Betrayal Knight's Joyful Faith

Chapter 279

.Cantares frowned as he put down his teacup.

It seemed as if he was trying to organize the story that Arendt had just told him in his head.

“A group of apostates? The Shadow Tribe of the Fourth Kingdom?”

“To be exact, they are descendants of apostates.”

Arendt swallowed the snack he had stuffed into his mouth and nodded nonchalantly.

“As the name Shadow Tribe suggests, the Fourth Kingdom was originally a clan that worshipped the God of Darkness. It seems that they also fought against the hero Khan during the Great War.”

Arendt picked up another snack.

“But as time went by, there were more and more people who left. Those who were apostates of the God Chernion naturally joined the Luce faith. Towards the end of the war, there were quite a few who betrayed the god in order to survive.”

Cantares frowned and tilted his head vaguely.

“Didn’t the other kingdoms know about this?”

“No, it seems that the ancestors kept quiet for the sake of the Shadow Tribe that would be left behind.”

Arendt added, putting the snack he was holding in his hand into his mouth again.

“They say that even within the Fourth Kingdom, only one elder knew. They say that the last remaining ancestor confessed it like a will just before he died.”

“I see. But…”

Cantares, who was watching Arendt for a while, asked in a trembling voice.

“Is it delicious?”

“It is, why?”

“No. Eat a lot.”

Cantares averted his gaze. There was nothing to worry about.

If only that guy, who was devouring sweets and tea, wasn’t the one who had plotted and defeated all the shadow elf warriors the night before.

Arendt pursed his lips in discontent and brought the topic back to its original topic.

“Anyway, only the Grand Elder knew it all, so there wasn’t much of a problem until recently. Even within the Fourth Kingdom, no one remembered the name of God Chernion. But when news of the traitor from the Second Kingdom spread, the Grand Elder began to get a little anxious.”

Since even the spy of the Second Kingdom, Cheltan, continued to uphold his faith alone through generations, there was no guarantee that the same thing wasn’t happening in the Fourth Kingdom.

“The moment starts now, Your Highness.”

Arendt lowered his voice after saying that.

Cantares swallowed dry saliva without realizing it and listened.

Jereon, who had been standing aside, also began to focus on Arendt’s story at some point.

Arendt continued, glancing at both audience members.

“It is said that when Grand Elder Altair began to insist that they should cooperate with the Caerleon Empire, someone suddenly appeared.”

“…Someone suddenly appeared?”

When Cantares asked, doubting his ears, Arendt nodded.

“Yes. They literally appeared out of nowhere in front of the Grand Elder of the Fourth Kingdom, as if they had fallen from the sky.”

“Was it a teleportation spell?”

Arendt answered Jereon’s sudden question.

“Probably. Since they were covered in a robe from head to toe, their appearance couldn’t be confirmed, but it seems they were either a human or an elf woman.”

The shadow elves, who maintained a closed society, were in turmoil because an outsider suddenly appeared.

Naturally, the elves began to gather to find out the identity of the intruder.

She just stood there in the square for a while, as if waiting for onlookers to gather.

Finally, when most of the warriors had gathered and even the elders had appeared, she finally opened her mouth.

“‘It’s nice to meet you, old comrade…’ she said.”

“…”

Cantares and Jereon held their breath without realizing it.

A melodious voice that was unusually pleasing to the ear continued to flow.

“The woman immediately revealed that the Shadow Tribe were the ones who once served Chernion, and that the current Fourth Kingdom was a group of apostates. The gathered warriors heard all of this.”

Cantares asked, frowning slightly.

“Did the Grand Elder simply agree with that?”

“No. It may have been true, but he strongly denied it at first. He realized that the person was a member of the Chernion Cult and that he had come to disturb the elves. But she was the one who brought up the topic of artifacts first.”

“…”

.

The Crown Prince’s eyebrows furrowed.

Arendt looked straight at him and continued calmly.

“There is a sacred relic that the Shadow Tribe created as a token of their loyalty to Chernion, and it is currently in the hands of the Holy Empire.”

That was the Unquenchable Heart.

“She even showed them some evidence. She showed them ancient documents that had never been discovered before.”

“…Were they all real?”

Arendt simply nodded in response to Cantares’ question.

“Yes, the Grand Elder and Elders of the Fourth Kingdom all reviewed them and they did not seem to be false.”

“Hmm…”

Cantares groaned briefly at the situation that was more serious than he had thought.

“It is said that the Grand Elder and the Shaman before the war created the Unquenchable Heart and offered it to the cult. That artifact was said to be a sign that the Shadow Tribe had sworn to obey God Chernion forever.”

“It’s time for them to keep their old vows, something like that.”

Arendt nodded at Cantares’ casual remark.

“That’s right. After that, she went on and on about how God Chernion was always ready to welcome them with mercy, and then disappeared.”

“At that time, coincidentally, we placed the Unquenchable Heart on the trading table.”

On their side, it was a situation that could make their heart skip a beat.

Arendt continued, picking up his slightly cooled cup of tea.

“It must have been a shocking thing. If that information reached our ears, they would have thought they would be at odds with the Empire.”

Jereon slid in, refilling the nearly empty plate of snacks.

“I think the former High Priest would have insisted that it should be so.”

Cantares also thought the same thing.

“So, they decided that they had to get their hands on the artifact first. Whether they destroyed or sealed it, it would be much better than having it out in the world.”

“Yep, I suppose the distrust towards humans played a part in that decision. So, after retrieving the artifact, they planned to take Salem and flee to the kingdom in the dead of night. After that, they either planned to beg the Caerleon Empire and rejoin the war, or close off the kingdom entirely.”

