Betrayal Knight's Joyful Faith

Chapter 164

Because of the unpleasant incident, the appointment of a new High Priest was carried out quietly without any special ceremony.Now that she had become the High Priest, Lumiel had declared that she would focus on internal discipline and nurturing the next generation, as she was appointed to this position due to bad reasons.

And the Emperor encouraged the new High Priest, indicating that the relationship between the imperial family and the temple would not change in the future.

As the tumultuous palace and Great Temple gradually found stability due to the actions of the Emperor and High Priest Lumiel, Arendt received a call from someone he had briefly forgotten about.

– I, I… I just asked you to be considerate of my research…

It was Count Stadler who heard the news that the High Priest had been replaced.

‘Come to think of it, I didn’t tell him that things had gotten this big.’

Because he didn’t tell him that the temple was behind the spies.

“Oh… Well, somehow it ended up like that.”

– Somehow…? Did you just say somehow? How can something like this be explained with the word somehow?

“That can happen to people as they live. Isn’t it true that it’s a good thing?”

– …

Now Count Stadler had no strength to fight back.

Although he said he was concerned that the lab would be harmed, this was not the outcome he had hoped for.

He didn’t even think it would be possible in the first place.

If he could at least have the protection of the Crown Prince…

– I am sometimes… no, quite often, afraid of Lord Arendt…

“Thanks.”

– Did that sound like a compliment?

The Count, who asked in an absurd tone, soon let out a big sigh.

Yeah, that was just the way Arendt was originally. He knew better than anyone that if he looked into it further, it would only hurt his mouth.

Arendt, who had read the Count’s expression, changed the subject.

“What about you? Are you done with organization? Have you started studying that mural?”

– Yes, thanks to you… However, I don’t think it’s at the level for it to be made public yet, so I’m reporting only to His Highness the Crown Prince and proceeding with my trustworthy associates. I’m also planning on sending a researcher to the Chernion Temple that was discovered recently.

“I heard that priest Lumiel, or rather the High Priest, is sending priests there. You can cooperate with them to conduct the investigation.”

– I heard that too. And do you remember the ossuary found in the cave with the murals?

As the topic shifted to research, the Count’s tone finally calmed down.

“Was that the name engraved there?”

– Yes, Gilberte… is the name. First, I have asked Prince Llewellyn and Lord Neumann for their cooperation in the investigation. I plan to delve into old documents and genealogy, but honestly, I am not sure if it will yield any results.

It was the name of a man who worked as a subordinate of the dragon in the pre-war era.

It was safe to say that there was almost no possibility of any traces of it remaining in the secular world…

“But you never know if something will come out.”

– Yes, thank you. I hope I can salvage something from the troubles that Arendt has gone through.

Across the communication channel, he somehow pictured Count Stadler with a pale face and a faint smile.

“Then, I hope you continue to search. If you find anything, please let me know.”

Arendt ended his communication with the Count with a deep stretch and sank into his comfortable chair.

“For now, that side has been sorted out…”

After all, ordering others around was the most enjoyable thing.

Since he had asked for a favor, he thought it would be okay to ignore it for the time being since the Count, Llewellyn, and Lord Neumann would figure out what to do.

For several days after the affairs of the High Priest were settled, an unprecedented peace continued.

The enemies were still quiet, and the Emperor, Cantares, and the Knight Captains were busy policing the interior of the palace, so there wasn’t much for an apprentice knight to do right away.

‘In this state, it would take longer for the Holy Sword to move.’

A key word that could not be left out in this story.

Only the emperor and the High Priest were allowed to approach the sacred relics of the god Luce, which were said to be enshrined in the deepest part of the Great Temple.

However, the Emperor was trying to avoid approaching the temple as much as possible, considering his relationship with it, so in reality, the only person who could face the holy sword was High Priest Lumiel.

‘The first person to discover the Holy Sword’s reaction would probably be High Priest Lumiel.’

The appearance of the Holy Sword meant that a war that would turn the world upside down was about to begin. Therefore, it would be best to postpone the appearance of the Holy Sword as much as possible.

So far, this strategy seemed to be working well enough. For an actor who was constantly changing the script and performing the play in real time, it was a fairly satisfactory result.

Knock knock.

It was a sudden knock on the door that brought Arendt’s consciousness, which had been lost in thought, back to reality.

Without even waiting for an answer, the door opened and, sure enough, Arthur came in.

“Just knocking and not waiting for an answer?”

“You’re not going to answer anyway, you punk. You should appreciate that I even knocked.”

Arthur, who seemed to have become accustomed to the behavior of not even greeting his senior when he came in, responded curtly and handed him a sealed letter.

“It’s for you. I saw a servant carrying it and he was making noise nearby, so I took it.”

“What is it?”

“I don’t know. You open it and look.”

Arendt, who received the letter while leaning lazily on his chair, first checked the sender.

But the space where something should have been written was empty.

He tilted his head and opened the envelope, and a round silver card rolled out from inside.

