Margrave’s Bastard Son was The Emperor - Chapter 631

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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 631. Ian’s Experiment
Clang! Clang!
Tap tap tap!
As dawn broke, alarm bells rang throughout Toollun. The residents who had stayed awake all night due to the massive fire that erupted in the darkness looked up at the sky with hollow eyes.
The scorching heat had dissipated, replaced by the cold morning air. And before them lay charred corpses. The residents stared at those moving about frantically in the distance. Here lay a body with severed ears, yet everyone seemed to be rushing about so urgently—what was going on?
Crash!
The Guards conducted raids on every lodging facility within Toollun’s capital. Naturally, the luxury hotel 【Lander】 was included. At the sudden arrival of the Guards, the Manager jumped up from the desk in surprise.
“What is the meaning of this?”
“Are there any guests staying here who hail from Burgos or Bariel?”
Rather than waiting for the Manager to answer, they bolted up the stairs.
Hotel employees tried to block their path, urging restraint, but received only hostile glares in return. The employees turned to the Manager for help, looking bewildered.
“Yes. As it happens, we have guests from Bariel who checked in yesterday. May I ask why you’re doing this?”
“Their names? Is this the register?”
“Now hold on! This is unacceptable. This is 【Lander】, the finest luxury hotel in Toollun. You can’t just—”
Whoosh.
In response to the Manager’s protest, the Guards unfolded a document. It was a search warrant bearing the Royal Palace seal, accompanied by a warning that anyone obstructing them would be arrested without exception.
The Manager raised both hands in surrender and gestured for them to proceed, then led the way himself. At least this way, the Guards wouldn’t carelessly kick open guest room doors.
Knock knock.
“Pardon the intrusion. Are you in?”
But there was no response from within. The Manager cleared his throat and knocked on the adjacent room, but again, nothing. There should have been a guard to answer, yet no one came.
Oh right, did they return from the fighting arena yesterday?
Wait, the fighting arena?
“Bring the master key.”
“Manager.”
“It’s fine. Hurry.”
The news of the Captain of the Guard’s death had spread rapidly the previous night. The Manager, who had also been awake throughout the night, had heard the news as well. The problem was simply that he hadn’t connected it to the guard the guest had brought with him.
The Manager took a deep breath and opened the guest room door.
Click!
“Gasp!”
The Manager inhaled sharply in surprise. The room was completely empty, not a single piece of luggage remaining. On the simple table lay only a napkin and a single gold coin.
“There’s something written on the napkin.”
“It’s in the common tongue. Manager!”
“Ah, yes yes. I’ll read it. So, um. ‘Rest well before you depart. Should the Guards come looking for us, inform them directly. We are precisely those you seek.’ …Did that guard swordsman kill the Captain of the Guard? Unbelievable!”
The Manager exclaimed in shock, but the Guards merely furrowed their brows and snatched the napkin. It was critical evidence.
“How many were there in total? What did they look like?”
“Four of them. A middle-aged man who appeared to be the head of the household and his two children. They seemed to be siblings, and the sister couldn’t see, or so I was told. And the guard was a burly man with red hair.”
“Did you know they were Mages?”
“Mages? All of them?”
“I don’t know. All I’ve heard is that some or all of them are spies from Bariel and are simultaneously Mages. You know the slave market was shut down, right?”
“Yes yes. How could I not know?”
“It seems they collected something after dealing with the Cutoff Ears last night. Ahem. I’ll explain the details separately. Come along and provide additional witness testimony.”
“Yes, yes, understood! Oh, and the carriage! The carriage they arrived in is being kept in our storage. We should move that as well.”
The Guard nodded and turned toward the carriage storage. Since traces of the wanted criminals had been discovered, Lander would remain closed for business for the time being.
Meanwhile, the Manager meticulously documented the physical descriptions of the four individuals inside the carriage heading to the Guard headquarters.
‘Hmm. So—’
A middle-aged man with brown hair and a beard, a boy with fair skin and beautiful blonde hair, a woman whose face he hadn’t seen but whose posture was remarkably upright and striking, and a guard with an ugly appearance and reddish hair. Now that he thought about it, it was truly an odd combination.
