Margrave’s Bastard Son was The Emperor - Chapter 628

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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 627. The Building’s Mark
“Hm?”
The surroundings plunged into darkness in an instant. The lights had gone out all at once. The Captain of the Guard furrowed his brow and fumbled through his chest pocket. Where could his lighter be…
Shing!
Then, a chilling presence echoed from behind. I could sense it instinctively. It was the sound a blade makes when cutting through flesh. The Captain of the Guard raised his voice in alarm.
“Is something wrong?”
“My apologies. I cannot see anything.”
“Bring out everything that can produce light. Marni, you wait for a moment.”
Shing!
“Ugh…”
Again. Another sound of a blade moving, followed by a small groan. The Captain of the Guard furrowed his brow as he reached for his lighter—
“…!”
Someone grabbed his arm from behind and drove a blade toward his neck. And without hesitation, they applied tremendous force, severing his windpipe.
The Captain of the Guard tried to turn his body to counterattack, but blood was already gushing from his neck. With nothing visible, only the warm sensation foretold his death.
“I, this is… ugh.”
“Captain? What, ugh!”
“Who’s there!”
“M, me? I’ve been standing still here.”
“Does no one have a light?”
“Eek! Th, there! Someone just passed by!”
Click!
Someone lit a lighter, and a small flame briefly illuminated the surroundings. But it was only for an instant. Barsabe, sensing the warmth, snatched the light from the man’s hand. He then coughed blood and collapsed to the side in a single strike.
Thud!
“Eek, eek!”
“Th, there’s something! L, let’s get out!”
“I can’t tell which way is forward.”
“Get away! I said get away! Don’t come closer!”
“Ugh, it’s me, me. That was me just now.”
“Master Marni! Get down!”
“Damn it, what is happening!”
Those who had lost their sight trembled in fear, gripped their blades, and began cutting down their own comrades beside them.
The situation had taken a strange turn. As Marni crouched low on the ground, her guards covered her with their bodies to protect her. They stood ready to stab anything that came at them.
Shing!
Squelch! Thud!
“Ugh!”
“Wait, it’s not me, it’s not me.”
As the frenzy of blood subsided, Barsabe, who had been holding back, sensed movement through her instincts. She followed the whimpering groans and severed the final breaths of the enemies. In a space filled only with the metallic scent of blood and death, Barsabe was certain that everyone except Marni’s group had perished.
“It is done.”
“Sh, she’s a woman.”
At Barsabe’s call, Marni’s group reflexively murmured. Though they immediately covered their own mouths.
I slowly advanced into the darkness, and Barsabe came to meet me, taking my hand.
“There are many corpses on the floor.”
“Thank you. Marni, are you listening?”
“W-who are you!”
A meeting in darkness. Marni’s voice trembled. I couldn’t even begin to guess his identity. Who on earth would dare touch the Royal Palace’s guards?
“Cut to the chase—I have a question. I wish to meet Cutoff Ears. Where should I go?”
“I-I don’t, I really don’t know!”
Marni shouted in exasperation. Could this be a trap set by the Royal Palace? Would the lights suddenly blaze on, and everyone would be laughing silently in hiding?
No. The Royal Palace wouldn’t stoop to such shamelessness unless they’d lost their minds. Besides, the metallic stench of blood that reached my nostrils—this was real. The thick, lingering smell of death that only a massacre could produce.
“If you don’t know where Cutoff Ears is, then give me clues or traces I can follow.”
“I’m going insane, really. Tell me who you are first!”
“It would be wise to think carefully. I have no intention of harming you. Soon enough, the guards will notice something amiss and come rushing here. What do you think will happen to you then? We will have already vanished into the darkness.”
‘Marni killed the guards in a fit of resistance.’
There was no room for doubt. Anyone would think that, and the Royal Palace would be even more certain in its desire to arrest Marni.
Killing guards—and even the Captain of the Guard—was the gravest of crimes. Beheading was inevitable, and his entire family might be torn to shreds and hung in the streets. Escape? He couldn’t even flee the capital, let alone survive this very night.
“Why are you doing this to me, you bastards!”
“M-Master Marni. Please calm yourself.”
I mustn’t provoke him further. The guards clutched his sleeve, their arms trembling uncontrollably. Judging by their combat prowess in the darkness, they weren’t street thugs. Clearly, they were the type who could vanish without leaving a trace, just as I’d claimed. If that happened, all responsibility would fall solely on Marni and his men.
“Hah, now I understand. The Royal Palace sent you, didn’t it? Yes? I’ve walked right into their trap.”
Marni drew a sharp breath, then reached his conclusion. This was a snare set by the Royal Palace to capture him. Otherwise, who would dare openly kill the Captain of the Guard in Toollun?
“What the hell is that thing worth!”
All this trouble over a single slave that the Royal Palace seeks and Cutoff Ears possesses. Whatever its value, his luck had run out spectacularly.
I didn’t bother correcting Marni’s misunderstanding and pressed further.
“…One final question. If you don’t answer, I’ll simply withdraw. But if you give me a useful answer, I’ll declare that you had no involvement in the guards’ deaths.”
“Why should I trust you? If I stay silent, I’m dead anyway!”
“You have no choice, do you? Either way, you’re dead.”
“Hah, really. Damn it all. The taxes I paid, just last month too, ugh.”
He must have given up quite a lot to protect the fighting pit.
I counted silently in my mind, gauging the passage of time. As I’d said, I couldn’t afford to drag this out. The guards outside could arrive at any moment.
