Margrave’s Bastard Son was The Emperor - Chapter 543

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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 542
Fire. The Dirty Mustache Report
At Ian’s glance, the servant pushed the doors open wide. In that instant, a wave of blood-stained air rushed in. Akorelra, who had been casually perched on the desk, spotted Ian and waved her hand cheerfully.
“Ah, you’ve arrived?”
A cigarette dangling from her lips, her legs swinging back and forth. Her posture was indistinguishable from some lowborn ruffian permanently stationed at a back-alley tavern. Romandro, who had entered alongside her, asked with a disapproving gaze.
“Why are you sitting like that?”
“Ugh, don’t even mention it. It was absolutely exhausting. The coronation? Is it all finished? People seemed to be leaving gradually.”
“We wrapped things up roughly, and His Majesty retired to his chambers.”
“Oh, His Majesty. It’s really starting to feel real now.”
“What about Lepin? You didn’t kill him, did you?”
“Of course not. I’m no amateur. He’s in a state that looks almost like death, but he’s still breathing. Over there.”
Akorelra flicked her cigarette and pointed toward the bed. Lepin lay there nearly unconscious, like a corpse. Dried blood was evident around his mouth, and upon closer inspection, several of his front teeth were missing.
When Romandro looked back at Akorelra in astonishment, she merely shrugged her shoulders innocently.
“That wasn’t me. He threw a fit on his own and fell, breaking them himself.”
Whether that was true remained uncertain.
Romandro carefully lifted his upper lip to examine the wound, while Ian picked up the report lying before her. It was a vividly recorded account of torture—or rather, interrogation marks.
“So, what did he say?”
“In my opinion, it would be wise to verify the others the same way as Lepin. The things he spouted were far too unbelievable.”
She paused to collect her thoughts, then exhaled smoke toward Lepin.
“Approximately fifty dragons created through illegal cross-breeding.”
“What? Doesn’t Ruswena officially manage only about fifteen?”
“Yes. Ten years ago, during the Haiman incident, we estimated there would be only a handful, but the numbers are far greater than expected. It appears the authorities actively pursued breeding. According to that bastard Lepin, the person in charge was his uncle.”
“Wait. How many black-armored suits can be made from a single dragon? Ian, do you know?”
Ian paused at Romandro’s question, then nodded. He was recalling content from a report he had read previously.
In truth, how many could be made from one dragon wasn’t particularly crucial. They had ten years, after all.
“Depending on the dragon’s size and manufacturing method, roughly ten black-armored suits per dragon annually is entirely feasible. With fifty dragons, that’s five hundred in a year, and over ten years, that totals five thousand suits.”
“Five… five thousand black-armored suits.”
Romandro remembered the black armor’s devastating power all too vividly. During the rebellion, it had claimed the life of the Imperial Guard Captain, and both Viviana and Berik had barely escaped death.
Ian added quietly.
“That’s approximately five thousand, assuming dragon scales regenerate over one year. If the regeneration cycle shortens to a few months, the numbers would increase further.”
“This is… this is a serious crisis, isn’t it? Even the Imperial Guard Captains couldn’t face that armor directly. But if thousands are prepared… oh no.”
A serious crisis! A serious crisis indeed!
As Romandro grasped his temples in despair, Akorelra pulled out a fresh cigarette. There was more to come, her gesture suggested—calm down and listen.
“There’s an even bigger problem.”
“What, what else is there?”
“Apparently, during the cross-breeding process, dragons occasionally awaken with killing abilities. Like Kyu.”
“Kyu, like Kyu?”
“But they didn’t even know Kyu was that kind of dragon. I just casually fed her some shed scales and threw her dying ones, which turned out to be a complete disaster. For Ruswena’s perspective, anyway.”
Ian read through Akorelra’s report and asked quietly.
“What’s the likelihood they’ll deploy those dragons in warfare?”
“Quite impressive. I suspect that if Bariel used Kyu for propaganda purposes, Ruswena intended to use that as a pretext to bring their own dragon into play.”
“Wait! So you’re saying Ruswena anticipated our response?”
