Margrave’s Bastard Son was The Emperor - Chapter 374

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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 374
Fire. Naturalization
Meanwhile, Timothy ran up the steep forest path, breathing heavily. The taste of blood rose in his throat, but he did not stop his steps.
How had he, who once passed through checkpoints with the confidence of a diplomat, become a smuggler in his own country?
“Hah, hah….”
After running for some time, he finally leaned against a tree and caught his breath. Yet he still felt torn to shreds by confusion.
When he escaped the Burgos camp, whether by coincidence or not, he remembered that attention had been somewhat diverted by the commotion of synthetic monsters in the rear.
Hasha—was it him? Did he help me escape? If so, then it’s still a trap?
“Damn it.”
But there was no turning back now. By disobeying the General’s orders and fleeing the camp, he faced immediate execution under military law.
First, he would return home to confirm his family was safe, then seek help from those close to him to decide what came next. As long as his family was unharmed, what else mattered?
Though he had fled the battlefield under a misunderstanding, he had lived his entire life for Burgos. The King was cold, but he was discerning. He would not demand death for a single mistake. Perhaps dismissal from office, or perhaps he would lose a limb and continue living.
That was acceptable. As long as his family lived.
He could bear that much.
Tap, tap, tap!
Whoosh!
As he descended the forest slope, a park adjacent to the residential area came into view. The sun was dimming. Unlike Cliffford, where the sunset was caught in leaves, Burgos’s night was cold, desolate, and lonely.
He pulled his hood over his head and entered a familiar alley. As he approached the mansion, the atmosphere felt strange—or was it just his imagination? He confirmed the half-open gate and slowly entered.
“…Dear?”
Creak.
There was no sign of life. Overturned flowerpots and scattered items lay in the entrance. Dozens of footprints covered the floor, and carpets and sofas were overturned.
Timothy’s breath caught in his chest.
This couldn’t be. What in the world….
Whoosh.
Then he sensed movement. Timothy immediately drew his sword and caught the figure entering the living room with his left hand. The well-honed blade pressed tight against the intruder’s neck.
Clang! Crash!
“Ahhh!”
“Who are you!”
“Sir Timothy! It’s me, sir!”
Timothy faced one of his own subordinates.
Blood trickled down the man’s neck. Timothy stared at his subordinate as if his soul had left his body, stammering. Yet he did not release the pressure from his blade.
“What, what in the world is happening….”
“That’s what I want to ask you, Sir Timothy. What happened? Prince Damon called you a traitor and had the mansion searched. At the same time, your entire family was taken to the palace.”
“What?”
Only then did Timothy’s grip loosen. The subordinate touched his neck and wiped away the blood. He sighed, but there was something more urgent now.
“When you went on that secret mission to Cliffford last time, didn’t Lord Nakasta go with you?”
“Nakasta? Yes, he did.”
“I believe he’s the one who reported you. Right now, he’s taken your position at the palace. Did anything happen when you went to Cliffford?”
“Anything happen? No. Nothing at all.”
“I don’t understand. Without any evidence, they caused this disaster based solely on Lord Nakasta’s word. How many years have you worked at the palace, Sir Timothy?”
“My wife? And my son?”
Amid the chaos, I asked about my family’s safety first. I didn’t know what conspiracy Nakasta had proposed or why the King had accepted it, but what mattered was whether my family lived or died.
My subordinate hesitated, running a hand through his hair before speaking.
“Tell me!”
Crash!
“Sir Timothy. We don’t have time for this. Word of your desertion has already reached the palace. The Prince will send soldiers to your residence again. You cannot be caught. You know better than anyone what awaits those convicted of treason.”
“I cannot abandon my wife and son. I must see the Prince. This is a misunderstanding. I swear I never betrayed Burgos.”
My voice was hoarse, as if I had swallowed sand.
My subordinate kept glancing outside, gripping my shoulder. He had rushed to the residence the moment he heard the palace was mobilizing personnel. If it was discovered that he was helping me, he would face dire consequences.
“Sir Timothy. Forgive me for saying this, but we have already gone too far to clear up any misunderstanding.”
I shook my head slowly. Please, anything but that.
“Your wife and son are both dead.”
“….”
“There was no interrogation. They were tortured and executed immediately upon arrival at the palace. There is no official evidence, but the Prince is certain. Of your betrayal. So please, evacuate quickly and save your life first—”
I finally fell to my knees. I couldn’t stand; the world was spinning. How could King Damon do this? Without hearing a single word from me? And I had never betrayed my homeland—what did he see to believe such a thing? I thought him clever, but was I wrong? Was he truly so foolish, so hasty, so cruel?
“Sir Timothy!”
My subordinate hopped anxiously, trying to lift me up. As time passed, security throughout Burgos would tighten. Not only because of the war, but to find me. There was no time to waste.
