Margrave’s Bastard Son was The Emperor - Chapter 585

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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 584
Fire. Laromedia
“Roel! Vivi!”
Viviana shook the children awake urgently. While Vivi wiped the drool from her lips with the back of her hand and rose, Roel remained with her eyes closed, still not fully conscious.
Viviana startled and grabbed Roel’s shoulders, shaking her. Was she even breathing? Just as worry made my eyes flutter, I heard Roel’s strained murmur.
“…I’m fine.”
“Mom, why are you suddenly like this? Yawn.”
“Did either of you hear any strange sounds while sleeping last night?”
“Strange sounds? What kind?”
“Like a door opening, or anything at all!”
Vivi adjusted her tiny spectacles and shrugged. She had been too drowsy to notice anything, so what strange sounds could there be?
As the child scratched her head vigorously, Viviana pressed her lips together in frustration. She couldn’t tell the children that Mrs. Philia had disappeared.
“I didn’t hear anything. I slept really well. Yawn.”
“What about Roel?”
“…”
Roel stared blankly into empty space, blinking slowly. To anyone watching, she appeared not fully awake. Viviana shook her head and gave the children instructions.
“Get dressed right away and pack light luggage. We’re going to the imperial palace.”
“What? The imperial palace? Why?”
“To help your father with his work. Come now, be good. Change your clothes and get ready.”
Mrs. Philia had disappeared. Since Romandro and Viviana heard the door open in the middle of the night, she must have overheard their conversation and rushed out in shock.
But the problem was, she hadn’t returned even now that the sun was shining brightly.
“Yay! I love it! I love the imperial palace!”
Mrs. Philia was a responsible person. Even if she had rushed out unable to control her emotions in that moment, she should have returned for herself and for Roel and Ian. So Romandro and Viviana had waited for her without sleeping for hours.
‘What on earth has happened.’
Tears threatened to spill, but Viviana held them back. Romandro had gone to the Guards to file a missing person report for Mrs. Philia, and Viviana was trying to move all the children safely to the imperial palace just in case. If Mrs. Philia wasn’t returning of her own will, it meant danger was lurking nearby. Now was the time to prepare.
But then.
“Father must not be told about this.”
“…Roel?”
Viviana had just been lowering a large travel bag from the wardrobe. She turned to look at Roel. The child continued to stare blankly into empty space, murmuring.
“If Father learns of this, he will ascend to the center with the Cheonrye Soldiers from Hielo. If that happens, Hielo will collapse. A great war’s presence is slowly approaching from below.”
“What are you saying, Roel? Do you know something?”
“Even if Father ascends to the center, there is nothing he can do. I am fine. So please do not inform Hielo. The Cheonrye are protecting Hielo now, are they not?”
Heh. Vivi sniffled and pressed close to Roel, while Viviana was so shocked she sank to the floor.
A single tear fell from Roel’s eye as she spoke so calmly. Vivi startled and wiped it away herself, but Roel continued to gaze into empty space as if seeing something distant.
“Roel, are you okay?”
“…”
Strangely, the child shed tears without crying. Roel sat with her spine perfectly straight, composed, simply waiting for the tears to fall.
Viviana found the sight so heartbreaking that she embraced Roel, and Vivi also wrapped her arms around her shoulders.
“…It’s okay. Roel. Mother will return safely.”
“Yes. That is so. She surely will.”
Something had happened to Mrs. Philia. It was the moment when mere suspicion transformed into certainty.
Viviana steadied herself and gathered the children’s clothing. Vivi also hastily stuffed books and notebooks into a bag.
“Come on, let’s go.”
“We’re going! To the imperial palace!”
Thump-thump-thump! As the travel bag clattered noisily against the stairs, the Coachman came inside himself to move the luggage.
Vivi looked down at Roel from one step below, wiping away the tears that continued to fall. It was strange. She was crying, yet her expression was perfectly serene. How odd.
“Roel. What would we need to do for Mrs. Philia to return?”
“…There’s nothing we can do to make it happen.”
“Still, if there’s anything at all, tell me! I’ll help however I can.”
Roel sighed softly and pulled Vivi into an embrace, murmuring.
“Then pray for those below the cliff.”
* * *
Whoooosh!
Even as Berik plummeted downward, his eyes darted rapidly, searching for any trace of Rutherford.
The height seemed endless—I questioned whether this was truly just a simple cliff—but now was no time for doubt. As the air grew increasingly hot, Berik scraped his sword against the cliff face, attempting to slow his descent. Beyond the range of magical perception, darkness swallowed everything from view.
Screeeech!
Whoosh!
Fortunately, the blade caught in a crevice of the cliff. Hanging by one hand, Berik swung his body lightly and leaped across to the other side.
“Rutherford, you bastard, where are you? Did you die? Say something if you’re dead!”
Beneath the cliff lay another world entirely. A massive cavern with passages branching in all directions. It appeared to be a naturally formed space, bearing no signs of artificial construction.
Berik discovered long scratch marks along the wall—Idgal’s traces. Rutherford must have slowed his descent with his blade just as I had, then landed here.
Shing.
“So if I catch you, you’re dead on the spot?”
Berik called out playfully as he drew a fresh blade from his waist. Then he carefully entered the cavern. The sudden rush of hot air suggested that the heat I’d felt earlier had originated from this place.
“What kind of cursed country is this? Up there, not a single blade of grass grows on that frozen wasteland, and down here it’s scorching hot.”
An inexplicable warm wind. Berik advanced slowly, sword at the ready, and soon sensed a presence. He reflexively spun around.
Whoosh! Clang!
