Margrave’s Bastard Son was The Emperor - Chapter 47

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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 47. Disappear
“Miss Erika!”
At my subordinate’s cry, I set down the documents. Since arriving here, there had been almost no occasion where my subordinate’s fussing brought good news…
“The Countess Mary and her son Chel have been found!”
“What?”
But this time was different. Surely this was unexpected good news! My eyes gleamed with delight.
“Where?!”
“At the northern gate, sir. Two horses broke through the checkpoint soldiers and fled. There were four of them in total, and they split into two directions immediately upon exiting the gate.”
“Four people? Are you certain it was Mary and Chel?”
“They were wearing hoods so we couldn’t see clearly, but the young man’s hair had a reddish tint. The woman appeared to be middle-aged and resembled the Countess Mary. We suspect the ones riding the horses were surviving knights.”
I strode to the table and unfolded the map. If they split into two directions past the northern gate, they were heading in completely opposite ways—east and west. Mary and Chel wouldn’t have wanted to separate from each other.
“What of pursuit?”
“The checkpoint soldiers are chasing them, but we should send reinforcements immediately.”
“The reported location.”
“They’re estimated to have reached this point by now.”
“Wait, wait…”
I traced Mary and Chel’s tracks slowly with both hands. They split left and right while continuing northward simultaneously. Northward? My eyes sharpened with a keen gleam.
“Merelrof—exclude that area. We locked the gates to avoid entanglement there…”
After Merelrof came Sheiron, famous as a commercial city. Though calling it “next” seemed absurd, as it took over ten days by land.
Considering that Bratz to the Central territories took a fortnight, this was a ridiculously long estimate. One had to cross the “Denba Mountain Range,” the border marker.
“I suspect they’ll use Sheiron as their base.”
“Sheiron connects to virtually every other territory by road. Though mountains block the way between them, Fontrol—the Countess’s birthplace—should be reachable in just a few days by horse.”
“Fontrol, good. Send a carrier pigeon.”
“How many should we dispatch for pursuit?”
“For now…”
I hesitated briefly. The appearance of allies troubled me. While Count Derga remained imprisoned in the underground dungeon, the existence of surviving knights was strange. Since I had little prior knowledge of this remote territory, what if they had hidden forces elsewhere?
Mary and Chel might be luring them toward the mountains.
“Send about twenty for now.”
I glanced out the window while issuing orders. Those unfamiliar beast cubs—Kusile or whatever—were playing in the garden. If I depleted all forces, I might lose the manor’s control to the Cheonryeo Tribe. For now, that was the maximum I could spare.
“Even a knight would struggle against twenty while protecting a woman and child. If problems arise, maintain pursuit and send another message.”
“Yes, understood.”
“Bring them back alive if possible, or if not, at least their corpses—or even just their heads. You understand?”
“I’ll make it clear to the troops.”
My subordinate rushed out upon receiving my orders. Even if they fled, they couldn’t last long.
I gazed at the map with a satisfied smile. Once I captured Mary and Chel, I could suppress Ian and the Cheonryeo Tribe, who had become such a nuisance, in one fell swoop.
I didn’t know then.
That this smile would last only four days.
* * *
“This way!”
“This way!”
“Split up and ride!”
Clop clop clop!
Two horses galloped between massive trees that stood like pillars supporting the world. The Central Army’s pursuit unit chased fiercely behind them. The Cheonrye warriors slipped between the trees with unhurried grace, even taking time to glance back at their pursuers.
“Damn it!”
This display only convinced the Central Army further that these were Count Derga’s knights. Unlike the pursuit unit unfamiliar with the terrain, they moved as if they knew the path well.
Whoosh.
But the Cheonrye warriors could navigate so skillfully because a hawk circling above continuously signaled their direction. Unlike the ground below, choked with rocks, moss, and stubborn weeds, the sky offered complete freedom of movement.
“Should we stop here?”
“Looks like about twenty of them total.”
Whistle.
One warrior whistled, signaling a change in tactics. They sent their horses into the brush, then leaped down with impossible grace. Their movements transcended what any human body should accomplish.
“The targets have stopped!”
“Halt! Surround them!”
Neigh!
The only sounds in the dense forest were unidentifiable animal cries. The entire pursuit unit shouted with bows drawn.
“Drop your weapons and surrender!”
“Reveal yourselves! Show your faces!”
But the two men’s answer was to draw their swords. At this display of combat intent, the pursuit unit swallowed hard and drew their bowstrings tighter.
“Who’s your commander here?”
“What, what did you say?”
“I asked who your commander is.”
The pursuit unit hesitated briefly. Something about the tone of voice seemed oddly stilted.
But the moment the Pursuit Captain stepped forward and drew his sword, the two men charged without hesitation, leaving no room for further thought.
“Kill anyone who runs!”
“Shoot, shoot! Fire your arrows!”
“I’ll spare just one of those who stand and fight!”
“Yes, sir!”
Clang! Clang!
The two warriors leaped nimbly into the air, signaling the battle’s start. Arrows immediately rained down upon them, and they deflected them with their blades while charging forward. Two arrows embedded themselves in one warrior’s forearm.
