Empire of the Ring

A huge cargo truck filled with daily necessities entered the ranch.

Youngho was relieved to see Kim Ilkwon getting off his van followed by the cargo truck.

“Boss, I could only find thirty units of small-scale power generators. But I made extra orders, and we’ll have enough in a few days.”

Youngho wanted to let the villagers have access to electricity, so he asked Ilkwon to get and install small power generator units from Baku’s downtown.

“Thanks. I had no other choice but to send you downtown to get those.”

“No problem, Boss. The North Korean representatives are about to take off the country and no one would’ve walked around the downtown. Besides, I am a citizen of Azerbaijan now. They can’t touch me.”

Youngho completely forgot about the North Korean representatives, and after asking Ilkwon, Youngho realized that he should not have sent Ilkwon downtown. Fortunately, Ilkwon came back without any trouble. Still, Youngho felt that Ilkwon was too obedient.

“Ilkwon, you can’t just do what I tell you to do. If I ask you to do something that could put you in trouble, that means I wasn’t thinking. You’ve got to speak out in those instances. Do you know how much I was worried about you? I couldn’t reach you because there is no phone signal around here.”

“Got it, Boss.”

Ilkwon could not hide his smile for Youngho’s thoughtful consideration.

“You know what, let’s request for the installation of phone relay stations. If that’s not possible, we should find a way to install landlines. It doesn’t make sense that we don’t even have a phone connection here when this is such an important place for us.”

“In my opinion, it would be impossible to install relay stations since there are not many households. It would be expensive, but how about using satellite phones, although they are somewhat costly?”

It was a brilliant idea.

Youngho only thought about T.V. satellite antennas, but he did not think about satellite phones. The satellite phones would probably be the most effective communication tool for Youngho and the security crew of Zeynep Security Service.

Mobile phones did not work in most of the regions in the Caucasus Mountain Range except for around the capital areas since people mostly dwelled in city areas due to high mountains and rough environments outside of them. Since the rest of the land was abandoned and all the small villages were widely scattered, it would be very inefficient to install relay stations.

“I should’ve thought of that before. The CIA doesn’t use it because of possible information exposure. But, for us, it would be way better than having no communication at all.”

“I will talk to Insoo right away.”

“Great. I’ve got to say, I didn’t expect a country boy from North Korea to suggest such a brilliant idea.”

Ilkwon chuckled.

Now, Youngho had one less problem to worry about.

***

“They’ve got great physiques. A little bit of training will make them fit for their job. If you give me permission, I will get on it.”

Ilkwon was saying that because of those descendants of the knights who still roamed around the ranch. Youngho did not know what to do with them since they would not listen to anybody. Their loyalty lay in protecting Fatima. Ilkwon volunteered to train them now.

“Alrighty then. You can recruit whoever has potential. I’ll talk to Niksic.”

“I see about ten of them with potential. Like I said, they’ve got good physiques. I will get them and train them to fight.”

“Not the way you were trained in North Korea. Let them follow your lead on their own.”

“Don’t worry, Boss. I have no intention of doing that. Just let me get my hands on them; I can turn them into an elite force in no time. After training, if they want, they can work at Zeynep Security Service.”

“Wonderful. New and young blood of the Security Service.”

It was quite difficult to recruit Korean youngsters for the company. Now, it would be easier to make additions to the service.

The descendants of the knights were Azerbaijan citizens and encountered no language barrier. Since they had quarantined themselves from the outside world, this could be a good chance for them to experience the world. It would not be hard to persuade them because they would be completely obedient to Fatima.

Youngho’s son was named.

Both elders of the mine villagers and Sangchun’s father contributed to finding a good name.

‘Leonard Hanwool L Aleksandar’

It was a name that recalled the bravery of a lion and generosity like the fence.

Everyone was calling him Leon, but Youngho stubbornly called him Hanwool.

Finding a name seemed to be such a big deal, but reporting the birth was even a bigger problem. The son had become such a precious one to numerous people. Youngho’s heart felt heavy because he felt like he passed on a great obligation to his son already.

Leon would not be able to live a normal life.

It was the child’s fate and he should be disciplined to accept it.

After all, Youngho and Fatima’s life was not that normal.

Fatima recovered her normal condition in less than five days.

But Youngho could not join Fatima’s room to protect the baby since his immune system was still weak. In addition to that, the baby was crying day and night. If Youngho stayed with the baby, he would not be able to work during the daytime.

However, Zeynep came in handy. She had been taking care of newborn children of the ranch, and she did not want to be separated from Leon. After the baby was born, the female villagers kept coming in and out of the mansion to take care of the Archduchess and to do all kind of chores for her.

They could not stop the women because Niksic was behind them.

