Emperor of Steel

“Your Majesty, you have co… oh my!”

Erwin who was taking a walk outside the castle met up with Luke who was coming back from the woods.

She was surprised to see Luke bring back a girl and an old man.

The old man was someone she didn’t meet, but she was familiar with the child.

The one who saved Luke from the Aether runaway.

“Where did you find her?”

“I didn’t find her. She was the one who came to me.”

Karen, who was holding Luke’s hand and hiding behind him, as she found Erwin’s stare on her to be burdensome.

“She told me nothing except for her name, Karen. And the elderly one seemed to be the one who accompanies her, maybe he can’t speak or is staying silent.”

At Luke’s words, Erwin looked over at the old man who smiled at her.

Although he had a rather nasty impression because of the beard and scar, his smile seemed very calming.

Even though Erwin was someone who had foresight, she couldn’t feel any malice flowing in his heart.

“He somehow feels familiar… right. He looks a lot like Hwang Bo-sung.”

“Right? He did use the Hwang Bo clan skills. Maybe a kin of his.”

Luke and Erwin took the two of them into the old castle.

When the King came back, Philip and the others stood up only to be surprised at the new strangers.

Perhaps they were nervous about the strangers being people of the Baroque Empire who came to catch them but shook their thoughts trusting Luke.

“Kyaa! Who is the child? So so cute!”

When Shirley went towards Karen, Shirley screamed in a high pitched voice.

Karen, who was scared of being in front of strangers clung to Luke.

“Your Majesty, this child seems like the one we saw last time?”

“Erwin said the same.”

At Philip’s words, Luke nodded and replied.

“She is. At that time, I couldn’t look at her so closely…”

Philip looked at Karen and spoke with a mischievous grin.

“Now that I see her, she seems a lot like Your Majesty. She isn’t one of your love child, right?”

“What kind of nonsense is that?!”

Luke jumped up at the absurd question from Philip.

After his reincarnation, the only woman he wanted to embrace was Reina, and he was wed to her in secret, and they never shared a bed till then.

So how could a daughter come up?

But there were quite a few people who thought like Philip.

What was more, Karen seemed to be very attached to Luke, like they were acquainted with each other.

“This is making me suspicious.”

“Yeah, I remember His majesty often goes out undercover.”

“Look at her. Doesn’t this seem weird to your eyes too, Court Wizard?”

“How would Princess Reina respond if she knew…”

Contrary to the reactions of the men, Belfair had something different to say.

Moving over to Luke, he talked.

“Your Majesty, I went down to the nearby village and came here after seeing the Imperial army leave…”

“And?”

Belfair looked at the old man.

“The old man’s picture was attached to the flyers of the Baroque Empire. The prize money is similar to that of a sinner.”

“That so?”

“Yes, it was reported on the flyer that they attacked the Imperial Knights of Guard.”

Luke turned to look at the man.

At the words of Belfair, the old man nodded his head to say that it was the truth.

Luke turned back to Belfair and asked.

“Was there a name on the wanted flyer?”

“Yes, it was written as Auster.”

‘Auster… that can’t be the real name.’

The names of the Southern Continent were different from the Rhodesia continent.

In addition, Auster was an ancient word that meant South.

Considering that, the old man might have hidden his real name and mentioned it as Auster, or maybe it was named by the Baroque Empire who had given it to him.

‘But why did he attack the Knights?’

That was the question Luke had.

But, Luke had no reason to blame the man. It just meant that the old man fought against the Baroque family.

It wasn’t like Luke wasn’t aware of Belfair’s concern.

They were still in the Baroque Empire, and it would turn troublesome if they were found out to be with someone guilty.

All because of the old man, the Baroque troops could be pursuing them.

“Look around the perimeter. If something feels off, let us know right away.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

After giving orders to Belfair and his men, Luke reached out to the old man called as Auster by the Baroque knights.

“There are a few things I want to ask, so follow me please.”

When Auster nodded, Luke stared at Karen who was still stuck to him in another room.

There were several rooms in the old castle, so they could go anywhere.

Luke took a seat on the old dusty table and took out a piece of paper from his subspace bracelet and handed it to the man.

“You know how to write? It is alright if it is from the Southern language too.”

At Luke’s words, Auster lifted his pen and wrote in fluent Rhodesian language.

-No problem.

‘He surely has lived in the Rhodesia continent for long.’

Luke, who thought so, immediately asked the question.

“Your real name?”

-I am sorry, but because of certain circumstances, I can’t let you know. Just call me as the Baroque Empire is referring to me.

At Auster’s answer, Luke frowned.

Even if he was writing, there was nothing Luke would be able to figure out if the man evaded his question.

So he decided to ask a question to find out as much as possible.

“It was said that you attacked the Baroque Empire?”

-They attacked me and Karen first. What we did was a simple self-defense.

“Why did they attack? And what is Karen’s identity?”

-I can’t tell you that.

At the answer from Auster who evaded the most important questions, Luke opened his mouth with a stern voice.

“I am Luke, Symphonia’s King. Being hostile to the Baroque Empire, we are willing to help you, who are being chased by them. But if you aren’t cooperative, we can’t help you.”

Auster, who listened to Luke’s words sighed and picked up the pen again.

-I already know about Your Majesty. Your Majesty says that he will help us, but in fact, we are here to help you.

“You have come to help me? From where and who sent you? Zegal clan? The Holy Empire? Or the Volga Republic?”

Rather than that, how did the old man know about Luke’s crisis?

Auster wrote an answer to Luke’s questions.

-Even though I want to, I can’t say it. The more I say the more dangerous it turns for Karen. Helping His Majesty itself is bringing in significant risk to her.

‘What is all this?’

Luke was confused that a child who could barely risk was taking risks to help him.

However, Auster’s eyes were too serious to be considered as a joke.

“What are you going to do? Do you plan on following me?”

-I want to. I haven’t completed my mission yet.

‘Didn’t complete the mission? There is still something I need help with, so I am still in some kind of danger?’

Was the danger because of Aether or something else?

In the end, instead of solving the questions, more questions arose for Luke, which only turned Luke more cautious.