Betrayal Knight's Joyful Faith

Chapter 373

The most important chamberlain’s room was tightly locked and inaccessible.However, he wasn’t particularly disappointed, as he was able to retrieve a few notes similar to the ones he had first found in other rooms.

Before the servants got off work, Arendt was able to safely leave the dormitory and return where Llewellyn was.

Llewellyn blurted out in disbelief as he saw Arendt return to his room through the window.

“You really do look like a thief.”

“What? Ah.”

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

Just as he was about to roughly wipe it off with his hand, Llewellyn threw him a towel he had prepared in advance.

Arendt grabbed the towel and wiped his face roughly as he replied.

“Have you ever seen such a handsome thief?”

“That’s not your real face and you look like a child, what are you even saying right now?”

Even so, he couldn’t bring himself to deny that Arendt’s original face was stunning.

Arendt, who had returned to his neat appearance in an instant, casually tossed the dirty towel at Llewellyn.

“Lexion hasn’t arrived yet?”

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

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

“And if he had come back, he would’ve told you first. You’ve been in touch the whole time, so what are you asking me?”

“Well, pardon me, Your Highness. Why are you so grumpy? Should I fetch you some warm milk from the kitchen?”

“…”

Llewellyn began to curse with his eyes.

It wasn’t hard to read the look that said, ‘You’re cracking jokes at a time like this?’

Arendt could tell he was on the verge of exploding, and so, gladly decided to push a little further.

“Anyway, one thing is certain.”

“What.”

“We’re in big trouble.”

“Ah, seriously! You’re really getting on my nerves. Can you stop saying it so nonchalantly? Who doesn’t know that? Don’t you have any sense of crisis?”

Finally, Llewellyn snapped in anger. Feeling quite satisfied with that, Arendt shrugged his shoulders.

Stamping your feet won’t solve anything. Haven’t I told you over and over? Getting worked up for no reason just means you lose… !”

!

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

Arendt, having pulled the towel away, said in disbelief.

“Hey, even so, do you really have to use an artifact?”

“I’m just frustrated. What, do you honestly believe you’d step in and take a hit for me if I didn’t use it?”

Llewellyn snapped fiercely.

The gentle breeze swirling around him tousled his blond hair a few times before settling down again.

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

“It seems like the servants were exchanging orders among themselves… since the ashes in the fireplace are cleaned periodically, these notes are probably relatively recent.”

Llewellyn glared fiercely at Arendt, who got straight to the point.

“In the end, the members of the Evil Cult 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 Llewellyn the scrap of paper he had written on.

“First, let’s ask the informants… I think it would be better to ask Crown Prince Victor and Duke Middleton as well.”

“What about the chief chamberlain?”

“I tried to enter his room but it was locked.”

Arendt frowned at Llewellyn’s brief question.

“It’s not certain yet whether the chamberlain is involved, but at this point, wouldn’t checking be pointless?”

“…”

Llewellyn said nothing. He simply stayed silent and looked down in confusion.

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

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

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

“This probably isn’t the end. It’s likely just a small part. If we found this much after only a couple of hours of searching, those guys have probably already infiltrated deep inside the palace.”

“…

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

Those were terrible words.

Llewellyn remained silent for a moment. Arendt sighed lightly as he saw him clench his fists.

“With that in mind, I’d like to propose something…”

“Don’t tell me to sneak out on my own. If you do, I swear I’ll never want to see your face again.”

Before Arendt could finish speaking, Llewellyn growled irritably.

It was roughly the expected answer.

Arendt responded with a hint of displeasure.

“I have no desire to be at odds with the Everan royal family.”

“I’m an outcast anyway, so it’s fine. Even if I die far from home, they’ll just think it was bound to happen.”

A bitter smile appeared on Llewellyn’s lips.

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

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

Arendt waved his hand dismissively and 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 hypocrite… I don’t want to hear that from you.”

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

Even though he was always the first to rush headlong into danger.

Llewellyn 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 Llewellyn’s safety.

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

If there had been no problems, the Third Knights and the Fog Forest Guard would have already set out for the Lucain Kingdom.

But he 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.”

Llewellyn responded curtly.

“The entire Lucain Kingdom is formed around the royal palace. And for its area, the population is pretty dense.”

“That’s right.”

Arendt’s brow furrowed slightly as he muttered.

From his thoughtful expression, the profile of a young silver-haired knight seemed to emerge.

“Why bring that up all of a sudden?”

“…I think it’s the perfect environment for an infectious disease to spread.”

“What?”

For a moment, Llewellyn had difficulty understanding those words.

But soon, Llewellyn felt his heart sink.

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

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

“…”

Llewellyn made no reply.

Surely those words were not directed only at the Evil God.

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

“…If this continues, it might be a bit dangerous to continue using the informants.”

Arendt frowned slightly.

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

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

Llewellyn, 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 Lord Lexion arrives.”

“…”

Instead of answering, Arendt simply nodded slightly.

‘A traitor who infiltrated from within, and a Crown Prince who knows nothing…’

His gaze was fixed on the burned piece of paper.

After a brief moment of contemplation, Arendt began to speak.

“First, let’s inform Duke Middleton and His Highness the Crown Prince. This is no longer the time for us to be racking our brains.”

“…Okay.”

Llewellyn, reading between the lines, answered with a resolute face.

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

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

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

“There’s not much time, so I’ll get to the point. I found these in the fireplaces in the servants’ quarters.”

Llewellyn 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.”

Llewellyn nodded.

“Perhaps the Evil Cult has infiltrated deeply among the servants.”

“Excuse me, Your Highness. 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 these. I do not doubt you, Your Highness, but I ask for your understanding as this is a special situation.”

“My servant is more nimble than he looks.”

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

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

Knowing his true identity, Victor’s face inevitably grew sour, but luckily, the Duke didn’t seem to notice anything amiss

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

Llewellyn continued speaking calmly and without wavering.

“This is the result. It seems that some kind of order was passed between the servants. 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, Duke Middleton seemed to have quickly grasped the situation.

“Then it would be urgent to interrogate that servant and uncover the whole group.”

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

Llewellyn retorted to the Duke’s words.

“If we’re not careful, they might just cut their tails and disappear. Right now, we have no idea how large the enemy’s numbers are. If we’re reckless, we might end up losing instead of rooting them out.”

“Then…”

Victor, who had been murmuring softly, spoke up with more strength in his voice.

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

“Yes. That’s what I wanted to say.”

Llewellyn nodded briefly.

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

“…Yes, that’s right.”

Although he seemed reluctant to reveal his circumstances to a foreign official, Duke Middleton gave an unexpectedly straightforward answer.

Before coming here, he heard the general circumstances from Crown Prince Victor.

“The knights are on guard duty alongside the Royal Guard, and the soldiers are also 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.”

Llewellyn then turned his gaze to the Crown Prince.

Victor met his eyes and straightened his back stiffly.

“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 captain of the knights, Sir Edgar. He is a devout believer 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 Lucain Kingdom together with Kendrick.

“Very well. In that case, Your Highness, select those you can trust, people who would never betray you.”

“To even mention troops… surely you don’t mean that.”

Duke Middleton, having listened silently, finally spoke with a cold voice.

“Your Highness, are you considering the possibility of a civil war?”

“It’s not just a possibility.”

Llewellyn answered coldly.

“I am certain. Regardless of the scale, a conflict will occur within the Lucain Palace.”