20demayo Chapter 190
Chapter 190
Llewellyn sighed at the situation that was beyond his expectations.The knights also seemed quite embarrassed.
Sylvian’s subordinates hesitated and looked at her.
They never expected that she would confess so easily to this extent.
As if her momentary hesitation had been a lie, Sylvian straightened her back again and looked straight at Laius.
“We tried to capture her before she left the territory, but failed, and since we don’t know where the traitor is going with the spirit stones, we closed the border for now. And although we still don’t know where she is, we came here as trackers, following the spirit stones’ energy. Is that enough of an explanation?”
“…”
Instead of answering, Laius looked at Arendt.
Then, as if he had been waiting, Arendt responded briefly.
“No.”
“…”
“Be more honest, Captain Sylvian. You were muddling through the last part.”
Sylvian’s brow furrowed.
Arendt, standing with his arms crossed and his mouth twisted, continued speaking.
“If your goal was to capture her, it would have been faster to ask the countries that interact with the elves to issue a wanted notice. Wasn’t there another reason for closing the border? And why are you in the Caerleon Empire? According to what Captain Sylvian said just now, you haven’t even found a trace of the traitor yet.”
“…”
“By the way, you seemed pretty sure we had confronted that guy. By now, don’t you already know which side she joined?”
Sylvian opened her mouth to say something, then closed it again and soon started to speak.
“…That’s all I can tell you. I would like you to return the spirit stones. I believe you understand.”
“I don’t understand. I’m sorry, but I’ve seen both the good and bad sides of this, and we can’t give them back to you until you explain it properly.”
But Arendt still responded in a flat voice.
“It’s nice to see you stamping your feet because you don’t want to be caught. Oh, and you shouldn’t make excuses about having orders. If everything is an order from your superiors, then it’s okay to accept all the decisions made by Captain Sylvian here and now as the elders’ will, right?”
“…You’ve been talking too carelessly since earlier.”
“I don’t really see any reason to be polite.”
In the end, Sylvian couldn’t hide her anger and revealed her will, but Arendt wasn’t one to blink at that.
Arendt’s golden eyes stared coldly at Sylvian.
“From the beginning to the end, let’s listen to everything you know without leaving anything out. Then we can think about it. Please think carefully about your regrets right now. Even if we take the spirit stones and return to the palace, we won’t have any regrets.”
“…”
“Then which side has the real headache?”
Sylvian slowly closed her eyes, trying to calm down the rising sense of humiliation and anger.
Her subordinate called out to her worriedly.
“…Captain.”
“Stay still.”
After a while, Sylvian, who had managed to calm herself down, made her subordinate step back in a low voice.
Her green-tinted eyes stared straight at Arendt.
“Sir Arendt von Eckhart, I will definitely remember your name.”
“Wow, what an honor.”
Without hiding the intention to mock, Arendt raised the corner of his mouth in a smirk.
Sylvian, who had been glaring at him coldly, slowly sighed.
“Please understand that my comments here are solely my personal judgment and not the will of all elves, Captain Laius.”
“I will keep that in mind.”
“…The apprentice knight’s words are not wrong. The elders and the grand elders you call kings seem to have accurately grasped the situation.”
“Sylvian!”
“Don’t interfere.”
The subordinate let out a surprised voice, but Sylvian gave him another cold warning before continuing.
“The traitor is the daughter of the forest tribe elder. Her name is Jiklin, and we discovered that she has joined the evil cult. After hearing that the evil cult was running rampant in the Caerleon Empire, we set foot in the empire to find her. The reason we closed the elven kingdom was to prevent any more evil cultists from infiltrating. Is this enough of an answer?”
“There’s more than before.”
Arendt nodded dryly.
“It’s too bad. You guys didn’t want to get involved in the fight against the evil cult, so you kept quiet until now, but because of that one troublemaker kid who got involved, all your plans up until now went down the drain.”
“…”
Sylvian didn’t bother to deny it.
Just from the way she kept her mouth shut in silence, the group could tell that what Arendt said was true.
After a while she replied briefly.
“…It was a decision for the sake of the race.”
“I know. I don’t really intend to blame you for that. It’s foolish to jump in and prevent another country from turning into a sea of fire.”
Arendt shrugged nonchalantly.
“But that’s as far as I can understand. It seems to me that Lady Sylvian was planning to take the spirit stones and the traitor and then lock the door to the elf kingdom after returning…”
This time, Sylvian said nothing.
Llewellyn’s face, who had been watching her quietly, sank into a complicated state.