“…?”

It was a little larger than a silver coin, had an imperial emblem in the center, and the border was decorated with jewels, so it was an unusual object to anyone who saw it.

Even Arendt’s name was engraved in small letters on the back.

Arendt picked up the card, turned it over, and looked up in puzzlement.

“Senior, what is this… I was going to ask, but what is it? Why are you looking like that?”

“That, that. That…”

Arthur, who had been unable to control his curiosity and had been leaning over his shoulder, was frozen with his mouth wide open.

Arendt frowned slightly as he saw him stop talking, his chin trembling, and checked the contents of the letter that was included with him.

The concise phrase was written in a beautiful handwriting that he had seen somewhere before on top-quality paper that felt different just from touch.

Anyone could see that the sender was the Emperor.

It seems like he really liked the play he saw that day, so he wanted to give him some more stuff.

“So what is this?”

“…The right to, to pardon.”

Arthur, who had been talking for a long time, finally spoke.

“Yes?”

“How can this happen… Don’t you know about amnesty, amnesty? Even crimes that amount to treason can be amnestied at any time by order of His Majesty the Emperor!”

The stammering voice instantly turned into a scream.

To summarize what Arthur said afterwards, it was like this.

For Arendt, who always walked a fine line between legality and illegality, this was no different from the Emperor’s intention to look after him.

Arendt picked up the silver shield and looked at it again.

‘Anyway, I knew it, he’s the kind of person who likes to joke.’

It was quite a witty and playful gift, considering that the whole story began with Arendt being thrown into a dungeon.

He didn’t know if he would ever use it, but if he kept it safe, it might come in handy someday.

“Why would something like that fall on this guy… Anyway, we’re going to be the ones

handling it…”

Arthur finally buried his face in his hands and sighed.

“If you’re jealous, why don’t you try attacking the High Priest too?”

“Shut up, you punk!”

Arthur shouted, but Arendt ignored him as he always did.

Arthur’s stomach hurt as he imagined his junior’s actions becoming more and more reckless, so he ended up going to see a healer.

They decided to keep the existence of immunity a secret between the two of them for the time being.

If it became known that an item that was awarded to someone who had made a great contribution was given to a mere apprentice knight, there would surely be another uproar.

And a few days later, an unexpected visitor arrived.

It was Warren.

“It’s been a while.”

When Arendt heard that he had arrived, he went to the headquarters of the Neumann branch, and Warren was waiting in the reception room where he often talked to Lord Neumann.

“Your face looks nice. I wonder if Llewellyn has a talent for raising dogs?”

“It’s amazing how you can always provoke people when you talk.”

As Arendt snickered, Warren answered calmly.

After all, he guessed Warren had become somewhat accustomed to dealing with strange people since he’d been hanging out with the eccentric Llewellyn.

“Why is the guy who was in the Nephele Kingdom here?”

“I’ve come to run an errand. After all, I’m the fastest. I wanted to report on the situation and check out the atmosphere in the Empire…”

The werewolf, whose words trailed off for a moment, added tremblingly.

“It looks like there’s been trouble again. Are you the mastermind this time?”

“The mastermind? How disappointing to hear that. I am merely a righteous apprentice knight who exposed the corruption of the former High Priest.”

“…”

Warren looked extremely uncomfortable.

Arendt nodded, pleased with the small change.

“Report.”

“You rascal. We haven’t made any significant gains in the Nephele Kingdom yet. I’ve searched every library in the palace, but I haven’t found a single one.”

“Well, if it was something that big, the dragon would have found it a long time ago.”

“Llewellyn said the same thing. I am considering the possibility that it was smuggled out… but if so, it is more likely to have flowed into the Caerleon Empire than anywhere else. It may already be in the hands of its original owner.”

Because there was a record handed down in the Nephele Kingdom that it should be returned.

Arendt frowned slightly.

“Do you think the person who had to return the book was a person from the Caerleon Empire?”

“I have several options in mind, but I think yours is more credible. Llewellyn suspects that the one who had to return it was either the hero Khan himself, or someone related to him.”

The first king of the Nephele Kingdom was one of those who fought against the evil gods in the past.

If it had been an item from the evil cult, they wouldn’t have left a note saying it had to be returned, so that was a reasonable guess.

“Maybe it’s something from a dragon that was in the camp of the god Luce. That’s the direction I’ve decided to investigate.”

Otherwise, the dragon wouldn’t have gone to the trouble of stirring up the kingdom to get the book back.

Arendt thought for a moment and nodded dryly.

“You can ask yourself that. What did Llewellyn ask you to do?”

“On-site investigation regarding the book. First, he needs His Highness the Crown Prince’s permission. However, it would be too conspicuous for him to enter the palace himself, so Llewellyn called me over and told me what he wanted to do.”

He obediently followed orders from the leader he acknowledged. He really had the appearance of a werewolf.

Arendt felt a little satisfied, as he seemed to get along better with Llewellyn than he had imagined.

“Tell me more.”