Treatise Of A Failed Knight-Chapter 259: I Was A Fool

’How did this happen?’

Enrydral silently thinks to himself as he stares into the Knight’s abyssal gray eyes.

There was a time when he was the superior.

When he could give the order and this man would die in an instant.

Back then, he was a Noble Minister in the Emperor’s court, one of the few who were evacuated as a result of his importance.

Or rather, his Master’s importance.

He had power.

Knowledge.

Wealth.

But... It wasn’t enough.

As long as his Master kept overshadowing him, he would never be able to truly make a name for himself in the annals of history.

Thus, when an opportunity presented itself... he readily took it!

He knew his Master was preparing for this large project called The Great Bridgeworks—a masterpiece that would revolutionize travel and trade.

If his Master were to achieve this, there would no longer be any hope for him to make a grand debut.

So... he schemed.

He secretly allied himself with the growing rebellion and became their hidden informant.

Using his knowledge, he guided them towards the capital and provided them with the necessary means to take down the Northern Empire.

Of course, this wasn’t his true goal.

His aim was to ensure anyone who knew of the Great Bridgeworks would perish, leaving him as the sole owner of the concept.

But he couldn’t just kill Tyrrion without raising suspicion.

Thus, he revealed the hidden route the Imperial Family would use to retreat and told the Freedom Fighters to capture both him and Tyrrion so that attention would not be placed on him.

The plan was to kill Tyrrion once they were captured and returned to the Capital by the Freedom Fighters.

Once he was the sole one with the Great Bridgeworks plan, he would reach out to the other Great Nations and become their own hidden informant.

Together, they would take down Kalakuta and he would become the hero who helped create the road to the future.

His plan was perfect!

Even when the Imperial Family was retreating, he felt absolutely certain in his plan.

He knew they would never make it past the border due to the ambush waiting for them.

But then... he noticed something.

No, someone.

—The Knight!

Enrydral noticed the Knight’s unnatural fixation on his carriage, and for a moment, he thought he was being suspected.

Thus, he paid more attention to him.

That’s when he found out this person had great powers, one of which included a vision of the future.

At that point, Enrydral had to revise his plans.

The ambush could no longer work.

Thankfully, Enrydral was not suspected.

He didn’t have to use the Captain, whom he planned to sacrifice as the spy. Although the man ended up dying in the skirmish that followed, it turned out for the better for him.

His identity was still intact.

Of course, Enrydral had no way of knowing of Javier’s previous tries and what made Javier suspect the Captain.

In fact, it was still Enrydral’s scheme!

In one of Javier’s tries, even though he succeeded in taking down the most problematic Freedom Fighter—the Archer—and felt victory was assured, he still returned to meet Tyrrion dead and Enrydral accused the Captain of the act.

This was Enrydral’s scheme.

He was the one who killed his Master and then blamed it all on the Imperial Knight Captain when Javier appeared before him.

This diverted suspicion from him and created an entirely new narrative in Javier’s mind.

It didn’t help that the Captain had been acting rather suspiciously in his mind, which reinforced the idea that the Captain was the spy and not Enrydral.

There was also the fact that Javier had deep respect for Enrydral as a historical figure.

This bias blinded his eyes as well.

All of these worked to Enrydral’s favor, who managed to safely cross the border and reach No Man’s Land without getting caught.

It wasn’t his original plan, however, he had no choice but to improvise.

When they reached the Sanctuary, he began to notice the Knight’s sneakiness. He could tell the man was manipulative and was trying to control the Emperor.

Enrydral tried to stop this, of course.

Back then, he still had a lot of influence—especially in the eyes of the Emperor.

The Emperor confided in him often and also deeply respected the craft of his Master.

So, Enrydral used this to subtly manipulate the Emperor into remaining staunch in his desire to remain in the Sanctuary.

Indeed!

The Emperor’s stubbornness despite Javier’s suggestion for them to seek external help was all caused by Enrydral’s meddling.

But Javier did not suspect a thing.

In the end, Javier had to resort to his own scheme and poison the Emperor’s child, forcing the man’s hand to put his care as a father over the manufactured fear that Enrydral had planted in his mind.

Thus, Javier won again!

This frustrated Enrydral for multiple reasons.

One was the increasing relevance that the Knight was having in their lives.

He was too skilled.

Apart from being a Knight, he was also a Diviner, a Druid, and an Alchemist.

What next?

Enrydral began to fear the Knight.

He started to worry.

His initial plan once they reached the Sanctuary was to bide his time and find a way to contact Kalakuta’s forces.

He wanted to lead the Freedom Fighters into No Man’s Land so they could finish the work they started.

Unfortunately... The Knight’s power was far more than he bargained for.

Not only did he convince the Emperor of the plan to leave the Sanctuary, but he also revealed that he was part of a hidden order established by the old Emperor.

This made Enrydral very skeptical, but he could not disprove it. The Knight had now gained more importance than even him.

He had to be more careful. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

The trip to the Central Plains was even more eye opening, as Enrydral saw firsthand how manipulative and politically astute Javier was.

He saw an intelligent man.

A powerful foe.

One that had to be urgently eliminated.

How else would he be able to kill Tyrrion and receive all the glory of the Great Bridgeworks?

And he had the perfect plan for that.

In fact, he already implemented it when they were at the shore of the Northern Continent.

A message... to the Freedom Fighters!

Thus, when Javier returned to the shores alongside Tyrrion and Enrydral, they were met with an ambush.

Fortunately, Javier did not suspect him yet again. In fact, Enrydral had planned to blame one of the Knights left behind in No Man’s Land and tie him to the deceased Captain.

