Margrave’s Bastard Son was The Emperor - Chapter 325

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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 325
Fire. Stop
“Minister Ian isn’t here? He cancelled his leave?”
“Suddenly called out on business? Where to? When will he return?”
Before the firmly closed office door, employees from other departments shuffled their feet in frustration. They carried stacks of documents that needed approval, but there was no one to review them! The Mage smiled apologetically and merely shrugged his shoulders.
“I apologize. It seems the decision from this morning’s emergency meeting wasn’t communicated properly. Other departments have come and gone, but I’m not sure when he’ll return.”
“This is driving me crazy. What about the Steward—”
They considered seeking the Steward’s help, but that wasn’t possible either. Romandro passing by was an ordinary person like them, not a Mage.
The employees’ gazes slowly followed Romandro’s retreating figure. He crossed the lobby with a resolute expression, his demeanor as serious as if he were heading into battle. The employees sniffled and asked.
“…Why does Romandro look like that?”
It was oddly familiar.
It resembled, ever so slightly and subtly, the expression Minister Ian displayed whenever he turned the imperial palace upside down.
Having observed and heard things up close, he was unconsciously mimicking that behavior. Of course, since the person was different, the feeling was quite distinct.
“The Steward is also out on business. If it’s urgent, there’s nothing we can do, but otherwise, leave the documents. I’ll deliver them to Minister Ian immediately upon his return.”
“Ah. Understood. Thank you for your help.”
“Take care.”
Creak!
Romandro pulled his mustache taut and opened the office door. The atmosphere was quite chaotic. All the Mages working at their desks had stood up and huddled in a corner, while Heil, with a cigarette in his mouth, was rummaging through Philic’s desk.
Heil, who had been reading through documents, greeted Romandro.
“You’ve arrived.”
“Have you found anything?”
“Not yet, as far as I can tell.”
Everything was in disarray—personal lockers overturned, the trash bin at his feet emptied completely.
Heil methodically turned through each piece of paper one by one, checking for anything suspicious. Then, suddenly realizing that everyone in the office was watching him, he shrugged his shoulders.
“Everyone get back to work. Don’t mind me.”
“How can we not mind? You’re doing that.”
“Right. P-Philic, did he do something wrong?”
“That bastard. Whatever he did, he did it big.”
“If you tell us what you’re looking for, we can help too.”
Heil responded only with smoke. Someone from a different department had suddenly come and flipped desks, and now Romandro had joined in. They sensed that something had gone seriously wrong.
“Who sits next to Philic?”
“M-me.”
“Did you notice anything suspicious? Like, reports that seemed unrelated to work appearing frequently? Something that didn’t fit? Or, well, you know. Just use your intuition.”
As Heil shifted from searching to questioning, Romandro picked up scattered items from the floor and examined them slowly. As he said, nothing seemed particularly unusual.
“We all practically live here, so there’s nothing odd about fitting in or not. He handled his work without any issues. If there was anything unusual, it was that he distinguished between the office and his residence?”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Exactly as I said. Everyone else receives packages and such here, but Philic always made a point of going through his residence first. It seemed like unnecessary trouble.”
“Now that you mention it, that’s true. Usually he’d bring things after work, or sometimes he’d even take half days.”
It was clear that something was definitely at his residence. Romandro pulled out a slip of paper with Philic’s personal information from his pocket and read it aloud.
“Lestorn Street, Number 343, Noon Residence, Third Floor—is that correct?”
“I’m not sure. I’ve never been there.”
“Didn’t you write it down when you were hired? Haven’t you moved at least once? I remember it. That bastard suddenly took leave back then, and I had to handle his work.”
It was common for mages to have different registered addresses and actual residences. Since the duty room served as a second home, many simply filed their address change and lived there. Even Heil was registered as living in the same house as Nakina and Tomi.
“This is getting troublesome.”
I hadn’t expected to find him immediately, but facing the reality of it was frustrating. Romandro pulled out his notebook and tapped the pen tip repeatedly.
“Bring me Philic’s vacation request form.”
“Yes? Yes, sir!”
“Look, check when you moved by looking at the dates here and figure it out properly. We know for certain he lived at 343 Lestorn Street, so we’ll start our inquiries from there.”
At Romandro’s instruction, the mage rummaged through the cabinet and pulled out a thick stack of papers. It was thicker than expected, probably because it included half-day leaves. Heil crushed out his cigarette while muttering.
“This bastard, did he just play around instead of working…”
Tap tap. The mage examining it with him pointed to a specific date. It was after the seven noble families from the capital were executed—not as long ago as I’d thought.
“We should be able to find him quickly. Let’s go check it out.”
“Understood. Nakina and Tomi should be waiting.”
“Perfect. Philic, you stinking bastard!”
As Romandro showed his fist and rushed out of the office, Heil gestured to the mages. It was an order to clean up on their own.
“Captain Heil! What did Philic do wrong? Please tell us.”
“Yeah, that’s right. We’d like to know too.”
“…Minister Ian will explain it to you directly later.”
“Captain Heil!”
Click!
But Heil didn’t answer and closed the door. Outside, Romandro was briefing Nakina and Tomi on the schedule.
“It’ll take about an hour by carriage to get there, so for today, our goal is to find out before sunset…”
“An hour? It only takes ten minutes.”
“Huh? What did you say?”
“Captain Heil! We’re taking the carriage, right?”
Nakina waved at Heil and asked. Romandro’s complexion suddenly turned pale. He clutched the carriage like it was a lifeline and shook his head.
“N-no, I’m taking the carriage.”
“Come on. You said the goal was to find out before sunset. We need to save every minute. Let’s go.”
Zing. Zing.
Whoosh.
“No! I refuse!”
