Emperor of Steel

“We have arrived.”

Scarlet and her retainers arrived at the lordship of the Marquis of Rakan, and their eyes were dull.

Leaving their hometown of Albertville, they crossed the western border and entered the Baroque Empire. They had to travel by land instead of by sea, which was faster, in order to make sure that their identities were not revealed.

They had struggled a lot, but after going through a hard time, they had arrived at Rakan.

When they heard the Rakan descendant had developed the ruined territory, they thought that the development would be little.

However, the port was constantly being visited by traders, and the city commerce and industry had developed. The rice fields were looking like golden waves.

Despite the prosperity and wealth, the center of the Marquis was far from grand or luxurious.

A simple old fashioned mansion that was neatly refurbished was what the Marquis of Rakan was like.

‘He was indeed the descendant of the warrior!’

“What are your reasons for coming here?”

When asked by the knight guarding the main gate of the lordship, Scarlet’s party was shocked as it was their first time.

“We came to see the lord through the letter of someone he knows.”

On behalf of Scarlet, Vante went out and handed in the letter of recommendation.

The knight reviewing the letter of recommendation hurriedly contacted the residence.

After a while, Hans, the butler, ran out to meet them.

“Welcome, come inside. I have heard before from the lord.”

“It looks like viscount Lev has contacted the lord in advance.”

“HaHa. That one… you’ll understand once you see.”

Hans had already heard from Luke, so he knew that letting them know the truth in advance wasn’t going to be fun.

“Currently, the lord is out. Please relax and wait till his arrival.”

Thanks to the consideration of Hans, Scarlet’s party enjoyed good food after a long time and were relaxed in their allotted accommodation.

And after three days, they were able to meet the lord that just returned.

“Nice to meet you. I am Luke de Rakan of the Rakan Estates.”

“Y-you…!”

Scarlet and her retainers couldn’t help but be surprised.

The face of Lord Luke was very similar to the new lord of Albertville, Lev.

“Are you Lev’s twin brother?”

“Nope.”

When Scarlet asked the question, Luke shook his head.

“Then maybe a half brother with a similar face?”

“Not that either.”

“Then maybe…”

Scarlet, who had been thinking for a while, made a reasonable guess.

Jumping out of her seat, she screamed.

“Doppelganger! Are you some kind of demon?”

‘Is this woman stupid?’

Luke, who heard her ridiculous answers, frowned.

Scarlet’s retainers, including Vante, already guessed it, but Scarlet’s weird answers were the only ones audible.

‘Because she is a fool, she did reckless things in the past.’

Even those who graduate as academy toppers often go erratic when they fall into the real world.

In the eyes of Luke, Scarlet was someone very similar to that.

‘But that was the reason why such people focus on other areas and often to different things.’

Perhaps, even after receiving the vision of archery from Erenes, she must have had some personality that made him contribute to that.

Anyway, Luke had decided to tell the stupid lady about his identity.

“I am Viscount Lev and also Marquis Luke. In the Holy Empire’s civil war, I hid my identity and participated.”

Only then did she learn of the truth and sat down with a red face.

“I-I’ll let you know beforehand. I heard from generation to generation that the relationship between the Baroque Imperial Family and yours is bad. Are you thinking of betraying your identity and receiving estates from the Holy Empire?”

“Let’s just say that that’s the case,” said Luke.

Scarlet tilted her head and asked Luke that considered her as someone stupid, “Why are you telling us such an important secret of yours? What if we rush over to the emperor and try to get something from it?”

“I have no concern over such things,” said Luke.

“Yeah? What could be your reasons for trusting me so much?”

“It is true that I look forward to it. I just hope that you won’t let me down.”

Luke had a thin smile.

Scarlet’s party could feel chills on their body after seeing his smile.

It was as if they were being warned to not let his expectations down.

‘You don’t care about being betrayed? In the end, it means that we are in our own hands.’

Vante was able to notice Luke’s intentions.

Luke was confident about handling a number of betrayals, so he probably shared his secret.

“For the next 5 years.”

“Huh? 5 years?”

“For five years, carry out my command faithfully, and I will return Albertville Estate to you.”

Scarlet’s party was amazed at Luke’s offer.

“Really?”

“Of course. I promise on the name of the person that I cherish.”

There was nothing unfortunate for Luke.

5 years was enough to make them into his.

Just as he had given the land to the knights, Albertville could be left to them.

“Nice. I’ll do anything, trust me!”

“Huhuhu. Since things will take time, don’t act too hasty.”

Luke got up and turned to the right wall.

There was a map of the Baroque Empire.

Emperor, nobles and the neutral territories were all painted in different colors.

In addition, its approximate troops of Gigant and its financial situation were indicated there.

“You will be very busy in the future. It is going to be very noisy too.”

Luke smiled meaningfully.

Scarlet, who didn’t know of his intent, was puzzled.