“This will go directly to the Prince, so write it as carefully as possible. It would be good if you had some skill in drawing.”
“Oh, fortunately I can draw. To operate Lander, one must possess basic refinement.”
“How annoying. Stop showing off and just draw it.”
The Manager grasped his pencil and pondered for some time before carefully beginning to sketch lines.
* * *
“So this is that portrait?”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Kumasha rested his chin on his hand and picked up the edge of the paper. Beside the crude drawing were dense supplementary notes about hair color and the Manager’s impressions. It wasn’t entirely satisfactory, but what could be done? The boy examined the contents slowly, murmuring to himself.
“Here, could the woman who didn’t show her face be a member of Barsabe’s unit? Did they say they saw her hair color?”
“No, she was wearing a veil, they said.”
“Hmm. Toollun, it’s strange that they would bring a member who couldn’t even see while entering near the Royal Palace, yet when I think about it, it seems like an appropriate choice. Since she’s a woman like Philia, she could help in finding her, and if things go wrong, we might even obtain clues about her vision, no?”
It wasn’t a statement seeking an answer, but rather words spoken to organize and understand things for himself.
According to the report from the young interpreter who survived the Cutoff Ears hideout, it was definitely Ian Hielo who took Philia away. They called each other mother and son, after all. And this meant the two hadn’t come from Bariel’s homeland but had assembled their group in Burgos before entering.
“Ian Hielo and Barsabe. What was the other one’s name? Ah, Berik! That’s right. I remember Ian Hielo calling him that.”
Kumasha examined the paper closely, searching through faint memories. Through Barsabe, he had seen inside Agiar Castle—a man with a rather harsh temperament. His identity was a Mage Knight. He must also be from the Imperial Guards.
“I can’t figure out who the remaining person is.”
The boy leaned back against the sofa, furrowing his brow. A Mage? A Mage Knight? Or perhaps someone with a different ability? As the boy fell silent in thought, the Prime Minister sitting beside him asked carefully.
“However, Your Highness. If the one who caused the commotion last night is indeed Ian Hielo, wouldn’t he have already left Toollun? There would be no reason to remain once his objective was achieved.”
“I agree with that assessment. From what I’ve heard, Mages’ portals don’t necessarily have to open in the sky. While it’s somewhat difficult, someone of the Minister of Magic’s caliber would have no problem anywhere. There’s a strong possibility they departed under cover of darkness last night.”
“There’s no need to remain here and risk danger. After some time passes, Bariel will formally lodge a complaint and ignite the flames of war, so it’s right that we prepare beforehand. The fact that they came directly here from Burgos means they possess evidence of the Royal Palace’s actions.”
“Wouldn’t Philia herself know?”
“Perhaps. If she could speak Toollun somewhat, she might have caught on, but given that the Cutoff Ears stationed an interpreter, it seems unlikely.”
The Prime Minister raised his hand briefly to calm the Ministers. All well and good. All well and good, but there was another matter that needed to be discussed urgently—Toollun’s defensive system.
“It has been revealed that a Mage can enter Toollun whenever he wishes. It’s important that we devise countermeasures. The Royal Palace is protected by Sorcerers, but regardless, it’s a transcendent ability of a different nature.”
“It would be good to hire mercenary Mages.”
“There are about five remaining in the capital, aren’t there? We need more talent. What if we lift the closure of the slave market and give merchants work? Since the Cutoff Ears are all dead anyway, we can’t find Philia anymore, so the market closure is meaningless.”
“I agree. Let’s make inquiries.”
“And also….”
Kumasha’s eyes narrowed. The King’s silence is a virtue, he thought, and it was quite tedious how these men exchanged opinions and decided matters among themselves.
The boy’s fingers twitched slightly, then he abruptly rose from his seat and left the office. The Ministers were startled by the sudden action, but the Prime Minister gestured that it was fine and followed the boy.
“Rest for a moment.”
“Ah, really. With such an important matter ahead.”
“Ahem. Have some tea.”
Creak.
Kumasha opened the space where dolls were piled in heaps. From the mountain of them scattered about, the Boy picked one up with familiarity. It was the doll connected to Barsabe. The connection of sight still remained, but since Barsabe had never removed the blindfold on her end, it had been set aside long ago.
