Betrayal Knight's Joyful Faith

Chapter 462

“You admit your guilt, but you say you’re innocent. What kind of nonsense is that?”Finally, someone lost patience and spoke out loud. But Arendt remained resolute.

“I’d appreciate it if you’d speak plainly. It’s true I did it, but it’s not exactly a crime.”

“…”

People didn’t immediately understand Arendt’s words. Only High Priest Lumiel managed to keep up with the conversation.

“You want to say that insulting Lord Luce is not a sin, Sir Arendt.”

“The temple may not like it, but I don’t think it’s a leap to the level of treason.”

Arendt nodded.

“Well… I guess Your Excellency could scold me a few times.”

The apprentice knight shrugged and continued.

“But I’m not sure if it’s really necessary to make such a fuss over someone who’s already so busy they hardly have time to breathe, especially someone who just recently recovered from a life-threatening illness.”

“Above all else, be courteous to the High Priest, Sir Arendt.”

A priest, who could not stand to watch, warned him, but even that did not work on Arendt.

“I’m being very careful, don’t you think I’m being much more polite than usual?”

Arthur, who was watching, was a little taken aback.

It was clear that the two people had maintained a close relationship until recently.

Lumiel loved Arendt like a child, and Arendt, who provoked everyone, acted relatively mild towards Lumiel.

But now, Lumiel and Arendt were looking at each other with cold eyes.

A cold silence flowed, so cold that not even a trace of the affection they had felt before could be felt.

“Sir Arendt, you don’t truly believe this can be resolved with a scolding. I know better than anyone else here how intelligent and prudent you are.”

Lumiel’s voice filled the conference room.

“The departure of believers, the blasphemies committed… I’m sure it was all Sir Arendt’s intention. I know you wouldn’t deny it.”

“That’s right. That was my intention.”

This time, Arendt simply agreed.

“The very charge of treason is strange. I have absolutely no intention of committing treason.”

“…Given your nature, I don’t think you would try to avoid responsibility.”

Duke Lancelot, who had been listening quietly, began to speak.

“Let’s discuss that in more detail, Sir Arendt.”

“By treason, you mean that I threatened His Majesty the Emperor, His Highness the Crown Prince, or this Empire.”

Arendt’s leisurely voice gradually began to grow clearer.

“I may have cursed God Luce, but nowhere in my letters did I say I would betray the Empire.”

“What the…”

There was a loud commotion in the room. Cantares, who had been watching, raised a hand and silenced everyone.

“Stop the sarcasm, Sir Arendt.”

“I’m not being sarcastic. I’m being serious, as always.”

Arendt shrugged and looked at Lumiel again.

“You don’t seem to understand, so let me clarify. My target was the temple, not the imperial family, Your Excellency.”

“…”

Lumiel’s eyes grew even colder. Just as the crowd was about to stir again at the rather subtle remark, Duke Lancelot intervened.

“So, what Sir Arendt wants to say is that the imperial family and the temple are strictly separate. Since Sir Arendt targeted only the temple, not the imperial family, the term treason doesn’t even make sense in the first place.”

“That’s nonsense! The Caerleon Empire has grown into an Empire over many years thanks to the grace of Lord Luce.”

One of the nobles spoke up.

“How can we separate Lord Luce from the Empire? Attempting to undermine the temple is a clear challenge to the Empire and the imperial family.”

“No. The imperial family and the temple are strictly separate.”

Arendt’s rebuttal followed immediately.

“His Majesty the First Emperor designed it that way. If you have any complaints, please discuss them with His Majesty the Emperor. That’s what I understand.”

“…”

He seemed speechless at the plain argument.

“First of all, what Arendt said is not wrong.”

The Emperor, who had been watching with joyful eyes, opened his mouth.

“In principle, that’s how it is. The imperial family and the temple respect each other’s authority and move forward together, but they can’t be considered one entity. Then, like Sir Arendt said, treason might not be justified.”

Cantares felt a little, just a little, sick at the Emperor’s words that sided with Arendt.

Whatever his intentions, Arendt, who spoke so openly, was someone who truly dreamed of something akin to treason.

‘It’s not important now.’

Voices of agreement were heard here and there.

“Since these are the words of Sir Arendt, who has served so well on the battlefield, they are also heartfelt. Hasn’t he served the Empire with more dedication than anyone else?”

“Even if you say he lacks faith… that doesn’t mean you can ignore the work that Arendt has done.”

It probably wasn’t exactly for the sake of the Empire.

It was a thought that occurred to both the knights and the Crown Prince at the same time.

Duke Lancelot muttered absentmindedly.

“Unless he lost control of his temper and went wild.”

“What did you just say, Your Grace?”

“No, nothing.”

The Duke had no choice but to mutter in response to someone asking him a question from the side.

As the conference room became noisy again, Lumiel began to speak.

“That’s certainly true. I was the one who informed Sir Arendt that the realms of the Imperial Family and the Temple were separate.”

Lumiel’s calm gaze was fixed on Arendt.

“But your words now seem to be nothing more than an attempt to obscure the issue. The Empire is currently at war with the Evil Cult, and the Empire and the Allied Nations have gathered under Lord Luce’s name. Now, a time when everyone must unite, blaspheming Lord Luce and disrupting the Empire is clearly a serious crime, tantamount to treason.”

