“Your Majesty, some of the Kaleth Empire Knights who were stationed at the barrier have retreated.”

Hayden simply nodded at the report. If he couldn’t even touch Carlos Arthur Ingram with a single finger, he had to at least mentally unsettle the guy.

The one who had lived isolated throughout the 430 years, thinking he was the best, would be bewildered and would want to deny reality when unexpected things happened.

If he dared to intrude on Chaléa and, in front of Lu, showed his face without permission, he would have to pay the price.

“Squeak, squeak?”

The white hawk, happily tearing apart meat at its designated spot on the wide-open balcony, tilted its head. After witnessing the monster wave that had swept through the southern part of Kaletha, it had returned after a while following the magic circle opened by its owner.

The yellow eyes of the hawk had seen many things in the sky. People who had to deal with ‘monsters’ rather than ‘devils,’ trampled fields, and people screaming amidst the smoke and cries of birds. All of that had been the burden that Ferçeta alone had to bear.

Hayden counted the scenes the hawk had witnessed and asked.

“What about the eastern border?”

“We are quickly constructing checkpoints in the east. Dragonlord is supervising the management.”

As if Hayden was not giving him enough orders, Melphior was currently complaining a lot, holding his ground in front of the newly opened gate in the east since dawn. The gate in front of Kartat Castle was always being observed by Hayden, and Melphior kept an eye on the east and the sea, so there was no need to worry for now.

“Yesterday, Nerva Gongsa said something interesting.”

“Yes, they are attempting to trade with Kaletha. As always, their goal is to be a neutral country that no one can touch.”

The words sound nice. Protect sovereignty, avoid war, save resources, and gain benefits. It was the calculative nature of the people of Nerva, who wanted to dominate the eastern nobles who had governed Ferçeta until now.

“Will there be time for trade?”

Hayden muttered while stroking the hawk’s beak. The white hawk happily cried, rubbing its chin and cheeks vigorously against its owner’s fingers. Lu, who had been sitting quietly, looked at the hawk. The hawk made a squawk as if pretending to know.

“How about naval maintenance?”

“The shipyard is working around the clock to build ships, Your Majesty. Among the soldiers you recovered this time, there were quite a few who wanted to stay in the army, so we immediately put them into the navy.”

Is a war finally happening? Seeing the hawk approaching her, Lu had a different thought.

A war. The Imperial Knights would be deployed, and Carlos would probably personally join.

Lu didn’t know much about the power of Imperialore, but she knew well the power of the Imperial Knights she had been a part of. Choosing 20,000 of the elite among elites, the Swordsmen, would make it extremely difficult for Ferçeta, where magic had disappeared, to cope.

“Squeak!”

“…Huh?”
Lu approached, and with a flutter of her wings, she belatedly noticed the Sky Emperor confidently strutting forward, saying, ‘Look at me!’

“You should observe proper etiquette. Act decently.”

Hayden extended his arm to Lu. What to do with this big and fierce creature? And without any protective gear? However, it wasn’t like he had insisted on wearing protective gear. Hayden turned away after seeing the hawk quietly perching on the armrest of the chair where Lu was sitting.

“It’s good to be prepared for anything.”

Apart from the nobles’ soldiers, the central army and the Imperiale were nothing more than shells. Since ascending to the throne, Hayden had been focused on properly shaping Ferçeta’s appearance as a country. The assets and soldiers recovered from Moiqufel this time were a great help.

“Anyway, it’s land we’ll have to reclaim someday.”

The officials gathered here couldn’t say anything in front of the Emperor, who only continued to achieve victories. Although they strongly opposed war in their hearts, if the Emperor decided, no one could stop him.

Interestingly, the white hawk, enjoying Lu’s gentle touch without a scratch on its armrest, was the most peaceful presence in the room.

The regular meeting was over. Today’s content would also be conveyed to Ophelia and Melphior. Ophelia might see it, but who knows.

“What’s its name, Your Majesty?”

In the meeting room where people were still lingering and chatting, Lu asked while stroking the tiger that was as gentle as a dove and bowing like a pigeon.

“Shernan.”

The hawk responded with a chirp as its name was called.

“Shernan, Ashka, Karim, there are many names; call it whatever you want.”

“So many names?”

“There were many previous owners.”

Hmm. While Lu was petting the hawk, she asked.

“What name do you like? Shernan?”

“Chirp!”

“Ashka?”

“Chirp!”

“Karim?”

“Chirp!”

“Yeah, any is fine….”

“Chirp!”

So cute. Lu continued to affectionately stroke the mysterious bird.