Margrave’s Bastard Son was The Emperor - Chapter 449

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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 449
Fire. Interests Surrounding Reconstruction Rights
In that instant, Ian and Jin froze.
If one spoke of a curse dwelling within the Cliffford royal house, it would refer to beastification—yet hadn’t that already descended since before the Rift itself? And hadn’t it been there from the very beginning of the royal line?
“When you speak of a curse, precisely what do you mean, King of Cliffford?”
“Is it… is it proper for one bearing a curse to enter the imperial palace? What if it spreads to the imperial family?”
“It must be non-contagious. Did you not say the curse dwells within the royal house itself? It is confined to them alone, so have no fear.”
“How can you be certain of that? How long has the Rift been open? Goodness, this conference has been chaotic from day one. Cliffford this, Burgos that! Isn’t this treating Bariel with contempt? This isn’t some marketplace haggling ground—why is there such noise and disorder?”
“Please, lower your voice. His Highness is present.”
“It’s frustrating. Simply frustrating! Sigh!”
“King of Cliffford, answer the question. What curse do you speak of? Surely it poses no threat to the imperial family? That would be most problematic.”
The words were courteous, but they carried the weight of a threat: the military forces destined for Burgos could be split in half.
The King of Cliffford rose as if seeking permission to speak, then opened his heavy lips.
“I report to Your Highness. There is no issue for the imperial family, but for Cliffford, it is grave. Even as we unite and move forward together, time itself is insufficient—yet calamity has befallen the very royal house that should lead us. How am I to bear this lamentation?”
“Speak specifically of what it is.”
“I have many children. All are legitimate heirs born of the queen, and the youngest has only just begun to walk. Since the Rift opened, all within the palace have abandoned the land we held as our foundation for countless ages and fled. And then, a problem emerged.”
Jin folded his arms and observed the King of Cliffford with keen interest. His expression suggested he already had a rough sense of what the man was about to say.
Berik, who had been listening quietly, felt the same. At first, he’d been puzzled, but turning it over in his mind, he’d found the answer. Ah! Ears sprouting, tail sprouting?
“Beastification.”
“Beastification? Do you mean the beastification we know of?”
“Did I hear correctly just now? That transformation into beast form? Members of the Cliffford royal family?”
“No, to be precise, it has only manifested in my youngest child thus far. Being a creature difficult to sustain, we protected him as much as possible, yet he could not bear the weight of fate.”
The curse of beastification had taken root in the youngest child of the Cliffford royal house!
At this, Jin and I exchanged glances briefly. In truth, this curse applied to all within the royal house, but they had kept it carefully hidden, revealing only a portion.
‘Is it difficult to control the curse once outside the palace? They’re using the youngest—one with no public recognition—as a sacrifice, laying groundwork in advance.’
Should the curse of the royal house ever be revealed to the people, it could be blamed on the Rift, and further, on Burgos. Strong hatred would only aid in rebuilding the nation and uniting it more firmly, so by exposing this matter prematurely, they were adjusting the narrative to their advantage before it could be discovered.
And—
“Therefore, I humbly request that Minister Ian be dispatched as part of the Cliffford investigation team. The Minister of Magic is among the empire’s finest mages, and there should be no difficulty in unraveling the thread of this curse.”
Their true intention was to officially invite me to Cliffford.
By revealing the curse of beastification in this public setting, they acknowledged that the royal house could not resolve it alone and that it was a matter of grave importance. It would be fitting for the Minister of Magic to visit personally and examine the curse.
And above all, this was a strategy of giving flesh to take bone. If the Rift could not be sealed, the royal house would perish anyway. Even sacrificing the youngest, they had a strong will to include me in the investigation team.
“How does a curse relate to magic?”
“Well, it is a curse ’caused by the Rift,’ which means a curse born of magical power. We place our hope that the Minister of Magic would surely be able to resolve it.”
“King of Cliffford, at this moment—”
“Forgive me, Your Highness. At present, Cliffford is in a position where we cannot repay even one instance of Bariel’s aid. However, if you would permit the investigation by mages including Count Ian, and support for our reconstruction, then Cliffford shall transfer all authority over compensation claims from Burgos and Ruswena to Bariel.”
The King of Cliffford cut off Jin’s words rudely and spoke. It was possible because he had already anticipated how Bariel would respond. Bariel’s intention to absorb Cliffford’s authority and dominate both Ruswena and Burgos.
The Bariel officials covered their mouths with documents and exchanged opinions among themselves.
“The King of Cliffford has mentioned it first. This matter proceeds more easily than expected.”
“Support for reconstruction means requesting advance payment, does it not?”
“Yes. That is correct. Though the Ministry of Magic is involved, this too was something we anticipated on our end.”
“There’s nothing wrong with their position, and nothing wrong with ours. Since Bariel has decided to consolidate authority, Cliffford couldn’t have done anything about it. There’s no point in dragging this out. I believe we should vote immediately. Now, with the leaders of Ruswena and Burgos gathered here, is the perfect moment. And what was that name again?”
“Rutherford.”
“Yes, yes. Rutherford. I’m not sure what he’s about, but it’s best we settle certain matters before that merchant gets involved.”
“Rutherford seems closely connected to Count Ian. Will this actually be resolved?”
“All the more reason to settle it. If Count Ian follows someone entangled in rebellion, he cannot remain in the imperial palace.”
“Is Count Ian following him, or is he following Count Ian…?”
“Logically speaking, would the master of the Minister of Magic in the great empire of Bariel answer to some merchant guild leader? I don’t think so. It’s more natural to assume Rutherford is Count Ian’s subordinate.”
