Chapter 2: Chapter 2

Drip, drip.

Because of the humidity, the water droplets that had accumulated on the ceiling fell to the floor and made a dreary sound. It was a space without a single ray of sunlight that denied even the slightest warmth.

It was as if even that was a luxury for those who committed sins in this empire.

The dungeon was located in the deepest part of the imperial palace. For generations, this was a place where those who had committed high treason were imprisoned, awaiting their final trial.

The court where the final trial is held was the final ground where the criminal could stand on his own two legs.

From a humanitarian perspective, the trial was merely the last façade.

Most of those imprisoned here were sentenced to death. The execution took place immediately, so the day he went to trial was the same as the day his life ended.

From the moment prisoners entered this place, they naturally realized that their lives were in danger. So, most of them went crazy saying that it was unfair, or burst into loud wailing because they felt that their situation was unfair.

But.

The guard glanced sideways inside the bars.

The prison was so narrow that one person could barely lie down. A young man was curled up and motionless.

It was already the second day.

The jailer also knew who he was.

There was only one person in this imperial palace with pure white silver hair that did not lose its shine even in the humid and dark dungeon.

He was none other than Arendt von Eckhart, an apprentice knight of the Emperor’s personal knights’ order, which consisted of three; among them, he was part of the 3rd Knights’ Order.

The most glorious order of knights protecting the Emperor.

Anyone living in the imperial palace could never not know them. Each and every knight was spoken of with praise.

But Arendt von Eckhart was famous in a slightly different way.

Who is Arendt von Eckhart?

He was a promising talent who was born into a good family, had a beautiful appearance that anyone could admire, and had excellent swordsmanship skills.

Amid everyone’s interest, he joined the Imperial Knights as an apprentice when he was just 20 years old.

It was the youngest record since the Order was founded.

It was definitely an honor. Thanks to that, he seemed to think that he was the best person in the world.

Arendt could not control his arrogant attitude and started having accidents of one kind or another.

It was a daily occurrence for him to leave the imperial palace without permission, drink alcohol and get into fist fights, be abusive to his fellow knights, and even disobey the orders of his leader.

And the result was this.

His crime was close to treason.

This was because he sold internal information about the Knights Templar to a spy. If the knight commander and knights had not noticed it early, the imperial family could have been in danger.

‘He came out without knowing his worth.’

The guard suppressed what he wanted to say and took his eyes off Arendt.

Clearly, this was self-inflicted but the guard had no intention of mocking him. He was going to die soon anyway.

Arendt lowered his head and still did not move a muscle.

What does a young man who was about to die at such a young age think, and was he praying to God for atonement?

No matter what kind of trashy life he lived, he still only had a few hours left to live.

The jailer decided to remain silent for him.

However, Arendt’s situation was a little different from what the jailer thought.

Shake, shake, shake.

His legs were shaking up and down. Cold sweat was flowing from beneath his hair.

There was only one thought that dominated Arendt’s mind.

‘Why isn’t it a dream?’

He thought it was definitely a dream.

There was no way it wasn’t a dream.

He was cleaning up the theater alone; his last memory was of wiping the stage with a mop and staring blankly at the lights shining down on his head.

And when he opened my eyes, he was surrounded by razor-sharp swords.

At first, he thought it was a dream after the light fell on him, or maybe he fainted because he was hit by a light and his body was now in a hospital bed and he was suffering from something similar to hallucinations.

But no matter how much time he tried, he never woke up.

Arendt’s, no, Lee Soo-hyun, who wore the shell of Arendt, pupils kept shaking.

“So, I am Arendt von Eckhart…”

He had already roughly figured out the situation but the problem was that he couldn’t understand it with his common sense.

“The Blue Knight of the Holy Sword.”

It was the title of a novel that Lee Soo-hyun had recently become obsessed with.

The protagonist was the knight commander, Laius de Winfried, who ordered him to be thrown into this prison.

Laius entered the imperial palace after a difficult childhood and harsh upbringing, and by increasing his experience, he proved his skills as a swordsman.

As a result, he was appointed the leader of the 3rd Knights under the Emperor at a young age.

Part 1 was the growth of Laius, Part 2 was the process of becoming a knight commander, and Part 3 was the full-scale story surrounding the imperial palace.

And it was Arendt’s betrayal that marked the brilliant beginning of Part 3.

When there was a suspicious atmosphere within the empire, the emperor ordered his knights to investigate. Laius immediately began the investigation, and as a result, Arendt was caught.

After the trial, Arendt was executed by Laius’ sword. The overall plot of the novel was Laius facing off against enemies that were threatening the empire in earnest.

Now, Lee Soo-hyun was thrown into the middle of the novel. Moreover, in the role of a traitor whose head and body would soon be separated.

Lee Soo-hyun started shaking his legs again.

If you give in a hundred times and say that this is really reality, even if you say that you died because of that damn light and that you became the real Arendt for some reason.

‘Why! At this part of the story! ‘This bastard!’

Shake, shake, shake.

His legs were shaking so much that the chain handcuffs on his wrists began to make a clanking sound.

After all, it must be a dream.

