Margrave’s Bastard Son was The Emperor - Chapter 425

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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 425
Fire. A Small Favor from Ian
Timothy’s expression hardened as he stood motionless, clearly caught off guard by the unexpected response.
I had overlooked something crucial. I was no longer an envoy of Burgos who frequented the royal palace, but merely a foreigner naturalized to Bariel. When weighed against Ian’s perspective, the disparity in value between myself and King Damon would be unmistakable.
Since no response had yet come from Burgos, King Damon represented both the continuation of negotiations and a foothold for occupying Burgos. Compared to such significance, what was I?
“I…”
I had already surrendered all the ledgers I brought to Prince Jin. With that, I had secured the means to begin a new life, and I believed I had paid a fair price. Yet I now realized I had become empty-handed.
Timothy pressed his forehead and exhaled deeply. How could he persuade Count Ian? His chest overflowed with things he wished to say to King Damon—about his face, his collar, everything—yet how could he ever be permitted to voice them?
“The documents were received well through Prince Jin.”
“You received them in the meantime?”
“I received them at Cliffford, so the soldier who delivered them must have reported Bariel’s first victory. The contents were quite intriguing.”
Ian gestured for me to sit first.
Dust drifted lightly through the sunbeams, carrying a sense of comfort rather than oppression. Ian then retrieved the copy sent by Jin from among the various boxes being brought in.
“Is this everything you brought with you?”
“Yes. It is everything I presented to Prince Jin.”
Timothy flipped through the pages, recognizing them as copies. Having studied them so thoroughly before, he could grasp the entire content from mere glimpses of passing words. Then he discovered the final page that Ian had folded away.
The section concerning Rutherford. The Department of Magic would inevitably focus on Idgal, and as its head, Ian would do the same.
“I saw Rutherford directly only twice.”
“Is that so? Did you come directly to the Kingdom of Burgos?”
“No. Both times were in foreign lands, encountered by chance while I was conducting diplomatic affairs.”
“By chance, you say. Timothy. Do you believe in coincidence?”
Ian laughed. Coincidence leads to connection, and connection creates destiny. Then surely coincidence itself is ultimately destiny?
That I discovered Timothy in that crowded street, that I created three travel permits for him, that his ledger now rests in my hands—all of this—
Was it coincidence?
“At the time, I dismissed it as coincidence, but now it hardly seems so. It was likely Rutherford’s intention.”
“Rutherford was a name mentioned from the time of the internal strife in the imperial palace. Marib secured Idgal through connections with him. It was not only Burgos—there was a record of attempting to distribute Idgal to Bariel as well. With so much chaos swirling at the time, I cannot say whether things unfolded according to his design.”
Ian tapped the table with his fingertips, then turned his gaze toward the window and murmured. Leaves were caught between the antique frame, aged yet not worn.
“Damon and Rutherford conducted some form of transaction. You know this, yes?”
“Yes. I am aware.”
“You would not know the specifics.”
“Unfortunately, I do not.”
“If Damon’s siblings were handed over to Rutherford, do you not know what they do with them? They are individuals with royal blood mixed in their veins—do you understand what they might do with that blood?”
“It was beyond my purview and responsibility.”
Timothy had no reason to lie. He had lost his family and abandoned his country. With only the bridge called Bariel ahead of him, why would he obscure matters with falsehoods?
Ian ran his fingers along the edge of the documents and asked.
“Burgos has not yet sent its position. King Damon is here, but if the opposition within Burgos seizes the opportunity to seize power, the war would end yet not end. Then, Timothy, could you not return to your homeland?”
Ian knew well that there was effectively no one to succeed Damon in Burgos, and even if there were, it would amount to nothing more than local nobility.
They were far more likely to fragment and conflict around their own territories than to preserve the royal house. They had already suffered enormous material losses through their support of Damon.
They could first surrender the Burgos royal house to Bariel, then evade responsibility by declaring independence for their territories. Otherwise, they would be dragged along beneath the great punishment bearing Bariel’s name.
