Betrayal Knight's Joyful Faith

Chapter 150

The Nephele Kingdom was not a place that usually interacted actively with other countries.He had heard the general story of the evil cult disturbances occurring within the Caerleon Empire, but he had not yet obtained any definitive information.

Alois didn’t pay much attention to the evil god in the first place, so he didn’t pay any attention to their news, and so he didn’t realize that Lexion was a fake believer.

“…Before leaving the kingdom, he gave me a necklace, saying it was his secret weapon.”

Alois, sitting on the edge of the bed, opened his mouth in a dazed voice.

“He said it contained powerful magical powers and that it would protect me if I ever got into trouble. I didn’t really believe it, but I kept it anyway.”

It seems that Lexion was using it to monitor Alois. That must have been the core of the magical storm.

Alois, who had been blankly staring for a while, started speaking again.

“It was he who came first.”

“Without any notice?”

“Yes. One day, out of nowhere, he appeared in my room.”

He answered Arendt’s question calmly.

It was deep at night.

As he was about to ask the servants to leave and rest, the man suddenly appeared in the middle of his room.

With a kind, or perhaps a wicked, smile.

“He introduced himself as someone from the Evil Cult. His name was Lexion, and he held a high position in the cult. He said he knew of my ambitions and would help me.”

It meant that he had shown up targeting Alois from the beginning.

“Of course I’m not stupid, so I was wary at first… but then I thought that he would be helpful to my ambitions. I also happened to have friction with the king at the time.

“Friction. About what?”

“…Your Highness the Crown Prince knows that the Nephele Kingdom is located along the coast. It only takes a few hours by boat to reach the Elven Kingdom. I intended to occupy it.”

A look of disgust crossed Cantares’ face.

“That’s ridiculous. Did you want to turn the entire continent into a wasteland?”

Since the Great War long ago, humans and other races have been free of major conflicts for a long time. This was because both sides knew that once a fight starts, it would grow uncontrollably.

“There are many rare gems and minerals that humans cannot easily obtain there. If we could obtain them, our Nephele Kingdom would certainly prosper.”

“Prince Matthias, did you know about this?”

“No… This is the first time I’ve heard of it.”

Alois nodded slowly as Matthias answered bewilderedly.

“I couldn’t help it. I kept it a total secret… I only told father.”

“And you were met with opposition?”

“Yes, that’s right. Lexion already knew about my plan. If I could just get my father out of this, everything would go my way. And Lexion said he had a way.”

It’s not that they had any conflict.

Harming one’s father was an act of betrayal of one’s family, and if one were caught, it would not be strange to be punished for treason.

But in the end, Alois could not resist the temptation and joined hands with Lexion.

At that time, news came that a meeting was being held in the Lucain Kingdom.

“If I attended the meeting and killed Arendt von Eckhart, he would continue to cooperate with us. The saint also wants to maintain good relations with the Kingdom of Nephele for a long time…”

“Wait a minute. A saint?”

Arendt, who had been listening quietly, intervened.

“You mention it often. It seems like the saint is leading the evil cult now.”

“…”

The Crown Prince continued, glancing at the apprentice knight who was frowning thoughtfully.

“So, you planned to kill Arendt and in return receive Lexion’s help to invade the elven kingdom?”

“Yes, that’s right. The evil cult promised to help too… then I was planning on waking up father.”

“There really is no bigger idiot.”

Cantares burst into laughter.

“Yes, let’s say you can somehow take care of one elven kingdom with the power of the Nephele Kingdom. But have you thought about what happens after that?”

“…”

“The other races have a strong antipathy towards humans. Elves in particular. If war starts, it’s obvious that all elves and dwarves will declare that they will stop interacting with humans. Do you think other nations will stay still?”

“…”

“For the sake of the Nephele Kingdom, should all of humanity turn their backs on the other races? No, on the contrary. If you had carried out that plan, I would have been the first to act.”

“…”

“I would have personally cut off your head and offered it to the king and elders of the elven nation and apologized.”

Alois did not answer.

Feeling frustrated, Cantares sighed and scratched his head.

“Anyway, that’s right… It hasn’t happened yet. I’m really glad it ended like this. I’m sure Prince Matthias would agree.”

“…Yes.”

Matthias barely managed to answer in a cracking voice.

From the beginning, he learned that the person Alois was aiming for was not the Crown Prince, but he was in no position to complain about that.

If they had been careless, the country could have really turned into a sea of ​​fire.

At that moment, when there was only silence in the room, Alois’s dull voice pierced everyone’s ears.

“But if we fight and win against all those enemies…”

“What?”

“If we had succeeded, we would have certainly been able to put the Caerleon Empire under our feet. Even if a horde of foreign races attack and another country points its sword at us, wouldn’t it be okay if we win the fight anyway?”

The unfocused voice gradually began to fill with venom, and Alois raised his head.