“It’s fine. As long as you don’t struggle, I won’t drop you.”
“D-don’t say such things! Please!”
Tomi gripped Romandro’s hand tightly and released his magical power. No, he couldn’t experience the same thing again, Romandro shook his head repeatedly.
But his resistance was futile as his body lifted off the ground.
“Aaaahhh! Ahhh!”
“Everyone else seemed to enjoy it?”
“I’m not Berik!”
Whoosh!
Whiiiish!
With a final cry, Romandro shot skyward. His scream, nearly a roar, grew fainter and fainter until it faded entirely.
The passing Mages glanced around in confusion, unable to locate the source. He had already vanished like a speck far above in the sky.
* * *
“Wahoooo! I’m going to kill you!”
“Berik! It’s not ‘kill you’—you’ll actually die doing this!”
“Gyaaaah! Ahahaha!”
Meanwhile, at that very moment. There were others flying through the sky like Romandro’s group. They were Ian’s party, who had just fallen from the Black Moon.
Bodies plummeting without resistance. Though it was nearly a crash landing, Berik thrashed his limbs about as if swimming, seemingly delighted by it all. The Mages shouted toward Ian.
“Minister Ian!”
Zing! Zing!
The portal shattered and collapsed. They had withdrawn the magical power concentrated there. Ian’s group continued falling downward, downward, along with fragments of the Black Moon.
‘Prince Noah is in the middle of the procession.’
“Minister Ian! Your orders!”
“The objective is to stop the carriage! The border is approximately three kilometers away!”
“What? Why are you two talking to each other? Tell me too!”
“Be quiet, your voice is mixing in! Keep your mouth shut!”
“Iaaaan! I can’t hear you!”
The sound of cutting through the wind was tremendous, making verbal communication impossible. They had no choice but to rely on magical power. Berik, wanting to be included, and a bewildered Barsabe watched the approaching ground with tension.
“If unavoidable, we will accept sacrifice as well!”
“Understood!”
“Selena, Yen, and Demis—take the rear! If we block the front first, collision is possible, so induce speed reduction from behind! Breaking the spine falls to Tayla and Kanci! Each of you take Berik and Barsabe down respectively!”
“Yes! I’ll take the center-right, Kanci the left!”
“I will take the vanguard.”
“Iaaaan! Me! What about me!”
Shwiiing! Shwing!
Berik drew his sword and swung it about.
The carriage was drawing ever closer—there wasn’t much time left. Tayla, who held Berik, relayed the orders instead, and he responded with a circular gesture of his arm. When Ian signaled, the Mages descended even faster.
Falling in a smooth arc like a meteor. The Coachmen, who had been swinging their whips frantically, looked up and turned their heads at the sight.
Hiiing!
Tap-tap-tap!
“Keep your wits about you and keep running!”
“Increase speed! More!”
The Mages’ movements in the sky were ominous. At Prince Noah’s command, his Subordinates even lowered their flags to minimize resistance. The procession was in chaos—the clatter of wheels, the pounding of hooves, the Subordinates’ shouts, all manner of commotion.
Kwaaang! Kuuung!
Then, a tremendous explosion from the rear. Those running ahead looked back, but the smoke obscured their vision.
“What, what is it!”
“There’s a problem at the rear!”
“Your Highness, what should we do?”
Three Mages drew concentric circles in the air and attached themselves to the rear. The problem was that they weren’t field operatives and had never used speed-enhancing magic while flying.
The three of them pooled their strength to create a single central axis, aimed at a point slightly behind the procession, and unleashed their magical power.
「Shackle」
Light erupted from the ground, surging toward the mage before plunging down with devastating precision.
Crash! Bang! Bang!
Neigh!
“Ahhhhh!”
“Stop! Wait! What is—!”
The horses that had been galloping smoothly were blocked by the shackles and tumbled to the ground, while the carriages that took direct hits shattered into pieces and toppled sideways. Screams pierced the air, but I gritted my teeth and ordered the advance.
“Don’t look back—just run!”
Whoosh!
At that moment, something passed over Prince Noah. Leaning out the window to look, I saw it was Berik. He had separated from the mage and climbed onto the carriage behind. Our eyes met perfectly as Berik lay flat, surveying his surroundings.
“Huh?! This isn’t the right carriage! What if you take me to the wrong place?!”
“Damn it!”
“Prince of Grape Country! Stop the carriage! Otherwise Ian said he’d destroy everything!”
I’d never said such a thing, but it would happen anyway, so it didn’t matter. Berik shouted, but I ignored him and crawled back inside the carriage. I crept toward the driver’s seat.
“Ugh! W-who are you?!”
“This carriage is mine now!”
“Hey, here! Here!”
Clang! Clang!
Guards attacked from both sides, but Berik nimbly dodged and kicked them away. Those who fell from the carriage toppled the horses that had been chasing behind.
Rumble. Boom.
Swinging a sword in a swaying place was surprisingly fun. From where Barsabe had descended on the other side, explosion sounds rang out.
What should I do now? Just as Berik hummed a tune and turned his body toward Prince Noah, the ground began to shake as if an earthquake were occurring.
“Ahead! The checkpoint is visible!”
“Break through! Just pass right through!”
“Keep the speed—”
Someone tried to shout to maintain it but stopped.
Far ahead, wasn’t the ground rising? Thick vines shot up from the widening cracks on both sides.
「Ten Thousand Leaves」
As the boy standing in midair gestured, the vines rushed toward the carriages. When the lush leaves descended upon them, the coachmen instinctively squeezed their eyes shut.
“Stop.”
And a small voice resonated in their ears.
It was my voice, transmitted through magical power.
“If you stop of your own accord, you will live. If you do not, you will die.”

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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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