“Damon.”

“Oh, our prince, we almost got into big trouble. So, you shouldn’t leave me behind, especially in enemy territory…”

Damon lightly kissed Buford’s cheek and sweetly whispered.

Buford furrowed his brow as if slightly annoyed but didn’t impose any restrictions.

Damon chuckled, as if finding Buford cute, and created a black gate.

“Evil allies like us are likely to have their heads rolling under the righteous knights’ blades. So, let’s make our exit here.”

“Just a moment.”

“Don’t rush, righteous knight. Let’s meet again in three days at the Alliance Conference.”

With Buford embraced, Damon withdrew, lightly waving her fingers.

Kalia silently observed as the disappearing demon and Buford vanished through the black rift.

* * *

“What? The Prince of Akan?”

Kalia quickly found Simon and returned to the mansion.

She explained the story of Gaia’s disappearance and Buford’s appearance.

Simon immediately grasped the significance of Buford’s sudden mention of fate and whatnot. He probably imagined the Prince of Akan had been struck by lightning dozens of times in his head.

“That’s not all. The warlock who followed the Prince of Akan revealed her true form.”

“…It was indeed that woman.”

“You suspected it?”

“Hmm. There was an artificial power enveloping her entire body. She mostly used that kind of magic when altering her appearance, so I assumed she was someone who had changed her appearance.”

Although he had only caught a glimpse, Simon had already suspected that the woman was a warlock based on her conspicuous appearance.

He had thought she would shed that transformed shell soon, but he didn’t expect her to reveal her true form this quickly.

The implications were clear.

“She completely revealed her hidden form in front of no one else but you…”

Simon looked at Kalia.

Kalia had the same thought.

“She must be planning to expose her scheme at the Alliance Conference.”

“…If that’s the case, we’ll have to attend the conference together on that day.”

Originally, it was a meeting attended only by foreign royalty and their officials.

Excessive deployment of security personnel could be seen as a threat, so they maintained a balanced level of caution.

As a result, Kalia had a lot of tasks during the conference week.

She divided the knights to deploy guards and it was also her knights’ duty to guard the security forces brought from each country.

But this time, it seemed that Brik would have more to do than her.

He had to directly guard the meeting room.

As Kalia and Simon fell into their own thoughts, a sudden unexpected noise came from behind them.

Rumble. Rumble. Snort. Snort.

“What’s that sound?”

Kalia and Simon faced each other and turned around.

Then they saw their young son lying right in the middle of the large bed they shared.

Rumble, rumble, snort.

The baby, lying in the butterfly position, released breaths of different colors, making small snuffling sounds as if his nose was congested.

“…Is he having a stuffy nose, Simon?”

“It seems so…”

Snort.

As the baby struggled with his congested nose, he let out a short cry, followed by blinking his eyes.

“Oh, he woke up.”

“Shh, wait.”

Fluttering his eyelids, Sasha turned his head and found Simon and Kalia.

‘Oh, we made eye contact.’

Kalia widened her eyes and met Sasha’s gaze.

The baby, slowly taking in the image of his mom and dad, smiled as if reassured.

At the same time, the faces of Kalia and Simon melted as if they were melting away.

The baby closed his eyes as if nothing had happened and closed his mouth.

Rumble.

Soon, as they heard a soft sound of his nose clearing, the room was filled with adorable breathing sounds.

Simon and Kalia both burst into a small laughter at the same time.

That sound, whatever it was, made the tension that had been weighing heavily on their shoulders disappear.That small and adorable sound of a stuffy nose seemed more extraordinary than the spells of an Archmage or the sword of a General Commander.

The two of them gazed at their sleeping son, lying on either side of Sasha, with loving eyes.

“By the way, is Gaia alright?”

Simon brought up her name, which had been bothering him since earlier.

Kalia nodded, passing her hand over Sasha’s bangs.

“Fortunately, she spoke to me a little while ago. She said she’s fine now, taking a rest in the spirit realm.”

Gaia, who had suddenly collapsed, feeling pain in her chest.

And then, Buford appeared…

Simon cautiously asked Kalia.

“Kalia, do you have any idea why Gaia is like that… any guesses?”

Kalia, gently caressing Sasha’s round cheek with her fingertips, slowly looked up and looked at Simon.

Seeing her gaze, Simon could understand her answer.

My poor Kalia.

Yet, stronger than anyone else, my wife.

Simon, as if caressing Sasha’s cheek like Kalia, caressed Kalia’s cheek and spoke.

“We will always manage, Kalia, just like we always have.”

“I know.”

“Because you and I will make it so.”

The two of them met eyes and leaned in to give a brief kiss on the baby’s forehead.

Their lips lightly touched and then separated, so close to each other.

They felt each other’s breaths, their warmth intertwining.

As if reminding herself of Simon’s words, Kalia murmured again.

“…Yes. Because we will make it so.”

To ensure that this hard-won precious happiness doesn’t shatter, to protect the warmth of their family that they barely obtained.

They will definitely preserve it.

* * *

Three days flew by quickly.

The main participants of the conference entered the conference hall with faces filled with heavy tension, as if asking when they had last enjoyed the party.

Perhaps thanks to the plush carpet, not a sound of footsteps could be heard as people entered.

Although the conference hall was filled with over a hundred people, spacious and magnificent, it was so quiet and solemn that not even a single breath could be heard while everyone took their seats.

On the right side of Louismond, there she stood, and on the left stood Simon, welcoming them as they entered the conference hall.

Most people were taken aback by the sight of the two individuals guarding Louismond’s wings, but there was one person who reacted differently.

Only Buford seemed to hesitate as he looked at Kalia.

