Chapter 5: Chapter 5: There is only one difference between a traitor, a knight, and a swindler

The Caerleon Empire has always been a country with constant troubles, big and small.

The empire has reigned as the ruler of the continent for a long time. However, the external strength of a country was not a measure of domestic peace.

It was difficult for a single emperor to reach all the parts of an extremely large territory.

Naturally, the authority of the nobles had no choice but to increase, and the nobles who grew up in this way also competed for their own food.

As a result, territorial wars broke out here and there in the empire, and large and small conflicts broke out near the border. After the current emperor ascended to the throne, the situation reached a point where it would not be surprising even if a civil war broke out immediately.

It was the first prince who was crowned crown prince that organized the empire that was on the verge of becoming a mess. He ascended to the position of crown prince as soon as he came of age, and succeeded in taking control of the nobles in just a few years.

It could easily have escalated into a power dispute between the emperor and crown prince, but the current emperor was not a very greedy person.

The aging emperor was very pleased with the situation where his successor showed his ability.

The crown prince also treated the emperor with great respect, so power was naturally concentrated on the emperor and the crown prince, and unprecedented peace came to the empire.

One day, an unknown carrier pigeon arrived at the crown prince’s room.

The note that the carrier pigeon gave only contained the date, time, and one location.

Sensing that something was amiss, the emperor and crown prince as well the knights they trusted most laid an ambush at that location.

And at that time that day, a person appeared at the location written on the note. The Knights secretly tracked that person, and as a result, they were able to identify the site where an unidentified group was having a secret meeting.

The Templars secretly captured some of them.

They planned to interrogate them, but the attempt faile; all of the arrested witnesses had committed suicide. In addition, organizations that realized they were being tracked began to be more cautious about their movements, making it even more difficult to catch them.

Time just passed by helplessly, with no clue as to who the anonymous informant was.

In a situation where nothing was resolved and things were sluggish…

‘That guy threw a rock.’

Laius looked at Arendt with mixed eyes.

The disfigured appearance from being thrown into the dungeon was nowhere to be seen, and he had returned to his usual handsome and stern appearance.

The golden eyes, which were difficult to read, only contained a cold chill and were indifferent.

Apparently, this situation was first started with the purpose of punishing traitors within the Knights Templar.

The situation was not much different from the previous trial.

Arendt was standing in the middle of the conference room provided in the building. The door behind him was blocked by knights from the 3rd Knights.

The knight commanders, including Laius, were seated and facing Arendt.

Behind them, the knights were lined up in a straight line.

In other words, Arendt was currently surrounded by knights.

‘Normally, I would feel pressured.’

Arendt showed no such signs at all.

He didn’t even try to hide his hostility toward those around him, and his crooked posture showed a sense of relaxation.

The First Knight Commander, Kendrick von Leandros, seemed to think similarly.

Kendrick, who had been watching Arendt for a while, raised the corners of his mouth.

“So, can the Lord keep his word? Even though we heard harsh words from you, calling us stupid, we kept your precious life to bring you to this position. It would be difficult if you couldn’t pay that much.”

“Please, you should expect me to do that.”

Arendt also did not lose and smiled coldly.

“Wouldn’t that make up for any of the stupid things I’ve done so far?”

At the same time, Kendrick’s bushy-bearded face twitched slightly. The knights of the 1st Knights who were standing behind him twitched their hands as if they were about to pull out their swords at any moment.

“That arrogant guy…!”

“Forget it.”

Kendrick, who calmed them down by raising his hand once, laughed awkwardly.

“Really… I felt it during the trial, but you are too bold.”

“Thank you for the compliment.”

Arendt, on the other hand, puffed out his chest and responded shamelessly.

Then Diana, who had been quietly observing the situation, shrugged her shoulders and ended the conversation between the two.

“Lord Kendrick, you’d better stop making jokes. From the looks of it, it looks like you are just going to get caught up in it.”

“Wow, have I gotten older? It’s become difficult to deal with a young man with a bad attitude.”

Kendrick groaned and scratched his head.

Arendt just rolled his eyes and glanced at the people in front of him. All of the knights, who were highly agitated, were glaring at him as if they were going to rip him to death at any moment.

‘First of all, we gathered attention.’

The sight of a knight with a sword standing front, back, and side to side seemed to indicate that they would immediately blow off his head if he did anything even slightly.

And, there were three leaders sitting at the head table right in front.

Each of them had different expressions as they stared at Arendt.

Kendrick showed subtle curiosity under his naturally virtuous face, Diana showed cautious caution under her indifferent gaze, and finally… Laius’ cold expression showed confusion.

From now on, it was Arendt’s turn to live up to their expectations.

First of all, the first line that would capture everyone’s hearts.

Arendt blurted out without warning, ““They’re after the safe.”

The three leaders’ eyes widened at the same time.

It meant that the topic he brought up was successfully caught in their ears.

Laius, who was the first to regain control of his expression, asked as if confirming.

“…You mean the safe at East Upper?”

“Is there anything else in the capital that could be called a safe?”

The East Merchant Marine was one of the top five merchants in the empire, and was making a lot of money through unique businesses in the imperial capital and other major cities.

That was the ‘East Safe’.

