Chapter 33: 32

“What should I do……”

Feeling his chest become stuffy, Khalid sighed once more. As his worries deepened and his mind couldn’t find a way out, the frequency of his sighing had increased significantly these days.

“What are you talking about? If it’s about accepting the 1st Prince’s proposal, just like what I said before, I’m for it.”

Hearing Khalid’s murmur, Nasir quickly expressed his opinion. Then, when Khalid’s eyes became fierce, he closed his mouth again.

“Tsk.”

Khalid glanced at him disapprovingly and clicked his tongue. Since yesterday, whenever he had time, Nasir had been poking Khalid on the side to tell the man to accept the proposal. He was doing that because of a meeting two days ago.

On that day, Khalid convened the executives of the Knights Order, which included Nasir and Amavand, to explain Renato’s proposal in detail and listen to their opinions.

Although it was a three-year contract, many things would change when he accepted Renato’s offer because it was in the form of a marriage proposal.

It was necessary to listen to the knights’ opinions because if he accepted the offer, they would have to be entangled in the Empire’s politics and leave the kingdom. It was difficult to decide on his own.

‘I’m for it. It will need some adjustment, but we will only profit and won’t lose anything.’

‘Whether a royal prince or a princess, a successor will be born soon, so…… I don’t think the situation will be any better than it is now when you return to the kingdom after your term is over. In that case, why don’t we start anew here……’

‘With all due respect, what has Her Majesty the Queen done for you? She said it was to become a diplomatic ambassador, but in reality, we were just kicked out. Now we have to find a way to live as well.’

‘He doesn’t ask you to make the 2nd Prince the Crown Prince, he’s just asking you to protect him so that he won’t die. That much is easy, right? And Esteban territory…… Honestly, isn’t it appealing?’

Contrary to Khalid’s expectation that there would be intense discussions between the pros and cons, the executives gathered at the meeting all wanted him to accept Renato’s proposal. And all of them complained about Maryam. The dissatisfaction of the knights was much greater than Khalid had expected.

‘If there is anything I wish for as your aide, I hope that you can think for yourself first this time rather than benefits for the kingdom or assistance for Her Majesty, your highness.’

‘In the first place, I am loyal to Commander-nim, not the entire kingdom. And all the other guys are the same as me, aren’t they? Whatever decision you make, I will follow you, so please do as you please.’

Among them, Nasir and Amavand were the ones that actively supported the most. As Amavand said, most of the knights were saved by Khalid on the battlefield or joined because of their admiration for his ability.

In addition, there were quite a few knights who were originally illegitimate children like Khalid. For those who had skills but were rejected because they were illegitimate children and could not fulfill their dreams, Black Wolf Knights Order was a life-changing opportunity, and Khalid was the savior of their miserable lives. Therefore, they were loyal to Khalid, not to the Khan Kingdom.

“The 1st Prince didn’t ask for an answer today, so please don’t worry too much.”

“That’s true, but…… It is not polite to postpone an answer.”

“It’s a matter that could change your life, isn’t it? He’d understand it too. Let’s think about that later and finish our work first. We’ll be at Baker 13th Street soon.”

Nasir looked out the window and grabbed his sword. Currently, they were moving after receiving information that there was an organization that smuggled medicinal herbs from the Khan Kingdom.

“It’s been a while since I’ve warmed up.”

Nasir said with a smile. Having not used his sword in the past few months, his body felt itchy.

“By the way, smuggling, how bold…… It would be nice if we could find out who did it from the kingdom side.”

“It’s highly likely that the nobles were also involved in this, right?”

“Of course. Judging by the scale of smuggling we’ve seen at the Frey merchant guild, it’s definitely not the work of a single herbalist. Surely someone must be behind them.”

Nasir confidently said his thoughts. The Khan Kingdom’s main exports such as furs, medicinal herbs, and minerals, especially rare medicinal herbs such as kesnip which only grew in the alpine regions, were the kingdom’s main source of income.

In order to secure national finances, the royal family took rare medicinal herbs as a monopoly and forbade the act of collecting or selling them privately. Then, through bidding, they sold the exclusive selling rights to the merchant guilds that could pay the highest price in each country. Instead, the royal family took full responsibility for the smuggling issue.

Count Frey, who had the monopoly on the import and distribution rights of kesnip in the Empire, received information about smuggling a few days ago and immediately contacted the diplomatic office.

