Margrave’s Bastard Son was The Emperor - Chapter 202

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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 202
For a Foothold
“A crisis! A terrible crisis has occurred!”
Crash!
The Steward who had rushed into the Prime Minister’s office slid sideways and tumbled to the ground. How could someone who ordinarily breathed without a sound suddenly make such a commotion?
The Prime Minister and all the high-ranking officials gathered for the briefing paused and turned their heads. Quintana was among them.
“Compose yourself.”
The Prime Minister removed his glasses and scolded him. The documents were already scattered and chaotic. Unless the Imperial Palace itself had collapsed, decorum had to be maintained. Those gathered here were the very pinnacle of leadership.
“Prince Gail has… he has harmed Count Arcen. Fortunately, there is no danger to his life, but he has lost consciousness and has been carried away.”
“What? Prince Gail harmed Count Arcen?”
“How did this happen? Isn’t Prince Gail currently receiving treatment at his quarters? Did he leave?”
Confinement disguised as treatment—confinement nonetheless. Even they could not approach him without Ian’s orders, so I couldn’t fathom how Gail and Arcen had met.
The Steward shook his head at Quintana’s question.
“No. It appears Count Arcen entered Prince Gail’s palace. The medical team was summoned from there.”
“Hmm. Well, this is quite something. Heh. I wonder why he did that.”
“Indeed. Perhaps we should conclude this meeting and move on.”
Several officials rolled their eyes and cleared their throats. They were supporters of Arcen. Since Arcen had colluded with Haiman, it was clear they had attempted to eliminate Gail for his sake. The cause and effect were unmistakable.
As they began organizing their documents, the Steward stammered out the most crucial matter.
“Count Arcen is a mage.”
Everyone froze.
Time seemed to crystallize—some remained bent at the waist, others had their coats half-draped. A teacup clattered and spilled from someone’s absent-minded hands.
“What… what did you just say?”
“Count Arcen used magic!”
“Count Arcen…”
“Used magic…”
The Empire’s most prominent leaders wore identical expressions simultaneously. It was a rare sight indeed. They muttered repeatedly in disbelief, then fell silent.
But only for a moment.
Boom! Clatter clatter!
“Ow, that hurts.”
“Pardon me, pardon me. Just a moment.”
“I shall depart first. Please take your time.”
“Prime Minister. We shall discuss this matter again later.”
“Outside! Bring the carriages! Have them ready! Hurry!”
Those who grasped the situation sprang to their feet.
If Arcen was a mage, victory was assured without contest against Jin. With the Ministry of Magic’s authority already bloated, this was like the trumpet call of the battlefield—the trumpet announcing victory.
“If Count Arcen is a mage, then this is…”
“It is divine will. It cannot be more perfect. The Ministry of Magic will be checked simultaneously—we are saved.”
“Go to Deilaina at once. The successor is Count Arcen, not Jhin. Blast it, blast it!”
Those who had pledged their names to Jin changed course and rushed to Deilaina, while those who had rallied around Haiman put their heads together to discuss their next moves.
“Since Gail attempted to harm Count Arcen, let us execute him summarily. No need for a trial like with Prince Marib. This is our opportunity.”
“Yes, yes. That would be best.”
“Let’s go! Hurry!”
Everyone seemed to be moving far more frantically than they had during the rebellion. Quintana swallowed a sigh and organized the documents.
“You’re not going?”
“I’m the one who calculates taxes. What could I possibly do even if Prince Arcen were injured?”
“You may not be able to do anything, but you can certainly think about it. What do you make of it—Prince Arcen being a mage?”
At the Prime Minister’s question, Quintana let out a small sigh. She recalled Jhin, who had attended the council. The boy abandoned by his mother—now he would be abandoned by the officials as well. The thought was unbearably sorrowful.
“…If Prince Arcen is a mage, it is the Empire’s blessing and surely cause for celebration.”
“I’m not so sure.”
“You’re not sure?”
Creak.
The Prime Minister answered with silence, then he too left the office. He was likely going to Ian to grasp the exact situation.
