Margrave’s Bastard Son was The Emperor - Chapter 624

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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 623. Toollun Slave Market
Philia gazed upward at the people dangling like chunks of meat, her lips trembling. Limbs protruding between iron bars decorated the ceiling like a grotesque chandelier.
Distinguishing which direction was up or down had become meaningless. Limp bodies lay scattered everywhere like broken merchandise.
Without thinking, I gripped the iron bars tightly, my eyes darting about.
‘A slave market.’
I was seeing one for the first time in person.
Bariel had slaves too, but they operated in designated zones under state management. I’d heard rumors that slave markets opened occasionally in the capital, but I never had any intention of visiting one. I’d been too busy wandering aimlessly and settling near the red-light district just to survive.
“Oho, look there. A blonde woman.”
“Is she new merchandise?”
“Hey! Are those cut ears? Where did this one come from?”
“Don’t come closer. She’s not on display yet.”
“How prickly. Won’t you even take reservations?”
Philia eyed the approaching merchants warily. They were so greedy and dangerous that being trapped behind solid iron bars suddenly felt like a blessing.
I strained my ears, hoping to catch Bariel speech amid the incomprehensible languages swirling around me.
‘This slave market is quite substantial. For it to be this active, it must be near a nation’s capital or at the intersection of two or more countries. After days of travel… it must be Toollun’s capital.’
I’d thought meeting the bandits while being kidnapped by the Puppeteer was divine fortune, but now I realized my fate depended on my own actions. I decided my best course was to find someone who spoke Bariel and request their help as an interpreter.
“It’s been a while. How have you been?”
Then, a familiar greeting reached my ears. Bariel speech! I sprang up and turned my head to the left, quickly shouting.
“Are you from Bariel? Please, help me!”
“Why is she suddenly acting like that? Hey, be quiet! Or we’ll tie you up.”
“I’m the mother of the Minister of Magic! Please just listen to me for a moment! I’ll reward you!”
“This won’t do. Bind her. She’s got quite a voice.”
“Save me! I’ll reward you! I can give you as much gold as you want!”
As the previously quiet Philia shook the iron bars and caused a commotion, the Cutear Thieves halted their donkey. They began reaching into their pockets for binding tools when—
“Ah, wait, wait. Seems like this is because of me.”
Parting through the crowd, a young woman appeared with a hearty laugh. Having worked long in Toollun’s slave market, she carried a thick, worn ledger at her side.
“You came from Bariel?”
“Yes! I’m the mother of Minister Ian Hielo of the Magic Department. I ended up here due to unforeseen circumstances, but if you send me back to Bariel, I’ll reward you handsomely. I can swear to it. Since I left Bariel for other reasons, I won’t hold any wrongdoing against you.”
“Proof?”
“P-proof?”
Philia hesitated. If this woman knew Ian’s face, she wouldn’t need proof at all. What could be more certain than a mother’s face, identical to her son’s? But I had nothing else to prove my claim.
“If you send a letter to the Imperial Palace, they’ll verify it immediately. If the palace seems burdensome, just let me write a single letter to Romandro, the Minister’s Steward.”
“Listen, sister. This place is full of people spouting nonsense—claiming to be some king’s hidden child or nobility.”
“Isn’t it worth the risk? If it’s true, you’ll receive a substantial reward, won’t you?”
The woman looked down at Philia with her arms crossed. She was certainly valuable merchandise just to keep.
The Cutear men furrowed their brows and interjected.
“Hey. What are you two talking about?”
“Ah, well—”
The woman paused briefly, then smiled and closed her mouth. She had no intention of revealing that this woman claimed to be the Minister of Magic’s mother. There was no need to inflate the merchandise’s value with unnecessary talk.
“So she wants to return to Bariel.”
“Bariel? Was that what you were babbling about earlier—something related to Bariel?”
“How much for this? I happen to have a customer looking for someone fluent in Bariel. I’ll give you a generous price.”
“Not selling yet. Try your luck at the auction later.”
The item’s value was considerable. An auction would yield far greater profits than a simple transaction. Yet my decision to cross the market with Philia was also intentional—to spread word through gossip.
“My schedule’s tight. How about fifteen gold coins?”
“No deal. At that price, I’d rather not sell. I’m leaving.”
“Thirty coins.”
Snap.
The woman grabbed the bandit leader’s arm as she added her offer.
Really? Philia was beautiful, certainly, but was she worth thirty gold coins on the spot? The bandits exchanged glances, uncertain how to proceed.
“Wait here.”
“As long as you need.”
The thieves stuck cheap cigarettes in their mouths and whispered to each other, alternating glances between Philia and the woman.
“Wouldn’t it be better to sell her for thirty coins right now? Even at an auction, without a big spender, we’d struggle to get that much.”
“Have you ever seen a merchant take a loss? I haven’t. Thirty coins is worth the gamble, so I’m pushing for it. Let’s not sell.”
“I’m torn. Should we say we’ll talk about it later?”
The bandits’ conversation was swallowed by the market’s chaos and went unheard.
Philia watched the woman’s expressions as she continuously recorded something, trying to understand how the situation was unfolding. Regardless of other details, one thing was certain: the woman hadn’t revealed Philia’s identity to the bandits.
‘She’s probably trying to buy me cheaper. If the woman sends me back to Bariel, that would be fine, but if not, it becomes troublesome. I won’t be able to predict where we’re headed next.’
The bandits weren’t necessarily safe, but they hadn’t shown her any particular harm. Was it truly advantageous to let this slide? Philia had to decide.
