Emperor of Steel [EN]: Chapter 76

Gigant Development

1

In the rear garden of the Nemesis Imperial Palace, Emperor Rudolf was enjoying refreshments with his imperial family, a rare occasion. However, his eyes weren’t on the Empress or his consorts, but on the sparring match taking place nearby.

Clang! Clang, clang!

Though they used wooden swords, the sound of metal clashing echoed, likely amplified by the aura imbued within them. The sparring partners were a boy of about sixteen and a knight in his early twenties.

They were none other than Rian, the Crown Prince of the Baroque Empire, and Bato, second in line to the throne. Although Bato was older, he was the son of the Third Consort, making Rian, born to Empress Jacqueline, the Crown Prince.

Including these two sons, Rudolf had a total of five sons and seven daughters from one Empress and four consorts. Among them, the eldest and second daughters, born to the Empress, had already married into the royal families of neighboring countries and influential pro-Emperor noble families, and were not present.

“Your Majesty, the Crown Prince’s skills have improved significantly,” Empress Jacqueline said.

Rudolf nodded, inwardly pleased, but shook his head. “But he is still young. It seems difficult for him to beat Bato.”

Rian, who possessed considerable talent in swordsmanship, had already reached the mid-level of Sword Expert. However, Bato was already a member of the Imperial Guard and was at the highest level of Sword Expert, aiming for the realm of Master [a higher level of swordsmanship]. No matter how outstanding Rian was compared to his peers, it was unlikely he could defeat Bato.

However, the sparring match ended quite unexpectedly. Bato, staggering from Rian’s powerful blow, revealed an opening, which Rian exploited to deliver the final blow.

“Your Majesty! Our Crown Prince has won!” Jacqueline exclaimed, clapping her hands as if she herself had won. Rudolf nodded in acknowledgment. “Indeed, that is commendable.”

As the princes approached after the sparring match, he rose from his seat to congratulate them. “You have trained hard, Rian. Continue to strive forward.” “Yes, I will do my best, Father.”

Rudolf approached Bato and whispered softly. “Well done. Next time, you don’t have to let the Crown Prince win on purpose.” “Yes, Your Majesty.”

Rudolf patted Bato’s shoulder, who saluted with precision, a pleased smile on his face. He showed a different attitude towards his wives and children than the previous Emperor.

Unlike the previous Emperor, who granted the title of Empress to all his wives, he followed the legal system of the Song Empire [a historical Chinese dynasty], recognizing only Jacqueline, his legal wife, as Empress, and giving the other wives the lower title of Consort. Naturally, the princes and princesses had a vertical, rather than horizontal, relationship.

The reason why Bato used the language of a subject to his lord, rather than a son to his father, whenever he addressed Rudolf was because he was not the son of the Empress. The reason why Emperor Rudolf divided the relationships between his wives and children was largely due to his power struggle with his half-brother, Reichart, in his youth.

He had drawn a line from the beginning, making them clearly aware of their positions and roles. There were those who protested against this, but he crushed them as an example, firmly establishing order within the imperial family. Of course, he did not just suppress and force them with power and authority.

Instead of giving authority to the Empress’s family, he gave special privileges in domestic and international trade or appointed them to high positions to the families of the consorts. Naturally, the children of the consorts thought, ‘Rather than aiming for the throne and being ruined, it’s better to support the Crown Prince and get the benefits that come with it.’

Bato was a prime example of such a person, with a healthy goal of becoming the commander of the Imperial Guard and receiving the title of Grand Duke during Rian’s reign. Not only that, but other princes and princesses did not dream of absurd ambitions. This was all due to Rudolf’s strict principles and discipline, and on the other hand, it was the result of his efforts to ensure that the bond between siblings was not broken.

Although he had overthrown his brothers and ascended to the throne, he was a kind father to his own family. “However, the youngest one doesn’t look well.” Rudolf turned his gaze to a child with a pale complexion. It was Prince Martel, fifth in line to the throne.

“Cough, cough! I apologize, Your Majesty. I caught a cold from reading late into the night a few days ago…” “Tsk, tsk, you should have been diligent in your physical training.”

