Margrave’s Bastard Son was The Emperor - Chapter 581

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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 580
Fire. The Whip and the Carrot
I pressed my hand against my abdomen, feeling the sharp ache intensify. The Healing Mage’s treatment was gradually wearing off. If I didn’t receive another round of healing within an hour or two, considerable pain would surely follow. Yet the meeting of those who had volunteered as representatives of the residents showed no signs of concluding. In truth, one side was simply attempting to persuade the other.
With the door completely fallen off, their conversation from outside carried through with perfect clarity.
“How can a person live while abandoning their convictions? We are Burgos soldiers. There is no greater shame than cooperating with the enemy.”
“Stop that and reconsider. Otherwise, you will die. Have you not witnessed firsthand what war truly is?”
“I have witnessed it. I watched my parents die before my very eyes. That is precisely why I cannot retreat. I would choose death over living without a soul.”
“What a stubborn person you are. This is not merely your problem alone. The fate and lives of all who wish to survive hang in the balance. We ask nothing extraordinary—merely that you announce Agiar’s fall and encourage other cities to surrender. Do not think of it as shame. Consider it differently instead. You could save countless lives.”
“That may be true. Honestly, our homeland is already ruined. Why should we throw away our lives resisting? The leaders of Agiar have all fled. So why must we bear responsibility for their end?”
“Because this is our home!”
“Now, everyone, calm yourselves. Lower your voices.”
“Opportunities will come again as we live. For now, let us cooperate with Bariel and preserve our lives. Please.”
Clink.
Tweller shook his head slightly and took a sip from his glass of iced liquor. Had they been his own countrymen, I would have admired their spirit. But these were Burgos citizens. If they refused to surrender, they would have to be made an example of through death.
“The hour grows late. Perhaps we should conclude for the evening?”
“Yes. Time has indeed passed quickly.”
I nodded in agreement with Tweller’s suggestion. There was only one opportunity. By offering them a choice at all, Bariel had already demonstrated considerable clemency.
Just as I was about to gesture to the soldiers in time with the ticking of the clock—
“However, there is one thing I wish to ask.”
Tweller spoke up. It was something he had been curious about since the castle, but because it was such a sensitive matter, he had simply been observing the situation.
I smiled to indicate that he was welcome to ask.
“Yes. Please, go ahead.”
“Count Ian, that is to say, how did your original parents pass away?”
It was an unexpected question.
I paused for a moment, then searched my memory. My father and mother had not passed away with a great span of time between them. Both had died before I turned five, separated by only a single season.
“In truth, I do not know precisely how they died. According to my nurse at the time, my father’s chronic illness worsened, and my mother rapidly declined after my father’s passing.”
“I see. Well, you were so young that you might not remember clearly.”
Fearing it might have been some unknown plague, young me was never allowed to see my mother’s face once she fell ill. I only heard faint groans of suffering from beyond the door.
“But why do you ask?”
Tweller rubbed his flushed face roughly, then shrugged his shoulders as if to say not to misunderstand. He then stroked his beard and wiped the liquor from the corners of his mouth.
“Do you happen to know of a man named Pamadinia, who is praised as the greatest among all the Ministers of the Imperial Defense throughout history?”
“I have heard of him. He was one of those who pioneered the borderlands alongside the previous Emperor during the founding of Bariel.”
“Do you also know what he said when he died?”
“No. Did he die in battle?”
“It was indeed a battlefield, but the cause of death was illness. Though it is now suspected to have been poisoning, it was not known at the time. As he lay dying, with eyes still burning bright, he is said to have spoken thus.”
Tweller drew his finger across his lips and whispered softly, as if Pamadinia himself were speaking.
“All of you, cease your weeping. I cannot hear the laughter of those who rejoice at my death.”
I immediately grasped what Tweller was trying to say.
Does death not have an inevitable cause? There is death bestowed by God, from which none can escape, and death brought about by human hands.
As the one dying, one cannot distinguish between them. So Pamadinia listened intently, seeking to find the faint laughter hidden within the weeping.
“When I heard Count Ian speak, this man Chroni is truly cunning and possesses remarkable skill in navigating the world. Ordinarily, such men do not sit idle waiting for opportunity to arrive. They manufacture it by any means necessary. Count Ian. Do you perhaps remember? Regarding your parents’ death, what was Chroni’s reaction?”
Ian fell silent, his expression hardening. Not once had he ever considered that his parents’ death might be connected to Chroni.
Certainly, Chroni was the one who had driven him toward ruin, who had bestowed upon him a life as turbulent as a storm. Yet Ian had unconsciously drawn a line, deeming his parents’ death unrelated to him. By cruel coincidence, their first meeting had taken place at a funeral.
“I do remember Chroni, but I cannot claim to know him well.”
“Yes, this old man merely wishes to caution you—not to make hasty conclusions, but to continue suspecting and remaining vigilant. The dead cannot speak, so should not we who remain relentlessly unearth the truth?”
I had thought my entanglement with Chroni was mere chance, a trick of fate. But what if it was not? What if everything had been within his grasp from the very beginning?
Ian swept his hand lightly across his hair. Tweller glanced at the boy with concern, but his expression was not what he expected.
“How convenient that must have been.”
It was unmistakable mockery—directed at the greedy Chroni who had bound him so tightly.