“Heroes are born in troubled times. The parents of a tyrant are bloodstained swords, and there is no conquest without sacrifice. Now that peace has melted the brain, there is no future for anyone. That is why I have shown mercy and stepped forward to take up the sword before anyone else!”

The two eyes, bloodshot from the poison, glared straight at Arendt, who was standing behind Cantares.

“I curse you, Arendt von Eckhart. Even if I fall to my death, I will curse you again and again until I have my revenge someday.”

If Alois had been healthy, he would have rushed to strangle Arendt at any moment.

Matthias and Cantares looked at Arendt with some nervousness, but he remained calm.

“Curse me, that’s good.”

Arendt, who had been responding indifferently, looked down at him with eyes that showed no emotion at all.

“Yeah, well. There’s nothing wrong with that. It’s true that a king is born with a bloody sword. But isn’t the premise wrong? To become a hero, you have to win.”

As his words continued, Alois’s eyes gradually lost focus as if they were possessed by something. Cantares and Matthias also stared blankly at Arendt without realizing it.

“Even if you are defeated once, you must get up again, and even if you feel like you are going to die at any moment, you must stand up and fight against the world with stupid stubbornness. A hero is someone who carries countless lives on his back that have nothing to do with him, and who does not put down the burden as if it were his responsibility.”

Arendt bent down and met Alois’ gaze, the corners of his lips curling.

“But you lost from the first game? And you lost so badly. So badly that you can’t get up again.”

“…”

Alois’s body began to tremble at that blatant laughter.

“You need to know your place. You are just an ugly villain who will be used once and discarded. No one will remember your name.”

Arendt burst into laughter and straightened up.

“Live your whole life in the shadows, cursing this insignificant apprentice knight who is not even a hero. Crawl on the ground like a bug and be jealous. That suits you.”

“…You… You…”

“Oh, and don’t forget that I saved that pitiful life. Then the curse will be more worthwhile.”

Alois’s chin began to tremble so much that his teeth began to chatter, unable to overcome his sense of humiliation.

Matthias, frightened, stepped back, and Cantares also gently pulled Arendt toward him.

A moment later, Alois ran towards Arendt screaming, but fell after only taking a few steps.

Arendt lifted him lightly and threw him back on the bed.

Alois, who was convulsing with his mouth open, had completely fainted.

“Please call a healer.”

“You really… Haa, that’s enough.”

Cantares, who had been making a tired sound, shook his head.

Cantares and Arendt left the room, leaving the healers running in, startled by the screams.

Just as the two were about to return to their quarters, Matthias, who had hurriedly followed them, caught them.

“Just a moment, Your Highness and Lord Arendt. Please wait a moment.”

Prince Matthias’ face was much paler than when he first saw him, after several days of hardship.

“I am truly sorry for causing trouble.”

“No, it’s not Prince Matthias’ fault.”

Cantares turned around to face the prince and waved his hand.

“What will happen to the Nephele Kingdom now?”

“Thankfully, the king has woken up in good health, so he will be ruling the kingdom himself for the time being. The next successor will most likely be my older sister. No matter how I think about it, I am not the type of person who would be king.”

Prince Matthias answered with a pale smile.

“…and Lord Arendt.”

Arendt, who had been waiting behind Cantares with a bored face, raised his head.

“Yes?”

“It’s funny to say this, but thank you for saving my brother’s life.”

“…Can you still say thank you after seeing that just now, Prince?”

“Because facts are still facts.”

Cantares asked back in an absurd tone, but Matthias showed no intention of taking back what he had said.

“It wouldn’t have been a problem if you had killed him on the spot. I also know that other people were secretly hoping for that.”

The other visitors seemed quite displeased that Alois wasn’t killed.

It was Cantares who dismissed that opinion.

Arendt shrugged his shoulders as he looked at Matthias, who was staring at him intently.

“If you’re grateful, could you give me some money?”

“What, what?”

“I’m just joking. If anyone from the Neumann Merchant Group comes to visit later, please welcome them. I won’t say anything bad about the Nephele Kingdom either.”

The prince looked blank for a moment, as if he didn’t understand what was being said, but then quickly nodded.

“I will definitely do that.”

The meeting, which had been postponed due to an unexpected commotion, was held without a hitch thanks to Victor’s quick handling of the matter and Cantares’ driving force.

Cantares shared information about the evil cult that had previously only been available to a few countries, and also distributed communication devices for emergency contact.

The purpose was to quickly share any suspicious circumstances or damages that arose, while also monitoring each other.

Because you never know when the other person might fall for the Chernion religion.

Alois’ actions were also concluded to be the work of the evil cult, and the sense of alertness grew even stronger, so that alone could be considered a good thing.

And the next day, time passed quickly and a sumptuous dinner was held where even the escorts were invited.

Now it was really time to go back.

It should have been a leisurely return trip for the escorting knights as well… However, the problem was that, with the exception of one person, it was an unpeaceful departure.