“…In the Market Master’s district, there’s a building with pale blue cloth spread across it. From the outside, it looks like laundry, but it’s actually a marker.”
Finally, Marni opened his mouth.
“There’s a secret passage in the basement that connects to their hideout. Hah, but if it gets out that I told you, I’m branded a traitor and as good as dead. Is it right to drag an honest man living his life down into ruin like this?”
“Were you righteous?”
“I was! Until just moments ago! That’s why I was trying to stay out of the Royal Palace and—”
Marni trailed off. Even if the mysterious opponent kept it secret, hadn’t his own guards heard it? It was unavoidable, but the truth would eventually come out. That he’d revealed Cutoff Ears’ hideout.
“How unfortunate. Then what shall I do? Should I bury your guards in the darkness as well?”
The dead tell no tales. As I made the suggestion casually, Marni jumped back.
“Absolutely not!”
“I see.”
The guards, who had frozen in shock, gripped Marni’s collar even more tightly. They had witnessed his betrayal, so their deaths would be safer for Marni. Yet their master had unhesitatingly commanded them to live, and this unconsciously strengthened their bond.
If he asked me to kill the Guard, that would be safety for Marni, but by refusing, the bond has solidified, which is also safety for the Author. In a single word—just as expected. That idiot Berik learns nothing even from watching such a person.
Barsabe wiped the blood from the blade with her upper garment while thinking this to herself. The objective was achieved; now she just needed to return safely.
Once word of the Guard’s death spread, the capital’s atmosphere would become unsettled. Perhaps it would be better to tour the Zanai Market before returning to the guest quarters?
Whoosh.
Ian gently grasped Barsabe’s arm—a signal to leave. They melted into the darkness without a sound and vanished, while Marni’s group remained silent, unaware of their departure.
“H-hey? Say something, would you?”
“D-did they leave?”
“Hey! Did they go?”
They called out into the empty air, but no answer came. They fumbled about, feeling the floor, and soon discovered corpses scattered not far away.
“F-feel along the wall and move slowly. Crawl. If you walk, you’ll trip.”
“Marni. Hold tight to me from behind.”
“Good grief, these lunatics.”
Tap tap tap!
Then came the sound of numerous footsteps. Suddenly lights blazed on, illuminating the surroundings. It was the Guards who had been waiting for the Captain of the Guard at the arena. When he didn’t emerge after time passed, they came to check….
“Gasp!”
It was shocking. All the Guards lay dead on the ground. Most had met their end with their throats cut.
And similarly, Marni’s group was pressed flat against the wall, covered in blood. They must have gotten it on themselves while crawling around. They too looked at the Guards in shock.
“What in the world is this! Arrest them!”
“No, wait, just listen. It wasn’t us. Really. I know it’s unbelievable, but I don’t know either. Whether this was ordered from above or not….”
“They’re not in their right mind. Take them away! And request reinforcements!”
“Requesting reinforcements! Understood!”
“Close down the arena.”
“I’m telling you, we’re victims too! It was a woman. A woman killed them, I’m telling you!”
The Guards dragged Marni’s group away with their wrists bound, regardless of their protests. They shook their heads with a shudder as they observed the cleanly severed throats of the corpses.
Drip drip.
Meanwhile, Ian and the three others had slipped outside the arena. As Barsabe exposed her neck and bent forward, Berik poured water from a bucket over her. The blood gradually washed away.
“Ian, what should we do? Should we head straight to the Market?”
“Yes. Once dawn breaks, the Guard patrols on the streets will intensify. You said it was the Zanai Market, right? Heil, the map.”
“Here it is. Barsabe. Are you injured anywhere?”
“No, I’m fine. But it would be better to get new clothes. There’s so much blood on me that it will be difficult to move about like this.”
Ian identified the location of the Slave Market through the map. When Berik leaned his head in beside him, Heil raised an eyebrow. The man couldn’t even distinguish left from right, yet here he was looking at a map.
“Then it would be best if Heil took Barsabe in first and stayed hidden. Go change clothes and conceal yourselves. I’ll look around the Market with Berik.”
“Will you be alright?”
“Of course.”
As Ian nodded, Heil and Barsabe turned the corner and ran off. The atmosphere among the people gathered on the main street was growing increasingly restless, suggesting that word of the Captain of the Guard’s death was beginning to spread.
“Berik. This way.”
“Okay, let’s go! But we’re really going to say we killed them?”
“We must keep our promise.”
Once Marni was taken in for questioning, the Royal Palace would realize a third party had intervened. Before that happens, the goal is to rescue Philia. After that, before opening a portal to return, we can reveal the truth.
Tap tap tap!
Ian and Berik slipped through the crowd, evading curious gazes. A signboard marking the entrance to Zanai Market stood prominently before them.
But the problem was—
“Pale blue cloth? I don’t see anything like that.”
No matter where I looked, the marker Marni had described was nowhere to be found. I muttered to myself while carefully scanning the surroundings.
“Since it’s disguised as laundry, it must appear and disappear when the time comes.”
“Damn. They’re being ridiculously meticulous about this. So what do we do?”
In the dead of night, it was odd to find laundry hanging in a place that wasn’t a residential area. As Berik asked with his arms crossed, I let out a shallow sigh.
“We’ll have to come back tomorrow during the day. Or—”
“Or?”
“You could try smelling it out.”
“Huh? Even when I try, you treat me too harshly.”
Berik flared his nostrils repeatedly, exasperated yet compliant.

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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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