Margrave’s Bastard Son was The Emperor - Chapter 426

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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 426
Fire. Exposure
“This is the prelude to war. We have confirmed that Burgos sent envoys to Cliffford. I and my subordinates who were in the palace at that time can testify to this, so there is no distinction between truth and falsehood. There is one thing that puzzles me—is it true that you intended to send a signal to Burgos through the death of the envoy?”
“Cliffford claims that no envoys died, yet you question me as though they did.”
“It was Burgos who asserted that they died, and was it not because of that very position that war did not break out? I am asking accordingly. The deaths of the envoys that occurred in that process are not the fault of Bariel or Cliffford.”
“You twist your words as you please. This is not conduct befitting one who takes pride in living within history.”
“What is history? It is descendants reading what has been recorded. Bariel seeks to record everything based on the justification for participating in the war, and you sit here based on the responsibility for starting it. All of this can be called history.”
I handed over the documents and glanced toward the scribe. Her pen moved frantically as she kept pace with our exchange.
“I ask again. Is it true that you attempted to send a signal through the death of the envoy?”
“….”
Damon kept his mouth firmly shut as though his tongue had been cut out, only looking up at me.
I closed the documents with a sharp sound and gestured toward Akorelra. As if she had been waiting, she rushed over and roughly seized Damon’s jaw.
“How disrespectful!”
Damon tried to strike her away with his bound hands, but she caught it with ease. Akorelra’s eyes gleamed with madness as she smiled sweetly. Could eyes curved so wickedly be so terrifying? The mages turned their heads away, unable to bear the sight.
“Yes. Not disrespectful at all. Go ahead. Ah.”
“How dare you—”
“Or you will eat in a far less dignified manner. Your Majesty King Damon. Would you like to drool and shed tears and snot? Or would you prefer to bury your face in a bowl like a dog?”
At her relentless words, Damon hesitated, and Akorelra seized the moment, pouring medicine down his throat. It was like forcing medicine into a disobedient child.
Akorelra roughly covered Damon’s mouth, preventing him from spitting it out, and soon the truth serum flowed down his throat.
“I ask again. If you continue like this, your stomach will be so full that you need not eat this evening. Is it true that you attempted to send a signal through the death of the envoy?”
“Cough! Y-yes, it is true.”
“Hmm.”
Damon coughed up blood along with the truth. At the sudden spray of blood, I frowned and looked at Akorelra. Was this not the one that had been controversial for its side effects initially?
“It’s about half mixed in. This version is faster to make. Apart from the coughing up of blood, there are no problems. You know how it is, don’t you? And what does a full stomach matter? We’re balancing things out with the blood he’s coughing up. Now then, what’s next?”
Akorelra shook the pile of truth serum and urged me on, while the scribe also scratched her temple with her pen in agreement. What did it matter if a defeated king coughed up some blood?
I handed him a handkerchief and passed over the documents.
“Next is….”
With each question I asked, Damon’s upper garment became increasingly soaked with blood. His stubbornness was remarkable—not once did he give a cooperative answer.
I looked at Damon, who swayed dizzily, and frowned. The stench of blood was truly nauseating. Without a word, I kept my gaze fixed downward as he continued to drool blood mixed with saliva. What thoughts were swirling in that head of his?
“Are you suffering greatly?”
“….”
“Akorelra, from now on, bring out only the versions without side effects. We have a long way to go, and His Majesty is already exhausted.”
“Should I give him something to eat?”
“How dare….”
“How dare you, you say?”
“Get….”
“Get out, you say?”
Damon closed his eyes completely, weighed down by anger and fatigue. He collapsed onto the table, breathing heavily. His entire body was soiled with blood from coughing, but he seemed to lack the composure to care about such things.
I gently traced the edge of the paper and continued my questions slowly. Now the real interrogation begins. Someone who will become important to me, and to Bariel.
“Next, I have questions regarding the Rutherford Company. According to information obtained in Bariel, it is suspected that you have conducted transactions with them for quite some time before this incident. Is it true that the Rutherford Company assisted Burgos in the acquisition and distribution of Idgal?”
Damon didn’t answer, only lowering his gaze.
Once the truth serum took effect, he would speak the truth regardless, so why was he hesitating like this? The mages all whispered in confusion, but I knew the real reason.
This man was pursuing a third life. Which meant he had already lived two lives, and his greatest secret was connected to Rutherford. Of course his lips wouldn’t move.
“Damon.”
I called to him quietly. I could imagine what thoughts were swirling in his mind right now. He was probably wondering if he would be given a new opportunity if he died from refusing interrogation in the imperial palace.
I tapped the desk lightly and whispered.
“I don’t care if you start your next life anew. You will die here, but I will continue living, and won’t I still exist in your third life as well?”
Whether as a bastard Ian or as Emperor Ian.
Damon’s brow furrowed slightly.
“The me in that place will create such circumstances again, regardless of whether you’ve lived three or four lives. Remember this: while it may be a new beginning for you, it is not so for everyone here. The people of Burgos truly exist, and they will all witness your death and pay the price for it.”
I had no intention of letting him die, but I was telling him not to escape the situation irresponsibly through death.
Even if I were to move to a new world, wouldn’t this one continue on?
If one had ascended to the throne, they should remember that clearly and not abandon their people. This wasn’t advice from an enemy nation’s minister, but counsel from one who had been part of the imperial family.
