Margrave’s Bastard Son was The Emperor - Chapter 584

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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 583
Fire. Nightmare
“Gasp!”
In the quiet of the night, when all slept.
Philia awoke drenched in cold sweat. Tears streamed down her cheeks and her heart thundered in her chest, yet the vivid nightmare that had consumed her mere moments before shattered and scattered in an instant.
What dream had it been?
A dream where someone died and I wept in sorrow.
Whoosh.
Philia rose from her bed and took a sip of water from the cup on the table. A vividly realistic nightmare—the first of its kind in her life. Even during her days living in the depths of Bratz, she had never experienced anything like this.
She tried to convince herself it was merely a dream, meaningless and already fading from memory. Yet sleep would not return, so she threw on her outer robe and left the bedroom.
Creak.
The second floor of Romandro’s mansion was now filled with traces of her and Roel’s presence.
Flower petals adorning the walls, paintings drawn together by Roel and Vivi, shoes belonging to both arranged neatly—the sight brought a measure of calm to her heart.
‘Are they sleeping well?’
Philia confirmed that Roel and Vivi slept peacefully in each other’s embrace, and only then could she shake off the desolate feeling. Yes. With such a peaceful and stable life, what could possibly frighten her?
Though she worried about Ian and his companions on the battlefield, it was manageable. She could trust them. Just as ten years ago, Ian would surely return alive, and the Emperor would grasp complete victory.
“My, dear. What brings you up at this hour?”
As she turned to head back to the bedroom, she heard movement. Viviana, who had just awakened, was greeting Romandro, who had just returned home.
He had been practically living at the palace, guarding the empty Magic Department. For him to be leaving at this hour? Something had certainly happened.
Just as Philia was about to descend the stairs—
“Where is Mrs. Philia?”
“She’s sleeping upstairs.”
“Ah, I see. Come here for a moment, Viviana.”
At Romandro’s question about her whereabouts, her footsteps froze. The usual Romandro would have mentioned Vivi first, wouldn’t he? Something felt wrong.
Philia followed the two into the dining room, keeping her presence as silent as possible.
“What’s wrong? Has something happened?”
“Something? Yes, there is.”
“To Ian?”
Viviana, who seemed only half-awake, startled and raised her voice. Romandro hushed her with a soft gesture, pressing a finger to her lips, then drew a letter from his breast.
“Viviana. Look at this. It’s an urgent dispatch from the Magic Department, but no matter how many times I read it, I’m not certain I’m reading the characters correctly. The Emperor said he would send a separate confirmation letter, but it hasn’t arrived yet.”
“What is it? Bariel has occupied Agiar, and is now pursuing Rutherford…. Oh my, good news! They say no one is even injured.”
“The problem is below that. The part Ian wrote.”
“Hmm….”
Philia pressed her back firmly against the wall, clasping her hands together. What could it be that had Romandro in such a state? Should she reveal herself and leave?
While Philia deliberated, Viviana let out a puzzled sound.
“Huh?”
“Did I… read that correctly? Is my vision playing tricks on me right now?”
“Ian was the Emperor a hundred years in the future? What on earth does this mean?”
“That’s what I’m saying! What does this even mean?!”
Philia’s eyes widened slightly. Her heart stopped, as if time itself had frozen.
Yet Romandro’s words continued.
“I don’t know the details, but it seems that the Emperor from 100 years in the future has, for some reason, possessed my body—that is, Philia’s son’s body.”
“What? Wait a moment, dear.”
“There’s also information written about the illegitimate Ian, but this is…”
Romandro scratched his head and stared at his wife in bewilderment. So the illegitimate Ian had been God’s representative. I wasn’t sure if I should believe this even now.
However, it was Ian’s own handwritten letter, complete with his seal, and the Emperor’s letter that would prove this should arrive soon. Still, wasn’t the content itself far too unrealistic?
“Well… honestly, when I think about it, Ian was always a bit extraordinary. He knew so much about the imperial palace, and he even knew things we didn’t.”
He twisted his beard repeatedly, searching his memory. Extraordinary? No, that wasn’t it. From the moment I first met him in Bratz ten years ago, he was already an untouchable child. Not simply because of the blood of a mage, but because a secret—that he was an Emperor from 100 years in the future—had been hidden within him.
“Goodness, I never thought I’d regret not going to war. If Ian had been here, I would have immediately asked him to explain everything in detail.”
“Then… are you saying that Philia’s Ian and the current Ian are different people?”
“Yes. That’s what I’ve been struggling with. I don’t know how to tell Philia about this. From the fact that Ian didn’t add any special instructions, it seems like I should inform her, but will Philia be able to accept this? I think it would be better to wait for a more favorable situation.”
“I don’t know. There’s no situation that could soften the shock. Her child has been replaced.”
“Ah, that’s true. Now that I think about it, there was always something a bit awkward about how Ian treated Philia. I thought it was just his personality, you know? There were some incidents back in Bratz.”
“The personality does match to some extent, doesn’t it?”
Romandro gulped down cold water to cool his agitated emotions. Then the two of them stared at each other in silence for a long while before simultaneously pressing their foreheads and turning their gazes away.
It’s fine, that’s it. After all, to them, the Ian they first saw and the Ian of now are the same person. It’s merely that one secret has been revealed—that he was a future Emperor.
But for Philia, it was an entirely different matter.
“How should I tell her about this, sigh.”
