Margrave’s Bastard Son was The Emperor - Chapter 107

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 107. In Search of the Beast
‘Hadn’t thieves raided before? How could the residents not notice that undead were mixed among the thieves?’
In the chaos of life and death intertwining, blades pierced indiscriminately between foe and neighbor alike. Most of the corpses already littering the ground were soaked in blood and caked with dirt. Even when dawn broke, what difference would it make to know whether these remains belonged to a neighbor or a rotting cadaver?
Moreover, even the elderly innkeeper said she had seen a mage only once in her entire life. If one had never encountered beings that refused to die, how could one possibly comprehend them?
‘Or perhaps the thieves brought undead with them for the first time. Either way, I’ll need to investigate this later.’
Clatter-clatter-clatter!
“Run if you want to live!!”
Beyond the wooden fence, Berik’s thunderous shout echoed through the air.
“I’ll slaughter every last one of you!!”
“Ahhhhh! Damn it!”
“Flatten yourselves if you want to survive!”
Whoooosh!
The clean sound of a neck being severed blended with screams. Though half-obscured by the fence, the situation was perfectly clear. He moved through the streets with a freedom and ferocity that surpassed even an eagle soaring across the sky.
That was the moment.
Crash!
A thief who had escaped from the inn burst into the stable. His teeth were completely shattered from the beating Berik had given him.
Romandro’s startled subordinate drew his blade, but hesitated before the thief’s savage momentum. After all, the subordinate was merely a clerk, so it was hardly surprising.
“Ugh!”
“Get out of the way, damn it! Move!”
“Y-yes, you bastard! What kind of place is this!”
Thud!
The undead pursuing the thief lost its balance and crashed its head against the wall. The subordinate, startled, let his blade drop to the ground entirely. The condition of his opponent in the darkness was far from ordinary.
“W-what in the world is that…?”
“An undead, surely you’ve heard of such things.”
“An undead? Gasp!”
As the subordinate covered his mouth in shock, the thief pressed his attack with confidence. In a single motion, he aimed his blade at the subordinate’s throat.
Whoooosh!
In truth, this was only the second time I had seen an undead.
Necromancy itself was a discipline primarily practiced in the Eastern regions rather than in Bariel. It reached particularly high levels in areas where warfare was frequent—the more corpses accumulated, the more efficient necromancy became.
“Ahhhhh!”
Before the thief’s blade could pierce the subordinate’s throat, I extended my hand, condensed my mana, and released it in a burst.
Boom! Bang!
As the mana exploded, the man’s head snapped back at a right angle. The undead that had been following lurched toward me like a broken machine, groaning.
Boom!
One final time. I completely blew off the creature’s head, then covered my nose with my sleeve. The stench of rotted brains erupted from it, permeating the air.
“I-Ian. Are you alright?”
“I believe that’s a question I should be asking you.”
“Ah, I’m fine. Th-thank you!”
“Go find Romandro at once.”
“Yes! Understood!”
I crouched down, watching Romandro’s subordinate dash away. Though reluctant, I wondered if the thief might be carrying something that could serve as a clue.
First, the thief.
Whoosh.
The thief couldn’t even groan before his mouth fell slack and he lost consciousness. I searched every pocket—inner, outer, everywhere there was space.
“Hmm?”
Then something caught on my fingertips. It had a texture that was remarkably unpleasant to the touch.
“Good grief.”
Human hair. Black and curly, wound tightly around a flat wooden tablet. I frowned, staring down at this bizarre object.
It didn’t take long to realize these were the black, curly hairs of the undead whose skull had been shattered.
* * *
“Damn it, cleaned out like a dog.”
Berik, drenched in blood, muttered while placing his hands on his hips. The thieves had ransacked the inn’s warehouse completely, leaving not a scrap of food.
“Not a shred of decency among those bastards.”
“Berik. Staring at empty spaces won’t produce anything. Let’s hurry and leave. That subordinate Romandro sent to search hasn’t shown his face yet.”
“Yeah, yeah. Got it.”
Berik sheathed his sword roughly two hours later. Armed guards poured into the streets and drove the thieves back, while Berik subtly maintained order and led the cleanup effort.
“The chaos was so severe that movement was difficult.”
“What if Romandro is dead?”
“Try saying that in front of Romandro.”
“Ah. Okay. Scratch that. He holds grudges forever, and I hate that.”
Guards moved busily through the streets, extinguishing fires and clearing bodies. The bitter winter night made the work seem all the more grueling.
“Waaahhh!”
“There, there, don’t cry. You’re alright.”
“Those with injuries, come this way!”
“I can’t move on my own. Please help me.”
“Damn vermin. What is all this in the middle of a winter night? Are you trying to kill us all?”
“Check if any embers are still alive!”
Berik had somehow managed to find a scrap of bread, which he held in his mouth as he followed behind me. He looked around left and right, tilting his head curiously.
“Where are we going?”
“Let’s head toward where the shops are gathered.”
“You two there!”
That’s when we heard a voice calling from behind.
“You’re outsiders, aren’t you? Travelers?”
“Yes. And you must be the guard captain.”
The guard captain’s expression hardened at my casual tone. Where did these wet-behind-the-ears youngsters get off speaking so informally?
But he decided to hold his tongue because of the red-haired man standing firmly behind me. He’d watched clearly with his own eyes how that fellow had slaughtered the thieves.
