Margrave’s Bastard Son was The Emperor - Chapter 48

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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 48. Count Derga’s Secret Message
“But are those men truly Knights?”
“What?”
Erika reflexively questioned Ian’s words. Of all people, this was something Ian shouldn’t be asking right now. When she was already suspicious of the Cheonrye Tribe! For Ian to speak this way was practically a confession.
“Do you even understand what you’re saying?”
“Of course I do. When we captured Count Derga, I thought we’d eliminated all of his Knights in the forest. But then suddenly, a Knight appears.”
“Ha!”
Can you believe this? Erika let out a hollow laugh, utterly exasperated. But it was short-lived.
“Could there perhaps be a traitor among your subordinates?”
In that moment, it felt as though a hammer had struck Erika’s head. Not because she believed Ian’s claim about a traitor, but because she grasped the implication behind his words.
“The rumor that Mrs. Mary and Chel survived and fled the territory has spread widely, and with word of their accomplices, everyone believes they’ve escaped safely.”
“You, you…!”
“But what if those known as accomplices are actually traitors trying to trap you, and they hide the two of them without a trace?”
Since I came under orders from the Imperial Palace, I had the duty to faithfully pursue those two.
But what if they vanished halfway?
I would still need to submit a report on whether I’d confirmed their survival. With plausible evidence, for instance, body fragments attached to it.
“I suggest you hurry and pursue them with all your strength. Who knows what might happen to them and when?”
To a third party, it would sound like concern for Erika’s safety, but to her ears, it sounded entirely different.
‘If you don’t withdraw soldiers from the manor immediately, I’ll kill Mrs. Mary and Chel and hide them. Then you’ll have to wander the mountains searching for traces for years.’
“You bastard…”
Shring.
Erika cursed and drew her sword. But as the saying goes, getting flustered means losing. She instinctively realized she’d been perfectly caught in Ian’s trap.
“Why are you getting so worked up? I was only offering advice out of concern for you.”
“Where did you find Mrs. Mary and Chel?”
“I’m afraid I don’t understand what you mean.”
“Ian, do you really think you’ll come out of this unscathed? I am the head of the investigation team under Imperial orders. Obstructing me is the same as obstructing the Imperial Palace’s solemn decision!”
Erika spat out her words indignantly, but soon realized her mistake and grimaced. She’d repeated it herself. That she’d received orders from the Imperial Palace.
Which meant her duty was to immediately pursue Mrs. Mary and Chel beyond the territory, and by standing here, she was admitting to dereliction of duty.
“Yes, I understand well. So you should hurry and apprehend those who aided Mrs. Mary and Chel’s escape.”
There was no other way to prove the connection between Ian and those men. While Erika glared at Ian with clenched teeth, the subordinate who’d been sent on an errand returned.
“Captain Erika, the stable master says two of the Bratz horses have gone missing…”
Seeing Ian present, the subordinate hastily trailed off, but Ian had already heard everything. He smiled brightly as if to say, see?
“There we have it. They’re the manor’s horses. The traitor is confirmed.”
“Stop spouting nonsense. Do you think I don’t know you’re colluding with the Cheonrye Tribe? How dare you keep bringing this up?”
“Me? With the Cheonrye Tribe? How could you accuse an innocent person?”
“Just by the fact that they’re skilled warriors unlike any ordinary person!”
“If you wish, you can verify the Cheonrye Tribe forces that entered here. You’ll see if two are missing.”
“You, you…!”
“Surely you haven’t failed to verify the Cheonrye Tribe’s forces? It seems the Imperial investigation team leader conducts her work rather carelessly.”
Ian’s words were clearly insulting, but there was no way to refute them. Even if she had confirmed it, how could she know about someone brought in separately from outside?
“You, I will kill you myself.”
“Please don’t. It frightens me.”
“I mean it. I will kill you.”
It was a declaration bordering on a curse. Erika gritted her teeth, vowing to behead that insolent commoner with her own hands someday. She grabbed her coat and stormed out.
Slam!
Left alone, I merely shrugged my shoulders and swept my gaze across Mrs. Mary’s room. She had definitely said there was something to take from here…
Click.
The drawer inside was half-empty. Valuables like jewels and ornaments had apparently been confiscated by the investigation team. With the unpaid taxes being substantial, all the manor’s treasures would be forfeited to the imperial palace to settle the debt.
‘What could it be? What on earth…’
While I pondered with a clicking tongue, Erika rushed down the corridor with her subordinate and exited outside. I felt the Cheonrye Tribe’s glances following her, but she had no time to respond to each one.
“Summon the soldiers.”
“Yes, how many?”
“Leave only the minimum and organize the rest into a pursuit unit.”
“B-but if we do that…,”
Now that she knew they were Cheonrye Tribe, ordinary forces wouldn’t suffice. Only by overwhelming them all at once could she prove that Ian and the Cheonrye had smuggled out a member of the Bratz family.
‘Yes. I will crush your trap.’
“Watch Ian and Kakan.”
“Yes, understood.”
“Report immediately if you notice anything suspicious.”
Whatever happened, things wouldn’t go as she wished. The moment she captured those two Cheonrye bastards who called themselves Count Derga’s knights, she would sweep away all the outsiders in this manor, including Ian.
“Assemble!”
As Erika and the Central Army grew chaotic, the Cheonrye Tribe, who had been merely observing the atmosphere, moved covertly. A warrior approached Nersaren and reported the situation.
