Betrayal Knight's Joyful Faith

Chapter 154

Since they had already finished all their work, there was no need to stay longer, so the two of them got ready early in the morning and headed out of the lab.The two people, escorted out of the mine by the Count and Chloe, began to ride leisurely towards the Union.

“Are you sure it’s okay to just leave it like that?”

“They’ll figure it out. If we get involved, things will only get more complicated.”

Arendt answered calmly.

“Well, senior, please keep your mouth shut for the time being. I will report it to the captain.”

“Alright, I’ll do just that. I’m just going to pretend I didn’t see anything. It’s a headache. Actually, there are a lot of things I want to talk about…”

Arthur glanced back, trailing off.

It wasn’t a road with much traffic to begin with, so there didn’t seem to be any people there, but even so, this subtle, irritating noise…

“…Should we just leave them alone?”

“I don’t know anything. They can either follow along or not; they can do whatever they want.”

“…”

As expected, this guy never disappointed.

Arthur, who had been thinking about it for a moment, decided to just go along with that. They were the ones who would suffer anyways.

Then, two people suddenly appeared from a street corner where there was clearly nothing there before.

“Hey you two, you little bastards!”

“If you noticed, shouldn’t you have said something?!”

It was Rider and Glenn.

Arthur let out a deep sigh as he glanced at the two seniors rushing towards him on horseback, their efforts to hide their presence meaningless.

“Those people didn’t do that in the past…”

Unlike the old days, the two fools had no dignity whatsoever… No, it was so frustrating to watch the two seniors.

It seemed like bad habits were spreading throughout the Third Division ever since a certain someone started being active.

Arendt, the real culprit, took a quick look at the two men urging them to talk, but he didn’t wait for them and just rode on leisurely.

“The weather is nice.”

…While talking like that.

With his last remaining conscience, Arthur paused for a moment to wait for his seniors, then looked up at the sky with a short sigh.

It seemed like the rest of the journey would be a bit more noisy.

Although he hadn’t particularly expected it, Arendt didn’t even ask why they had followed them.

In the end, the only ones who were left feeling angry were Glenn and Rider.

“We even gave up our vacation to come with you guys, so why don’t you guys even say thank you?”

“You guys are so cheeky, you even went camping. If you had known, you could have told us in advance. Then we wouldn’t have suffered unnecessarily.”

“It’s really useless.”

“Ahhhhh!”

It would have been better to just keep quiet, but Arendt, who would add a word to upset his seniors, and the seniors who would go crazy every time they were provoked, all looked similar to Arthur.

‘You could have just been honest and said you were worried.’

But he didn’t say anything like that. He knew that even if a knife was put to their throats, they wouldn’t say it out loud.

So Rider and Glenn followed along, grumbling and complaining, until they reached the Union.

The one who felt like he had been struck by lightning was none other than the leader of the Union, Henry.

“That…”

Arendt elegantly sipped the tea brought by the waiter, Arthur, sitting across from him, nodded his head in greeting, and the other two knights were also there; anyone would see that they were uncomfortable.

It was an odd combination no matter who saw it.

Henry couldn’t help but pause for a moment as he looked at the knights of the Third Order who had barged in during the day and were sitting crowded around a table, pretending to be guests.

However, the experience of living as a child of a noble family for many years did not go away, as he quickly regained his composure and put on a bright, kind smile.

“I heard that only Sir Arendt and Sir Arthur were visiting… but there are two others here as well. Sir Rider and Sir Glenn, I suppose? Welcome to the Khan Union Teahouse.”

“These people are on vacation, so don’t worry about them. Just give them expensive stuff and extort their money.”

“What?”

“Did I say something wrong?”

Glenn growled and lashed out, but Arendt remained calm.

“Haha… What do you guys think of the tea? I chose the best one.”

“It’s good, the snacks are good as well.”

“I’m glad you like it.”

It wasn’t empty talk. The interior of the tea house was so wonderful that it was almost a shame to call it a disguise.

They were using an entire two-story building, and there were quite a few customers, probably because word of mouth had already spread, and the stands displaying tea and tea utensils were neatly arranged.

There were even merchants haggling with each other here and there, so it could be called a tea union.

Arthur must have felt the same way, because he spoke to Henry in a suggestive tone.

“I see your business is going well, Sir.”

“I have thought many times that I should have started my own business a long time ago. I think this is a better fit for me than the various public offices. If you need anything, please let me know without hesitation. Of course, you don’t have to pay for it.”

“Thank you for your kindness.”

As Glenn and Rider nodded in response, Arendt put down his teacup and rose from his seat.

Henry suggested, quickly taking a step back.

“Oh, Arcus is working inside. Would you like to come with me?”

“Tsk.”

He knew it wouldn’t be fun to see that person’s face, but it was the Crown Prince’s order after all.

Henry guided him to the second floor.

As the crowd grew thinner, Henry, now acting as the leader of the Union, opened his mouth.

“I’m glad that many nearby merchants responded. Thanks to that, there are no problems with business.”

“It looks like that.”

To that extent, no one would suspect the true identity of this union, so the effort put into the outward appearance of the business was worth it.

Moreover, it would be possible to secure operating funds on his own.

“Sir Glenn and Sir Rider didn’t seem to know the details.”