“Wait. Let’s be careful with our words. Do you understand what that implies?”
Rebellion, war, and the survival of the Ministry of Magic. It would mean Ian had intervened and taken the lead in every crisis. The official who misspoke quickly realized his mistake and tapped his lips in embarrassment.
“Your Highness.”
The Prime Minister, who had been gathering opinions from the officials beside him, bowed to Jin.
No matter how I thought about it, my trip to Cliffford was for everyone’s benefit. I wanted to go myself, Cliffford used the opportunity to show sincerity to Bariel, and above all, it was a good chance for Prince Jin. An opportunity to step back from me and assess the situation. Whether I was truly connected to the imperial family. And what was my relationship with Rutherford, and so on.
It was somewhat troubling that all the statements came from the Burgos side, but as the sole heir to Bariel’s throne, it was right for me to suppress the faction causing discord. If I fell, Bariel’s imperial legitimacy would fall with me.
“I believe we should accept King Cliffford’s proposal. For Bariel’s sake. As for Count Ian going to Cliffford and returning, that can be specified in writing. The Ministry of Magic staff made quite a fuss with strikes and such, but look—nothing has actually changed, has it?”
While the Prime Minister persuaded Jin, the Ruswena side also grew busy. If the right of recourse regarding war reparations passed to Bariel, finding common ground would become far more difficult.
There was a vast difference between being pressed by a crumbling Cliffford and being pressed by Bariel, the center of Gaia.
“Cliffford and Bariel are trying to exchange rights of recourse. Is there no way for us? Eldetr.”
“Since the conversation developed from the curse of lycanthropy, if we offer support on that front, we can smooth things over to some extent. However…”
However, as you know, all of Ruswena’s mages are currently in a state of having staged a rebellion and fled to Bariel.
Feeling at a loss, Eriponi saw a familiar face through the gap in the door. It was Zaira, who had come curious about how the negotiations were progressing and what the palace people who once ruled her homeland were doing.
When Eriponi’s eyes met hers, the boy slowly raised her middle finger.
“You—!”
In all my life, this was the first time. Such vulgar and blatant insult. Eriponi shot up from her seat, drawing the gaze of everyone in the conference hall. Zaira straightened her posture as if nothing had happened, her eyes shining brightly and clearly.
“King Eriponi of Ruswena. Is there a problem?”
“…No.”
Bariel and Cliffford were preoccupied with an important decision ahead. So the Prime Minister frowned in warning, as if rejecting any unnecessary commotion.
“Eldetr.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Eriponi suppressed the surging anger with a sigh. Then, with her eyes, she pointed to the Burgos delegation for Eldetr.
Burgos and Ruswena. Both nations would be in a difficult position if the right of recourse passed to Bariel. Especially Burgos, which would face even harsher military and economic sanctions and pressure using Rutherford as a pretext.
“The Burgos delegation is trying to avoid King Damon’s execution, but from what I see, it’s impossible. When the king dies, a vacuum forms. That’s the perfect moment for Bariel to swallow Burgos.”
“I agree, Your Highness.”
“Those envoys also know their nations are in a desperate crisis right now.”
Eldetr understood what Eriponi meant. There was no faction more suitable than Burgos for killing Jin and Ian. If they didn’t kill both, Burgos would be erased from the map, so they had ample justification to risk their lives for assassination.
“They may have already made up their minds to do so.”
Then Ruswena could only lend the smallest amount of support.
Eldetr, understanding Eriponi’s intentions, signaled to the delegation standing behind. While the king and steward’s movements were visible to all, the delegation members standing in back were relatively free to move about, as they were constantly busy moving here and there.
Whoosh.
One member of the Ruswena delegation moved discreetly and approached the Burgos side.
“Listen here.”
“….”
“If the reparations rights transfer to Bariel, it becomes troublesome for both sides. Do you have any thoughts on this?”
“….”
However, the Burgos Delegation merely glanced over without offering any response. The Ruswena Delegation whispered again.
“First, shall we request a brief recess and have your representative meet with Prince Eriponi to seek a breakthrough? There were some rough patches during the war, but after all, we were once allied. The enemy of my enemy is my ally. Let us at least prevent the reparations rights from transferring.”
“I will relay the message, but do not hold your hopes high.”
“Do not hold hopes high?”
The Burgos Envoy muttered with barely moving lips, as if performing ventriloquism.
“We came to delay King Damon’s execution, not to save Burgos. It is hopeless.”
What is this….
The Ruswena Envoy furrowed his brow, attempting to discern his intentions, but was blocked as the Burgos Envoy turned his back.
The envoy who had finished relaying the message returned to his seat and reported this, and Eldetr conveyed it to the King. Upon hearing this, Eriponi pressed his temples as if his head ached and raised his hand.
Swish.
“Your Majesty of Ruswena. Is there something the matter?”
“…Since the reconciliation of differences between Bariel and Cliffford is taking considerable time, Ruswena wishes to take a brief recess to review our documents. Please grant us permission. Should the reparations rights transfer, our position would change as well.”
“The absolute value of compensation you must pay for the war is already determined. However, I accept your opinion. We shall take a brief recess. We will resume in thirty minutes.”
Thwack! Bang bang!
The Prime Minister brought down his gavel, then knelt beside Prince Jin and earnestly appealed for something, while the Officials exchanged documents in tangled confusion.
Eriponi rises from his seat. I stand motionless in the center of the conference hall, watching him. And then, I glance toward Zaira and nod.
‘…They’re moving. Prepare.’

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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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