Betrayal Knight's Joyful Faith

Chapter 200

Only after being dragged to their lodgings was Arendt able to free himself from Laius’s grasp.“What on earth did you do to make Lord Zakar so angry?”

“Are you really asking because you don’t know? I just provoked him a little.”

Llewellyn started to scold him, but Arendt responded indifferently as usual and straightened his disheveled clothes.

“If you think too much, you’ll explode at the slightest touch.”

“So you really went out of your way to provoke him and make him explode?”

“That’s the correct answer.”

Arendt answered plainly.

Arthur, who had been looking at him with disgust, opened his mouth.

“What did you do to the elder?”

“I wouldn’t go so far as to say that.”

“Anyway, I guess you did something.”

Richt calmly blurted out in response to the apprentice knight’s ambiguous answer.

Laius took a step back and rubbed his temple.

He seemed to have a lot to say, but had no idea where to start.

Arendt glanced at the captain, stretched, and flopped down on the sofa.

“Ah, that feels refreshing. I feel sober after using my magic.”

“Don’t put on a cheerful face. We have a headache that could kill us.”

“It already happened. What can we do?”

Arthur growled, but Arendt just shrugged as was his custom.

“It looks like the aftermath won’t be that big. I mentioned something about the elder to Zakar earlier, but I don’t think the elder will take issue with it.”

“Why do you think so?”

“I don’t think he would specifically blame Zakar.”

Arendt answered Llewellyn’s pointed question shamelessly.

“He experienced it firsthand yesterday, so he would have been forgiving even if his subordinate got angry and caused an accident.”

“Don’t brag about that.”

Richt pointed out quietly.

While his subordinates were chatting, Laius, who had somewhat gathered his thoughts, stood in front of Arendt.

When Arendt looked up at him with indifferent eyes, he asked briefly.

“What are you doing?”

“…”

The apprentice knight did not answer right away.

After a brief silence, a mischievous smile spread across Arendt’s lips.

It was the look he sometimes had when he was plotting a bad scheme.

“Do you know what one of the most painful things in the world is?”

Arendt said something odd.

At first glance, it may seem out of context, but it was clearly related to the core of the question that Laius asked.

“When nothing is certain, the only person you can trust is yourself, and even that is not trustworthy.”

“…”

“You can’t even admit that you’re wavering while constantly struggling, and you can’t confide in anyone…”

“…”

As his voice continued, others could not help but listen to his story.

“In the end, it’s a situation where you’re left tearing your hair out, stuck between two choices. And then, you’ll probably make the wrong decision and end up ruining everything.”

It was a dilemma that protagonists in tragedies often face.

And it wasn’t just the main characters who had important roles in the work.

“Therefore…”

Llewellyn arched an eyebrow, trying to understand what he was saying.

“To put it simply, that’s what the Elder and Zakar are like? You provoked what they considered to be their weak points?”

“Yes.”

Arendt’s eyes, lightly affirming, held a subtle light as if he was very pleased.

Characters who were usually troubled by such things were easily agitated by external stimuli.

Because they were just waiting for someone to vent their feelings on.

“If you hesitate, you’ll only end up being a hindrance. So, you have to kick their butts so that they can find their own place.”

Even the slackers have their place on stage.

Even if the scenario changes, that fact will not change.

And there was one more immutable truth.

The more hands the better.

Especially in this fucking situation.

Surprisingly, that night, Zakar quietly came to their accommodation.

Without bringing anyone else along, he quietly knocked on the door of the place where the knights were staying.

“…”

“…”

An awkward silence fell in the living room.

Arendt sat with his legs crossed and just stared at Zakar.

Zakar, sitting across from him, also stared at Arendt with an expressionless face.

The knights and Llewellyn were on the verge of death, suffocating in the terrible silence.

Laius, who had been watching the strange confrontation between the two, spoke first.

“Since you came here late at night, I’m sure you have some business to attend to.”

“…Yes. However, since it was you, the apprentice knight, who asked me to come first, I was at a loss for what to say.”

Zakar, who had been taking a moment to pause as if choosing his words, spoke slowly.

“Personally, I have a strong desire to punish the knight. However, there are some parts of what he said that are not wrong, so I will not draw my sword right away. You can rest assured, Captain.”

In his calm voice there was no trace of the anger he had shown during the day.

Laius let out a short sigh and asked again.

“First of all, let me ask you, what happened in the forest?”

“It would be quicker for you to ask Lord Arendt about that than me.”

Naturally, everyone’s attention turned to Arendt.

Arendt, who had been sitting leisurely and observing the situation, tilted his head.

“What happened? Did I accuse you of overstepping your authority? Or did I make fun of you for being too loyal? Which one are you talking about?”

“…”

“Or did you say that it would be better for you to step forward than Captain Sylvian, who had backed down? What else was there? I asked if you really thought that the elders were doing the right thing.”

“…”

No one was willing to open their mouths.

It was because the absurdity had disappeared.

