Margrave’s Bastard Son was The Emperor - Chapter 194

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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 194
Faith
Creak.
When I opened the interrogation room in the Star Tower, Prince Marib was gazing out the window. A single beam of light streamed through the darkness of the interior. Even as the Mages moved stacks of documents, he kept his gaze fixed outward without moving. As if he couldn’t believe that a future he hadn’t drawn had come to pass.
“Your Highness, please be seated. I will begin the interrogation.”
Unlike Prince Gail, whose neck was torn open, he was completely intact without a single major wound. Though dust clung to him here and there, he appeared far too dignified for someone who had plunged the imperial palace into chaos. Most of his key supporters, including his Steward, had died with their limbs dangling.
“Did you do it yourself?”
Prince Marib turned around. His eyes held a calm despair tinged with something like laughter. I wondered where I’d seen that look before, and soon realized it was the same light that had burned in Prince Gail’s eyes as he lay in bed. They couldn’t kill each other enough, but their blood was certain as one.
“Yes. I will conduct this with proper courtesy, so I ask for your cooperation.”
“An interrogation? How tedious. If it were me, I’d never bother with such annoying formalities.”
The game was already lost. He had stabbed his father, the Emperor. He had seized the imperial seal. He had tried to kill his brother. Now that he would even be stripped of his imperial name, his end would surely be execution. Without even a trial, the outcome was clear, so why waste time with such interrogations?
But I simply turned through the documents without concern.
“Perhaps Your Highness would, but I would not.”
Every procedure for the trial would proceed with precision and accuracy. That alone would restore order to the imperial palace that the two princes had thrown into chaos, and it would establish the legitimacy of the next Emperor, Jin, and the foundation for centralized authority.
“First, regarding the attempted assassination of His Majesty the Emperor. There are records from several months ago of His Majesty experiencing breathing difficulties during sleep.”
“Ah yes. He did complain about his bedding. He even saw dead people. But what does that have to do with me?”
Tap.
I produced the materials that Prince Gail had handed over. The ones I had received in exchange for overlooking Wesley’s curse and neutralizing the truth serum.
At my gesture to read them, Prince Marib slowly turned the pages. From the way he let out hollow laughter, it seemed he had grasped something.
“So this was why you and Gail were in cahoots.”
He understood why he had never clearly chosen a side between himself and Prince Gail. Prince Marib could not deny that the center of all circumstances lay in my hands.
“To a lowborn bastard from the borderlands, no less. Ha. Ha.”
“If you have arguments to present, please do so.”
As I said this, I leisurely flipped through other documents. It was a sign that I was prepared to refute any defense.
“These are evidence that will go directly to trial, so it would be wise to do what you can.”
Prince Marib leaned back against the chair and met my gaze. Born a prince, he had vowed to die an Emperor, and he had believed it so.
Is this the end? Is this truly the end? Prince Marib murmured while watching the sunlight pouring before him. His victory was broken, but his neck had not yet been broken.
“Wasn’t all of this orchestrated by you, Count Ian?”
A pause. The Mage recording the interrogation in the corner flinched. Those observing did the same. Everyone frowned at Prince Marib’s sudden statement.
“Me?”
“Yes. You instigated it, Count Ian.”
“Your Highness, I was in Hielo Territory at that time.”
“You are a Mage, so you would have had the means.”
I recognized Prince Marib’s intention and let out a bitter laugh. It was a ploy to drag out the trial by presenting absurd testimony during the interrogation, and if there were any opposing forces in the imperial palace that stood against me, it would give them grounds to seize upon.
When the Scribe set down his pen, Prince Marib spoke sharply.
“Don’t edit the record that will be written in history to suit your taste. Don’t omit a single word.”
It was a petty threat—that he would cause trouble during the trial.
I gestured lightly for the recording to continue. Anything that didn’t add up could simply be struck out without bothering to explain it.
“Rather, I’m grateful this trouble arose now. If Your Highness had ascended the throne, I suspect it wouldn’t have been the imperial palace that was destroyed, but Bariel itself.”
I said that he lacked not only the qualifications but was utterly shameful as well.
Veins pulsed at Marib’s temples, yet he continued laughing. Humiliation for the sake of survival was nothing. If he could only live, if he could only alert the Emperor to his predicament, he would do anything.
“Beols, one of the Three Generals, witnessed and testified that you wielded a blade against His Majesty. There is nothing to interrogate on that matter. The stolen seal remains missing—what became of it?”
“I colluded with the Mage Division and handed it over. Is that not why I remain alive?”
Bang!
“Count Ian. This is unbearable to hear!”
A Mage who could endure no more protested loudly. Marib grinned wickedly, and Ian frowned in a gesture demanding restraint. As though such petty provocations were beneath his anger.
“Do you know of Rutherford?”
“Ah, the merchant guild?”
“How did you come to conduct business with them?”
“When was it? Some time ago. On my return from the Grand Tour, I crossed through the Hawan Kingdom. That’s where I met Rutherford. Were you not with me then, Ian? It was when Bratz was still under your domain, so it must have been around that time.”
The Grand Tour—a journey undertaken by the children of the privileged classes. A brief expedition spanning several months, traveling through neighboring nations to cultivate culture, economics, and society while broadening one’s perspective. Though with dozens of carriages in tow, it resembled a procession more than a journey.
Marib casually measured a child’s height with the edge of his hand.
“Hmm. Or was it this tall?”
“Your performance is exquisite.”
