The Betrayal of the Hero
Colos had no choice but to seethe with rage upon returning late at night from Kallis Territory.
He had received an utterly absurd report.
At the territory army training camp, Arthur had slapped his son Colton across the face and even broken his arm.
And that, right in front of the Press family servants and maids.
Clang!
He hurled his cup at the wall with all his might.
The glass shattered into pieces, scattering around Lauden, but he didn't so much as blink.
"You stopped him?"
"Yes."
Arthur had already returned home.
Colos's head throbbed painfully.
"What the hell for?"
"Because it was necessary."
Lauden gave a full briefing on the day's events, even though Colos undoubtedly already knew the details.
"If the knights had killed Arthur there, the territory army's reputation would have plummeted into the dirt. Besides, Arthur is the son of the hero Acaus."
"We made that hero's name. You and I rode the same boat, didn't we!"
"...Who did?"
Lauden blinked in disbelief.
"You think we rode the same boat? I haven't forgotten a single moment of it. You and the knights, blinded by greed. And moreover!"
Veins bulged in Lauden's neck.
"Acaus, who desperately tried to stop that bastard from entering the territory, wailing that countless lives would be lost if he did. You say we made him? No, he was a hero. Watch your words."
Lauden uncrossed his arms from behind his back.
A clear signal that he was done with formalities.
"He was a hero, and we are the cowards who abandoned that hero and fled."
"...Get out."
Colos added nothing more.
He wasn't Knight Captain for nothing.
His mind raced with calculations.
I need to kill Lauden too. Is there a way...?
Lauden had finally snapped after holding back for so long.
The only reason Colos had kept him alive was that the territory army's training results had improved dramatically under his watch compared to the past.
But this couldn't go on.
He needed a plan.
Then, Colos's eyes gleamed.
The dungeon. Use the dungeon.
New territory army recruits were sent straight into the dungeon upon arrival.
They had passed the entrance exam, but if they showed subpar conduct inside, their acceptance could be revoked on the spot.
That was part of why they went for dungeon training right away—to test them.
If they die inside, no one finds the body. Perfect timing for a sacrifice.
With a method to eliminate both Lauden and Arthur, Colos grinned wickedly.
A pursuit hawk watched from between the window frames.
Late at night.
Someone knocked on the door of the Press family residence.
Hans opened it, his eyes widening slightly in surprise.
"Instructor Lauden."
"Were you asleep?"
"No, sir. Here to see young master Arthur? I'll fetch him right away."
Hans hurried upstairs and knocked. Arthur, who hadn't been sleeping, emerged.
"Instructor Lauden is here."
"The instructor?"
Arthur looked puzzled.
Through his scout hawk, he knew there had been a brief argument between Colos and Lauden today.
That scheming look on his face... like he's plotting something.
The hawk couldn't read minds, of course.
Which was why Arthur was considering whether to deal with Colos and Colton swiftly.
He descended quickly.
"Care for a walk?"
"Yes."
Arthur was perplexed.
Made Father a hero? Blinded by greed and fled?
Something from his past life he hadn't known, stirring questions that had kept him awake.
"Seeing you today felt like seeing Sir Acaus again."
Arthur gave a wry smile.
"I've decided to tell you the story I've kept buried for so long."
Arthur's heart raced.
Lauden had come to answer his questions.
"Truth is, your father might as well have been killed by us."
With that, Lauden bowed deeply in apology.
"No, please—stand up."
Arthur spoke in a flustered tone.
Lauden slowly raised his head.
And began his tale.
Arthur was speechless.
Colos and his cronies needed to die as soon as possible, he confirmed.
And gratitude welled up for Lauden, who had been there.
When Arthur's father died, a monster called Baras had been rampant near the territory.
Arthur knew Baras well—a 4-star boss monster.
Dungeons pop up, and Monarch Game monsters spill into the fields sometimes.
That wasn't the point.
The key was Baras's deadly poison.
It spread through the air, paralyzing all life in moments.
Like being bound tight in spiderwebs.
That made Baras so dangerous.
