Emperor of Steel

After returning from clearing up the Dark Moon issue, Luke once again went back to engaging himself in the government’s affairs.

His nightly sleep and rewarding acts made the world of Milton Kingdom come under him without much trouble.

“Commander Rogers, how is the military?”

Baron Rogers responded to Luke’s question right away.

“Firstly, we are thinking of taking in new knights for the Iron Fist and Milton’s Royal Guards. And we plan to add another 20,000 more troops in the form of recruitment.”

Some of the former knights of Milton refused to join and left. However, most of them willingly accepted Luke as their new Lord.

Some, who were disappointed with Mayers’ last words, were fond of Luke’s generous steps and chose to work under him.

Rogers decided to select them and put them into the military.

However, there was no other way to increase military power in a short time.

“Then, we will have a total of 60,000 knights with 4 squads of knights?”

“Yes, that is if we add Albertville.”

“Well, that doesn’t need to be counted, and it is going to cost a lot more than I thought.”

The military was an association that consumed a lot with zero production.

However, such a group couldn’t be reduced or dismissed. It was because if one’s military was weak, then it wouldn’t take much time for it to lose.

And that was something that went well with the current turbulent times.

As the Baroque Empire split due to the civil war, it was possible for anyone to make a move and overpower the surrounding estates.

Fortunately, the war with the Milton Kingdom had ended in a very short time, so the power of Rakan was hardly damaged.

The southern trade, which got suspended temporarily, because of the Grenada Navy’s mess, had also been resumed.

“Baron Rogers, train new troops and make them join.”

“Understood, Lord!”

And with that, the reports about important issues ended.

However, the retainers didn’t go out of the room. They were constantly eyeing one another.

“Is there something else that needs to be said?”

“Uhm, well…”

At Luke’s question, Han’s opened his mouth on behalf of the other retainers.

“Lord, isn’t it time for you to take the crown?”

At his words, the retainers in the room nodded right away.

Their faces were filled with excitement.

The Libiya and Milton Kingdom have already proclaimed their founding and freed themselves from the influence of the Baroque Empire.

The Marquis of Rakan, who occupied the Milton Kingdom, had enough power and estates, and Luke could declare his founding too.

“In the last war, the Baroque Empire didn’t help us. That is a violation of the military contract of the empire.”

In feudal lordship, the contracts of military were very important.

The king or emperor was obliged to defend the estates from which he was receiving power and taxes.

However, Emperor Rudolf hadn’t helped the Rakan when they were under war with Milton.

Of course, it was also true that the Rakan didn’t help the emperor when subduing the Libiya Kingdom or with the battle of the Volga and Holy Empire.

However, despite the diplomatic and other measures, the Grenada Kingdom had violated the contract with Baroque, yet the Emperor didn’t move.

The hope of ruining Rakan… Well, the Emperor could have been hoping for the fall of Rakan as well as Milton.

“On top of that, the Baroque Imperials have had a long relationship with the Veritas Magic Tower, who was secretly studying dark magic. Wasn’t that the reason that the successors of Rakan always got killed under weird circumstances?”

“That is true. The curse of the dark magic!”

At the words of Hans and the retainers, Luke laughed.

Surely, his body had a curse placed on it.

And it was officially confirmed from the Hydra and the Intelligence of Baroque that the Imperial family did place a curse on the Rakan family.

However, since the sources couldn’t be released, it couldn’t be let out in public.

But, that wasn’t enough for Hans to justify.

The Veritas Magic Tower did study dark magic, and it was true that the Baroque Imperials were very close to the magic tower.

“There is no reason for us to serve the Baroque Imperial family anymore. I feel like you should take up the throne as soon as possible and clear up the bad luck of your ancestors.”

When Milton’s nobles had given him the crown box the other day, Luke did think about going independent.

However, he forgot it after looking at the pile of work that had to be done in Milton.

Seeing their faces, Luke nodded and said,

“Yes, I think so too. It is time. But before that, there’s something that we need to do. A new name for the nation and new royal name.”

“A new national and king name?”

The retainers were quick to make the room noisy.

Luke continued to talk, making them quiet, “In the current maps, Rakan is in the southwest. In order to punish Baroque Empire in the future, the capital and the base need to be moved to the north.”

