Margrave’s Bastard Son was The Emperor - Chapter 226

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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 226
A Small Demon
An eerie silence hung over the office. While I and Jin were taken aback, the two priests who were the subjects of this matter were equally shocked. They served one god, and there should be only one voice. How could the descriptions differ so drastically?
Macael stammered as he added his words.
“Ah, Avidel’s oracle was a full ten years ago. There may be differences in memory. Moreover, it is human nature to perceive the same thing differently. It seems I have caused concern through a misunderstanding in how we expressed ourselves.”
Ten years. No matter how sacred an experience it was that resonated in one’s mind, it would be difficult to remember a fleeting voice perfectly.
At Macael’s damage control, Avidel also bowed his head. Though his face was obscured by a veil, his gestures clearly conveyed his bewilderment.
“If you were human, that might be so. But are you not priests? Those who dedicate your entire lives to hearing the voice of god. I think I need to hear more details.”
“Please ask. I will answer with utmost sincerity.”
“Between the oracle Lord Jin received ten years ago and the oracle that came down recently, were there other oracles?”
“There were two.”
“Who heard them?”
“One remains at the temple, and the other is waiting at Stone Mountain.”
“Is that so? That works well.”
How could two voices come from one being? If I brought that person here, a three-way confrontation would reveal whose oracle was suspicious.
Macael, understanding my intention, prostrated himself again and added his words.
“Minister Ian. I speak out of concern that the honor of the Carbo Temple might be tarnished. When a divine message comes down, the light of the oracle shines beautifully, so everyone in that place can perceive it. That rainy night ten years ago was the same. And it was the same a few days ago.”
Something clicked into place in my mind. Like misaligned seams slowly coming together. I muttered without realizing it.
“Yes. The light of the oracle.”
Why hadn’t I recognized that? Why was it specifically the light of the “oracle” that was used to identify mage users? I turned to Jin and hesitated.
“Count Ian?”
“Do you know what else mages are called?”
“Those close to the power of god, are they not?”
“Correct. If they are those close to the power of god, then all of them can activate the light of the oracle.”
Avidel and Macael simultaneously lifted their heads. Their eyes showed they had no idea what I was trying to say. A hint of alarm colored their expressions, but they bit their lips with a thread of hope. No matter how much of a Minister of Magic I was, I could not insult god or the temple.
“God is one, but there are many things close to the power of god. It is not only mages.”
“Minister Ian! What, what are you trying to say?”
The faces of both priests went pale. Something close to the power of god but not a mage? Only one thing came to mind.
‘No. Please.’
A desperate look begging me not to speak it aloud. But I concluded sharply and decisively.
“A demon.”
“Minister Ian! This is blasphemy! This cannot be!”
“Please stop! God is watching!”
Avidel and Macael shrieked and convulsed violently. And well they might, for they were those who had devoted not merely their lives but their very existence to god.
Yet now I had just said that one of the two priests’ oracles was from a demon? It was an insult that felt like the heart being torn and the soul being consumed.
Crash!
“I will leave! The Carbo Temple will formally request severance!”
“I suspect your oracle in particular, Avidel. If the question I have raised proves true, how will you take responsibility?”
“What you just said was not raising a question—it was an irresponsible statement! The responsibility will fall upon you, Minister Ian.”
Avidel was genuinely furious, grinding his teeth fiercely. Jin, who had flinched in surprise at the sight, spoke with dignity.
“Who dares raise their voice before me!”
Though brief, the outburst was enough to silence the agitated Priest. Both of them clamped their mouths shut as if coming to their senses, glaring at me.
An eerie silence descended once more. Avidel and Macael had begun their silent protest, their displeasure palpable.
“Both of you will wait at the Magic Ministry. I will bring the Priest who awaits at Stone Mountain for a three-way confrontation.”
“The temple is not subject to demonic influence!”
Unable to contain himself, Avidel unleashed a rebuttal bordering on a shriek. As if begging me not to speak such nonsense.
“By the sacred power, not a single step can be taken inside! Yet you claim the Oracle’s light was activated and the voice of the divine was imitated?”
“Not a single step can be taken?”
“There is but one entrance, and all access is managed by the Holy Knights. If anything profane were to—!”
“What if it had never been born?”
“…Pardon?”
“If it was never born, such that even the Holy Knights failed to notice?”
“Count Ian. What in the world are you saying…?”
Avidel shook her head and stepped backward. Following her gaze, Jin entered. Then, the image of Deilaina arriving at the temple long ago, her belly swollen like a distant mountain, came to mind.
What had the Holy Knight guarding the entrance said back then?
”
Just a moment, please.
”
”
Why is that?
”
”
Did Lady Deilaina perhaps bring something other than servants?
”
”
No, she didn’t. Why do you ask?
”
”
It’s nothing. The imperial palace does raise all manner of unusual creatures, after all. I thought I’d inquire just in case. You may enter.
”
I had not pressed further on why the Holy Knight had stopped her then. The Priests had seen Deilaina’s bare form, and confirmed that all she carried was the noble future of Bariel alone.
“Are you saying His Highness is a demon?”
“State your subject correctly.”
There were two within that belly at the time. Jin and Arcen. From my demeanor, it was clear I suspected Arcen.
“If not Lord Jin, then Lord Arcen? Surely not! If he was unaware because he was never born, what of afterward? Both of them remained in the temple while Lady Deilaina recovered from childbirth. The Holy Knights could not have failed to notice that!”
