Emperor of Steel

“You disappear without a word and come back without a word too.”

Luke who looked at Erwin, was stern.

It was because he had been called out when he was sleeping, and she too felt bad for asking him to get up in the middle of the night.

“You went from east to west. I even went to Albertville, followed the inspectors of the Holy empire’s, but they said you were already gone.” Said Erwin.

“That is because I have a lot to do.”

He was wondering if the woman moved on instinct and reached him by dawn.

However, Luke decided to go straight to the main point.

“Yeah okay, so why are you here to see me?”

“The fairy representatives of the Volga Republic might be aiming at you. I don’t know when and how they will come at you, but you need to be careful.”

“They are aiming for me? Why? Wasn’t there that thing which said you would cooperate with me in Erenes’s will?”

Luke asked not being able to understand.

When Erenes died, he made sure that all the fairies would be the ones to cooperate with Luke.

And the ones who followed will stay in the Rakan and help the lord of the estate.

But Erwin, a disciple of Erenes, just came back with a warning to watch out for the fairies.

“That is there, but…”

Erwin frowned a little.

She then informed Luke about the Fairy council meeting which happened three months ago.

Luke’s anger bursts out when he realized that they were choosing to take him to get to Reina by any means to make her open the Spirit World.

“What the hell?! You used her exactly 3 years ago, and I tried very hard to endure my anger without harming any of you, but those stupid guys want to do it again!”

As a result of seeing Luke so angry, Erwin choked.

If she didn’t manage to protect her body with mana, her heart might have stopped with the energy he was releasing.

‘How dare they try to scare her and make her do something dangerous again! Those men lack any basic sense!’

500 years ago, Luke had taken the path to becoming a warlock to avenge the death of Katarina.

However currently, the fairies were thinking of using Reina, the incarnation of Katarina.

To achieve their ridiculous goals of resurrecting the Mado Abaron Empire!

‘I will never be able to forgive them!’

Luke held Erwin’s cheeks and spoke with a low yet scary voice.

“Right away, move to the home base of yours. I will come and show them how the anger of the devil will be like.”

At the words of Luke, Erwin’s eyes were trembling with fluster and anxiousness.

The very reason why she had gone to the estate was to prevent the two sides from entering into a conflict.

If Reina and Luke were vigilant, the fairies won’t stand back.

However, in the current situation, her warning just went ahead and ignited Luke’s anger.

And it wasn’t like Princess Reina had been in any discomfort yet.

Nevertheless, looking at Luke’s violent reaction, she could see how special his feelings for the lady was.

‘Anyway, if Marquis Luke did go in like this, I don’t think that all the fairy representatives will be making it out alive.’

He was once the man who managed to destroy one-third of the continent with his party.

However, the problem this time would be that, during the removal of the fairies, it was likely that most of the fairies would suffer huge damage.

There weren’t many fairies who were supporting the representatives, yet they would be used like shields.

If the representatives and the fairies were removed, could the other fairies manage to live peacefully?

That couldn’t be.

They will act like they obey Luke, but they would always hate the man who destroyed their race.

And Luke’s eyes which would see the fairies would never be so calm.

And the peace between the humans and fairies which were just developing would be destroyed completely.

‘Uh! I need to calm him down!’

Erwin who thought of it.

“Please calm down. They are representatives, but they don’t represent everyone. There are those who disagree.”

Once Erwin said that the fairies remained in the Rakan were safe.

And the fairies of the estate were strongly opposing to the instructions which were given by the representatives.

‘There was a reason why the fairies of my estate were suddenly having clashes.’

Luke managed to find the answer to hid doubt, but that didn’t mean that his anger had resided.

He snarled at Erwin.

“Even then, I won’t tolerate it if Reina is touched.”

“I will persuade the fairies to follow our instructions. So, please don’t be so angry.”

Even the ones of the fairies who had indomitable power within the fairy were like kings or monarchs.

In other words, the one who delegates the authority.

But the real power dwells within the elder of each race.

Erwin intended to persuade them to neutralize the power of the representatives.

If most fairies turn their backs, they won’t be able to continue their plans.

Upon hearing the explanation, Luke asked her while releasing the grip on her.

“Is that even possible?”

“Yes, I will make sure that it turns out like that.”

“Are you sure? You think that you can do it alone?”

Luke mumbled, Erwin still kept her straight face.

“I am the disciple of Erenes.”

Erwin was shining with pride.

Seeing that Luke managed to calm his anger.

‘When the civil war breaks out, we don’t know what will happen to our land. And that is even more reason for me not to resort to it.’

The representatives were nasty, but they weren’t the kind to ignore the situations in their surroundings without taking advantage of them.

And from the attitude of the Marquis of Mayers, it seemed like the noblemen had an upper hand over the Emperor.

Although Luke had signed a non-aggressive treaty, he would be able to take part in numerous manners.

The provocation wasn’t a powerless move.

‘To the point where I want to go, it is impossible not to make enemies.’

