Margrave’s Bastard Son was The Emperor - Chapter 190

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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 190
The Grand Council
Knock, knock.
“Prime Minister. Count Ian and Minister Hielo have arrived.”
“Show them in. Quintana, regarding that tax adjustment proposal you gave me this afternoon—I recall we handled a similar matter about five years ago. It would be wise to calculate it in comparison with that precedent.”
“Prince Jin has also come with them.”
The Prime Minister and senior officials who had been reviewing reports together faltered.
Prince Jin?
Of course, a prince attending the grand council posed no problem whatsoever. In fact, stepping forward to help restore order in the imperial palace was nothing short of exemplary conduct.
But Jin was far too young, and more importantly, the matter of succession loomed ahead.
‘Count Ian has truly drawn his blade properly.’
Bringing such a young prince to the grand council. It was a clear signal of support for Prince 5, while simultaneously establishing his presence in political circles. Quintana ignored the murmuring officials and stamped her seal with a sharp thud.
“I’ve finished my cigarettes for the day. Why are you all standing about? Won’t you show them in?”
The servant bowed and turned to leave, and soon the massive doors slid open slowly. Ian was holding Jin’s hand. The Prime Minister and other officials rose to greet Jin.
Creak.
“Prince Jin. I’m relieved to see you well.”
“The wound on your face runs deep—truly lamentable.”
“Please come this way, Your Highness.”
Perhaps because his skin was so pale, the gruesome scar running from his right forehead to his left jaw stood out starkly. It was as if divine grace had spared his eyes; the wound was dark and deep, cleaving the child’s face nearly in half.
Quintana frowned as she tucked her cigarette case into her pocket.
‘Prince Marib and Prince Gail are truly remarkable. What crime could a young prince have committed to deserve such treatment?’
Yet apart from the scar, his complexion looked healthy—a relief. In fact, compared to before the incident, there was now a spark of life in his eyes. Occasionally passing by, he had seemed like a moving doll unlike Arcen.
“You all labor greatly. It is you who support the troubled imperial palace, and His Majesty the Emperor will surely be deeply pleased.”
“You are too kind, Your Highness. It is merely our duty.”
“Indeed. It is our obligation.”
“Your words bring me comfort. Thus I have come, though my abilities are meager, to lend what strength I can. I humbly ask that you allow me to learn from the Prime Minister and ministers’ wisdom.”
Everyone bowed their heads at Jin’s request. Had this child always spoken so well? No. In fact, they had scarcely ever heard his voice.
All were startled by how different he was from their memories, but only briefly. Ian pulled out a chair and guided Jin to it—the seat closest to the Prime Minister, his own seat.
“Please be seated here, Your Highness.”
“Thank you.”
Jin answered firmly and sat down. His expression was stern and composed, but beneath the table, his hands trembled violently. He had performed exactly as Ian had instructed, yet Jin was shaking so badly he couldn’t even remember what words had left his mouth.
“Are we the last to arrive, then?”
“Indeed. Let us begin the council.”
Ian glanced at the boy’s trembling hand and asked the Prime Minister. The impact of Jin’s entrance was undeniable, but it quickly subsided. There was far too much to discuss and far too many matters to address for anyone to dwell on the prince’s presence.
Thud.
Subordinates from each department circulated through the council chamber, distributing reports. Romandro moved among them as well, conveying the opinions of the Magic Ministry’s commanders.
“First, the Administrative Ministry. Quintana.”
At the Prime Minister’s designation, Quintana raised her hand.
“This is our report on securing the national budget. The structural damage to the various imperial palaces has proven more severe than anticipated, requiring approximately half again the budget we allocated for this year.”
“The fire near the Third Palace was significant. That annex will need to be completely rebuilt. Fortunately, only the Minor Secretariat was housed there, so operations remain unaffected.”
“What if we scaled it down and rebuilt it? The budget is tight anyway, and there’s no real need to reconstruct it exactly as it was before.”
“Honestly, the building was oversized for the work it handled.”
