Margrave’s Bastard Son was The Emperor - Chapter 343

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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 343
Fire. The Interrogation Continues
Something has definitely happened.
The Cliffford citizens gathered before the palace grew even more tightly clustered as night fell, showing no sign of departing. For farmers to spend such a grueling night awake was a tremendous resolve, and it spoke to their genuine concern for their nation.
The soldiers, their lips sealed tight, kept their faces hidden beneath their helmets and offered no information. Only the occasional palace staff member passing back and forth hinted indirectly at the commotion within—no official announcement had been made.
Boom! Bang! Kaboom!
“What?”
Suddenly, brilliant fireworks erupted from the palace spire. Colorful lights embroidered the night sky, spreading in all directions with thunderous booms.
It seemed like an explosion, yet there was no flame or smoke. Most striking of all was the sparkling beauty—something I had never witnessed before. The people gazed upward in a daze, utterly mesmerized.
Even the street musicians were moved, beginning to play the Brakui, a traditional Cliffford instrument. People swayed slowly to the resonant rhythm, their voices rising together in song. It resembled a form of protest, yet their earnest hearts made it sound uniquely sorrowful.
Your Majesty within the palace, if you hear the people’s song, please come forth yourself and assure us that the peace of the vineyards remains steadfast. We shall weave crowns from verdant leaves and offer them to you—cross the river of wine flowing across the land and sing with us.
Meanwhile, at that very moment.
Heil startled at the sudden explosion and began pounding on the door. The palace servants were equally aghast, at a loss for what to do. Would the entire palace be blown to pieces?
Crash! Bang!
“Akorelra! Akorelra!”
“P-please, Mage, you’re alright, aren’t you?”
“Can you hear me? Akorelra!”
The light streaming through the window was beautiful, but there was no telling when it might consume the spire. Heil’s insistent pounding finally caused the door to open.
Flung wide!
“Ugh—I told you this is undesirable! I said no entry until I’m finished, didn’t I? Do you want to see me turned inside out? Huh? If you want to die, just say so. I’ll make it happen.”
Akorelra stood huffing, clutching a half-shattered flask. Heil hesitated at the sight. Wasn’t it already half-transformed? Her hair was singed to the roots, and her face was covered in soot and ash.
She hurled her protective goggles aside and pointed an accusatory finger at Heil.
“Right now, Akorelra, the world’s greatest researcher, is concentrating in these deplorable conditions! I’m short on mana stones—twenty grams of Caclone, fifteen grams of Tapicoron! Caclone can be substituted with Racalocrlo, but I’m still five grams short of that too! You mad Captain Heil! My head’s about to explode from all these calculations, so why do you keep pounding on the door like an idiot!”
Heil hastily placed a cigarette between her lips to calm her down. Akorelra, who had been ranting like a mad dog, instantly settled and drew deeply on the smoke. Even so, it was a kingdom—he hadn’t anticipated that certain mana stones would be unobtainable.
“It can’t be helped. In a country without mages, that’s quite impressive. The Cliffford National Research Facility is said to be located on the outskirts, so we should receive the materials soon.”
“That’s absurd. I heard the same thing an hour ago.”
Wisps of smoke curled through the makeshift laboratory. Heil covered his nose and mouth with his sleeve as he entered. It looked as though a small war had erupted.
Akorelra shook a blue liquid on the desk and tilted her head back. At her grotesque appearance, the servants didn’t dare enter and stood frowning at the doorway.
“The color’s different?”
“Of course it is. That damned Racalocrlo is missing. But why? I hope your business is justified. Nothing infuriates me more than these miserable research conditions.”
“Count Ian said to bring it as long as the performance is certain, even if there are side effects.”
“What?”
Akorelra’s head snapped up.
Did that mean she could finally stop? In this wretched environment where she didn’t understand the first thing about research, she wouldn’t have to waste her natural talents anymore?
