Betrayal Knight's Joyful Faith

Chapter 351

As the argument showed no sign of ending, Laius eventually stepped in.“Stop it. You’re going to wake the others.”

Laius firmly pushed Arendt’s shoulder down and easily subdued Arthur with just a stern glance.

Only after a bit of force was used did the room regain its peace.

Arthur sighed deeply, scratching his head in annoyance.

“So, are you feeling okay?”

“Not really, but I guess it’s a bit better than before.”

Arendt responded indifferently and absentmindedly brought his hand to the back of his neck, trying to scratch the spot where his fingernails had already left marks.

Arthur noticed this and frowned.

“Don’t do that.”

“Huh? Ah.”

Arendt hesitated and lowered his hand. Arthur began to feel annoyed again at the sight of him listening obediently for some reason.

“You, if you have a problem, just say something. I was surprised!”

“How can you be a knight with such weak nerves? I’m just a little tired, so leave me alone.”

“Are you telling me to leave you alone, now?”

Arendt frowned when Arthur finally shouted.

“Don’t yell, my head’s ringing. You’re so loud, seriously.”

“Stop it, Arendt.”

Just as they were about to start arguing again, Laius spoke firmly.

“If Arthur hadn’t stepped in, I would have intervened. Be grateful to Arthur.”

“How can the captain interfere?”

When Arendt asked with a frown, Arthur answered on his behalf.

“I heard he bought a villa with his own money to keep you confined.”

“…”

For a moment, Arendt was at a loss for words. Laius added:

“The location was also chosen carefully. It must be somewhere that is difficult to escape from. It must also be far from the palace.”

“…”

“I’ve made all the preparations so you can stay there right away, so if you want, I can send you there right now.”

Laius’ blue eyes were extremely serious.

It seemed as if he wanted to throw Arendt in there right away if circumstances allowed.

Arendt kept silent.

‘That guy is definitely not in his right mind.’

Only after he got some proper shut-eye did his head start to work properly.

It was obvious that the other knights had already noticed that what was bothering Arendt was not ordinary insomnia.

Because everyone was making a lot of noise while drinking and they acted so awkward.

Besides, Arthur had seen him throw a fit and injure himself, and Laius had been watching him for quite some time, suppressing his desire to interfere.

‘…For someone like him, he held out for quite a while.’

More than anything, what he hated most was that Arthur and Laius had witnessed his disgrace.

‘It might have been better to just follow Lexion.’

This was the price for ignoring the dragon’s wisdom.

Arendt quickly brushed back his hair that was falling annoyingly over his face.

Arthur, as if trying to pretend otherwise, kept staring intently at Arendt, seemingly unsettled even by the slightest movement.

Knowing that pretending any longer would only make him look ridiculous, Arendt reluctantly spoke.

“…I’ll probably be okay for a while. I think I’ve roughly figured out the cause.”

In times like this, it would be better to bring out the lines that both people want to hear the most.

“You figured out the cause?”

Arendt nodded roughly in response to Laius’ question.

“It’s not certain, though.”

“What is it? Why are you acting like that?”

“Stop rushing me. I’m getting dizzy and can’t organize my thoughts properly.”

Arendt frowned when Arthur asked urgently.

But contrary to what he said, he had been racking his brain since a while ago. It was to somehow come up with an appropriate line.

Lying to his allies was too risky in the current situation.

If the explanation given now did not match the subsequent situation, unnecessary conflict could arise.

Besides, Arthur had seen more than he needed to, from the incident at the Great Temple to last night’s disgrace.

‘Then…’

It would be better to take a step back now and answer honestly.

Of course, he couldn’t explain everything, so he would mix in some settings that fit the current ‘Arendt’.

“…Until now, I just thought it was a threat. After visiting the Nephele Kingdom, I started delving into forbidden areas.”

Arendt, after pausing briefly, began to speak.

“Threats? From whom?”

“Who else could it be? Of course it’s those damn gods.”

Arendt responded irritably to Arthur’s question.

“I didn’t even know which god it was. I just vaguely thought it was because I had been digging up Luce’s past recently.”

Even Lexion, who had been telling him that the god’s gaze had grown intenser, could not pinpoint exactly which of the gods, Luce or Chernion, was the culprit.

Because both gods were paying attention to Arendt.

“But just before I fell, right before I was hit by Senior Arthur, I saw a figure.”

Naturally, the being he saw in his nightmare came to mind.

In the darkness that stimulated his instinctive rejection as a living being, a pair of unfocused eyes were quietly looking down at him.

“If I had to make a comparison… it looked similar to a human-shaped homunculus.”

