Margrave’s Bastard Son was The Emperor - Chapter 607

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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 606. A Stroke of Luck
How many days had passed?
I had completely lost my sense of time.
The carriage rattled endlessly, and through a hole in the floor, water-soaked cloth occasionally appeared—a means to quench my thirst. I chewed the parched fabric relentlessly, fighting to keep my consciousness intact.
‘They’ve given me food only once so far. But they blindfolded me the moment they opened the box at night, so I have no idea where we are. If I had to guess, it’s been four days? I’ve had water maybe five or six times.’
If four days had passed since crossing the border, we must be traversing the lands of the northern minority tribes. Toollun’s territory? Or northern Burgos? Either way, it was dire.
My stomach growled.
I clutched my aching belly and frowned. Hunger made it impossible to think clearly. I had to avoid being dragged all the way to their destination and suffering whatever they desired. It was the moment I conjured Ian’s face and whispered a prayer.
Screeeech!
The carriage lurched to a sudden halt. It was so abrupt that I felt the vehicle’s weight shift forward.
Sure enough, the passengers inside began shouting loudly at the coachman. It seemed they were demanding he drive more carefully, but the noise soon subsided.
What’s happening? What’s going on?
Neigh!
Boom! Bang! Screeeech!
The carriage pivoted sharply, and my body swayed violently. It wasn’t turning left or right—it was attempting to reverse course entirely.
They had clearly spotted an obstacle ahead. The road was cut off, or something unexpected lay in their path, or perhaps—
“Ah!”
Boom! Bang!
A violent impact struck the carriage. My head struck the sides repeatedly, and a dry scream escaped my lips. The carriage tilted sideways, and blood rushed to my head.
“So why are you running? We could have talked this through. Let’s see where you’re from.”
“Looks like Bariel. There’s an exit stamp on it.”
“Ah, Bariel’s good. If it were from Burgos, I’d be disappointed. You there, go around back and push.”
“Can’t we just unload the cargo as is?”
“Wait, are these guys sorcerers? There’s a doll here?”
I strained to listen, but the foreign language was unfamiliar—I could only make out “Bariel” and “Burgos.” The rest was incomprehensible. Hanging upside down, I swallowed hard. From the tone, they were definitely bandits.
‘Is this fortunate? Or has the situation become worse?’
I didn’t know how a puppeteer’s attack worked, but the fact that they were overwhelmed without resistance meant these weren’t ordinary bandits.
However, if their goal was money, I could take some comfort. If they returned me to Bariel, I could promise them a substantial ransom. I clasped my hands together, my heart pounding.
‘Please, let them be greedy bandits.’
I could pay whatever they demanded. Even if not Ian, Nersaren would surely spend a fortune for me.
Boom! Screeeech!
The carriage was righted, and I heard objects being unloaded from above. Then voices grew clearer and closer.
“There’s more stuff than expected. And it’s all quality goods?”
“Did you see the travel permit? Something’s off for a merchant.”
“A smuggler? This one’s locked!”
“Wait, wait. I found the key.”
Click.
My eyes widened. The box’s lock had been released. The lid began to open slowly, and blinding light poured in.
“Huh?”
I found myself staring directly into the eyes of a man with an extremely menacing appearance. But my shock was brief—he tilted his head in genuine bewilderment.
Meanwhile, Philia noticed that the bandits lacked ears. Not just the man before her—all of them.
“There’s a woman here.”
“The youngsters seem off too. We’ll interrogate them once they come to.”
“Hey, were you kidnapped?”
Nearly thirty bandits. Every single one had both ears severed. Scattered across the floor were what appeared to be a coachman and a puppeteer, drenched in blood as if a flood had washed over them.
What on earth had happened in that brief moment?
“Yes, I was kidnapped. Please help me return to Bariel. I’ll give you as much money as you want.”
“This woman seems to be from Bariel, but I can’t understand a word she’s saying.”
“Right. Does anyone here speak Bariel? I only know Burgos.”
Understanding the situation, Philia gestured toward the puppeteer, then pointed to herself, expressing through her body that she had been forcibly brought here. Then she picked up a gold coin from the scattered debris.
“I’ll give you this. Bariel! If you take me to Bariel, I’ll give you lots of these!”
“Is she saying the money is hers?”
“Ah, forget it. Let’s just tie her up and take her. With a pretty face like that, we could sell her in Toollun for a good price.”
“She might fetch something. Think we’d get five gold coins?”
“You idiot, that’s why you never get anywhere. She’s worth at least ten gold coins to start.”
“Really? That much?”
“Want to bet on it?”
The men snickered as they grabbed Philia’s arms and dragged her along.
“I’m the mother of Ian Hielo, Minister of the Imperial Magic Department. Hielo!”
“Gag her. She’s too loud. Tsk.”
“Hiel, mmph! Mmmph!”
Despite being a meeting where conversation could have given each side exactly what they wanted, a gag was forced into Philia’s mouth.
Fortune, yet it was far too brief and fragile.
* * *
Purpato gradually recovered.
The deer’s corpse vanished without a trace, and the raging flames were swiftly extinguished. Though some areas were charred, the damage posed no obstacle to reconstruction.
As the Bariel Soldiers formed ranks to depart Purpato, Tweller stood with a dry cigarette between his lips, deeply contemplating something. Eventually, he snapped the cigarette and approached Jin.
“Your Majesty.”
“…Speak.”
