After the eting.
The knight captains withdrew, leaving only Arendt and the Crown Prince in the office.
Arendt put a snack, one that he hadn’t touched before, into his mouth.
“I just received word from the Neumann rchant Guild. Soone trying to spread the Chernion faith in the Lucain Kingdom has been arrested. He wasn’t a ghoul or a priest, but a regular believer. He doesn’t seem to have been brainwashed.”
“…Weren’t you not going to eat those?”
Arendt replied shalessly to Cantares’ question.
“The Captain left. There’s no reason not to eat what’s there.”
In the end, it ant that he had deliberately not touched the snacks in order to tease Laius.
Captain Laius, as naive as ever, was fooled once again.
Cantares glanced at him.
“Real mature.”
“We need so entertainnt like this. Life is already tough.”
It wasn’t funny to see him sitting with his legs crossed in an elegant posture, picking up a snack and eating it.
“They say even in the Allied Nations, many are turning their backs on the Luce Temple. That might be the influence. At least they’re not joining the enemy.”
“It’s fortunate that he didn’t get beaten to death while trying to proselytize.”
Arendt added, sipping his tea with refinent.
“We’ve been trying to do sothing about it. We’ve been actively spreading good about Captain Laius, including the story that he betrayed the Great Temple.”
The leaflets that had spread throughout the Empire reached other kingdoms. This was possible thanks to the leaders of those nations choosing to turn a blind eye.
That alone was enough to show where Nephele, Lucain, and the Everan Kingdom stood.
‘I guess that ans they’re more reluctant to turn their backs on that foul-tempered apprentice knight than to anger the gods.’
It was mind-boggling.
“The imdiate problem is within the Empire.”
Arendt put down his teacup and continued.
“…Has there been no response from the Great Temple yet?”
“The priests are actively working for now.”
Cantares frowned slightly as he thought for a mont.
“The High Priest didn’t make any specific statent.”
“I thought so.”
Arendt folded his arms and leaned back against the sofa.
The Great Temple had previously announced that it would not interfere in any battlefield where Laius and Arendt were involved in.
However, in this situation, remaining silent would be against the will of the Luce Order, which advocates ‘rcy’.
Perhaps for this reason, the temple spared no effort in providing support, such as treating the injured and assisting with funerals.
“I thought they would at least say a word of encouragent or consolation.”
“Well, they must be busy too. Besides, saying sothing just for appearances doesn’t really suit High Priest Lumiel.”
Although she did not hesitate to enter politics when necessary, she was ultimately a kind priest.
Perhaps she decided that silently helping to resolve the situation was the best way to bring honor to Luce’s na.
And that was a remarkably effective way to win people’s hearts.
After a brief pause, Arendt spoke up.
“Petty tricks are only suitable for people like Your Highness and . Especially when lives are at stake.”
“The High Priest is no pushover either, but… I cannot deny your words.”
Cantares smiled bitterly.
The confrontation between Arendt and Lumiel was of an extrely bizarre nature.
They knew and trusted each other better than anyone else, yet they never backed down even an inch.
Whether or not he was aware of what the Crown Prince thought about all this, Arendt seed lost in thought.
“Still, please keep an eye on the situation. I know you can’t directly interfere, but you know what I an.”
“Okay, you cheeky brat.”
Cantares let out a short laugh..
Now that the Imperial Family had sided with Arendt and Laius, the Great Temple had beco an area that even the Imperial Family could not easily intervene in.
If they recklessly asked the temple for help or tried to reestablish ties, it could end up looking like they were once again bowing to the authority of Luce.
For now, it was best to maintain a precarious balance based on an amicable relationship with Lumiel.
Which ant that, should anything unexpected happen, it would be hard for either side to interfere with each other.
“To be honest, I’m more worried about you than the temple. They were pretty clearly targeting you again.”
“I can handle myself. You know I’m incredibly capable, after all.”
“…You’re as shaless as ever.”
It was truly frustrating that he couldn’t deny it.
Arendt added with a shrug.
“For now, I plan to avoid going out alone as much as possible. There’s no need to create unnecessary trouble. I’ll borrow a spirit from Salem, so don’t worry about it.”
“…”
Cantares’ expression changed subtly.
‘It seems like he softened a bit.’
His rude tone remained the sa. His ridiculous antics remained unchanged.
Because of the series of extre situations, there were definitely parts that beca more sensitive and sharp.
But all things aside, Arendt seed sohow calr than before.
‘He feels more stable, but…’
At the sa ti, it seed like he had beco even more unfathomable than before.
Even though he seed like a very childish young master, he would suddenly show a cold, expressionless apperance, making it hard to even approach him.
He was like that originally, but recently the gap seed to be more evident.
“Why are you looking at like that? No matter how much you look, it won’t change the fact that I’m handso.”
“…You annoying bastard.”
“And His Majesty?”
Arendt elegantly sipped his tea and changed the subject. Cantares rolled his eyes but obediently answered.
“He said he won’t be back for a while. He said it was for safety reasons, but…”
When Cantares trailed off, Arendt added in his stead.
“I see His Majesty intends to hand over full authority to Your Highness.”
“I think so. He’ll probably return to the palace after things have cald down a bit.”