Quintana remained alone and pressed her forehead.
“…Damn it.”
For some reason, the expression on Jhin’s face as he gripped her hand remained vivid. If Arcen ascended to the position of heir, wouldn’t Jhin naturally become a target for elimination? In the struggle for power, defeat meant death.
Jhin would die by his mother’s hand, by his subordinates’ hands, and by the throne’s hand.
Quintana had no choice but to remain at her desk for quite some time.
* * *
“Xiaoxi, this is your name.”
“Xiao, o, xi.”
“Yes. Try writing it. Your temperament is calm, so your characters are steady. When Berik wakes, I’ll teach him as well. As you live, you must carry your own name in your heart.”
Jhin was teaching Xiaoxi how to write her name. Though Xiaoxi had lived her entire life as a slave, she was clever, and her understanding was remarkable with each lesson.
As the two of them studied with their heads together, the outside grew noisy. The mages ran about here and there as if something urgent had happened.
Patter, patter, patter!
“Did I hear that right?”
“Count Ian is departing from Prince Gail’s palace right now. Since he’s finishing up there, the department heads have been ordered to gather in advance. Move. Orders will come down the moment he arrives.”
“In all my days, I’ve never heard news like this. Ha!”
“So what happens now?”
At the mention of Ian’s name, Jhin and Xiaoxi’s ears perked up simultaneously. The mage’s voice faded as he rushed down the corridor, but the last exchange came through crystal clear.
“If Prince Arcen is a mage, he’ll be joining this division. We can’t have the few mages we have splitting apart.”
“Damn it, seriously. Especially Count Ian will have the hardest time with this.”
Thump—Jhin felt his heart drop to the floor.
Did I mishear? Arcen is a mage?
The boy turned to Xiaoxi with a violently shaken gaze, silently pleading for her to deny it. But Xiaoxi too bore unmistakable shock.
“….”
“Arcen is… a mage….”
The boy set down his pen and murmured. He couldn’t believe it. Born on the same day from the same womb, how could Arcen have everything?
He took Mother’s love, and he took the glory of the divine as well. Was that all? Those who supported me, Ian’s loyalty—he would take that too.
A brother who takes everything, everything—I’ve come to fear him. I don’t understand why Arcen shakes my fate so thoroughly.
“Sigh.”
Jin covered his face with his hand. His heart constricted painfully. When he realized his opponent was an insurmountable force, a devastating helplessness consumed his entire being. And at the edges of that despair lay sorrow.
Jin whimpered, tears streaming down his cheeks.
“…Count Ian told me not to cry.”
What should I do? Arcen already might make them doubt my capabilities, and if they see me crying, it would be a disaster.
Jin continued wiping his eyes with the back of his hand, but his tears flowed like an endless sea.
“I will close my eyes and ears.”
Xiaoxi’s comfort—that he would neither see nor hear, so I could cry freely. The boy wept silently, staring into the void.
‘Now I want to win. I don’t want to lose anything more.’
Only that resolve echoed through Jin’s mind like a voice in the void.
He suddenly pushed himself up from his seat and rushed out the door. Xiaoxi followed immediately behind him.
Tap, tap, tap!
“My, Prince Jin?”
“Your Highness, you’ll fall.”
“Be careful!”
Jin weaved through the mages and ran. Frantically, his eyes fixed only on the entrance to the main hall of the Magic Bureau. In the distance, Ian was ascending the stairs after stepping down from his carriage. Discussing something with Romandro, his demeanor was unremarkable.
The difference was that mages surrounded him, questioning him about Arcen.
“Ian!”
“Your Highness?”
Startled by Jin’s sudden call, Ian lifted his head.
The boy, his lips pressed together with determination, tumbled down the stairs and grasped Ian’s sleeve. The mages standing nearby anxiously reached out their hands, worried he might fall.
Whoosh!
“Oh my, Your Highness, that’s dangerous!”
“What if you get hurt!”
“Count Ian, listen well.”
But Jin paid them no mind and looked directly into Ian’s eyes. The stairs brought their gazes nearly level.