‘Clearly no ordinary swordsman.’
If they were wandering mercenaries without a fixed destination, it would be wise to offer them a small reward and request their assistance.
“Ahem. I am Ullan, guard captain of Karenna. I’m grateful for your help, but I must ask for identification as a matter of procedure.”
I pulled out my identification papers from my inner pocket at the guard captain’s request.
“I’m heading to the Central regions to attend the New Year’s celebration. I’m Ian, this is Berik, and the person we’re looking for is Romandro—an Advisor to the Imperial Palace.”
At my unexpected words, the Guard Captain’s face went pale.
Attending the New Year’s celebration? An Advisor to the Imperial Palace?
He had to be royalty, or at the very least nobility—someone of considerable rank. I’d thought we were mere wandering mercenaries. He immediately removed his hat and bowed his head.
“I-I apologize. Please forgive my rudeness.”
“How did your guards allow those thieves to reach here without any intervention? I heard there was already one attack.”
“I’m sorry. Since this is a small town, three cities have formed an alliance. Unfortunately, problems arose in one of those cities, so we had to dispatch guards there.”
“Because of that, I lost my carriage. It contained items I needed to bring to the Imperial Palace, which puts me in a difficult position. If you permit an inn to operate here, doesn’t that mean you’re guaranteeing safety for travelers?”
As I calmly explained my losses, the Guard Captain felt the world spinning. Never mind Karenna’s damages—items for the Imperial Palace had been lost!
Only the thought “We’re finished” echoed in his mind.
“Where is the Mayor?”
In places without a lord, operations fell under the jurisdiction of a Mayor dispatched from the Central regions. Though treated with quasi-noble status, he was ultimately a salaried official. Given that he hadn’t shown his face during this crisis, there were grounds to suspect dereliction of duty.
“The Mayor is… well…”
“Iaaaan!”
Cutting off the Guard Captain’s words, Romandro’s voice burst in from around the corner. His appearance was no better than a beggar’s. His hair was a mess of straw and dust, and his clothes were torn in several places.
“Romandro. Are you alright?”
“Good heavens. What in the world happened? I nearly died out there and barely made it back. I’ve seen all sorts of things while drinking, but this… this is really…”
“You seem fine to me.”
Romandro clutched his heaving chest and rambled on incoherently. At Berik’s comment, I smiled faintly in agreement. His appearance was terrible, but he was completely unharmed.
“Fine? I thought I was going to die!”
“But you didn’t. Honestly, my ears are ringing.”
“Excuse me, are you perhaps the Advisor to the Imperial Palace?”
“Huh? Yes, that’s right.”
“It’s an honor to meet you! I’m Olan, the Guard Captain!”
The Guard Captain, who had been standing awkwardly, bowed again. But Romandro seemed entirely uninterested, waving his hand dismissively as he tried to enter the inn.
“Let me change clothes first, and then we’ll talk.”
“Romandro. The carriage was robbed.”
“What?”
At my words, Romandro blinked, clearly not understanding. How could Berik be standing here unharmed?
“They seem to have stolen it while attacking the inn. When they spotted us in the forest, they targeted us. By the time we came back down, it was already gone.”
“No, that’s… that can’t be…”
His mouth fell open.
There were stacks of documents, and more importantly, high-grade mana stones inside. Berik casually supported his jaw and muttered.
“Would you like me to lend you some clothes?”
“Clothes are the problem!?”
“Ah. This time it’s the left ear.”
“Ian! Ian! What do we do? I’m losing my mind! Did those bastards know what was in the carriage?”
At Romandro’s outburst, the Guard Captain watching from the side also broke into a cold sweat. It was real. There were definitely valuable items inside.
“I don’t think so. If they’d known what was inside, they would have known our identities too, but they burst through the door without hesitation.”
“Ugh. This is a mess.”
It simply meant he’d been unlucky enough to get beaten down. As Romandro sank into a seat, his subordinates struggled to support him.
“Are the others unharmed?”
“Our people are all fine. The coachmen said they were drinking separately, so I’m not sure what happened to them.”
I nodded, relieved at least for that. Then I gestured toward the interior with my chin, directing the guard captain.
“First, collect the thieves and bodies inside the inn. I need to attend to some business for a while. And check the market as well.”
“Ah, yes. Understood.”
“Ian, where are you going?”
At Romandro’s question, I fumbled with my compass. I merely muttered, recalling the path I’d taken during the day.
“I’m going to Danil.”
“Danil?”
“That abandoned village we saw this afternoon—they called it Danil. But contrary to my expectations, it doesn’t seem to be the thieves’ stronghold. Berik! Bring two horses from the stable.”
If it wasn’t the thieves’ base, what would we do there? At Romandro’s bewildered expression, I replied calmly.
“I’m going to find a dog.”
“Right. This time it’s my turn to ask questions. Hah.”
Berik agreed enthusiastically, his shoulders bouncing with excitement.
No matter how I thought about it, that creature seemed to hold the key to all these mysteriously tangled circumstances.
‘Thieves, necromancy, a talking dog, and a slaughtered village along with the Magic Department. To find the carriage, I first need to understand the broader situation.’
Neigh!
“Ian! Let’s go!”
“Romandro. I’ll return shortly. Please handle things here.”
Berik and I mounted the horses without hesitation, shaking the reins. The two of us galloped down the chaotic street. Romandro shouted after us.
“Please!! Find that carriage!!”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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