Still, Fatima was grateful for their help and consideration.

***

While adults worked at the gold mines, children studied with teachers hired from outside. The Security Service lodging was given to children as dormitories and the security crews were sent back to Zeynep Farm.

The village children learned how to use the computer and electronics since they seemed to be most interested in handling technology. Some children in late teenage years also joined military training with Kim Ilkwon.

Park Jongil volunteered to help Ilkwon but he was surprised by the teenagers’ extraordinary movements.

“I told you, man! It’s incredible if you see how well they use a dagger. I pushed them hard to the end, yet they were not even out of breath. There must be a secret breathing method these guys are not telling us.”

“It must be difficult for you, but roll with them for a while. I’ve got to show the old man what I’ve got.”

Youngho was going to tell Niksic about the power of the ring and the leather shoes as well as tell him the story of Fatima and himself. There was nothing to hide anymore when he already had a child with Fatima. They would show their loyalty to Fatima and Leon no matter what. If they found out that Youngho was chosen by the family’s relics, Youngho would be respected by them too.

“Niksic, do you remember this emblem?”

As Youngho took out the ring, Niksic’s face turned pale.

Niksic ran to his wardrobe and took out a papyrus paper. The Archduke’s emblem was on the paper. It looked a little different since it was passed on through several generations, but it still was the Archduke’s emblem.

“Have you heard of the legend of this ring?”

Youngho nodded and Niksic bowed down to Youngho to show his loyalty as a knight as he did to Fatima.

“I am aware of the meaning of your action. However, I am not the true owner of the ring.”

Niksic shook his head.

“I’ve heard that there would be an owner of the ring. If the husband of the Archduchess owns the ring and knows the legend, he also is the one we obey and show our loyalty to. I believe that the Archduchess handed the ring to you since you are trustworthy.”

From Niksic’s action, Youngho could see that the ring must have significant meaning to it. To hear more about the Serbian Kingdom in the past, Youngho began to tell the whole story of meeting Fatima and how he far came since then.

The conversation had continued for more than two hours.

When Niksic heard about the Fatima siblings’ rough past, he sobbed so hard. Through this, the two formed a strong sympathy with each other.

“You two are destined to be together, crossing east and west. From now on, we swear to live and die for you.”

After calming down, Niksic promised to be loyal to Youngho since he connected everything as his destiny.

“I also believed that this should be destiny as well. That is why I’ve searched the entirety of Istanbul. The beginning of the Zeynep ranch was probably led by the power of the ring.”

“I beg you. Could you show me the power of the ring?”

“Of course.”

Youngho went outside and showed all of the mysterious power of the ring.

After seeing everything, Niksic replied to Youngho by showing his martial art movements.

It was technics of a medieval martial art. His movements were so fast that it was hard to believe that he was an old man. Yet, he was not even short of breath.

“So there is a special breathing technique of the knights.”

“If the power of the ring is the light of a full moon, the knight’s training method is as small as that of a firefly. The Lord protected the kingdom with the power of the ring, and the knights were guardians of the rings.”

It meant that the royal family members with the ring on had fought at the frontline in every single battle to protect their people.

The ring had to be like a gun or a missile during the age of swords and arrows. That had to be why a small kingdom like Serbia was able to fight against the Ottoman Empire or Persian Empire.

Although the Serbian Kingdom was demolished by the heavy arms of Turkey, the ring proved its worth and power.

Since that day with Niksic, the villagers treated Youngho differently.

They showed respect to Youngho as if they were facing the Fatima siblings. Finally, Youngho was able to persuade them to give up on the idea of building houses on their own. At last, it was possible to build a modern village.

Jongil was asking Youngho about the changed attitude of the villagers.

“What did you do, man? How come they’re completely different?”

“I am the husband of the Archduchess. Don’t you think people should look at me differently? Maybe like as a duke or a marquis? I have not seen people being disobedient to a duke or a marquis.”

Jongil had no words.

“In the 21st century, you are saying you became duke of a few hundred people in this mountain area. You must be really enjoying this medieval play.”

“Hahaha.”

“Don’t laugh! I’m serious! Is this funny to you?”

Youngho was encouraged because people who were not willing to change at all started to accept the change.

The descendants of the Serbian people were showing how much effort they were putting to make their old dream come true.

“So… I guess you do not really care about the special breathing technique of the knights.”

“What the heck! You finally persuade him? Did he said he will tell you?”

“Well, if you care to come across the line to the medieval times, there might be a way.”

“Damn it. Forget it! I am not doing it. I would rather die.”

“Brother. It’s easy. Just call Fatima ‘my lady’ and call me ‘my lord’.”

“Shut up!!”

“Haha….”