If the capital was too far away, there would be a lot of inconveniences that would hinder the nation’s development.

It would be difficult for the military to move or spread the supplies, and such developments wouldn’t provide a good balance for the estates.

At Luke’s words, Bentley, the financial officer, started to discuss about it.

“Thinking of another place? Won’t the capital be too costly?”

“A new city would surely cost a lot. However, I think there is nothing wrong with using the existing cities.”

“Then, let’s keep the Brandon City as the royal capital. The city of Brandon is five times the size of Rakan lordship, and everything here is well equipped.”

“And the north is an appropriate location too.”

At the words of Bentley and Rogers, the retainers seemed to agree on it.

Luke too had no objection on Brandon City being the royal capital.

“But, is there any reason to change the name of the nation?”

Marquis Volant, who was the representative of the former Milton Kingdom, stoop up and questioned.

“Of course, that needs to be done. The Milton Kingdom is a name placed for being the successor of the Milton Duchy. However, the lineage got cut off, and the present region is beyond the extent of the Milton Duchy. I think there is a need for a new name that everyone can relate to.”

The heads of Rakan were people who had nothing to do with Milton.

That was why Luke wanted a new name for the estates rather than the old Milton.

And the other nobles of Milton, including Volant, who wanted the same name to stand, could no longer argue.

“Then, are you going to name it after the Rakan family?”

When a retainer asked, Luke shook his head.

“I wish I could, but I want a name that empathizes with everyone and their ideals.”

Honestly, empathy and ideals was an excuse.

Up until then, he couldn’t help it, but in the future, Luke was hoping for the name of Rakan to not be used.

Whether this or that, Rakan was the man who had killed him in the past.

“Then, finding such a name would be difficult…”

“The harder it is, the more we need to look for it. For me, ‘Symphonia’ sounds nice. What do you think?”

The eyes of the retainers shone after hearing that.

“Symphonia… I-I believe that it’s the ancient word for harmony.”

When Bentley said that, Luke nodded.

“Yes. Why? You don’t like it?”

“No, it’s not like that. Rather than considering between Rakan and Milton, the other estates were all united into one, it could be thought to be the perfect name.”

Contrary to what Luke expected, most of the retainers nodded their heads and accepted it, and that made Luke smile.

Actually, the name Symphonia belonged to a small nation that existed on the southern part of the Rhodesia Continent during the end of the Mado Civilization.

In that nation, there were no slaves, or nobles, no distinction between the humans and nobles and fairies.

Regardless of the race, all citizens were thought as equals and had the right to be happy.

Symphonia, which had a different system than Abaron of the Mado Empire that reigned for a long time, survived even long after the collapse of the Mado Civilization.

‘Even during the extreme turmoil of the end of Mado, the nation was able to stand because of the unity its people had. I need to keep that in mind.’

Luke had learned about its existence during his time as Saymon when he found ancient literature in the ruins.

He was impressed by it, and he always wanted to reflect the principles and policies of Symphonia into reality if an opportunity came for him.

Fortunately, the new name of the nation was accepted without much trouble.

Thinking about the policy ahead, Luke knew that there would be people who would oppose it. However, Luke didn’t intend to make it public.

Such a radical change would be confusing, so he decided to change it slowly.

‘This is why I need an academy.’

Education was something that could make the sprouts grow and turn it into a tree one day.

By spreading the new ideas and institutions into the minds of the people, the world could be changed easily.

That was what Luke thought, so he gave out the order.

“Anyway, I think it isn’t just imperialism. It’s a real founding, so let’s go ahead. Since the situation in the nation is tight during the post-war restoration, save as many funds as possible.”

“Yes, Lord… Uh, Your Majesty!”

The retainers bowed all at once.

Tears of joy were flowing out of the retainers’ eyes, who had been engaged with the Marquis Rakan all their lives.

“Sir Hans, I will leave you in charge of the Nation Founding, so please prepare everything.”

“I will do my best, Your Majesty!”

Hans knelt in front of Luke.

Leaving him as the head of the National Founding meant that he believed in him the most among all the retainers.

And they were all no longer the retainers of the Marquis Rakan who were under the Baroque Empire.

The name of King Luke of Symphonia spread throughout the continent.