Margrave’s Bastard Son was The Emperor - Chapter 535

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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 534
Fire. A Cautious Stance
“I’m afraid I don’t understand what you’re saying.”
Ian Bratz.
The bastard son of the annihilated Count of Bratz stood before me—the very man who had detained me, the investigation unit leader Erika, preventing my return to the imperial palace.
I reflexively denied it, but I already knew instinctively. There was certainty in the words Ian had subtly let slip.
My voice trembled uncontrollably, yet I had no room to even acknowledge it. After ten long years of struggling and barely surviving, I had finally entered the imperial palace, only to face this on my very first day.
“If you’ve forgotten, that’s a problem in itself.”
Ian approached me slowly, tilting his chin upward slightly—a gesture conveying a kind of surprise that we would meet again. And here, in the imperial palace, as part of the Hawan delegation no less?
In truth, it was more accurate to say he simply hadn’t bothered to pay attention to someone so insignificant.
“Have you lost your memory?”
“Ah.”
Yes. That’s it.
I found a small clue in Ian’s insinuation. If I officially returned as the investigation unit leader of the imperial palace, the burden I would shoulder would be far too heavy. There was the matter of failing to execute the Emperor’s orders, the crime of dereliction of duty over such a long period, responsibility for the dead steward, and so much more.
But if I claimed to belong to the Hawan delegation instead? Given that I had been the investigation unit leader, this would amount to treason. The backlash wouldn’t fall only on me, but also on Shatima, who had taken me in and helped me.
So perhaps it would be better to push forward with an unavoidable force that was neither one nor the other—
“It’s better that you’ve forgotten. You’ve become quite refined.”
A small mockery. He was daring me to come forward claiming memory loss, anticipating how much more entertaining the spectacle would become. Ian was a man who had seized power in an imperial palace where truth had faded, the man responsible for the commercialized truth-telling potion, and someone who remembered my past perfectly. He had the ability to do this. Very, sufficiently so.
When Ian laughed playfully, I found myself biting my lower lip without realizing it. The contemptuous sneers that had rained down on me from the Count’s residence echoed vividly in my ears.
‘Your manner of speech is impressive. Unexpected. It seems the imperial palace now recruits investigation unit leaders from commoner stock.’
When I turned my head sharply to glare at Ian, he feigned surprise and raised both hands. What a pretentious bastard. Though I had concealed most of my face with a veil, I couldn’t hide the hostility I felt.
Ian studied me for a moment, then spoke with casual nonchalance.
“No. You remain unchanged.”
“….”
‘Damn him. I’ll beat him to death!’
I ran through countless possible responses in my mind, but every outcome was equally disastrous.
When no answer came from me, Ian leaned his shoulder against the wall and adopted a more comfortable posture. He was making it clear that he had no need to play games even with a mere investigation unit leader from his past who had vanished and somehow survived.
“You could have lived quietly like a dead mouse, going through your days without incident. So why have you returned? It seems you’ve taken this risk because you want something.”
Reinstatement to the imperial palace? Or perhaps authority over the Bratz domain, which had long since slipped away? Or could it be my own death?
He pulled out his pocket watch to check the time, as if urging me to speak. He clearly had little time to spare for me.
“…All of it.”
“Tsk. A waste of time.”
He wasn’t referring to the ten years I had wasted, but rather the mere minutes of his own time he had squandered. It meant he found nothing worth hearing in what I had to say.
As Ian turned to leave, I desperately stepped in front of him. Then I pulled away my veil entirely, revealing my face. If the conversation ended like this, it would truly be over.
“What’s your intention?”
“That’s the question I asked first, Erika.”
“…The pride of being an investigation unit leader. That pride in directly receiving and executing the Emperor’s commands. All my subordinates are dead, and I have long been forgotten in this place, but that pride which defined me has not disappeared.”
“Keep it brief.”
“I don’t seek reinstatement. I merely want my honor restored.”
“Is there any honor left to restore? You failed to execute the Emperor’s orders. And look at what you’re wearing. Which nation’s garments are those?”
