Betrayal Knight's Joyful Faith

Chapter 141

What Arendt felt anew was that the Imperial Family of the Caerleon Empire was loved by the people of the empire.As the procession departed the palace, they encountered crowds of people lining both sides of the main street to ensure that their procession would not be impeded.

Some people prayed for God’s blessings and even threw flowers in front of the carriage carrying the Crown Prince.

The Imperial House of Caerleon was still deeply engraved in the hearts of the people as the descendants of heroes.

Arendt watched the sight without much emotion, and his eyes turned toward the ornate carriage driving ahead.

As if to respond to the cheers of the people, the Crown Prince opened the window, showed himself, and waved. His usual appearance of being harassed and irritated was nowhere to be seen, and only the dignified Crown Prince was present.

And Arendt’s impression of watching that scene was…

‘This looks like the perfect situation for him to be assassinated.’

It was like this.

It was something that couldn’t even be dreamt of, with the monster-like knights swarming right next to him.

Leaving Arendt’s sentiments behind, the group accompanying the Crown Prince moved slowly. It took quite a while to leave the palace due to the large crowd.

Only after they had completely left the castle and reached a plain with no houses was the group able to gain some speed.

And then, the long and tedious journey continued to the Lucain Kingdom.

Every city they passed by was crowded with people who heard the news of the Crown Prince’s procession, and eventually Cantares even gave the order to camp out instead of stopping in the city.

“Are you okay?”

“I also went camping when I was being trained as a Crown Prince. And now, I think I can rest more comfortably this way.”

The Crown Prince waved with a look of exhaustion.

Waving his hands and smiling in front of people was okay for a day or two, but after several days of doing it, he seemed to be getting tired.

So on that day, they decided to camp.

It was called camping, but once all the tents that could accommodate a large number of people were put up, it seemed like a village had suddenly sprung up in the middle of nowhere.

In particular, the Crown Prince’s tent was decorated so extravagantly and splendidly from the outside that it looked like a miniature version of the Crown Prince’s office.

Arendt, who had been silently watching the scene, finally spoke out the thoughts he had been having for several days.

“It is a perfect situation for you to get assassinated at any moment, really.”

“…”

After dinner, he said this directly to the Crown Prince, who came out to enjoy the fresh air.

“…Do you want to assassinate me?”

“I don’t plan on doing that yet. Who knows. Maybe I’ll plan on doing that later.”

Arendt answered leisurely, standing in front of the campfire.

“If you have any plans, tell me as soon as possible. I’ll tell Captain Laius.”

“Okay, I’ll handle it without making a sound.”

There was a rather bloody joke exchanged between the Crown Prince and a mere apprentice knight.

Regardless, the knights were busy deciding on the night watch order, and the servants were busy cleaning up after dinner.

Arendt, standing with crossed arms and a tilted head, just stared blankly into the campfire.

“Why are you standing here blankly?”

“Don’t misunderstand. I’m not just standing here blankly. I’m also standing guard in my own way. This is my area of ​​responsibility.”

Cantares carefully studied the profile of the apprentice knight as he answered indifferently, but as always, it was impossible to read his thoughts.

“What are you thinking about?”

“Nothing really. I think it would be delicious to grill meat here.”

“…Are you hungry?”

“A little?”

As expected, this time too, it was a pointless exchange. Even so, Arendt did not take his eyes off the large bonfire.

He was pretending not to care, but the further he got from the castle, the more nervous he became.

When the Crown Prince appeared in front of people, he got a dangerous feeling.

‘It’s strangely annoying…’

It wasn’t to the extent that he couldn’t ignore it, but it was getting on his nerves so subtly that he was starting to get annoyed.

‘Is it a gaze?’

He could only guess, but it wasn’t easy to pick out just one person among the many nearby.

Moreover, that person must be quite skilled, as he was able to erase his presence quite skillfully in this place where knights were swarming without having an overwhelming killing intent.

‘It seems like the other seniors didn’t notice.’

Even Laius seemed oblivious to anything, as he readily gave permission to camp.

But the funny thing is, even though Cantares was right next to him, he didn’t feel the gaze at all.

If anything had happened that could harm the Crown Prince, Laius would have already drawn his sword and come flying at that person.

What that meant was that the enemy didn’t want to create unnecessary tension now that everyone was focused on protecting the Crown Prince.

‘That is, the target is not His Highness the Crown Prince…’

‘It’s me.’

As he thought of that, his slightly tense mind became at ease again.

Arendt took a cookie out of his pocket and popped one into his mouth.

“Your Highness.”

“What.”

“Wouldn’t scum be the best at dealing with scum?”

“What?”

The Crown Prince was momentarily taken aback by the sudden remark.

“…Wait a minute. What are you up to again?”

“Nothing yet. It’s still in the works. But since the other person is the Crown Prince, I think I need to draw the line.”

“…”

Why did the promise to draw the line sound so ominous?

Arendt, who noticed Cantares’ feeling of disturbance, finally looked up and looked at him.

“When you asked me to act, didn’t that mean you had abandoned the idea of ​​a peaceful solution from the start?”

“That’s… that’s right.”