Buford’s gaze met Kalia’s gaze as she stared straight ahead.

Although he looked at her with an emotionless, valueless gaze, Buford didn’t take his eyes off her.

‘Suddenly, what a faint sound reached my ears.’

Finally, Kalia smirked.

How quiet does it have to be in the hall to hear the sound of Simon grinding his teeth?

Meanwhile, everyone had taken their seats in the conference hall.

Oddly enough, at each end of the oval-shaped long table, Louismond from Rojas and Buford from Akan were seated respectively.

While Louismond maintained a composed posture and stared straight ahead, Buford leaned back slightly in his chair and looked at him.

No, more precisely, he looked at Kalia, who was beyond Louismond’s shoulder.

“Let’s begin.”

Louismond stood up, signaling the start of the meeting, and brought up several routine agenda items.

These were the items that had been passed through aides before the meeting.

Issues regarding tax renewal in trade and several passive exchanges regarding territorial invasions were discussed.

As the discussion grew longer, the expression on Louismond’s face became more impassive.

“Due to the drought, Akia will withdraw from trade with us.”

“I would like to revisit the trade agreement between Rakond and Rojas.”

“Our Angelo also…”

“Unfortunately, Atria will…”

Cancellation, opposition, withdrawal, and postponement were the words that overflowed.

No one made eye contact with him.

All of these negative words were exclusively related to agreements and issues concerning Rojas.

Louismond clenched his fist tightly.

Economic isolation was blatantly revealed.

It was a frustrating situation.

They were worried about not being able to trade with Rojas before!

Rojas didn’t immediately collapse or falter without them.

But it would gradually crumble, without a doubt.While a few countries’ disconnection might not have much impact, withdrawing all at once like this, as if in coordination, would pose a challenge even for an empire.

Only the prince of Akan sat quietly, smiling.

Finally, unable to bear it any longer, Louismond slammed his fist onto the desk.

“Do you think it makes sense to withdraw all economic agreements without any reason?”

“There are sufficient reasons…”

“Do you think I’m a fool? Are you saying that you will cancel or withdraw agreements between countries due to drought or a family event?”

The sharpness of his words paled the faces of those around the table.

It wasn’t fear that drained the color from their faces.

They themselves knew how forced and ridiculous their statements were.

Among them were the founding heroes of a nation, proud princes of small kingdoms, and even high-ranking officials of a renowned wise country.

Even members of the royal family who had come here in person were plenty.

They all wore a similar expression of youthful gloom on their faces.

A chilling silence settled over the table once again.

It was broken by the mocking laughter of a reckless prince.

Louismond’s gaze landed on Buford.

Buford covered his lips with his fist, as if he had committed a breach of etiquette, and smirked before directing an apologetic look towards Louismond.

“It seems everyone here is pathetic. Don’t you agree?”

“Please refrain from impolite remarks, Prince of Akan.”

“Oh, even in this situation, you’re trying to maintain decorum? Even when everyone is betraying you like this?”

“Prince!”

Someone unable to bear it any longer called out to Buford.

Buford, who was sitting with his legs crossed without any sincerity, kicked the table with his foot.

With a thud, the conference hall quieted down as if a bucket of cold water had been poured.

“Well, by now, everyone must know, don’t they? That Akan, no, I, intend to swallow up the Rojas Empire.”

Louismond opened his eyes wide and stared at Buford.

“I mean, I’m saying that we intend to devour this Empire, no, this continent, with the special and cunning methods we possess.”

Gasps escaped from some, while others struggled to hide their distorted expressions and lowered their heads.

Buford unleashed his own methods through his mouth without giving them a chance to ponder how they ended up in this situation.

“Do you not understand why dark magic was rejected? Why the Holy War is deeply ingrained in history and still raises people’s vigilance? It’s because of the wicked and formidable power it possesses.”

Buford drew a long line across his palm, causing blood to flow.

As he did, a black void appeared, and a chimera sprang out.

The chimera resembled a humanoid more than a demon.

As soon as it appeared, chaos erupted in the conference hall.

Simon immediately bound the chimera with magic.

A concentrated surge of power struck the chimera.

At that moment, someone inside the meeting room suddenly stood up.

“No!”

The scream couldn’t stop the attack.

With a flash of light, the chimera burned black.

Yet, still alive, it writhed and unleashed magic.

“No, no!”

The king of the Datrian Kingdom, bordering Akan, rushed towards the chimera floating in the air.

“My son. It’s my, my son! The third prince of the Datrian Kingdom!”

In his despair-like cry, Simon clenched his fists, and Louismond let out a sorrowful sigh.

“No wonder everyone has no way out. Prince of Rojas.”

“Yes, you!”

The king of Datrian ran towards Buford with furious eyes.

With a signal from Kalia, Simon swiftly lifted him and moved him far away.

Buford shrugged his shoulders, seemingly indifferent, and approached Louismond.

“I will offer the lives of innocent imperial subjects as the price of this country.”

“Dispose of such nonsense, Prince of Akan.”

“Haha! You think I can’t? Don’t you find this country unworthy?”

In an attempt to stop Buford from getting closer, Kalia stepped forward and stood in front of Louismond.

From the beginning, Buford’s target was not Louismond but Kalia, so he stopped in front of her.

Buford’s heart pounded again, loud enough for him to hear.

“…But if we negotiate a different price, perhaps we can stop here.”

Buford looked intently at Kalia, not taking his eyes off her, and licked his lips.

“If you hand over this one person to me.”

He slowly reached out his hand toward Kalia in front of him.

“I might willingly save this country, at least one.”

Before his words could finish,

Kwaang!

A thunderbolt, imbued with an unprecedented strength, struck precisely between Kalia and Buford.