"See ya." Penelope nodded with a small smile. Parting ways with the viceroy, she turned and headed over to relieve the guard from his shift. He gave a curt word of thanks before heading off and leaving the female knight alone to her job. She let out a long sigh as she relaxed in the corridor. Truth be told, the knight rarely took midday shifts seriously. It was unlikely for anyone to do anything drastic during broad daylight with plenty of people—namely knights—around. However, the knight didn't voice any complaint and merely continued her shift watching servants and nobles alike pass by. -- As evening drew closer, another knight came to take her place and she was just about to head off for the staircase when a young servant girl came hurrying over to her. She had frizzy brown hair and round brown eyes that seemed to be flooded with relief when she spotted the female knight. "Excuse me ma'am, are you Penelope Vermillion?" She asked timidly. "I am.. Are you the servant that Alden was going to send to find me?" she asked. "Yes, ma'am. I'm here to take you to the study." she said with a polite bow. Penelope offered her a small smile and nodded. "Great, thank you." The servant blinked as she looked back over at Penelope and then quickly averted her gaze as she turned to lead the way. "O-of course.. Right this way then." The knight followed her as she lead them down the stairs and down various corridors in the castle. Penelope felt a hint of anxiousness build in her as she thought about meeting with this baron. He and his son hadn't seemed to be the most pleasant of people but then again, if they were willing to speak up for the end of the war, she supposed it didn't matter. Eventually they reached their destination and the servant opened the door for her, allowing her in first. As she stepped inside, her gaze fell on Alden. He was sitting at on of the empty chairs flipping boredly through a book. His gaze lifted just enough to look over at Penelope and waved for her to come further inside. "My father will be here shortly. Take a seat. Wherever you'd like." Alden said, finally closing the book. "Alright. Thanks." Penelope nodded as she walked over to an empty seat. Glancing around the room, she had to admit it was decorated rather lavishly. Silver and gold plates, a beautiful rug, various decor that had jewels and other crystals—all in all the whole room screamed of wealth. It was nearly deafening in the knight's opinion "So.. Are things on the warfront really that bad?" Alden asked, drawing Penelope's gaze away from one of the expensive items in the room. The knight didn't miss the critical edge in his voice. "They're not bad. Not yet at least." Penelope explained carefully. "However, they aren't going good either. It's been over a year and everything is still at a stalemate. At this rate, both kingdoms are going to be so depleted of resources it'll hardly even matter who wins." "Huh.." Alden mused and then paused. "It must be quite frustrating for you, right? I mean, since the whole mission before this war went wrong. This is like your second time trying to stop this war." Penelope eyed him for a moment, disliking that he brought up her old failure. "I suppose. But I hardly care about that, right now it's just important for us to get the king to realize that a peaceful solution is the best outcome for this war." "Right." Alden nodded. He opened his mouth to add something else but didn't get the chance to as the door opened once again and his father stepped inside. Penelope turned her head to look over at the sandy blonde man, forcing herself to keep a neutral expression. The knight would have like to return some of the nasty glares she had seen him giving the viceroy but since she was there with the hope of winning his support, she knew it'd be wiser not to. "Ah good, you're both already here." the baron said approvingly. He stepped further inside to take a seat at his desk as well as to allow in the servant who had brought plates of food for the three of them. As she set the food down, the baron turned to Penelope with an emphatic smile. "I find it's best not to discuss business on an empty stomach. So please, relax and eat." "Thank you, sir." Penelope muttered politely before turning her attention to her plate of food. Next to her, Alden wasted no time doing the same. "Now then, allow me to introduce myself. I'm Adam Fischbach. And we have much to discuss, miss Vermillion." Adam smiled slyly before taking a bite from his food.