Instead of reacting imdiately to Arendt’s impulsive remark, Cantares called a brief eting.
He summoned Arendt’s imdiate superior, Laius, and Count Stadler, who was staying at the palace.
“…”
“…”
The expressions of the two people who heard the situation beca hazy.
While no one was able to speak first, the one who surprisingly took Arendt’s side first was Jereon, who had been quietly listening to the conversation.
“Maybe it’s a good idea.”
“Jen, are you serious?”
When Cantares asked back, doubting his ears, Jereon nodded with an awkward smile.
“Yes. Since we can’t get any information from the prisoners we’ve captured, there are definitely limits to how far we can go in tracking them. In such cases, provoking the enemy is one way…”
The aide’s voice trailed off and he glanced at Arendt.
“Of course, it’s not sothing a sane person would think of.”
“I’m completely sane.”
“Be quiet.”
As Arendt grumbled, Cantares growled softly.
At that mont, Count Stadler timidly began to speak.
“But isn’t it too dangerous? They might harbor a grudge and retaliate. If sothing happens on National Foundation Day, it will cause a big diplomatic problem.”
“They probably won’t move easily since they’ll need ti to regroup,” Cantares lightly denied it.
The series of events that followed greatly depleted their power. They lost Vincent and Blake, and even Rebecca, who was their main source of funding, was defeated, and they even lost a large number of ghouls.
Moreover, since it was a gathering of dostic and international dignitaries, other countries would also send a considerable number of troops as escorts.
No one would be stupid enough to rush into a place like that.
“By the way, dragon bones won’t be the only thing on display.”
“What?”
“We have the Captain, don’t we? You’re the knight who hunted the dragon, aren’t you?”
“What?”
A visibly flustered Laius looked at Cantares and Jereon as if he were asking for help. However, the two simply turned a blind eye, since they did not want to get involved.
“I heard everything from Senior Richt. I heard that you risked your life and jumped into the dragon’s body while struggling for a long ti?”
“Wait a minute, that’s…”
“In this day and age, you are truly a model of a knight. You are the strongest knight in the Caerleon Empire, the sword of the royal family, and the guardian of the god Luce. Your actions are truly worthy of this title.”
The apprentice knight, who was mumbling with a blank expression, even clapped his hands soullessly.
Laius’ face turned bright red.
“The public likes heroes. If we put one hero forward and thoroughly drive the enemies into looking as a group of evil, then naturally public opinion toward the evil religion will beco even worse.”
“So?”
“They put their God first. People might fall for them later, so let’s prevent that from happening.”
The idea was to use this opportunity to sell out Laius and brand them as heretics. It was an extension of the clowning Arendt had done in the restaurant of an inn he had happened to visit one day.
Jereon, who had been listening quietly, opened his mouth.
“There are quite a few people who are curious about Captain Laius’ current situation. I guess it’s because of this incident.”
“But, sir.”
“That’s true. It’s true that Captain Laius made a big contribution this ti.”
Although Laius tried to silence Jereon, this ti Cantares nodded.
“A knight who slays a dragon? Wouldn’t the guests be amazed?”
“I don’t think so.”
When Arendt asked subtly with a sly smile, Laius quickly beca serious, but there was not a single person there who listened to him.
Jereon, who was more than capable of doing so, pointed out what needed to be done imdiately.
“I’ll try to adjust the schedule first. I’ll also have to ask Count Stadler. There seems to be a lot of preparations that need to be made before the dragon’s remains can be revealed to the public.”
“Prepare a congratulatory speech in advance, Captain Laius. It’s an order.”
“…”
When Cantares ca over and patted his shoulder, Laius ended up burying his face in his hands.
“Aide Jereon.”
“Yes?”
“Excuse , but can I have so stomach dicine…”
His stomach started to hurt.
And a few days later.
It’s ti for the Imperial Knights Captain eting.
Diana and Kendrick looked at the dead, blackened face of Laius with pity.
“Are you okay?”
“…Yes, I’m okay.”
He looked really bad as he answered Kendrick’s questions in a slow manner.
Diana smiled bitterly.
“Can soone please give His Highness the Crown Prince so advice that he shouldn’t get too friendly with that guy.”
“Well, how about you giving it a try? I think he’ll get upset and say that they’ve never been close.”
“His Highness the Crown Prince should start acknowledging that soon.”
As the two people chatted, Laius’ face continued to grow more gloomy.
“I don’t want to be a public figure.”
“But it’s still a good thing. Besides, it’s true that you’ve accomplished sothing great, so don’t be too depressed.”
“…”
Even with Kendrick’s comfort, Laius’ face did not brighten.
A dispirited Third Division Captain was a rare sight.
It’s not that Laius didn’t have that kind of tendency originally.
He had no qualms about taking responsibility and being the first to confront his enemies, but he was always uncomfortable with receiving more praise than necessary for his own accomplishnts.
On top of that, he seed to have been quite shocked by the fact that he had been teased to death by Arendt.
“This aspect really hasn’t changed since you were young.”
“That’s true. It’s not that bad.”
Laius looked at the two people who were laughing happily with longing.
That appearance reminded them of Laius during his days as a knight, so it ended up having the opposite effect.
Kendrick, who had been laughing for a while, changed the subject.
“So, the newly discovered artifact is a Dragon Bone? Count Stadler investigated it, you say?”
“Yes, and he said it seed to have been made relatively recently.”
Laius nodded heavily.
