Margrave’s Bastard Son was The Emperor - Chapter 440

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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 440
Fire. A Cup of Black Tea
Ian on my left, Gin on my right.
Prince Noah had nowhere else to look, focusing only on the mages visible through the window. Whether he knew or didn’t know that the Prince had come to the Magic Ministry, I couldn’t say. He merely made an effort to draw attention by occasionally creating bright flashes of light.
Watching this, I became certain that the Prince opposed Ian’s resignation. If the Imperial Palace wanted to check the Magic Ministry, an opportunity like this would never come again.
‘Allowing Ian’s natural talent to waste away would be a national loss, so complete dismissal would be difficult… but if we use the Magic Ministry’s dereliction of duty as grounds to demote Ian from Minister to a lower commander position, and elevate someone loyal to the Imperial Palace, we could not only check them but also handle the Magic Ministry like an extension of our own limbs. Had Prince Gin been even slightly more ruthless, he might have done so.’
There were many ways for the Imperial Palace to control the Magic Ministry. Institutional methods and the inhumane approach of mana-sealing stones.
Since humans harbor the roots of malice, if one wished it, the Magic Ministry could be checked in ways too dark to be recorded in history.
Was this not the case with Eriponi, the King of Ruswena? Prince Noah, amid the wave of strikes the mages were causing, recalled the flames that had consumed the elder that day.
“Prince Noah.”
“Ah, yes. Your Highness.”
It was Gin who broke the silence. Gin stared intently at the teacup Ian had personally poured before speaking.
“Did you lose your way? Was your guide inexperienced? How is it you came to the Magic Ministry instead of the First Palace? I cannot fathom it, so I ask.”
“I beg your pardon, Your Highness.”
It was Ian who answered in Prince Noah’s stead. He bowed deeply without reservation, apologizing for the rudeness. Each time Gin’s brow furrowed, the long scar on the boy’s face moved with it.
“I deemed it urgent to confirm the progress of the Clipoford fissure and thus dared to request this meeting first. I heard Your Highness was in the midst of instruction and thought I could align the timing, but it seems that was my oversight.”
“You knew I was instructing?”
“Yes. As you can see, the Magic Ministry disciples cannot attend to duties due to personal circumstances, so are we not receiving assistance from the Imperial Palace and the Administrative Ministry? Berik informed me.”
“Is that so? Yet despite knowing this, you have made me come here directly—this is surely Count Ian’s mistake.”
Though the words were meant to express anger and thus seize Ian’s momentum, they had no effect whatsoever. Ian simply smiled and acknowledged it.
“Yes. It is my mistake. Therefore, I shall resign.”
“No!”
“Cough—!”
At Ian’s calm response, May’s cough erupted. She hurriedly withdrew a handkerchief, apologizing repeatedly, and wiped away the moisture.
“Prince Noah.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“As it happens, this works well. Though both you and Count Ian have erred, the situation in Clipoford is urgent, so I shall overlook it generously.”
“Your Highness’s grace is as vast as the rivers and seas.”
“The fissure occurred in the capital region not far from the royal palace, did it not? What is the current status of evacuation for the people in that vicinity?”
At Gin’s question, May hastily withdrew documents from her leather satchel.
Within a brown envelope lay the daily lives of thousands of refugees, neatly organized. Those belonging to the royal palace, knowing they would struggle to receive wages, voluntarily devoted themselves to national reconstruction, and the people likewise pooled their efforts to aid in recovery.
Yet the limits were clear. The help of the mages was needed—no, Bariel’s help was desperately needed. Already, those who could not eat even one proper meal a day lined the streets. Clipoford truly yearned for Bariel’s touch on humanitarian grounds.
Of course, such things did not exist in this world.
“Therefore, any grain and clothing that can be provided immediately, and anything else besides, would be welcome. From Bariel to Clipoford, if you would only incline your head slightly, allow them to hold hope.”
“As for grain, we can request it from Ruswena. I propose demanding they provide several thousand sacks of grain first under the pretext of war reparations. However, negotiations will take some time. What if Bariel provides it first instead, and we retain that right?”
Gin made the proposal to Prince Noah based on what had been discussed with the Administrative Ministry. Ruswena was acknowledging some fault, but this differed little from claiming they too were victims.
To ‘align’ the interests regarding war reparations, it was convenient for Bariel to hold most of the rights. If they were not dispersed, alignment was inevitable.
“The specifics are a matter for my father, the King of Clipoford, to decide, but I find it reasonable. The lives of the starving are burning away—we need something to extinguish the flames urgently.”
“Good. I shall instruct the Administrative Ministry to calculate precisely how much grain can be provided and report it by this evening. Sia.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Xiaoxi took down Prince Gin’s orders and gestured to the servants below. Everyone moved with perfect synchronization as if each had their assigned position, without a moment’s hesitation.
Prince Noah gazed down at his cooled teacup, then bowed his head. The disparity between Emperor and King, between Empire and Kingdom, was laid bare so starkly.
To be honest, the current state of Clipoford seemed truly lamentable, but what could be done? If he bowed, his people would live.
“Please, sit properly.”
“Thank you, Your Highness. Clipoford is primarily an agricultural nation. The damage this time is quite severe. Burgos even released land-killing monsters. Though winter seems far away, it will arrive in the blink of an eye.”
At Prince Noah’s words of concern about famine, Count Ian straightened as if something had occurred to him.
“Do you know of… Gula?”
When I came up from the borderlands to the capital, I brought with me the possibility of Gula as a food source.
But with so many incidents and events, and as the entire land stretched in spring and summer, the imperial palace’s concerns about famine had naturally subsided.
Above all, strangely enough, the imperial palace’s circumstances had become abundant.
