Margrave’s Bastard Son was The Emperor - Chapter 220

—————

This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com

—————

Chapter 220
One Heart, One Body
“Ugh….”
Jin whimpered softly, rubbing his face against the pillow. No matter how well-versed he was in imperial palace etiquette, mornings made him no different from any common child.
The boy lay face-down, cracking open his eyes just enough to glance around the room. Xiaoxi, who always sat on the sofa at his feet, was nowhere to be seen. Instead, Ian leaned against the wall, slowly reading something.
Jin immediately recognized it as the Biography of Roberside.
“Count Ian?”
“You’re awake?”
“…Where is Sia?”
At Jin’s call, Ian tilted his head slightly. The way he tucked his fingers between the pages suggested he wasn’t merely skimming but examining it meticulously.
Why on earth was Count Ian studying a children’s storybook? As Jin’s drowsy eyes blinked slowly, Ian rang the servant’s bell.
“Xiaoxi had an errand to run and will return shortly. There’s no need to worry. Instead, how would you feel about having breakfast with me today?”
“I’d like that very much.”
Ding—
As the bell chimed, Jin’s mind began to clear. A servant soon came running at the summons.
“You called?”
“His Highness has woken. Prepare breakfast.”
“Yes. I’ll bring the meal at once.”
Throughout this exchange, Ian never released the storybook from his hands. Curious, Jin approached him more closely. He wondered if he’d misread it, but it was indeed the Biography of Roberside. The portrait of Roberside, his ancestor and guardian of the Carbo Temple, had faded from years of handling.
“But why that book?”
“Your Highness, you mentioned that whenever you read this storybook before sleep, Roberside always appears in your dreams. So I thought I’d entertain you with it.”
“That’s right. Yesterday I read something else before bed, but it happened without exception.”
Jin smiled and nodded. Playing with Roberside was always enjoyable. Especially when he spent time with Arcen—it felt like his only escape. Ian held up the book and asked.
“May I borrow this for a few days? It doesn’t seem to exist even in the imperial library, so I’d appreciate it.”
There were many books about Roberside, but the storybook Jin possessed couldn’t be found anywhere. It was a special publication from the Carbo Temple. Jin nodded readily in agreement.
“You’ve taken a liking to it as well? There’s no need for such formality. Please, read it freely.”
“Thank you.”
“Your Highness Jin. Shall we head to the bathing chamber? Everything is ready.”
“Yes. All right. Ian, I’ll be back soon. Let’s eat breakfast together.”
Jin set off with light steps, following the servants. Once the door closed, Ian pulled up a chair and began studying the storybook in earnest.
‘It’s strange. Every time the book is read, Roberside appears in Jin’s dreams—is that truly coincidence? For something born from a child’s joy, the frequency seems far too high.’
And above all, Roberside had appeared to him as well when he read the storybook. Monsters flooded the landscape, and there was the attempt to kill Arcen—hardly pleasant circumstances.
Ian could still hear his anguished cry ringing in his ears.
‘A child who should never be born. Kill him!’
Tap, tap. Ian tapped the portrait of Roberside and gazed down at it quietly. Roberside, who sealed away the monsters in the end; Arcen’s abilities, unrecorded in history; the strangeness of the oracle….
A hypothesis formed in Ian’s mind, but he couldn’t speak of it carelessly until he secured concrete evidence.
‘If my suspicion is true, what became of Arcen in the original history? Jin’s position as Emperor remains unchanged, so there must have been an event significant enough to bring Arcen down.’
While Ian pondered deeply, Jin emerged from his preparations looking neat and tidy. The boy grabbed Ian’s arm and urged him toward the dining hall.
“Count Ian. Let’s head to the dining room quickly. I hear the Chef has prepared duck today. Oh? But I don’t see Romandro either.”
“He went with Xiaoxi.”
“Is that so?”
Jin rolled his eyes left and right, gesturing for Ian to come closer. As Ian bent down to listen, Jin whispered a most carefully guarded secret.
“I think Romandro and Viviana’s child will be a daughter. Fortunately, she’ll take after Viviana, so she’ll be clever and beautiful.”
“Where did you hear that?”
“Roberside told me!”
Dimples formed on Jin’s cheeks. Ian looked slightly surprised and gently grasped the boy’s shoulder, then glanced toward the back. The servants quickly bowed their heads and hurried away.
“Does Roberside tell you such things?”
“Not often, very rarely.”
“Has he told you anything else?”
“Hmm. Ah, about the last demon Roberside dealt with. It wasn’t in any books, but—”
Jin searched his memory and brought Ian’s hand forward. Then, carefully and cautiously, he traced lines on the palm, drawing something. It appeared to be writing, but Ian had never seen anything like it and couldn’t understand it.
ᚫᚱᛋᛖᛀᛖ
“That’s how the name is written, he said.”
“How is it read?”
“I’m not sure. He wrote it on the ground with a twig.”
As far as Ian knew, it wasn’t the script of any neighboring nation. Since Roberside was from the founding era, was it something used in ancient times? Or was it merely a fantasy Jin had conjured? While Ian stood still, committing the characters to memory, Jin exchanged greetings with passing mages.
“Good morning.”
“Did you sleep well, Jin?”
“Your necktie looks very fine today.”
“You look great too! Thank you!”
The two entered the dining hall. Two place settings were prepared at the enormous table. It was the moment Ian was about to sit across from Jin.
Crash!
Suddenly the dining hall door burst open roughly, and Romandro appeared, drenched in sweat. He breathed heavily and quickly locked eyes with Ian.