“They were clearly aware that we could exploit the loophole in the covenant stating Kyu isn’t a pureblooded dragon. It seems they drew up their strategy with the assumption that their dragon had lethal capabilities while ours didn’t. Kyu ruined that plan for them.”
“I-Ian! If that’s the case, we can’t take the dragon to the battlefield, can we?”
Ian shook my head quietly.
Ruswena had already planned to deploy a lethal dragon to the battlefield, along with the black armor. Whether Kyu came or not, if the tide of victory turned against them, they would inevitably deploy their lethal dragon.
“Since Ruswena’s national fate hangs in the balance, if they find themselves losing, they’ll employ every stratagem to reverse the situation. For a Ruswena without mages, it’s a weapon they cannot afford to abandon.”
“Oh no, what about our soldiers? This is truly dire.”
Black armor would dominate the ground, and dragons would rule the skies. I carefully folded Akorelra’s report and tucked it into my inner pocket, then gestured for us to leave quickly.
“Romandro. I need to meet with the Imperial Guard Captains. We must discuss the black armor.”
“Ah, of course! I’ll send word immediately.”
“Akorelra, finish organizing here and take charge of the other Ruswena delegation members.”
“Yes, as you command.”
Akorelra saluted playfully, placing her hand against her chest.
“But we’re departing tomorrow, aren’t we? Moving together with His Majesty?”
“That’s correct.”
“Ah. So I need to finish everything by then? Yes, yes. I almost got careless for a moment. I’ll prepare the reports again and bring them with me.”
“Akorelra.”
“Yes?”
I paused at the doorway and turned back to look at her. I wanted to remind her of something just in case.
“Make sure to bring plenty of mana amplifiers and recovery potions.”
“Don’t worry. I have enough to eat myself to death.”
The coronation had left the mages’ stamina depleted. For the next several days, they would likely do nothing but rest while being carried along in the procession.
Akorelra drew a circle with her finger to reassure me. Once I and Romandro left, she brushed out the remaining cigarette ash and stood up from her seat.
“Well then—”
She stretched with a long, satisfying sound. Her balance wavered slightly due to her injured ankle, but she called out cheerfully.
“Bring in the next batch of Ruswena test subjects!”
“Yes, I’ll bring them right away.”
“Alive and fresh. Perfect!”
After undergoing live experimentation, the side effects improved remarkably. Until now, the problem had been finding suitable subjects. They all ran away so desperately, claiming they were precious. Honestly!
“Oh, there was also a mage among them. What should we do with that person?”
“A mage? Ah.”
“Did they say anything special?”
“No, there were no particular commitments.”
“Is that so? What a shame.”
Though they belonged to Ruswena, a mage was still a mage. Weren’t they beings connected through God’s love? The naturalized Ruswena mages centered around Zaira had said they would persuade him, but it seems they failed. Akorelra genuinely looked disappointed, ruffling her hair.
“Tsk tsk, bring them along anyway. In a way, this works out well. It’s been a long time since I’ve worked on a mage.”
“Yes, understood.”
The servants hurried out, and Akorelra gazed quietly at Lepin lying on the bed. Her smile faded quickly. She grabbed his mustache with all her strength and yanked it out, screaming.
Riiiiip!
“Wake up! Don’t just lie there!”
* * *
Night had fallen. True night, arriving after so long.
Everyone in the imperial palace looked up at the sky, finally grasping that the coronation was over. The white nights without sunset had been wondrous and fantastical, but the darkness that came after those endless days held its own peculiar beauty.
Clatter, clatter!
Whinny!
My carriage arrived before the main palace building.
Jin’s quarters had been relocated from the Crown Prince’s Palace to the main palace, and the Imperial Guards were already stationed nearby, so I naturally climbed the steps and entered.
“Is His Majesty asleep?”
“He’s been awake for nearly two days, so it seems likely.”
“Then let me meet with Captain Jairot first.”
“Yes, I’ll show you the way.”
The Steward of the main palace walked ahead with a slight bow.
Come tomorrow, the Emperor himself would depart the palace for the battlefield. Everyone was bustling about in preparation for the expedition.