A calm, yet painfully clear and sharp voice pierced through.
“That’s just avoiding responsibility. How are you going to compensate for the countless lives lost because of one brat you couldn’t manage?”
“…”
Sylvian simply remained silent, as if she had no intention of denying or making excuses for the fact.
Arthur, glancing sideways at Arendt in the tense atmosphere, hesitated and froze.
It was because Arendt’s profile was so terribly cold.
He originally had a cold impression when he kept his mouth shut, but now he was incomparably colder.
From that appearance, Arthur could naturally notice.
Arendt was now very angry.
Richt and Laius also seemed to have subconsciously noticed it.
“…In that regard, there is no room for excuses.”
After a while, Sylvian spat out in anguish.
“It’s funny to say this now, but I will take responsibility somehow. If the elders are against it, I will do it alone…”
“What are you going to do on your own? Are you going to storm the headquarters of the Evil Cult, kill that woman, and get the spirit stones back?”
“…If necessary, then so be it.”
“That’s nonsense. It won’t help much to die a dog’s death with that pitiful life. It’ll just be one more body to clean up.”
Arendt, who spat it out in annoyance, irritably brushed back his fallen hair.
‘Calm down.’
He calmed the turmoil in his mind.
Showing more emotion than necessary now wouldn’t help anything.
Anyway, she just moved when she received orders.
She would not be in a position to go against a decision made by her superiors.
Even just confessing everything here and now must have been quite a trial for her.
This wasn’t something that could be solved by holding onto Sylvian and dragging it out.
If they were to go after the higher ups…
As soon as he thought about it, his mind became calm.
Arendt calmed his turbulent emotions by taking a deep, silent breath.
Arthur flinched when Arendt’s expression suddenly changed.
“What, what is it?”
“No, come to think of it, I don’t think anything will be solved if I take my anger out on Captain Sylvian here. There’s someone else who should really take responsibility. Isn’t that right?”
A voice that had become much lighter flowed out.
Through their experience, the group came to understand the meaning of those words all too keenly.
The arrow of death just missed Sylvian.
Instead, the person who would probably suffer was… the one who sealed the border and ordered her to find the truth and the spirit stones.
Llewellyn twisted the corners of his stiff lips.
“We’re screwed.”
“Please don’t be surprised all of a sudden, Your Highness. By sending Arendt away, His Majesty the Emperor and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince have already given up on a peaceful solution.”
Richt calmly reassured him.
Meanwhile, Arendt, who had finished calculating in his head, glanced at Laius.
Laius met his eyes and nodded.
It was permission to do whatever he wanted.
Arendt, who had gained justification, opened his mouth again.
“We’re scheduled to board the ship departing from the northern port of the Kingdom Capital at 7 a.m. tomorrow. We’ll be heading straight to the Second Elf Kingdom.”
“What?”
“I don’t know your circumstances. Do whatever you want with that information. However, if an armed conflict breaks out, I will not be held responsible for what happens afterwards.”
Arendt added coolly to Sylvian, who asked absurdly.
“Going back to the Caerleon Empire and tracking down the traitor is a good option. Don’t worry, we’ll return the spirit stones directly to the elders. However, I have another suggestion.”
Arendt took a cube that glowed softly from his pocket.
For a moment, Sylvian was bewildered by the object she was seeing for the first time.
He operated the cube, the record storage stone.
– The traitor is the daughter of the forest tribe elder. Her name is Jiklin, and we discovered that she has joined the evil cult…
As soon as Sylvian’s voice flowed out, the elves’ faces turned pale.
“I will make sure to convey what you said to the elders.”
“…”
“I don’t mind either way, but I can’t guarantee what I’ll say to the elders. Wouldn’t it be better to go and make an excuse yourself rather than to face the pursuers who would claim you leaked confidential information?”
His handsome face, wearing a sly smile, was so annoyingly obnoxious even to those on the same side.
So, it was easy to guess how Sylvian felt as she faced the ridicule head on.
Arendt originally intended to pressure Sylvian into confessing.
Sylvian just moved her lips with a dumbfounded expression, seemingly not even angry at the blatant threat.
Her subordinates, who would normally have been furious at being mocked, were the same.
From the moment they responded to Arendt’s conversation, victory or defeat was almost certain.
The elves, who lived peacefully surrounded by nature, were no match for Arendt, the Empire’s greatest conman.
Laius offered a pitiful apology as he faced the frozen elves.
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s not my place to say this, but I think the captain who didn’t stop him is also a pretty bad person.”
Llewellyn added something slyly, but Laius just pretended not to hear.