An inn located in a remote outskirts.
The two n, who had finished their report, took off their heavy robes and casually sat down on the chairs.
“The master is also worrying too much.”
As Frederick muttered with a sigh, Alec frowned.
“The master is just being cautious.”
“I know, I know. But I never thought the master would doubt the relationship between brothers.”
The two n were errand boys from the East rchant Group.
News spread through the East rchant Group that Arendt was going to the Khan Union for his vacation.
As soon as they received the information, the leader sent soone to the Union.
Since the two people happened to be staying at a nearby branch, they were able to arrive faster than Arendt and his party, who had set out from the palace.
“Don’t you think things have gotten a lot better? I heard they fought so fiercely in the palace.”
“He rebelled against his father and ran away from ho. If the cause of the discord was Count Eckhart, there would be no need to fight anymore.”
Frederick asked Alec again, who nodded.
“Then we can just go back like this? I think we’ve figured out pretty much everything we needed to know.”
“Okay, let’s withdraw tomorrow. If we stay too long, we’ll only arouse suspicion. If we haven’t found anything, then there’s no need to take any more risks here.”
They also confird that the relationship between the brothers wasn’t as bad as they thought.
And it was confird that Arendt was involved in the Union’s affairs.
No matter how young he was, he was part of the Imperial Knights.
Even though they were lucky and didn’t get caught today, they might get caught spying tomorrow if they hung around.
Frederick smiled contentedly.
“Then I guess we can just get so sleep and leave as soon as the sun rises.”
“I’ve already finished reporting, so we can take our ti.”
“Report? Who did you report to?”
At that mont, an unfamiliar voice suddenly interrupted their conversation.
“…”
“…”
Frederick and Alec reflexively shut their mouths.
There was an awkward silence for a few seconds.
The two n, startled, quickly jumped to their feet.
In their haste, their chairs tipped over and tumbled to the floor, but they had no ti to worry about that.
A familiar young man made his presence felt by waving his hand outside the window.
Their minds went blank, and they didn’t even think to scream.
Frederick was the first to recognize the face of the young man hanging leisurely outside the window.
“…Ah, Arthur, Norbert?”
Alec then muttered as if he had seen a ghost.
“Hey, it’s the third floor…”
“Ugh, you’re always taking the easy way, you little punk.”
Arthur grumbled annoyedly and shoved his torso into the room, ignoring the two’s mutterings.
“I got my clothes dirty by climbing up through the window.”
The two n stumbled backward as if they had seen a monster, unable to even think about stopping him as he landed lightly in the room.
Then, this ti, a voice was heard from the doorway.
“I can’t help it. I was raised properly, so such undignified actions don’t really suit .”
Both people’s heads turned towards the sound.
This ti, their faces turned as pale as a sheet of paper.
The person they had spied on today, soone they could never forget, was standing there blocking the door with an expressionless face.
Frederick’s jaw trembled uncontrollably.
“Ah, Arendt von Eckhart…”
“You’re out of your mind.”
Arthur shot Arendt a glare with distaste and cursed under his breath.
But Arendt pretended not to hear him and spoke to the two people.
“It’s a nice night, isn’t it? The moon isn’t even up, and it’s so dark you can’t see a step ahead. Just like your future.”
“Uh, when…?”
As Alec mumbled, unable to control his wildly shaking pupils, Arendt frowned.
“You’re not going to ask when we ca, are you? You know better than anyone who we are.”
Thud.
Arendt kicked the door shut with his foot and strode into the room.
Arthur also closed the window and moved closer to Frederick and Alec.
“You said you already reported everything, so all you have to do is return? Who did you report what to? That’s interesting.”
“…”
The two n exchanged silent glances, their faces drained of color.
Their escape route was completely blocked.
In the first place, it was impossible to escape or shake off the two mbers of the Imperial Knights.
So there were only two options.
Either keep silent or lie.
If the fact that they were caught spying reached the master’s ears, it would be the end for them.
After finishing his thoughts, Alec barely managed to speak.
“…What have we done to deserve this? Breaking into soone’s private room like this, isn’t that a bit rude?”
“Rude?”
Arendt tilted his head slightly.
“You eavesdropped on our conversation like a rat and now you dare call rude?”
“Hey, do you have any proof that we eavesdropped?”
Alec stamred a rebuttal, but of course it was to no avail.
“So what if there’s no proof? I said that you did.”
“…”
If he ca out like that, they had nothing to say.
While Alec was speechless and frozen, Frederick finally ca to his senses and stepped forward.
“What, what are you talking about? How can you suddenly accuse soone of being a spy?”
“Hey.”
But he too froze stiffly at the cold voice.
A pair of terribly cold eyes were staring at him silently.
“Do I look like I’m joking? Who sent you?”
The unwavering golden eyes seed to bind his entire body, as if paralyzing him.
Thud.
At the heavy noise that followed, the two people looked at Arthur with a start.
It was the sound of him slamming his sword, still sheathed, onto the floor.
