Margrave’s Bastard Son was The Emperor - Chapter 470

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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 470
Fire. A Final Testament
Vivi stood motionless, her expression grave. She glanced sideways, then forward again, and finally surveyed the tower standing far, very far in the distance.
The Imperial Palace was truly a curious place, wasn’t it? The expansive windows and open gardens allowed one to see remarkably far, and the four towers seemed to mark the cardinal directions.
The path stretched in a straight line without a single curve. All I had to do was choose left or right, yet strangely, I felt as though I were circling the same spot. There were no guards patrolling either.
Oh dear.
I had to admit it.
“…Sigh. I’m lost.”
Vivi’s hands trembled as she adjusted her glasses. Stay calm, stay calm. Father would be looking for me, so I just needed to find someone passing by and ask for help.
Ahem. Vivi cleared her throat and took a deep breath. I had learned to shout with all my might when in distress! But contrary to my resolve, my voice came out as faint as an ant crawling.
“I-is anyone here…?”
Whimper. The boy quickened her pace, looking as though she might cry at any moment. Then a conversation between her mother and father flashed through her mind.
”
…Every night, every piece of meat in the Imperial Palace vanishes. It must be some cursed monster.
”
”
It wasn’t like that before, so why now?
”
”
Not a single day passes without blood staining something. I was even considering heading to the northern monster territories.
”
….
It would be best to reach a safe place before nightfall.
Just then, Vivi spotted a woman carrying a sword and armor as she passed by. She had short, navy-blue hair and a sturdy frame.
“H-hey there!”
Vivi ran after her, waving her hands left and right, but the woman didn’t notice and entered a building.
Crash! Bang!
Thud! Pow!
“One more time!”
“Damn it, let’s do this!”
“You say let’s do it, but can you even manage it?”
“You unlucky bastard! You’re finished!”
Boom!
And the sight she witnessed. Those with bare chests or light clothing gathered in a circle, watching a fight. Ah. This must be the training grounds. But what was this? The voices sounded so familiar.
“Hey, aim for Berik’s side! It’s wide open!”
“Oh no, he’s going to get hit again. I told you, you can’t win that way! Don’t charge Berik head-on!”
It was Uncle Berik! The moment Vivi realized she had found someone she knew, she joyfully rushed forward.
Berik’s figure, hidden behind the crowd, was revealed. His upper body was covered entirely in wounds, his hair hung limp and drenched in blood, and his eyes blazed with a crimson fury unlike his usual self.
Screech.
“Aren’t you listening to the kids’ advice? If you’re going to be a fool, act like one and think about slipping to the side. What confidence makes you keep charging from the front?”
Berik gritted his teeth and seized his opponent’s throat with one hand, lifting him into the air as if he intended to burst the neck itself. The man thrashed about desperately, trying to break free from that iron grip, but all he felt was utter helplessness.
Berik watched with an expressionless face. The man’s face flushed crimson, the whites of his eyes showing, and soon enough he would foam at the mouth and lose consciousness. It was a predictable, monotonous affair.
“Berik, that’s enough.”
And there was Barsabe, stopping him at just the right moment. Berik tossed his half-unconscious opponent to the ground and shrugged his shoulders.
Thud!
“If the old man says to do it, I do it.”
“You’re taking it too far. Keep this up and that proposal to send you to the northern monster territory will become an order instead.”
“Damn it. I’m sick of the nagging.”
“It’s advice to enjoy the choice you’ve been given!”
As Berik walked toward where the water bucket sat, the crowd parted left and right. The colleagues who had been with him for ten years yawned with a “here we go again,” while the newcomers nervously wiped the blood from the floor.
“I know you don’t want to leave the Imperial Palace. So—”
“Yeah. I don’t want to leave here. But you know why I don’t want to?”
Berik carelessly tossed the emptied water bucket behind him and picked up his upper garment.
“Because there’s the Atan Clan in the northern monster territory, and it was that damned old Tweller who suggested I go there. This is it, damn it. I’ve seen this picture before.”
“…Berik.”
“If something goes wrong again this time, I’m really going to kill everyone.”
“Watch your tongue! That’s Minister Tweller!”
“Minister or whatever. Bullshit.”
Barsabe sighed and swept her hair back.
Bariel Mages had been dispatched to the Cliffford Rift to suppress and study its power. There had been no progress in uncovering the mysterious world, but the rift suppression was proceeding quite effectively. Paradoxically, through Idgal.
“So you postponed it until the Magic Ministry annex is built? Because you’re worried Ian might return?”
“He said he’d return, so he will.”
“You really…?”
Believe that? Even now?
Berik caught the unspoken words in Barsabe’s tone and glared at her menacingly. Realizing her mistake, she raised both hands in apology.
“I’m sorry.”
“The Prince said so.”
“I said I’m sorry.”
“Damn it, now that I’m thinking about it again, I’m pissed. If you hadn’t told me to take charge of the Atan Clan back then, Ian wouldn’t be—”
“I said I’m sorry, how many times do I have to say it? Annoying bastard, ten years of apologies should be enough!”
“Not even close. Keep apologizing until you’re dead.”
“Where!?”
Berik flipped his middle finger and turned away. He’d burned off energy through the fight, so it was time to refuel with some meat.
Eat, fight, sleep, fight again. For the past ten years, Berik had done his part according to Ian and Jin’s wishes. He’d heard the annex would be completed within the year—could it really be true?
