Emperor of Steel

The next day, after hearing the rumors that Luke would be taken in for the military service, the retainers rushed into the Butler, Hans’s room.

They were worried that something was happening, or that they had to check with Hans about the information that came out regarding the Imperial family and their attitude because of the outcome of war.

“If he is still 17, then he can’t be drafted. Where is such a law!?”

“This is surely their act to try and cut off the blood of the warrior.”

“Even after 500 years, that sneaky lineage doesn’t change!”

As everyone was almost on the verge of bursting into tears, Knight General Rogers opened up and spoke very calmly,

“We need to take some countermeasure before that envoy of the Emperor comes here.”

“A countermeasure… are there any appropriate measures that can be taken with such a situation?”

When asked by the butler Hans, Rogers with his eyes shinning told them what he was thinking about.

“The estate which is suffering from an epidemic, cannot be drafted. It is because they worry about the disease spreading over to the other soldiers. So…”

“And for an epidemic to come? Wouldn’t it be very controversial if people and the young Lord got sick at the very time the envoy reaches here?”

“Then, how about saying the Lord has gotten injured while hunting?” asked Rogers.

“But, the doubts in the heads of the envoy would be hard to erase. Most of all, our Lord is ready to accept his military service request.”

They didn’t know what Luke was thinking, but they knew that Luke would serve as an honorable descendant of a warrior.

After waking up from the accident, he didn’t want to be compared with his ancestor and the warrior, they couldn’t understand why he was suddenly thinking about the family’s honor.

“We can’t just let him go because he wants to…”

“Why do we have to? He has to stay. Even if it means I need to knock his limbs down by force. ”

If the lord’s limbs were broken, then there wouldn’t be a draft from military service.

Rogers was very loyal to Luke, but he was just as greedy as everyone, they all wanted him to stay.

“No matter how many idea’s are used, we will only be able to get handful of time and he can’t be completely exempted from the military service. Whether he gets sick, or breaks his limbs, he’ll eventually be drafted.”

As Hans said that, Maron raised his hand.

“Then, why don’t we get him married early?”

After all, in noble families, early marriage was common.

“Do you mean that bloodline continuing with a descendant?”

“I don’t think that it is the best of the choices.”

“Hmm…”

In fact, the same situation had happened several times in the course of 500 years in the family.

If the heir to the family was young and unmarried, he would be married early to a woman of a noble family or a daughter of the retainers and go for the military.

“Well, is there any suitable partner?”

‘Surely princess Reina…’

Reina was a noble blood from Volga, was the lady of the estates and a smart woman.

What was more, was after the kidnapping of Reina, Luke had been very friendly with her.

That being said, there was no need to rush, however, the oldies of Rakan and Volga were desperately trying to get those two into an official relationship.

“The law also states that newly married nobles can postpone the services for at least one year…”

“How about we do something worthwhile instead of thinking about such useless stuff?” asked Luke.

The time that they were discussing, Luke entered the room.

And at that moment, all the retainers looked like a cat caught in the act of stealing a fish.

“I was searching where everyone went and here you all are. General Rogers!”

“Yes, young Lord!”

“Do I look like an underachiever in your eyes? Do you think that I will go into a battle and just die?”

“That… no.”

There were numerous things that had to be refined in Luke’s fencing skills, but he was much better than peers of his age.

He was able to express Aura and knew how to use magic efficiently.

Furthermore, a Rune Knight, he managed to defeat four Gigants which had invaded their territory and proved his skills.

He could go to the battlefield and not die so easily.

But…

“Young Lord, even the Sword Masters can be killed. And the act of the Emperor, young Lord is more likely to be sent to the forefront, where the combat is very frequent and unsafe when compared to the rear.”

“But can one be a strong knight without experiencing such harsh environments?”

“That…”

As Rogers couldn’t say anything more, Luke spoke with a much firmer voice,

“I hope to be a much stronger Knight than now. I hope to be a stronger knight than the Sword Emperor, than what my ancestor has achieved.”

Luke was serious.

It was because he had to be a much stronger person for his revenge to be achieved.

And staying in the estate he couldn’t properly practice the dark magic because of the constant following of both retainers and residents.

In order to develop power without being seen by his acquaintances, the battlefield was the right environment.

‘I get to see the situation inside the Imperial Army that supports the Baroque Imperial.’

Because of that, Luke had no intention of refusing the military service.

“And I found out that while serving in the military, the estates are exempted from the taxes, and the disputes are prohibited, and the war with neighbors also aren’t allowed.”

It was difficult to say that the Rakan Viscount Lord had complete control of the Monarch’s territory, although he had been training over a month.

So, Luke needed time to stabilize his estate, and he didn’t want to avoid military service that would benefit him from avoiding tax cuts and territorial war.

“I know that everyone is very concerned about this. But if you can accept the hard work that I have done till now, then I hope that you continue to believe me.”

“Young Lord…”

“Let’s not talk about this anymore.”

Speaking those final words, Luke walked out of the room.

Hans and the other retainers including Rogers stood there while feeling discouraged.

They decided to believe in the words of their young Lord, however, their worries which had taken shelter in their mind couldn’t be easily removed.