Arthur muttered darkly.
“You’d better talk while you can. The cri of defying the Imperial Knights is never taken lightly.”
“…”
Like startled turtles, the two n retracted their necks and began glancing nervously at each other.
The Imperial Knights were terrifying.
But the East rchant Group was also terrifying.
Whichever one they chose, they were dood.
While they were hesitating, Arendt spoke.
“Alright. So you’re not planning to speak, huh?”
“…”
“You have exactly thirty seconds. If you don’t answer within that ti, you will be thrown in jail for threatening the security of the Empire.”
“Huh?”
Frederick and Alec’s eyes widened as if they were going to pop out of their sockets.
Arendt continued calmly.
“In these turbulent tis, when it cos to the Imperial Knights, especially soone following my every move and eavesdropping, there’s only one group I can think of.”
“…”
“If you don’t answer honestly, I will consider both of you as collaborators of the Evil Cult. You have twelve seconds left.”
The two people were silently shocked.
If they were to be accused of being mbers of the Evil Cult, it wouldn’t be strange if they were imdiately put on death row.
No, even before they would be put on the scaffold, they had nothing to say even if they died by the swords of the knights before their eyes.
Especially because these were the knights who were most active by Captain Laius’ side.
If they just said that they dealt with the remnants of the Evil Cult by killing the two n, no one would question it.
Of course, the master of the East rchant Guild wouldn’t offer any clarification either
Arendt began to count down slowly with an expressionless face.
“Ten, nine, eight…”
“Wait, East rchant Guild! It was the East rchant Guild!”
A sharp, high-pitched scream erupted.
Alec started to speak in a flustered manner.
“Oh, the Evil Cult! That’s ridiculous! How could you say such a thing!”
“It’s not a lie! Who would we lie to?”
There, Frederick waved his hand and confessed with a pale face.
Arendt stopped counting and stared blankly at the two n.
They were completely on edge, carefully watching Arendt’s every move.
They looked like criminals awaiting judgnt.
After a while, Arendt blurted out.
“How can I believe that?”
“Huh?!”
When an unexpected response ca back, a dumbfounded voice slipped out.
Arendt stood there with his arms crossed and asked.
“How can I believe you guys? Do you have any way to prove it?”
“Ah, no, didn’t you just tell us to be honest?”
Alec, who had suddenly co to his senses, protested that it was unfair, but Arendt did not budge.
“Yeah, but does that really prove you guys weren’t lying?”
Arthur, who was watching all this from behind, let out an exclamation of admiration.
“Wow…really, this guy’s temper…”
The mysterious talent of the guy who played with people felt new no matter how many tis he watched it.
In the end, the two were barely able to save their necks after showing their identification cards proving that they were mbers of the East rchant Group.
Frederick and Alec sat on the floor, gasping for breath, each handing their cards to Arendt.
The ten or so minutes they had just spent were the most excruciating ti they had ever experienced in their lives.
“…Well, okay.”
Arendt, who had been pretending to look at the identification cards carefully, finally nodded.
Just as a smile was about to bloom on the faces of the two n who were drenched in cold sweat, instead of returning the identity cards he had obtained, Arendt tossed them to Arthur.
Arthur caught them smoothly and tucked them naturally into his pocket.
The two people, who had not yet grasped the situation, looked back and forth between Arthur and Arendt.
Arthur spoke to them with pity in his eyes.
“Well, you should have picked the right person to ss with.”
“…”
Alec and Frederick, who had been watching Arthur, turned their heads towards Arendt.
As soon as their eyes t, Arendt spoke calmly.
“There are two ways to get these back. Oh, if you give up your identification cards and run away, I’ll wrap them up nicely and send them to the East rchant Group’s Headquarters myself.”
“…”
“Are you curious about your master’s reaction? Should I give it a try?”
“No, no! Absolutely not! I’m not curious!”
The two spies scread.
Arendt nodded with satisfaction.
“Okay, then let’s go back to the two thods I ntioned at the beginning. First, fight us, win, and rob us.”
“…”
“It looks like you’re about to say ‘Does that even make sense?’ with that expression. Are you not going to open your eyes nicely?”
They, who had unknowingly showed a horrified glance, quickly lowered their eyes.
“And second, this one might be a little more comfortable for you guys.”
At those words, they slowly raised their heads with a little hope.
Arendt still looked down at the two of them with his characteristic blank expression.
He was the epito of a bad-tempered nobleman who was optimized to look down on others.
“Co to the Khan Union tomorrow afternoon, when there are the most guests.”
Alec blinked dumbly, not really understanding what he was saying, and asked again.
“…Huh?”
“Then I’ll give you back your identification cards. Anyway, you guys just need to return to the East rchant Group by tomorrow, right?”
Considering that he even brought up the Evil Cult, it was a less serious request than they expected.
Frederick and Alec, who had been exchanging glances blankly, soon nodded their heads in bewildernt.
Of course, neither of them could have anticipated the consequences that small action would bring.
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