“What about the opposition from the nobles?”
“It’s okay for now. Of course, there are those who don’t like it, but they can’t argue with His Majesty’s decision.”
After all, the Crown Prince had always been in charge of commanding the battlefield.
With the administration now virtually paralyzed, there was virtually nothing the Emperor could do while remaining here.
“And I’ve heard that the Allied Nations have sent reinforcents.”
On the very day the Imperial Palace was turned into a battlefield, the Allied Nations sent reinforcents to the Empire.
They acted first and then notified them, fearing that Cantares might decline.
Cantares groaned.
“I decided to accept it because it seed rude to refuse further… because honestly, things aren’t going so great for us either.”
“That’s good news.”
Arendt took a sip of tea and smiled slyly.
“If we’re going to do this, it might even be fun to stab the gods in the back together. Couldn’t Your Highness try charming them a bit more?”
“Be serious. Just getting them to turn a blind eye to your antics was already more than enough. And I never said I’d help you stab God Luce in the back. I just asked you to prove it yourself.”
“That’s the sa thing, after all. You just didn’t insult them directly. Honestly, what’s the difference between spitting on the temple and that?”
“Don’t go running your mouth like that.”
“Why not? Since my mouth has already opened, I should be able to speak freely. Life is already tough enough. Do I have to censor my words now?”
The two started to bicker.
Bang bang bang!
A sowhat hasty knock suddenly interrupted the conversation between the Crown Prince and the apprentice knight.
“Your Highness, are you there? It’s Kendrick!”
It was Kendrick, who had left just an hour ago. When Jereon opened the door, Kendrick ca in with an urgent look.
“I apologize for the sudden intrusion, Your Highness. I have co to see you because an urgent report has arrived.”
Cantares’ expression hardened. He had a gut feeling that sothing unusual had happened.
“What’s going on?”
“A homunculus was summoned in a city near the capital.”
Kendrick continued quickly. Arendt, who had been listening quietly, narrowed his eyes.
“The city administration appears to be completely paralyzed. After a single rescue request, communications were severed. They’re evacuating people, but it’s safe to say more than half the city is already in ruins.”
“What is the form of the homunculus?”
Kendrick imdiately answered Arendt’s question.
“It seems to be the sa as what appeared in the palace. The report I received was this: An unidentified enemy disguised as Chernion is ravaging the city.”
“…These bastards are really annoyingly quick on their feet.”
Cantares swore under his breath and sprang to his feet.
“Prepare to depart. Do we have enough troops who can fight?”
“Captain Diana and Captain Laius are already on the move. There are a lot of casualties, and we plan to only recruit those who can fight without difficulty, including those with minor injuries.”
“Wait a mont.”
Arendt suddenly interrupted Kendrick’s response.
“We must deploy as few units as possible. The enemy’s surprise attack won’t be a one-ti event. It will undoubtedly erupt sporadically throughout the Empire.”
Before either of them could respond, Arendt continued quickly.
“There aren’t many homunculi left in their hands. If my guess is correct, two or three more will be summoned.”
It certainly made sense. Kendrick looked at Arendt with a calr expression.
“Please continue.”
“We shouldn’t move large numbers of troops now. The homunculi are no longer their main force. They’re rely expendable.”
“Are you saying that this attack is bait?”
Kendrick nodded as Cantares frowned slightly.
“It could be a deliberate attempt to disperse the Imperial forces in the capital. I believe that’s what Sir Arendt was trying to get at. And yes, I’ve already considered that possibility.”
“More importantly, Captain Laius must never leave the capital.”
Arendt looked straight at Kendrick and hamred the nail in.
“Absolutely not. Since Lord Lexion has yet to recover, moving quickly is impossible. If the main force, including the Captain, were to vacate the capital in this situation, irreversible consequences could occur.”
Kendrick asked after a brief pause.
“Do you have any good suggestions? I’m listening.”
“…”
Arendt remained silent for a while, clearly deep in thought.
And after a while, he started speaking again.
“Now that it’s like this, let’s move Stellar and Warren. The captains should try to stay out as much as possible.”
The two of them were planning to leave soon to find traces of Nikephoros anyway.
“With adequate support, both of them should be able to deal with the homunculi without difficulty. So, for now, send Stellar out with the elf warriors and knights. Keep Warren on standby for now, and deploy him as soon as we hear news of the next attack.”
Since both of them had fast mobility, responding quickly to the enemy wouldn’t be a problem.
“After the homunculus is sorted out, tell Stellar and Warren to go straight to finding traces of Nikephoros. Leave the cleanup to the people who went with them. The rest wouldn’t be of much help in the search anyway.”
Arendt finished speaking and looked up at Kendrick again.
“For now, this is my suggestion. I think it would be best for the captains to stay within the palace as much as possible. Of course, the choice is yours.”
“…It’s ridiculous to say that much and leave the choice up to us.”
Kendrick chuckled.
“That fellow nad Stellar. Did he agree to cooperate? With Lord Lexion injured, I doubt he’d leave his side easily.”
“He’s a bit stubborn, but it won’t be a problem.”
Arendt shrugged.
“He’ll move now. We made a promise.”
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