“The realm may be in turmoil, but the capital of Kalamata is not all of Burgos.”
“I have already become a citizen of Bariel. I have no desire whatsoever to return to Burgos. Rather, I cannot return. If I were to go back….”
I could not yet grasp the reality of my wife and children’s deaths. Clinging to the false hope that they might still be alive somewhere in Burgos, Timothy resolved that he would never set foot on Burgosian soil for the rest of his life.
Ian nodded as if it were nothing. Inwardly, he had been somewhat concerned. If Timothy were to return to Burgos, it could create problems for Naum’s existence as well.
He had to find happiness here. He needed to find new love, bear children, and remain as one worthy of respect from future generations of Naum.
“Do as you wish. The citizens of the Bariel Empire have freedom.”
“I beg you. Please arrange for me to meet King Damon.”
“Lord Timothy. I believe I asked you this before. ‘Why.'”
Ian leaned back against the chair with his legs crossed. Wasn’t he from the Foreign Ministry? If something goes out, something must come in. Strictly speaking, the report was not given to me but to Prince Jin.
Timothy sighed, running his hand through his hair in frustration.
“I—”
Though he held nothing in his hands, this was the work he had done his entire life. Exchanging invisible things, making promises, and keeping them.
“I worked at the heart of the Burgosian royal palace. Soon you will conduct negotiations regarding the war with them, and I will do my utmost during that process.”
“Burgos is in the position of a defeated nation. There is nothing to negotiate—they have no choice but to accept the demands of Bariel and Cliffford. But what do you propose to coordinate? Hmm. There are many in the imperial palace who speak Burgosian well.”
“…Is there not some difficulty that caused you to do so?”
“What?”
“If Cliffford had absorbed the remnants of Burgos’s forces and advanced directly to Kalamata, you would have crushed the defeated nation more thoroughly. Yet you chose to return with the mages. I wonder if there was not some particular reason for this.”
The fact that there was no one to succeed Damon and his predictions about how the nobles would act were merely speculation.
With the soldiers already mobilized, had I merely wished it, I could have advanced northward and completely seized Burgos. There must have been another reason why I had no choice but to return, even if it meant breaking the momentum of battle. This was what Timothy had deduced.
Ian rubbed his chin with his fingertips and smiled brightly.
“Yes. The king you previously served caused quite a serious incident.”
In the imperial palace, aside from the Prince, no one would yet know about the fissure. Timothy had harbored his suspicion by analyzing only my actions.
‘Naum, it seems Timothy is quite a wise man, just as you said.’
“An incident?”
“It is a matter to be discussed at the grand conference. In any case, to state the conclusion in advance, I cannot grant you a meeting with Damon. In exchange for not arranging that meeting, Damon has divulged some information.”
“Count Ian! Please, I beg you!”
“Calm yourself. We have plenty of time. We have only just arrived.”
As Timothy took a desperate step forward, Ian raised his hand and firmly stopped him.
“Damon’s interrogation comes first. We will use truth serum, but there are no experimental results for overdosage in ordinary people. I must draw out Damon’s cooperation as much as possible. If I arrange a meeting between you and him here, Damon would be quite pleased. Would he not?”
“….”
“Once the interrogation is deemed sufficient and I have heard Burgos’s official position, a sentence will be passed down to Damon under Prince Jin’s judgment. In the meantime, somewhere, time will be prepared for you as well. Surely there will be room for the resentment of a former subordinate to seep into what remains of Damon’s life.”
Click.
Ian gathered and organized the documents as a sign of restraint. Though dust had accumulated somewhat, it seemed Romandro had kept the desk tidy in my absence. Everything was arranged under familiar hands.
“…I beg you. Please.”
“And Lord Timothy. I am truly pleased that you would participate in talks with Burgos for the sake of Bariel, but is that not simply your duty?”
“…Is there something else you desire?”
Timothy keenly grasped my meaning. I was telling him not to act as though he were paying a price while fulfilling his duty.