The response came half a beat late. It wasn’t obvious, but his mind was slightly elsewhere.
The recent battle had been shocking in many ways. Not only had lightning struck before his eyes, but someone connected to him by some bond had suddenly appeared under the name of Holy Knight. Though he didn’t know the full details, Tweller tactfully refrained from mentioning it and spoke instead.
“I have a proposal regarding the cleanup of Purpato.”
“What cleanup is needed? We simply leave as is. Bariel has done more than its duty by even extinguishing the fire.”
“That’s not what I mean. What if we considered a ‘different’ kind of cleanup?”
“A different cleanup?”
Only then did Jin’s gaze turn toward Tweller. Instead of answering, he signaled to Ian, who stood at a distance, to come closer.
“What is this about?”
“I have a matter to discuss with Your Majesty, and since it concerns Minister Ian deeply, I thought it best he hear it as well.”
“Yes, please speak.”
“I would prefer that no survivors remain in Purpato.”
His tone was far too decisive to be called a mere discussion. It seemed he had already made his decision internally.
“The offer to spare them if they surrendered also stemmed from the contract with the Deer. But now that it is dead, there is no constraint whatsoever in killing the Purpato. This is not Agiar, Your Majesty. So long as their customs and traditions remain, we may at any moment ‘create’ another guardian like the Deer.”
Had the Deer not told me that I was one who heard prayers? If that were true, then so long as those who prayed remained, a second guardian could appear at any moment.
“Moreover, their method of prayer is peculiar and borders on heresy. Given Your Majesty’s concerns about our rear, I believe the correct course is to annihilate them entirely before advancing southward.”
It was a proposal befitting the Minister of the Imperial Defense Ministry. He was one who sought Bariel’s safety beyond mere victory in war.
Yet Jin’s reaction was skeptical.
“I have already sworn clemency in the Emperor’s name. Those who survived chose between life and death trusting in that oath. How can I break that vow simply because the Deer has died? The Empire’s honor would be dragged through the mud.”
“Your words are just. But Your Majesty, is this not a battlefield? Here, even the shameful survive if they crawl. In the fierce struggle of killing and being killed, mercy can become poison.”
Jin furrowed his brow and rested his chin on his hand. He seemed to want to refute Tweller point by point, but the Minister’s logic was sound enough that he held his tongue for the moment.
Ian simply listened quietly to both men’s arguments.
“I understand Your Majesty’s concerns well. But did those people truly surrender in the manner Bariel intended? They passively watched as their families, lovers, and friends died in an attempt to harm you. This is not mere surrender but resistance disguised as surrender. There is no reason for Bariel to show mercy to such people.”
“But we cannot know for certain. Among them, how many truly surrendered as Bariel intended? No one can say.”
“Indeed, we cannot. Perhaps only one harbors disrespect, or perhaps all of them do. In other words, it is uncertain. And I was taught that uncertainty is the first thing to be eliminated in any war, Your Majesty.”
Tweller turned to look at the survivors huddled together with fearful faces. For now they were harmless, merely weak creatures begging for their lives, yet they were beings who could strike Bariel from behind at any moment. Moreover, were they not those who had experienced firsthand that belief brings about reality? They are absolutely dangerous.
“Still, it cannot be done. The Emperor’s command is sacred.”
“The Emperor’s command to offer surrender is certainly noble. But the order to annihilate them that you would issue now is also the Emperor’s, and thus equally noble.”
If the concern was external criticism, there were countless ways to absolve oneself of blame. The voices cursing the Emperor would also be buried beneath the earth if all of them were slain.
Tweller bowed his head as if beseeching a wise decision, and Jin clamped his mouth shut.
“…Count Ian. What do you think?”
As both Emperor and Minister of the Empire, Ian understood both men’s positions perfectly. Moreover, had he not made a direct contract with the Deer? Only he could publicly declare that the contract with the Deer was severed, so his opinion was no less important than Jin’s own.
“I find myself somewhat confused.”
Jin worried whether he, consumed by the title of Emperor, might be committing a grave error. If they were merely ordinary residents, how much of a threat could they truly pose to Bariel? Was this too arrogance, too carelessness?
Ian thought for a moment, then nodded.
“I understand both your positions. But know this—both you and Minister Tweller ultimately speak from concern for Bariel.”
It was an indirect way of saying that whatever decision was made would not harm Bariel.
“Minister Tweller, it seems you have given thought to how Purpato should be handled.”
“I thought it best to quietly dispose of them with minimal soldiers. After the main Bariel force departs would be ideal.”
“A sound thought, but no matter how few perform the deed, heaven and earth cannot be deceived. News that Bariel massacred the people of Purpato will inevitably spread.”
“Do you have a better solution?”
“What if we mobilized forces other than Bariel?”
Other forces? Who else is here besides Bariel?
Ian unfolded a map and pointed to nearby cities.
“Purpato surrendered to Bariel. Because of this, the guardian died, and Bariel entered Kalamata without any losses. If such rumors spread through the region, Purpato will naturally become isolated.”
“Isolated, you say?”
“Burgos is currently in turmoil, and where Bariel’s forces have passed, bandits surely swarm and lawlessness abounds. For Purpato, this means a threat to survival—”
Ian raised his head and met Tweller’s gaze directly. His eyes gleamed with a sharp light, somewhere between green and pale.
“From there, it would be best to entrust matters to God’s will.”

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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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