Anything that threw Arendt into the mix quickly turned into chaos. Now everyone in the palace knew about it, and the Crown Prince sometimes used that to move Arendt.

But still… when he saw Arendt thinking deeply and laughing to himself, he felt uneasy.

“Wait a minute. You said you don’t know anything yet?”

“But wouldn’t it be better to at least prepare yourself mentally?”

Arendt shrugged his shoulders as was his custom, responding lightly.

Cantares smiled awkwardly at the sight.

“I think I’m the one who needs to prepare myself mentally.”

“Well, that’s true too.”

Arendt replied absentmindedly, turning his gaze back to the roaring campfire.

“But one thing is certain.”

“What the heck, you punk.”

“I’m better than I thought.”

Arendt handed Cantares a piece of a cookie, muttering a sentence that made no sense.

The Crown Prince’s eyes were filled with questions.

That strange feeling continued to follow him from time to time until he arrived in the Lucain Kingdom.

“Senior, don’t you feel anything?”

“No, I don’t.”

He asked Arthur too, but this was the only answer he got.

Even he, who was by no means dull, seemed to have a lukewarm reaction, and it seemed that the person was hiding among the group and only glancing at Arendt.

“Why? Is there something suspicious?”

“Well, it’s nothing.”

When he hung out with someone, their gaze disappeared like a ghost, so it was now clear who their target was .

‘This is surprisingly fun.’

If Crown Prince Alois was involved in this, and if they were targeting him, then that could only mean one thing.

Crown Prince Alois… or the Chernion Church was hiding behind the Nephele Kingdom.

He hesitated for a moment debating whether he should tell this to the Crown Prince or Laius, but surprisingly, it was Laius who approached him first.

During a break in the movement, Laius came to see Arendt and suddenly said something.

“Do you know?”

“What?”

“Ever since you left the palace, a gaze has been following you.”

Although the eyes of the other knights were deceived, it seems that that person could not avoid Laius’ detection.

Arendt looked up at his boss again.

“What are those eyes?”

“I’m surprised that you’ve noticed this and have stayed quiet until now. I would have thought you would have stopped the group by now and started a fuss about finding the culprit.”

“…”

Laius’ eyebrows twitched, but he soon regained his composure and answered calmly.

“It seems like you are still looking into the situation even though you know about it. Is it perhaps related to the work that His Highness the Crown Prince has entrusted to you this time?”

“What? You knew that too?”

“Because His Highness has summoned you aside.”

“Hey, Captain. Are you finally starting to get a little more sensible?”

He wanted to punch the apprentice knight who was letting out a breath of pure admiration, but this time, Laius showed patience.

“We will enter the Lucain Kingdom in one day. If you think there will be any danger, tell me in advance.”

“Am I in danger? Or am I putting someone in danger?”

“Both.”

“I thought you were joking.”

“This is no joke.”

Pak.

Laius, who gave Arendt a light smack on the head, returned to his original position.

Arendt, who was irritably touching the place where he had been hit, also headed towards his position.

And the next day.

As Laius had foretold, the party was able to set foot on the border of the Lucain Kingdom.

As soon as he entered the palace, a huge crowd of people welcomed the Crown Prince, just like when he left the palace.

“His Highness the Crown Prince of the Caerleon Empire!”

“Long live His Royal Highness Crown Prince Cantares Al Caerleon!”

As he entered the castle, making his way through the crowd of people waving their hands and throwing flower petals, the Crown Prince of the Lucain Kingdom himself came out to greet him.

“May the glory of God Luce be with you. Your Highness the Crown Prince, I am so happy to see you again.”

“It’s been a long time, Crown Prince Victor. How have you been?”

Crown Prince Victor Del Lucain smiled brightly and asked for a handshake, which Cantares also shook.

He must have been in his mid to late twenties, and his face looked somewhat younger than Cantares’, and he had a kind and gentle look to him. Cantares’ friendly attitude towards him also made him seem fond of him.

Victor stood up straight toward the knights standing behind Cantares.

“Thank you for your hardships on your long journey. I have prepared lodging for you, so please follow the attendants and recover from your fatigue. If you need anything, please let me know.”

“Thank you for your kindness, Your Highness the Crown Prince.”

When Laius, who had come forward as a representative, bowed respectfully, Cantares gave an order.

“I will go to see His Majesty the King, so leave only the essential guards behind and the knights can rest for a while. Thank you for your hard work during the journey.”

“Yes, I will obey your command.”

Victor gave his aide a briefing on the Knights Templar and some instructions, then disappeared into the palace with Cantares.

Arendt glanced around as he listened to the aide’s welcoming remarks.

The moment he entered the palace, the gazes that had been following him disappeared like ghosts.

‘Have you come back to their side?’

It would be safe to assume that the enemy was already hiding inside the Royal Palace of the Lucain Kingdom. Whatever happened, it would happen inside the palace.

‘What a shallow trick.’

But he was confident that he wouldn’t lose in a battle of wits and brains.

Besides, if it was someone who revealed their intentions so clearly, it wouldn’t be difficult to have fun with them.

It seemed like something more interesting than the Crown Prince had feared would happen.