Margrave’s Bastard Son was The Emperor - Chapter 458

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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 458
Fire. Running Toward the Moon
“Watch it there. You’ll collide.”
“Ah, my apologies.”
The reception room that the Ruswena Delegation had used.
The servants of the imperial palace fastened their aprons and headscarves securely, then busied themselves tidying the reception room. Shattered tea sets, carpets stained with blood and other substances, decorative items scattered haphazardly across the floor. The reception room looked as though a tempest had swept through it.
“They say they left in haste, but to this extent?”
“I know. What on earth did they take with them? Everything from clothes to everything else is still here.”
“Move the King of Eriponi’s belongings to the exhibition hall as intact as possible. They say the only thing they took was a golden arrow. The rest will be kept by the imperial household and delivered later.”
“Understood. We’ll need boxes to pack these in.”
“Get them from over there!”
Not far away, their master was attending a conference. The sight of servants cleaning throughout the imperial palace was something the imperial family must not witness. It was crucial to finish the work as quickly as possible.
The Chamberlain wielded a slender rod this way and that, directing the servants’ movements. It was not only mages who could perform magic. Like them, small movements accumulating and gathering to transform a space in an instant. Was that not also a form of magic?
“Chamberlain.”
Knock knock.
Then, a servant knocked on the open door to announce his presence. It was the Meeting Room Attendant. He quickly approached the Chamberlain and relayed the situation inside, and the Chamberlain, as if hearing unexpected news, scratched his hooked nose vigorously.
“The Burgos reception room as well?”
“Yes. If you could help us clear it out as well.”
The Burgos Delegation too seemed about to have their envoy status revoked, and they were asking to vacate the reception room together. But how exactly was the negotiation proceeding that the heads of two major kingdoms were flying off?
The Chamberlain was full of curiosity, but he maintained his silence and merely nodded his head. Curiosity in the imperial palace shortened one’s life. One had to exercise restraint. Was that not the very secret to surviving in the imperial palace until becoming a white-haired elder?
The Chamberlain took several subordinates with him and strode purposefully toward the opposite side of the corridor, not far away.
Creak!
Boom!
The Burgos reception room, in contrast to the chaotic Ruswena reception room, was entirely neat and orderly.
“First, move all of the Burgos belongings to the exhibition hall.”
“Yes, Chamberlain.”
“Open the windows right now, dust everything, sweep and polish! The Prince is nearby, and if we dawdle about, we’ll present an unseemly appearance!”
Patter patter!
While the servants rushed off to open the windows, the Chamberlain threw open a small side door within the reception room.
Items stacked densely together. Most appeared to be personal belongings of the Burgos Delegation, but several covered with white cloth caught his eye.
“Hmm?”
Swish.
Gently grasping the edge and pulling, the white cloth draped limply downward. The Chamberlain gathered the cloth and tucked it into his waistband, then examined the Burgos belongings. Fine boxes containing valuables and decorative items. And several paintings.
“Chamberlain. Should we move these as well?”
“Yes. All of them to the exhibition hall.”
Judging by the fact that they had passed through the main gate without incident, these appeared to be tribute gifts that Burgos had intended to present to Bariel.
At the Chamberlain’s nod, the servants began carefully carrying the items, and soon they encountered an enormous painting.
“Phew, this one is far too large. We’ll need to call more people. I think we’ll need at least seven more.”
“Yes. Go and call those who are strong workers.”
“Yes, Chamberlain.”
The Chamberlain stepped back and surveyed the Burgos painting in its entirety. The perspective was as if I stood in the middle of a vast meadow. Rounded hills stretched out gracefully in the distance, with a path winding between reddish-brown trees. The sky held the dim hue of early dawn, and an enormous full moon hung low near the ridge, as though it might tumble to the earth.
‘It’s well-painted, certainly. But who created it? The brushwork seems rather crude for the court painters of Burgos.’
As the Chamberlain shrugged, a sound of something breaking came from behind. A Servant had stumbled and fallen by accident.