Originally, it was supposed to be done with the cooperation of the Empire’s security force, but the Frey family requested that he move as soon as possible, which made this Khalid’s first job as a diplomatic ambassador and military cooperation advisor.

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“I hope it was a member of the noble faction if possible. Only then will that wicked Duke Vint get a blow.”

“We will find out who they were when we catch and interrogate them all. And try to subdue them rather than kill them. You know we have to speed things up because there is a risk of destroying evidence, right?”

“Of course I know. Ah, and in the morning, the Frey merchant guild said they would send some mercenaries they had hired, but I refused.”

“Good job. Did the people there evacuate?”

“Sir Amavand in the advance party decided that he would ask for cooperation while carrying out the siege, but I don’t know if it worked out or not. People in the backstreets aren’t the kind of people that we can talk to, right?”

“Still, we have to make sure the people get hurt as little as possible. If a resident unrelated to the smugglers gets injured, public opinion about us will deteriorate.”

“Of course. I’ll tell them to be careful.”

As soon as Nasir finished speaking, the carriage stopped. Khalid let Nasir go first and pressed down on his black robe. When he got off the carriage, he saw that the knights who had finished preparing were closely surrounding the alley of 13th Street.

“Go in.”

Khalid glanced briefly at the alley that was only dimly lit even in broad daylight, and then immediately sent a hand signal to Amavand. Taking the lead, he melted into the darkness of the backstreet.

* * *

What the hell is going on?

Baikal desperately thought, his face pressed against the desk. He had to get his body up to run away, but his hands were pressed against the nape of his neck, making him unable to move. He felt like a worm caught in a spider’s web.

It was a morning like any other. A beggar-like but peaceful daily life, when he treated thugs who were injured while fighting amongst themselves, and sorted out medicinal herbs brought by the organization that took control of 13th Street.

That peaceful day was broken only a few minutes ago. Baikal was subdued in the blink of an eye by two people who suddenly stormed into his workshop.

“Who are you? Why are you doing this……”

This is not a normal person. After rolling in the backstreet for two years, his intuition told him that the one who attacked him wasn’t just a gangster. It was obvious that this person had received systematic training, like a knight or a security guard.

Could this be a security guard that received information? Perhaps they knew he smuggled medicinal herbs.

When his thoughts reached that point, cold sweats dripped down his back. Then, with small sounds of footsteps, a shadow fell over Baikal’s head.

“Baikal Witcher.”

“Pardon?”

“Are you ‘Baikal Witcher’, the teaching assistant in the Faculty of Medicine who was kicked out of the academy two years ago? I know that you were discovered to have embezzled various medicinal herbs that Professor Rachel had taken for research, including rare medicinal herbs from the Khan Kingdom, and was expelled because of that.”

Baikal’s eyes widened because of the unexpected question. The words said in the clear voice were his past that no one knew except the head of the organization that dominated the backstreet here on Baker 13th Street.

“H, how……”

Surprised, Baikal raised his eyes and looked up at the person who was talking to him. Because of the robe, all he could see was the person’s small lips and slender chin, but that person could not hide his noble and elegant aura.

A noble, and obviously quite of a high ranking.

Baikal was almost certain of the identity of the person standing in front of him. If so, it was most likely that the person subduing him was his guard knight. In other words, it meant he couldn’t run away. But why? For what purpose? His deep blue eyes fluttered violently.

“I, I…… I made a mistake, but only once!”

Feeling a sense of crisis, Baikal hurriedly protested. He stole kesnip because of his younger sister who had a pheromone disorder. Kesnip was a rare medicinal herb that could only be found in the Khan Kingdom and had been used as a material for high-grade inhibitors or hormone drugs because of its excellent effect on Alphas’ and Omegas’ pheromone control.

However, for him, the eldest son of a poor baron, it was an expensive medicine that was no different from a pie in the sky. However, he could not give up on his sister. Making a medicine using kesnip as the main ingredient could alleviate the symptoms of the incurable disease that had plagued his sister for several years.

In the end, Baikal used his status as a teaching assistant in the Faculty of Medicine to steal a small amount of kesnip that the professor in charge of the research had taken. Professor Rachel did it occasionally as well, so he thought he’d be fine. However, he was caught in an academy inspection.

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