After the spirits left.
Ludwin, who had been silent for a while, finally spoke.
“…I know this isn’t the right ti, but may I speak personally for a mont?”
Those words naturally drew everyone’s attention to Ludwin. Ludwin looked at Llewellyn and spoke with a complicated expression.
“I, no. His Majesty and His Highness clearly told you to remain in the Empire. why have you returned? You’re usually so disobedient.”
“You know I’m a disobedient person, Brother. I just do what I want.”
When Llewellyn grumbled, averting his gaze slightly, Ludwin beca serious.
“Listen seriously. This is no ti to joke around.”
“I’m serious, too. My holand is on the verge of becoming a sea of fire, and you want to just sit there and watch. Who would listen to that?”
“I never said that. Now that you’ve established yourself in the Empire, you can assist His Imperial Highness there and establish ties with the Empire…”
Ludwin gave a stern look, but Llewellyn cut him off.
“Don’t make excuses. Even if I don’t stay there, my connections with the Empire will be perfectly fine.”
“What?”
“I know well, having t them personally. His Majesty the Emperor and His Imperial Highness are not the kind of people who would ignore a crisis in an allied nation.”
Llewellyn looked straight at Ludwin and continued speaking clearly.
“There’s no way my brothers or my mother and father don’t know that. No matter how I look at it, it just seems like they’re trying to keep away. I know more about the Chernion Cult than anyone else in the kingdom. I’m sure I can be of help.”
“Since Captain Laius himself ca, you don’t have to co too.”
But Ludwin didn’t give up either.
“There’s a reason His Majesty said that. But barging in like this without prior notice is problematic. I’m sure you’ve been unreasonable towards His Imperial Highness and Captain Laius. That’s not polite.”
“It was my father and brothers who were being unreasonable. If they hadn’t said such nonsense in the first place, I wouldn’t have had to resort to such unreasonableness.”
Shekhinah and Salem, caught between the brothers, looked at Laius with troubled expressions.
The aning of those eyes was simple.
They weren’t saying to stop those two, but to silence soone who was sure to get involved sooner or later.
Although he fully understood their aning, Laius quietly turned away.
“I heard you were handling more than a few things in the Empire.”
“I’ve made arrangents so that things will be fine even in my absence, so there’s no need for you to worry, Brother.”
The tone of their conversation began to beco increasingly sharp.
Ludwin shot back coldly.
“I’ll assign a few people to escort you, so go back quickly before Father finds out. It’s not too late yet.”
“I refuse. I will decide where I stay.”
“t that mont, Llewellyn’s voice also began to openly reveal his anger.
“Excuse .”
A cold voice suddenly ca from the side.
Ludwin and Llewellyn paused.
As they turned their heads towards the direction where the voice ca from, a young knight with a sullen expression ca into view.
“I’m the one who decides where that guy will be. If you have any complaints, just tell . I’ll listen.”
“…”
Shekhinah and Salem, who were betrayed by Laius, chose to give up and just stare into space.
Ludwin, who had been looking at him blankly for a while, finally asked.
“What, what?”
“Didn’t you hear? I told you I’m the one who decides where he goes. I’m this guy’s employer.”
Arendt nodded and pointed to Llewellyn.
“His Imperial Highness sent us to the Everan Kingdom to provide assistance, so I persuaded him to co along. Despite his appearance, he’s more useful than you might think.”
Ludwin froze for a mont, not knowing where to begin.
The apprentice knight, who hadn’t missed the gap, continued speaking naturally.
“And honestly, I hated seeing him living comfortably in the Empire and doing research alone. It’s his own kingdom’s business, so I shouldn’t be the only one acting like a dog.”
“…”
“If you look closely, everything he does in the Empire is essentially my own doing. I even provided more than half of the funding. To be frank, if it weren’t for , he wouldn’t have been able to enjoy the sa level of treatnt and peacefully reside in the palace.”
Llewellyn, who had been listening quietly, responded in a trembling voice.
“…Are you cursing or taking my side? Just choose one.”
“I’m just listing the facts without any bias. I an, he should at least earn his keep.”
Arendt shrugged. Llewellyn, about to protest, put his hand to his forehead and sighed deeply.
“I was stupid to expect anything.”
“Do you get it now? You’re stupid.”
Ludwin’s expression grew peculiar as he watched the two exchange words.
‘What the heck…’
The entire royal family was always paying attention to the youngest prince’s whereabouts.
Because he was such a free spirited guy, sotis it was difficult to even figure out his location.
But at so point, Llewellyn established himself in the Caerleon Empire and began to move with the knights there.
‘It was quite unexpected.’
Because staying in one place for a long ti was not suited to Llewellyn’s nature.
Moreover, it was surprising that Crown Prince Cantares Al Caerleon readily accepted Llewellyn.
It wouldn’t have been an easy decision to treat a foreign prince as a noble guest, let alone have him accompany his own knights.
Moreover, the king, queen, and princes could not help but be worried and bewildered by the news that he had intervened in the battle against the Chernion Cult.
It was because they knew better than anyone that Llewellyn was not a man fit for the battlefield.
