Margrave’s Bastard Son was The Emperor - Chapter 189

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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 189
Taking the First Step
As my carriage arrived at the Magic Ministry, the mages who had been waiting at the building came rushing out one by one. With mountains of reports to submit and decisions to approve, there was no question of who should go first. They followed in my wake as I strode forward, each throwing in their own remarks.
Tap, tap, tap!
“An hour from now, the Prime Minister will convene the Grand Council, sir.”
“Understood. Have each department hand their materials over to Romandro.”
“Count Ian. We have completed the disposal of all corpses in the imperial palace. Those identified have had their names distributed to each department, and those unidentifiable have been incinerated. We can conduct further investigations based on responses from the departments and reports that come in after the gates open. Oh, and the necromancers are requesting the handover of a few intact bodies.”
I accepted the report while walking. Though I appeared to glance over it casually, I read every important detail with precision. I signed it with my pen and handed it back.
“Denied.”
“Yes, sir. That’s what I thought as well. Given the circumstances.”
“Furthermore, we recovered five mana-sealing stones from Prince Gail’s quarters. They consist only of 10-gram and 50-gram sizes, fewer than the officially registered count. We suspect some were lost during the battle with Prince Marib—specifically when Captain Riama was killed.”
“Prince Marib should also have some, though in smaller quantities.”
“We are currently searching his quarters and office, but have found nothing. Please permit interrogation once Prince Marib awakens. Here is the authorization document.”
“Very well. Also, request that the Administrative Ministry check their records. There should have been an adjustment in authority regarding mana-sealing stone management during Wesley’s tenure. It wasn’t long ago.”
Since Wesley had handed over most of the mana-sealing stones to Gail, tracing the flow wasn’t difficult. I signed to approve and repeated the same action until I reached my office.
Click.
At the sound of footsteps, Berik, Xiaoxi, and Jin—who had been waiting inside—turned to look at me simultaneously. The three of them were gathered around a sheet of paper, drawing something. Unfortunately, it remained indecipherable.
“Did you not sleep?”
I said this while looking at Xiaoxi. I had ordered him to stay with Arcen, so the reason he was here was obvious. Deilaina must have taken Arcen away during my absence.
“Oh, I just woke up.”
Jin laughed, creating dimples in his cheeks. Berik, standing behind him, held up his fingers in a horn shape and made all sorts of menacing expressions. It seemed Deilaina had caused quite a commotion. The boy quietly returned to scribbling with his colored pencil, making the shape even more indecipherable.
“Are you leaving right away?”
At Xiaoxi’s question, I nodded. Then, after a moment’s thought, I changed my robe and called to Jin.
“Your Highness.”
“Yes?”
“If sleep does not come, would you join me?”
“Outside?”
“I will be attending the Grand Council. If you wish, come with me. If not, take a night walk. Berik and Xiaoxi will be with you, so you need not worry. Though it is only the second day, staying indoors all day disrupts sleep, and soon the rhythm of day and night breaks down.”
Jin blinked. Though I had suggested a night walk, he understood what I truly wanted. I was telling him to come to the council.
“Won’t Mother be there?”
Jin had vaguely suspected it himself. If Marib and Gail were removed from the succession, the next would be Arcen and himself. From my attitude, he sensed that one day he might face Arcen directly.
But he had not expected to enter politics so quickly.
“No, she will not be there.”
Deilaina would be occupied meeting with Duke Haiman. Besides, the council being convened now was to discuss the direct recovery of the imperial palace, a matter in which Deilaina had little involvement. It would be more efficient for her to gather forces and align with Haiman rather than attend.
“Are you not curious? How the imperial bureaucrats deliberate, vote, and conduct state affairs?”
Though I had received consistent imperial education, most of it concerned etiquette, knowledge, and culture, while political matters were deliberately excluded.
The twins were still young, but more importantly, Marib and Gail had held firm above us. State affairs were like forbidden fruit to them—something to be observed from afar.
“It will be interesting.”
As I smiled faintly, Jin jumped to his feet. His eyes gleamed with rare vitality. Sparkling brightly, the boy clenched his small fists and exclaimed.
“I-I’m curious!”
“Change into your outdoor attire. Is anyone outside?”
At my call, the servant entered and bowed. Jin hurried after him, and Xiaoxi naturally followed suit. Only Berik remained sprawled halfway across the sofa, idling about. He held up a shapeless drawing to the lamplight.
“Ian, look at this? The Prince drew me?”
“Berik, you should prepare to go as well.”
“Eh? Me too?”
“The masters are all leaving. How can you enjoy comfort alone?”
At my amused command, Berik tilted his head back. Since the palace crisis erupted, he hadn’t eaten properly. It was inevitable—confined to a place with limited supplies, he couldn’t venture out.
Knock, knock.
“Ian, where is Prince Jin going this late evening?”
Just then, Romandro tapped the open door to announce himself. His arms were full of reports received from outside.
“He will attend the grand council with me. Please make the preparations.”
