Margrave’s Bastard Son was The Emperor - Chapter 634

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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 633. Eternal Unrequited Love
My teacup had been emptied twice. As darkness settled, the commotion outside subsided, and my past flowed out in whispers.
Romandro kept touching the empty teacup with a sorrowful expression, gazing at me. Like the teacup that had grown cold, this small child’s past was equally frigid.
“—Thus, that is how it came to pass. I harbored no intention to deceive. I did my utmost to prevent confusion, and I ask that you recognize my efforts.”
“No, don’t speak like that. Honestly, who would have believed it? That the illegitimate son of the Marquis was actually the future Emperor—mentioning it would have resulted in execution for lèse-majesté. Everyone has witnessed your true form and heard of it.”
My colleagues could accept my words without doubt because of the fruits of faith, loyalty, and wisdom I had demonstrated thus far. And above all, it was thanks to the true self I had revealed to the Secret-Eating Gypsy.
Still, Romandro examined my face from every angle, saying he couldn’t possibly imagine it.
“You saw it, didn’t you, Berik?”
“I don’t know. Don’t ask.”
Whenever Ian Verosion was mentioned, Berik’s mood became uncomfortable. Romandro thought he understood that psychology. Though they faced each other now, it was the sense of loss that came from standing in different worlds—as if my time had stopped ten years ago.
Romandro glanced at the hem of a dress slightly visible behind the staircase leading to the upper floor.
“Countess. The floor is cold.”
It was Philia. She had come down lightly dressed from upstairs but remained crouched without showing herself. Hearing the entire life of the child called Ian Verosion rather than Ian Hielo face-to-face was too difficult for her.
Swish.
Despite Romandro’s concern, Philia remained silent and motionless. Viviana tried to rise to help support her, but Romandro stopped her with a shake of his head. It seemed she needed proper distance right now.
“You may resent me if you wish.”
I also touched the empty teacup. From Philia’s perspective, wasn’t it as though I had taken her son’s body? Unlike everyone else here, she was the only one who truly knew the illegitimate Ian.
“Why do you speak such words….”
Philia’s barely-answered voice was filled with moisture.
Then I suddenly recalled the day I first met her in Bratz. Philia, sitting in a corner of the park with her robe pulled over her head. Yes. That was it. She was someone who knew how to cry silently.
“I’m sorry.”
There was nothing else to add. Philia had lost her son, and now I stand here in his place, do I not?
She hesitated for a long while before asking.
“Then, what was the existence of that child who squirmed in my arms?”
“The source of all things. And to be precise, a small cog that God arranged to erase Bariel’s shadow. Through the existence of the illegitimate Ian, I came here, and Bariel found his path forward. That is how I regard it.”
The illegitimate Ian understood the meaning of his existence. This could be confirmed through Melania’s testimony from when I was young. Perhaps he was cultivating the most suitable moment while waiting for Ian Verosion.
“I cannot believe it. Why Ian?”
The child who smiled as brightly as an angel, the child who would tear up when he fell and cling to my embrace, the child who would sleep soundly with his long eyelashes lowered….
“Whether he was born carrying this mission or realized it at some point, I cannot say. But one thing is certain—the illegitimate Ian understood the significance of his own existence.”
Squeeze.
Philia embraced Roel tightly. Her heart raced coldly, and the world seemed to crumble. And that lovely stone that had supported her through all of this—Ian.
Philia stared blankly into the void and murmured.
“If Ian’s existence was for you, then perhaps your existence was ultimately for Ian.”
Ian Verosion’s abilities were exceptional. He possessed strong magical power, wisdom, and inherited a noble spirit. If Ian Verosion’s only purpose was to traverse time, couldn’t he have come here on his own?
But the fact that he borrowed the body of the ‘illegitimate Ian’ meant that ultimately, both had to exist simultaneously.
“Ian.”
“Yes. Please speak.”
Philia’s tears streamed down her chin. Now that she faced the truth, only choice remained. The small Roel in her arms wiped away her mother’s sorrow with tiny hands and steadied her trembling body.
“That you are Ian Verosion does not change my love for you. Because you existed, the illegitimate Ian existed, and because the illegitimate Ian existed, you came to be. And that form of yours is that of my son whom I loved and gave everything for. Even if you are called a precious member of the imperial family a hundred years hence, you will always be my precious son to me. However—”
I set down my teacup. I understood what she was about to say.
“You might not see it that way. You have your own life to live. If you don’t wish for the bond between mother and child, then tell me. I don’t want to burden you any further.”
The beginning of eternal unrequited love. They say the relationship between parent and child is always like this, but the future Philia would have to endure would be far more arduous. Though he is her son, to him she is not a mother, but…
“But I swear this. I will love you eternally, no matter who you are, and I will protect you with all my strength, just as I have sworn.”
Regardless of the political matters entangled with Hielo’s domain and others, it was a plea to choose with pure intention. Of course, even if Ian made a political judgment, her love would not change.
“Ian. Truth be told, I think I knew a little.”
When Ian said he didn’t know the song lyrics Philia used to sing when he was young, it seemed she had sensed something instinctively. In Ian’s attitude, which was somewhat colder and more distant than in childhood, she had definitely felt something.