The reason Salem was sent was to prepare for the possibility that the Unquenchable Heart was fake.

As a shaman, they thought he would be able to determine whether the artifact was truly a Shadow Tribe item.

As the story ended, Cantares looked down with a troubled expression.

There were so many thorny issues, but there was one issue that needed to be addressed first.

“The woman who appeared in the Fourth Kingdoms…”

“Was she a saint of the Chernion Cult?”

Arendt completed the Crown Prince’s speech.

A woman covered in a robe, who suddenly appeared and disappeared like a ghost.

Although it was only fragmentary information, it matched the accounts of sightings of the saint that had been collected so far.

“I can guess why she showed up in the Fourth Kingdom at this time.”

“It’s obvious even without thinking. It must be to create confusion within our faction.”

The Crown Prince grumbled in a tired voice.

If Zakar and Arendt had not noticed something strange, it would have certainly caused major problems later on.

Arendt said absentmindedly, taking a handful of the new snacks that Jereon had brought out.

“Perhaps. And she also wanted to go and see if there were still any believers in the Chernion cult. As a saint, she would be able to identify those who believed in God Chernion.”

Cantares was lost in thought, listening to the now familiar sound of snacks being eaten.

“She just spread the story and then left? Then doesn’t that mean there were no followers of the Chernion Cult?”

“We don’t know yet. There might be someone lurking around, hiding. If so, it’s going to be a real headache.”

Since there was nothing they could do about it anyway, it was a problem the elves would have to solve on their own.

“So for now, we’ve decided to ask Grand Elder Altair for help. We requested that he keep a close eye on the Fourth Kingdom. We’ve also agreed to keep it a secret from the First and Third Kingdoms for the time being.”

Unless something actually happened, it was best not to create unnecessary turmoil.

Cantares offered a brief compliment to Arendt’s report.

“Well done. Leaving about half of the troops behind was the right choice. There’s no place where we can afford to let our guard down…”

Although they were speaking casually, it was a precarious situation where a civil war might break out within the Elf Kingdoms.

Still, it seemed like they could rest easy for the time being, since Sylvian and her skilled warriors would be protecting the kingdom.

“Anyway, take this back. It was used well.”

Arendt took out the Unquenchable Heart and placed it on the table.

“If possible, keep it on you until the situation calms down. It might save your life once in an emergency. Since you’re so weak, you should at least have a way to survive.”

“Are you seriously saying I’m weak? You shameless bastard.”

Cantares grumbled in annoyance as he retrieved the necklace.

“It’s the truth, so what are you going to do about it?”

“It seems you’ve never heard the story of a loyal servant who died from only speaking the truth.”

“Try it if you can. And I’m not joking.”

Arendt added in a cool tone.

“If possible, don’t take it off your body. Since it’s a necklace, it’s okay to just wear it.”

“…”

Cantares, who was about to put the Unquenchable Heart into his pocket, stopped.

It was because he felt a strange sense of compulsion in Arendt’s usual indifferent tone.

Cantares, who thought for a moment, soon put on the necklace as he said with a sullen face.

“Is it okay now?”

“It doesn’t seem to suit you, but well… it’s not bad.”

Arendt seemed strangely satisfied as he spoke.

As always, it was impossible to tell his thoughts by his expression.

Cantares grumbled, resting his chin on his hand.

“Ugh, you’re talking nonsense. So what about the elves you knocked down?”

“I guess it’s because they got beaten up so much, they seem quite obedient.”

After being beaten so badly that they could not put up much resistance, they realized that the only way for the Fourth Kingdoms and themselves to survive was to bow down before the Empire.

It was a natural result of Laius and Zakar joining forces.

“Since we can’t expect Salem to take command in battle, it was decided that the captain and Zakar would split the responsibilities. If it was known that we had a physical fight, it wouldn’t look good for either side, so we decided to just say we had a rough sparring session.”

Arendt shrugged.

“The problem is that the captain has no intention of just letting it go.”

“What?”

“I heard the captain talking to himself. Ahem.”

When Cantares made a questioning sound, Arendt cleared his throat for a moment and then spoke.

“…It seems there’s some issue with discipline. Moving recklessly without the actual commander on the battlefield.”

From his tone to his cold gaze, he was eerily similar to Laius.

A look of disgust appeared on Cantares and Jereon’s faces.

“You… don’t do that. It’s a little scary.”

“Because of that, they’re all rolling around at the Third Knights’ training grounds. Salem is just watching from the side.”

Arendt turned away, pretending not to hear Cantares’s grumbles.

“So, Your Highness, there is something I need you to do.”

“What is it?”

“Threats and extortion.”

“…”

At the exceedingly nonchalant reply, the Crown Prince shut his mouth tightly with a wary expression on his face.

After a while, Cantares, who had finished translating it in his head, pressed his temples and sighed deeply.

“It’s not threats and extortion, it’s diplomacy and negotiation, you punk. Anyway, you want me to secure the documents that the saint handed over to the Elders of the Fourth Kingdoms?”

“Yes, I don’t need the original, I just need to be able to completely understand the content. I don’t think they’ll hand it over easily, but…”

Arendt, who had paused for a moment, made a refreshing suggestion.

“Salem is here, so we can use him as a hostage if necessary.”

“Please, I beg you, stop talking like a villain. At this point, I’m starting to feel ashamed of being on the same side as you.”

Jereon thought quietly as he listened to the sound of Cantares’s reprimands.

‘You never said you wouldn’t do it.’.