“Only Senior Arthur and Senior Richt know it.”

“But you came all the way here together. You seem to be on good terms.”

“Are you joking?”

“No, I’m serious.”

Henry let out a small laugh at the quick reply, then stopped in front of the door and knocked.

“Arcus, I brought Lord Arendt.”

Boom!

“Ugh!”

A loud crashing sound erupted from inside the room.

Arendt muttered uneasily.

“…Why is he like that?”

“Actually, I didn’t tell Arcus that Sir Arendt was coming. I thought he might run away.”

“Do you know that you also secretly have a bad personality?”

“I am no match for Arendt.”

After a long period of waiting, when the door finally opened, Arcus appeared, looking completely fine as if nothing had happened.

But it didn’t hide the overturned chair and the pile of spilled documents seen behind him.

Arendt, crossing his arms, looked him over from head to toe with cold eyes.

“What great person has come?”

“…I’m sorry.”

Even beneath his expressionless face, Arcus couldn’t hide his embarrassment.

Arendt, who was giving him a look of blatant pity, pushed him away and walked into the office.

Unlike the neat tea house, Arcus’ office was filled with all kinds of documents and books.

“What is all this?”

“Things needed to run the Union. You don’t have to worry about them.”

“Please report the progress. I need to tell it to His Highness the Crown Prince.”

“…”

“…”

The more he heard, the more he couldn’t get used to it, but there was no way the two of them could say anything about it.

The Crown Prince ordered it.

In the end, Arcus gave up everything and shook his head.

“I’m building a storage room in the basement. It will only be accessible by the stairs on the second floor, and only Henry and I will be able to use it.”

“What about the other things?”

“I received help from the Neumann Group. The merchant group mobilized only the best people, and even those were divided into groups and assigned to shifts so that no one could know what the other was working on.”

“It’s a warehouse similar to the East Safe, but the security is much more thorough. When it’s finished, not even an ant will be able to enter.”

Henry also chimed in from the side.

“I plan to wait for Count Stadler to send researchers soon. If we need field investigators, I will use the connections of the prince who loves to travel. It will be safer than increasing the number of personnel.”

“And?”

“And now I am working on transcribing and classifying the materials sent by Prince Llewellyn and Count Stadler.”

The piles of documents surrounding Arcus were just that.

As expected, Henry, no, these two were capable.

This suited him better than living his whole life as a subordinate in his father’s shadow.

If the Union became fully functional, it would be useful as a base for emergencies, even if something happens to Count Stadler’s research institute or the Imperial Palace.

Arendt nodded with satisfaction.

“It’s pretty good.”

“How about you, Lord Arendt? I heard something big happened.”

“It’s similar to usual.”

Because he hadn’t had a single moment of peace since he took on the role of Arendt von Eckhart.

Henry couldn’t help but laugh at that plain answer.

“That’s right. Oh, and I heard that a Neumann branch office will be opening up operations near here. That will make it easier for us to contact, so you can look forward to it.”

“Your employer is not me, but His Highness the Crown Prince. Even if you tell me to expect it… Well, I will convey it well. Was there anyone suspicious? There were a few flies flying around the Count’s lab.”

Arendt naturally changed the subject.

“A few people did come by. They must have been nervous because Arcus and I were starting a new business. But they just had tea and left. The only thing that bothered me was…”

Henry’s gaze fell on Arcus and his voice trailed off.

Arcus frowned as if telling him to be quiet, but he couldn’t avoid Arendt’s eyes.

“Is it Count Eckhart?”

Arcus’ expression became clouded as he spoke of his biological father in a calm tone as if he were referring to someone else.

“He sent people several times, but they all returned without making a fuss.”

“That’s a bit annoying.”

Arendt had openly pledged allegiance to the Crown Prince, and Arcus ran away from the estate due to friction over his brother, so Count Eckhart must be quite upset.

“Father… may notice that this union was established by His Highness the Crown Prince’s order. It will not be exposed, but given the circumstances, it would not be strange to see it like that.”

“Why? He might have been curious about the business his beloved son was running.”

“…Are you serious?”

“I’m joking.”

“…”

Arendt, who had been pondering for a moment, raised his head again and looked at his brother.

“What do you two think? Is Count Eckhart the kind of person who would take sudden action against an independent son?”

“…”

“…”

Henry and Arcus were at a loss for an answer.

That was already answer enough.

“Okay, then if anything comes up later, please contact me.”

“Is there another way?”

“Just say that your father doesn’t understand the situation properly and doesn’t know where to stand and where not to stand… Even if he’s cut off from the family, he’s the son who is related to him by blood, so he has no choice but to step forward. The eldest son, who has been living like his father’s doll all this time, won’t be of any help.”

“…”

“…”

The two were dizzy from the immoral remarks that flowed out like water.

A simple translation of Arendt’s words would probably be something like this:

Arcus, who had been moving his mouth for a while, barely regained his composure and spoke.

“…I’ll try my best to figure it out for now.”

“Of course you should.”

Henry couldn’t help but let out an awkward laugh as he looked back and forth between Arcus, who suddenly tucked his tail between his legs, and Arendt, who nodded his head absentmindedly.

Arendt would surely be disgusted to hear it, but he thought that the brothers seemed to get along well.