20demayo Chapter 140: Scum is best against scum
Chapter 140: Scum is best against scum
No one knew the cause of King Nephele’s illness.He tried to investigate it in depth on his own, but what Cantares gave him was all he could really find.
The king had a Crown Prince, another prince, and a princess, and he appointed the eldest son as Crown Prince early on to prevent a fight over succession.
It was said that the princess and prince under the Crown Prince had gentle personalities, and the political world was also stable, so there were no major conflicts up until now.
‘In this situation, the Crown Prince who revealed his ambitions and the king who suddenly collapsed…’
In terms of the scenario, it was inevitable that the most common and standard repertoire would come to mind.
In this case, it would be natural to think that the Crown Prince, who had friction with the king, harmed the king and pretended not to know. Although he was careful with his words because it was a serious matter, Cantares seemed to think similarly.
‘There’s nothing to be gained until we figure out more.’
That conclusion wouldn’t be a surprise, but it’s probably best not to jump to conclusions until they knew the details.
While information couldn’t be found, a clue came from an unexpected place.
– What, why is that guy suddenly like that?
“Do you know each other?”
He contacted Llewellyn out of curiosity and got a more detailed account.
– We don’t know each other, and I’ve only seen him from afar in the past… Since I travel around a lot, I’ve picked up things here and there.
“A maniac…, can you refer to the Crown Prince of a country like that?”
– I don’t want to hear that from you. Is His Highness the Crown Prince still feeling well?
After a slight grumble, Llewellyn continued.
– He’s an ambitious person. Well, that’s what they say. He’s smart and seems to be quite a strategist. Maybe that’s why it’s not widely known that he has a strange personality?
“What did he do to make you call him that?”
– I told you. He’s a maniac. It’s a little different from you though.
“Strictly speaking, according to you, both of us are maniacs.”
– Shut up, you punk. Anyway, he gets what he wants at any cost, and while he pretends to listen to his subordinates who offer advice, he uses all sorts of dirty methods to get revenge behind their backs. He even destroys evidence so thoroughly that no one can even protest.
“Hmm…”
He is arrogant, ambitious, and has no virtue. If he were to become king, he would definitely become a tyrant.
It was a shallow keyword, but it was better than nothing.
– Are you asking because of this meeting? Our kingdom has decided not to attend… If anything comes out of it, please let us know.
“Well, I’ll think about it.”
– Hey, is that all between us? I gave you so much information!
“I guess it wasn’t much help. I’ll end the call now.”
– Hey, hey!
Llewellyn whined across the communication port, but Arendt ignored him and hung up.
There were many suspicious circumstances, but nothing had been confirmed yet.
So then, what stance should they take? …Well, was there anything special about it?
It didn’t matter what he was after.
Since the Crown Prince said it was annoying, it would be a knight’s duty to clean it up, but it would also be okay to dig up everything and get information.
“I told you, Your Highness Alois, that everything would be alright.”
A pleasant voice echoed through the hall.
Alois Nephele clicked his tongue as if he didn’t like the way he was spoken to with a tone mixed with laughter.
“That’s how it has been so far. But who knows what will happen in the future.”
“You don’t trust me?”
“I can’t.”
Alois’ answer made the other person chuckle and burst into laughter.
“Considering that, it seems like you accepted my proposal quite easily.”
“It wasn’t a bad one, but trusting you is a different matter, Lexion.”
“Anyway, I knew you were prickly.”
The man called Lexion pretended to grumble for no reason, but Alois only became more upset.
“Is it clear that His Majesty’s body is not being harmed?”
“Of course. His Majesty will wake up safely. When he sees the changes in the kingdom with his own eyes, he will no longer oppose the Crown Prince’s wishes.”
“…”
Alois glanced at Lexion with a disapproving gaze. However, Lexion simply smiled and accepted the gaze.
No matter how often Alois looked at Lexion’s delicately curved eyes, he never felt affectionate towards him. He didn’t like his lips that always had that wicked smile on them, or even his slightly exaggerated gestures.
But the reason he kept him by his side was because he was certain that he would be useful.
He didn’t know him for long, and he was the worst guy from the start, but he was certain of one thing.
That guy would make his ambitions come true.
“I heard your younger sibling is also coming to the meeting?”
“I was going to go alone, but he was a little stubborn. He’s stupid, so there won’t be any problems.”
Alois responded annoyedly and tilted his head.
“You’re not going, are you?”
“Yes, as I told you last time… I would like to entrust this matter entirely to Your Highness the Crown Prince.”
Lexion smiled broadly.
“You just have to kill the apprentice knight of the Caerleon Empire.”
“It’s not even funny that an apprentice knight would follow them to such a place. It’s also funny that he’s being targeted by someone like you. It seems like he has some standing within the Empire, right?”