Martel was more interested in academics than swordsmanship. He was so knowledgeable that, despite being only ten years old, a professor from the Imperial Academy had been appointed as his personal tutor. “I will tell my physician to send you medicine. And don’t just stay cooped up in your room because you like books. You need to see the world with your own eyes to broaden your horizons.” “I will keep that in mind.”

Rudolf smiled contentedly as he watched his youngest son bow politely. Although he was troubled by his own injuries and various domestic and international issues, such worries would disappear whenever he met with his family. For Rudolf, his family was a source of healing for his tired and weary heart, and a pillar that helped him to regain his composure.

If the imperial family had been filled with discord as it had been in the past, he might have gone mad or become a dark ruler. ‘For Rian and the other princes, I must clear away all obstacles. Only then will this imperial family and empire be maintained without any problems even after I die.’

As Rudolf was thinking this, he saw Count Voltaire walking briskly into the rear garden. ‘What is it this time?’ The Emperor’s expression slightly soured. He had not been pleased with many of the things Voltaire had reported lately. The only good news was that Luke was dying, groaning in pain.

“What is it, Count?” Rudolf asked, inwardly hoping for good news. However, Voltaire’s expression betrayed the Emperor’s expectations. “I apologize, Your Majesty. The Imperial Council has notified us that they will be holding a hearing regarding Your Majesty.”

“What?!” Rudolf jumped up from his seat. He had expected bad news from Voltaire’s expression, but this was more shocking than he had imagined. Rudolf was not the only one who was surprised. The faces of the Empress, consorts, princes, and princesses beside him also turned serious.

“Brother, if it’s the Imperial Council, then surely…?” Rian asked. Bato replied with a grim expression, “Yes, Your Highness. It is a legislative body that mediates disputes between nobles and monitors and advises the imperial family and the administration. One of their powers is to hold hearings.”

“Why would they invoke such authority?” “Well, I’m not sure about that either. We’ll find out the details when we hear them.” At Bato’s words, everyone’s attention turned to Rudolf, who was raising his voice, and Voltaire, who was at a loss.

“No, what on earth were our nobles doing that they didn’t know the noble faction was preparing for a hearing!” “T-That is, the noble faction was moving so secretly that they had no idea until this morning.” “Ha! Such an absurd thing…! So, what is the reason?”

To request a hearing from the Imperial Council, there must be a valid reason. Otherwise, those who requested the hearing would be likely to suffer a political counterattack. Moreover, the opponent was not just any noble, but the Emperor.

“They claim that the reason is the dispatch of the Imperial Knights and the Gigants [giant war machines] belonging to the Imperial Knights without the consent of the Imperial Council. It seems they have realized that Your Majesty was deeply involved in the civil war of the Holy Artenia Empire.”

In the Baroque Empire, the consent of the Imperial Council was required to dispatch troops overseas. This was because, long ago, the imperial family’s reckless overseas dispatch of troops and intervention in civil wars had almost turned all the countries of the Rodisia continent into enemies. However, the Emperor had ignored such legal procedures and dispatched the Imperial Knights.

Of course, it was not an open dispatch. They were disguised as mercenaries of a war merchant company called Flying Dragon, but the problem was that the fact had been revealed. Where on earth did the information leak from?

“Damn it, summon Razhli immediately!” “Yes, Your Majesty.” Rudolf’s sweet rest was over. Without even properly comforting his worried family, he hurried to his office.

2

Shortly after, Razhli, who had returned to Nemesis for a break, was summoned. As soon as Razhli entered the office, Rudolf flew into a rage. “How on earth did you handle things that the fact that the Imperial Knights were dispatched was known to the noble faction!”

If there was only circumstantial evidence, the noble faction would not have requested a hearing. There must be some definite evidence or a witness for them to hold a hearing. “I-I don’t know the reason either.”

The only people who knew that the Flying Dragon mercenary group included Imperial Knights of the Baroque Empire were Duke Perrier and some of the rebel leaders. Those leaders had either died in the rebellion or, even if they had escaped, had all been killed by his hand. Yet, he had no idea how that fact had reached the ears of the Baroque Empire’s noble faction.

“I will investigate the reason immediately. If there is evidence, I will destroy it, and if there is a witness, I will make sure they never speak again.” Razhli bowed and expressed his firm resolve, but Rudolf’s cold gaze did not easily subside.