The Palace Guards had all gathered in the main building rather than the training grounds, and they appeared busy with their own preparations for departure. They were spending their last night in the palace.
“Oh, aren’t you Minister Ian Hielo? Hello.”
“Yes. You’re all working hard.”
“Did you come looking for Berik? He’s in the back right now doing punishment drills.”
“…No, I came to meet Captain Jairot.”
“Is that so? Well, you’ll need to head that way anyway—all the captains are there. I’ll guide you from here.”
The Guard signaled the palace Steward to hand over the guidance, and the two of us followed him. Romandro, who had been quietly observing, finally couldn’t help but speak up.
“But why is he doing punishment drills today?”
“Ah, earlier he was sparring lightly with Captain Jairot, and they agreed not to use weapons. But he drew his sword first anyway. He got his head smashed in and ended up headbutting the ground.”
“Ha! Good grief, it happens every other day—the man must be going mad. If punishment drills were a medal, Berik would deserve a decoration.”
“Haha, that’s true. He got scolded harshly not long ago too.”
“That dragon thing—yes. I was right there watching and thought he’d fainted to death.”
In the distance, I could see Berik actually headbutting the ground. Around him, the guards sat freely, polishing their swords and maintaining their armor, focused on preparations for departure.
“Captain! The Minister of Magic has arrived.”
“Are you busy?”
“No. Well, except for one crazy dog causing a commotion, things are fine.”
“Ian!”
Jairot muttered while his head was still pressed down, only rolling his eyes toward Berik, and I simply smiled, deciding to ignore it.
“Please, sit. You worked hard on the coronation.”
“Yes, everyone did their part.”
“But what brings you here?”
“Information just came through from the Ruswena side. It concerns the black-armored soldiers—their numbers are estimated to be quite substantial.”
Whoosh.
I handed over Akorelra’s report directly. Jairot reacted reflexively at the mention of black-armored soldiers. He stroked his jaw as if troubled.
“Five thousand cavalry.”
“You know better than anyone that ordinary soldiers cannot stand against them, Captain Jairot.”
“Yes, of course. How could I forget that?”
“We have no choice but to rely primarily on Mages and Mage Knights to stop them. If you have any suggestions, I came to hear them. We won’t face them tomorrow, but once we cross the border, we could encounter them at any moment—a danger we can’t predict.”
“…Based on my previous experience, when six of my guards and I struck simultaneously with two blows, we were able to shatter the helmet. We haven’t neglected our training, but if the black armor has also improved during that time, things would be different—”
“The scales of the presented Dragon were heavily damaged. If the quality deteriorates with each acquisition, then the quality of the black armor would likely decline as well. However, yes, I cannot speak with certainty until I see it with my own eyes.”
“By ‘presented Dragon,’ do you mean the one Berik used to ride? Does it have a name? I was actually planning to suggest that the Magic Department take charge of it. Unlike Mages who excel at flight, Mage Knights have limitations in their leaping ability—”
“It’s called Kyu, apparently.”
“Pardon?”
As Jairot asked in surprise, Berik’s head snapped up to stare at me. The Palace Guards passing by did the same.
“Akorelra seems to have named it that.”
“Ah, yes…”
“Ian! What did you just say? What’s its name?”
“…Kyu?”
I turned to look at Berik and raised my eyebrow as if to say he was asking something rather absurd.
Berik doubled over clutching his stomach, his body convulsing with laughter, while the Palace Guards pretended not to hear and continued on their way. Romandro also clamped his hand over his mouth and froze in place.
“Ian, what? Kyu? Kyuu?”
“…”
“Damn it, I’ve lived this long and finally get to see him making that sound! Oh, I’ve lived a full life! I could die happy now! Kahahaha!”
“…”
I realized Berik was mocking me, and soon offered him a radiant smile before tossing a pebble his way.
“Huh?”
“Continue what you were doing. Keep going, Berik.”
“What is this?”
For Berik, who stared at the pebble and me in confusion, Romandro explained while suppressing his laughter.
“Well, Berik. Don’t bury your head in the ground—bury it in the pebble instead. Yes. Diligently. With all your effort.”
Sigh, this is why people need to read the room!

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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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