Emperor of Steel - Chapter 443

Chapter 443: 443

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 .

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