“I thought you were a talent who would follow in your father’s footsteps. But lately, you keep disappointing me. For your own sake, make sure to make up for your mistakes.” “I will keep that in mind.” “You may leave.”

As Rudolf waved his hand, Voltaire and Razhli left the office. “Father, what on earth is going on?” Razhli asked his father, as if he had been struck by lightning out of the blue. Count Voltaire, who felt much the same way, sighed deeply.

“It’s too sudden, so I haven’t figured out the exact reason yet. However, according to a report from a spy who has infiltrated the noble faction, they seem to have a definite witness.” “A definite witness?” “Yes, I don’t know who it is, but judging by the fact that they are using them as a card to pressure us, it must be a high-ranking noble or vassal under Duke Perrier.”

“That can’t be. None of them survived.” All those who knew about them had boarded the ship with Duke Perrier. Wasn’t it he who had cut them all down or made them food for sharks? But where on earth did a witness come from?

“Anyway, think of this as your last chance and do your best.” “Yes, Father.” Even without that, the operation to weaken the national power of the Holy Artenia Empire by using the rebellion had not been very successful. Rather, since the rebellion, Regent Bishop Constantine had been ousted, and the Pope had taken direct control, embracing various sects and restoring public sentiment, gradually regaining stability.

‘I failed to tear apart the Holy Empire with the rebellion, and I couldn’t assassinate the Pope. If this matter fails as well, I will no longer receive His Majesty the Emperor’s favor.’

If that were to happen, not only would his own position be shaken, but the future of his family would also be jeopardized.

Raziel, clenching his teeth, vowed to resolve this matter by any means necessary.

Around the time Raziel was summoned by Emperor Rudolf,

a sinister laughter echoed from the Marquis of Myers’ mansion in the imperial capital.

“Hehehe. I wonder what kind of expressions Rudolf and the Emperor’s faction are making.”

“Since they have a fire under their feet, they must be working hard to come up with countermeasures, wouldn’t they? They might even try to find out who the witness is and deal with them.”

Aslan, who was conversing with the Marquis of Myers, curled his lips.

The thought of Emperor Rudolf and Raziel being flustered made him laugh involuntarily.

“Then, Hydra might be moving.”

“Hydra, you say?”

The Marquis of Myers explained in response to Aslan’s question.

“It’s a secret assassination organization created by gathering top-tier assassins from the Baroque Imperial Family. In the past, those who were obstacles to the Empire and the Imperial Family were eliminated by them.”

“……It doesn’t sound that impressive to me?”

“Why do you say that?”

To Myers’ question, Aslan spoke his mind.

“If they were that great, wouldn’t Marquis Myers and Duke Butler already be gone from this world?”

At his answer, Myers chuckled. It was as if he were looking at a naive child.

“Do you know what a dagger is?”

“Isn’t it a short sword?”

“Then, what do you think a dagger is as a weapon? Do you think it’s effective to take it out and swing it openly like the thugs in the back alleys?”

“No. It’s better to hide it and stab with it.”

“That’s right. It’s a weapon that should be saved for the right moment. Hydra is an organization that should be used like that dagger.”

Aslan quickly understood what Myers meant.

And he grasped one more fact.

If the Marquis of Myers knew about the Imperial Family’s secret assassination organization, he must have prepared for it.

“It seems that Your Excellency also has a dagger of your own.”

“Rather than a dagger, it’s closer to a shield.”

“I’m curious what kind of shield it is.”

However, the Marquis of Myers did not satisfy Aslan’s curiosity.

“You will know soon enough, if they come to take your life.”

Myers didn’t say anything more, and Aslan also closed his mouth without asking further.

His life wasn’t precious anyway.

The only thing he feared was facing a futile end without achieving his revenge.

Therefore, he hoped that the Marquis of Myers, whom he had chosen, would perform as expected.

Fortunately, judging from the current situation, his choice didn’t seem too bad.

However, there was one thing he regretted.

‘It would have been better if the documents that would be the decisive evidence had remained.’

Based on his testimony, the Marquis of Myers’ side was creating evidence, but it was hard to expect perfection.

‘Half of the evidence was stolen, and the other half was lost… The price for surviving by the skin of my teeth is too high.’

The more he thought about it, the more regretful he felt.

