Betrayal Knight’s Joyful Faith - Chapter 410



Only Noblemtl

The 410th episode of The Merry God of Betrayal

Naturally, Arendt left the conference room and did not return to her room.

He quietly left his living quarters and began to loiter around the area where the cleanup work was in full swing.

The three knights, who were likely to be troublemakers, were busy with work both inside and outside the palace.

Now was the perfect time to take a different path.

‘The most important people will not be able to leave the conference room for a while.’

In the meantime, rumors had spread that Arendt was a close associate of the Crown Prince of the Kalion Empire, and no one had dared to stop him as he meddled here and there as an apprentice knight.

Thanks to this, he was able to stroll around the palace without much disturbance.

“You captured Ain?”

“Yes. Sir Richt and Sir Arthur subdued them and sent them away after the battle.”

The soldier guarding the dungeon kindly gave me an answer.

Arthur and Licht subdued him instead of killing him, despite suffering serious injuries, and brought him here.

“Somehow those two also looked tattered.”

“haha…….”

The soldier laughed awkwardly at the thoughtless words.

Sobbing could often be heard among those imprisoned under strict guard.

Still, the ones who are crying now would be in a better situation.

Because they were not brainwashed and dreamed of rebellion entirely of their own free will, they were barely able to save their lives thanks to a change of heart at the last moment.

‘All those who didn’t change their minds were disposed of.’

They were reported missing after joining the Chernion main church.

So, the bereaved family members had to bow down to the palace just to avoid being accused of guilt by association, let alone searching for them.

‘I heard they paid a generous amount of compensation.’

The palace was completely destroyed, so the severity of their crimes must have been fully conveyed.

In the meantime, since they even gave consolation money, the families of those who were reported missing will not express any complaints.

As the crown prince who had stepped down, he seemed to feel sorry for those who had committed sins and died.

‘That’s not a bad thing.’

It may be a personality that can be somewhat of a hindrance during a war, but it’s good to have at least one person like that so that you don’t lose your humanity.

Since the public sentiment seemed to be going smoothly, it seemed okay to let Victor take care of it.

“Go.”

“Yes! Take a look!”

As Arendt turned around, the soldier bowed at a 90-degree angle.

The captured enemies were kept in a separate space and put to sleep with sleeping pills.

It was something Llewelyn came up with while thinking about what to do with the prisoners immediately after the battle ended.

‘Not a bad idea. You never know when they’ll run wild.’

Mnemosyne’s Breath was an artifact that directly interfered with the mind.

So, it was a method that took into account the fact that it may not have any effect in an unconscious state.

The odds were slim, but it was worth a try.

‘If we create a strong barrier to confine them and wake them up inside, maybe something will work out.’

Arendt walked down the hallway, lost in thought.

It is to create a space where magical power is close to a vacuum, so that the power of the artifact cannot reach.

In it, it might be possible to interrogate them while retaining their memories.

‘Of course it won’t be easy.’

If Count Stadler and Lexion join forces, something might be possible.

First, I thought I needed to contact the research lab and arrange for the necessary items to be prepared in advance through Neumann.

‘Whatever it is, it will only be possible if that dragon returns.’

There were many things I wanted to ask Lexion.

But he was also said to have been seriously injured, so it will take time for him to recover.

Until then, there probably won’t be a single trace of it here.

Arendt clicked her tongue as she recalled Nikephor, who had revealed his intention to kill her.

“Anyway, that damn dragon… … .”

An elf warrior who happened to pass by and heard those words flinched.

Arendt paused for a moment and gave him a quizzical look.

“What are you looking at? Is this your first time seeing a handsome person?”

“… … Excuse me.”

The elf warrior, avoiding eye contact, quickly left the spot.

It seemed like he had been neglecting his acting recently, but judging from his reaction of slowly avoiding me as if he had seen something unsightly, it seemed like it wasn’t always like that.

Arendt shrugged and started walking again.

‘I think I just had a quick look around… … .’

Now it was time to look into the business behind the scenes that could not be told to anyone.

After making sure that no one was watching her, Arendt quickly set course for her destination.

He began to follow the same path Salem had taken to approach the catacombs.

Somehow, the Nereids that appeared in my dream were on my mind.

‘You didn’t seem to expect me to open my eyes.’

When Nereus suddenly woke up, he was very confused.

Come to think of it, it seems like they were just going to help him get a good night’s sleep and then send him back.

I couldn’t figure out why Nereus was so kind.

But given the circumstances, I decided to just believe that it was good intentions.

Arendt avoided people’s eyes and reached the underground storage room that Salem had told her about.

‘It reminds me of the old days.’

The place looked like an old theater prop room, with old mirrors, sofas, and other furniture, as well as luxurious wardrobes and carpets.

‘It can’t even compare to the junk that was there.’

Because each and every one of these are real.

Gorgeous costumes and props piled high in a cramped room.

Most of the costumes were patched up and repaired from faded and torn pieces, and the furniture and props were either made by hand or purchased cheaply used and repaired.

When seen up close, it looked pretty sloppy, but on stage, it was all pretty usable.

‘Hide any faded or dirty parts with a cloth… … .’