‘It took long enough. Really.’
He’d thought building one structure was nothing, but nothing in this world went according to plan. Then again, if things had gone according to plan, Ian wouldn’t have disappeared. Or at least he would have descended into the abyss with him.
Creak.
“Huh?”
As he pushed the door open, something bumped against it with a soft tap. Berik glanced down to see Vivi standing rigid as stone, her eyes trembling.
“What’s up. Vivi, what are you doing here?”
“Hic, hic.”
“Huh? Why, why are you crying?”
“Waaahhh!”
Vivi clung to Berik’s waist, tears streaming down her face like chicken droppings, insisting that this wasn’t the Uncle Berik she knew, asking how he could hit people like that, and saying she’d get scolded if she used bad words.
Berik looked around helplessly, bewildered, while everyone watched with amusement at how a single child had flustered him.
“Hey, stop crying. Where’s Romandro?”
“Hic, hic….”
“Vi~vi!”
A ghost, that’s what he was—a ghost. Berik waved his upper garment at Romandro, who came bounding over from a distance with heavy thuds. As Romandro drew closer and saw his weeping daughter, he gasped in shock.
“Vivi! Why are you crying?!”
“Uncle Berik, Uncle Berik….”
“Berik? You bastard, what did you do to Vivi?!”
“I didn’t do anything? Huh? Vivi! You need to finish your sentences clearly.”
“U-uncle… he— Wahhh!”
“You son of a bitch, my daughter!”
“Ack!”
Smack!
Romandro flicking chestnut strikes, Berik rubbing his swollen forehead in irritation, and the child wailing away—quite the sight to behold.
Barsabe rested her chin in her hand and shook her head with a faint smile. While some things changed with time, there were those that remained beautifully unchanged—a quietly comforting realization.
* * *
“You have arrived, Your Highness.”
As Jin entered the Emperor’s quarters, the Prime Minister and Jairot, who had arrived earlier, greeted him. Unlike Jin, who bloomed with the flower of youth, the Prime Minister was withered like a tree branch facing a long winter.
“Have you waited long?”
“Not at all. In times like these, even waiting becomes precious.”
“…Let us go inside. Sia, you wait here.”
The Prime Minister and Jairot followed Jin deeper into the quarters. A space always cold and silent. Knowing that its end was approaching made it feel even more so.
“Jairot.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
When I ascend to the throne, the reactions from nations near Bariel will be far from ordinary. While some welcome this new era, many fear change just as much.”
Especially Burgos. Royalists and anti-royalists eye each other under the guise of civil war, but once the Emperor passes and I ascend, they will turn their gaze here simultaneously.
What would a vigorous Emperor do first for his great deeds? Conquest, naturally. Burgos, weakened by internal strife, would be the perfect prey.
Therefore, the moment the Emperor’s passing is announced, observe Burgos’s movements carefully. Jairot nodded and pledged his obedience.
Creeeeak.
As the door to the quarters opened, the scent of peaches wafted in sharply, utterly at odds with the air. Jin gazed at the peach tree standing rigid in the garden, and Ian came to mind. A promise with Gail—leave that one be, the voice had said.
‘Ah, it’s fading after all.’
With that thought, Jin knelt beside the Emperor, who lay perfectly still. He was the same as that younger self who had first witnessed his father’s frozen form.
“Father.”
His body was cold as expected. The unwounded wound on his side still bore fresh blood, as if just cut. A wound that could not heal to prevent decay. Jin gently grasped his hand and spoke.
“At last, I stand on the threshold of my coming of age.”
I am no longer Jin Berosion, who stepped forth using the Emperor’s shadow as a shield. Now it is time for me to advance into the sunlight on my own and build my own Bariel. As your father’s father did, and as his father before him, now you too must sink into history. By the name of Berosion, become the wall of Bariel.
A soft sound.
Jin poured the thaw potion into the Emperor’s mouth.
To live and to die at once. The Emperor’s body grew gradually warmer, his faint breathing quickening bit by bit. The Prime Minister and Jairot pressed themselves flat against the ground, their foreheads touching the floor.
“Your Majesty, it is the Prime Minister. The time has come for a new history to dawn upon Bariel.”
“By the honor of the Imperial Guards, I swear to protect the Imperial House. I dare make this vow. So please, rest in peace.”
A final farewell. A relationship between sovereign and subject that had guided the palace through long ages, and perhaps, a relationship between colleagues. The Emperor’s white eyelashes trembled and quivered, and beside them, a single tear fell.
Jin too embraced his father and whispered.
“Father. Before you are the Emperor, you are my father. I am grateful for all these years. I will inherit your will and walk the path ahead. Someday, we shall meet again.”
“…Yes.”
“Yes, Father.”
At last, blood seeped into the bedding. The frozen wounds and blood had thawed. Jin pressed his ear close to the Emperor’s lips. The late Emperor’s final words flowed forth.
“Well done. As I die, so too must you one day die for Bariel.”
“Do not worry.”
“And with your own hands, just as you have stopped your father’s breath, cut down anything and everything for Bariel without hesitation…”
A great gust of wind.
The wind blew fiercely, shaking the peach tree.
‘Cut down anything and everything.’
Jin gazed quietly at the sunlight pouring through the leaves. Hair like spun gold. And eyes of fresh green. He held his father’s body as it grew warm then cold again, murmuring softly.
“I swear it. Father. By the name of Berosion, I will do anything for my Bariel.”

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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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