Because of that, Aslan’s bitter expression did not easily fade.

3

Whirring—! Geeeeng!

Chiiik! Clang clang!

The secret workshop in the basement of the Demon King’s Castle in the Marquisate of Rakan.

Various facilities powered by magic stones were melting or cutting steel, while on one side, complex magic circles were being engraved on steel frames and plates.

The one carrying out this work was a platinum-blonde youth in the center of the workshop.

Luke de Rakan, the lord of the Marquisate of Rakan.

Around him, large and small magic circles floated in the air.

Every time Luke gestured as if conducting and uttered a spell, the magic circles flashed, and the magical facilities in the workshop operated accurately and meticulously like the gears in a clock.

“It’s for testing, but the progress is faster than expected.”

Luke looked at the Gigant [a large, humanoid war machine] whose frame was nearing completion with a satisfied expression.

After deciding to create his own personal Gigant, Luke had been spending a significant amount of his day in this secret workshop.

Thanks to the abundance of reference materials, such as the blueprints of Atlas and the hero-class Gigant Orion made by Dark Moon, it didn’t take long to design.

After completing the blueprints, he immediately began manufacturing the test Gigant.

It would take a considerable amount of time to manufacture all the various parts and components by himself.

Moreover, core components such as the high-output core engine and the synchronization helm were difficult to obtain materials for, making it impossible to manufacture them right away.

Therefore, Luke boldly skipped those parts and started by making what he could.

“The frame, armor, and joint areas seem to be done for now.”

Luke looked at the body he had carefully made over the past three days with a pleased gaze.

“From now on, I need to transplant the parts from Achilles to check the internal strength and driving ability.”

Luke took out the warrior-class Gigant Achilles from the subspace in his bracelet.

Whirring— Kiriririk!

Clank! Clank!

With the help of the magical facilities, Achilles was quickly disassembled.

As the rivets and bolts were removed, the armor was the first to come off, and the core engine, mana converter, balance device, and other parts were removed one by one.

Luke fitted the removed parts into the frame of the test machine one by one. There were no problems with assembly because the specifications had been matched in advance.

After completing the assembly by attaching the armor, Luke put the prototype into the subspace.

“Now, shall we go for a test?”

Luke called Philip and went to the outskirts of the territory.

Both Luke and Philip were excited at the thought of testing the prototype.

Philip was quite looking forward to the duel with the lord after a long time.

His skills had improved significantly after sparring with Hwangbo-seong countless times recently, and he had also been given the hero-class Gigant Orion not long ago.

“Hehehe. Lord, I won’t hold back, so be prepared.”

“Alright, do your best. If you do it half-heartedly, I’ll confiscate Orion, so keep that in mind.”

“What! How can you take back what you gave? I even engraved Milena’s name on the armor!”

“Seriously, did you name it again?”

“Of course. Wouldn’t you do the same when you get your own beloved machine?”

Philip was so happy when he received Orion that he was on the verge of tears.

The dream of a knight is to be a rider. And the dream of a rider is to ride a hero-class Gigant.

However, perhaps because he thought Orion was a bit ugly, Philip went on a rampage, badgering the blacksmiths of the Katarina Magic Tower to modify the armor to be sleeker and more streamlined.

“What about Sting II? Or rather, Marina? You cherished it so much.”

“Hehehe. I gave it to Anna.”

“To Sir Anna? Why?”

Among the female knights, Anna, who was the next best after Scarlett, had recently reached the level of an upper-expert. However, there were knights stronger than her, such as Alex and Hobart, so it was not understandable why he had given Marina, which had been modified to the knight-class level, to Anna instead of them.

“I heard you’re dating Sir Anna, is that why you gave it to her?”

“Hmph. To be honest, there was a bit of that too. It’s a past relationship, but Marina was once my ride. I couldn’t bear to see her violated by dirty and rough guys.”

‘This guy’s symptoms are serious.’

There are eccentrics who name their weapons or tools and cherish them.

There are such eccentrics among the artisans and knights of the territory, but no one was as obsessed as Philip.

Luke shook his head and took out the prototype from the subspace of his ring, saying,

“Anyway, try to attack me. If you don’t do it properly, you’ll see your old girlfriend again.”

