Margrave’s Bastard Son was The Emperor - Chapter 205

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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 205
D-6
Whiiiing!
The carriage lurched violently. In the already dark night, with rain pouring down in sheets, the horse’s gait grew anxious and unsteady. Romandro gazed out the window where he couldn’t see even an inch ahead, muttering nervously to himself.
“Is Barsabe really dead?”
“I don’t know.”
“What a shame. We weren’t particularly close, yet my heart feels heavy. Perhaps it’s because saving Viviana was the last thing she did. Berik will be devastated when he wakes. It’s best we keep this secret for now. Sigh, tsk tsk. Another promising young talent gone too soon.”
“…She likely had no family.”
“Ah, yes. That’s right. She lived alone after Petreio died.”
The location where the body was discovered was on the outskirts, not far from the city center. Judging by the route, it seemed she had failed to escape toward the Imperial Palace from the Maelidaeli building and had taken a detour instead. Perhaps she had fled only through alleyways to prevent innocent citizens from being caught up in the chaos.
I rested my chin in my hand, staring at the rain streaming down relentlessly. She had died for the Empire. For such a person, this final night seemed far too gloomy.
Splash!
The wheels cut through a puddle. Under normal circumstances, we would have arrived in less than an hour, but various adverse conditions had delayed us by thirty minutes. In the distance, a faint light appeared.
“We’re here!”
“Be careful! The rain makes it slippery!”
It was the lantern light held by the guards. The coachman slowly tightened the reins, and Romandro descended first, opening an umbrella for me. Though the umbrella proved useless as my hair and shoulders were soaked in an instant.
“Good evening. I’m the security officer for Chetur District 2.”
“Ian Hielo of the Magic Ministry.”
“It’s an honor to meet you. Please come this way.”
The guard bowed respectfully and walked ahead with the umbrella. Beneath a makeshift tent, I recognized familiar figures—Palace Guard Knights and Captain Jeirat. Some stood with their backs turned, smoking cigarettes, while others knelt beside the body. Jeirat simply stood there, watching.
“Captain Jeirat.”
“….”
The silence was heavy and cruel, colder than the pouring rain. Jeirat stood drenched, greeting me. The self-reproach of having lost not only a close friend but her daughter as well seemed to be destroying him from within.
“Pull back the cloth.”
“That is, well, it will be difficult to look upon.”
“…Pull it back.”
At my firm command, the guard pulled back the wet cloth. Romandro squeezed his eyes shut, unable to bear the sight, and I too furrowed my brow.
“This is….”
Horrifying. The mangled flesh, crushed like rotted meat, drew the eye in particular places. Now I understood why they said identification was impossible. There was no recognizable face.
“As you can see, identification is difficult. We can only determine that she was female and in her early twenties. Had she not been wearing a Palace Guard uniform, she would have been processed as an unclaimed body.”
Patter, patter-patter.
The sound of rain filled the gaps in the guard’s words. The rain was so fierce it could drown out even someone’s weeping.
“Berik was crushed like this too when he arrived.”
Jeirat noticed that the external injuries on this body were not so different from Berik’s. He finally covered his face and turned away. Romandro took out a gold coin as a sign of mourning and placed it on the body.
“Romandro.”
“Ugh, what?”
Romandro was already quietly weeping. He sniffled and turned to face me.
“Do you remember?”
“Remember what?”
“When we interrogated Petreio in Hielo Territory.”
“I didn’t see it myself. Wasn’t it you and Berik who did it back then? Cough! Knight, your sacrifice supports Bariel. I’m grateful. Farewell!”
When Petreio’s name was mentioned, Jairot reacted—as if he couldn’t understand what was being said.
‘His face is crushed, but more than that…’
The word “melted” would suit it better. Like when Petreio wore the poison ring. Ian gestured to the Guard.
“You.”
“Yes?”
“Put your fingers in the corpse’s mouth.”
At the sudden command, the guards stiffened in disgust. Even an intact corpse was repulsive, let alone one this grotesque. But Ian didn’t rescind the order, and as the Palace Guards began to pressure him with their eyes, he had no choice. He pulled on his gloves firmly while screaming internally.
“L-like this, sir?”
“Ian. What exactly are you trying to do? Please don’t humiliate Barsabe any further. This concerns her honor.”
One of the guards stepped forward to plead, but Ian firmly rejected him.
“Deeper. Go deeper.”
“U-ugh. L-like this?”
“Are all the teeth intact?”
“Hmm. J-just a moment.”
The guard barely suppressed his nausea as he checked the corpse’s teeth with his fingertips. The front teeth, lower teeth, canines, and molars.
“Yes. They’re all intact.”
“The molars are intact?”
Romandro, who had been wiping away tears, asked in surprise.
At that unusual reaction, Jairot realized something was amiss. Of course, he didn’t know why—he was unaware that Barsabe had lost her molars from a beating by Berik.
Only her roommate knew this fact, but she was absent, attending to the Emperor’s quarters.
“What does it matter about the molars?”
At the guard’s question, Romandro exclaimed excitedly.
“D-don’t you know? Well, it’s not something to spread around! B-back then, Berik knocked out Barsabe’s molars! No, that’s not quite right. He shattered them! That’s why Berik used to call Barsabe ‘Molars.'”
“I-is that true?”
“I swear by the Gods! My wife, who saw Barsabe last, must have heard about those molars.”
“Th-then this corpse is…”
“Not Barsabe.”
Ian denied it firmly. At that, her colleagues let out small cries of joy without thinking.