As her eyes gleamed, Heil stroked his beard. Something must have gone wrong during the research process. Otherwise, why would it look even more dangerous than usual?
Crash! Bang! Bang!
“Why didn’t you say so earlier! I’m someone who creates something from nothing, you know? I can’t tolerate missing mana stones!”
Akorelra dashed forward, flask of blue liquid in hand. The servants shrieked and scrambled backward. Heil hurried after her, urgently warning those ahead to be careful.
“Careful! Careful! She’s gone mad!”
“Get out of the way! Ahahaha!”
“Kyaaaaaaah!”
Akorelra descended gleefully along the railing. Though unfamiliar with the route, I navigated the cellar with surprising ease, and the soldiers recognized me, clearing the way.
Deep within the cellar, built spaciously for wine storage, came the sound of commotion.
“Count Ian!”
“Akorelra.”
I sat at the desk with my sleeves rolled up, flipping through documents. Information compiled by Cliffford’s side regarding the envoy’s personal details and such.
The Burgos Envoy remained bound and gagged, while Cliffford’s soldiers tidied the ropes.
“Tada! A truth serum with unknown side effects but guaranteed results, at your service!”
“Well done.”
“Um, but I really don’t know what might happen.”
“It’s fine. We only need to determine the truth.”
“Did you learn anything?”
The Burgos Envoy’s eyes bulged wide. A sickly blue liquid. No matter how one looked at it, this was clearly not meant for consumption, yet they intended to force him to drink it now? Mmmph! He thrashed desperately, but there was no escape.
I continued flipping through documents as if hearing nothing.
“The other envoys are being investigated by Cliffford’s side. Prince Noah confessed he didn’t know he would die, but this one seems different.”
“Akorelra’s special potion would be just perfect then.”
Akorelra patted her own head without hiding her self-satisfaction. It was confidence backed by evidence, so Heil merely chewed on a cigarette in annoyance.
Creak.
“Prince Noah.”
“Count Ian. Any progress?”
As Prince Noah entered covered in blood, the Burgos Envoy squeezed his eyes shut. He had just realized that at least he was facing me and receiving a humane interrogation.
“I cannot speak for the others, but this one seems to know the signal system. He has considerable trust in his own nation, Burgos. As I mentioned, that hypothesis seems highly likely.”
Signaling the situation within Cliffford through the number of dead envoys, then using that as justification for war.
“Cliffford will panic and notify Burgos of the envoy’s sudden death. The moment they report several deaths, Burgos gains intelligence about Cliffford’s internal situation.”
“Then before they even exchange replies and discuss how to handle matters, they can first prepare adequately and seize the advantage.”
“To be precise, they probably never intended to discuss at all. Their goal is to strike the moment Cliffford panics. Hmm.”
I shuffled through the hastily scrawled papers, muttering.
“If one envoy’s death signals the presence of a mage in Cliffford, it would be useful to determine what each number—two, three, or more—signifies.”
Prince Noah and I exchanged glances, then slowly turned our gaze toward the Burgos Envoy. His trembling form, startled and shaking, was pitiful. Noah stepped closer, tapping his blood-soaked gloves against his palm.
“We’ll just find out. What’s the problem?”
“…Wait, Your Highness.”
I blocked his path with the documents and stopped him. Noah tilted his head, asking what the issue was.
“Reporting the envoy’s sudden death would give Burgos justification for war first.”
“Father understood the gravity of the situation and ordered the armies to mobilize.”
“What of the military disparity? Do you have accurate assessments? Speak without accounting for our assistance.”
Though I was helping them, it was ultimately goodwill predicated on future alliance. Should a critical juncture arise that could benefit or harm Bariel, the mage faction would unhesitatingly turn its back on Cliffford.
At my question, Noah hesitated briefly.
“Our troop numbers are slightly superior.”
“Because your population is larger. I asked about military strength, not troop numbers.”
“….”