“Isn’t it just because he has a position? There is also talk that he is the confidant of His Highness Cantares Al Caerleon, the Crown Prince of the Caerleon Empire.”
“If I just kill that guy, will our deal be done?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“You guys are having trouble dealing with a kid.”
Alois shrugged his shoulders, letting out a snicker.
“I guess the evil god isn’t that great?”
“You would do well to heed your words, Your Highness Alois. His gaze has already fallen upon the Nephele Kingdom.”
It was an obvious provocation, but Lexion simply answered calmly without changing his expression.
“Now that light represents life, darkness is something that can bring death in an instant. With our power, we can turn a kingdom like this into dust in an instant.”
“…”
“I am lending that power to the Nephele Kingdom now. Wasn’t it your wish to have the world in your hands, Your Highness?”
Alois, who had been staring blankly at the bright smile on his pale face, eventually clicked his tongue and averted his gaze first.
“…If you have that kind of power, why can’t you kill that one annoying brat?”
“That’s right. He’s a formidable opponent.”
Lexion pretended not to show any sign of displeasure and just smacked his lips.
“We tried every method, but it just worked out so amazingly for him every time. I don’t know how many times we ended up getting hit. So it’s time to change the method.”
“Is the change sending in an agent?”
“He knows us strangely well.”
The man burst into laughter, leisurely crossing his legs and drawing a curve to his lips.
“I don’t even expect to see Laius de Winfried dealt with. If you succeed in just getting rid of that apprentice knight, the empire will surely fall into chaos.”
“I think that’s an overestimation of the young knight.”
“But it’s true.”
Lexion arched his eyebrows, pretending to be sullen.
“So please, I beg you. Our God wishes to have good relations with the Nephele Kingdom.”
“I understand, but I have absolutely no intention of worshipping God. Let me be clear about that.”
“Of course. We simply give and receive what we need from each other. Your Highness, you can take advantage of the chaos in the Caerleon Empire to spread the name of Nephele.”
“Are you guys taking revenge on God?”
“Yes.”
That was the deposit they paid to each other.
“I will give you plenty of people, but you better be careful. And I repeat, don’t let your guard down.”
“Aren’t you the one who doesn’t trust me enough? I have no intention of letting my guard down even if the opponent is a rabbit.”
“That’s the problem. He’s not a rabbit.”
Alois frowned at the incomprehensible words.
“What does that mean?”
“It’s true. Arendt von Eckhart is not just a rabbit. Unless he’s a tiger pretending to be a rabbit.”
“…I thought you were being overly careful, but that wasn’t the case.”
Only then did the Crown Prince’s face harden at Lexion’s somewhat subdued voice.
“Yes. So kill him and return the sacred relics he stole.”
“Well, fine. I don’t intend to be satisfied with just that one guy in the first place.”
If possible, the plan was to deal with even Laius de Winfried.
The current empire was too peaceful. If they just got rid of Commander Laius, all that would remain were the flowers in the greenhouse. If that happened, the empire would have difficulty projecting force externally.
Lexion nodded in satisfaction after hearing the Crown Prince’s ambitions.
“I hope you complete your journey safely. May the blessings of the evil god gently cover your future path, Alois.”
“Throw away things like blessings. I have no intention of relying on gods.”
“That’s right, right.”
Without even responding to those words, Alois turned away.
Lexion, who had wiped the smile off his face, coldly looked at the back of the Crown Prince as he left the reception room.
The door closed with a thud, and he was left alone, mumbling briefly.
“May God have mercy on the foolish and reckless Crown Prince.”
The magnificent delegation had finished preparing to leave the palace.
The Crown Prince’s personal carriage drawn by eight pure white horses led the way, and knights on horseback escorted the carriage, followed by a wagon carrying gifts to be delivered to the Kingdom of Lucain, and a carriage carrying servants.
“Wow, this is really a lot of money…”
“Will you please keep your mouth shut?”
Arthur growled softly as Arendt grumbled and dragged his words, but Arendt had no intention of taking back his words.
Although he had become accustomed to a life of luxury while unwillingly taking on the role of a noble son, he had a hard time adjusting to the flashy gold and all sorts of luxuries used at royal events.
He often forgot this because he usually lived so casually, but the eldest son of that empire was born with a destiny to live at the pinnacle of luxury.
“You’re looking at him like you really dislike him?”
“Did you find out?”
“You didn’t even think about hiding it, did you?”
“That’s true.”
Arendt just shrugged his shoulders at Arthur’s remark.
At that moment, Richt, who was standing in front, glared sharply at the two people.
“You two, stop talking nonsense.”
At that moment, Laius, who had been exchanging a few words with the coachman of the carriage in which the Crown Prince was riding, waved his hand vigorously toward the group.
It was the signal to depart.
“But no matter how much I think about it, the money…”
“Please, shut up.”