Barsabe was still alive! Still alive!
This corpse was not Barsabe!
The way they patted each other’s shoulders and shared this small relief resembled those who had just been brought back from death.
The guards listening nearby pulled back the cloth properly and asked.
“Then who is this?”
“I believe Barsabe is the one who did this to the face. The poison from the ring Petreio used when he took his own life produces this kind of reaction. Besides, the uniform itself is hers, isn’t it?”
“That’s correct. Barsabe’s name is engraved on it.”
“She desecrated the corpse and dressed it in her clothes.”
One by one, Barsabe’s actions came into focus. Jairot, who had been thinking quietly, muttered a question.
“Why?”
“To end the pursuit.”
I surveyed my surroundings. Being on the outskirts, the area was lined with manual labor factories. Residences were sparse, and the location was ideal for storing goods. As my gaze shifted, so too did the Palace Guard’s attention follow mine.
“There were four in black armor. Barsabe would have known she couldn’t stand against them and continued fleeing. To stop the pursuit, her death was necessary. Where was the body discovered?”
“Yes, sir. It was buried in that garbage heap over there.”
“Not immediately visible, but a location that could be exposed at any moment. If the enemy had killed her, they would likely have hidden the body so thoroughly we’d never find it.”
Boom! Boom!
Flash!
The rain intensified further. Soon thunder and lightning crackled overhead, and the darkened surroundings suddenly brightened. My fair complexion glistened even more as it grew wet.
“Yet the body was discovered before even a day had passed, and here we are.”
“Are you saying Barsabe called us here, sir?”
“What could be in this place…”
Barsabe’s signal. A signal implying she couldn’t move easily, a sign of an urgent situation. I murmured as I watched smoke rising from various places.
“That’s something we’ll discover now. Do you believe Barsabe killed innocent citizens to escape this crisis?”
“That’s impossible!”
She was a Knight. A Knight who had sworn her blade to the Imperial Palace and her convictions. Rather than kill the innocent and flee to seize an opportunity, she would sooner be trampled by her enemies. Everyone gathered here could be certain of that.
“Barsabe would never do such a thing!”
“Then the answer is clear. This corpse is someone who deserved to die by Barsabe’s standards.”
Someone who deserved to die. That would mean a subordinate of Haiman, our current adversary. To be more precise, a subordinate who had been inside that black armor. One of the Palace Guards wiped away rainwater in confusion, his movements restless.
“I-I don’t understand. How did this even…”
“Neither do I. Not until I hear it directly from Barsabe. To summarize roughly—”
Romandro cleared his throat and discreetly recovered the gold coins he’d placed on the corpse, then wrung out his thoroughly soaked handkerchief. The downpour had become so heavy that an umbrella was now pointless.
Whoosh.
“Barsabe is not far from here. And in this place, Sector 2 of Chetur, there is something.”
Unlike the Guards who swallowed uncomfortably, the Palace Guard’s expressions suddenly hardened with ferocity. They understood that their comrade was still alive.
Captain Jairat, who had been looking down, murmured in a low voice.
“All together.”
“All together!”
Snap!
Drenched, the Palace Guards placed their hands over their chests and performed the Imperial salute. Each of them felt their hearts pounding beneath their palms. It was the pulse of hope—Barsabe was alive.
“From this moment forward, we conduct a search from Sector 1 through Sector 4 of Chetur. Priority: securing and rescuing Barsabe.”
Snap!
Splash!
Water surged at their disciplined footsteps. The Guards retreated with their spears raised, then gasped and covered their mouths in astonishment.
They were not mere Imperial Palace guards. They were the divine warriors who served closest to the Emperor and bore responsibility for the Empire’s protection.
Zing. Zing.
Though their abilities varied, they were all Mage Knights. Captain Jairat unofficially acknowledged that the black armor was connected to Haiman and added to his command.
“If it’s connected to the Haimanga, report even the smallest detail, and should anyone dare obstruct our path, suppress them without hesitation. Remember this well. We are the heart of Bariel.”
As protectors of the Emperor, the Palace Guard added dignity upon dignity. If anyone thought they could touch Barsabe, one of their own, and escape unscathed, that would be arrogance beyond measure. Those who pierced the heart would be repaid with their own.
Snap!
Patter patter! Splash!
After their final salute, they scattered with the speed of light. Only the streams of water traced across the ground proved their passage. Silence descended upon the surroundings in an instant.
The guards called out to Ian awkwardly.
“Well then, Minister. Should we also request reinforcements?”
“…No. You remain here and guard the corpse.”
If Haimanga was using this place as a hideout for the Armor, then the security guards themselves could not be trusted either. Based on their reactions, it seemed unlikely… but in any case, moving as discreetly as possible was the safest course of action.
I brushed back my wet hair and turned to face Captain Jeirat.
“I’ll send a request for reinforcements to the Imperial Palace.”
“I’m counting on you.”
Riama, one of the Three Great Commanders, had fallen as well. Of course, she had shattered over a dozen pieces of Armor in her death, but it still meant the enemy’s military strength was formidable. It seemed safer to have Beols join us as well.
Shing.
Captain Jeirat drew his sword and walked slowly into the dark alley. The sound of rain masked his footsteps. It was like watching the desolate silhouette of a phantom.
Dong— Doong—
Patter patter!
Then, from afar, the clock tower chimed quietly. It was the alarm passing midnight. And so, as the night wore on, the Palace Guard charged through the downpour.
To rescue their comrade, Barsabe.

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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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