“Romandro?”
“Oh, Jin is here too.”
“I thought you went out on business? Come, have you eaten?”
Unlike Jin’s warm greeting, Ian stopped unfolding his napkin and examined Romandro. And Xiaoxi standing behind him as well. Both of them clutched documents tightly to their chests.
“Romandro.”
“I, Ian. Listen, about that—”
“Catch your breath. Xiaoxi, you too.”
Those who had gone to submit the complaint arrived in such a state, and Ian realized that what he had been concerned about had become reality. The fact that they carried separate copies of the documents meant they were preventing the risk of losing everything at once. It meant Romandro had sensed a significant threat.
“Close the door. Everyone, withdraw.”
Creak.
At Ian’s command, the servants bowed deeply and left the dining hall. Jin’s eyes widened at the incomprehensible situation as he read the atmosphere. Something had gone wrong, hadn’t it?
“What has happened?”
“Huff, huff, it seems… they’re trying to intercept it.”
Romandro collapsed into a chair, gasping for breath. It wasn’t a word to use before the Prince, but there was no better way to describe the situation.
“Duke Haiman—I didn’t think he’d stoop so low. I was worried the carriage might be targeted too, so I walked. If I hadn’t met Quintana halfway, my legs would have given out.”
If he’d been kidnapped in the carriage, there would have been no way out. In the end, Romandro chose to walk, and after meeting Quintana halfway, he sent two mages back first.
“The officer in charge, Erikse, apparently had a carriage accident. It seems unlikely he’ll be out for a day or two, but the reception staff and everyone gathered there looked awfully suspicious.”
“Crude, but effective.”
I moistened my lips with lukewarm water. It was crude, certainly, but a method with some certainty to it. It seemed Duke Haiman’s faction was trying to manipulate the schedule so that a grand council would be held after Arcen’s mana verification ceremony. With only days remaining, a direct physical action was indeed the most effective approach.
“And Ian. It seems there are people from the Haimanga family in the Magic Ministry as well. Those two mages who went with me earlier… how should I put it? They felt off, somehow?”
At Romandro’s whisper, Jin’s eyes widened like a rabbit’s. The Magic Ministry had far fewer personnel compared to other departments. Moreover, its members were fundamentally wealthy, possessed high pride, and held firm faith in their solidarity.
Yet if Duke Haiman’s reach had extended even there, how numerous must his influence be throughout the entire imperial palace? It was a moment that made me viscerally understand that Duke Haiman was truly a nobleman above all other nobles.
“Indeed.”
But I nodded lightly, as if I had already anticipated this.
“Intuition is not something to dismiss easily. If you felt it so strongly, it’s certainly worth investigating.”
“You already knew, didn’t you? That’s why you assigned Xiaoxi to me. Without him, I would’ve been terrified enough to cry. Truly. When he came rushing over, Viviana’s face kept flickering in my mind. Ugh!”
Romandro grabbed Xiaoxi’s shoulders and shook him while groaning. At his display, I offered a bitter smile. It was easy to suspect others, but winnowing out one’s own allies—that was always difficult.
“Ian, how did you notice? Hmm?”
“…I simply hoped it wouldn’t be so.”
To hope it wouldn’t be so—those words presupposed that reality was otherwise. Beyond the confines of the imperial palace, such was the nature of human existence. I recalled Naum’s words and folded my napkin lightly.
‘Your Majesty. When three people gather, one is a traitor and another has the potential to defect. What remains is Your Majesty alone, so trust only yourself.’
‘…And you?’
‘Your Majesty. Do not trust me either. Always suspect, yet keep me at your side and benefit from it. Trust always wounds. I do not wish to see Your Majesty hurt.’
Why hadn’t I taken those words to heart then? I recalled my nephew Chroni and bit my lip gently.
Romandro, Xiaoxi, and Jin watched my heavy silence. My expression was impassive, yet my gaze was intense. I could feel a torrent of emotions swirling within.
“Count Ian?”
At Jin’s call, I lifted my head and smiled softly.
“Are you well?”
“I am fine. It was something I would have to do eventually.”
“What do you mean…?”
Mages especially must not be swayed by personal sentiment. With great power comes great responsibility. Those who have sworn the mage’s oath cannot afford to be otherwise.
I rang the bell lightly and ordered the meal to be brought.
Ding.
“Find out the current condition of the officer Erikse. And prepare documents—I will send an official notice to the Judicial Ministry. When you send people, attach two mages from different departments to each group. Do not accept volunteers.”
“Yes? Ah, yes, understood.”
“And tell the two mages who accompanied Romandro to wait in their respective quarters. I will meet with them once the meal is finished.”
The servant was flustered by the sudden orders, but only briefly. He soon hurried away to relay my commands. Romandro swallowed the remaining water and asked.
“Ian. We’ll need to use truth serum, won’t we?”
“The Mana Stone Management Division already knows how to neutralize it. If they know, then other mages can learn as well. There is no trust to be had.”
I picked up my knife in my right hand and fork in my left. Then, with great elegance, I cut the tomato. What was one became two, then three.
“I will cull them through other means. The Magic Ministry is one body—if something foreign has entered within, it has no use.”

—————

This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com

—————