And that was ultimately for Prince Jin and the great empire of Bariel. What he now faced was me, so Timothy needed to give me what I desired. If it was within his power.
“Something I desire….”
What could a young mage who had risen to the position of Minister at such a tender age possibly need? Timothy could not immediately picture what I wanted.
All humans harbor their own desires, yet this one showed none of them. Money, honor, power, and other pleasures besides. Most could be classified at this level, but not Ian.
Because I possess everything? No.
‘Because I am empty.’
Like a wandering sage who cannot find truth on earth, my desires were hollow—as though they could only be fulfilled elsewhere, never here.
Timothy suddenly understood why he felt so peculiar whenever he saw me. Was it even possible for a man devoid of desire to wield power within the imperial palace? Unless he was born with the dignity of a leader—
“Lord Timothy.”
Timothy swept away the tangled thoughts in an instant and lifted his head. I had apparently been watching him all along. My eyebrows flickered with curiosity about what occupied his mind.
“No, forgive me.”
“Later, when the opportunity presents itself. If you can arrange a meeting between Damon and me, there is work I would entrust to you.”
“What sort of work, my lord?”
“We will proceed with constructing an annex for the Mage Division. You previously handled the import of Burgosian mana stones used for it. I would like you to continue assisting us.”
“An annex for the Mage Division?”
Previously, he had opposed it to check the Mage Division’s bloated authority, but now there was no faction with cause to object. Half of the Imperial Defense Ministry had been split away under Volb’s leadership, and as a result, the Prince’s position had solidified.
The Mage Division’s contributions during the war could not be ignored either, and above all, the funds themselves came from my personal coffers, leaving no grounds for opposition.
“Yes, an annex for the Mage Division. I would like a small reading space at the far end of the corridor. A space with a large glass window that captures the Mage Division’s courtyard at a glance—the kind of window that frames all four seasons like a painting.”
“I am no architect, my lord.”
You will start as the one handling mana stones imported from Burgos. And from what I have observed, you seem quite capable of constructing buildings.”
What does he see? Is it because of my build? Timothy looked down at his own hands with a bewildered expression.
Just then, the door burst open.
Akorelra came bustling in, waving reports in both hands.
“Ian! Let’s head down to the basement!”
“Are you still producing the truth serum?”
“The materials really do make a difference—even the color is different now. It’s perfect. Absolutely flawless! Yes!”
Akorelra thrust her thumb up and hurried ahead as if urging me to follow.
As I passed Timothy, I firmly grasped his shoulder, though the gesture carried so many meanings that it was difficult to discern my true intent. Was it encouragement? Or a command to do well?
Timothy leaned slightly against the armrest of the sofa and pressed his forehead. The man who had killed his wife and child lay beneath this very floor, yet he could do nothing. How pathetic he had become.
Tap, tap, tap!
“King Damon’s guards—maintain strict vigilance.”
“Of course. He’s a king, after all. Don’t worry about that. No one but a mage could even enter the basement anyway.”
I descended into the basement following Akorelra.
At the far end of the dimly lit basement chamber, faint firelight and the presence of people gathered. Those dispatched from other departments and mages had assembled together.
“Ah, Ian.”
“We will begin the interrogation. Which departments are you from?”
“The Foreign Ministry and the Administrative Ministry.”
“Wait in the back.”
“Yes.”
I pulled a chair before Damon, who was bound in chains, and sat. My legs crossed naturally—a signal that made the scribe seize his pen, and the mages perk up their ears.
“Very well then, Prince Damon of the Kingdom of Burgos. We shall now begin your first interrogation here in Bariel. It would be wise for you to answer truthfully. After hearing your responses, we will verify their veracity through the truth serum. Should the people of Burgos learn that their king, who abandoned his nation, did nothing but lie in a foreign land, they would surely be devastated.”
I was subtly implying that if he did not cooperate with the interrogation, harm would come to Burgos.
Click.
Taking the report in hand, I smiled at Damon.
“Shall we begin then?”

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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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