By adding fake jewels or shining them to make them look more splendid when illuminated, they could easily become the luxuries of a palace on stage.

Taking care of them was mostly the job of Lee Soo-hyun and the manager.

“ah.”

He let out a short sigh and rubbed his forehead as if reproaching himself.

It wasn’t very desirable to look back on that time now.

Besides, it was as if he was still on stage.

‘Focus on your role.’

The new face, unaware of itself, crumpled slightly.

‘That damned saint is talking nonsense.’

It occurred to me that perhaps I myself was not so different from the junk in that prop room.

He’s just an unknown actor, but he’s disguised as a traitor and is acting as a close associate of a hero.

Even the fact that the real Arendt von Eckhart ever existed has become nonsense.

‘That guy might be a victim too.’

Although he did something foolish, it was too much retribution for a child to pay for a momentary mistake.

Of course, I had no intention of sympathizing at all.

Because of that, he was even deprived of the right to return to his old prop room.

‘It’s a useless thought now.’

Arendt, having forced herself to shake off the thought, returned to her search. And soon enough, she was able to find the spot where the floor had broken.

“… … Have you already taken care of it?”

New plywood had been added to the floor where it should have been flat.

Arendt stomped on the tightly covered plywood, with just a hint of anger toward the world.

A stick.

The plywood shattered into pieces, revealing a gaping hole underneath.

After a few more kicks, a hole big enough to pass through was created.

Arendt did not hesitate and jumped down the hole where the pieces of wood were falling.

Arendt landed lightly on the floor and frowned.

“Ah, sir.”

Perhaps because of the sudden movement, the wounds and frostbite that had not yet healed began to sting.

“This really pisses me off.”

But he soon straightened up and began to stride into the temple.

‘Anyway, you came to see me.’

There was a time when we were willing to show our sincerity by going first.

Above all, before waking up, I was concerned about the pearl that Nereus had hurriedly handed me.

The inside of the ruins wasn’t as dark as I thought.

This was thanks to Llewelyn lighting torches here and there as he explored.

It was the moment when the lantern I had brought with me on purpose became useless.

“It looks like they’ve already stirred things up here and there… … .”

The hallway, which had been dusty and covered with cobwebs, was now clean.

Well, I could well imagine how excited Llewelyn would have been.

‘The discovery of an ancient temple would not have been an ordinary event for an explorer.’

As he continued to walk, he felt the air getting colder.

We arrived at the site of the temple of the twin gods.

The temple where the statues of Luce and Chernion had been located was still covered in pure white silver frost.

The door that had the symbols of the gods Luce and Chernion engraved side by side was also covered in ice and badly damaged, so its original shape could not be seen.

“… … It’s understandable to be terrified.”

A tired voice came out naturally.

It would not have been surprising if Salem and Ryder had momentarily assumed he was dead, since he was left alone in such a place.

Arendt, turning her back on the temple, moved diligently toward her destination again.

Before long, he was able to get where he wanted.

“Hey… … .”

An exclamation came out of my mouth naturally.

A spectacular sight that I had not been able to see because of the darkness unfolded before my eyes.

In the fairly wide hallway, a thick carpet of a style I had never seen before was laid out, and on both sides, statues of new gods I had never seen before were standing guard like guards.

Arendt walked slowly, examining each statue one by one.

There were a total of 20 statues, but most of them were of shapes I had never seen before.

‘I think I saw some familiar things in the Elf Kingdom.’

These were all probably lesser gods whose names are not even known today.

The statues carved from black rock were mostly well preserved, except for some dust.

Arendt, who was taking them in one by one, soon arrived in front of Nereis.

“… … .”

His steps stopped naturally.

A young elf girl standing on the waves, escorted by sea creatures.

With lush hair, innocent eyes, and scaly skin.

It looked a little different from the statue I had encountered in the elven kingdom, but it was very similar to the one I had seen in my dream.

“It seems like all the other gods have left. Why are you holding on?”

Arendt opened her mouth.

“If there’s anything you want, just say it. Before the others come. As you know, I’m not the type to pray.”

Arendt sat down haphazardly, facing Nereis.

“Lucena Chernion, I may not be able to interfere as much as those bastards… … but I think we can communicate to some extent.”

But there was no way an answer would come back from the stone statue.

Did I misunderstand?

As I was about to frown slightly, something suddenly caught my eye.

“… … ?”

A small jewel sparkled between Nereid’s fingers, bathed in the light of the flickering torch.

It was a small pearl set in a ring.

Most of the other jewels that adorned the statue had lost their shine due to thick dust, but that one pearl was as clean as if it had just been wiped clean.

“… … What a worthless holy relic.”

Arendt, mumbling absurdly, took the ring from Nereis’ hand.

Then, the ring part immediately fell off, leaving only a round pearl on the palm.

“I don’t know what to do with this.”

Arendt rolled the pearl around in her palm for a moment, then put it away in her pocket.

“If you sleep well today, consider it thanks to you.”

A faint smile appeared on his lips as he looked down at Nereis.

A small but pure favor was felt in the worn-out pearl.

For now, that was enough.