Marib had genuinely undertaken the Grand Tour, yet no one in the interrogation chamber believed him. So this is what we’ve been revering as a prince all this time, the Scribe thought, swallowing a sigh as he pressed each character into the record.
Whoosh.
It was then.
Through the window behind where Ian sat, Marib glimpsed silver hair passing by. At that height, it had to be a child, but how many silver-haired children could enter the interrogation chamber within the imperial palace?
‘Arcen?’
No. It must be Jin. At that moment, he had clearly seen Jin nestled in Ian’s arms within Deilaina’s chambers. And even in the Mage Division, where they had gone to kill Jin, he had confirmed the bond between the two.
If it were Ian—the same Ian who had once toyed with him and Gail—he would surely aim for central control through Jin.
“Yet something troubles me.”
“What is it you speak of?”
“Ian, I cannot fathom why you attached yourself to Jin rather than Arcen. I understand everything else, but that one thing alone eludes me.”
The Mage standing motionless flinched.
Ah, so the boy had grasped at Ian’s collar. The child’s suspicion had struck a nerve. Why Jin and not Arcen—everyone would arrive at the same answer.
‘The card Deilaina raised, Arcen, and the remaining card that could compare to it.’
“I have nothing to say on the matter.”
Ian suppressed his rising irritation as he responded. This nonsense was increasingly overstepping bounds. With mountains of matters requiring attention, to be obstructed by meaningless provocations.
At his lowered tone, the Mages exchanged glances nervously, biting their lips.
‘Please, just be silent, Your Highness.’
‘Count Ian looks about to lose his temper.’
“If your support for Jin is merely superficial, then yes, perhaps there is no reason. You who once toyed with the divide between Gail and myself—manipulating one child would be trivial. Do you think I don’t see through you?”
Thud!
Finally, it had come to this. Ian roughly closed the documents and crossed his arms. Constantly like this…
“Prince Marib. I would appreciate it if you would be quiet.”
Thump!
At the same moment, something struck the door.
When Ian turned to look, Jin was crouching down, rubbing his forehead. In his tension, he had pulled the door handle too forcefully. Xiaoxi’s face went pale as he examined Jin’s forehead.
“Your Highness?”
“W-well, I mean, making a sound to announce one’s presence.”
Ian rose immediately and gestured to the Mages. It was an instruction to continue Prince Marib’s interrogation in his stead.
“Your Highness, is your forehead alright?”
“It seems so…”
“Jin, that’s a deep wound.”
Prince Marib cradled his chin as he addressed his half-brother. The wound I had inflicted ran straight across his face. Perhaps it was the mark of an Emperor.
“Be grateful the eye was spared.”
“Leave this place. It is filthy here.”
Screeeech!
Thud!
The door shut without a moment’s hesitation. The way he treated Jin, as though something unclean stood before him, was quite remarkable. Jin rubbed his forehead repeatedly as he looked up at me.
“Count Ian. I apologize for interrupting your work.”
“Not at all. I was thinking of stopping anyway, as we were making no progress.”
“…Well, you see.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Jin paused as he was leaving the tower.
“I want you to understand one thing clearly.”
“What is that?”
Ian met Jin’s gaze and knelt. He had clearly heard all of Prince Marib’s rambling. He had known Jin was there. He should have told him to shut up from the start rather than listening reluctantly.
“The reason you follow me.”
“Mm.”
Jin clenched his fists tightly. This was something that needed to be addressed eventually. Whether now was the right time was another matter, but regardless.
Why did Ian help him? Why did Ian regard him as precious? Was he truly only a ‘piece’ to be used against Arcen?
If so? What then?
“Your Highness.”
Ian smiled slightly. It was clear that countless thoughts were swirling chaotically in that small head. He explained to him, one point at a time.
“I understand you must be confused. But in times like these, you must remain composed, read the situation carefully, and use it to your advantage.”
A place where there are no eternal enemies or true friends.
The imperial palace is such a place.
“Accept the nature of things as they are, and do not concern yourself with right and wrong.”
If Ian had taken Jin’s hand out of sympathy, that would be right, and if he had done so with ulterior motives, that would be wrong? Either way, both were beneficial to Jin, and both were right.
“Instead, if you understand the nature of things, you will find it easier to prepare for changing circumstances in the future.”
“Do you mean that regardless of what intentions Count Ian harbors, I should first use you?”
“Precisely. And when Your Highness’s authority is stabilized, take a breath and look at me anew. Then a different perspective will open before you.”
Xiaoxi, listening from the side, looked at her master with puzzlement. For someone to speak so easily of using and discarding, it showed a certain mindset. She understood that Ian’s sincerity toward Jin was genuine, but did Jin himself understand?
“…This is too difficult.”
“It is fine. You will learn through experience.”
“Remember what I said—understand the nature of things.”
Jin gripped the hem of Ian’s robe tightly. Then, opening his eyes with determination, he met Ian’s gaze directly.
“Then answer my earlier question.”
“Why do you follow His Majesty?”
Ian tilted his head with a smile.
“Because he carries a profound wound.”
The Emperor’s mark.
The curse of prophecy.
And the fate of being abandoned by his mother.
All of it was a tremendous wound. I gently removed Jin’s hand from my sleeve and asked, “What do you think?”
“What is your assessment?”
“…I wish to believe you spoke the truth.”
“Yes. Then you need only believe it so. Your Majesty is the center of the world, and your belief becomes truth itself.”
Dong—! Dong!
At that moment, the great clock tower bells rang out from a distance, announcing that the time until the city gates opened was drawing near.

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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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