Betrayal Knight's Joyful Faith

Chapter 185

However, that did not mean that Arendt was truly quiet.It was quite a challenge as his opponents were the imperial knights led by Laius, but he somehow managed to avoid surveillance and escape out of the palace.

Arendt, who had successfully escaped, headed to the headquarters of Neumann’s Merchant Group, which had now become a half-hideout.

Neumann burst into laughter as he watched him occupy the sofa as if it were his own home.

“It’s been a while since you’ve been here. Are you looking at the ledger first?”

“So what? As an investor, it’s such a joy to see my money growing so smoothly.”

“Haha.”

As he watched Arendt leaning back on the sofa and flipping through his ledger, he couldn’t help but laugh.

‘He looks just like a young rich man.’

The reception room, due to its upper-level nature, was filled with exotic interiors imported from all over the place.

Because of his gorgeous appearance, which blended in so seamlessly even in such a place, Arendt looked like the foolish heir of a wealthy family from an old tale.

Actually, it wasn’t entirely wrong to say that he was rich.

Arendt was the first and largest investor in Neumann’s rapidly growing company, making huge profits.

Arendt was pouring the money he earned into Neumann’s new businesses, and he was making huge profits from them again and again.

Moreover, since Arendt’s suggestions were never likely to fail, Neumann was very pleased to have such a talented and business-savvy person on his side.

Neumann sat across from him, putting down tea and cookies on a table piled with papers.

“Do you like the ledger?”

“I’m so full that I don’t even have to eat.”

When he asked in a quiet voice, he got the usual indifferent answer.

But he could tell that Arendt was serious just by looking at his sparkling golden eyes.

“Where’s Warren?”

“I have sent him on a brief errand for the intelligence department. He will probably be back before Lord Arendt returns.”

Neumann gave a simple answer and changed the subject.

“The Nephele Kingdom has given us a very warm welcome. In particular, the Crown Princess and the Third Prince have personally welcomed us.”

“That’s fortunate.”

It seems that Matthias kept his promise to take good care of the Neumann Merchant Group.

Neumann continued.

“I was busy at the time and couldn’t go in person, but I plan to visit soon as things are sorted out. I need to meet the royal family in person, greet them, and check on the progress of the Nephele Kingdom branch business.”

“Sir, you are quite busy.”

Neumann smiled broadly at Arendt’s words, who naturally reached out and put a piece of candy in his mouth.

“Haha, isn’t it only Lord Arendt? I’ll just count the money here and the competent staff will take care of the rest.”

“You’re just joking.”

“I am serious. You have only just returned to the palace, and I heard you are planning to go on a long journey again.”

“It just happened that way… wait a minute.”

Arendt, who was about to eat another snack, suddenly raised his head.

“How does the Lord know that?”

“Prince Llewellyn contacted me earlier. He said that Lord Arendt ran away and that he must be heading that way, so please take good care of him. I also heard that he will be heading to the Elven Kingdom soon.”

Bam.

Before Neumann could finish his explanation, the snack Arendt was holding fell to the floor.

A tired voice came out on its own along with the curse.

“Wow… You little shit…”

“I told you to rest assured that Sir Arendt will not have to wield his sword or move around too much here. Sir Arthur is coming to pick you up later.”

Neumann continued to speak peacefully, savoring a sip of his warm tea, regardless of whether the apprentice knight cursed at the prince or not.

“It seems like you are on good terms with Prince Llewellyn.”

“Does this look like a good relationship to you now?”

Arendt’s eyes widened fiercely.

But that doesn’t mean that Neumann would blink an eye.

“Yes, it certainly looks that way.”

Arendt was momentarily speechless at the sight of the merchant smiling affectionately and having an expression of looking at his cute grandson.

“It seems you were bored staying only in the palace?”

“That only lasts for a day or two. Do you know how annoying it is to have someone nag you all day long?”

A smile appeared on Neumann’s face as he grumbled, picking up the fallen snack and stuffing it into his mouth, just like a boy of that age.

“Everyone is worried, so don’t be too upset. By the way, it seems like something big is going to happen again this time. Are you okay?”

“Somehow things will work out. The situation isn’t all that great, though.”

As Arendt shrugged his shoulders in a nonchalant response, Neumann spoke subtly with a worried look on his face.

“I heard that the elves have completely closed off contact with the other merchant groups. Even with Prince Llewellyn present, it doesn’t seem like it will be easy to enter…”

“There must be a way in. The problem is what happens after that.”

Actually, that’s why his head kept getting complicated.

Even if they could use the spirit stones as an excuse to get in, what would happen after that was the problem.

‘Can I trust them?’

How to communicate and persuade them was a secondary issue.

Up until now, the power had been centered around people who could be trusted, but elves were unknown territory to Arendt as well.