While Luke was deciding, he gave a chance to Erwin.

“Nice, if you can persuade the fairies to stop making those stupid decisions, I’ll stay silent.”

“T, thank you! The fairies who value peace and justice will certainly listen to me.”

“If things go the other way. Blood will flow.”

Erwin who knew that Luke doesn’t joke like that was feeling glad.

Definitely she was going to persuade everyone, regardless of the means and method.

“Seeing you come wearing those clothes of El Kassel, I thought you came from Bless.”

“Yes, I thought that I should have informed Reina first.”

“Well, you did think right. Otherwise, you would have heard a lot more nagging from me.”

Luke, smiled saying that and told Hans, who was waiting outside to call Philip.

“Called for me Lord?”

Right after, Philip made an appearance looking surprised to see Erwin standing beside Luke.

“Oh my, you!”

“It has been long.”

A simple case like Philip greeted her and Erwin just responded expressionlessly.

‘Why is this woman here? Is she trying to do anything like…’

Philip knew about the reason why Princess Reina disappeared had everything to do with Erwin.

However, his suspicion got lifted listening to Luke’s words.

“… So, recruit some men from Rakan knights and send them as escorts.”

“You mean us?”

Philip asked with a disgusted expression.

He wondered if there was reason to remove the important members of the Rakan knights in such unsteady situations.

“Wouldn’t gathering the dwarves or lycans be better? Wasn’t it said that there are men who oppose the fairy representatives?”

“There is no need to say the reason. Just do what I am asking you to.”

There was a reason why Luke insisted on sending the Rakan knights.

They would act as escorts and also as guards.

And in case of emergency, he was planning on using an agent of Hydra for help.

“Huh, fine. I’ll organize the personnel today.”

When Philip stepped down, Luke spoke to Erwin.

“When will you go?”

“I am going to rest today and then leave tomorrow morning at dawn.”

“I hope you will come back with results.”

At Luke’s words, Erwin left the room with a bitter expression.

Erwin’s heart felt agitated at the thought of being hated by someone with a kind heart.

Having spoken with Erwin, Luke used the Magi communication with Arch Duke Gregory of the Holy Empire.

She said that she had already informed Reina, but he was worried if Reina was feeling anxious because of it.

The representatives were crazy men focused on reproducing the glory of the past.

The Arch Duke who answered the communication asked with a frown.

-What is it? the long-range communication has a risk of being intercepted, shouldn’t a wizard know this better than anyone?

Although he knew about being the lover of Veronica III, very few people in the Holy Empire knew about it.

Of course, there were a few petty rumors in the public too.

However, the rumors weren’t about Rakan Marquis Luke, but the Mercenary King, the God’s Warrior Lev.

As a result, Gregory was worried that the secret about the lovers would go out because of the long-range communication.

“I have something to tell you.”

-What is it? Related to the Holy Pope?

“Right.”

Luke told him what he heard from Erwin.

At that, Arch Duke jumped out at once.

-What? Those fairies dare to use the Pope? I’m going to drive the men of Saint Guard into the Volga right away!

Surely, the man Gregory was great.

The only problem was, the Holy Empire had to consider a lot of issues when dealing with Volga.

“It isn’t our job to take over Volga or take down the fairies, but keep this one in mind.”

-What do you mean?

“If even a single strand of Reina’s hair is hurt, I won’t be leaving the Holy Empire alone.”

A terrifying light could be seen in Luke’s eyes when he said that.

Gregory learned about Luke when he fought with him in the Holy empire.

-Hung, that will never happen. I will risk my life to protect the Holy Pope.

“If so, then I am very glad.”

If the Arch Duke really kept his word and stayed beside Reina, no fairy could ever touch Reina.

Luke deliberately communicated like that.

-By that, the Baroque Empire is noisy due to the civil war. The Pope said that she would send support if needed.

At the words of Arch Duke Gregory, Luke shook his head.

“Our strength here is enough. Support the Albertville estate instead. And I want to make some fuss in the eastern border.”

-Uhm, at the border…

Gregory was a man with thick military thinking engraved into his bones.

So he noticed what Luke wanted to say right away.

-Are you trying to keep the eastern forces busy and make trouble for the Emperor? But to send troops to raise a disputed border might not be right. We will have to take a few of the eastern manors for this.

“Sure. But don’t overdo it.”

As Luke knew, the Holy Empire still had time to recover from the aftermath of the civil war.

In such a situation, if a large scale war broke out, the people would suffer and opposition for Reina might grow.

And the opposing factions of Marcus and Constantine would take over.

Luke didn’t want that to happen.

-Don’t worry, I’ll take care of it. Anyway, if you need help at a later time, please ask us. We will send reinforcements using the long-distance teleport gate.

“Yes, if a situation arises when I will feel the need of your help.”

After the communication, Luke went back to the report submitted by Argos and studied it till morning.

‘The fairies are going to hit their way up.’

This day, Luke was in deep thoughts about whether he would be stepping into the civil war in the future.