It was a dizzying verbal abuse that was only briefly explained.

One could easily imagine how angry Zakar must have been at the brunt of the ridicule, laced with his characteristic sarcasm and blatant mockery.

At this point, they were curious about what Zakar was thinking when he came all the way here right after being told to come.

Their gaze naturally turned to the warrior instructor of the Second Elven Kingdom.

Zakar spoke quietly, facing Arendt.

“That’s not why I’m angry. It’s because you brought up my father.”

“Don’t blame it all on me. You’re probably angry at yourself for not being able to properly refute what I said.”

Arendt raised the corners of his mouth.

Llewellyn only then realized what had happened and muttered as if in a trance.

“Surely not, Elder Polaris?”

“Ah.”

A sigh also escaped Arthur’s lips.

Elder Polaris was Zakar’s father, and was also one of the spy suspects Llewellyn had pointed out.

Arendt nodded.

“I heard that from the elder yesterday that Elder Polaris immigrated from outside.”

Arendt added simply:

“And Lord Zakar had similar thoughts to us. He said there was a spy within the Second Kingdom, and it was likely that the spy was one of the immigrants.”

“…”

Zakar, who had guessed that far, naturally placed his father on the suspect list.

“You knew that the evil cult was involved even before we came here, right? I don’t know the circumstances, but you must have had doubts. Do you think it was right for the elder to keep this fact completely hidden from the outside world?”

“…”

Zakar did not answer.

That silence meant affirmation.

After a while, Zakar spat out briefly.

“I trust my father. I also know that Captain Sylvian is capable. I also know that the Elder always works hard for the elves.”

“But isn’t the evidence weak?”

Arendt raised the corners of his mouth.

Zakar again gave his silent approval.

“There is a simple solution, Instructor.”

“What?”

“We need to find out who the spy is. Whether you agree or not, we need to find the spy. The elves’ business is none of our business, but if we want to find Jin who was running rampant within the Empire, that seems like the quickest way to do it.”

Arendt, with the smile wiped from his face, crossed his arms and continued speaking calmly.

“If we find the spy, it will be revealed whether Elder Polaris is innocent or not. We will also involve Captain Sylvian. She is the captain of the Fog Forest Guard, so it is only natural that he should take the lead in the internal investigation.”

“…”

“If all the problems are resolved, it will prove that the Elder’s stubborn determination to keep the secret was not wrong. If we succeed, it will mean that the Second Kingdom had resolved the situation internally.”

“…”

Zakar still did not answer, but stared at Arendt.

Arendt met his gaze and added bluntly:

“By the way, it might be possible to keep an eye on what insolent outsiders are doing within the Elven kingdom. That might not be a bad idea, right?”

“…It sounds like you’re offering to make a deal. How can I trust you?”

“Then can we trust the elves?”

Zakar looked taken aback by the answer that came without a moment’s hesitation.

“Rather than trusting each other without a plan, isn’t it better to trust in a transaction that comes from mutual benefit? Let’s be on the same side.”

Arendt smiled playfully again.

“There is a foolish saying that doubt is the beginning of all misfortune, but that happens because the person who has doubt is stupid.”

Most of the tragedies that started with people killing each other and despairing were like that.

“There’s no shame in being honest with yourself. What can you do when you suspect your father, see Captain Sylvian as unscrupulous, and see the Elder making mistakes?”

Arendt shrugged his shoulders as was his custom.

“It’s something that can be solved with just a few tests, so don’t act like an idiot and be desperate. It’s better to find something you can do right away than to stand there with all your worries and not be able to do anything.”

“…”

For a moment, Zakar remained silent, his gaze cast down to the floor with a troubled expression.

Arendt didn’t press him any further, but simply waited quietly.

Others also just kept their mouths shut and watched Zakar like that.

He, who had always been cool and firm, looked quite precarious when he was in agony.

This was especially true as the hand that ran down his face trembled slightly as he let out a short sigh.

When Llewellyn, unable to bear the silence, opened his mouth to call his name, a calm voice came from Zakar.

“It was about eighty years ago that my father and I moved into the kingdom. It was before I came of age.”

The topic suddenly changed, but no one blamed Zakar.

It was because they had a gut feeling that the story he was about to tell was very important.

“Someone came to my house late at night. I don’t remember the details because I was young… but I recognized them as people my father had met often before.”

Zakar raised his head and met Arendt’s gaze.

“They came in with a box. They said it was something they had accidentally found in the Holy Empire.”

Although he was the first to take the risk, Zakar hesitated for a while longer.

It was because he wasn’t sure if he could really confess this.

But the worries didn’t last long.

“My father, who had confirmed what the object was, quickly sent me into the room. Out of curiosity, I overheard my father talking to the people.”

He swallowed dry saliva and added briefly.

“I didn’t hear the details. But I clearly remember something about the God of Darkness being mentioned.”

They soon realized that he was the evil god.

The faces of those who had been quietly listening froze coldly.