The more Avidel protested, the more certain I became. That he had wielded power beyond his limits—delivering an Oracle the moment he was born in an infant’s body.
“Do you know the Oracle’s light is something Lord Arcen would use? He collapsed the moment he displayed magical power at Lord Gail’s residence. Even with his current body, he can scarcely manage it, and as a newborn, he would have lost even more strength. To the Holy Knights, he would appear no different from an ordinary human.”
“Now see here!”
“Now it makes sense. Yes.”
I ignored Avidel’s outcry and tapped the armrest of the sofa repeatedly. Based on the history I knew, if Arcen were truly a mana user, he would not be of the imperial family—had I not already suspected as much?
“…So he wasn’t a member of the Imperial Family after all.”
Setting aside the brutal nature he’d displayed thus far, there were countless inexplicable aspects to consider.
But if he wasn’t human but a demon, everything made sense. How he’d managed to enter Prince Gail’s quarters that night, how he’d been able to restrain Philia, and so on.
Whoosh.
I rapidly rifled through the desk. Soon, the Biography of Roberside came into my hands. I turned the pages with practiced ease until I found the section I sought. My quiet voice read the words aloud with composure.
-Roberside finally faced only one demon.
A demon in the form of a small child
begged with clasped hands.
…
-It was the moment Roberside drew his sword, saying the demon deserved death. The demon whispered cunningly: “If you let me live, I will hide and live in peace. But if you kill me,
my brothers will seek revenge.
They will destroy everything you have gained.”
Jin, Avidel, and Macael watched blankly. I handed the pen to Jin.
“Your Highness. Would you write down the characters that Roberside taught you in your dream?”
Roberside had taught characters in a dream? The priests furrowed their brows, focusing on the pen’s tip. Their eyes widened at the ancient script written without hesitation.
ᚫᚱᛋᛖᛀᛖ
“Do you know what this is?”
“It is a script used since ancient times at the Carbo Temple. We don’t use it much now, but we occasionally employ it when reading previous records.”
I settled onto the edge of the sofa, as if I’d expected this. Then I gestured for them to read it. Macael found himself pronouncing it syllable by syllable.
“A, r, s, è, n, e.”
Jin inadvertently dropped the pen. The name of the last demon Roberside had spoken of in his dream was Arcen.
“Count Ian.”
“It’s alright, Your Highness.”
Jin embraced me, and I held the child firmly in my arms, patting him gently.
This was far too confusing. If a demon dwelled within brothers born of the same blood, what was to be done? The touch of this calamity had been present from the very beginning of life, too deep and persistent.
‘It’s deeply connected to the demon’s curse. It descended through the brother’s name. Since Roberside said it would destroy everything he had gained….’
I suddenly realized that Arcen had been involved in the start of the internal strife. When Xiaoxi had attempted assassination as a demonstration, Prince Gail had coughed up blood so severely that Prince Marib hadn’t moved as expected.
‘The intention is to lead Bariel to decline.’
Crack.
My grip on Jin tightened further. The more I did so, the more Jin squeezed his eyes shut, as if trying to forget his fear.
The priests still couldn’t believe that Arcen was a demon, their eyes hollow with disbelief. Avidel in particular looked so unwell, as though his very existence had been denied, that he seemed ready to collapse at any moment.
“Your Highness. You are the one who inherits the glory of the Imperial Family.”
“Hmm?”
“That is why Arcen could not use his tricks, and instead resorted to vicious whispers. Persistently, throughout all these long years. Because you are truly the future of Bariel.”
He had whispered endlessly beside him that you were useless, cursed, a child who should never have existed. I caressed Jin’s wounds as I murmured.
“Now I understand everything.”
“If there is a problem with Arcen, what of Mother?”
“As for Deilaina….”
Over the span of ten years, whenever Arcen had an opportunity, Deilaina was the first person he would use. She was the woman who wielded influence second only to the Emperor, and conversely, also influenced Jin.
Crash! Bang!
“That’s not possible!”
“Have you forgotten your orders? Lord Jhin is inside!”
“Deilaina cannot see His Highness without Lord Jhin’s permission! Please, calm yourself! I beg you!”
“Just wait a moment. Still, from inside—!”
Then, commotion erupted from outside. From the faint sounds drifting in, it appeared Deilaina had come to the Magic Ministry. She had forgotten even the access restriction order, all to assist the priests. More precisely, to expedite Arcen’s mana verification ceremony.
“How dare you touch things so carelessly!”
Bang!
Deilaina burst through the office door with a sharp cry. Behind her, mages and her servants were tangled together. Jhin looked up at his mother very slowly, blinking. It was the first time I had seen her this close since Marib’s trial.
“Are these priests from the Carbo Temple?”
“Yes. I am Avidel.”
“I, I am Macael.”
“There’s been a problem transferring the light of the oracle, you say? What did Count Ian say? That he would provide support?”
Her conduct was far too frivolous and hasty to befit an Empress. She glanced at Jhin, who continued looking up at me, then turned her head away indifferently.
“We’ll supplement our own personnel. The mages are busy, and I’m not sure they’ll even do the work properly if they go to help. Count Ian, that should be fine, yes?”
Deilaina made her proposal with force. In essence, it was more of a declaration than a request.
Ian readily accepted, flipping over the paper with the demon’s name written on it.
“Do as you wish. If you bring the light of the oracle quickly, that’s good for us too. Still, the mages will go with you. If some insignificant creature causes trouble, it becomes bothersome.”

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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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