Betrayal Knight's Joyful Faith

Chapter 118

Although dragons tended to be very individualistic, they still maintained a certain level of communication with their blood relatives.The ‘clan’ that Count Stadler spoke of was something like a small group of people related by blood.

Although they did not place as much importance on family as humans, when something big like war happened, they often came together as a clan to preserve their race.

That was Count Stadler’s explanation.

Cantares, who had been listening blankly, asked hesitantly.

“So… maybe it wasn’t the entire dragon clan, but was it possible that one has joined their side?”

“I can’t say for sure, but it’s definitely possible.”

The idea that there might be survivors of the war was something that Arendt and Cantares had once discussed.

If the Dragon Clan and the Cult still had deep ties, then nothing could be more troublesome.

“There is a legend that says that a dragon bone is a piece of bone given to a being that the dragon itself recognizes as a token of friendship. It is said that a dragon bone obtained in this way is of the highest quality.”

Count Stadler groaned as if he had lost his soul.

“So, that is… a living dragon is carving out its bones to make it. In the first place, only dragons of the same species can properly process dragon bones.”

“So what’s your point?”

Finally, when Cantares could no longer bear it and raised his voice, Count Stadler turned his head with a stiff movement that seemed to make a cracking sound.

“I need to investigate further to know, but if that artifact is truly a dragon bone… and was recently created… then the dragon that owns the bones…”

“Are you saying he might still be in the cult?”

“That’s it!”

Count Stadler, who had been talking longer and longer, jumped up as if struck by lightning when Arendt interjected a word.

“Oh my goodness, oh my goodness! Can I examine it a little more closely? A dragon, a living dragon!”

“Okay, calm down, Count!”

It seemed as if he couldn’t hear the Crown Prince’s words properly. It was at such moments that the Count’s crazy researcher side came into play.

In the end, Laius forced Count Stadler into his seat.

“The Count’s words are valid, but I think it would be okay to get excited after the investigation is completed.”

“Yes…”

Count Stadler nodded with a face dripping with regret and continued speaking with a slightly subdued tone.

“Anyway, I’ll take this and look into it.”

“I would appreciate it if you could do that. Have you finished investigating the scene where the ghouls were?”

“I’ve sent my assistants there for now. I plan to transport the wyvern ghouls and orc ghouls to the lab for further study, but first, I have something to tell you.”

As Cantares quickly changed the subject, the Count took the report out of his bosom and handed it to the Crown Prince.

“The magic circle on the floor was drawn with human blood. It was a modified sealing magic circle, and it looked to be at least 10 years old. And I compared the two types of ghoul corpses…”

The Count handed over a report to Cantares.

Two similar-looking ghouls were sketched side by side. One was a normal ghoul, the other was an intelligent, speaking ghoul.

“The method of construction was different. It is still a technology that we do not fully understand, but it is certain that the one that has been confirmed to be intelligent is based on a living human.”

“I see.”

A sigh escaped the Crown pPrince’s lips.

It was a terrible thing.

Jereon asked after a moment of silence, placing the teacup and refreshments on the table.

“So… are you saying that they are conducting biological experiments, Count?”

“I guess so.”

The Count added one more thing to that.

“He is a different type of researcher from Vincent. This is no longer something that can happen in the realm of alchemy.”

Ultimately, it meant that another researcher had recently intervened in the church.

Tsk, Arendt clicked his tongue and scratched his head.

“For now, it’s fine. It’s all just a possibility, so there’s no point in worrying about it in advance.”

The important thing was what to do from now on.

Lost in complicated emotions, no one was able to open their mouths for a while.

When he returned to the dormitory, a mountain of papers greeted Arendt. They had been brought to him by Count Stadler before he returned from the scene.

“Nothing is easy. Damn it.”

Arendt sat down in his chair in annoyance and opened the book he had been reading.

The Count had highlighted the important parts, but the amount was still huge. It was a headache trying to check each and every one of them and respond to the situation that was going crazy. ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ꜰʀᴏᴍ novelhall.com

‘I guess it could be said that it’s going smoothly.’

So far, nothing has been taken. Vincent and Blake were stopped, and the Empire was still at peace, but it was difficult to keep up with the constantly changing situation.

A ghoul made of a dragon and a living person. The story was flowing in a different direction than what he knew.

It was all a mystery.

Why did the god of the night, the god of darkness, become an evil god? Why did he reappear only now? And what kind of a damn dragon is that?

The existence of dragons, like the ghouls, was an element that was rarely mentioned in “The Blue Knight of the Holy Sword”.

After Vincent’s dragon ghouls were struck down by Laius’ sword, they disappeared completely from the novel. They did not show up again until the empire was in ruins.

‘Are you reluctant to reveal your existence?’

Eventually, Arendt, unable to concentrate on his writing, closed the book and abruptly got up from his seat.

If that was the case, he had to do whatever it took to get them out into the light.

He had no intention of letting them sit backstage and watch.