“Why? Does it look strange to you? Some possess imperial blood yet fumble in their ministerial position, while others have everything as king yet seem ready to give up.”
The Scribe’s pen paused for a moment. He straightened his glasses and looked around, as if unsure he’d heard correctly.
The mages didn’t understand what he was saying and simply frowned in bewilderment.
“Nonsense.”
“Not at all. Isn’t it the truth? Count Ian. Everyone around you may envy you, but in reality you’re one of the most pitiful. What you wish to reach is far above, yet you cannot go there.”
“Ian. Should we pause the interrogation for a moment?”
“If we pause, that will also be recorded.”
“Scribe. Let’s be a bit flexible here, shall we?”
“What are you saying? I’m not under the Ministry of Magic—I’m under the imperial household.”
When the Scribe spoke with clear displeasure, Akorelra was left speechless, her mouth hanging open. Unlike those who were agitated, I maintained my composure and continued the interrogation.
“So, what’s your answer to my question? Do you admit there was some sort of deal between Rutherford and Burgos?”
“If you admit you carry imperial blood.”
“He’s senile! Captain Akorelra! Are there other side effects of the truth serum? Why is he spouting such nonsense?”
“No, the only side effect is coughing blood!”
“Everyone, be quiet.”
I tried to calm the situation, but Damon’s momentum didn’t easily break. He snatched the truth serum from Akorelra’s hand and gulped it down.
As he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, he repeated our conversation like a puppet speaking only truth.
“Count Ian. You gave me a secret, and I gave you one. You are surely of imperial blood. I etched that day firmly into my memory.”
What poured out without hesitation was the truth.
Akorelra unconsciously held her breath and covered her mouth, while shocked silence filled the space among the mages. Only the sound of the Scribe’s pen continued without pause.
“Fact is not necessarily truth.”
I chuckled and looked at Damon. What I had said might be fact to him, but whether it was truth was another matter entirely.
How could I prove I was of imperial blood? Merely on the testimony of Damon, a prisoner from an enemy nation?
“Your effort is admirable, but you shouldn’t use the truth serum for such purposes. I asked about Rutherford, didn’t I? Using it for other matters is a waste of taxpayer money. It doesn’t seem like something King Damon, who pays no taxes, should be doing.”
“Rutherford. Yes. I have met with them and exchanged both large and small favors. The Idgal Pendant you touched on the battlefield—you know of it?”
Damon deliberately looked toward the mages lingering outside the door and shouted.
“Everyone on that battlefield would have seen it! What happened to Ian when he touched the Idgal Pendant. According to Rutherford, it reacts when it meets its true master. Ian, are you the master of Idgal?”
Without thinking, I reflexively turned my body away. Only Heil and I knew that secret.
When Ian was young—so young he had no memory of it—he unknowingly participated in the creation of Idgal. Wasn’t that when the Cliffford Palace asked me to take on the role of next Minister, and Ian laid bare everything?
But I never expected those words to be spoken again through King Damon’s lips.
The mages, who had been sitting in silence, could no longer hold back and threw out their words one by one, while the Scribe gestured to his colleagues to record even their outbursts.
Tap tap tap!
“Are you insane, truly? We are mages, King Damon! How could we—how could Ian possibly be the master of Idgal?”
“Captain Akorella! It’s a side effect! That has to be a side effect! Please acknowledge it now!”
“No, it’s not a side effect! Everyone, stay quiet!”
“Why would the Minister of Magic have any connection to something like Idgal? It binds mages, binds oneself. Above all, Ian could never have done such a thing.”
“Agreed. King Damon, you must retract that statement! Otherwise—!”
The retraction would also be recorded through the Scribe’s hand, but that was far better than letting this pass as is.
The Ministry of Magic had only just begun to regain stability within the imperial palace. With Jin’s control of the Imperial Defense Ministry, a new dawn was breaking for the Ministry of Magic. How could I let cold water be poured on it like this?
The Scribe and his colleagues kept their ears perked, their hands moving busily so as not to miss a single word in the chaos.
Scratch scratch!
“Bring fresh pens!”
“Right here.”
“Everyone would do well to exercise restraint. A small piece of advice—everything in this room is being recorded.”
I bit my lip finely and whispered to Ian.
“What, what should we do? Should we just call it a side effect of the truth serum?”
“That won’t do. Then all our efforts thus far would be for nothing. And Akorella, you seem rather unwilling to acknowledge this.”
“Pardon? Ah, of course, my perfect work could have no flaws, but isn’t it important to move according to circumstances? Above all, right now is a bit….”
Damon tossed back the handkerchief he had given to Ian and spoke.
“Ian, this time you drink the potion and prove your innocence. That there is truly no connection whatsoever between Idgal and you.”
Ian looked down at the damp handkerchief and smiled faintly.
“Why should I do such a thing?”
“If you refuse, I will report directly to Prince Jin instead. Before all the officials watching, or before my execution platform where all the empire’s people can see.”
As Damon gestured toward the truth serum, Ian hesitated for a moment. He was weighing his options.
But only for a moment. Without hesitation, I swept all the truth serums from the desk and threw them down to the floor.
Crash! Clang!
The floor became a mess of glass shards and liquid. I held my throbbing head and gave Ian a look.
“…Damn, I spilled it all. I’ll make new ones, fresh ones. Ian, let’s take a break, shall we?”

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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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