“Nersaren. They’ve begun moving as Lord Ian predicted. It would be good to release the hawk soon.”
“Very well.”
Nersaren nodded with satisfaction at the warrior’s hint. With the pursuit unit’s forces drawn to their maximum, it was now the signal to dispose of Mary and Chel.
He wrote a brief note in the Cheonrye language and handed it to his subordinate.
“They say it’s a treacherous mountain range. I wonder how they’re managing. Children who’ve only known desert winds.”
“Do you not trust your kinsmen?”
“How could I not? They are warriors. I simply worry.”
For a warrior, defeat does not exist. Defeat is death, and once dead, one cannot comprehend defeat. Even if they face crisis, they do not fear sacrifice. They would sooner tear out their own hearts than give their enemies any opening.
“Release the hawk.”
“Yes. Oh, the remaining hawk belongs to Kakan.”
The warrior glanced at the bed behind Nersaren. Kakantir, dressed in light clothing, was savoring a peach. He merely nodded his head in permission.
“Then I will send Jeno.”
“Before you do, feed him sweet fruit. His temperament has been strange lately.”
“Understood. Rest well.”
Screech.
After the subordinate left, Nersaren turned to look back. Kakantir still gazed blankly out the window, enjoying his rest. Though they were in the height of summer, it was refreshingly cool compared to the desert.
“Kakan. Once the Central Army withdraws from the territory, shall we kill Count Derga and settle matters? We cannot leave Cheonrye vacant for long.”
“Yes. That’s right.”
The same applied to Bumart’s situation, and the desert garrison currently lacked sufficient troops to maintain the outpost. While the Great Desert’s protection meant there was little cause for serious concern, leaving the territory unattended for extended periods was far from ideal.
“However, Nersaren. Since Ian is a mana user and will likely catch the Imperial Palace’s attention, eventually he’ll have to ascend to the capital. When that time comes, who will manage this place?”
“I’m not certain. It seems likely that Berik will be taken along.”
“Even if he stays behind, that man won’t be up to the task.”
Kakantir glanced sideways at Nersaren. Having been at his side for so long, he could discern what the man meant from a mere glance. Nersaren’s brow furrowed.
“I refuse.”
“Refuse what?”
“You’re asking me to remain here, aren’t you?”
“Ah. Did it come across that way?”
“My presence would certainly benefit the Cheonrye in many respects. However, it’s uncertain whether Knight Ian would permit it, and moreover….”
“Moreover?”
Nersaren glanced at Kakan before turning his head away.
“…I dislike it because it’s cold.”
“Ah. That’s certainly important.”
“It’s a place where snow falls. Bitterly cold, at that.”
Kakantir chuckled and finished eating the remaining peach. There was no need to wait until winter. In another couple of months, as autumn winds grew chill, the Cheonrye warriors’ homesickness would deepen. Everything had to be resolved before then.
“By now, the letter of appointment should be arriving, shouldn’t it?”
“It should be.”
“Do you truly trust Ian, Kakan?”
“Trust him? You mean because he’s a mana user? Didn’t you see it yourself? How Berik fought against the Knight.”
“What I mean is, whether being a mana user possesses value sufficient to overturn a letter of appointment.”
I had heard of the Empire’s reverence for magic. Just as they believed in and followed Winchen, the people of Bariel revolved around mages, or so I’d heard.
But since I had never experienced it directly, I couldn’t be certain. Moreover, this was a frontier territory. The domain’s inhabitants were largely ignorant of magic itself.
“I’m uncertain. He doesn’t seem to be lying. If someone comes down from the Imperial Palace, we’ll be able to verify it immediately.”
“Still, it does seem to be taking longer than expected.”
Nersaren counted off the days on his fingers, muttering. By this point, they should have arrived, yet there was still no sign of anything.
‘What in the world is the Imperial Palace doing?’
* * *
Knock, knock.
Prince Marib Verosion’s office never went dark, even in the dead of night. The Prince wore light clothing with his long hair tied back in a single knot.
At the sound of footsteps breaking the silence, he set down his spectacles.
“Enter.”
“Your Highness Marib. There is something you should see.”
“What is it? In the middle of the night?”
Marib moistened his lips with cold tea as he asked. What the Steward produced was a single crumpled and soiled letter. The envelope was already open, as if he had checked its contents first.
“It is a secret letter sent by Count Derga Bratz from the frontier. It deliberately came to me rather than to Your Highness.”
“Count Bratz?”
Marib blinked lightly. Bratz—wasn’t that where the Emperor recently sent an investigation unit on suspicion of tax evasion? As for Derga, he was someone I had seen only a few times at state functions, with no personal acquaintance whatsoever.
A letter from there?
It was puzzling, suspicious, and yet intriguing.
“There’s no seal on it.”
“Instead, the ring inside bears an inscription on the inner surface proving it to be a Bratz heirloom. It’s a diamond ring, estimated at ten carats.”
“Hmm.”
Maribe let out an exclamation upon seeing the ring on the table. Not because he was amazed by the jewel, but because he recognized that the Count’s circumstances must be dire indeed for him to produce such a thing.
“If he were seeking clemency, it would make sense to send this to Father. Since he didn’t, the contents must be something else.”
“That is correct.”
The Steward set down the carefully folded letter.
Moments later, as Maribe read through the text with keen interest, his eyes narrowed sharply.
“This is happening right now…”

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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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