‘If you were going to hide, you shouldn’t have interfered in the first place.’

In order for the protagonist to be defeated, the villain must also be dragged into the spotlight.

After being consumed by the protagonist’s narrative, its existence should be completely forgotten.

That was the basic story of good triumphing over evil.

Of course, it was a bit questionable whether they could handle a dragon, but it was better to keep it in sight and be on guard than to be surprised and confused.

‘An artifact made from the remains of a dragon, from the bones of a dragon…’

He was sure there was a way to do it, but nothing came to mind right now.

“Ah.”

A short exclamation burst out from the mouth of the apprentice knight who had been pondering for a long time.

“What are those kids doing now?”

After he intervened on this stage, there was a group that had not yet appeared.

In fact, as things stand now, there wouldn’t be anything to get involved with for a while, because the war had not yet broken out, and the events that have occurred so far were merely considered incidents within the empire.

But if he waited until something happened, it would be too late, and if they are, maybe, they know information about the dragon.

‘But there was no way to contact them.’

Another concern that followed was this.

Arendt, who had been racking his brain for a while, soon gave up and leaned back in his chair.

“Hey, nothing is easy.”

After closing his eyes and lying there blankly for a while… Arendt suddenly opened his eyes.

“Wait a moment.”

There was one thing.

A chance to connect with them.

Arendt sat up abruptly and checked today’s date as if he had been struck by lightning.

“Why did I forget this?”

After a while, a satisfied smile appeared on his lips.

As expected, there was no law that says a person should die even when cornered, and the founding anniversary of the Caerleon Empire was approaching.

“Yeah, I guess things will get busy starting next week.”

When Arendt suddenly barged into his office and asked about the National Foundation Day event, Cantares simply nodded.

“It’s going to be a grand celebration this time too. Come to think of it, is this your first time celebrating National Foundation Day inside the palace?”

“Yeah, so I don’t really know how it works.”

“That makes sense.”

The Crown Prince put down the pen he was holding and explained briefly.

“There will be a festival in the Imperial City for a few days, and the Imperial Palace will host a banquet to invite distinguished guests from the allied nations.”

“Are most of the allies attending?”

“Oh, the founding anniversary of the Caerleon Empire is also the day that the long war ended. Countries that owe a debt to His Majesty the First Emperor even send royal officials.”

“Hmm.”

Royal officials.

‘It’s the best.’

In “The Blue Knight of the Holy Sword”, the National Foundation Day held during this period was almost like a funeral. It was natural, as the country was in turmoil both internally and externally due to the civil war.

But now things were different.

Although there was still some anxiety due to the evil cult, the palace was quite excited as news spread that Laius had slain the dragon ghoul.

He took back the saying that nothing in life is easy.

Even if the sky falls, there is a hole to emerge from.

“What? Why are you so interested?”

“No, I just have a suggestion.”

Ignoring the Crown Prince’s anxious questioning, Arendt simply said what he wanted to say.

“No, don’t suggest it. No. I’ve never seen anything good when you talk like that.”

“Hey, don’t do that.”

Although Cantares vehemently refused, he was not the type to care.

Arendt then began to laugh heartily.

“How about displaying the dragon’s remains in the banquet hall? It would be a great way to honor the knight who slayed the dragon, and it would also provide a nice spectacle for our distinguished guests.”

“…”

A deep silence flowed.

And after a while, a dejected voice came out of Cantares’ mouth.

“You will really… be punished by heaven.”

It was easier said than done.

It wasn’t such an absurd thing, but just recently, they were having a conversation about the possibility that dragons were not only intermingling with the human world, but were also quite active in the Chernion Church.

But were they going to put the remains of their possible relatives on display in front of people as a spectacle?

“Do you know when people get the most upset?”

“When something is stolen?”

“When the guy who stole something from you waves it in front of your eyes and teases you. Let’s use this opportunity to get them to come out.”

“You wait, are you really going to provoke them…?”

“That includes the evil cult members, and of course the dragons that are probably alive somewhere.”

“This guy is crazy.”

Eventually, swear words came out of Cantares’ mouth.

But Arendt was confident.

“Why shouldn’t we do this? Every time they show up, they wreak havoc on the human world.”

“…”

“Besides, we can even see the human experimentation going on right now. Do we really need to feel guilty about showing them a single, completely decayed bone?”

It was very sincere nonsense, but the problem was that the idea kept sounding plausible.

“We need to let our allies know about the current situation anyway, so this might be a good opportunity. There’s no need for the Caerleon Empire to shoulder all of it.”

“…”

“To put it bluntly, why are we the only ones suffering? Even during the old war, they were able to survive thanks to His Majesty the First Emperor. Now, they can take this opportunity to repay the kindness of our ancestors.”

Arendt brazenly babbled, displaying patriotism that was usually hard to find.

For diplomatic purposes… yes, what he said just now was not wrong.

But.

Somehow, Cantares felt like he too was going to feel sick to his stomach like a certain captain.