Thud!
Crack!
“Ahhhhh!”
The Pursuit Captain’s head flew clean off. Blood fountained upward, yet no one could comprehend the reality before them. Was that human? Was that a beast? The question flickered through the Lieutenant’s mind.
“Are you…”
Crack!
The question about whether they were Cheonrye never escaped his lips. The warriors moved like wolves loose in a henhouse. They wiped the blood dripping from their blade tips on their sleeves and declared:
“We are Count Derga’s knights. You won’t defeat us easily—bring at least a hundred men.”
“Shriek!”
Crack!
Twenty men. What they’d thought sufficient force scattered uselessly. Soon the forest filled not with animal cries, but with the screams of dying men.
The warriors looked down at the trembling Soldier 2 sprawled on the ground. They exchanged signals with their eyes.
‘We’re supposed to let one of them go, right?’
‘Yeah. That way the second pursuit team will pick up the trail.’
Whoosh!
“Ugh! Save me, please! Save me!”
The warriors called out to confirm the horse’s location, then departed without hesitation. The panicked soldier, lost in terror, continued to beg with his hands. By the time he finally lifted his head, the men had vanished like wind.
“Hah….”
Even monsters had monsters like that. It felt like a dream. If not for the corpses of his comrades scattered around him, the soldier would have certainly thought so.
* * *
“What did you just say?”
Erika repeated his words with an expression of utter disbelief. The soldier, covered in dirt and blood, continued to stammer as he described the day’s battle.
“The, the pursuit team was annihilated.”
“How on earth….”
“It was Count Derga’s knight. He possessed special abilities—his movements were extraordinary. I suspect he was a Mage Knight of some kind. I, I couldn’t confirm his face, and we couldn’t recover our comrades’ bodies.”
She let out hollow laughter and wet her lips with tea. Twenty men. No matter how skilled the opponent was, shouldn’t they have obtained some clue? She couldn’t believe they’d been so thoroughly overwhelmed.
“The location?”
“I remember it.”
“You’re certain about Mrs. Mary and Chel?”
“Certain. Their hoods came off a couple of times during the chase. It was Chel, and it was Mrs. Mary.”
“Damn it. Organize a second pursuit team.”
“Miss Erika, if I may be so bold, I don’t think organization will suffice. I wonder if we should move with full force….”
At the soldier’s words, Erika’s eyes flickered. Who didn’t know that? Of course it would be easier and better to crush them all at once and capture them! But there were circumstances—her superiors couldn’t leave the manor.
“I, I apologize.”
“You’re dismissed.”
The moment the soldier left, Erika swept the table clean. Finding Mrs. Mary and Chel was fortunate, but if the conflict dragged on longer than expected, it would be problematic.
“Damn it, really! Why is the Central Army so slow to respond?”
“It seems to be because they’re traveling by land….”
Reports, orders, or simple letters could be sent via messenger bird, but documents bearing the Emperor’s seal had to be delivered by the designated official traveling by carriage.
And of all things, it was a noble title appointment—an important one at that—so it would arrive in a gaudy golden carriage with all the efficiency of a dog.
“What about Ian’s group? How are they?”
“No particularly suspicious movements. They’re preoccupied with rebuilding the village.”
“Damn bastards. They should just mind their own land.”
Unlike the Central Army, frantic in their pursuit of Mrs. Mary and Chel, they were focused on erasing the traces of battle from the territory. Rebuilding collapsed walls, raising roofs, moving the wounded—the Cheonrye’s strength proved more helpful than expected, and the residents’ cooperation was better than anticipated.
Infuriatingly so.
Erika was mentally cursing Ian when she paused. Something felt off—her instincts were prickling.
“Mrs. Mary and Chel broke through the castle walls on horseback?”
“Yes.”
“Then where were they before that?”
She’d searched the territory like hunting rats, yet couldn’t find them. Then suddenly they fled with reinforcements at their backs? Horses? Unless they were other beasts, the number of people who could operate horses in Bratz right now was limited, wasn’t it?
‘…Could it be.’
Could Ian be involved in this?
“Summon the stable master at once.”
“Yes, understood.”
Beyond the horses managed by the Central Army, there were still mounts owned by Bratz. Why hadn’t I verified this sooner? Erika ruffled her hair in frustration at her own negligence.
Knock, knock.
“Lady Erika.”
Yet the one who entered the room was not the stable master, but Ian. He had come up after confirming that his subordinate was rushing toward the stables.
“What is it?”
Scattered documents piled across Mrs. Mary’s room. Quite the incongruous furnishings, weren’t they? Ian smiled faintly as he stepped inside.
“Has there been any progress in pursuing Mrs. Mary and Chel?”
“Why are you asking that?”
Look at this, would you? Erika tilted her head up, draping her arm diagonally across the chair’s backrest. It wasn’t as though my feet were itching, and yet such a question at this precise moment?
“Naturally, I’m curious. Should Mrs. Mary and Chel somehow survive and seize an opportunity, my own safety would be compromised as well.”
Erika nodded as if to say continue. Both wore pleasant smiles as they gauged each other, yet it was Erika whose expression hardened first.

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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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