Emperor of Steel

Erwin, accompanied by Rick, arrived at Bless, the capital of the Holy Arthenia Empire.

On the way there, they had been attacked by fairies more than once.

They decided to use a Gigant and mobilized one, and because of that, they were able to avoid any threat.

When she arrived at Bless, the first one she contacted were the Argos agents, for information regarding the Marquis of Rakan.

If Luke had been there, he would have surely placed an information organization.

Using the code which they use to contact the agents, she asked for Luke and princess Reina.

“Lord, in the last civil war…”

The agent hesitated for a moment. The agent began to cooperate with the fairy and told them everything in detail.

Thanks to that, she learned that Luke played a major role in the civil war and received a title and estate from the Holy Empire and met Princess Reina, who was ruling the land as its pope.

“That is great. By the way, can we not see what kind of fairies are in the Marquis of Rakan?”

“You mean their dynamics?”

In response to Erwin’s question, the informant disguised as a peddler leaned, making Erwin ask the question again, “Yes, like has there been any kind of change?”

“Well, it might seem pretty normal to know, but there haven’t been any problems so far.”

After hearing that, Erwin felt relieved to some extent.

If the fairies of Rakan were apparently ordered by the Fairy leaders, the fairies would be in great trouble, and their relationship with Luke would be ruined.

‘They might have decided to not follow the head’s instructions.’

Maybe it was natural.

Luke didn’t discriminate or oppress them after taking in the fairies into his estate.

On the contrary, whenever an unfortunate incident occurred, humans were more likely punished.

Even the villages of the Marquis, who weren’t pleased with it, didn’t bother with the rule later on.

It was because after the fairies with talents and abilities developed the industry and mansion, their livelihoods turned rich.

So although they were still a part of the same estate, the territories following Rakan seemed glad.

And it was turning into a rather fair treatment for the fairies.

In any case, the atmosphere at the place, no fairy in the Rakan estate was drunk in the concept of the Second Coming of the Abaron reign of the Legendary Magic Empire.

There were many who were satisfied with their stable life and wished to continue to do so.

‘The problem was with the fairies who were living elsewhere.’

Before meeting Luke, Erwin saw the lives of the fairies who were living in the continent.

There were those who showcased their powers and lived on par with humans.

However, there were more fairies who were being persecuted as slaves, and there were a lot more who were hiding.

If the fairy representatives showed any strong prospects, they were all bound to follow them, and the war between the humans and the fairies wouldn’t end well.

‘Considering the future of the fairies, the modest way of Luke is better even though it is slow. I need to stop the plans of the fairy representatives.’

“What are you thinking so seriously? The soup will get cold.”

“That…”

At the question of Rick, Erwin raised her head and looked at him.

The menu ordered from the restaurant was just as they were placed.

First, Rick was slicing the bread then he talked to Erwin, who didn’t even open her mouth.

“Is it because of those fairy representatives?”

“Yes, that is it.”

On the way to Bless, Rick listened to Erwin.

He too thought that it was unfair for the elves to be treated like this for many years.

However, even so, the attitude of the fairies didn’t seem to be right.

“I think there is no need for you to be so worried about it. No matter how much they try to do, there are limitations to acting openly,” said Rick.

“Yes, that is true.”

Princess Reina was currently the Holy Pope of the Empire.

The escort of the pope was powerful that even the elves wouldn’t be able to overlook them, and then there was Gregory, the most powerful person of the continent.

She couldn’t even imagine them breaking past him and hurting her, but that still didn’t make her feel relieved.

They weren’t aware of the conspiracy of the fairy representatives and wouldn’t be able to respond to a sudden situation.

Therefore, it was important to inform them of the danger.

Erwin, who ate at the restaurant, visited the palace.

When she arrived at the palace, she gave a heartfelt thanks to Rick who had accompanied and helped her all the way.

“Thank you very much for your help.”

“Thank you. I am already glad that I was able to help the disciple of Erenes.”

Erwin and Rick shook hands.

“Are you going to visit your son now?” Asked Erwin

“Exactly. I don’t know how he will react to his father who is supposed to be dead.”

“I am sure that he will be happy.”

“Huhuhu. Maybe he will…”

Saying their goodbyes, Erwin moved into the palace.

Guards standing at the front gate crossed their spears and stopped her.

“Stop. No one can enter here.”

“There is someone I would like to visit. Tell sir Victor that Erwin is here to see him.”

“Sir Victor?”