They were worried for a mont that he might be causing trouble.
It wasn’t long before they heard that Llewellyn was doing his part in the Empire.
‘And the trigger for that was that apprentice knight.’
At first, they thought that Llewellyn was influenced by Laius, but even that was completely off the mark.
“…I think it was Sir Arendt von Eckhart.”
Ludwin, who had been silent for a mont, opened his mouth.
“I understand your intentions, but this is the Everan Kingdom. That man is a prince of Everan. So, I think it’s a bit presumptuous of you to speak of this matter in that way.”
“As I said before, he was the one who begged not to treat him like a prince. And he’s taking responsibility for it now.”
But such common sense couldn’t have worked on Arendt.
“And I act arrogant even in front of His Imperial Highness. If I were to try to save his face in front of Your Highness now, it would only make His Imperial Highness look ridiculous, so just bear with it.”
“…”
It was clearly sophistry, but for so reason he couldn’t refute it.
Ludwin, who had been staring into space for a mont, soon began pressing his temples.
He was the one who had spent his whole life dealing with his eccentric younger brother, instead of the busy king, queen, and crown prince.
So he was confident that he wouldn’t even blink an eye at a common rascal…
It seed like that was an oversight.
“…So, in conclusion, you’re saying I shouldn’t interfere? Bringing Llewellyn all the way here was your doing, and it’s already been approved by His Imperial Highness. Even though he’s my blood?”
“I just told you. While we’re the ones suffering terribly, I couldn’t stand to see that guy resting comfortably. And frankly, Your Highness’ conscience seems a bit questionable for wanting to leave that troublemaker in another country for free.”
Arendt answered bluntly.
“There’s no such thing as a free lunch. You know that, Your Highness.”
“…Didn’t you say that Llewellyn did his share?”
“That’s just him paying the price for the money I paid.”
After a long silence, Ludwin objected, but it was a futile effort.
“Didn’t you consider the hardships it would take to stop soone who’s determined to go to the kingdom? Don’t you know better, Your Highness? He’s not the kind of person who’d stay put even if you told him not to go. What would you do if he were held in the Empire but tried to sneak away alone at night?”
“…”
“If he insisted on returning ho alone and ended up dying on the roadside, were you planning to hold the Empire responsible? Asking why we didn’t keep him under watch? In that case, it’s a hundred tis safer to have him accompany Captain Laius, the Empire’s finest swordsman.”
“No…”
The prince opened his mouth a few tis but then abruptly pinched between his eyebrows.
“…Better to just not say anything.”
It was effectively a declaration of defeat.
Having watched his troubleso younger brother for a long ti, he knew better than anyone that talking at length in situations like this was useless.
Only then did Laius, who had been silent, step forward quietly.
“I apologize. That guy’s way of speaking is really quite inappropriate.”
“…”
Shekhinah and Salem looked at Laius in bewildernt.
In fact, it was as if all the annoying bickering was left to Arendt.
anwhile, Salem, who was looking at the distant sky, gasped.
“Ah. The spirits are coming back.”
Beyond the sky where black smoke was rising, Ray and Luna were flying towards them.
While they were arguing pointlessly, they finished their reconnaissance.
The two spirits that had been circling above the group’s heads several tis finally settled on either side of Salem’s shoulders.
Salem’s shoulders seed a bit small because they had grown so much, but the spirits didn’t seem to mind.
Salem, who had been stroking Luna’s feathers for a mont, soon began to speak.
“…They say they haven’t seen anyone familiar. It’s safe to say there aren’t any people of interest like Jiklin, Roger, or the dragon right now.”
“So they couldn’t even identify the enemy leader?”
“No. Since it’s from the spirits’ perspective, I don’t really know up to that point.”
Salem nodded uncomfortably at Arendt’s question.
“We’ve confird that there are still survivors inside. Most appear to be trapped. And from where the smoke is rising…”
Salem swallowed hard and continued speaking.
“It looks like they’re burning the body parts. Maybe they’re disposing of the leftovers from the experint.”
Salem’s anxious gaze fell on Arendt.
“It seems that Sir Arendt’s guess was not wrong.”
The enemies occupied the territory to obtain materials to create ghouls and artificial spirit stones.
“And it seed like they were reorganizing their troops. I saw them redistributing weapons and handing out magic stones in the square.”
Anyone who saw it could tell that they were preparing for an attack.
“…If they’re using the people here to create soldiers, then it’s likely that Jiklin will appear after a certain amount of preparation has been made.”
Llewellyn nodded at Shekhinah’s words.
“Yes. That’s right. The magic stones they gave out are probably used to summon monsters… and if they’re also preparing weapons…”
Arendt, who had been listening quietly, spoke:
“The enemy will attack again soon.”
The enemy will invade again as soon as tonight, or perhaps tomorrow.
“Then there’s no ti to quibble here right now. We should hurry back and prepare for our guests. You can handle your sibling feud later.”
The apprentice knight shrugged and glanced at Ludwin.
The prince, eting his gaze, couldn’t help but sigh briefly and rub his forehead.
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