Margrave’s Bastard Son was The Emperor - Chapter 36

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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 36. Outbreak
After riding day and night, I arrived at the Bratz estate. I slipped into the manor under the cover of darkness as dawn broke, then climbed a tree to carefully observe the guards’ movements.
‘So those are the Imperial Palace Investigation Team. They seem to be using the main house as lodging, and the heavily guarded building is the guest house. Isn’t that the building Ian and I used?’
Soon I spotted Count Derga’s silhouette flickering past a window. Finally, it was time to set down this uncomfortable burden I’d been carrying on my back. I descended the tree swiftly and circled around to the rear of the guest house.
Whoosh!
Just like the day I faced off against Berik.
I scaled the window nimbly, climbing to the floor where Count Derga was staying. The bolt was locked firmly—not from inside, but hammered shut from outside. I drew my dagger and smashed through the wooden panel.
Crack!
“Oh my!”
Mrs. Mary, who had come at the sound of commotion, startled and stepped back as she drew the curtain. Count Derga came rushing over. After days of confinement, he looked absolutely wretched.
Click.
I opened the window smoothly. Count Derga gestured frantically for me to come inside, but I merely hung precariously from the railing.
“Aren’t you one of Nersaren’s subordinates?”
“Where’s the knight? Where did Knight Bel go…?”
“You look terrible. Won’t you let me open the window?”
I chewed on dried meat as I unwrapped my bundle. The investigation team had nailed the window shut after discovering the butler’s escape. Count Derga accepted the small box I handed him without knowing what it contained.
“Take this as well. It’s a message from Kakan.”
“What did the chieftain say? Ian? You killed Ian, didn’t you?”
But I didn’t answer. I glanced at Chel, who was trembling in the corner, then simply nodded and dropped down.
“Eek!”
Mrs. Mary screamed with her eyes squeezed shut, but that was all. I felt no sound of impact or vibration. I had come like the wind and vanished like the wind.
“What on earth…?”
“Dear, read the message quickly. Let me open the box.”
“Mother, the Cheonryeo Tribe is helping us, right? They must be, right?”
“Hush, Chel. There’s nothing to worry about.”
Something seemed to have happened to Bel, but hadn’t the Cheonryeo Tribe’s emissary come in person? She’d even torn open the window for us.
Mary held her son’s head and offered a prayer of gratitude to the heavens. It was a prayer that would have continued if Count Derga hadn’t hurled a bowl.
Clang!
“Kill, kill them all!”
“Dear?”
“Father, why, why are you doing this?”
“Kill them! I’ll kill them all! I’ll wring their necks with my own hands! Aaaagh!”
Count Derga swept the table violently. Chel, who had rushed into Mary’s arms, began to cry with fear. The Count hurled a chair against the wall and began smashing everything within reach.
“Breaking the alliance? Breaking it? Filthy, vile savages. My corrupted bloodline resonates all the way here! All they know is to take and consume—they’re no better than dogs. Fine. Let’s see about this! Once this place is settled, I’ll start a war immediately—! I’ll tear them to shreds and throw them to the beasts!”
“Dear!”
Blood was flowing from Count Derga’s hands. At his incoherent screams, Mary finally restrained her husband with her body. Beyond the wounds themselves, any louder noise could raise suspicion from the investigation team.
“Calm yourself. Breaking the alliance? That’s impossible. If they act this way, won’t it only put them in a difficult position later? Even I understand that much, so how could the chieftain make such a decision…?”
There was no justification. No justification at all.
Such behavior was no different from declaring them savages. With trembling hands, I examined the torn message. And I gasped in shock, covering my mouth.
“Is this true? Smuggling gruut leaves?”
“Damn it! Damn it!”
Crash!
Two reasons were cited for breaking the alliance.
Ian’s illegitimate status and the attempted smuggling of Gruut leaves.
The latter was treated as the more serious matter. The Count had directly instigated Ian, his chosen partner for peace, to steal prohibited goods—a grave breach of trust that made continuing the alliance impossible.
“What the hell is Ian thinking?”
How had this happened? I was certain he was acting under Mother Philia’s orders. I’d arranged things so the trail could be cut if discovered, but how did he know I was behind it?
Count Derga ground his teeth and spewed curses.
“Open that box.”
“Right, of course!”
At Count Derga’s command, Mrs. Mary quickly untied the cord. Hope had shattered, but still, perhaps there was a chance.
“Ahhhhh!”
“Noooo!”
But what lay inside was the grotesquely severed head of a knight—Bel. It had been opened upside down, the horrifyingly clean cut of the neck facing upward.
Knock knock.
“Count. Is something wrong?”
Just then, an investigator knocked on the door from outside. In an instant, all tension snapped like a broken thread. If contact with the Cheonryeo Tribe for the purpose of overthrowing the regime became known, immediate execution was possible. They would be reduced to begging for their lives, appealing to the commander’s mercy.
“…It’s, it’s nothing serious.”
“May I come in?”
At the investigator’s words, Mrs. Mary’s head whipped around. The evidence of the shattered window was unmistakable. She shrieked in a shrill voice and refused.
“No, no, no! I’m undressing right now!”
“…I beg your pardon?”
“If you don’t intend to insult me, absolutely, absolutely do not open this door!”
“Madam. We can give you a moment.”
“Wait! Wait! Please!”