“This is—!”
Erika clenched her teeth and muttered.
“It was a means to return to Bariel. Even if you beat me to death, I am a Bariel person.”
“Hmm.”
I studied Erika intently. I had discovered a gap in her utility.
There was no way Shatima wouldn’t have noticed such a clear sense of identity. Yet despite that, she brought Erika with the delegation to the imperial palace—that meant she had her own purpose. Could it be that she hoped Erika would serve as a bridge between herself and the palace?
“What did you bring?”
The fact that Shatima saw potential in Erika, whose cards were now fully exposed, meant there was solid reasoning behind it.
“You couldn’t have come empty-handed when returning to your homeland.”
“Why should I give that to you?”
“I believe you’ll have an opportunity to present it directly to the Crown Prince. Indeed, people don’t change easily.”
Foolish.
I had drawn out this brief insult at length. Erika clenched her fists and stepped closer to me.
“You haven’t changed either.”
“Can’t you tell by looking?”
What was different between the last time Erika had seen me and now?
‘If Shatima intends to access the palace through Erika, then she has already wisely grasped her position in Hawan. Hawan may officially support Burgos and participate in the war, but at least the Prime Minister’s faction can be drawn to Bariel. Division—it’s possible.’
I gazed at the firmly closed waiting room and smiled with satisfaction. Erika’s eyes narrowed with displeasure at the sight.
Tap tap tap!
“I-Ian! No, Lord Ian! Lord Ian!”
Then came Romandro’s voice from the end of the corridor. With urgent footsteps added to it, the space rang out loudly. It suggested something quite pressing had occurred.
“What is the matter?”
“Big trouble, big trouble! Right now, huh?”
Romandro, who had been reporting, stopped short upon seeing Erika’s face. He seemed to have seen her somewhere before, but the impression wouldn’t come to him easily. There must have been a reason I kept paying attention to her. Romandro furrowed his brows sharply and scrutinized Erika’s face closely, forgetting even his rudeness. It was the manner of someone encountering an old schoolmate after a long separation.
“…Wait, what is it? Where have I seen you? You’re easy to approach but somehow uncomfortable. Did you graduate from Bariel University? You’re from Hawan, so you wouldn’t have grown up in Bariel, would you?”
“Lord Romandro.”
“Oh my, I’m sorry! I’m sorry, it’s just that this familiar face hit me so hard. It’s not anything else—Ako was guiding the Ruswena delegation—”
Romandro whispered urgently in my ear as if he were about to go mad.
“Th-there’s a dragon.”
“…Pardon?”
“A dragon with the exact same color as Berik’s head! Are the Ruswena people insane? They’ve lost their minds. They came riding that instead of a horse? The citizens were celebrating and all got shocked and flipped out, and reports keep coming in now. I think it’s best to have an audience first and then announce how to dispose of it.”
Seeing them making a fool of themselves with tribute gifts. It seemed Eldetr had indeed aligned with Eriponi. I nodded that I would go shortly.
As Romandro, saying he would go ahead, passed by Erika, he scratched his chin questioningly once more. Where exactly had he seen her? Had he ever had the chance to meet someone from the Hawan Kingdom? He hadn’t…
Watching Romandro fade away, I spoke flatly.
“As you can see, something’s come up.”
“So how do you want to wrap this up?”
This was a matter with my life on the line—I couldn’t end the conversation like this.
“The conclusion isn’t for you to make. I’ll summon Prime Minister Shatima when I have time later. You must convey what happened here well and pray that you prove yourself valuable. I don’t know what you’ve brought, but it must please the Prince. Otherwise, well.”
I passed by Erika and spoke.
“You may not be able to live in Bariel, but you can certainly die there.”
“Wait!”
Erika grabbed Ian as if asking one final question.
“How did you recognize me?”
Wasn’t Romandro’s reaction normal? She had seen him ten years ago, and now with the garb of the Hawan Kingdom, she had lost much of her former appearance. Yet, how on earth had he known?
