Margrave’s Bastard Son was The Emperor - Chapter 287

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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 287
Fire. The Forgotten Page
“Hm?”
The Mage who had come to deliver documents paused with a puzzled expression.
A firmly closed office and a Servant standing guard before it. It meant my office, which never went dark even at dawn, was empty.
Where had I gone in the middle of the night? A visit to another department? As the Mage stopped in the middle of the corridor, the Servant came forward to guide him.
“I stepped out briefly.”
“Out? You mean outside the palace?”
“Yes, that is correct.”
“Damn it! Why didn’t you tell me sooner!”
The Minister wasn’t in the palace! Had I known, I would have thrown this overtime to the dogs and left work.
No, rather than leaving work, “escaping” would be the better word now. With no superior around, why waste my life creating reports?
The Mage immediately turned and ran down the corridor. The Colleagues gathered in the lobby clicked their tongues at the sight.
“Look at him run. Good stamina. Did he slack off during the day?”
“Minister Ian isn’t in the palace! He’s left for the day!”
“He’s lost it. Spouting nonsense with such dedication… What!?”
“Go check the office if you don’t believe me.”
“The Minister had no outside appointments scheduled today?”
“That’s why he left. I’m going first. Goodbye.”
Just this afternoon, he hadn’t said anything unusual? The Mages exchanged glances for a brief moment, then simultaneously sprang to their feet.
Time to leave immediately. Go home and sleep soundly. Even if work remained, it didn’t matter. There was no one to approve documents in the office anyway!
Clatter, clatter, clatter!
Whoosh!
The moment the Mages rushed down the main building stairs, carriages lined up and came to a stop right in front of them. And there were familiar faces.
“What are you all doing?”
“Huh? Is something wrong?”
It was Berik and Romandro, followed by myself descending from the carriage. From another carriage, several Mage colleagues also appeared.
Ah, those people. They hadn’t left after all.
“…Is there a problem?”
“Oh, you’ve arrived? I wanted to deliver the reports quickly. Ha. I came out to greet you like this. It seems you’ve been out somewhere.”
I smiled faintly as I noticed the Mages’ empty hands. But I simply pretended not to notice and gave my instructions, passing by them.
“If you have anything to bring, bring it. I will wait. I seem to be sleeping particularly late tonight, so anytime is fine. Those who went out on assignments are dismissed.”
“Yes, Minister. I will see you tomorrow, or rather, in the morning.”
“Thank you for your hard work.”
The Mages who had been trying to escape followed me back into the Magic Department, and the group arrived at my office.
Creak.
The moment the door closed, Romandro, who had been standing perfectly fine, collapsed onto the sofa and buried his head in it. He exhaled a sigh that was almost a groan.
“Ian, what do we do about this? He was already difficult to find, and now he will be even more cautious and hide himself.”
“He has learned that the palace guard participated in the pursuit. He will likely leave Bariel within a short time. It would be best to send word to the border patrol to be even more vigilant.”
I too removed my outer coat and expressed my regret.
The magical barrier was useless. The mages kept watch over the sky, and the soldiers turned the alleys upside down, yet they still let him slip away. As if darkness itself were part of his body, how could he vanish so completely? Unbelievable.
“Berik. You said when you saw him this morning, he was crawling?”
“Huh? Yeah. No legs and all.”
Berik, sprawled across Romandro and playing around, answered back. He was pressing down with all his weight. Romandro thrashed about telling him to get off, but Berik paid no mind.
“It seems his mobility changes at night, sir.”
“That’s why I told Berik to watch him at night. Just in case something happens and he tries to run. Ugh, move over! You brat!”
He was a man who carried the dangerous temptation of secrets within him. I was beginning to understand how he had managed to survive this long.
If there had been more time, we could have gathered information and prepared. Romandro stretched Berik’s cheeks left and right, scolding him.
“You should have told me earlier, huh? Earlier!”
“Ugh! At least I didn’t forget!”
True. It was something that he hadn’t forgotten to report. As Ian pressed his brow wearily, Berik observed him carefully. Was it because he’d gone out for the first time in a while? He seemed more exhausted than usual.
“Ian, are you alright?”
“…What is it?”
“Your complexion is pale. What did the old lady do?”
“Now that you mention it, the conversation was quite long. Ian, what did she say?”
Romandro joined in and approached Ian closely. Ian waved his hand, saying they were too close.
“…I discovered a secret about the Former King of Burgos. It wasn’t publicly known, but it seems their relationship was extremely unstable.”
“You mean the predecessor of the current King Damon?”
“Yes. Besides King Damon, there appear to be hidden bloodlines scattered about. Perhaps that’s why the king was searching for the Gypsy in the first place.”
When adequate truth meets silence, falsehood is born. I cut out the fact of the King of Burgos’s return and only conveyed fragments of information.
The more people who know, the more holes there are for secrets to leak through. It was better that only I knew this.
‘Information about the future would be clearer and more certain for him.’
After all, he was living through the same era twice. No matter how much I was a person from a hundred years hence, there were disadvantages to my position.
However, now that I knew who my opponent was.
The balance had been struck.
“When was King Damon scheduled to arrive?”
“Three days before the official coronation ceremony, so let me see.”
Romandro counted the dates using the calendar.
Less than two weeks remained. Since the leaders of the three nations would be staying during the same period, it would be difficult to approach him individually.
Ian fell silent, resting his chin as if deep in thought about something.
“The alliance of the three nations.”
“Huh? Why that?”
“Who do you think proposed it first?”
While Bariel was confused, he took the opportunity to ask who had first proposed that they band together.
“I suspect it was Ruswena. Through Haiman, wouldn’t she have received news faster than other nations? There were even envoys visiting the imperial palace in between.”
