Betrayal Knight's Joyful Faith

Chapter 191

The next morning, the elves showed up at the port just in time for the departure.Arendt, who saw the four elves standing in a row with frozen faces, passed by them without saying a word and boarded the ship first.

Sylvian, who had expected an outright sarcastic remark, was instead taken aback by the reaction.

As she stood there blankly, Laius and Llewellyn approached her.

Laius was the first to bow briefly.

“I know it must have been an unpleasant invitation, but thank you for accepting it.”

“…If I go back like this, I won’t be able to avoid accountability. I might even be dismissed from my position as captain.”

Sylvian, who had been silent for a moment, opened her mouth.

“There is only one reason why I decided to accompany you guys. I have no words to refute that young apprentice knight, and there is no way I can defeat you by force.”

Laius calmly listened to her words, which continued slowly.

“We were defeated without ever taking up arms. But even if we had taken up arms, the result would not have been different. No matter what I say now, it would still be ugly… but I will never forget that.”

Sylvian finished her story in a flat voice and nodded.

A hint of sympathy appeared in Laius’s gaze as he looked at Sylvian.

If the elves had rushed to steal the spirit stones, they would have ultimately suffered a miserable defeat.

It was clear that the warriors would be either annihilated or taken as prisoners.

And with the addition of the problem of Jin, the relationship between humans and elves would have reached its worst point.

But now, no one had died, no one had been injured, and those who could have been enemies had easily admitted defeat.

Looking at the results now, the method Arendt chose was the most optimal means, and at the same time, it was a grace bestowed in the most violent manner.

Her subordinates also seemed to have the same thoughts as Sylvian, and they remained silent.

The Knight Captain could guess their minds well.

As a warrior, it was more honorable to fight and die.

So it must have been more painful than swallowing a needle for them to admit their ridiculous and miserable defeat.

Laius answered bluntly.

“I will do my best to persuade the elders so that no harm comes to Captain Sylvian.”

“There’s no need to persuade them… Arendt seems to have already decided to do something about it?”

Llewellyn sneaked into the conversation between Sylvian and Laius.

Laius’ serious face instantly turned into a look of distress.

Sylvian, who observed the scene with her own eyes, also had a somewhat complicated expression on her face.

“Get on board! We’re leaving soon!”

At that moment, the captain announced the departure.

Laius took a step back and allowed Sylvian and her party to board the ship first.

They walked obediently and boarded the ship.

Their backs, with slumped shoulders, looked like those of defeated soldiers or prisoners.

Llewellyn, who had been staring blankly at Sylvian as she boarded the ship, opened his mouth.

“Should I say thank you?”

It was a question without a subject, but it was enough for Laius to understand.

Likewise, without taking his eyes off Sylvian and her party, the Knight Captain responded.

“No. He’s always been the type of guy who acts on his own, so he probably did whatever he wanted this time too.”

“Anyway, he’s an impossible person to figure out. I can’t tell if he’s merciless or merciful.”

“I will eventually retrain him on his bad manners.”

“You still haven’t given up…?”

The two people boarded the ship last, chatting about useless things.

Soon, the passenger ship carrying the group set sail, emitting a long horn sound.

Perhaps because communication with the elves had been completely cut off, once they left the port, not a single other ship was visible on the vast sea.

From what they heard, it seemed like it was quite difficult to arrange a ship to the Elf Kingdom.

The reason was that since the elves had sealed off the border, it was feared that anyone who carelessly ventured into their waters might encounter some kind of misfortune.

If Crown Princess Isabella had not personally stepped in to arrange a ship, they would have been stuck at the harbor for quite a while.

Arendt leaned against the railing and felt the cold sea breeze.

As he looked at the open horizon for the first time in a long while, his complicated mind seemed to be sorted out a bit.

‘She stole eight spirit stones…’

Jin stabbed her father with her own hands and fled, killing numerous elf warriors in the process.

Even if she could steal the spirit stones, it would have been impossible for Jin to completely escape the Elf Kingdom while avoiding surveillance on her own.

‘There must be an assistant.’

Arendt lowered his eyes.

From the time she was in the Elven Kingdom, Jin must have been in league with the Chernion Cult.

‘So the question is…’

Although she had eccentric tastes, Jin was a girl who grew up beautifully in the elven kingdom.

Who on earth taught her about the existence of the evil cult?

And how did they find out about Jin’s talent and contact her in the elven kingdom?

‘Jin would never have the left elven territory until she betrayed her own kind.’

Given all that, one possibility stood out.

There were spies of the Chernion cult within the Elf Kingdom.

It didn’t seem like Sylvian knew that fact, but the elders might have had a rough idea.

‘Perhaps the purpose of closing the border was not only to prevent the influx of the evil cult…’

As he was thinking about that, Arthur’s voice suddenly pierced his ear from the side.

“Have you ever seen the sea?”

Arthur was leaning against the railing and staring blankly at him, not knowing when he had arrived.

Arendt furrowed his brow at the unexpected question.

“I’m looking at it right now.”

“No, isn’t this your first time seeing the ocean? The Eckhart territory is also inland, and you’ve never gone far since joining the Imperial Knights.”

Arendt blinked at Arthur’s addition.

‘Now that I think about it, that’s how it is.’

Well, this was a world where the only means of transportation were horses and carriages.

So, it was impossible to go to the beach with a light heart as if going on vacation.