If the homunculus was just a disgusting monster, what he saw in his dream was the abyss itself.

“Most homunculus entities also appear to be created from darkness.”

Homunculi were beings born with the divine power of God Chernion, so it would have been natural for them to take on the form of the god who gave them their power.

Beneath the cold gaze, a bitterly cold abyss surged in like a tidal wave, suffocating him.

He couldn’t clearly remember whether he was truly Arendt, or just a poor actor who had now lost all meaning.

But the feeling that even his very essence, his self, was about to be devoured was something he could never…

!

A sudden noise suddenly woke Arendt from his thoughts.

When he lifted his head, Laius was staring at him, his hand having just slammed the table.

“Don’t think too deeply. Just focus on the conversation.”

A calm, composed voice brought him back to consciousness.

Arendt realized too late that he had stopped talking and lost his mind.

“…I was surprised. Anyway, I finally became certain today.”

“I see. With that appearance, it must be God Chernion…”

Only then did Laius withdraw his hand and nod, but Arthur still couldn’t keep up with the conversation.

“But why did the Evil God target you?”

“I guess he’s interested in me because I’m such a talented person.”

Arendt shrugged.

“It could be because I have done many things to his cult so far, and because I am an arrogant brat who refuses to obey even though my life was saved by the power of God Luce. Honestly, I don’t know why. How can I read their minds?”

It all made sense. Arthur didn’t bother to refute it, even though he wore an uneasy expression.

After checking their reactions, Arendt continued speaking.

“That’s basically it. He had some business to attend to, but since this was God Luce’s stronghold, it wasn’t easy for him to approach. He couldn’t even send an errand boy, so he resorted to pressuring me.”

It was a signal from God Chernion.

The reason it always took the form of a nightmare was probably because, as Lexion said, his body and mind were considerably worn out.

The insomnia that started right after returning from the Nephele Kingdom may not have had much to do with God Chernion, but there was no need to tell the two of them that part.

Instead, he added in a very ‘Arendt’ tone, indifferently:

“At this point, we have no choice but to go to them.”

“…Go to them? Where?”

Arthur, who didn’t understand what he was saying, asked dumbly.

“You’re not planning on storming their base, are you?”

“Are you crazy? I know that life is precious too.”

Arendt, who had scolded Arthur, frowned slightly.

“I don’t know if this is the right answer, but I can think of a place.”

There was just one place. It was already under the jurisdiction of the imperial family, but it was a place where traces of God Chernion might still remain.

“Do you remember? Rebecca’s castle.”

It was the place where Arendt first heard the voice of God, quite a long time ago.

“Ah.”

Arthur let out a brief exclamation. After Rebecca’s death, the castle had become property of the imperial palace. Following several investigations, with nothing more left to uncover, it was now all but abandoned.

Arendt added slowly. Read full story at novelhall.com

“There’s a Chernion temple underground. Let’s go there for now. Given how things are now, we might be able to learn something new.”

As always, his golden eyes seemed indifferent, yet shimmered with a clear, unwavering light.

Arthur was dumbfounded.

Just a few hours ago, he was writhing in pain.

Although he had only just opened his eyes, Arendt was already planning his next task.

As if it were no big deal.

However, the scratch marks on his neck remained vivid, and the bandage on his wrist was tinged red from the wound that had burst open again.

It was a scenario that would have terrified any normal person, because they were in a situation where they were suffering that others could never fully understand.

But Arendt didn’t show even the slightest hesitation.

“You really…”

“I have no intention of just standing by and taking it. Besides, I don’t want to drag things out and end up in an even worse situation.”

At the moment Arthur unconsciously parted his lips to speak, Arendt decisively stopped him.

“I need to confront that bastard myself and find out exactly what he wants. There’s no way he won’t show up after all this.”

“If you move, when will it be?”

When Laius asked, Arendt gave an answer right away.

“I’ll leave as soon as the sun rises. Consider it a few days of vacation. I’ll go and come back as quickly as I can, all by myself.”

“You’re going alone?”

“If you’re worried, I’ll take Lexion with me. I don’t think he’d be very interested in going to Chernion’s temple, but that’s none of my business.”

The captain looked at Arendt with a displeased expression.

His physical condition may not be normal yet. Even if he rested for a while, the fatigue from that time would not completely disappear.

But it was also true that they couldn’t afford to delay any longer. Arendt’s condition could worsen, and the fight against the Evil Cult, currently in a temporary lull, could resume at any moment.

At the moment when Laius was about to accept with a reluctant expression…

“I will go with you.”

Arthur, who had been silent, suddenly intervened.