“The number of soldiers matters, certainly, but military strength is not determined by that alone. Burgos has made such a firm commitment that they’re willing to sacrifice people from the royal palace. Can you truly assert there will be no problems?”
The choices of the entrenched powers would sway the fate of the entire nation. Instead of wine, the blood of screams would flow, and the grapevines would stretch forth hideously, nourished by corpses as fertilizer.
“There cannot be no problems. But given how far Burgos is willing to go, war cannot be avoided.”
“It cannot be avoided, but it can be shifted.”
“Shifted? What do you mean?”
“The justification.”
I tapped the documents with my pen, urging him to think carefully.
Was war not the act of gathering the lives of countless individuals and sending them forth to the slaughter?
Thus, those with decision-making power had no choice but to appeal. To ask that you add your blood and flesh to the hollow facade called justification. It was truly trivial, worthless, and invisible, yet in the end, it was the very bone that sustained everything.
“The crucial point is making Burgos bear the cause of war. In doing so, Bariel gains justification to aid Cliffford. Under the name of a greater cause, forming an alliance becomes far easier.”
“I understand that. But one envoy is already dead, and we’ve stepped into the trap.”
We’d bitten down on the snare. Even now, Burgos was likely waiting with bated breath for news of the envoy’s sudden death. In this moment when war could break out at any instant, what could Cliffford do?
“Rather than thinking you’ve stepped in—”
I smiled with a hint of restraint.
“Think of it as having trampled it underfoot.”
Splash!
I poured the water from the glass onto the floor, then poured about half of the Shildam elixir that Akorelra had brought. A pungent smell and bubbles rose with a gurgle. It was truly not something meant for human consumption.
“We cannot know what side effects this will cause. But we can certainly extract reliable information. Shall we give it a try?”
“It’s somewhat different from the Shildam elixir they mentioned.”
“Well, that’s—”
“I understand how difficult it is to obtain such a mana stone in a country without a single mage. Thank you, Prince Noah.”
As Akorelra bristled, I deflected smoothly, as if to say there was nothing to be done about Cliffford’s weak magical research foundation.
Prince Noah exhaled a sigh and stepped back. It would be better to conduct a final interrogation, since drinking it might kill him.
“It would be good to observe what side effects occur. Have him drink it first. I’ll interrogate the other envoys and return.”
“Very well, Your Highness.”
“I have one question.”
“Anything.”
“What if all the envoys die?”
There was nothing better to give Burgos justification than that. I closed the file folder with an unhurried smile.
“Since I am not a Cliffford person, all choices and decisions are made by the royal court. You understand, don’t you?”
“So, if I were you…”
“I would remain silent.”
There was only one way to keep those waiting for news in suspense—to tell them nothing at all. Then, when they made their next move, we could identify their signal system and introduce disruption, making everything proceed smoothly.
Prince Noah left with an expression of dawning understanding, and only my companions remained in the interrogation room. I rose slowly and brushed off my clothes.
“Well then—”
“Why don’t you get some rest? We’ll handle the rest.”
“No. Questions are better when they’re precise, so I’ll participate. Let’s begin.”
At my gesture, Akorelra’s eyes widened as she removed the envoy’s gag. Indeed, how would this method, slightly different from the original formula, manifest in terms of side effects and efficacy?
It had been irritating to make, but now that I was about to test it, my heart raced with excitement. Akorelra grasped the envoy’s cheek and gazed at him affectionately.
“Now then, our dear envoy.”
“Save me, save me—”
“Ah, try this. Ahhh—”
“Please save me! I’ll tell you everything!”
“Ahhh, drink this and speak. Once more, ah—! Don’t spill it or you’ll be punished. I went through so much trouble making this.”
“Aaaaaaahhhhh!”
He was pouring it directly onto the man’s face. I observed the scene with indifference before picking up a pen. Then I began the interrogation in a low voice.
“The same questions as before, but if different answers emerge, I would find that most regrettable. Now then, I ask: did the Envoys arrive knowing the entire death signal system?”

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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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