My subordinate shook my shoulders and shouted.
“Get a hold of yourself!”
“I need to see their bodies.”
“I saw them! And—”
My subordinate bit his lip hard and pulled something from his pocket. Strands of my wife’s and son’s hair. Blood clung dully to them. He had tried to cut from the cleaner parts, but with so many eyes watching, he had no choice but to hurry.
“I’m sorry. There were too many guards watching the bodies; I couldn’t do more. Keep this close to your heart. I know you didn’t betray us. But the situation is beyond our control. I will do my best to recover what remains of your family. As much as I can.”
Those executed for treason are torn to shreds so thoroughly that traces become nearly impossible to find. Even if their spirits returned, they would be scattered in pieces across the land so they could not be revived, and I would be recorded in Burgos’s history as an eternal traitor.
“If you find a place to take refuge, contact me. I will send what remains of them. Gather what you need and hurry. I have a horse; leaving the capital should pose no problem.”
Night had fallen, but the sounds of people had not diminished. Evidence that more guards now patrolled the roads.
He kept urging me forward, glancing left and right, and I moved reflexively. Then I gathered my wife’s portrait from the table and my son’s toy into my arms. And then….
Creak.
The Bariel travel permit I had kept deep in a drawer.
Burgos would surely place a bounty on me in other nations as well. There were only two places free from it: Cliffford and Bariel. Since Cliffford was at war, there was only one place I could go.
‘Did Count Ian know all of this?’
Did he give me the permit knowing it would come to this?
A complex emotion—neither gratitude nor resentment. I secured the permit carefully, then slowly looked around my home. Even as I had ridden here from Cliffford, I hadn’t been able to picture it clearly, but seeing it with my own eyes made it vivid.
I would engrave it vividly in my memory.
I would go, and never forget, and carve it into my heart forever.
“Sir Timothy!”
Tap tap tap!
At my subordinate’s urging, I moved again. I climbed to the second-floor study and rifled through the bookshelves. Having worked for Burgos for so long meant I understood the nation deeply.
In the current state of war, even with the permit Count Ian had given me, he was not currently at the Bariel palace. I needed to enter the country and prove my value so I could establish myself there.
Crash!
“What brings you here?”
“What? Timothy deserted. I came to find him myself. He doesn’t seem to have gone home. The palace?”
A commotion erupted from downstairs—guards had arrived. My subordinate deliberately made noise, and I tied a bundle of important documents to my body before leaping out the window.
Thud!
“Huh?”
“What was that sound just now?”
“Where did it come from?”
I immediately recognized what my subordinate had brought. The saddle was one commonly used by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. I mounted the horse at once and pulled the reins.
Neigh!
Clop clop clop!
“It’s Timothy! Look! There!”
Familiar roads flashed past my vision—places I thought I would know from birth until death. Now I could never return, nor did I wish to.
I pressed my hood deep over my head and leaned low against the horse’s neck. I had to hurry, had to reach out to Bariel before my family’s bodies were desecrated.
‘Prince Damon. How could you do this to me? Did you not know the weight of the life I devoted to you? What did my wife do? What did my child know? That you would take their breath without hearing a single word of my defense?’
Sorrow became resentment, and resentment transformed into rage. My life had evaporated, leaving only traces behind.
My wife’s portrait and my child’s toy stained with fingerprints—these alone seemed to prove that I had lived, that I existed.
Clop clop clop!
Thanks to the efforts of my other subordinates in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, I moved toward the border more smoothly than expected. I felt the horse’s strength waning, but I could not stop. In the distance, I could see Bariel’s border checkpoint.
“Stop! Slow your pace!”
Bariel’s flag waved grandly, and I slowed my approach. Looking back, no one pursued me. It was fortunate, yet somehow hollow. My homeland was something I had abandoned.
“Are you from Burgos? You should know, but with the war between Burgos and Cliffford these days, inspections are rather strict. First, dismount and remove all your outer garments, then step back. Your identification?”
I obediently dismounted and pulled back my hood. The border guards flinched simultaneously. My face was streaked with tears. I myself seemed unaware that I was weeping.
Swish.
Without a word, I showed the travel permit Ian had given me. The border guards examined the seal of the Ministry of Magic, then questioned me while verifying its authenticity.
“Ah, this was issued by the Minister of Magic. Are you nobility? I apologize for my rudeness. You need not provide identification, and there are no documents to fill out. You may enter immediately.”
“The permit is for three people. Do you have companions?”
Stamp!
Before I could answer, the permit was stamped with entry approval. Was the path truly this easy? I received it back with a limp hand and stood there for a long time. Once I crossed this point, I could never return to Burgos.
Tears streamed down my face as I answered.
“…Alone.”

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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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