As Luke, who was riding the prototype, gestured as if to come, Philip, riding Orion… no, Milena, rushed in like lightning and swung his greatsword.

Clang—!

As the greatsword collided strongly, a loud noise and sparks flew vividly.

At the same time, Luke’s prototype slid backward. Due to the limitations of its output, it could not withstand the powerful blow of the hero-class Gigant.

“Kuh! As expected……!”

“Huh? What is that? Wasn’t it hero-class?”

Philip immediately grasped the output of Luke’s prototype after just one clash.

“Did you think a hero-class is something that can be made just like that?”

“Still, I thought it would be excellent since you made it, Lord… I’m a bit disappointed.”

“I’ll make you so surprised that you’ll fall on your back later. So, just attack me now. Or should I attack?”

Even at Luke’s words, Philip did not step forward. He was worried that Luke might get hurt.

Thinking of giving a good scolding to the guy who was just standing there, Luke amplified his magic power to the maximum with the prototype’s core engine and unleashed an attack.

“Blink Dash!”

“Huh!”

Luke’s prototype, which had narrowed the distance in an instant, unleashed dozens of sword strikes in a flash.

Instead of just pushing forward head-on, he appeared like lightning from the front, back, left, and right of Milena, swinging and stabbing his sword.

Philip, who had been somewhat careless due to the difference in Gigant output, hurriedly swung his greatsword to block or deflect the attacks.

“Tch, that’s why rune knights are cowardly!”

“If you’re so upset, learn magic from now on.”

“No thanks! The thing I hate the most is reading!”

Philip, who had no intention of losing in a duel even if the opponent was the lord, deployed his impact aura and pushed Luke back.

Kiiiing— Swoosh!

Bang! Kwaaaang!

In time with the loud roar of the core engine, fatal sword strikes poured down one after another.

Luke blocked the attacks by casting a shield spell on the prototype’s armor.

However, the impact aura of Philip, who was riding a hero-class Gigant, was not something that could be blocked with that level of defense.

Crack! Squeak!

‘The internal frame is shaking. It must be because of the impact that is passing through the shield magic and armor?’

Since the prototype’s frame was intended to be hero-class or higher, it was made much larger and stronger than a normal warrior-class.

Nevertheless, the fact that the internal frame was shaking meant that there was a problem with the parts that were holding it in place.

‘For now, I’ll strengthen the parts with strength magic to hold on……’

The purpose of this test was to examine the durability of the prototype’s armor and frame.

Therefore, rather than just pushing Philip back, Luke focused on provoking him to elicit powerful attacks.

“Sir Philip! What on earth did you do last night that you’re so weak? Did you perhaps sleep with Lady Anna?”

“Ah, I didn’t do anything?”

“Then why are you like this? Put some more power into it!”

“Kuh-heuk! You’ll really get hurt if I do!”

Philip, shouting angrily, began to go all out from that moment.

The impact aura he created became more powerful.

Kuaaang! Kwaang! Thud thud thud!

The sounds of continuous strikes and blows echoed fiercely across the wasteland.

An hour later, the sparring for the prototype test was over.

While Philip, exhausted from repeatedly using his impact aura, was slumped over, Luke examined the prototype’s condition.

Apart from minor scratches on the armor, there didn’t seem to be any major damage.

Using Hawk Eye magic, he meticulously examined the inner and outer armor and the frame, but he couldn’t find any critical cracks.

‘Kurkan really made some good steel. At this level, it would be fine to use it for the armor and frame of a dedicated Gigant [a large, humanoid war machine].’

However, there were also problems to solve.

Clearly, the prototype’s armor and frame were sturdy enough to withstand the attacks of a hero-class Gigant and his own magic amplification.

But the joints that held them together were not.

Despite being reinforced with Strength magic, they were severely worn, as if they had been through dozens of fierce battles.

The joints connecting the frame were structurally weak due to their delicate nature. Even if the armor and frame could withstand the impact, the relatively weak joints could not easily handle the shock.

But Luke was not one to have overlooked that.

“Tsk tsk, you should have made them with a stronger material. There’s a saying that you shouldn’t skimp on money for joints, whether it’s for a person or a Gigant, didn’t you know that?”

Philip, who had somehow come to his side and was watching, snickered.

Luke, subtly ignoring him, continued to examine the worn joints, trying to analyze the exact cause.

