Betrayal Knight's Joyful Faith

Chapter 153

The cold moonlight seeped into his pupils, and soon an unbelievable sight unfolded.On the exposed rock wall, a mural that seemed to have been carved with light began to slowly appear.

“…”

“It’s a picture that appears only in response to moonlight. It was probably drawn directly by the dragon that lives here.”

Count Stadler said this in a voice that sounded somewhat pious.

Even at that moment, the moonlight steadily expanded its territory and painted a beautiful picture.

The mural made of lines of light was clearly a sacred painting.

At the very bottom, a giant dragon was looking up with its wings spread wide, and in the dragon’s sight, there was the beautiful Milky Way, the moon, the stars, and… a god.

“…”

A beautiful god with his hands clasped together and looking up into the sky.

His long hair flowed down to his toes, and his tightly shut eyes seemed to be looking at something beyond the ceiling.

Arthur muttered blankly.

“Lord Luce… isn’t that it?”

“It’s Chernion.”

It was not surprising that even Arthur, who had seen the Chernion Temple, was momentarily confused.

Count Stadler, who was standing nearby, said in a complicated tone.

“If I hadn’t heard about the Chernion Temple that was discovered earlier, I would have thought it was Lord Luce.”

“This is why you called me.”

The Count was unsure how others in the palace would perceive this discovery.

“…Yes, I will speak frankly. I don’t know about His Highness the Crown Prince or Advisor Jereon, but I am honestly afraid of how the others will react. The survival of the laboratory may depend on it.”

“Huh? The lab would be threatened because of something like this…”

“No, maybe.”

Arendt gave an answer to Arthur’s bewildered question.

“There is at least one person who would argue that this space itself, if not the laboratory, should be closed or destroyed.”

“…”

Arthur couldn’t even refute that and just opened his mouth blankly.

Although there was no specific person mentioned, it was easy to guess who Arendt was referring to.

High Priest Theodore.

He had already closed down the Chernion Temple. Thanks to this, the Knights were only able to check the exterior and were unable to investigate in detail.

“And there’s one more thing I’d like you to look at.”

The Count led the two inside.

Arendt, who had taken his eyes off the mural and followed him, soon discovered a neatly arranged collection of ceramics in a corner. They were gourd-shaped, with handles on both sides, and sealed with lids decorated with ornate jewels.

“Can I take a closer look?”

“Yes, of course.”

With the Count’s permission, Arendt picked one up and examined it carefully.

There was an unreadable inscription on the lid.

The Count, noticing where the apprentice knight’s gaze was, gave a brief explanation.

“I think it’s probably the name.”

“The name? Ah…”

Judging from the different characters written on the lids of the other items, it was easy to guess what these items were.

Arthur muttered blankly.

“Is this an urn?”

“That is very likely. According to the information I received from Prince Llewellyn, there are always escorts under the dragon’s command. Their exact identities have not been revealed, though.”

“The dragon’s escorts…”

Arendt, looking down at the urn, let out a short sigh. It was because he was reminded of the strange man he had crossed swords with a while ago, Stellar.

“I can only guess that the dragon’s confidants are probably sleeping here… I don’t know why they are kept here. This too has been taken care of to prevent it from being taken outside.”

To summarize the story, the dragon that served Chernion fled the war and entered the magic stone mine, where he spent the rest of his life with his confidants.

Arthur seemed to be thinking the same thing, so he opened his mouth with a worried expression.

“If the dragon was here until the end of its lifespan… then where did it go?”

“I think we need to look into that further, but it’s not like we have no clues. Look this way.”

Count Stadler lifted one of the urns and showed it to the two men.

Unlike the others, which were engraved with only unreadable characters, this one had an ancient human language written on its lid.

“It’s read as Gilberte. This name may provide a clue… The problem is whether we would be allowed to investigate. Even if we follow this small string, there is a high probability that it will lead to the Evil Cult.”

“But we can’t just leave it alone, right?”

“Yes, that’s the problem.”

The Count groaned at Arthur’s suffocating words.

“For now, I plan to keep this place hidden and continue my investigation on my own. With the help of Lord Neumann and Prince Llewellyn, I’m sure I can get some clues.”

“But that too will eventually reach its limit. If this catches the eye of the temple, it will be the end…”

Arendt, crossing his arms, frowned slightly.

“…This can’t go on like this.”

“Wait a minute. Hey, what are you thinking?”

“I just said one thing. Why do you look so anxious?”

Arendt glanced at the frightened Arthur with a disapproving look, then turned his gaze back to the Count.

“I understand the situation. I will return to the palace and discuss it.”

“I don’t think discussing it will change anything…”

“Why are you acting so unbecoming of a Count?”

Count Stadler, who had been slumping his shoulders, raised his head at the sudden blow.

Arendt looked the Count in the eye and spoke word for word.

“Count, repeat after me.”

“Yes?”

“There is nothing that cannot be done.”

“…”

“…”

A beautiful, ear-catching voice resonated in the empty space.

“If it doesn’t work, make it happen.”

“…”

“Anyone who gets in the way, grab them by the collar…”

“Hey, hey hey, hey hey hey hey!”

“Wait a minute! Wait a minute, Lord Arendt!”

Arthur and the Count simultaneously reached out, covering his mouth.