“You there! Can’t you be more careful?”
“I-I’m terribly sorry! My apologies!”
“Everything in this place, down to a single petal, belongs to the Prince.”
This is exactly why the younger generation these days won’t do! They have no sense of caution whatsoever! Just as the Chamberlain was about to scowl, Strongmen burst in from outside to move the painting.
“It’s larger than expected. We’ll relocate it.”
“Yes, yes. Handle it carefully—”
Just as the Chamberlain was about to emphasize moving it with care.
She realized something was amiss about the painting. Had the moon truly hung so close to the ridge? And more importantly, what were those tiny dots visible beyond the ridge? As the Chamberlain leaned in close to examine it, the Strongmen asked.
“Should we not move it?”
“What? No, no. We must move it.”
“Then please step back a bit. We’ll drape the cloth over it again. If we damage it during transport, it will be a serious matter.”
“Yes. Understood.”
The painting was covered once more with white cloth. The Chamberlain placed her hands on her hips and watched the scene for a long while. She could have sworn the painting had changed in that brief instant.
‘Was it just my imagination?’
Even as the Chamberlain oversaw the operation, she couldn’t shake the nagging unease. Then, suddenly, she noticed a familiar figure passing in the distance—someone with unusual amber eyes.
“Captain Akorella!”
“Me?”
“Yes, yes. How do you do.”
“What is it?”
Akorella, one of the captains of the Mage Division!
As the Chamberlain called out and approached, Akorella responded with indifference, scratching her chin absently. The interior of the conference hall was tense, the Mage Division was gloomy, and she, the Supervisor of the Elixir Potion division, felt like she was dying.
“I’m busy and need to head in shortly.”
“Ah, it’s nothing else. It’s just that there’s something among the tribute goods brought from Burgos that’s bothering me.”
“If there were anything unusual, it would have been filtered out at the main gate.”
“That’s true. But, ah, I’m not sure if I’m losing my mind or what. Hehe.”
“If you’re losing your mind, you should see a Doctor, not me.”
“It’s just that the painting seems odd. It, it looked like it moved, I suppose?”
With that, Akorella was about to turn and leave, but she paused at the Chamberlain’s next words. A painting that moved? Where had she heard something like this before?
“What do you mean by that?”
“I’m not entirely sure myself. I turned away for a moment and looked back, and the landscape in the painting seemed to have changed slightly. But it happened so quickly that I can’t be certain…”
Akorella’s eyes moved with keen alertness. A moving painting? Where had she heard of this? Wasn’t it the passage the Emperor had used to hide during the rebellion?
Rebellion? Rutherford? Burgos? Passage? Words floated through Akorella’s mind in a stream of consciousness.
“Let’s see it.”
“Pardon?”
“Let’s look at it. If it’s a painting made with mana stones mixed in, it might have slipped past the main gate. I need to get a taste of it myself.”
“Get a taste of it…?”
“Never mind. Lead the way. Where did you move it? The exhibition hall?”
“Yes, yes. This way.”
The Chamberlain turned his body and guided Akorelra, then rushed past the hurrying Servants toward the exhibition hall.
* * *
Clatter, clatter!
Meanwhile, Melania turned her gaze out the carriage window. We had been running endlessly, yet all I could see around us were blue ridgelines stretching without end.
Were we heading in a different direction than the path I had come? There had been a village not far away, but since boarding Rutherford’s carriage, I couldn’t sense any signs of human presence at all.
“What’s going on?”
“…It seems we’ve taken the wrong path.”
Rutherford gathered his long hair into a single bundle and tied it up. Like someone who sensed that the end was drawing near.
At this, Melania shrugged while pointing at the barren landscape outside. Soon the sun would set. It seemed impossible to spend the night in this desolate, empty place.
“The path? Not at all. We’re heading in the right direction.”
“There’s only one village in this area that I’ve passed through. But since I can’t see it, we must have definitely taken the wrong path.”