“Excuse me.”
It seemed better to investigate the woman further. Philia carefully leaned forward and addressed her.
The woman didn’t even look at Philia, merely raising her eyebrows.
“Will you send a letter to Bariel for me?”
“I can’t do anything without confirmation. We’re talking about the Minister of Magic at the imperial palace, no less. Contacting them directly in any way carries too much risk.”
“It’s too much of a burden to contact them directly.”
“Then… what will you do with me?”
“I’ll send you to the royal palace. If they buy you, that is.”
Philia was beautiful and spoke Bariel fluently. And the claim about having a customer seeking such qualities wasn’t a lie. Among the high-ranking officials of the royal palace, there was indeed someone looking for exactly those conditions.
The claim that there was one was not a lie. It just so happened that there was someone among the high-ranking officials of the royal palace looking for such conditions.
The woman’s plan was simple: hand her over to them, reduce her own risk, pocket a reasonable profit, and wash her hands of it.
‘Even if she’s not the Minister of Magic’s mother, someone of her caliber would maintain appearances for prestige. And if she really is his mother? Then I’d be providing a diplomatic advantage to the palace, meaning I could make far more money.’
Whatever price she paid the bandits, she’d extract at least double from the official.
As the woman hummed contentedly, my heart sank. Send me to the royal palace? Had kidnapping the Minister of Magic’s mother truly been the work of mere bandits? Surely they’d been acting under orders from the palace itself. And now I was supposed to return there? This would mean my escape held no meaning whatsoever.
“Ah.”
It would be far safer to stay with the bandits. They were the ones who killed the Puppeteer, so they were being hunted by the palace. Just as I was fleeing from the palace, they had no choice but to do the same.
In other words, we shared a common fate.
‘That’s it! If the Puppeteer was connected to the palace, they surely sent people to find me. If I buy some time, the bandits will realize this too.’
Whoosh.
I composed myself and looked around carefully. Surely, surely there had to be something I could use to buy time.
A small window through which I could escape this horrific hell where people hung like chunks of meat, bound and dangling in every direction!
* * *
“Your Majesty, it is Ian.”
“Enter.”
At Jin’s permission, the door slowly swung open. Minister Tweller, who was already present, greeted me with a nod, and I naturally set down my report and took the seat across from him.
Before them lay Toollun’s reply, which had arrived earlier.
“I have read the letter. Thus, I was just discussing the matter with Minister Tweller.”
“Toollun’s Prime Minister proposes to route soldiers around the designated region while sending mages directly into it, correct?”
“That region falls under the King’s influence, which means the likelihood of a temple’s presence is quite high.”
“However, Minister Ian, given the unsettling atmosphere between Hawanguk and Ruswena, I wonder if it would be feasible to immediately send all of Bariel’s forces from Burgos to Toollun. Of course, Mrs. Philia’s situation is most unfortunate.”
Unlike mages, soldiers could not even counterattack against the Puppeteer’s assault. Rather than approaching with the resolve to accept meaningless death, it seemed wiser to move slowly while observing the overall situation.
This was a natural assessment, and I agreed with it.
“Of course. And regardless of what unfolds, any entry of Bariel soldiers or mages into Toollun must proceed entirely unofficially.”
If the royal palace learns of Bariel’s movements, we cannot predict when or how the Puppeteer’s influence might reach us. Even if they roam the palace halls, as long as the Puppeteers remain unaware, they pose no problem or threat whatsoever.
“Then, for the time being, we shall reorganize our forces and observe. We have granted the Hollin Family a month’s grace period, so matters should be settled within that time.”
“Yes, and I would like to propose something.”
“A proposal?”
Jin, who had been listening quietly, asked with curiosity.
“Since Bariel has captured Burgos, they will assume that the Magic Department is also stationed here given His Majesty’s presence. In truth, we have no plans to leave Kalamata for a month, and Bariel’s soldiers are steadfast, so what if the Magic Department conducted a covert reconnaissance of Toollun?”
“Reconnaissance, you say?”
“The area near the temple and the capital.”
The temple vicinity naturally falls under the mages’ purview. But the capital—why there?
“Distributing wanted notices from Burgos alone has limitations in gathering intelligence. I believe it would be best to go to Toollun’s capital, assess the overall situation, and directly spread word that we are searching for the Minister of Magic’s mother.”
“But isn’t that far too dangerous?”
“We shall move with only the finest few. We aim to return within the month, perhaps even sooner.”
Even in the worst case, we have portals, so there is no danger in traveling. The truly problematic scenario would be discovery near the palace, which would undoubtedly be the Puppeteer’s domain.
“Count Ian, will you go yourself?”
“…How could I entrust a family matter to another?”
At my response, Jin swallowed a sigh inwardly. Burgos was already settled. There were no urgent matters requiring immediate attention. Then, by my logic, everyone would be expected to remain stationed in Kalamata, making this the opportune moment to infiltrate Toollun.
Jin rested his chin in his hand, furrowing his brow.
“Who will accompany you?”
“Captain Heil. And—”
“And?”
“If you permit it, I would like to bring Berik as well.”
“He is reckless and hardly suited for infiltration, is he not?”
“True, but he has a knack for finding people, does he not?”
“Hmm. That is fair.”
I had to acknowledge that he finds people better than a dog does. Jin pondered for a moment, then added.
“Moving covertly will have its limits in gathering intelligence. It might be better to assume false identities. What of bringing Barsabe along?”

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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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