“There will be strong opposition. It’s not about efficiency—it’s that the building was destroyed by an unfortunate incident. There’s meaning in restoring it to its former state completely.”
The Minority Ethnic Affairs Department? As bureaucrats chimed in with heated opinions, Jin simply watched with a composed expression. Since this was a department I’d never heard of before, I couldn’t follow what they were discussing.
A soft whisper sounded in my mind.
-It’s the Minority Ethnic Affairs Support Department. They handle minority ethnic groups who have officially entered Bariel. However, Bariel’s regulatory standards are so low that most cases get transferred to the General Diplomacy Department anyway. And when there are cases, most involve illegal entry, so they fall under different jurisdiction. It’s a department that’s been shelved, so I believe they’ve already relocated their offices once.
Ian tapped his pen against the corner of the report and wrote something down. Everyone was so accustomed to using abbreviations casually, but it was natural that someone new to the meeting would find it difficult to follow. That’s why experience matters, or so they say.
“Ah.”
Jin murmured softly as if suddenly enlightened. The confused expression on my face brightened again. Now that I understood what was being referred to, I could follow the bureaucrats’ opinions more easily.
“What is your opinion, Count Ian?”
“I believe scaling down would be better. Setting aside the question of authenticity, that location is too far removed from the Third Palace’s main building. I propose removing the central garden and constructing it there instead. That way, we can create a new passage connecting to the Second Palace.”
The question came suddenly, but Ian answered naturally. At this novel suggestion, the sound of papers rustling could be heard from various directions. They were checking the imperial palace map to verify how reasonable Ian’s proposal was.
“There’s merit to that. To go from the Second Palace’s central annex to the Third Palace’s left annex, one had to pass through three buildings.”
‘Ah, so to get from here to there, this is the only way.’
Jin traced the map with my finger and nodded. I rarely had occasion to travel that route, but I couldn’t have understood the hardship of administrators who rode carriages daily to conduct their duties. Everything they discussed was fascinating and new to me, and my heart was racing with excitement.
The sound of paper rustling.
Ian flipped through the report and raised his hand lightly. The Prime Minister granted him permission to speak with a glance.
“I have a question regarding repairs to the Magic Department.”
“…Thanks to the protective barrier, there’s no structural damage, but we have confirmed some harm. It’s minor, so we plan to address it last.”
Quintana answered with a suspicious gaze. She seemed puzzled as to why he would ask such a thing.
“We intend to proceed with annex construction alongside the Magic Department repairs.”
It was a declaration, not a proposal.
At Ian’s words, Quintana’s brow furrowed involuntarily. Wasn’t this exactly what Wesley had pushed so hard to accomplish in life? It had been repeatedly shelved due to sharp conflict with Marib.
“An annex construction, you say?”
The Magic Department’s status in the imperial palace already reached the heavens, and it was clear it would continue to do so. But if they added an expansion on top of that, wouldn’t their power grow even greater? The more floor space they occupied in the palace, the more naturally other departments would feel psychologically oppressed.
Quintana objected immediately.
“I oppose it. Compared to other departments, the Magic Department already has sufficient workspace relative to its personnel. Moreover, we cannot allocate any more budget.”
“Mm, I agree as well. Count Ian Hielo, I acknowledge that the Magic Department performed admirably this time, but annex construction is a different matter.”
Several other bureaucrats also rose in immediate objection. The momentum was fiercer than expected, and Jin found myself glancing sideways at Ian sitting next to me without realizing it.
When Ian threw out a topic that everyone opposed, what could he be thinking? I was curious and worried at the same time.
“Director Quintana.”
Ian wore a leisurely smile. While everyone across from him set their jaws firmly, Ian remained unruffled.
“I heard that when budgets are allocated, they set aside not just that year’s amount but also five years’ worth separately. Is that correct?”
“Roughly speaking, yes.”
In cases of war, natural disaster, or sudden crises like this one where additional budget is needed, future allocations are drawn forward and used. Ian flipped through the papers rapidly as he asked.