‘It’s not like I made them weak… It seems Philip’s attacks were stronger than expected.’

He knew that Philip had stepped into the realm of a Sword Master when they fought Hwangbo-sung, but it seemed he had now firmly established himself as a Master.

With that level of skill and the wings of a hero-class Gigant, it was natural that his attack power would exceed what was calculated beforehand.

‘I was trying to test the prototype, but it turned out I tested Philip’s skills as well.’

In any case, the results were satisfactory.

Both the basic durability of the test unit and Philip’s skills.

It seemed that all that was left was to further reinforce the joint areas and gradually create core devices such as a core engine, mana converter, and balance device suitable for a dedicated unit.

“Oh no! Our Milena has a cut on her arm! Don’t worry, this big brother will take you to the Magic Tower right away to patch you up and even give you a new paint job.”

Luke frowned as he watched Philip rush to his Gigant, making a fuss.

‘That guy’s illness… well, it’s better to let it go.’

Fools and eccentrics cannot be cured with medicine.

So, Luke decided to leave Philip alone as long as he didn’t go too far.

After finishing the test, Luke returned to the lord’s manor.

He looked through the documents submitted by the administrators and scribes, wondering if any problems had arisen in the territory’s affairs while he was engrossed in developing the dedicated Gigant.

“Fortunately, there aren’t any major issues. However…”

There was one problem that was worth considering.

The number of clans participating in the Lamer City Gigant fights was gradually decreasing.

The Gigant Arena fights were the main source of income for Lamer City, but recently, the number of participating clans had decreased by nearly half compared to the past.

There were three reasons for this.

First, the Magic Tower War had reduced the number of Magic Towers sponsoring clans. Second, the support from noble families, who were also sponsors, was not as strong as before.

The third and final reason was the departure of mercenary riders and Iron Mages.

Those with considerable skills were being actively recruited by the Rakan Territory and the Katarina Magic Tower, as well as neighboring territories and rival Magic Towers.

Naturally, the number of clans that were being dismantled due to the loss of personnel increased, and the level of the matches was bound to decline.

“It’s no wonder the audience is turning their backs on us.”

It was necessary to come up with a countermeasure.

The merchant association in charge of Lamer City had already requested that the territory’s knights participate in the matches.

For the arena, it was good to recruit skilled riders, and for the territory’s knights, it was good combat training, so it was a win-win situation.

“It’s good, but it shouldn’t end there. As the number of clans has decreased, we need more diverse types of matches. Instead of just 1-on-1 matches, we could have 3-on-3 matches…”

He decided to seek advice from Philip regarding this.

Since he had experience participating in the arena in the Imperial Capital in the past, he thought he could get some useful advice.

“The rest can be left to the vassals, they’ll take care of it… Since there’s time until dinner, should I write a letter to Reina?”

Luke took out a piece of stationery from his drawer.

He wanted to talk directly through magic communication or teleport to the Holy Palace of Bless.

However, if they were wiretapped by their enemies or rumors of an affair spread, it would be bad for both him and Reina.

‘Besides, there’s a certain romance in exchanging letters.’

Luke smiled as he looked at the letters he had exchanged with Reina.

While the pen absorbed the ink, he thought about what to write in the letter.

‘Should I write about the prototype test today? No, rather than that…’

Luke was smiling as he pondered various things, but he had to postpone writing the letter to Reina for a while.

Sebastian had rushed in with urgent news.

“Master, Henri has sent an urgent message with Hydra’s ledger!”

“Urgent message?”

Sebastian quickly handed him the message he had received from Henri.

Luke, who had been reading the message with a serious expression, smiled faintly after a while.

“The noble faction has requested a hearing? It seems they’ve noticed the Empire’s unauthorized intervention in another country’s civil war.”

Moreover, they even had a strong witness.

According to Henri, it seemed that the noble faction would soon order Hydra to assassinate the witness they had secured.

‘A witness… Does that mean that the Aslan prince who appeared before wasn’t a fraud but the real deal?’

From Luke’s perspective, there was nothing to be disappointed about. He was acting as a great tool to pressure the Emperor by leaning towards the noble faction.

He had been pondering when to incite the noble faction using the secured evidence, but Aslan was taking care of it himself, so he could say he was lucky.