Her child had been replaced. And only his mind, while his body remained the same. But could she say he wasn’t her child? After all, he still carried her blood, didn’t he? Since Viviana also had children, she could understand the confusion Philia would experience.
Whoosh.
Without realizing it, Philia stumbled backward and rushed out of the mansion. At the sound of the front door opening, Romandro and Viviana whipped their heads around, but by then Philia was already crossing the garden.
“Haa, haa…”
This can’t be right, this can’t be right.
Philia ran without even wiping away the tears that fell in drops. Her thin slippers tore immediately, but she didn’t stop.
Could Romandro’s words be true? How could she possibly understand that her son Ian was, in fact, not Ian at all?
“Hic…”
She grasped the corner of an alley and exhaled the breath that had risen to her throat along with her tears.
The child who once smiled brightly at her when he was young—was he gone now? The child who nestled in her embrace and whispered that he loved his mother—had he disappeared from this world?
“In a world where it’s difficult to survive alone, I am grateful that you have taken me in. Now, please find only happiness for my mother.”
But suddenly, the voice of Ian whispering to her at the betrothal ceremony came back to her.
What she had felt then was certainly a warmth welling up—a kind of emotion she could never feel unless he were truly her son.
Philia brushed back her falling hair and trembled slightly in her eyes.
‘I need to see Ian.’
If she met him, if she did that, perhaps some of the confusion would ease. And she could think anew about the Ian she had given birth to and the Ian who exists now.
Philia roughly tidied her disheveled hair and clothes and looked around. The alley was filled only with eerie darkness and silence.
“Oh.”
How foolish. She had run so far without thinking at this late hour. Just as she was about to turn around to hurry back—
“Mother.”
A thin, faint voice stopped Philia in her tracks.
She spun around in shock, and soon something emerged from the darkness of the alley.
“Mommy.”
‘A puppet?’
A small puppet was walking toward her all by itself, its footsteps deliberate and measured.
How in the world was it moving? Before I could dwell on the mystery, Philia instinctively sensed danger and retreated, keeping her eyes fixed on the puppet.
Something about it seemed familiar. The straw-like hair woven from dried grass represented golden locks, and the opaque, cheap green gemstones represented green eyes. Philia immediately recognized it as a replica of Ian.
“What, what is this!”
How dare someone, Ian!
Philia, trembling with fear, looked around and cried out. Then, hearing a sinister chuckle, she glanced upward.
“…!”
Whoosh!
A human figure hung upside down from the top of the building. The moment she recognized it, a black cloth descended upon her.
“Help me! Please, mmph!”
The man landed lightly and clamped his hand over Philia’s mouth, holding firm until she lost consciousness.
Once Philia’s violent struggles ceased, he nodded with satisfaction. Following his movements, the puppet began clapping its hands and dancing with jerky motions.
“All done!”
“All done!”
“The nightmare worked after all?”
“Worked after all?”
Another puppet perched on the man’s shoulder mimicked his words, its mouth opening and closing. It resembled the one walking on the ground, but with slightly longer hair. It was a puppet fashioned after Philia.
Swish.
The man glanced around with cheerful movements, checking once more for any witnesses, then disappeared into the darkness, dragging the black cloth behind him.
In the deep night, the only witness was a stray cat.
* * *
Whoosh!
Xiaoxi crouched low and yanked the reins sharply. The soldiers following behind scattered left and right with a shout, quickly encircling and trapping Rutherford’s group on one side.
Xiaoxi, at the very front, cleanly slashed the back of the fleeing Puppeteer. Simultaneously, he easily evaded the magical power unleashed by the Mage Knight. That man’s strength was nearly depleted. His weakness was crystal clear to Xiaoxi’s eyes.
“Captain Jairot. Are you alright?”
“Of course.”
Having a Mage mixed in with the enemy side was somewhat troublesome, but the arrival of reinforcements was enough to shake them. Xiaoxi, as if to prove it, spoke confidently.
“Additional reinforcements will arrive soon. Not far off.”
Jairot chuckled and looked up at Xiaoxi. Long ago, when he stood at death’s door, Xiaoxi had saved him. Now the situation was completely reversed, wasn’t it? Time was truly amusing and wondrous.
“Can you handle the Mage Knight?”
Jairot turned his body toward the Mage and asked. Since he himself, as a Mage Knight, would face the Mage, this was a signal for Xiaoxi and the soldiers to pin down the Mage Knight.
Xiaoxi, saying there was no problem, gripped his sword again.
“Berik proves useful at times like these.”
“Ha! Indeed!”
The body trained with Berik, the strength cultivated thus far to guard the Emperor. I could certainly hold back a Mage Knight with depleted magical power. Xiaoxi was certain of this as he dismounted.
“By the way, where are the others?”
“Nakina is evacuating Barsabe, and Captain Heil and Berik have descended the cliff. To pursue Rutherford.”
Below the cliff? A region where support would be impossible.
Xiaoxi nodded and straightened his posture, then immediately clashed blades with the Mage Knight who lunged at him.
Clang! Clang!
He didn’t yield an inch in terms of raw strength. If anything, it was the Mage Knight whose hands trembled. Having already expended considerable stamina, Xiaoxi was far from an easy opponent.
Clang!
Boom! Boom!
And as Xiaoxi achieved another perfect strike—
Several pillars of light erupted in a straight line from the cliff’s crevice. A battle was unfolding below as well.

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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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