Emperor of Steel

Wheeeing-!

On the plains about 10-kilometers to the northwest of the Nemesis, the capital of the Baroque Empire.

There was a former mansion of the Count Ebra.

The mansion was spacious and magnificent showing the prestige of the family, which was known to be good during its time.

However, at a point in history, Count of Ebra had been overturned by a traitor and was destroyed, and under the command of the Emperor, the mansion was ruined leaving behind only the cornerstone.

There was a man in those mess of ruins.

The man who was behind the mask was Shaikan.

After escaping from the capital, he crossed the ruins and headed deep.

There was headstone in there.

It was much better maintained, unlike the other place where weeds covered everything, and the ground around that place seemed clean.

‘It has been 25 years, mother!’

Shaikan’s eyes which looked down at the headstone were red with blood lust.

Right.

The countess of Ebra was the mother of Shaikan and Reichard de Baroque.

In the past days of the Emperor, there were 3 princes in line for the Emperor title, all three of them enjoyed their days, but after the previous Emperor suffered and passed away from a mysterious death, everyone walked the path of death.

And Rudolf, who became the new Emperor, crushed the backbone of Countess Ebra.

The headstone which Shaikan was looking at belonged to his birth mother, Magdalene, the 3rd Empress.

At first, where his mother was buried was totally unknown.

However, at the library gate, he heard someone say that she was buried in her family mansion.

Shaikan’s mother, Magdalene, was a person of good heart.

She always used honorifics when addressing her maids or court ladies and never liked seeing any animal sick.

Because of that, there were many people who followed her to the Imperial Palace.

‘But with being 1 year as an Empress, my mother wasn’t able to eat.’

In his memories, his mother was often sick or injured.

It was always stated that the food wasn’t going well with her body, or that she fell down and scratched her body.

Young Shaikan always believed it.

However, now when he thought about it, the 1st Empress must have been jealous.

‘Mother! I am going to tear apart Rudolf and all his followers for a thousand times. So please trust this incapable son of yours and wait for a little more!’

Shaikan, who made a bouquet with the wildflowers from the field, promised.

Anger which couldn’t be hidden from his body. As if his enemy was right in front of him, his eyes were red.

However, the expression soon turned dark.

“Kuek!”

On the other side of the headstone, where a pile of stones was placed, someone gagged.

“Who is it?”

At Shaikan’s shout, a dozen masked men appeared around the area.

With an unknown appearance in front, Shaikan’s eyes looked shocked.

It was because he didn’t know that there were so many people who knew of him being a dragonian.

‘Are they some assassins sent by Rudolf?’

Maybe he thought that the half-brother and captain who past assault had failed might come back and stab him.

Shaikan pulled out his wooden sword from the back.

“Wait! We have no intention of fighting!”

When Shaikan was ready to attack, one of the men hurriedly cut it off.

“Kuk, You come here and expect to be alive? Then you shouldn’t have come to this place.”

When Shaikan raised his wooden sword again, the man spoke much more.

“We aren’t your enemies. No, we might be on the same side. So just wait for a minute!”

At their begging, Shaikan stopped. With a grin he asked, “Even though you say your are on my side, how come I don’t know you?”

“Well, could you talk with that mask of yours?”

There seemed to be no hostility in the men’s words and attitude.

Rather, Shaikan seemed to be expecting a lot from them.

‘Should I listen for now?’

Shaikan took down his sword.

They were all flustered with stealth, and they seemed to be confident realizing that it was a trick.

He was the Orc hero, the King of Monsters, and a dragon blood inheritor of the God Dragon.

“Understood. But it will be for just a second.”

Shaikan slowly took off his mask.

His face, exposed under the sun seemed very delicate, it didn’t suit his strong physique at all.

Shining strongly like the black obsidian were his eyes, and face which seemed to be chiseled.

The man who was staring at Shaikan’s face knelt down.

“R, Prince Reichard! You were the prince. Kuek.”

The masked man began to sound like a happy child.

However, the eyes of Shaikan were still cold.

The man took off his mask in a hurry and began to speak in details.

“I am the standing head of the Count Ebra. Do you remember?”

Shaikan looked at the face of the old man and was surprised.

“You are… Baron Guildman?”

“Yes, that is right! You remember us!”

Although he had turned much older than one could remember, he wasn’t unrecognizable. He was the eldest of all the retainers.

In the past, Guildman frequently met with his grandfather, he was the first person to welcome Shaikan and his mother when they returned there.

“You, you haven’t died?”

According to the information Shaikan obtained from the capital, the Count Ebra was entirely destroyed when the former emperor died and Rudolf got himself crowned.

The Earl of the Count was executed under rebellion, and the retainers were captured or disappeared.

Though there were rumors, no one had ever seen retainers from the Count Ebra.

But the general was alive!

“Have you asked Rudolf to let you live?”

At Shaikan’s question, Guildman shook his head strongly.

“How can I who received the grace of the Count and the 3rd Empress do such an ungrateful thing? The Lord who saw through the crisis of the family used our hands beforehand.”

“Grandfather?”

“That is right.”

Guildman, who sighed, started to tell the story from about 25 years back.