Betrayal Knight's Joyful Faith

Chapter 110

After telling all his tales, Arendt continued eating, drinking, and talking until the restaurant closed.One of his strange specialties was that he could always speak to people in a cold and unlucky tone, yet still have a never-ending supply of topics to talk about and chat about all sorts of things.

It was not until dawn that the group was able to return to their room.

But Arendt couldn’t rest. There was a response from the communication crystal ball he had secretly brought into the gap in his luggage.

Arendt sneaked out, avoiding the knights’ eyes, and connected the crystal.

– Oh, Lord Arendt. You’re still awake. That’s fortunate.

Count Stadler’s voice was heard.

“Count, what are you doing up this late at night?”

– These are the things that Lord Arendt asked for. I found records in ancient documents that seem to contain similar content.

It was exactly the call he had been waiting for.

A smile appeared on Arendt’s lips.

“That’s good news.”

– It seems to be a record of the night god you mentioned… When I glanced at it, it seemed like a story closer to a folktale.

“Anything is fine.”

– Okay, I’ll get it ready for you to check as soon as you get back.

Arendt, who had disconnected the communication, leaned against the wall and stared blankly at the sky.

The stars scattered across the night sky twinkled coldly. Perhaps because the sky was a little cloudy, it seemed unusually darker than usual.

However, the traces of the figure that had been awkwardly hidden were not completely erased.

“This really pisses me off.”

When he showed his irritation so openly, the shadow that had been hiding in the darkness flinched.

Arendt turned toward him, his back against the wall.

“I didn’t know you had a hobby of eavesdropping. Is it okay for the successor to Count Eckhart to do something like that?”

“I didn’t eavesdrop. I just wanted you to come out…”

Arcus, who was about to make an excuse in a hurry, shut his mouth tightly. After a while, he sighed and answered.

“I’m sorry, but it wasn’t intentional. I didn’t hear your conversation properly, so don’t worry too much.”

“…Your speech style has changed a bit.”

Arendt crossed his arms, squinted his eyes and looked Arcus up and down.

“What is your business?”

“I just wanted to talk.”

When his younger brother showed a mild reaction for the first time, Arcus quickly spoke up, but Arendt had no intention of responding to him obediently.

“I have nothing to say. Is there anything else we can talk about now?”

“Arendt.”

“Look back carefully. Whatever you say, am I obligated to listen?”

A cold voice brushed past his ears along with the cold night air.

Arendt stood there motionless, staring blankly at the other person, as if asking Arcus to answer.

Arcus had a gut feeling that if he made a mistake now, he would never be able to face Arendt again. Feeling nervous for the first time, Arcus unconsciously clenched and unclenched his fists several times.

What should he say?

These were the first things that came to mind, but none of them were the right answers.

They were things that he shouldn’t say now.

After remaining silent for a long time, he finally opened his mouth.

“I’m sorry.”

“…”

It was a sincere apology, without any selfish intentions.

“I should have taken better care of you. It was my fault. Father was busy with work…”

“Stop talking about Father.”

“…If I had been more proactive, I could have helped you. And if I hadn’t neglected you when you were young, maybe… the outcome might have been a little different.”

Neglect.

Arendt’s eyebrows twitched slightly at those words.

“I’m sorry, I should have taken care of you after your mother passed away.”

Arcus finished speaking as if he was making a confession and closed his eyes tightly.

So he didn’t see it.

The sight of his younger brother staring at him with complicated eyes.

‘I told you, you found the wrong person to apologize to.’

These clumsy guys.

It seemed like he got a glimpse into the reasons why the original Arendt was a rascal.

He had hoped that if he provoked Arcus gently, he might be able to learn about the internal circumstances of Count Eckhart’s family.

‘I feel like I slapped a child.’

The original owner of this body, as well as the eldest son of Count Eckhart, who couldn’t even make eye contact with him, were both much younger than him.

“Sir. No, brother. Think about it carefully.”

Arcus’ eyes widened at the change in title. Locking eyes with him, Arendt continued speaking calmly.

“Let’s say I was put in prison and executed without even being given a chance to defend myself.”

In fact, Arcus’ real younger brother and the second son of Count Eckhart died like that.

“Would you have said the same thing at my grave, where I died as a traitor?”

“That…”

“Would you have said the same thing if I were scum, a piece of trash, a loser of the Imperial Knights instead of the person I am now? I don’t think so.”

There was no one left who would accept Arcus’ apology.

Even if he were to take up his role, he was not the real ‘Arendt’, so forgiving Arcus was beyond his rights.

Above all, it wasn’t something ‘Arendt-like’.

That’s why his golden eyes remained calm without wavering.

“Well, it’s not my place to get involved in things that happened when you were young… but at least you had a chance to correct it, you idiot.”

“…Sorry.”

Eventually, Arcus lowered his head again.

Arendt, who was looking at that sight, clicked his tongue.

He had a rough idea that the guy wasn’t approaching him with any ulterior motive, so his original goal was achieved.