When Acaus resolved to hunt it with the knights, a nearby mountain village had already been reduced to ruins by its poison.
The Iphillis Empire was asked for aid, but with war tensions boiling over domestically, none came.
So Acaus led the knights to slay Baras.
Lauden and Colos were both there.
They found Baras, surrounded by dozens of spiderlings hatched from its eggs.
The knights struggled to clear them.
Then Knight Colos spotted a massive treasure hidden in Baras's cave.
Baras is an event monster.
The Baras Arthur knew dropped gold and rare artifacts over time.
It was spawned for lords as an event.
At that sight, Colos and some knights grew greedier for the treasure than for killing Baras.
Watching Acaus battle fiercely, Colos calculated quickly.
Acaus would use the treasures for the territory's growth, not personal gain.
Ludicrously, even mid-fight, Colos asked what he'd do with it.
As expected, Acaus said he'd use it all for the poisoned villagers.
Then Colos and the knights turned.
They could live luxuriously forever with that treasure, unseen by others.
Colos and his men slaughtered Acaus and his allies.
Acaus was shocked mid-battle against Baras; Lauden was half-delirious from poison.
Colos spared him.
Killing everyone on Father's side would raise suspicions.
Left one survivor.
Lauden's last memory before blacking out: Father's lone back, still fighting Baras amid the betrayal.
When he awoke, bound tight, Colos's sword at his throat.
Lauden submitted then.
To live, out of sheer terror.
Anyone fears death.
Lauden was no exception.
Hiding it wasn't right, but now he was confessing.
"From now on, I'll reveal the full truth."
He had resolved.
Good enough.
He was ready to fight now.
No, it's impossible.
But Arthur knew.
And so did Lauden.
No one would listen.
Lauden knew, yet spoke—staking his life.
"It's my way to atone to Sir Acaus."
"Father wouldn't have hated you."
Lauden's eyes trembled at Arthur's words.
"You think so?"
He looked to the sky.
A night sky embroidered with stars and moon.
"Get Helen, the servants, and maids out of here soon."
"No. We're not leaving."
"You must!"
Lauden gripped Arthur's shoulders.
Recalling his past life, Arthur wondered at Lauden's fury.
Now it made sense.
Even mid-fight, Acaus kept glancing back at Lauden.
Those eyes seemed to plead: Protect my family.
Maybe that's why Lauden never spoke before.
To keep Arthur and his house safe.
"It's late."
Arthur gave no answer; Lauden left reluctantly.
Arthur gazed at the sky.
My father was a great man.
He had known.
Now confirmed again.
Fighting to protect the territory even with greedy traitors at his back.
Hero.
The title fit.
Arthur clenched his fist.
Now, I'll set everything right.
Revenge's trigger was cocked.
He turned to a large tree.
"You can come out now."
Silence.
Arthur crossed his arms, humming thoughtfully.
Then, a figure in a light brown robe emerged.
Arthur grinned, baring his teeth.
The robed one pointed an index finger at the ground.
"Entangle."
Rumble!
The earth shook as wooden vines burst forth, lunging for Arthur's feet.
He dodged back swiftly.
"That's going too far for a prank."
"You started it, apprentice."
She shed the robe—it was Instructor Orwen.
The only difference from her instructor days: long crimson hair.
"Unavoidable circumstances—surely you understand."
"Haa."
Orwen pressed her forehead.
This damn disciple of hers.
"So, how'd it go?"
"All survived except three apprentice lords."
"...!"
Orwen was shocked, despite asking.
Total annihilation raids usually killed 90% of lords.
Weird, but impressive guy.
"Care for a walk?"
Orwen nodded.
"You're in quite the bind."
Arthur gave a wry smile.
Orwen had arrived that morning, seen and heard much.
Just as she was about to summon him, Lauden had visited.
They walked into a quiet grove.
Orwen snapped her fingers; two chairs appeared.
They sat facing each other.
"Time to explain."
Orwen had rushed here.
Arthur had warned her of a massive disaster coming.
She pulled out the pledge scroll.