“Ah, that’s excellent. The bureaucrats will feel far more assured seeing that the Prince is safe with their own eyes.”
Duke Haiman’s faction was mindful of the fabricated rumors, and Deilaina hadn’t met her son. A meeting between these two would lend weight to claims that I had forcefully seized control of the palace. I needed to act gradually to prevent that.
“Beyond that, Prince Jin will eventually mature and lead state affairs himself. It’s good for him to gain experience beforehand. Such circumstances are rare, and it will surely prove beneficial.”
This was with proper imperial education in mind. The Emperor—his father—lay frozen and immobilized, and his mother only protected his older brother. Who else could teach him these things?
In a sense, this was an opportunity for Jin. For beside him stood one who could guide him step by step—the Emperor himself. What could be more certain than the path of an Emperor taught by an Emperor?
‘…I was betrayed and my throat was cut. I know the worst path one must never take. I have much to teach Jin.’
May my experience become Jin’s wisdom.
I smiled faintly as I organized the documents.
* * *
The carriage raced toward the grand council building.
Jin pressed his forehead against the window alongside Berik, gazing at the palace grounds at night. Accustomed to a regular routine, this was his first time venturing outside so late in the evening. Fortunately, the half-destroyed palace appeared quite convincing in the darkness.
‘How strange. This hour isn’t as dark as I imagined.’
“Your Highness.”
At my call, Jin turned his head. His silver hair caught the moonlight, gleaming with a bluish tint.
“There is something I must tell you before we enter.”
“What is it?”
Romandro cleared his throat and lowered his gaze. From the atmosphere, it didn’t seem to be pleasant news.
Yet Jin straightened his posture and fixed his gaze firmly upon me. Among all the things I had said thus far, nothing had brought him harm. Whatever it might be.
“Deilaina is currently the only legal guardian of both Arcen and Prince Jin within the palace. Neither law nor morality can deny this.”
“But you are here as well, Count Ian.”
At Jin’s response, I smiled slightly. I was a protector in my heart, but to outsiders, I would appear anything but. I was defenseless against the blatant accusation that I sought to monopolize palace power by putting forward a powerless prince.
“If Deilaina wishes to see Prince Jin as she did today, I have no choice but to step aside at any time.”
Suddenly, a shadow fell across the window. The moon had hidden behind clouds, yet I felt Jin’s complexion darken.
“In any case, Deilaina is Prince Jin’s mother. Soon I will complete the restoration and open the palace, and at that time, there will be no justification for me to protect the Prince.”
“Then what exactly should be done…?”
“There is one way. However, since this would be a burden on Prince Jin as well, I ask for your opinion in advance.”
Jin recalled without difficulty the afternoon from two days prior.
Prince Marib, whom I met at my residence. The cool breeze. Someone’s head rolling about. Arcen whispering. My mother releasing my hand.
“Are you saying that Mother gave me to Prince Marib?”
I gave a short nod.
I had begged for my life from a man destined to be recorded in history as a traitor, and handed over Jin. Though I claimed it was to save Arcen, Jin was nonetheless the noble bloodline of an Emperor. As his guardian, I had made a choice I should never have made, and this was now my only justification for separating Jin from Deilaina.
“If you will but permit it.”
If Jin would only allow it, I would expose this and free him from Deilaina’s grasp.
The boy fell silent, and only the sound of hoofbeats echoed through the carriage. I waited for his answer without pressing him. He was to become Emperor, after all. Each choice he made needed to stand on its own strength.
“Count Ian.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“I wish to live.”
After a long pause, the boy’s answer was concise. He touched the wound that had not yet healed, and through the window, he touched that day as well.
“But if I remain with Mother now, I fear I will die. Whether by breath or by soul.”
I could not abandon her completely. She was my mother, after all.
That name—Mother—to which countless souls dedicate all the world’s respect with merely its utterance.
“So when I feel I can endure on my own, I wish to see Mother. Perhaps by then, even if Mother does not embrace me, I will be able to embrace her.”
And when Arcen’s whispers no longer constrict my heart.
I needed time. So I could endure such trials. Even if everyone whispers that I am an abandoned prince, I can bear it.
“A noble resolve, Your Highness.”
“Help me, Count Ian.”
Screech.
The carriage stopped. As the door opened, I descended first and extended my hand to Jin. It was an answer given through action. That I would always grasp his hand thus.
Tap.
Jin alighted lightly and barely calmed his racing heart as he gazed up at the conference hall building. High-ranking officials’ carriages lined the entrance, and mid-level administrators from each department gathered in confusion, exchanging information.
“Your Highness, remember this night.”
Holding my hand, Jin climbed the stairs one by one. People recognized me first, then noticed Jin beside me. The crowd parted left and right, bowing their heads in salute to him.
“Today is the day Your Highness attends the Grand Council for the first time.”
Then I smiled and whispered very softly.
This is a place even Arcen could not reach. One step closer to the throne of Emperor.

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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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