Margrave’s Bastard Son was The Emperor - Chapter 623

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Chapter 622. Correspondence
Morning had long since arrived in Toolun, yet there was no sign of movement from the king’s chambers. The servants stood awkwardly, passing time, unable to approach without permission or speak out of turn. Had it not been for the Prime Minister arriving with a letter, they might have remained there until noon.
“Where is His Majesty?”
“He has not spoken.”
“…Open the doors.”
Unlike the bright world outside, the bedroom was shrouded in darkness by blackout curtains. On the bed, where only thin rays of light barely penetrated, I could make out the silhouette of a boy sitting with white hair cascading down.
King Kumasha of Toolun.
The boy was muttering something, though his words were barely audible. He seemed to have been awake for some time, yet he still wore his nightclothes.
“Your Majesty?”
“Quiet.”
Kumasha gestured for silence without even glancing at the Prime Minister. Looking closer, I noticed a doll in the boy’s hands. Its connecting strings had all snapped, and its limbs appeared broken, but the Prime Minister immediately recognized which puppeteers it was connected to.
The puppeteers who had gone to Bariel. The ones who had gone to retrieve Philia, Ian Hielo’s biological mother.
“Come on. Just a little longer. Try to shift your gaze at least.”
The boy squinted his eyes and shook the doll incessantly. From the state of things, it seemed he had been doing this since right after waking. The Prime Minister stood behind him, patiently waiting for the king to finish his business.
Not long after, a sigh escaped the boy’s lips.
Ting!
The final string of the doll snapped.
The death of the puppeteer. The Prime Minister had heard nothing of this, so he mentally prepared an explanation for what to report to the king.
But the boy showed no sign of assigning blame, simply sprawling out on the bed and kicking his legs. In his clenched fist, the doll crumpled as if it might be torn to shreds.
“Of all things—ah, seriously!”
“Your Majesty. Are you alright?”
“The puppeteer who went to Bariel is dead. I noticed this morning that the strings had loosened, which seemed odd, but anyway, what rotten luck. It looks like they ran straight into those Severed Ear bastards. It must have been before entering Toolun.”
The boy muttered while dangling his white hair over the edge of the bed. To look at him lying upside down, he was unmistakably a child, yet his words were so cruel they made one’s tongue recoil.
“If they were going to die, they should have died quickly. Because they died slowly, I didn’t even notice in time. If only I’d realized sooner. Don’t you think?”
“Did you see nothing else?”
“Just some bushes. Not enough as a clue.”
“How did you know it was the work of the Severed Ears?”
“A coachman lying nearby. His ears had been cut off.”
The Severed Ears were a band of thieves operating at Toolun’s borders. Most were former mercenaries hired by merchants traveling through Toolun, but they were bandits who had operated in the underworld using the slave market as their base before being suppressed and driven out.
The name “Severed Ears” was a double meaning—they appeared like ghosts, killed, and cut off ears to take with them. According to rumors, there was supposedly a separate reason for their actions, but Kumasha showed little interest and did not dwell on it.
‘It seems Philia has been taken by those Severed Ear bastards. What should I do?’
Would those bandits know Philia’s value? If they didn’t know she was Hielo’s mother, there was a high likelihood she would end up flowing toward the slave market.
As Kumasha pondered these various possibilities, I suddenly noticed a letter in the Prime Minister’s hand.
“What is that?”
“A letter sent by Ian Hielo, Minister of Magic of the Bariel Empire.”
Oh?
At this unexpected news, Kumasha sprang to his feet. His disheveled white hair spread out in all directions like doll strings. The Prime Minister pretended not to notice and respectfully presented the letter.
-Greetings. I am Ian Hielo, Minister of Magic of the great Bariel Empire. I apologize for this sudden correspondence. This is not an official letter from the imperial palace, but a request for cooperation sent to Toolun as Minister of Magic. Currently, an individual of unknown identity from Toolun has caused a disturbance in Bariel and is currently in custody. This person claims to be connected to the royal palace of Toolun, so close cooperation from Toolun is necessary to verify the facts. If you permit it, the Magic Department will visit Toolun directly.