Mrs. Mary cried out and shut the window. She gathered the scattered wooden debris with her hands and threw it under the bed, then neatly arranged the curtains. Meanwhile, Count Derga stood dazed, consumed by rage, while Chel was paralyzed by fear.
“…Sob.”
With trembling hands, she covered the box and shoved it into the corner of the wardrobe.
“I’m coming in now.”
“Wait, hold on!”
Creak.
The investigator opened the door, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword. Two people standing awkwardly, and Chel huddled in the corner, sniffling.
“What were you doing?”
“Doing what?”
The investigator glanced at the broken chair and scattered items. It appeared they’d made a mess in their fury. He slowly surveyed the room once, then bowed with measured respect.
“My apologies for the intrusion. Please refrain from such disturbances, as they may cause misunderstandings between us.”
“Get out. Worthless fool.”
“…Rest well.”
Despite Count Derga’s blatant insult, the investigator didn’t bat an eye and smiled. After all, Count Derga would soon be dead, and he had only his advancement under his master to look forward to.
Creak.
“Damn it.”
Count Derga gripped the table, desperately praying that reality was nothing but a nightmare. Mrs. Mary and Chel simply sat down, maintaining a heavy silence. Suddenly, Count Derga began grinding his teeth and muttering to himself.
“Fine. All right.”
Let’s do this.
When things came to this, there was only one path left for him to choose. To stand up on his own. Whether it was the Cheonryeo Tribe’s help or anything else, he would fully leverage his position as lord of this territory to drive out both the investigation team and the Central forces.
And thus, to declare independence from Bariel.
He was already branded with suspicion of treason anyway. What did he have to fear?
If he succeeded, he wouldn’t even have to send those pathetic taxes to the Capital anymore. How wonderful would that be?
“…Darling?”
“My dear, you stay here at the Manor with Chel. You know about the secret vault, don’t you? Go hide there, and don’t come out under any circumstances until I come for you.”
“…What about you? No, let’s go together.”
“Yes. Father.”
“Quiet!”
The calculations in his mind were complete.
Without the Cheonryeo Tribe’s help, the only card remaining for him was ‘time’. Before the Central reinforcements arrived, he had to eliminate the investigation team to have any chance of turning the tables.
Whoooosh!
Count Derga tore down all the curtains and wove them into a rope. Mary and Chel, bewildered, stood a step away, simply swallowing hard. He was going outside.
“Ah…”
But the moment he thought about actually leaving, reality crashed down on him, and his nerves were stretched taut. Count Derga hastily draped the loosely tied curtains out the window.
“Go on. Get down. Go hide in the underground vault.”
“What about you…?”
“Hurry!”
At Count Derga’s command, Mary and Chel reluctantly climbed onto the windowsill, tears streaming down their faces. Then, hesitantly and uncertainly, they grasped the cloth and hung from it. While Mary and Chel made their descent, Count Derga gathered papers and lit them with the lantern flame.
Whoooosh.
The flames gradually came alive. Count Derga even fanned the embers to make them burn brightly. When the smoke began rising heavily, he looked down below the window.
Mrs. Mary and Chel were nowhere to be seen.
They must have moved to the secret vault.
Thud!
“Ugh. Damn it.”
Count Derga also grabbed the curtain and dropped down. He limped toward the stables, his throbbing ankle aching with each step. The increasingly thick smoke mixed with the kitchen smoke, filling the sky.
Boom, boom, boom!
“We have an emergency!”
Erika, who had been sorting documents in the main building, frowned at the sudden commotion. But the moment she saw her subordinate’s panicked face, she had no choice but to jump to her feet.
“It appears the Count has set a fire in the Guest House and fled.”
“He’s asking for his own demise.”
“Draw your swords!”
“Kill him if necessary. Don’t let him escape the Manor grounds.”
“Philip! You inform the Central reinforcements of the situation.”
“Yes! Understood!”
“The rest of you move with me.”
Erika tied her hair back firmly and rushed down the stairs. Once everything was properly organized, this would become her manor.
But how dare he—set a fire?
“Ahhhhh!”
“Save me, please! Please save me….”
“Fire! Fire!”
“Water, splash some water! Sand too!”
“Find Count Derga! He couldn’t have gone far!”
Whoooosh!
The lower floor of the Guest House was where the servants’ quarters were. Since they were confined just like Count Derga, they couldn’t easily escape even with the fire spreading.
“Save me! Please, please!”
“Ahhhhh! There are people trapped here! Here!”
“I’ll do whatever you say! I’ll tell you everything you ask!”
Desperate cries echoed from all directions, but Erika couldn’t bring herself to give orders easily. Count Derga had disappeared, and the investigation team members were scattered. If the rescued servants rioted, it would become difficult to control the situation.
“W-what should we do? Captain?”
Among her subordinates hauling water and sand, the flames surged even more fiercely. Erika chewed her lips repeatedly, wrestling with her decision.
“After all, if Count Derga dies, these lives die with him anyway.”
In reality, they’d be sold to the slave market to cover the unpaid taxes, but whether this way or that, the outcome would be the same.
Erika turned her head toward the Main Gate.
“Just suppress the fire adequately. Since it’s the Guest House, there shouldn’t be any important documents. If we have the strength to rescue people, catching Count Derga takes priority.”
“Yes, Captain.”
“Everyone, chase after Count Derga!”
“Only a few stay at the manor, the rest go outside!”
“Hurry!”
Erika turned her head coldly. Behind her, hot, sticky, and agonized screams blazed up together with the flames.

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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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