanted to say.”

Llewelyn nodded briefly.

“Your Majesty, I heard that you brought private soldiers with you when you came here from the territory. Are they all near the palace?”

“… … Yes, that’s right.”

Although he seemed reluctant to reveal his circumstances to a foreign official, the Duke of Middleton surprisingly gave a cool answer.

Before coming here, I heard the general circumstances from Crown Prince Viktor.

“The knights are on guard duty alongside the Royal Guard, and the soldiers are moving with the guards. They also share their quarters.”

“First, separate them from the existing royal troops and conduct a thorough inspection of the interior. The Duke’s soldiers have only recently entered the palace, so it is highly likely that they have not yet been contaminated by the evil cult. And, brother.”

Llewelyn then turned his gaze to the Crown Prince.

Victor met his eyes and straightened his back stiffly as if he was nervous.

“Can the Royal Knights be trusted?”

“… … .”

Victor was silent for a while, because he couldn’t give a definite answer right away. But after a while, he steeled himself and opened his mouth.

“… … At least we can trust the commander of the knights, Sir Edgar. He is a devout follower of Lord Luce. I am not sure about the other knights, but they have all fought against the evil cult, so I don’t think they will turn away easily.”

They had personally dealt with those who invaded the border of the Kingdom of Lucain together with Kendrick.

“Very well. In that way, Your Majesty, you will select trustworthy people. Those who will never betray you.”

“You are talking about troops, no way.”

The Duke of Middleton, who had been listening quietly, opened his mouth eerily.

“Is your Majesty considering the possibility of a civil war?”

“It’s not even a possibility.”

Llewelyn answered coldly.

“I am sure of it. Big or small, there will be a fight. Inside the Lucain Palace.”