Ian brushed her hand away as if it were nothing.
“You may not remember, but my mother once told me your final destination. And besides, none of this happened long ago for me.”
“Your mother?”
Ian’s mother—was it Mrs. Mary? No, that wasn’t right. He had a biological mother elsewhere. Erika’s pupils trembled violently as memories stirred, and soon she recalled the blonde woman she had met in the mountains.
The Bariel woman she had last encountered before going to the Hawan Kingdom.
“Ah, that—!”
Now that she thought about it, they looked almost identical. Why hadn’t she made the connection then? Likely because she couldn’t have imagined Ian’s mother living in seclusion in such a forest. Above all, her own circumstances had been dire. She had lost her subordinates and faced an uncertain future herself.
“And I, too, heard it directly.”
Ian’s golden eyes gleamed for a moment.
“I let it slide because you called yourself a Bariel person of your own accord. Show proper respect and courtesy. I have no time to spare for those who don’t even know the basics.”
Tap.
Ian turned coldly and passed around the corner, disappearing from sight.
She felt the Hawan attendants waiting in the distance murmuring and watching her. Erika hesitated briefly, then re-entered the guest waiting room she had come from.
Creak.
* * *
“What in the world is this?”
“A dragon.”
“You’re asking because you don’t know?”
The mages looked up at the crimson dragon with bewildered expressions. Judging by its eyes alone, it seemed like it would devour a person alive, so what was with that adorable leash?
Akorelra was so agitated about something that she was chewing on an unlit cigar.
“Listen, how much longer are we waiting here?”
“Please wait. We are waiting for Ian.”
“For heaven’s sake, what is he doing to be this late?”
At Lepin’s grumbling, Akorelra rolled her eyes back. Were these words really coming from the mouths of those who arrived latest? Whether it was shamelessness or poor memory, who could say? Ah, it could be both!
The mages hung from her arms, each adding a word to calm her, while Romandro kept his distance, wary of the dragon. Even if it had been tamed through domestication, one couldn’t let their guard down. Dogs occasionally bite people too!
“Ian is here!”
“This way, Ian!”
“Look at this, please! Sob!”
As Ian descended the stairs, the mages rushed toward him with tears glistening in their eyes. Their gazes asked how on earth they were supposed to deal with this.
Lepin finally stepped down from the carriage and brushed off his collar, then offered Ian a handshake.
“I am Lepin, representative of the Ruswena Delegation. Are you Ian Hielo, Minister of Magic?”
“Yes, that is correct, but—”
Ian passed by Lepin’s handshake as if he hadn’t seen it and stood before the dragon. If it stretched its neck, it seemed it could reach the second floor of the grand banquet hall, and with wings, the danger was immeasurable.
“It cannot be brought inside.”
“That, that’s right? Ian, we thought the same thing, but—”
“Wait. This was sent directly by King Eldetr of Ruswena. It must be listed among the gifts of tribute when presented to the Prince. If it cannot be brought in, then will the Prince come out himself?”
These youngsters are approaching in this manner.
The mages mobilized all their facial features to cast disapproving glances toward the Ruswena delegation.
“Did they dare summon the Prince?”
“No. I mean, it’s just a manner of speaking! We could have an audience without this one, certainly. But if we do that, we won’t be able to convey all of Ruswena’s sincerity as we intend, so it was meant as a heads-up for Bariel.”
It sounded like they were looking for a pretext to complain.
I surveyed the Ruswena delegation briefly. They hadn’t brought their own horses. That meant I would have to provide imperial palace horses for their return journey.
“Who is the dragon caretaker or specialist?”
At my question, Lepin shook his head as if regretful.
“Dragon specialists are rare even in Ruswena. They are currently staying at the official breeding grounds and cannot leave their posts.”
He really did stretch out that excuse about not bringing one.
This was no different from saying they intended to let the dragon die. I met the dragon’s gaze for a moment and felt the robust vitality dwelling beneath those transparent eyes.
“I understand.”
Poor creature.
Yes, let’s give this a try.

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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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