Emperor of Steel

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On the way to the office room, Maron approached Hans and asked, “Prime Minister, you really believe that he is the descendant of Rakan?”

“Well, the face looks similar.”

“Well, I do see that…”

After Luke’s past policy, the statues and portraits of Rakan had turned difficult to find.

However, Hans and the other old retainers, who grew up in the mansion, remembered his face.

“But, in that case, His Majesty’s friend, Sebastian, resembles the warrior, but he isn’t one, right?”

“Of course. But didn’t you see that back there? The Gold Sword was something mastered by the knights and the lord only.”

The Second Half had vanished from their estate 400 years ago.

Luke had recently found the second half and taught it to himself while Philip stole it, but the probability of an outsider to know it was zero.

“I see… Isn’t it possible that the kid went to the Southern Continent and learned it? Your Majesty found it there.”

Luke explained to his retainers that he discovered the second half of the Gold Sword on the Southern Continent.

“But, he said that it was because of Saint Nanda’s help. Anyway, this needs to be approached carefully.”

If Hiros was a real descendant of Rakan, a conflict would occur in Symphonia.

And if his argument that Luke learned dark magic was true, it would lead to a catastrophe.

After a while, they reached the room.

Once they were all sitting, Hans asked for confirmation, “Are you sure about being the descendant of the warrior?”

“Yes. My ancestors broke up with Viscount Rakan of the 6th generation.”

In the meantime, Hiros gave out the names of the 1st to 6th Rakan members, their retainers and their kids.

Some of them were Hans and Maron’s ancestors, so their eyes shone when Hiros mentioned them.

“Over 400 years ago, you know that the 6th Rakan, Saul de Rakan, was assassinated in the war against the Castia Kingdom?”

“Yes, that was when the second half of the Gold Sword was lost.”

“It was known to be done by the military of Castia but was actually done by the Baroque Imperial family.”

“Imperial family?”

“Yes. It said that it was done to stop Saul, who was leaning toward Castia.”

According to Hiros, Saul, the 6th heir, fell in love with a woman from the enemy territory.

The problem was that the lady was an illegitimate child of a high ranking noble of the Castia Kingdom, and a spy from Castia Kingdom knew it.

“The woman named Rutier is my great grandmother. Saul, who hadn’t forgotten the grudges he held on the Imperial family, handed the information of the army to my grandmother, trying to give it to Castia.”

However, Saul’s actions became apparent to the Imperial Intelligence agency.

And according to their law, they should immediately arrest and execute him for such crime, but the problem was that Saul was a descendant of Rakan.

Rakan, the famous warrior who defeated Devil King Saymon, the man who helped Duke Baroque in taking down the Libiya Kingdom.

“Then, even if Saul betrayed them, the Baroque will be condemned for any action against him. That was why they made it look like he was assasinated by Castia.”

Of course, it was denied by the Castia Army, but no one believed them.

It wasn’t uncommon for an assassination to occur under adverse war situations.

“Well, my great grandmother escaped safely. And after a few months, she gave birth.”

“How about the second half of the Gold Sword…?”

“Yes. Saul handed it down to his lover before he was assassinated. Thanks to that, I was able to learn the second half.”

Both Hans and Maron nodded at the plausible story.

However, there were still parts that were not very clear.

“Why didn’t Mr. Hiros’ ancestors return to the family after all these years?”

“It was because my great grandmother, Rutier, was concerned about the enemies pursuing us and wanted to keep it secret. His records and the second half of the Gold Sword were sealed away, so my ancestors and father lived their lives without knowing that they were the descendants of Rakan.”

“Hmm, I guess so.”

“I too wondered for a very long time as a mercenary and then went back to my hometown after a decade and while I was cleaning up the attic, I saw the things that my grandmother, Rutier, left behind. Since then, I tried to practice the second half all the time.”

“It must have been very difficult. Do you know that it is impossible to learn the second half of the sword without learning the first half of it?”

As Hans pointed it out, Hiros nodded.

“Yes. That made me think about going back to the homeland, but I was able to compensate it with the experience I gained on the battlefield.”

‘That could be because he was a mercenary for a long time.’

Maron recalled the situation he saw with Rogers a while back.

Maron was angered by the rude and obnoxious words Hiros spoke and couldn’t think of him as a descendant of Rakan.

However, he was able to understand it.

Dignity and culture were innate. They had to be educated.

Hiros, a mercenary, would certainly have less of those qualities.

“Honestly, I was thinking of returning to my homeland as I was confident enough of proving myself to be the descendant of the warrior. But when I heard that the family got revived, I put off my plans. If I came back after it turned out well, I would be treated as a shameless person.”

“Then what made you come back now?”

“Didn’t I tell you already? It is to dispel the shame brought on to the family by touching dark powers.”

Saying that, Hiros hit his sword.

When the sword hit the ground, the people in the room could feel their heart tremble.

However, not being swayed by it, Hans spoke very carefully to not create any misunderstanding.

“It is just a rumor that is going around. It is true that His Majesty has learned magic, but he doesn’t wield dark magic.”

“Huh, you really think so?”

“Yes, we do. Otherwise, how would he have been able to learn the Gold Sword?”

Originally, the Gold Sword was a form of Holy Sword that was used by paladins of the Holy Empire.

One wouldn’t believe that a man who touched darkness could master such skill.

“On top of that, the one who oversaw the coronation of His Majesty was the Pope of the Holy Empire. If His Majesty mastered dark magic, then the Pope, the God’s representative, would surely have noticed it.”

At Hans’ words, Hiros laughed.

“There are rumors that the Holy Pope wasn’t the representative of God but a princess of the destroyed Volga Kingdom, right? And surely, she is in a relationship with King Luke?”

Hans and Maron were silent.

It wasn’t said out loud, but they even held a secret wedding.

However, Hans refuted everything about it.

“I never heard of such a story. If so, then the refugees of the Volga in Symphonia Kingdom would have immediately moved to the Holy Empire, and there was a rumor saying that such words about the Pope were being spread only to undermine the position of the Pope.”

At Hans’ refusal, Hiros was unable to respond for a while, but then he spoke, “Well, we’ll know once we meet if it is the truth or not. Guide me to the king.”

“His Majesty is outside.”

At Hans’ words, Hiros seemed confused. It was certain that the Majesty was in the palace.

“Where did he go?”

“To patrol the lands in secret. It will take a few days for him to come back,” answered Hans.

“Tch, then I’ll have to wait.”

“Please do so. His Majesty will be pleased to know that his relative has come.”

Would Luke really be pleased with such a rude relative?

Hans and Maron were skeptical, but they couldn’t ask Hiros to leave.

If the mess rose once again, more rumors would spread.

‘Oh my! Come back soon, Your Majesty!’

There were just two people who really prayed that Luke would get back quickly.