“No. I don’t think we’re gathered under the name of God Luce.”

Arendt answered coolly.

“We’re just gathering here for the simple purpose of living. Don’t try to represent everyone’s desire for survival in the name of God. People seek Luce because they want to live, it doesn’t mean they’re willing to give their lives for Luce.”

He tilted his head and added briefly.

“Aren’t you essentially selling faith while holding people’s lives as collateral? Do you intend to cast out everyone who doesn’t follow Lord Luce?”

“No…”

The conference room erupted in commotion again. Finally, one of the priests shouted out loud.

“Do not insult Lord Luce! He has cared for the Empire and all beings with boundless compassion. How dare anyone within the Empire show such disrespect!”

“You’re funny. Do you know why you’re still alive?”

Arendt glanced at the priest, pretending to pick at his ear.

“You probably remember the incident where the Great Temple was attacked by those bastards. It was thanks to me, who knew the movements of the Evil Cult better than anyone else, and this blasphemous, unbeliever bastard warned you in advance that they would attack the Great Temple.”

“…”

“If it weren’t for me, you would have been reduced to ashes along with that gigantic statue of Luce that day. In return for saving you, I nearly died that day and came back to life. I saved you, not Luce. Are you going to say that even that was Luce’s arrangement?”

The angry priest’s face began to turn bright red, almost blue.

“It wasn’t the glorious Lord Luce who saved you all, but me. Well, why don’t you try denying it?”

Arendt shrugged. Henry, who had been watching him, muttered uneasily.

“If the person who almost lost his life says something like that… it’s hard to refute.”

Arcus didn’t answer and just watched Arendt with anxious eyes.

‘I expected you wouldn’t stay still.’

He thought he would either refuse to admit his guilt or deny it, but he never thought he would choose to confront them head-on.

And it was still unknown how Laius, who was just watching, would react.

“Sir Arendt, of course I appreciate your contribution, but…”

“Arrogant? I know.”

Someone spoke in a voice that contained anger, but Arendt cut them off.

“That’s just how I was born, so you must be able to understand. God Luce, whom you all so faithfully believe in and follow, spared my life, so bear with it.”

“…”

Everyone was left speechless by the miraculous logic. It was too irritating to accept, but it was also not wrong enough to openly refute.

“If we’d just let him die back then, everything would’ve turned out fine. Don’t you think so?”

The priest sighed, looking into space as Arendt shrugged.

“Oh my god…”

But Arendt’s words were not over yet.

“And you said that it was blasphemy, a sin of defaming God Luce.”

He knew very well when ‘Arendt von Eckhart’ looked the most obnoxious.

This meant that even if the opponent was High Priest Lumiel, he could still act as he pleased.

“I believe that you should have first verified the facts before calling it blasphemy, as the suspicions were raised with extremely reasonable grounds.”

“Verified the facts…”

Lumiel frowned slightly.

“Sir Arendt, are you referring to the contents of the letter that was distributed?”

“Yes.”

Arendt nodded blandly.

His tone was incredibly calm, as if they were just chatting…

“Isn’t blasphemy something that cannot be established in the first place if the object of blasphemy is not sacred?”

That didn’t mean the meaning it carried was any less clear.

People could easily read the venom in his golden eyes. Of course, this was Arendt’s intention.

Duke Lancelot, noticing that the atmosphere in the room had become even more tense, cleared his throat and stopped him.

“Please refrain from using overly provocative language, Sir Arendt.”

“Your Grace, surely you’re aware? I am exercising great restraint right now.”

But Arendt responded leisurely.

“If I hadn’t been mindful of my manners, I would have been more direct.”

Even if they were on the same side, they still would want to hit his annoying face.

“There was a similar situation quite some time ago. The judge was the Duke, and I was also accused of treason at the time.”

“Indeed, it was.”

Duke Lancelot nodded.

“Don’t you remember what I said back then?”

An unusually clear voice cut through the commotion and filled the conference room.

“I told you I only moved first because I didn’t want to die. It’s still the same now.”

His golden eyes, clear as glass, met the gaze of each person in the conference room, one by one.

Arendt wore a clear, mocking smile.

“Leaving this to you dull-witted fools would have meant us all dying a miserable death together…”

He lifted his chin slightly, exuding even greater arrogance.

His posture was upright and proper, befitting a young nobleman, but with a slightly rebellious tilt that made him look less like a knight and more like a troublemaker.

“I, a smart person, personally took the initiative to take action on behalf of you fools.”

“…”

“To be honest, this is what I really think, but I’m watching my words since I’m speaking before you, Your Excellency.”

With an utterly insolent look cast over it, it was perfect.

“For someone like me, I believe I’ve shown quite a bit of courtesy, but I regret if I appeared disrespectful. Of course, I’m not really sorry about it.”

“…Heh heh.”

Duke Lancelot chuckled hollowly.

“It’s truly astonishing. No matter how many times I hear it, it’s hard to get used to it.”

A silence flowed through the conference room, as if ice water had been poured over it.

The sighs that erupted here and there were like the highest praise an actor could receive.

The stage called the conference room had long since been overwhelmed by Arendt.