“Is it not? If it were indeed connected to my parents’ death, then Chroni must have viewed me as truly insignificant. How foolish and amusing it must have been to watch a five-year-old orphan follow him without knowing the truth.”
“Count Ian.”
“Do not worry. I have merely opened my eyes to one possibility thanks to Minister Tweller. I am grateful. I shall keep this in mind and think more deeply upon it.”
For now, there was no way to investigate, even if I wished to. Chroni was not in Bariel.
As Ian moistened his throat with drink, Tweller suddenly noticed the silence outside. The raised voices of the resident representatives had ceased. He gestured to his direct subordinate, ordering him to assess the situation.
Creak.
But before he could act, the Agiar residents entered first. They bowed deeply to the two men with stern expressions, as if expressing gratitude for their patience.
“Have your opinions been settled?”
“Yes. We apologize for the intrusion. We shall cooperate fully as Bariel desires. We will also prepare a letter urging non-resistance, and we earnestly beseech you to protect the safety of our civilians above all else.”
“Our Emperor speaks without equivocation. You shall live under the benevolence of the Great Empire, so have no fear. But tell me, who was the one who raised his voice earlier?”
More precisely, the one who had argued that he would rather become a prisoner of war than cooperate. The people waved their hands and bowed deeply, pleading for leniency just this once.
“I-I apologize. That man belongs to the Agiar Guard and serves as the youth representative of the self-defense corps. During the civil war, when public order was unstable, the Agiar residents united, and he took on the hardest work—a man of strong responsibility. His words were youthful rashness, so please overlook this transgression. I shall discipline him firmly.”
As the elder pleaded with even his hands pressed together, Tweller lit a cigarette.
“A man who loves his homeland—how could I raise my voice against him? Very well. Instead, since the Agiar residents seem to hold him in high regard, I shall entrust him with collecting the taxes offered to Bariel and disposing of the Burgos soldiers’ corpses.”
The elder’s eyes widened in shock. To gather the lifeblood of his own people and personally deliver it to Bariel, and to collect the bodies of those who were family and friends—was this not a cruel decree?
Tweller continued with a rather brutal tone.
“Do you have a problem with this?”
“…No, sir. I shall convey your words.”
As they bowed deeply, Tweller turned to Ian and gave a slight nod. It was a form of both whip and carrot for propaganda.
The resistance toward Bariel was not limited to that one youth. Even those who promised cooperation harbored anger toward Bariel in their hearts.
‘For the sake of the next battle, any place we have conquered must be secured without loose ends. Especially now, on the eve of our southward advance. If we leave behind even half-hearted aftermath, we shall surely be surrounded from both sides.’
The most effective way to control the people’s sentiments immediately was to maintain balance. When the Imperial Defense Ministry wielded the whip, the Magic Department would soothe them, ensuring they felt no bias whatsoever.
The Magic Department itself was also a Bariel faction, but they would be deceived into thinking an independent force called the ‘Magic Department’ was looking after Agiar.
‘Would not the young Count Ian be more advantageous for propaganda than that grim old man?’
Tweller’s smile seemed to suggest as much.
Instead of answering, Ian lowered his gaze and issued instructions to the bowing people.
“The taxes shall be determined in detail after His Majesty the Emperor directly confirms your sincerity. Prepare a messenger, and those in charge should come this way. And among you, is there anyone familiar with the local geography? There were conflicting sections in the maps we discovered in Agiar Castle, and verification is needed.”
“Ah, I shall examine the maps. I have been born and raised in Agiar for sixty years now. I can navigate most places with my eyes closed.”
“We need tough leather and metal. Everyone, inform the residents to donate such materials.”
“Yes, yes. Understood.”
“And….”
They glanced back and forth between Tweller and me, their expressions betraying confusion about the chain of command. An elderly man with white hair standing behind, yet a young boy stepping forward to issue orders—it was unclear how the hierarchy actually functioned.
Yet judging by the atmosphere, I appeared far gentler and more moderate than the stern warrior Tweller.
Whoosh.
Just as I was about to continue speaking, the wall trembled ever so slightly. An earthquake? The residents who had suffered damage from the barrier explosion tensed immediately, their bodies going rigid.
“Did you feel that, Minister Tweller?”
“Yes. Faint, but there was definitely a tremor. Outside! Is everything alright out there?”
At Tweller’s fierce shout, a soldier from outside rushed in. He swallowed hard, uncertain of what he’d witnessed.
“N-nothing unusual, sir!”
“Is that so?”
Hmm, that’s strange.
While it could be dismissed as a natural phenomenon, every tremor of the earth thus far had been connected to some specific event. Either the rifts were distorting, or someone was engaged in an explosive battle.
I covered the documents and looked up at the night sky outside. It remained pitch black, revealing nothing.
“The Magic Department and Imperial Guards were said to be conducting a nighttime search in the vicinity.”
“I’ve heard as much—hmm. Very well, I’ll have the Imperial Defense Ministry dispatch follow-up reconnaissance troops.”
Reconnaissance, not a search. The objective was distinctly different. I nodded in agreement, and Tweller called over a soldier standing guard outside.
“Select reconnaissance troops. Bring Xiaoxi here.”
“Yes, Minister.”
“Eileen! You’re relieved!”
Soldiers hurried past through the open doorway, and among them came a youthful voice. Somehow familiar to my ears. I turned my head toward her and called out.
“You there, wait a moment.”
“Yes? Are you calling for me?”
Then, our gazes met precisely.

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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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