An unidentified individual from Toolun has caused a disturbance in Bariel and is currently in custody. This person claims to be affiliated with the royal palace of Toolun, so we require close cooperation with Toolun to verify the facts. If you permit, the Ministry of Magic will visit Toolun directly.
“Hmm.”
Kumasha squinted one eye as he read through the letter. It contained nothing but vague content. There was no mention of why the Minister of Magic had made this request instead of the Imperial Palace, nor any explanation of what crime the unknown individual had committed.
“Did the Minister of Magic really send this as a request? He doesn’t seem that foolish.”
“It appears to be an attempt to probe into matters related to the Puppeteer.”
“The unknown individual refers to the Puppeteer?”
“Having heard of your mother’s disappearance, would he not? The fact that he made this request as the Minister of Magic rather than through the Imperial Palace suggests that is his intention.”
“It could be Rutherford.”
The Boy smiled brightly and looked at the Prime Minister.
Rutherford was an unknown individual of mysterious origin who had operated from Toolun, had been involved in the rebellion of the Bariel Princes, and had caused great chaos through the Idgal supply.
“It’s certainly a probe. He’s leaving it to us to decide whether the ‘unknown individual’ is the Puppeteer or Rutherford. Let’s see.”
But what could be done? Kumasha laughed, holding up a limp doll.
Wasn’t this an obvious smokescreen? I had just witnessed the Puppeteer lying dead in the grass with my own eyes, so Ian’s claim that he had captured them alive was clearly a lie.
“It’s clear they’ve found no clues regarding Philia’s disappearance. If we deny knowledge of the Puppeteer, they’ll simply claim the unknown individual was Rutherford instead, won’t they?”
“I share your opinion, Your Majesty.”
“We cannot entirely deny our connection to Rutherford, but there’s no need to take a stance on something that isn’t even an official letter.”
The King’s Puppeteers had previously gone to Agiar to support Rutherford, and I myself had once come close to Emperor Jin through the eyes of the Mage Knight Barsabe.
“The seal of Kalamata was stamped on the letter. It appears Bariel has successfully entered Burgos’s capital, and if so, the next destination would be here—Toolun.”
In other words, this letter was thrown down as a pretext for invasion.
If we refuse to cooperate here, we strengthen the claims of the unknown individual, and Bariel will grow suspicious and forcefully advance to Toolun’s borders.
On the other hand, if we accept and agree to cooperate, we would be allowing mages into Toolun and even the royal palace—an absolutely unacceptable danger. Unlike ordinary people, a single mage can split the very earth, can they not?
“Then what should we do? Not send a reply?”
Kumasha grinned and waved the paper, and the Prime Minister fell silent for a moment.
“That is also one method.”
It bears no imperial seal, merely a cooperation request from a single minister of the empire. As King of Toolun, I have no obligation to respond.
“But if we do that, what comes next is certain. A letter bearing the Emperor’s seal will arrive.”
“So we’re just buying time?”
“Yes. Acknowledge that you provided support to Rutherford, but argue that it was contrary to your intentions, thereby reducing their justification.”
“That the support was for the relief of Agiar residents, not to aid Rutherford?”
“Excellent.”
Kumasha tilted his head thoughtfully.
“But then we’re still agreeing to Bariel’s cooperation request, so naturally we’d have no choice but to open the palace doors as well. Could we allow the mages to come here?”
I have much to protect, and so do you. At Kumasha’s question, the Prime Minister bowed his head.
“Allowing them into the capital is naturally impossible, but if you think about it carefully, this is an opportunity.”
Puppeteers could exert influence regardless of distance, as long as they had a setting and dolls.
So if we simply confined the mages to a designated space, we could damage Bariel’s main forces without laying a hand on them—an opportunity indeed.
“Hmm.”
Theoretically it was perfect, but surely the mages wouldn’t be unaware of this? Moreover, this Ian Hielo serves as the head strategist of the war—would he really come to Toolun while taking such risks?
“If they won’t come even if invited, what if we simply tell them to come to Toolun as they wish?”
“The risk is too great.”
“…I understand. Then let’s allow them only to the vicinity of Toolun and hold talks there. Prime Minister, send someone to arrange it. Which location near the border would be best?”