Arendt easily dodged the attacks coming from all directions by ducking his upper body and took a light step back.

“Anyway, that’s the kind of mindset you should have.”

“But you have to be careful with your opponents! Are you trying to start a fight with the temple right now? What are you talking about?”

“I didn’t say that. Senior, did you really think I was going to cause trouble with the temple? I didn’t see it that way, but you’re quite brave.”

“Do you really want to die?”

“Oh, Sir Arthur! Calm down. Calm down for now…”

Leaving Count Stadler behind, who was sweating profusely as he tried to calm down Arthur who had started to become crazed, Arendt turned around again and looked up at the mural of light.

Well, it was not something that can be said so easily… but since the person in charge of the Great Temple was High Priest Theodore, it was something that had to happen at least once.

Seeing that even Count Stadler, who was obsessed with his studies and ignorant of worldly affairs, was worried about this, it was easy to see how most people perceived High Priest Theodore.

In the first place, the position of the High Priest was already sufficiently conveyed by simply saying that he would conceal the first discovered temple.

After leaving the mine, they gathered again in the small conference room.

Arendt, who had finished thinking while they moved, opened his mouth.

“Count, have you prepared the materials?”

“Yes. I have already prepared all the materials to be sent to the Union side, and I will send them to Chloe soon. And please keep this for yourself. I will ask His Highness the Crown Prince to take one.”

Count Stadler handed Arendt two video recorders that he had carefully kept in his bosom.

“I recorded that mural earlier. Unlike the others, it was made using a complete magic stone, so there is no limit to the number of times it can be used.”

“Okay, I’ll pass it on to him.”

After receiving them, Arendt looked at Count Stadler again.

“I’m asking this out of concern, but does anyone else besides Chloe know anything about the dragon that appeared in the Nephele Kingdom and the mural that was just now?”

“No, we are doing our best for security.”

“Yes, I think the Count would have figured that part out on his own.”

Arendt, who had been rolling the video recorder in his hand several times, looked at Arthur.

Arthur met his gaze and nodded slightly.

After enjoying the meal prepared by the Count, Arthur and Arendt each went for a walk together, declining the researchers’ offer to personally guide them.

“It’s a bit cold at night.”

“It’s all a lack of mental strength.”

“You lack courage.”

“That’s my charm.”

“You do something about that nonsense.”

As they walked leisurely between the buildings lined up around the mine, they noticed quite a few research labs that still had their lights on.

It seemed like it would be a long time before their day ended.

They had light steps, as if they had put down his sword after a long time.

The two began to walk towards the darkness, avoiding the lit areas.

“How many people were in your room?”

“Two people. What about you?”

“One. It seems like they’re much more interested in you than me.”

Still, it was fortunate that they were just dregs. Thanks to that, the two of them could imitate Laius in this way.

As they approached the dark corner behind the building, Arthur reached out and grabbed the collar of someone hiding in the shadows.

“Whoaaaa!”

Someone suddenly emerged from the darkness and screamed, but it only lasted for a moment.

Arthur, who knocked out one of the men who was trying to turn around and run away, looked towards Arendt, who was dragging the men who had jumped far away by grabbing them by the scruff of the neck.

“That’s ridiculous. You’re trying to get information from these shabby guys?”

“They probably didn’t know we were coming. They’d need to get people with some level of expertise to extract information or something.”

After all, there were no other options for spies to be sent to Count Stadler’s laboratory than researchers who were just as corrupt as the Count himself.

“Still, it seems like security has been tightened up just as the Count said. The only thing they can do by sneaking in is eavesdropping.”

It seemed that they had not penetrated the key personnel at all.

“Let’s go around one more time. I can still feel the movement from over there.”

“There’s one on the back right too. This is killing me.”

A night walk was always rewarding.

When they tied up the captured spies and delivered them to Count Stadler, he could not hide his bewilderment.

“As expected, there were spies. I had guessed it, but…”

“Judging by the way they move clumsily, it seems like they were sent by nobles who want to get something out of them.”

Arendt nodded as Count Stadler muttered in confusion. Follow current ɴᴏᴠᴇʟs on NoveI-Fire.ɴet

“Probably no important information was leaked, but you should do a thorough investigation. There must be a few more.”

“Thank you. I will do that.”

“Oh, and one more thing.”

“…?”

“Count. I know very well that you are not as innocent as you seem.”

The Count, who had been bowing his head repeatedly, looked puzzled at Arendt’s unexpected words.

Arendt met his gaze and smiled.

“Finding out who’s behind it isn’t that difficult, is it?”

“…”

Currently, Count Stadler had a strong image of being a naive, slightly clumsy scholar who was only focused on his research. However, his true nature was not lost, and there must still be a poisonous side inside him.

Count Stadler, who had noticed the apprentice knight’s true feelings, nodded with a stern face.

“Leave it to me. I’ll report back as soon as I find out.”

“Okay, please do that.”

Arendt nodded with satisfaction.

Nothing was certain yet, but… he had a feeling that those guys lying stretched out and passed out, would be a clue to something.

It also awakened the true nature of a humble person.

“When things aren’t going well, you should blow off steam sometimes. If you hold it in, you’ll get sick. It’s not good for your health.”

“Please be patient.”

Arthur grumbled beside Arendt, but of course he ignored him.