Count Eckhart was not a great man who would undertake a long journey to show his son the sea.

Arendt, who had thought that far, answered absentmindedly.

“I don’t know. Since I don’t remember, I guess that’s probably the case.”

“Isn’t your reaction a bit too underwhelming for something like that?”

“Not really. I’m not at the age where I should be jumping around excitedly just because I’m seeing the ocean for the first time.”

Arthur grumbled as Arendt replied calmly, leaning against the railing.

“What a boring guy. I thought you were just lost in thought or something since you were standing there for so long.”

“Oh, that’s too bad.”

Arendt answered coolly.

It was impossible to verify the truth before arriving at the Elf Kingdom, so it was pointless to ponder it any longer.

He thought it would be better to do something more productive.

Arendt’s eyes moved.

‘Llewellyn seems eager to cheer up Sylvian.’

Richt seemed to be discussing with Laius in the cabin what the plan would be for them once they reached the elven territory.

The people wandering around the deck aimlessly were Arthur, Arendt, and… three of Sylvian’s subordinates.

Arendt, who had thought that far, was the first to make a move.

“Senior.”

“What, you little punk.”

Instead of saying more, Arendt gave him an indifferent look.

Arthur met his junior’s eyes and frowned slightly, then quickly realized something and made a face.

“…Stay still, please. I beg you.”

“Senior, you must be bored too.”

“I’m not bored.”

“Actually, the senior’s opinion doesn’t really matter.”

“Do you really want to die?”

Arthur growled, but Arendt wasn’t there to hear him.

Arendt’s smiling face in the morning sunlight with the blue sea behind him was quite a sight to behold.

“Don’t do it. Whatever it is, don’t do it.”

But unfortunately, to Arthur, it only seemed like a sign of trouble.

And exactly 20 minutes later.

Sylvian, Llewellyn, Laius, and Richt jumped up at the loud noise.

“What is it? What’s going on?”

“What is this guy doing again?”

While Sylvian looked around in confusion, Llewellyn, Richt, and Laius all ran out of the cabin.

“…!”

And then they were met with a rather shocking sight on deck.

Arendt was standing there arrogantly, holding a piece of lumber he had found somewhere over his shoulder like a sword.

In front of him, the elf warrior, Sakhalin, was lying on the ground, glaring at him.

And Arthur and the other elves were watching the scene in astonishment.

Although no one explained it to them, they could guess roughly what had happened.

The moment Laius placed his hand on his forehead, Sylvian, who came out late, opened her mouth in shock.

“No, what is this…”

But before she could finish speaking, Sakhalin suddenly stood up and started shouting.

“You damn brat, how dare you try such a cowardly trick?”

Arendt responded with a tilt of his head.

“You’re too simple. Is there a rule that says you have to be fair from the beginning to the end when fighting? Don’t you know that if you win, that’s the end?”

“Weren’t you a knight of the Holy Empire? How can a person who is a knight do such a dirty thing?”

“What’s so special about being a knight? Since you’re good at fighting, you just use your sword for the empire and get paid for it.”

“What kind of guy is this?”

Sakhalin’s jaw dropped at the unbelievably shameless remark.

Sakhalin’s face turned red, and he seemed quite angry.

Richt asked sheepishly.

“What happened?”

“Look over there.”

Arthur nodded to him and pointed to the ground under Sakhalin.

A thin layer of white frost had settled.

“Ah.”

“At first, it was pretty close. For a moment, I thought Arendt was losing ground, but then Sakhalin stepped on it and lost his balance… and Arendt tripped him.”

“…”

It was truly an unbelievable level of shamelessness.

It was enough to make Sakhalin scream that Arendt was cowardly.

Richt wiped his face at the unusual situation.

“…Arthur, have you ever thought about stopping him?”

“You’re telling me to stop him?”

“…”

“Me? That guy?”

“…”

Arthur, too, seemed to be seriously broken.

Richt looked up at the sky in a daze.

But he felt even more complicated because he thought it wouldn’t have been much different if he had been in the same situation.

Eventually, the commotion died down only after Laius personally intervened.

Laius himself intervened between the two, gave Arendt a light smack on the back of his head, then grabbed him by the nape and dragged him out.

Laius, who had subdued Arendt with one hand, bowed his head to the elf warriors.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t teach him properly.”

“What did I do?”

“Be quiet.”

Arendt grumbled like a troublemaking cat who had an accident, but Laius dismissed him sharply.

Sakhalin, who had been grumbling in frustration, also noticed that Sylvian had come out and quickly got up.

Sylvian didn’t feel like scolding him for being thoroughly teased, so she just patted him on the shoulder.

“…Thank you for your hard work.”

Sakhalin glared at Arendt and said:

“I wouldn’t have lost if that guy hadn’t done such a shameless thing.”

“Then let’s have another go on land later. I can’t fight properly here because I’m afraid the ship will break.”

“That’s what I’ve been hoping for, you son of a bitch!”

Sakhalin shouted when Arendt provoked him while still being held by Laius.

Llewellyn burst into laughter.

“Then can I be the judge?”

“Your Highness, please don’t instigate them.”

“It’s fun, so what’s the big deal?”

Although Laius pleaded with a pained expression, Llewellyn did not listen.

The quiet deck suddenly became noisy.

The tension that had been building for hours since they set sail had suddenly disappeared without a trace.