“A small city to the west of the capital, which we’ve already prepared as a setting, would be ideal.”
To the west of the capital lies Masantar, but the surrounding areas have all been meticulously mapped and rendered as backdrops to protect the temple, making it ideal for luring out and capturing our opponent.
“Understood. Since we need to find Philia, let’s give ourselves some time. Send people toward the slave market.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Kumasha hummed a tune to himself while examining the torn doll from different angles.
That foolish Prime Minister. No matter how I think about it, Ian Hielo doesn’t seem like the type to fall for such a simple trap. Yet I’m allowing it anyway—to place the blame on the Author.
Kumasha was the underground god the ministers had elevated, the King of Toolun. To disrupt the foundation of the Prime Minister’s power, I had no choice but to employ external forces.
* * *
“Captain Akorella! You forgot your identification!”
“Oh, slipped my mind!”
“You forgot something else—are you really leaving without this?”
“What does it matter? I’ll be traveling with the soldiers anyway.”
It was the day Captain Akorella, Princess Chloe, and the soldiers were departing for a nearby high-grade mana stone deposit. Akorella had crammed her bag, which was larger than her own body, full of experimental equipment.
“But Captain, how are you planning to carry that?”
“Me carry it? Princess Chloe!”
“Yes!”
At Akorella’s call, Chloe came running naturally with quick steps. The mages felt something was amiss, yet the two of them acted as though nothing was wrong—as if this were the most natural thing in the world.
“It won’t take long if we fly there and back, so come back if there’s any trouble. And don’t cause any accidents, understood?”
“Goodness, such worry!”
“You don’t look like someone who worries. Wait—is that Jeonseogoo?”
At the mage’s murmur, everyone looked up. A pigeon circled through the air with graceful wingbeats before landing lightly on Ian’s shoulder.
A letter tied to its feet. Judging by the mana stone around its neck, it was a reply from Toolun.
“A, a reply? That was fast.”
“Indeed. I thought they’d ignore it.”
“I knew they’d come. But I didn’t expect them to respond this quickly. Ian, what are they saying?”
Ian gestured for everyone to wait, then unfolded the letter. The contents visible from the back were longer than expected. As Ian read through it quickly, his eyebrows softened slightly.
“…The Prime Minister has replied.”
“The Prime Minister! How suspicious!”
“Be quiet, Captain. Really, read the room.”
To summarize: he acknowledges the support given to Rutherford, but clarifies it wasn’t intended to oppose Bariel—rather, it was for the survival rights of the Agiar residents. He’s willing to cooperate, but finds it burdensome to enter the palace, so he proposes a meeting near the border. …He’s set the timeline quite far out.”
Ian gestured with his fingertips, giving an order.
“A map.”
“Ah, yes, yes.”
Whoosh!
Then, examining the letter and map contents, he murmured casually.
“The region they’ve chosen as the meeting point must certainly be within King Toolun’s sphere of influence. It’s a route the Bariel soldiers must take a long detour around, yet a place where we must take considerable risk.”
“Risk, you say?”
“Across the vast expanse, it’s a place where his influence particularly reaches, so the likelihood of a temple being there is high. And conveniently, it’s to the west.”
“Ah, I see. I’ll inform the Emperor and Minister Tweller.”
Ian nodded and added,
“…And above all else, this is hopeful.”
“Pardon? What do you mean?”
“We’re treating this ‘unidentified’ person as Rutherford rather than the Puppeteer, which means they know exactly whether the Puppeteer is alive or dead. And there’s more. If I calculate the travel time from Bariel to King Toolun’s domain alongside Philia’s disappearance date, they should have arrived long ago. Yet they’ve given us quite a long time before our meeting. This means Philia hasn’t reached King Toolun yet—more precisely, she hasn’t fallen into the King’s hands.”
They abducted Philia as a scheme to lure me out or target me, Ian Hielo. But despite my willingness to walk straight into their trap, they’ve extended the timeline. This tells me they’re not ready either.
Ian voiced his cascading thoughts aloud without realizing it.
“…They must still be in transit. And given how much time the journey is taking, something has definitely gone wrong with the Puppeteers.”

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————