But what if it’s not a dream or a hallucination?

The problem was serious.

Because. Because he could end up losing his head for a sin he didn’t commit.

Because he missed the inspection period, he was so embarrassed that the back of his head was broken by an old light on stage and that he almost died. But it was even more unpleasant to say goodbye to his neck and body forever.

If he didn’t do something, he was really going to die, so he had to find a way out of this situation.

It was a conclusion he barely reached after rotting in prison for two days.

After reading many novels, he already knew that no one would help so he had to somehow get out of this situation on his own.

The good news among all the misfortunes was that there was still one more chance left.

“Trial…”

And there was one more thing.

Maybe it could be a fairly useful weapon for him.

Because he read “The Blue Knight of the Holy Sword” several times, most of the content remained in his mind.

He had to make good use of it somehow.

His brain, accepting the whole situation, began to move slowly.

His legs, which had been vibrating wildly, slowly calmed down. As he regained his composure, his breathing also became calmer.

‘To die means to leave.’

There is no chance after death.

There is no place for him.

Of course, there may be deaths that were not like that, but at least Arendt’s death was like that.

Then there was only one thing that could be done.

Even if a twist in the story occurs, he was confident in the flow of the future… No, he had to create Arendt’s role.

First of all, his priority was to protect his neck.

Lee Soo-hyun’s sunken eyes began to change to Arendt’s determined golden eyes.

That appearance was no different from Lee Soo-hyun’s appearance before going on stage.

* * *

When a long time had passed and the guard was starting to feel bored, the sound of footsteps began to echo from the entrance to the dungeon.

The guard suddenly came to his senses and straightened his posture.

The knights of the 3rd Knights, led by Laius, were coming down the stairs of the dungeon. As they approached, the guard immediately bowed his head in courtesy.

“I meet you, Commander Laius de Winfried.”

“It’s time.” Laius said coldly.

His gaze was always on Arendt, who sat quietly in the prison cell. Even at this moment, Arendt bowed his head and did not move.

Laius, who had been staring at him quietly, opened his mouth again.

“It’s time to go.”

Only then did Arendt slowly raise his head.

Aside from the minimal amount of candles to light up the view ahead, the surroundings were covered in dark shadows. In the midst of the darkness, his golden eyes twinkled eerily.

The knights who saw this were momentarily at a loss for words.

Arendt slowly raised his body and faced them directly.

Arendt’s gaze slowly scanned the knights and fell squarely on Laius.

After a while, the corners of his mouth showed a wicked smile. His lips, which had become dry after not taking a sip of water for several days, opened.

“Great. “Let’s go.”

“…”

Laius’ face hardened. The expressions of the other knights behind him also became distorted.

What Arendt said was a short statement, but it was enough. Although he was caught committing high treason and was imprisoned, Arendt did not change at all.

The guard, who was watching closely, took out the key and opened the prison door.

Without any need to drag him, Arendt walked hurriedly closer to them.

The place where he stopped was right in front of Laius.

Arendt quietly looked up at his superior with an indifferent expression that was hard to read.

“Even though… “I had something very important to tell you.”

Laius’ face hardened.

“…It looks like you still have no regrets.”

“Well, we’ll just have to wait and see which side ends up with regrets, right?”

It was a voice that sounded calm at first, but Laius was not unaware of the chill that had penetrated inside him. What took root there was distrust and hatred towards Laius.

A knight standing behind Laius growled at those disrespectful words.

“The guy who will die soon sure talks a lot.”

“…”

Arendt did not respond to that comment.

Laius, who stopped the knight who was getting more angry and trying to move forward, slowly closed his eyes and opened them.

‘There was no change.’

Still, he thought that Arendt might ask for forgiveness at least once.

He thought Arendt did something wrong since he was young.

If so, Laius might have been able to help him avoid capital punishment.

Laius felt a little complicated and looked down at Arendt.

‘It’s because I’m not good enough.’

If he had guided him well, that talented child would not have gone astray.

Swallowing his dismay, Laius grabbed Arendt’s forearm a little roughly. Now was not the time to show emotions.

The knights surrounded Arendt and began to move toward the outside of the prison. The sound of thunderous footsteps filled the dungeon again.

The knights glared at him with fierce eyes, fearing that Arendt might attack Laius.

There was no way those knights would have known what Arendt, surrounded by them, must have been feeling inside.

‘Damn… I really can’t do this. Method acting, by risking your life.’

Even though he was swearing under his breath, he obediently moved as Laius led him.

It seemed like if he didn’t move, the knights would skewer him at any moment. The sense that his life was at risk was all too vivid.

But it was just the beginning.

He put an iron plate on my face again and started brainwashing himself.

No, he started to immerse himself in the role.

A gifted man with a golden spoon, a high-ranking nobleman by birth, and a person accused of betraying the knights.

According to the original story, Arendt was a crazy person who firmly believed that he was not wrong even though he committed betrayal… but character interpretation can vary depending on the actor playing it.

Arendt’s gait, which had faltered for a moment, regained its balance.

The knights walked forward without hesitation.

Towards the court that would be the traitor’s final stage.