Top floor of the Knights’ High Building,

“Commander Helbert, a continental peace conference?”

It was the knight commander of the empire, speaking in a tone higher than usual.

Continental peace conference.

Everyone looked surprised.

The last time such a conference was convened, it was to discuss the Black Contamination that signaled the end of the continent.

“Top secret. Envoys from all countries will arrive within a month, so prepare accordingly.”

Yet Helbert seemed all too casual about this grave matter.

Despite the many questions and anxieties of those before him, his curt demeanor showed no intention of quelling their curiosity.

As he said, the empire was hosting the conference.

In one month, the conference would be held in Daeshinjeon, a neutral territory in this continent.

And the conference would be less about how to use the trees and more about how to take away the last remaining medicine in the world.

The emperor had organized such an obvious conference to quell the citizens’ fears about the possibility of war breaking out and to buy a month’s time to find a solution.

And Helbert decided to trust that strategy for now.

No, rather it was due to the unchanging fact that no strategy could avoid earning the hatred of the currently most powerful entity.

Helbert quickly exited the conference room after giving his orders.

“Commander, wait! We need more information! What’s going on?”

“There’s no more information.”

The remaining knight commanders tried to stop him, but he blocked all questions and left.

The matter was top secret, a critical conference involving envoys from all countries.

While the two commanders, one from the enemy and one from the empire, were distracted discussing the aftermath, Leon quickly followed Helbert.

“Commander!”

Leon gasped for air, indicating how far he had run.

“Give me a moment. I’ve got meetings all day and I’m busy.”

He already looked tired.

In fact, he was so assertive because he had to deal with chatty highranking nobles from this point on.

Even if it wasn’t about the content of the conference, there would be endless discussions about the representatives, exact time, and even the logistics tariffs of each country that needed to be resolved. It seemed he would suffer for several more days.

‘I should buy some snacks for the little one when this is over.’

Helbert, whose head was aching, remembered a moment that recently made him happy.

“I’m sorry. However, it seems we’re not proceeding without the Black Commander on this matter.”

Exactly.

Lucia had heard about it from Helbert yesterday, so even Vice Commander Berld was not included.

But Leon, who didn’t know about this situation, had run here so hurriedly to look out for her.

“Ah, I see. Well, there’s no stopping you. You’re amazing, even if you are my kid.”

Helbert had a face that wondered why a healthy guy was doing this, but Leon smiled at him gently, as always.

“Tch. Here, take this.”

It was a document he had prepared to send to each knight division later for procedural reasons.

A quick gain.

Receiving it without delay, Leon ran to Lucia.

Though he seemed to walk calmly, his steps were so light that he looked like a large puppy with a wagging tail.

Watching his retreating figure, Helbert shook his head, seemingly regretful knowing his daughter’s temperament.

“Tsk tsk, the young guy chose a tough path. Then again, that’s possible because he’s young.”

.

.

.

The sound made Lucia furrow her brows.

She was deep in thought.

The mountain of documents requiring her signature was one thing, but the real issue was the cost of addressing complaints.

The members brought solutions that were not really solutions, creating a chain of issues that eventually resulted in practical problems that needed addressing.

The original reason for founding the Black Knight Order was war.

And in the past, after the war ended, they were given two tasks.

Eliminating powerful monsters hidden in the mountain ranges and suppressing the revolts of the struggling populace due to the unstable empire, the coup d’etats, and the famine caused by the Black Contamination.

However, no orders have come to the knights now.

Perhaps it was the proposal received from the emperor not long ago.
He had halted all tasks to give time for consideration.

Truly, a wise person.

Giving time to think, yet ultimately, when a group gathers, doing nothing is not an option.

In the end, one has no choice but to decide quickly.

However, Lucia wanted to see the members’ intentions a little more.

Because if they accept the revised proposal, then significant changes would undoubtedly occur.

Unfortunately, time and practical costs did not allow her to observe for long.

‘If we were like the knights of the enemy, where complaints are the main job, we could bill for it…’

But despite Lucia’s deep contemplation, those who started this debacle, aside from the deputy leader, were undoubtedly somewhere fooling around.

The hardships were on the leader and the deputy leader.