“Then the budget written here must reflect the Luron Stone installment payments that the Magic Department had set aside in advance.”
When Ian sold Luron Stone to the Magic Department, the amount was so enormous that it couldn’t be paid in full at once. Instead, it was scheduled to be paid in installments over several years—and now Ian was bringing that up.
Quintana stared at Ian, her words catching in her throat. She seemed to understand what he was getting at.
“I intend to redirect the Luron Stone payment toward the annex construction. By our calculations, the payment exceeds the construction cost.”
A sharp sound cut through the silence.
The sound of papers being turned over echoed once more.
If the seized debt disappeared, the budget would actually have a slight surplus remaining. Buildings didn’t rise overnight, and construction costs were paid in installments anyway, so from the perspective of the national treasury, my proposal was advantageous.
“If that’s the case, there’s no need to advance two years’ worth of budget. Just one year’s budget drawn in advance would suffice.”
“The cost of luronstone far exceeds several years’ worth of the Magic Ministry’s budget. It seems construction can proceed without difficulty.”
“Hmm. Well, ahem.”
The Magic Ministry was already the department that received the largest budget allocation in the imperial palace after the imperial family itself. Quintana’s pen moved rapidly as she calculated the figures simply. Indeed, if only the luronstone cost disappeared in this situation where every penny of budget needed to be saved….
“Of course, all of this is contingent upon the imperial palace being stabilized first. I’m merely mentioning it now since the matter of reconstruction has come up.”
In other words, don’t think of opposing it later since I’ve already warned you. Since they say they’ll spend their own money as they see fit, there’s no particular grounds for opposition anyway. In reality, Prince Marib’s faction had collapsed, and there was no one left to take the lead in resistance.
“And regarding the Truth Serum and other magical items the Magic Ministry is preparing for commercialization, there are quite a few. If a certain portion of those were to be allocated as taxes, it would be of greater assistance. Vice Minister Quintana.”
As I finished with a slight smile, she merely twirled her pen and swallowed her sigh. With nothing left to give, there was nothing left to say. Quintana was not in a position to make blind opposition for the sake of restraint.
“…Understood. We will verify the details separately on our end. Shall we move on to the next agenda?”
She had backed down. With Quintana, who controlled the budget, conceding, the other officials also swallowed their bitter sighs.
Bang, bang!
“Next agenda.”
The Prime Minister struck his gavel, finalizing the decision to reduce the Third Palace’s annex and consider the construction of the Magic Ministry’s annex.
Several similar situations unfolded in this manner. The officials presented their best opinions from their respective positions, and answers emerged through the process of coordination.
Dawn arrived, but Jin didn’t notice, merely nodding his head repeatedly. The margins of the reports grew filled with explanations I had written.
“Then shall we conclude here?”
“Ah, there is one proposal I have.”
“Speak, Count Hielo.”
As we neared the end. I looked at Jin and opened my mouth.
“It concerns Prince Jin’s living arrangements.”
“Since his residence was destroyed, isn’t he staying at the Second Palace’s annex for now? I understand Lady Deilaina was also moved there.”
Jin fidgeted with his fingers beneath the table. It would be revealed—that he was an abandoned child.
“I would prefer that, for the time being, I care for him rather than Lady Deilaina. And I would like his residence assigned to a location closer to the Magic Ministry.”
“Why is that?”
“When Prince Marib stormed his residence, I witnessed Lady Deilaina begging for her life while surrendering Prince Jin’s custody. His injuries were sustained at that time.”
At my words, the officials furrowed their brows. What was I saying now?
“It is my opinion that Lady Deilaina cannot be expected to fulfill her duties as a guardian.”
“Your Highness, is what he says true?”
The Prime Minister straightened his back and asked Jin. Everyone in the conference hall looked at Jin. Compassion and pity, shock, bewilderment—all these gazes were intermingled.
The boy hesitated for a moment before managing to nod his head.
“It is true.”

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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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