But it seemed Javier was already thinking along those lines.

This is simply because Javier had confirmed this from Enrydral in his past try, which Enrydral would naturally not remember.

This statement was. however, false.

Enrydral simply had to divert suspicion away from himself when Javier prematurely knew of the ambush due to his ’Divination’

He didn’t think Javier would survive his encounter with Kalakuta.

Thus, it was a temporary way to gain Javier’s trust. Once Javier died, he would have free rein to kill Tyrrion and also lead the Freedom Fighters to the Sanctuary.

The plan was perfect yet again.

But...

... Enrydral didn’t account for one major variable.

—Kalakuta’s code.

Their entire group was spared due to Javier surrendering, thus Enrydral could not get what he desired.

Javier survived somehow!

How??

Why didn’t Kalakuta simply kill him!

Enrydral was enraged.

He had heard that Kalakuta was an upright man, but these were mere rumors and statements made by passersby.

He actually didn’t personally know the Ebony Giant and had never met him.

Thus, he was truly surprised when he gave them the chance to surrender and the Knight took it.

He was already certain of his and Tyrrion’s survival, since that was one of the main conditions of his deal with Kalakuta.

But Javier was supposed to die!

Why didn’t he die?!

If only Enrydral knew that Javier had actually died twice because of his trap...

In fact, if we are to count how many times Javier died because of Enrydral alone, it would be a sizable number.

But Javier kept learning from his mistakes and improving.

This couldn’t be observed by Enrydral.

In the end, Javier was simply more powerful than he expected and also uncontrollable.

Enrydral wanted Kalakuta to eliminate him, but they became friends instead.

His plans entered disarray many times, and he had to keep updating it. His next strategy was to kill Tyrrion and frame it as an accident so he would reap the glory of completing the Great Bridgeworks and leave his Master’s shadow once and for all.

But now... Javier has caught him!

’How unfortunate...’ Enrydral grits his teeth as his lips curl up to form an ugly grin.

’Why don’t I have any luck?!’

*********

’What a disappintment...’ I think to myself as I stare at the young man in my clutches.

I could kill him with a single squeeze if I so desire, but a solemn emotion courses through me and I am forced to reflect.

To be honest, I am truly disappointed.

Not just in Enrydral Lanternmaker, but also in myself.

I was a fool.

I was so stupid... blinded by this man’s charms. I didn’t see what was happening before my eyes until it was too late.

’Why didn’t I connect the dots sooner?’

I go through the memories of all my past tries and piece the puzzle slowly. There is only one main constant that would have the ability and motive to be the spy.

It is this man!

He framed the Captain in one of my past tries after killing Tyrrion. In fact, even before then, his actions made the Captain appear more suspicious in my eyes.

It was all intentional—a way to divert attention from himself.

When I think about it, the Freedom Fighters wanting both Tyrrion and Enrydral was the perfect way to cover up the real spy.

It was all perfectly calculated by this man.

’My preconceived notion and historical knowledge blinded me from the truth until it was already too late.’

That’s why... I didn’t figure this out until I had another reset.

Yes...

I failed Apotheosis already.

After killing Kalakuta the first time, I thought it was already over. The Great Bridgeworks continued according to plan, until I received a report of Tyrrion mysteriously dying in an accident.

This caused me to return to the past yet again!

I failed!

It was a very dangerous thing!

I didn’t even realize what had happened and why I had failed this time around.

At least... not immediately.

I first thought saving Tyrrion from the accident would save him. But then, I thought very deeply about the matter.

I decided to truly explore the situation.

Then it struck me—

’What if there is someone scheming against me the same way I am scheming against Kalakuta?’

The plan I had against Kalakuta opened my eyes to this possibility really well.

There could be a hidden enemy I wasn’t aware of. If such a person existed, who would they be, and how would they be able to sabotage my plans?

It didn’t take me very long to figure it all out once I really started looking.

It’s Enrydral.

It has always been Enrydral.

’I had to kill Kalakuta again because I failed the previous try. The only reason I failed is because of you, Enrydral...’ I sigh deeply as I glare at the man who keeps smiling shamelessly at me.

He clearly has no remorse for his actions.

I despise this man so much!

He has no idea how much I cried the first time I killed Kalakuta—how heavy my heart was.

Does he know how difficult the battle was?

How fierce that moment was?

Yet all of them were eroded once I returned to the past and had to repeat the same thing.

"You really deceived me... but I guess it is only fitting." I regain my composure and smile at Enrydral.

As a traitorous snake, I now understand what it feels like to be on the receiving end.

It is not a pleasant feeling.

But this is fine.

I have now realized all my mistakes, most importantly the error in assumptions.

History is not synonymous with truth.

It can be distorted.

And in a strange world like a Trial Scenario, the already distorted historical events can be even more twisted.

This means that while historical knowledge is very pertinent in passing a Trial Scenario, I cannot fully rely on it.

’With you being exposed, I have found the final problem that stands in the way of my ascension.’

I tighten my grip on Enrydral, prepared to snap his neck.

Then—

"D-don’t do it!" Tyrrion suddenly steps forward with a loud scream. "Unhanx my ignorant disciple right now!"

"What...?"

I turn towards Tyrrion, my face displaying all kinds of emotion.

"This man is a traitor. He took the glory for all your achievements, and he would have killed you if I hadn’t stopped him, you know?"

"Hmph!" Tyrrion folds his hands as he glares at me with very deep stubbornness.

"If you kill him, I will no longer work on the Great Bridgeworks with you."