When they heard Victor’s name, the chief who was silent on one side responded.

Although it hadn’t been long since he was made into a paladin, Victor was one of the men whom the pope closely trusted.

Known as a mercenary, he was considered as a thunder. He had experience and was a little old fashioned.

However, he was praised as a great example for all paladins. Arch Duke Gregory praised him for his sincerity, loyalty and hard work in the old age.

And a woman had come to visit that man who had been recognized by the pope and the Arch Duke?

‘Maybe she is his granddaughter?’

The guard thought about it and looked at the hood that was on Erwin’s face.

From what he knew, Sir Victor wasn’t the kind to enjoy the colors of life.

“Please wait.”

Delivering the information into the palace, he led Erwin to the room near the main gate.

Soon after, Victor appeared.

“It is Erwin! What are you doing here?” Asked Victor.

“There is something I really need to tell you.”

At the serious expression of Erwin, Victor toned down his excitement and asked in a low voice, “Is it related to the fairies?”

Erwin’s heart trembled after hearing Victor’s question.

The Fairy representatives had already taken action.

She thought that they wouldn’t act on it, but that wouldn’t be the case.

“By any chance, for the princess, sorry, the Holy Pope, did anything…?”

“Nothing of that sort. However, according to the schedule, I just delivered the letters as usual.”

‘But the fairy representatives aren’t like that…’

Maybe they immediately realized that they couldn’t deal with the pope’s forces.

No, they must have realized that stimulating her good-natured conscience and affection of Reina would be the right thing to do.

“Anything for the pope?”

“I wasn’t aware of it, but I intercepted the letter for the middle.”

Victor knew more about Reina than the fairies.

Moreover, because he knew what had happened in the past, he wasn’t the kind to trust the fairies ever again.

“You did good. The Spirit World shouldn’t be opened again. I don’t know if it will happen again in the future, but it should never be done.”

“What is the fairies’ intention?” Asked Victor.

“They are thinking about the revival of Abaron, the ancient Mado Empire.”

And with that, Erwin began to explain in detail what Abaron was like in the past and how the humans and fairies lived then.

Victor was shocked to learn about the past.

“Then the fairies will repay the persecution of the fairies by doing it to the humans after the resurrection of Abaron.”

“Yes, I don’t want the grudge to continue nor the blood-stained history, and I don’t want her Holiness to be caught in that.”

Listening to Erwin, Victor nodded nervously.

“But hiding forever won’t be possible. If their demands weren’t met, then they will turn more outspoken.”

“That is true. First, we need to speak to the Holiness and never listen to their words,” said Erwin.

“That one, this old man can persuade. But just one thing…”

“Is there anything else that is going on?”

“I am worried that the fairies will harm Lord Luke.”

Erwin too agreed with Victor’s point.

Reina agreed to open the door to the Spirit World in the past in order to comfort Luke.

If something happened to him again, Reina’s heart would once again shake.

“Of course, with Luke’s skill, it won’t be easy. But in this world, there are many things other than magic and swords that can threaten people.”

‘But, if the current situation gets known to the Baroque family, it will become troublesome.’

Luke had secretly participated in the civil war of another empire without the consent of Emperor Rudolf, and he even received a title and estate from that empire.

If fairies knew of the political problems between them, they were very likely to use it.

“Of course, the lord’s activity hasn’t yet been known to the fairies. There are good men with the Marquis, and their identity in the Holy Empire has been documented.”

However, there was no guarantee until when the secret was going to be kept.

The most pressing issue was how much did Luke even know about this.

“Did you inform Luke about the letter that came from the fairies?” Asked Erwin

“It hasn’t been disclosed yet. If news went from here, it would soon be revealed to the fairies that the identity of the hero of the Holy Empire, Lev, is the Marquis of Rakan.”.

Because of his experience, Victor was very cautious. He would never hurry into anything.

“Soon, there is going to be an inspection at the Albertville. I am going to share that news during the inspection time,” answered Victor.

“I see. That is okay, but I have a favor to ask.”

“A favor?”

“I need a new identity.”

Since she was being chased by the fairies, she couldn’t figure out how to carry on her next tasks.

Victor, who fully understood the circumstances of Erwin, nodded with a smile.

“Understood. That won’t be a problem for me.”

“Thank you.”

After having a conversation with Victor, Erwin felt a little relieved.

Though the problem wasn’t solved, she felt like a little weight had been lifted from her shoulders.