Kumasha brought her hands together lightly and connected the doll to herself.
“Your Highness.”
“Shh. I entrusted this to you and stepped away, so why are you doing this? You’re disrupting my concentration—be quiet. I’m borrowing Barsabe’s eyes.”
Kumasha was supposed to show no emotion by nature. The Prime Minister stood silently in place, watching the Boy’s back. The young King’s brow moved slightly.
“Hm?”
Still darkness. Nothing was visible. But if there was something slightly different from before, it was the texture of the darkness. Whether the cloth covering the eyes had changed or light was seeping through, a faint glow entered.
“…!”
The Boy flinched in surprise. Soon the vision slowly cleared, and he began to see.
Berik stood before her. Knowing that Kumasha was watching, he waved with a solemn expression. Then came his middle finger, standing stiffly upright. He stuck out his tongue and offered mockery.
“Why are you doing this, Your Highness?”
“Not yet.”
“Pardon?”
“They’re still in Toollun.”
Barsabe turned her head. Then she showed the Toollun script written neatly on paper.
-Prepare yourself for death.
Whoosh!
The next moment, the vision shook rapidly.
Kumasha’s eyes moved busily to perceive the surroundings. It was definitely a building in the Toollun style. Where was this? Why were they suddenly running? Prepare for death—could this be a warning meant for me?
“Prime Minister! To the underground!”
“Why are you doing this, Your Highness?”
“Ian Hielo’s group has moved! They’re on the move!”
At those words, the Prime Minister’s face went pale.
“Is anyone outside? Take His Highness to the underground!”
The Boy continued to furrow his brow in concentration. Location. Determining the location was the priority. If I could only pinpoint exactly where they were, piercing their hearts would be nothing. Had they left the capital of Toollun? Could it be—
“Wow, the Royal Palace?”
The Royal Palace came into view through Barsabe’s eyes. She was clearly running at superhuman speed. Without minding the gazes around her, with her identity exposed, she was simply running at full force down the street toward the Royal Palace.
“Damn it!”
At this rate, Barsabe would reach the Royal Palace before I could move to the underground. Of course, there were sorcerers responsible for defending the Royal Palace, but since I couldn’t determine the full strength of the Imperial Guards, the situation was unpredictable.
Kumasha threw the Barsabe doll aside, then approached the desk and drew out a short blade.
‘If she gets close, I kill her.’
The Boy recalled the path Barsabe had been running down and examined the area around the Royal Palace with his second sight. Where? Where could it be? Barsabe!
Whoooosh!
Then, blue hair came into view. She seemed to have leaped to scale the palace wall.
Kumasha, detecting the target, stabbed the doll with the short blade with all her might.
Thud!
So forcefully that it pierced through to the desk below.
Kumasha felt her pounding heart as she slowly raised her head. Outside the window, it was still peaceful. Only the people in the room felt a formless terror, watching Kumasha.
“…Check outside to see if Barsabe’s body is there.”
Meanwhile, at that moment. Ian put away his telescope. Barsabe, too, was breathing heavily and leaning against the wall, while Philia held her worriedly.
“Are you alright, Barsabe?”
“Yes, I’m fine.”
Barsabe lay sprawled across the ground, gazing up at the protective barrier shielding them. Creating illusory duplicates that moved as convincingly as her real body had consumed considerable mana.
Still, it seemed I had learned what I needed to know. The satisfied nod Ian gave as he recorded something on the map told me as much.
“The King’s immediate sphere of influence is confined to the Royal Palace itself. To affect the entire capital of Toollun, he would require either physical or temporal conditions. If he has already constructed a stage as vast as the entire capital, it certainly wouldn’t be inside the Royal Palace where he resides.”
The scale would be too immense for that. Though the Royal Palace underground might be possible. Given that the Mage Knight encountered no particular defensive reactions upon approaching the Royal Palace, it appears there are no mages actively using their power either.
‘Now that the mages know of our intrusion, they’ll strengthen security and defenses against Bariel. Before that happens, I should ascertain the full extent of their forces.’
Having reached his conclusion, Ian gave Berik a nod.
“Berik. It’s your turn now.”

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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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