“It’s me, Berik.”
“Oh, it’s Heil.”
“If you’ve lost your mind, at least keep your eyes open.”
“Then why are you making such a racket?”
“I came quietly enough. You’re the one who panicked and made a mistake.”
“Panicked? Ha! Me? This body?”
It was Heil who had followed Berik. He frowned, looking down at the blade pressed against his neck. His gaze questioned how much longer I intended to keep it there. Berik laughed sheepishly and sniffed.
“My apologies.”
“Anyway, let’s return. Joining the main force would be safer.”
“If safety mattered, I wouldn’t have left Bariel. Rutherford came this way too, didn’t he? Did you see the Idgal marks?”
“Yes. We cannot discern his intentions, which makes it dangerous. Remember that you serve the Emperor, not the Magic Department.”
“The Emperor would be delighted if I brought back that bastard Rutherford’s head, wouldn’t he? Besides, if we let him slip away now, how will we find him again?”
Ten years. A full ten years.
I had waited ten years for Ian, and it took another ten years to track down Rutherford after he reappeared. I could see him right in front of me—I couldn’t possibly retreat just because it was dangerous.
Berik wiggled his fingers and pointed upward.
“If you’re so worried, go up first. I’ll just tell Ian I’m here.”
“Damn crazy mutt.”
“I’ve heard that so many times my ears are calloused. Even if I’ve been starving, I’ve never eaten shit. Why does everyone keep calling me a shit-eater?”
Heil was about to respond with a cigarette in his mouth when both men suddenly sensed something and spun around. From deeper within the cave, they heard a sound. Rustle, rustle….
“What is it?”
“Shh.”
Heil warned with a gesture to be quiet, and Berik smirked and crouched low. Then he moved deeper inside, concentrating all his senses.
There was a smell like something rotting, or perhaps a musty odor….
“Wait. This….”
Where had I smelled this before? What was it?
Berik took a deep breath, trying to identify the source of the smell, but it didn’t come to him immediately. One thing was certain—it was connected to a rather unpleasant memory.
As Berik turned the corner and peered deeper into the cave, he felt something moving in the darkness.
“Heil.”
At Berik’s request to shine light over there, Heil activated his magic.
The surroundings brightened instantly, and soon I saw the back of a man crouched down, chewing on something. With disheveled hair and tattered clothes, I easily recognized him as Rutherford.
“You bastard, what are you eating in a situation like this—”
Berik’s words came to an abrupt halt.
What he held in his hand was a dried red flower and something unidentifiable. Faced with this absurd sight, Berik was at a loss for words, and Heil’s cigarette dropped from his mouth. Now that I thought about it….
“This isn’t just a simple cave.”
Tree stumps cut at the base and thorny bushes of indeterminate shape came into view. Covered in blue moss, they weren’t immediately recognizable, but still.
Rutherford was frantically grabbing whatever he could reach and shoving it into his mouth, as if that alone could save him from this crisis.
“Ah, that….”
Berik furrowed his brow. Not just because of the dried red flower, but because he had identified what Rutherford was holding.
“That’s… the fairy that was inside the puppet.”
Laromedia. The form was too mangled to compare in detail, but based on its appearance and size, I was almost certain. Whether it had been alive until just moments ago, Rutherford’s hands were covered in sticky liquid.
“Hey! Stop eating! You madman!”
Heil quickly surveyed the surroundings. He had heard that Laromedia inhabited the polar regions to the north and south of Gaia.
The most recent discovery was near Toollun. Burgos was adjacent to Toollun, but I had no idea there was a habitat in a place like this.
‘Could it have migrated?’
It was almost certain that puppet magic using Laromedia corpses was flourishing in Toollun.
So there was a possibility they had fled south, moving their habitat to escape indiscriminate slaughter. The small scale of the habitat and its shoddy appearance, as if recently made, were evidence of this.
“Heil. Has that bastard lost his mind?”
“…Berik. We need to be careful of hallucinations. I’ve heard that living Laromedia is far more potent than the dried variety.”
“But wait, shouldn’t we go cut him down right now? But it’s so disgusting I can’t get close.”
Berik said this while examining the flowers trampled beneath Rutherford’s feet. Those looked familiar too. What were they? That….
“Huh?!”
Berik’s eyes widened at a sudden realization.
“Silasque!”
A crimson flower that, once bloomed, never withers. Wasn’t that the very one Ian had carried in a pot when he departed for the Great Desert? Though dried and crumbled to dust, I recognized it unmistakably.
Rutherford wiped the corner of his mouth lightly, his gaze fixed coldly upon the two of them.
“…Disgusted?”
“Yeah. Absolutely fucking disgusted.”
“Such things matter little when survival is at stake.”
A single method God had revealed to me. A means to borrow, however briefly, the omnipotent power of the divine. Rutherford clutched the withered petals tightly, laughing with venomous delight.
“Berik. Shouldn’t you be more careful yourself?”
“Don’t you dare call me by name so casually, you bastard. Go to hell.”
“Your entire body is burning, isn’t it?”
“What?”
Whoooosh!
The moment Berik heard Rutherford’s words, he saw with his own eyes the surging flames. His body, which had been perfectly intact mere moments before, now served as kindling—engulfed in roaring fire.
As he stumbled backward in shock, Heil caught him.
“Berik! Snap out of it! It’s an illusion!”
“No, damn it! This is hot!”
“Recognize that it’s an illusion!”
Zing! Zing!
As Heil burst forth his mana to ventilate the surroundings, Rutherford whispered.
“Listen. Don’t stand so close. The fire will spread to you.”

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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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