The civil war seemed to strain the budget, but looking back now, there was no such turning point. Had not Prince Marib and Prince Gail, who consumed energy competing for power, perished? The Emperor lay ill, and all those who would receive imperial budget allocations, including his concubine Deilaina, had disappeared.
‘Moreover, with the purge of central nobles, those nobles below rose to the surface. This is the same principle as opening House Haiman’s coffers, causing the nearby forests and beasts to grow fat.’
In short, the imperial household’s abundance had caused awareness of Gula to nearly vanish. I smiled gently at the bewildered Prince Noah and waved my hand.
“We shall discuss it another time.”
It would serve as an excellent precedent. Gula’s historic first appearance, and if Clipoford resolved its famine through it, we could naturally bring favorable propaganda to other nations and Bariel as well.
“Why not now?”
“It is outside the scope of the current matter.”
Prince Gin glared at me, but I maintained my smile and kept my mouth shut. One might call it a gentle touch, but it hardly seemed like a power struggle between the Crown Prince and Minister with strike action as their underlying weapon.
As Prince Noah and May exchanged glances, Xiaoxi cleared his throat. It was a formal signal to Prince Gin to continue the conversation.
“The urgent matter is that, and well, yes. Along with medical supplies, I shall send what is necessary for maintaining livelihood. Some of that is Bariel’s grace, and the rest you may consider a debt owed to Ruswena. That should put your minds at ease. You are receiving what you rightfully deserve.”
“Yes, Your Highness. We shall fill the blood we have shed with the blood of the invaders.”
“Set your worries aside. That is not a problem.”
“However, I must ask one thing. While food and medicine are both like a ray of light to Clipoford, is not the truly important matter the disappearance of the rift itself, so that Clipoford may return to its original state?”
Prince Noah broached the subject carefully.
“Therefore, we would also like to request the assistance of mages.”
Why is there no mention of magic, the most crucial matter? I understand you do not wish to send Count Ian to Clipoford, but should you not at least promise the support of other mages first?
Clink.
Prince Gin set down his teacup and shook his head.
“I have that in mind as well. Are there not still Bariel mages remaining in Clipoford? Each one of them is nearly divine, and they will be of great help to Clipoford. During negotiations with Burgos and Ruswena, I shall demand the dispatch of their mages. Every single one, without exception, shall be used as relief personnel for Clipoford.”
On the surface, it seemed a very reasonable and helpful proposal for Clipoford. That is, until Prince Noah and May, who had carefully considered the implications, noticed the gap.
“Ah, Your Highness. Forgive me, but could the Ministry of Magic’s support also be provided in advance, like the other lists?”
“Mages are not like food or necessities—they are living people, and the number available is not large. And have you not seen? There are quite a few on strike due to some matter in the Ministry of Magic. To force their support by imperial decree would require considerable compensation.”
“Ah, that is…”
Prince Noah trailed off, fidgeting with his fingers inside his sleeve.
Turning the mages of Ruswena and Burgos to our side. Viewed positively, this meant receiving more support than Bariel’s own mage disciples.
But those Ruswena and Burgos mages who opposed this could renounce their nationality, or appear to do so, before the agreement was finalized and slip out of the count. If he were king, he would certainly have done the same. Rather than send precious mages to another nation, it would be better to record them as nonexistent and operate them secretly from behind.
“The mages of Burgos and Ruswena are the primary culprits who destroyed Clipoford. There would be significant emotional problems with them working alongside the people to repair the rift. Human emotion does not calculate so simply.”
“The soldiers of defeated nations are all conscripted and deployed in territorial reconstruction. How is this different? More soldiers are mobilized than mages, yet they accomplish it nonetheless, do they not? They are the perpetrators of a war-criminal nation. They bear responsibility for facing the resentment of the victimized nation’s people.”
“But—”
“I apologize, Prince Noah, but I have no intention of compromising on this matter. It has already been decided in internal meetings, so I must politely decline any further additions.”
And above all else, Ian was there.
Noah suppressed the urge to cry out and sealed his lips with a smile. Ian, who had been quietly observing from beside him, likewise set down his teacup.
Clink.
“Your Highness.”
Over the past week, I knew that countless individuals had come and gone from the First Imperial Palace day and night. It seemed to be a strategy for Clipoford to gain complete control over the construction rights to Ruswena that Clipoford would seize, thereby strengthening its cohesion….
“If I may be so bold as to add, I believe it would be somewhat better to also receive the construction rights regarding magic. Mages have reliable means of transportation, so traveling between Clipoford does not take a long time. Magic cannot be weighed or counted, so one gains rights over the mages themselves. Therefore, would it not be better to give up Bariel Mage first, and later have the mages from Burgos and Ruswena also be absorbed for Bariel’s sake?”
“Is that something the Minister who has resigned should say?”
“Above all, as time passes, the fractures grow wider and deeper. It means that later could be more dangerous than now. If you wish to cherish Bariel Mage, you will need personnel who can be sent at that time.”
As Ian spoke with measured precision, Gin bit his lower lip with a soft sound.
“And it seems Prince Noah is concerned about the mages who will be excluded from the negotiation process.”
“Ah, indeed. Especially the Ruswena Mages—I understand they are not state-affiliated but rather gather in groups among themselves. Conscription will not be easy.”
“Just as I am no longer the Minister of Magic once I resign, if they abandon their nation and disappear, then no matter how capable Bariel is, he becomes someone beyond reckoning.”
Ian poured fresh tea into Gin’s and Prince Noah’s cups with a smile. Warm steam rose up, but perhaps it was due to Gin’s mood—May found herself rubbing the back of her hand, feeling oddly cold.

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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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