“I heard Arcen is a mana user.”
“News travels fast, Your Highness.”
Ian smiled faintly and nodded. He had already grasped what Jin was trying to do.
“Arcen and I are twins who share everything. If that child is a mana user, then I too could awaken at any moment. So don’t judge hastily.”
Persuasion, inducement, and a strategy to maintain power—clumsy and awkward, but Jin’s intent was unmistakable. Ian grasped the boy’s hand as if encouraging him to continue.
“M-moreover, if Arcen enters the Magic Bureau, your position would naturally become difficult. So, so….”
“So?”
“It would be better to hold onto me rather than Arcen.”
“Is that so? If Arcen is a mana user, it’s a blessing for the Empire. Isn’t it the will of the divine descending upon the Imperial House?”
At Ian’s retort, Jin bit his lip hard. By then, Hani, Romandro, and his subordinates also stepped back, observing Jin.
The young Emperor was fighting for his position for the first time, was he not?
“That does not guarantee the best future. The previous emperors who led Bariel’s great revival were not all mages. And if Arcen is a mage, you would find it just as unfortunate as I would.”
“It seems you have a plan.”
At Ian’s question, Jin glanced around cautiously. Everyone deliberately stepped back and lowered their heads. It was a courtesy—they would not listen, so he should speak freely.
Jin whispered softly, so only Ian could hear.
“I shall also publicly declare myself a mage user. Since we are twins, everyone will readily believe it. Through this, I can stand against Arcen, and you gain leverage over my weakness—no one loses in this arrangement.”
Bold. That boldness made me realize just how cornered Jhin truly was. I patted the Boy’s shoulder with a bright smile.
“Excellent.”
Rough and inexperienced, with much still to learn, yet for a first attempt, the level of skill was remarkably high. At my praise, Jhin blinked.
“However, lies beget lies. When you can no longer bear the weight, they strangle you instead. It is better to handle falsehoods indirectly rather than directly.”
“…Count Ian?”
“Seeing it firsthand is better than hearing about it. Prince Arcen will likely show you himself—the fate of those who escape through deception. Shall we head inside first? Your Highness. The wind is bitter.”
I took Jhin’s hand and gestured toward the upper stairs. Arcen would reveal the fate of those who escape through lies?
That meant…
‘Arcen is lying?’
Jhin looked up at me in confusion, but I could not meet his gaze again.
Upon arriving at the main hall, we entered the conference room immediately. Akorelra and Captain Heil, along with supervisors from each department, were all waiting. Given the gravity of the matter, the atmosphere was heavy.
Creak.
“Minister. You have arrived?”
“Everyone, be seated.”
“Is it true that Prince Arcen used mana?”
“Well, ah, this is… how did such a thing even…”
Everyone poured out questions without restraint, and I calmly removed my robe and nodded.
“Prince Arcen did indeed use mana.”
“Blast it!”
“We shall conduct a mana verification ceremony within the coming days. Prepare accordingly. The Light of Oracle—is it currently in the imperial palace?”
“Ah. No. After the New Year’s gathering, we returned it to the Neaniyl Temple. I shall request it again.”
“No. This time, have it brought from the Carbo Temple.”
“Pardon? Carbo?”
Carbo was the temple on Jhin and Arcen’s maternal side. I could not fathom why he would bypass the closer temple and demand it from there.
“And have the priests who received the oracle when the twins were born bring it themselves. This is an official order from the Ministry of Magic.”
“Yes. Understood.”
“And the doctor who oversaw the birth.”
He was likely residing somewhere in central Bariel. Investigation orders completely unrelated to Arcen’s display of mana continued to fall.
“Bring that doctor to me as well.”
“…Yes, Minister.”
I smiled slightly at Jhin’s bewilderment. If Arcen’s mana is real, he is destined to be completely erased from imperial history.
‘Endure just a little longer, Your Highness Jhin. You will reclaim everything Arcen took from you.’
If the mana is not real, then what he displayed must be explained. Since most non-magical mana has unknown origins, it will collapse to nothing in an instant.

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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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