Yet how could she explain that she couldn’t let go of Ian despite all that?
‘Love.’
Philia loved the Ian before her. Even if it was Verosion’s soul, the emotion she had experienced was undoubtedly love.
“…I too have a mother and father. Though both passed away when I was young, just as there is you who gave birth to the illegitimate Ian, there are surely parents who gave birth to me.”
Ian, who had been in deep silence, slowly opened his mouth. His tone was calm with almost no inflection. It might have seemed dry, but Romandro clearly understood. Ian was being cautious.
“But if someone were to ask me about ‘mother,’ I would think of you, Philia.”
Only Philia had witnessed and experienced that love overflowing in abundance with her own eyes.
Love that culminates in sacrifice is truly noble, pure, and strong. Ian learned that through Philia.
“I didn’t know before. What kind of relationship parent and child truly are. But coming here and meeting Philia, I have come to understand. You were the first to teach me what a mother’s affection is, so you are someone I cannot erase in a different sense.”
He felt sorry. Every time Philia showed her love, he could only let it pass because he was not the illegitimate Ian. But now, that was no longer the case.
“Philia, if you forgive me, I am content as is. I want to call you mother and enjoy your love without guilt. The choice is not mine, but yours.”
As continued sobbing sounds came from behind the stairs, Romandro pulled out a handkerchief and handed it to Ian. Ian slowly walked over and poked his head around the wall, and soon met eyes with Philia, who was shedding tears like chicken droppings.
“So, Mother. Don’t stay there anymore and come in here. The floor is sticky.”
“Ian.”
“Yes, Roel will worry. Please stop now.”
Philia embraced Ian tightly along with Roel. After accepting the embrace, Ian remained still for a moment, then casually asked Roel.
“Are you alright?”
If you’re uncomfortable, you’re free to do as you wish. Since there had been no contact during the ten years Roel had lived, even a true older brother would seem awkward. And considering that person’s true nature is a future Emperor, in reality the child would see him as a stranger.
But Roel’s answer was firm.
“…I’m alright.”
Mother’s joy is my joy, and above all, the continuation of the bond between these two people benefits Hielo’s domain and the Great Desert.
Philia had asked not to concern herself with political matters, but as a third party, wasn’t this something she could consider? Moreover—
“Truth be told, I had a vague sense of it too. Every time I saw my brother, he seemed like a different person.”
A different person? Ian smiled and raised his eyebrows.
“A boy with long platinum hair and cold eyes, pale blue gaze.”
“Ian Verosion then. Yeah. That’s definitely Verosion.”
“Berik, I told you not to speak of it carelessly! If you do that at the imperial palace, we’ll really be in trouble, you fool.”
As Berik, who had been listening from the side, interjected, Romandro pleaded desperately. But what did he care? Berik deliberately scratched his ear.
“Well then, that settles it? Now let’s eat some food.”
“Oh my, what am I thinking? I left the meat on the fire.”
“Viviana, it’s fine. It didn’t burn. It just smells that way.”
“This bastard must have starved during the war. Even in this atmosphere, he’s talking about food. Ian, how was Berik? Did he perform his duties well in Burgos?”
“Huh? Didn’t you hear, Romandro? In the northern demon beast battle, I cleaned everything up perfectly.”
“I heard. Captain Jairot beat you up for it.”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa?! There’s a problem here! Ian, this has completely changed! I was the one who beat up Captain Jeirat! Wasn’t I?”
“Shut up, you madman. What does the Captain have to do with anything?”
“Listen, your eyes were fine back then, so you saw it too. Now I’m the one who defeated Captain Jeirat.”
Unable to contain themselves, the commotion erupted once more. I guided Philia and Roel toward the sofa, and we settled in together. Vivi, who had been sitting quietly, smiled brightly and filled our teacups with warm beverages.
“So we’ll all enter the imperial palace together tomorrow?”
“Vivi, you’re staying behind.”
“What?! What about Roel?”
“Roel needs to go in. She witnessed something regarding the whereabouts. Vivi, stay at the mansion with Mother.”
Philia would testify about the kidnapping, while the rest would report on the process. Romandro scribbled something in his notebook and asked.
“Hmm. But from what I’m hearing, Toollun’s military strength doesn’t seem that impressive. If Berik and Barsabe’s forces shook them so easily, won’t this end quickly?”
“‘For now,’ yes.”
“What do you mean?”
A nation cut off from the outside world had revealed its vulnerabilities through the sudden assault of the Mages. But through this, they would prepare for the coming war, identify weaknesses, and reinforce them.
“Then didn’t we just cause unnecessary trouble? It’s like scratching a wound—we’ve armed our opponent by provoking them.”
“True, but it was a necessary step. When Toollun mobilizes its full strength to face Bariel, the temple will inevitably be drawn into the conflict.”
“The temple?”
The secret temple where Damon’s Brothers would sow seeds of blood, and where secrets that would shake Rutherford’s past and Bariel’s fate lay hidden.
I set down my teacup and spoke.
“They will certainly make a move, and we cannot miss that opportunity. This is only the beginning.”

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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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