Looking at the overall possibilities, that seemed right. But now that I knew the King of Burgos was a returner, I couldn’t exclude him.
In his repeated life lived twice over, wouldn’t he have judged that now was the right time to form an alliance? If so, that was proof that now was Bariel’s moment of crisis.
“…It would be best to prepare thoroughly for receiving our guests.”
“Of course. Everyone in the imperial palace is doing so.”
Knock, knock.
At that moment, hearing footsteps from outside, Romandro opened the door. It was the Mage who had failed to escape, arriving with an armful of reports.
As Romandro stood at the door conversing with him, Berik quietly poked his head in.
“Ian.”
“Yes?”
“You gave Grandmother a secret, didn’t you?”
His eyes were curious about what I had given her. But now my position was such that I couldn’t speak even if I wanted to. I responded playfully while organizing documents.
“She said you ate plenty of delicious things while you were sleeping.”
“You’re lying. If you eat a secret, you can’t talk about it—that’s what Minister Jhin said, right?”
“You’re asking while already knowing? You’re more impressive than I thought.”
“I want to give a secret too and hear something fun. But Grandmother said I don’t have any secrets. So I’m asking—do you know I stole meat from the restaurant?”
“It wasn’t just once or twice. Which time are you talking about?”
Berik gave up, sprawling out listlessly.
The night outing to capture the Gypsy was coming to an end. Berik fell asleep as he was, and Romandro, who had been helping me, also collapsed into the adjacent room.
Only I remained, treating the silence as music while processing the remaining documents. As dawn broke, I heard very faint footsteps.
Swish.
I stopped what I was doing and looked toward the door. Someone seemed to have stopped in front of it, hesitating given the hour. If it were the Mage, that wouldn’t be the case. I realized it was time for Jhin to wake and spoke first.
“…Your Highness?”
“Count Ian.”
“Please come in. You’re up early.”
He had come right after coughing, dressed in comfortable clothes. Jhin smiled sadly as he poked his head in slightly.
“Surely you haven’t been awake all night?”
“Today’s afternoon schedule is flexible. What brings you here?”
I gestured for him to come closer, turning in my chair to greet the boy. If he had woken from sleep, I was about to kindly offer to read to him.
“Didn’t you say you were going to catch the Gypsy in the middle of the night? I was curious how it went. Since the King of Burgos is concerned with this person, I find myself concerned as well.”
Ah. A boy with the qualities of an Emperor. He had lost sleep from worry.
I stroked the tousled hair falling across Jhin’s forehead and smiled bitterly. There was no other way to express my embarrassment.
“My apologies. The Gypsy proved to be quite extraordinary, and we let them slip away. I suspect they’ll leave Bariel soon, so the border guards may be our last chance.”
“They were certainly mysterious. Did you gain any other useful information?”
I relayed to him exactly what I had told Romandro and Berik. The boy’s blue eyes fixed firmly upon me.
For some time now, Jhin had wanted to look deeply into me. What lay within that mind of his, what did I see, and what did I wish to see? The curiosity made him turn the matter over repeatedly, and in doing so, he grew more puzzled.
“Why do you look at me that way, Your Highness?”
“…Count Ian.”
The boy called to me with careful laughter. His voice was low, resembling dawn itself.
“Is there a separate intention behind proceeding with the construction of the Magic Division’s annex?”
I paused at the unexpected question. I met the boy’s gaze directly, then asked in return. There must be a reason he had suddenly brought this up.
“May I first ask the reason for your inquiry?”
“The number of Mages has decreased, and the Magic Division has only grown larger. The reason for needing an annex is unclear, so your actions seem strange to me. I understand it’s being done with your own funds, but that makes it all the more so. You don’t seem like the type to spend time and effort on something unnecessary.”
Jhin spoke carefully, but could not hide the undercurrent of opposition beneath his words. I raised my eyebrows as if startled for a moment, then nodded. As if to say, continue.
“And I heard the trees in the garden have received the blessing of fairies. I’m somewhat worried that if we cut them down, something unfortunate might happen.”
You’re worried? Then I won’t proceed with it.
Jin had hoped Ian would say such a thing. Then Jin could speak in kind as well.
No. It simply meant he wished to persuade everyone.
“Your Majesty. That is merely rumor, not recorded in any documents.”
“…Is that so?”
“Yes. It is.”
Yet Ian’s response differed from what Jin had hoped for. Affectionate, but somehow distant. The words “What if I object?” lingered on the tip of his tongue, but the boy restrained himself well.
Not yet. Regardless of Ian’s answer, the opportune moment was when he himself saw no problem. The young lion’s claws trembled slightly.
“I understand. Rest now, won’t you? I worry you might collapse again.”
Jin grasped Ian’s hand firmly. Warmth mingled between them, and the chill of dawn seemed to fade away. Ian embraced the boy in response.
“Set your mind at ease, Your Majesty. Your peace is everyone’s peace.”
The boy smiled softly and left the office, while Ian gazed down at his still-warm palm.
Jin had begun to harbor doubt and resistance. A mixture of pride and subtle emotion. He gently swept his warm hand across the table.
‘The vigilance raised since the Haiman incident. It must have subsided and not suddenly flared up without cause. Was there a trigger?’
The boy had mentioned the trees in the garden. This was one of the main arguments of those opposed to the annex construction. It was clear someone from Ian’s opposition had informed him.
Was it Barsabe?
Or perhaps….
‘But that one document—Your Majesty burned it. I thought I might salvage even half of it, but it turned completely to ash.’
While examining the traces of the paper he had burned, Ian suddenly recalled Philia’s words from long ago.
When Prince Gail handed over the traitor, he said he had thrown away one page to use as leverage.

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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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