95. Beggar Siblings – Meeting

The lobby, with the fireplace crackling away.

The floor was covered in a carpet, and several pieces of furniture necessary for everyday life filled the space, yet it felt desolate as about ten knights gathered there.

The Second Knight Commander, Third Knight Commander, Deputy Commander of the First Knight Order, and Captain of the Royal Knights were all flashy figures who didn’t quite belong in the shabby building of the back alleys.

They were all knights that the Conrad Kingdom took pride in and had sworn loyalty to Leo.

[ Achievement: Master-Servant Relationship – ‘216’, As long as their loyalty is unwavering, those who have sworn allegiance will trust and follow Leo. ]

Three weeks had passed since Leo met the Cardinal and returned. After receiving news that the king would soon pass away, he hastily summoned the knights.

Now, only those without secure loyalty remained, so Leo concocted a plan for cautious introductions.

Newly introduced knights would first meet Bart for a conversation, and only if they felt a firm commitment to loyalty would Leo show himself. If not, the person who introduced them would gently persuade them to leave, saying, “For the sake of my face, please don’t report Sir Bart.”

Among those sent away, quite a few would have sworn loyalty if they had seen Leo, but it couldn’t be helped.

Many, like Alvin, Bart’s close friend, knew that Leo was alive but still didn’t swear loyalty, leaving them in a highly dangerous situation.

‘If only we had a bit more time…’

Wasting time on assassinating Gilbert Forte now felt like a regret, but that was already in the past.

“Your Highness!”

“Your Highness!”

Leo sat at the head of the large table in the lobby, surveying the knights he had summoned.

These were representatives among the 216 knights who had sworn loyalty to Leo.

Now that the number had become too large, it was unreasonable to summon all the knights at once or give orders individually, so Leo utilized the knight order’s structure.

The knights typically formed teams of two, occasionally three, and ten teams formed a knight brigade (队), which would then come together to form a knight order (团).

The number of brigades within a knight order differed from kingdom to kingdom.

This was due to the varying numbers of knights each kingdom possessed: Belita Kingdom boasted 450 knights, allowing for 7 to 8 brigades in one knight order. In contrast, the Conrad Kingdom was structured into one order with 5 brigades.

Accordingly, Leo unofficially restructured into two knight orders, temporarily designating leaders for each brigade and selecting the knight commanders.

If a knight could not bring their junior or mentor, they were paired with knights in the same situation or grouped into teams of three.

Exceptionally, Jenia Jaqueri and Bart were not included in any knight order.

Jenia was exclusively a guard knight for Lena, and Bart had his strong personal desire. He hoped to remain with his four longtime companions, former royal knights.

Leo fully recognized his feelings and grouped them as one team, not including them in any knight order.

The temporary knight commanders and brigade leaders who had paid their respects to the prince gathered around the table one by one.

They took the opportunity to warmly greet each other.

“Jenia, long time no see. You left the knight order and are doing well?”

“Yes, Deputy Commander. I’m doing very well. Here, take this.”

“Thank you. It’s the first time I’ve received tea from Jenia in my life… Oh dear. I’m going to spill it.”

“Hahaha.”

Pretending it was a mistake, Jenia swung a tray holding a teapot and teacups dramatically, causing laughter to erupt in the room.

Everyone here knew she had left the knight order to guard the princess. Furthermore, they all understood that due to security concerns, neither handmaidens nor servants could be used, so Jenia had taken on various tasks in their hideout.

Of course, it was not at all shameful, so Jenia was confident, and the knights respected her.

“Thank you, Jenia.”

“It’s nothing, Your Highness.”

Leo also expressed his gratitude to Jenia publicly before opening the meeting.

“Now, this will be the final meeting. Unless anything special happens, the day after tomorrow we will oust Prince Eric de Yeriel and restore royal discipline.”

At his quiet declaration, the knights nodded in silence.

A few lightly clapped their hands before awkwardly retracting them.

Though Leo had become somewhat accustomed to commanding vassals, he still recognized his limitations in moments like this.

A great leader would inspire motivation with elegant words this moment or command respect with imposing dignity.

However, Leo lacked such capabilities, so he resorted to a fallback plan.