“Who says otherwise? We’re heading toward the village.”
“…Who says that? Rutherford. Bariel—aren’t you heading to the Imperial Palace? If so, we should naturally pass through that village—”
“Shh.”
Rutherford covered his own mouth with a finger, gesturing for silence. Then, remarkably, the carriage’s speed gradually slowed. I spotted a rectangular frame standing in the middle of that distant ridge.
‘What is that?’
A square frame simply standing there, hollow and empty. Sudden as it was, it clearly appeared to be made intentionally by someone. It had the effect of making the drifting clouds, swaying trees, and the long road ahead appear as a single painting.
“You’ve arrived at just the right time. Princess Melania. It would have been troublesome if your actions earlier had disrupted the schedule.”
“What exactly is that….”
“Is there a place you wish to return to?”
Melania turned to look at Rutherford without answering. In that moment, the low voice that had flowed felt as though it belonged to a different person. In Rutherford’s eyes, the moon reflected with a glimmer.
“…Yes, there is.”
Haiman’s grand mansion where I spent my entire childhood, the embrace of family like a mirage, the glory of the past. All of this was where Melania wished to return.
Rutherford nodded as if he understood.
“I too have a place I’ve longed for throughout a very long time. That will take me there.”
Screech.
The carriage came to a complete stop, and Rutherford opened the door himself and stepped down to gaze upon the enormous frame on the ground. Then his footsteps moved as if entranced.
His Subordinates then separated the carriage from the horses, each grasping a rein and slowly following behind him.
Melania looked back and forth between the front and rear, wondering what to do.
“If you wish to follow Rutherford, walk with us.”
Then, a man tapped Melania’s shoulder and signaled her to follow. It was Clark, who had ridden in Rutherford’s carriage with us.
Melania thought: wouldn’t it be better to accompany them and take a hand in this, rather than stay behind and guard this place? Clark then handed her a short blade and warned her.
“If possible, do not fall away from the group.”
“Fall away? What are you attempting to do right now?”
“We will go. To the Imperial Palace.”
“The Imperial Palace?”
The moment the startled Melania asked again—
Boom! Boom!
Zing, zing! Zing!
Whoooosh!
Rutherford’s mages pressed their palms against the earth and unleashed their mana.
Though mortal, I could feel it—that strange, undeniable current. A fierce wind swept across the short grass, carving waves into its surface, and as the clouds scattered, an enormous moon revealed itself.
The moon descended slowly and relentlessly, as though drawn downward by the mana itself.
“Oh!”
As the moon tilted close enough to touch, Melania covered her mouth. The moment it filled the rectangular frame completely, Rutherford surged forward, his robes billowing behind him.
“Let us go. To the deepest reaches of the Imperial Palace.”
“Yaaaaaah!”
“Do not forget your assigned duties. Tigmor!”
“Yes, Rutherford.”
“You will handle Bania and King Damon.”
“I shall remember.”
“Leon! You will secure the Imperial treasures.”
“Yes. No problem.”
Thump!
Rutherford’s subordinates saluted, placing their hands over their hearts. Melania quickly realized this was the formal protocol observed within the Imperial Palace.
“And I shall… welcome Ian.”
With those words, Rutherford walked into the moon. His silhouette vanished into the brilliant light. His subordinates followed without hesitation, plunging after him. Only Melania and Clark remained.
“Wait!”
“…”
“How do we return?”
“Until the moment dawn breaks. The door will remain open. As long as you do not lose your way within the Imperial Palace, you shall be fine. Seize the treasure. Princess.”
It would flow into Burgos and become strength in the war against Bariel, and it would aid the Princess’s own survival as well. Clark offered only this brief counsel before hastening his steps, leaving Melania standing frozen, unable to move forward or back.
But then—
Riiiiip!
Whoooosh!
Using the dagger Clark had given her to cut away the dangling hem of her skirt, I threw myself toward the moon with all my strength.

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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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