Emperor of Steel

“We have a patient! Please call the doctor!”

When Luke arrived at the clinic, he sought out a doctor and laid Reina on a bed in an empty room.

After a moment, the doctor appeared and took a close look at the patient.

“This is exhaustion. Also, there’s the heat stroke too, if she is provided water and nourishment and kept in shade, she’ll be fine.”

Luke and the servants sighed out of relief.

When she took a sip of the water, Reina recovered.

“Where, where is this?”

“It is a clinic near the square. Young Lord Luke has… ah! No, princess. You need to rest now!”

When Reina tried to get out of bed, Pavel was asking her to stay seated.

“I can’t. If I don’t meet Marquis Mayers and ask for help…”

“For meeting the Marquis or for praying. None of it will be possible with your body.”

Luke cut off her words sharply and firmly.

At those stinging words, Reina let go of her stubbornness and rested back.

“Sir Philip, hurry and get the princess something to eat. So she wouldn’t be a burden to herself anymore.”

“Yes, young Lord.”

At the order from Luke, Philip went out right away.

After a while, Philip bought soup with mushrooms and meat from a close-by restaurant.

While Pavel was scooping soup to Reina, Luke along with Victor went out of the clinic to inquire about what had happened.

“What had happened? Why was the princess kneeling in front of the mansion of Marquis Mayers? That too, like a person receiving leftover food!”

As Luke had asked with a little anger, Victor sighed.

“Phew! Honestly…”

Victor talked a bit about what had happened after their confrontation at the Gigant Arena.

The Count Monarch doubling the taxes to the Volga refugees only for the purpose of getting the princess, the deaths caused by the suspected arson fire in the slums, and their decision to come to Brandon for the purpose of asking help from the nobility in there.

“But the cowardly Marquis Mayers didn’t even meet the princess. The princess pleaded, again and again, however, they didn’t even open the gate.”

Victor had told Luke everything that had happened.

‘Maybe seeing her right now wouldn’t be the best choice for him.’

Luke was able to understand what the Marquis was currently going through.

Reina had a huge fame and reputation in Lamer, but as she was the princess of another nation, not many would be ready to help her.

If he chose to meet her, it would only worsen the relationship with the Count Monarch.

Moreover, if they collided with the Monarch, the royal family member of the Empire, there was a high probability that Emperor Rudolph would do something unbelievable.

Luke’s deduction wasn’t accurate, however, it was very close to reality.

That was the same for Marquis Mayers, who’d bothered with the Volga refugees who were wandering around the empire.

Moreover, he had to make a cold judgment as one of the three nobles of high status.

The power of being a nobility wasn’t enough to go against an Emperor, and the internal situations were confusing enough that the neighboring nations would lend help to the Emperor in chaotic situations.

In such situations, if unpredicted decisions were made, irreversible things could happen.

Which was why he hadn’t let Reina enter the mansion premises.

“The princess insisted on praying in front of the gate until Marquis would come to meet here. Without a sip of water for three days she was there.”

“Is that so.”

“It really is true… this old body wasn’t able to do nothing!”

Victor thumped his chest out of frustration.

Luke understood the feelings of an old knight who burst into tears.

He also knew the pain of not being able to do something for someone special in his past.

“By the way, Young Lord, how come you had arrived over here?”

Victor asked with a lot of curiosity.

Luke spoke the truth as it wasn’t a huge secret to keep,

“I was going back from buying a Gigant.”

“Ah! Then the trailer outside…?”

“Yeah. The Gigant from Hallis Magic Tower.”

At those words, Victor’s eyes went wide as if he was surprised.

‘I heard that the Rakan Viscount was very poor, is it not?’

It was a well-known fact that the brave man Rakan lived in a noble manner but ended up in vain.

And such literary expressions were spoken by those who considered that the Rakan family act was close to reality.

From what Victor knew, he was told that renting a Gigant was hard enough, not even buy it.

But here he said that he had already bought one?

‘Is the estate better these days? Or is there something that we don’t know about?’

Either way, Luke had already saved Reina twice.

When everybody just thinks of helping, he extends his hand and helps her out rather than turning his back on her.

‘Maybe this young man is our only savior.’

After a very careful consideration, Victor knelt before Luke.

“Young Lord, this old man has one favor to ask of you.”

“Please, why are you doing this all of a sudden?”

Surprised at what had happened, Luke tried to get Victor up, but Victor shook his head and stayed on the floor.

“Please accept our pitiful princess and our refugees! As you know, the princes will have to become the concubine of the old, greedy Count Monarch! So please…!”

Luke wasn’t able to hide his fluster.

He knew the loyalty this man was showing, and the size of the estate was large.

Will the Monarch still let the princess and the refugees escape?

They may have to go for a war.

‘One day, I’ll have to touch that Count Monarch, but this isn’t the time. The power that Rakan has is too little for a war.’

That was the clear situation they were in.

However, Luke, it was Saymon who was letting his emotions get swayed.

“Do you want to let it happened again?”

The tragedy of losing a beloved woman in the hands of the powerful men?

Would he be willing to repeat the same thing again which he wasn’t able to forget even after 500 years?

But…

‘She isn’t Katarina.’

Like a different person.

And for that reason, revenge wasn’t possible.

‘I feel sorry, but I have to turn away.’

Luke was suppressing his emotions and trying to refuse. Then came the voice of Reina from behind.

“Please don’t mind me.”

“Pri, princess!”

Reina walked with the support from Pavel and knelt before Luke.

“I am fine, it doesn’t matter to me anymore, just take in our pitiful refugees! A thousand, no, hundred, please… please save them!”

Reina was on her knees, with tears dripping down.