The safe was operated in the form of storing jewelry, valuables, gold coins, heirlooms, etc. that were difficult to carry, and then charging a storage fee.

As treasures were stored up, it was easy for the safe to become a target for thieves and robbers, but East Safe did an excellent job of protecting its customers’ assets every time.

This was thanks to spending a huge amount of money to hire top-class mercenaries.

Thanks to this, the credit rating of the safe soared to the sky, and East Upper, along with the safe, was enjoying an unprecedented boom.

Kendrick, who was dumbfounded for a moment and just blinked, frowned.

“Suddenly it’s about a safe? It’s been quiet so far, right?”

“Who was quiet? Haha… Could it be those guys?”

Arendt burst out in blatant ridicule.

Just as one of the offended knights was about to draw out a sword, Arendt struck first.

“Do you remember the incident where the Imperial Jewelry Store burned down?”

“What?”

“The Cedric family’s mansion was robbed by an unidentified assailant… oh yeah. There was also a case where an old lady’s inheritance was passed over to a fraudster.”

Arendt continued, putting down a finger.

The knights’ expressions became confused due to the series of unexpected stories.

Diana clenched her chin and opened her mouth.

“I remember. But what did those things have in common with what happened now? The criminals were all arrested.”

“They were, but what about the wealth they stole?”

Diana remained silent for a moment in response to the sharp rebuttal.

After a brief pause, Diana answered calmly.

“… It couldn’t be retrieved.”

“It probably wasn’t that bad from their perspective. He must have sacrificed his life for a worthy cause.”

Arendt spoke in a crooked posture with his arms crossed, and as always, his attitude was extremely careless. However, for some reason, his voice rang out strangely clearly, so much so that everyone in this room automatically listened.

“He probably ran away, offered treasure to their base, and then was captured and killed. What they want is money, these people who are dissatisfied with the government get together and plot to overthrow the empire. So at this point, their true identity is…”

Arendt naturally paused.

Those listening tensed their bodies without realizing it.

At some point, everyone in the conference room was waiting for him to speak.

“It could be defined as an extremist rebel group.”

The air in the conference room became cold.

Kendrick asked, rubbing his chin.

“So, when will they be taking action?”

“It’s tomorrow,” Arendt responded to the question without any hesitation.

Kendrick let out a sigh in a space where there was no sound of breathing.

“Huh…”

Originally, this was a fact that could only be known after the safes containing the gold and silver treasures of the nobles were completely robbed and a village on the outskirts of the imperial capital was completely devastated.

Later, the knights had to fight a battle that was close to war with those who used the occupied village as their base.

The casualties incurred in the process were also significant.

‘But not anymore.’

Because he already knows what happens next.

After finishing his report, Arendt folded his arms and waited for their response, as if saying ‘if you have something to say, say it’.

Diana, who was quietly watching him, clicked her tongue slightly.

‘It is clear that Arendt von Eckhart is a criminal, and we are the people who are questioning him.’

Arendt instantly dominated the atmosphere of the conference room.

Of course, even so, it could never be said that the views toward Arendt were favorable.

But….

‘It’s a situation that no one can refute.’

Her eyes narrowed.

Arendt’s sarcastic words and every gesture attracted attention.

His voice, full of confidence that he was right, made it impossible to doubt his words, and his eyes, which gave off a cold yet indifferent glow, seemed as if they could engulf people at any moment.

‘Is this the same situation as during the trial?’

At the time, she thought it was just the last struggle of someone who was about to die, but it seems that wasn’t the only thing that was happening.

Diana burst out laughing.

“…This is truly absurd. What on earth have you done? There is no way the enemy would have easily handed over such information.”

“I put a gold coin in their pocket and pretended to agree with them. I also feel very sorry for Your Majesty, so please put some in there.”

Diana’s face hardened slightly.

“How dare you say something insulting about His Majesty?”

“What? Was there any other way? To be honest, if it weren’t for me, who knows how many civilians would have died in the future? If we reacted late, there would have been victims even within the Knights Templar.”

The knights’ mouths opened wide, and the room held a slightly different silence than from before.

Arendt shamelessly drove the wedge in.

“If you want to do something big, you have to know how to be a little cruel to people. If necessary, you should at least pretend to lick the soles of the enemy’s feet.”

“… Is that what a knight would say?”

“What do you think? You called me a traitor and you expect chivalry from me?”

Arendt shrugged his shoulders at Kendrick’s absurd question.

Kendrick, who was speechless, soon said, “Heh heh…” He smiled and shook his head.

“For now… yes, I understand what you mean. If I talk any more, I feel like I’ll lose, so let’s go back to the original point.”

Kendrick’s dark green eyes became serious again.

“It is not a place that can be easily broken into. Still, if they’re targeting that place, it means they have the power to break into the safe. We won’t be able to deal with it easily. You said that they would tomorrow, so there’s not enough time to prepare for the suppression operation.”

“What do you think is so complicated about it?”

Arendt smiled crookedly.

“Let’s follow the standard procedure first. I know where they will attack, so I’ll go first and wait.”

“Ho-oh, then what?”

Kendrick asked naturally, as if he was confident that Arendt would have an answer.

Arendt also easily recognized this.

His curved lips took on a slightly more mischievous curve.

“There is a good way.”