‘Even the elf warriors from the original work are now completely unreliable…’

Among the elf warriors who appeared in “The Blue Knight of the Holy Sword”, there were some who were quite strong and some who had become close friends with Laius.

But now that it seemed possible that they may have lied in the novels as well, he was a bit reluctant to bring the elves into the picture.

‘But it’s difficult to rule them out completely.’

The only silver lining was that Llewellyn, who was friendly to the elves, had joined the Empire, and what could be considered their weaknesses were now in their hands.

But achieving an immediate compromise and maintaining them as trustworthy colleagues were two different things.

‘Even now, she was rampaging, so I don’t think Jin would have been calm in the novel.’

Maybe even at that time, Jin had already run away from the elves and joined the evil cult.

It was just that that fact hadn’t come to light.

If the elves had gone into war hiding that fact…

“Heh.”

He had to establish discipline right away so that they didn’t do anything stupid later.

After finishing his thoughts, Arendt impulsively asked Neumann a question.

“Merchant Leader, have you heard anything about elves while you were at the East Merchant Group?”

“Hmm… the East Merchant Group also handled elven and dwarven goods, but it was not a direct importer, but rather an intermediary supplier. Do you know that only merchants that have received permission from the imperial court can import elven goods?”

When Arendt nodded, Neumann continued.

“The East Merchant Group was not licensed. It was large enough that it didn’t necessarily need to handle elven goods.”

“The imperial court only gave permission to small and medium-sized merchants?”

“Yes, I heard that His Majesty decided to do so in order to balance the market. Of course, the leader of the East Merchant Group was somewhat disappointed.”

“Hmm…”

Arendt looked around and sipped his tea.

Then Neumann asked curiously.

“But was there a reason you asked me this? Prince Llewellyn would know much more about elves.”

“Of course, but I’m curious about the elves as a trading partner. He’s good at communicating, not doing business.”

“That’s true. Being friendly with elves and doing business with them are two completely different things.”

Neumann, who had been answering ambiguously, asked the question again.

“Does Lord Arendt see them as trading partners?”

“Well, I guess we need to find out as much as possible about how to deal with them before we decide.”

Neumann, who had been staring at him blankly, put down his teacup.

“I have prepared a small gift for you, Lord Arendt. I think you will like it.”

“Yes?”

At the moment when Arendt was about to be bewildered by the unexpected remark.

Knock knock.

Someone knocked on the door.

“Can I come in?”

“Come in.”

It was Warren.

As soon as Neumann gave permission, Warren came in, clutching a mountain of documents in his arms.

Bam.

There was a heavy sound as Warren placed the documents he had brought down in front of Arendt.

Warren glanced at Arendt, who was blinking, and reported to Neumann.

“I’ve gathered everything I can. The top list of transactions with elves over the past two years, related records, market prices, elf sightings, etc.”

“Thank you for your hard work. Please help me transport it to the palace later.”

“Yes.”

Even after Warren answered plainly and stepped aside, Arendt continued to blink in bewilderment.

“No, when on earth did this…?”

“I prepared this as soon as I received the call from Prince Llewellyn a few hours ago. I was sure that Lord Arendt would find these materials useful. It seems I was right.”

Neumann answered proudly.

“After you return to the palace, take your time and check them out. You will be able to indirectly see what elves are like as trading partners.”

Arendt, who looked back and forth between the mountain of documents before his eyes, the triumphant Neumann, and the nonchalant Warren, eventually couldn’t help but burst out laughing.

On the day Arendt was finally freed from surveillance, Count Stadler returned to the palace with the spirit stones.

Count Stadler did not let his guard down even after entering the Crown Prince’s study.

“…”

Cantares, who couldn’t stand to see him looking around like a poisoned cat and putting the box down on the desk, said something.

“Count, you don’t have to be so nervous…”

“What are you saying, Your Highness the Crown Prince! Do you know how precious this is?”

Then the Count immediately jumped up and shouted loudly in response.

His already pale face had turned even paler, as if he had been very anxious on the way here.

Cantares muttered with a tired face after seeing that sight.

“It seems like every time I see him, he looks worse…”

“Haha, that makes sense. Every day brings new challenges.”

Kendrick quietly chimed in, but Count Stadler didn’t seem to hear him properly.

Laius asked worriedly.

“Did you have any problems on your way here?”

“No, no… Nothing serious. It’s just that my hands were shaking because it was such a precious item… Phew, at least I’m relieved that I got it here safely.”

The Count handled the box, wiping away the sweat that was running down his face.

Arendt, who had been leaning behind him, approached him quietly.

“Is this a spirit stone?”

“Yes, that’s right. Please step back a little bit, as I’m about to open the box.”

Arendt obediently took a few steps back.

The Count took a pair of gloves out of his pocket, put them on, and held the box with a nervous expression.

Click.

The lock was released and the box slowly opened, revealing spirit stones with splendid lights.