He discarded formality and tried to give the impression that ‘I dislike unnecessary sentiments and only pursue efficiency.’

Leo immediately got to the point.

“Before we take action, a crucial proposal has come in, which is why I gathered everyone here. Bart.”

“Yes.”

“Though it may be troublesome, could you explain the existing plan?”

Bart stood up from his seat.

He began by emphasizing the necessity of killing Duke Rupert Tertan.

“First of all, there shouldn’t be anyone against the idea of killing Duke Rupert Tertan. After all, he is the chief instigator behind expelling Prince Leo. We should eliminate him first to scatter the focus of the nobles. Thus, the plan was to kill the duke ‘first’ and then drive out Prince Eric.”

“However…”

“But the problem is the order. Why must we kill the duke before ousting Prince Eric? I believe this is where Sir Hazen offered his suggestion…”

Bart continued his argument, blocking Sir Hazen, the Second Knight Commander, from interrupting.

“As everyone knows, it’s about justification. Right now, our Prince Leo holds justification. He was unjustly expelled by overwhelming force, so his claim to reclaim the throne by strength holds legitimacy.”

While Bart’s somewhat agitated voice resonated, Jenia quietly moved around, presenting simple snacks like cookies in front of the knights.

Everyone hesitated, stealing glances at the prince, unsure whether to reach out.

“However, after we oust Prince Eric, we will lose that justification. If we attempt to remove the duke at that point, the world will call Prince Leo a tyrant, and there’s a chance that the nobles might rebel. A significant portion of them are not innocent, after all. If we act after the restoration, they will fear being purged themselves and oppose the prince.”

“What do you propose then?”

“…We might need to take a bit of a risk. We should split our forces and strike at Prince Eric and the duke simultaneously. We would strike the duke first, then rush to the palace to eliminate Prince Eric… as long as we can quickly deal with the duke before he escapes, any approach would suffice. But I believe hitting both at once from the start would be best.”

“Hmmm…”

As Hazen leaned back, having expressed his thoughts, the knights’ gazes shifted to the prince.

Regardless of circumstances, the ultimate decision on all operations lay with Leo.

Leo momentarily rubbed his forehead, falling into thought.

‘I must deal with the duke…’

In reality, it wasn’t absolutely necessary to kill Duke Tertan. Just a raid with 200 knights to capture Prince Eric would suffice.

From Minseo’s perspective, that was the case.

As long as they could somehow make Lena the princess, it would be a success; it felt unnecessary to take on the risk of dealing with the duke too, which was surely contrary to Minseo’s wish.

Leo anxiously rubbed his brows.

Unfortunately, Leo had his own position to consider. This was a matter tied to his ‘future.’

For Minseo, it would be enough just to slip away after seeing the clear outcome… but what about him?

He had to think about his ‘life after the ending,’ so a simple princess ending wouldn’t satisfy him. At the very least, he wanted to avoid an ending marred by an all-out civil war.

As his resolve strengthened, Bart shook Leo back to reality.

With confidence, he declared, “Your Highness! I think that’s a good plan. I’ll take care of Duke Tertan. I don’t need many knights to help me. No matter the cost, I will handle the duke.”

Leo calculated internally at Bart’s solid words.

“Right. With Bart around and my {Tracking Skill}, I doubt anything unfortunate will happen, even splitting our forces. If I head to the palace, I can’t miss Prince Eric.”

“Very well. Let’s strike at both Prince Eric and Duke Tertan simultaneously.”

Upon the prince’s decisive command, the knights gathered around the table became busy tinkering with new strategies.

Jenia Jaqueri subtly joined in.

“Your Highness, there are about 60 royal knights and over a thousand royal guards stationed at the palace…”

“Your Highness, the Duke’s house has about 50 knights, and we estimate that the household has roughly…”

“Well then, regarding personnel distribution…”

Hazen, pleased that his suggestion had been accepted, showed lively enthusiasm, and Bart sported a broad smile with no sign of discontent.

‘I will definitely take his head and offer it to the souls of my comrades!’

With a chilling smile dripping with malice, Bart, while stroking his beard, sneaked glances at Hazen.