“It is unknown when the bone was extracted, but it is said to have been polished very recently. My guess is that it was made in a hurry after several artifacts were stolen from them.”
“Ugh, so this is what happens in the end.”
It is almost certain that the dragon was the main force behind their movents.
Dragons were the ones who turned history upside down every ti they appeared in the human world. If the ti ca to fight them head-on, no matter how many lives were sacrificed, it wouldn’t be enough.
No, it would be fortunate if it ended with the lives of the knights. In the worst case scenario, the empire could have been reduced to rubble.
“At a ti like this, he’s even provoking the dragon… that’s very Arendt-like.”
Kendrick burst out laughing again. It was also surprising that the Crown Prince readily agreed to that plan.
He had been watching him for quite so ti, but Arendt was still sothing he couldn’t figure out, because he seed reckless, yet he was extrely calculating, and he seed selfish, yet he ultimately aid for the good of all.
The biggest problem was that Arendt had no way to clearly tell them what was going through his head.
Kendrick burst into a refreshing laugh as he looked at the young knight captain who couldn’t hide his displeasure.
“It’s been a while since the palace has beco so lively.”
Whatever it was, since that guy had a hand in it, it seed like sothing interesting was going to happen.
It didn’t matter whether it was a dragon or a god.
If they bare their teeth at the Imperial Family, there was only one thing left for him to do.
As a knight, he was willing to sacrifice his body to protect his country, his lord, and his people.
Kendrick steeled his resolve as he caressed the sword that had been with him his entire life.
Once a decision was made, it proceeded at lightning speed.
Preparations for the National Foundation Day festivities began in earnest, and it was decided to first install the remains of the dragon that had been sleeping in the palace.
One of the largest halls was completely emptied, and an unusual commotion broke out in the palace.
“Handle it with care! Be careful!”
The Count was running around, shouting louder than ever before. His eyes were bloodshot, and it was obvious that he had been up all night for several days.
The Neumann Group, which had heard the Count’s warning, also provided support to the laborers and items to decorate the reception room, and did not spare their help.
For ten days, countless craftsn helped out and Count Stadler threw a tantrum.
Finally, the dragon was reborn into a form that spread its huge wings and howled.
The tips of its wings were grazing the ceiling of the living room, and with its jaws wide open and its head bowed down, it looked as if it would breathe out its breath at the people at any mont.
“If this place had been even a little bit narrow, we would have been in big trouble.”
Count Stadler, his eyes darkened, looked up at his work and spoke proudly. Even though the dragon skeleton was bent down and had its tail curled up, the hall was still full.
“This is truly amazing.”
When he heard the news that the installation was complete, Cantares, who was the first to arrive, let out an exclamation of pure admiration.
The fact that he was able to cut down this guy with only three subordinates made him realize once again how strong of a knight Laius de Winfried was.
“Haa… Who would have thought that the day would co when I would be able to examine the dragon’s skeleton one by one? The skeleton itself is so beautiful, so I wonder how majestic the actual dragons will be.”
“Count, that majestic race is plotting to trample upon our empire.”
“Isn’t that spine especially beautiful? Look over there! There’s a scar on the fifth cervical vertebra. It looks like a tooth mark, probably from a battle between dragons.”
Cantares spoke awkwardly, but Count Stadler, who was in a trance, seed to not hear it at all.
Everyone in the palace was busy moving around like that.
The downtown area also began to prepare to receive the influx of tourists, and rchants from all over the country gradually flocked in, making the capital several tis more crowded than usual.
A few days later, a list of guests to attend the banquet was delivered to the Imperial Knights, who were in charge of security for the event.
Arendt, who had been hanging around Laius’ side steadily and finally succeeded in receiving the list, went straight to his room and began to carefully look through several sheets of paper.
The first page was filled with people in the empire, most of whom were familiar nas. Then, on the next page, Arendt found the na he was looking for.
‘Here.’
Llewellyn Charles Everan.
He was the third prince of the Everan Kingdom, which was in an alliance with the Empire.
In “The Blue Knight of the Holy Sword”, he only had a minor role, and in fact, he wasn’t a very likable character.
When the Caerleon Empire was surrounded by the flas of war, each of the allies sent reinforcents. It was this guy who led the forces of the Everan Kingdom.
‘He’s the guy who got kicked out after complaining to Captain Laius.’
For a direct descendant of the royal family, he was overly free-spirited, almost like a diluted version of Arendt von Eckhart.
After coming to the Empire, Prince Llewellyn beca a troublemaker like Arendt, becoming obsessed with alcohol and causing trouble at gatherings with dignitaries.
But that didn’t last long.
He was not a man fit for the battlefield, and he did not share the sa views as the overly upright Laius.
Eventually, Llewellyn had an argunt with Laius, ended up having a duel, and was forced to leave the Caerleon Empire in disgrace.
Even though he was such a useless guy, Arendt was still confident that he could use him sohow in the current situation.
Llewellyn Charles Everan… the third prince of the kingdom.
There was another na that described him.
Explorer Llewellyn.
It was said that displaying the dragon bones was a provocation or sothing, but that was just the secondary purpose.
The dragon was just bait to catch this guy.
The fact that a man who hated appearing on official occasions crowded with nobles insisted on attending the National Foundation Day ceremony was probably because he was eager to see the dragon in person.
‘Co in.’
Because he was a stray dog, he needed to be treated with special affection and have his bad habits corrected.
That way, when he goes up on stage, he can move according to his role.
A wicked smile appeared on Arendt’s lips.
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