“Master, what should we do?”

“For now, continue to assassinate the lower-ranking commanders and expert knights of the Central Army as I instructed last time. And I’ll be going there soon, so until then…”

Luke was giving detailed instructions to Sebastian.

Then, as if he had a good idea, he snapped his fingers.

‘Heh. That way, I can make the two factions fight even more surely.’

Three years ago, Luke had tried to make the noble faction and the imperial faction fight, but he had failed.

At the last minute, the Emperor had made concessions and reached a grand compromise.

‘This time, I have to make sure that such a thing doesn’t happen by thoroughly alienating both sides.’

Luke, with a sinister expression, gave instructions including what he had just thought of.

Shortly after, Sebastian left after receiving the orders, and Luke called Hudson, the head of the territory’s intelligence organization, Argos.

“I heard that the noble faction has requested a hearing, do you know about it?”

“I was just about to report it. How did you know, my lord…?”

“Well, I have a separate source of information.”

Luke did not reveal that he had incorporated Hydra and part of the Imperial Intelligence Agency. Explaining that would mean revealing the troublemaking demons.

So, he vaguely answered, but Hudson didn’t seem to suspect anything.

‘Did he use the information guild? Or perhaps he went through the Holy Empire’s intelligence agency…’

Hudson thought that the latter was more likely, considering the relationship between Reina, who had become the Pope, and Luke.

No, he was certain that was the case.

“Anyway, because of that, merchants are moving busily in various places. Prices are soaring day by day as they buy up strategic materials such as grains, salt, iron, and magic stones.”

“Are they anticipating a civil war?”

“Yes, because of that, the people are very bewildered.”

Food and salt were important commodities in daily life.

Moreover, thanks to the war materials, the prices of other goods in the market were also rising.

“It’s none of our business whether they fight or not, but we must manage strategic materials well in preparation for the future.”

“Hmm, I understand what you’re saying. I’ll discuss that with Bentley, the new finance officer, and the other vassals.”

Even if the noble faction failed to pressure the Emperor at the hearing, the relationship between the two sides would become irreparable.

If that didn’t happen, Luke was planning to actively intervene to make it so.

‘Civil war is inevitable. I don’t know who will win, but they won’t be able to return to the powerful Baroque Empire of the past.’

This could be seen just by looking at the Holy Empire, which had already gone through a civil war.

Although Reina was quickly implementing reform policies, the overall national power of the Holy Empire was less than before the civil war.

It was fortunate that the civil war ended earlier than expected, otherwise, Reina would have been in a much more difficult situation than she was now.

‘Anyway, if powerful lords like me remain in the provinces in that state, we will enter an era of warlords.’

That would mean the collapse of the Baroque Empire.

From Luke’s point of view, it would be a way to achieve revenge by clearing away the remnants left by the Baroque Duke, his former enemy.

Of course, that wouldn’t be the end of everything. In times of chaos, new adversaries were bound to appear.

So, as Hudson said, he had to manage resources well and build up his strength.

“I need to talk to the Kirilov Merchant Guild separately. Oh, and…”

Having met Hudson, Luke changed the subject, remembering someone he had forgotten for a while.

“Is there still no news from Erewin?”

“Yes, her trail went cold after she contacted our agent in Bless and met Sir Victor. It is presumed that there is a serious problem within the elves.”

“It seems Kurkan has been quite dissatisfied lately.”

Recently, Luke had visited the Red Hammer Tribe regarding the production of a dedicated Gigant.

At that time, Kurkan was very drunk.

According to the dwarves, a close elder from another tribe had come to visit and they had a big argument while drinking.

Anyway, without even realizing that Luke had arrived, Kurkan threw a bottle and ranted.

“You morons! Why don’t you know that such actions will bring even greater disaster!”

That’s what Kurkan said at the time.

He was speaking in rough dwarven, but it wasn’t to the point that Luke couldn’t understand.

Anyway, Luke could tell that some elves were plotting something, and it was something serious enough for people like Kurkan to worry and criticize.

‘What on earth are they plotting? Considering that they tried to open the gate to the spirit realm using Reina before…’

He had one guess, but he couldn’t be sure.

Therefore, Luke decided to investigate the elves’ affairs more closely in the future.