Moreover, it was beneficial that the word ‘mother’ was added to the keyword of the character ‘Arendt von Eckhart’. There was no reason to torment that fool any longer.

“Okay. Why are you still here? If you’re done with your business, then return to the fiefdom as soon as this schedule is over. The Count, who can’t live without you, will be waiting with bated breath.”

“That is…”

Arendt, who was about to turn around, stopped when he heard the cracking voice. When he turned around again, he could see Arcus’ flushed face even in the thick darkness.

“…We fought.”

“You fought?”

“I had an argument with my father… so, I came to the palace alone. So for the time being… Yes, for the time being, it is a bit difficult to go back…”

It was absurd.

The proud eldest son of Count Eckhart began to fight with his father like a little kid who had been caught playing around for the first time.

That means he fought and went to the palace alone…

A questioning voice came out on its own.

“You ran away from home at that age?”

“…”

Totally different appearances, different personalities, and extreme discord.

For all these reasons, he sometimes thought that maybe they weren’t blood relatives.

But now he was sure.

These guys were definitely brothers, doing things without a plan.

“Oh, I don’t know. Do what you want. Either cut off the relationship or rebel. I don’t know anymore.”

Arendt, who became irritated by his words, left Arcus behind and strode back to the inn.

Bang!

The sound of the door closing roughly echoed through the night sky, and Arcus, left alone, sat down in that spot, unable to contain his embarrassment.

The group hurried back on their way. Arendt’s provocations also began again.

“They say it’s really hard to leave home. What do you think?”

“Okay, stop it.”

“I don’t know what you mean by stop it.”

“…”

He was going to explode any minute.

Arthur muttered only with his lips. But contrary to his expectations, Arcus held himself together well.

He couldn’t help but feel his fists tremble as he held the reins tightly.

The conversation the two had outside that day was overheard by the knights as well. The exchange was quite fierce, so he thought they might not even look at each other anymore.

“As expected…”

That was Richt’s mumbling.

The serious atmosphere could not last long. As a result, Arcus had to struggle to suppress his anger while his face turned red.

At that moment, Laius muttered softly.

“He seems to have softened a little.”

“Yes?”

As Arthur and Richt made a curious sound, Laius nodded in their direction.

“That guy.”

“He softened?”

“Maybe.”

When Arthur asked several times in disbelief, Laius answered vaguely as if he couldn’t be sure either.

At that moment, the crystal communication orb that Laius had kept in his bosom began to glow. Laius raised his hand and stopped the group, receiving the communication.

“This is Laius de Winfried.”

– Ah, I’m connected. Captain Laius, was there any problem with your journey?

“No, Your Highness the Crown Prince. There is no problem.”

… he swallowed those words.

– Well, that’s good. Sorry, but could you hurry up?

“…Did something happen?”

The tone of Cantares’ voice was unusual.

– It’s not a big deal, but the timing is really coincidental. I heard there was a small explosion in that area.

Arendt, who had been quietly listening to the story, added:

“It’s definitely Blake. He caused the explosion with the artifact he had.”

“He’s already been there? Does that mean we’re a step too late?”

“We’re late, but it’s just the beginning. We need to figure out what the bastard’s trick is. Then we need to follow his trail and slowly choke him. Isn’t that the basics of hunting?”

As Laius hardened his face, Arendt gave him a look of blatant disapproval.

“The enemy left such big footprints for us to track, and if we can’t even do that, then we shouldn’t go around calling ourselves imperial knights.”

The knights simply kept their mouths shut in the face of the harsh words that flew in without a chance for rebuttal.

Cantares brought the conversation back to its original topic.

– Anyway, let’s hurry up a bit. Go like he said and follow his trail.

“Yes, I will do as you say.”

The communication was cut off, and Laius looked back at the group.

Arthur and Richt, who had already heard the conversation between the two, were ready to jump out at any moment.

However, the carriage had a limit to how fast it could travel, but it was not possible to leave the others in the middle of nowhere.

At that moment, Henry got out of the carriage.

“I’ll leave the carriage and go with you guys. I’ll ride a horse too.”

“But, Lord.”

“If we go a little further, we will come across a city. I will have the servants take the carriage and go there to wait. It is near the city, so the security is not bad, and they are well-trained in self-defense, so it will be fine.”

Before Laius could say anything else, Henry gave orders to his servants.

After a while, the coachman untied one of the two horses that had been tied to the carriage, saddled it, and handed it over to Henry.

“Take care on your way back.”

“Thank you.”

Henry smiled at the coachman and climbed onto the horse with light movements.

“Shall we go, Captain? I will follow you. When we reach the border, it will be more advantageous for me to be with you in case of an emergency.”

“…Okay, I understand. Thank you for your consideration.”

Laius took hold of the reins.

“I’ll speed things up, and Arendt.”

“What?”

“Don’t stay next to Lord Arcus, come next to me.”

If he left them alone any longer, Lord Arcus’ stomach might really get a hole burned in it.