Margrave’s Bastard Son was The Emperor - Chapter 639

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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 638. An Ominous Sign
I watched the men blur past before my eyes. They had all courted me and yearned for my eternal affection, yet to me they were merely pleasant social diversions.
The men waved their hands as they departed into the distance. I felt a sudden pang of sympathy for them, yet I was ashamed of how coldly I had treated them. What right had I to wound them so deeply?
‘I’m sorry!’
Then my friends appeared and vanished like shadows. On the surface, we laughed together and shared deep bonds, but I recalled how I had judged them behind their backs, ranking them above and below one another with my own arrogant behavior.
And that wasn’t all. I had bullied my servants mercilessly, looked down upon everyone who worked for Davion, and indulged myself shamelessly. I was truly ashamed.
‘Why did I act that way?’
And now, why was I feeling such emotions? As I pondered quietly, I suddenly realized something. Everything around me was darkness. …Ah!
‘I’m dead?!’
“No, no, no, no!”
As I cried out loudly and jolted upright, the medic flinched back in shock. A patient who had shown no signs of consciousness until moments ago was now responding like this. The nurses beside him froze, staring at me.
“P-Princess Chloe?”
“…Yes?”
“A-are you alright?”
“Am I… dead?”
“No. As you can see, you’re perfectly fine.”
I looked down at my hands. They were wrapped in bandages, but they were intact—nothing broken or crushed. My face? I reached up tentatively, and my fingertips felt the rough texture of gauze.
How had this happened? My last memory was struggling with all my might not to be crushed beneath the rock….
“The rock you were holding—the Mage shattered it with magic. His aim was precise, so the rock crumbled to pieces, but the impact caused you to lose consciousness. Fortunately, the wounds from the debris aren’t severe. Just scrapes, so they should scab over in a few days.”
“M-magic?”
“Yes. Captain Akorella went to fetch someone, so she should return shortly. Please rest a bit longer. The commotion has halted our work.”
As the medic tidied up the medical supplies, I could only blink. It seemed I owed my life to the Mage, but it had been a close call indeed.
“What about the others? There were many people around me.”
“Everyone is safe. We were fortunate. Very fortunate.”
That was a relief. If the people who had been concerned for me had been seriously injured, my heart would have been heavy. I fidgeted with my fingertips, then suddenly jolted upright as if remembering something.
“Hnngh!”
“…What are you doing?”
I grabbed the bed frame and tried to lift it with all my strength. The medic asked with a bewildered expression, but I had no breath to answer. I was squeezing out every last ounce of strength.
“Ahhhhh!”
“No, Princess?”
Had I lost my mind? I shouldn’t have been so relieved about the lack of external injuries. The medic was alarmed and reaching for a sedative when Akorella burst through the door.
“Princess Chloe! What are you doing?”
“Ah, Captain Akorella…!”
“Why the bed?”
My eyes glistened with tears as I collapsed and murmured.
“…The side effects have disappeared.”
“Yes, I heard. It’s fortunate you weren’t more seriously injured.”
“What should I do? Of all times….”
Akorella sighed softly and patted my shoulder. For someone who had just been brought back from the brink of death, I certainly had many worries.
“It’s alright. Unless you wish otherwise, His Majesty won’t send you to Bariel.”
“That’s not it!”
“Then what is it?”
“If I can’t work, everyone else will suffer.”
Chloe had been doing the work of more than a dozen people alone. Now that the side effects had vanished, it was only natural that the burden would shift to the other workers.
When Chloe spoke with genuine concern, Captain Akorella raised her eyebrows in surprise. What was this? Had her emotional change extended to a change in personality?
“Don’t worry. I’ll just move around more to compensate. For now, Princess, you should focus on your treatment—”
Crash!
Before Captain Akorella could finish speaking, the door burst open roughly and the Mage and Count Xiao rushed in. Both of them were clearly in a hurry, their haste evident in every movement.
“What’s this? You packed already? That was fast?”
“Pardon? Ah, yes, yes. I asked Count Xiao for help and managed to arrange it somehow.”
What was she saying? Captain Akorella turned to look at Count Xiao, and then slowly opened her mouth. A hot and intense gaze passed between Chloe and Count Xiao.
Captain Akorella, the Mage, and the Medic took a step back, observing the two of them.
“Princess, are you alright?”
“Yes? Ah, yes…”
Chloe unconsciously placed her hand over her chest. Her heart was pounding wildly. The side effects had definitely disappeared, but why was her heart stirring even more intensely than before?
She had thought that as her body grew distant, her emotions would fade as well, but it seemed she was mistaken. An indescribable emotion washed over her like waves.
“Ah, Captain Akorella.”
Chloe murmured while keeping her gaze fixed on Count Xiao.
“I think the side effects haven’t completely disappeared yet. My heart still flutters when I see Count Xiao.”
“Is that so?”
At her words, Captain Akorella tilted her head. It wasn’t unheard of for only one side effect to disappear, but it was unexpected. If the potion Chloe had consumed was what she thought it was, both should have vanished.
While Captain Akorella scratched her chin in thought, Chloe suddenly grabbed Count Xiao’s hand.
“Yes, it’s fluttering! Constantly, my heart! What, what should I do?”
Her head felt like it was spinning, and her vision was blurring. As Chloe spoke in panic, Count Xiao answered with just one phrase.
“…Is there any need to do anything about it?”
It was as if he was saying there was no problem in leaving that emotion as it was.
At words that sounded like a confession, Captain Akorella, the Mage, and the Medic exchanged glances and muttered things like “my goodness.” Whatever it was, they were clearly witnessing something extraordinary.
As expected, blood began to trickle from Chloe’s nose, and she immediately collapsed back onto the bed, sinking into darkness.
‘I’m dying…’
This time, she would definitely dream of Count Xiao. Without a doubt.
* * *
“There are no problems?”
“Yes, aside from a slight delay in work, there are reportedly no serious injuries. It could have been a disaster, but it seems to have been resolved well.”
Ian nodded upon hearing the report from the mine. There seemed to have been a minor commotion, but fortunately there were no injuries, including Chloe.
“By the way, what should we do with Philia’s portrait?”
A bust sketch of Philia was drawn on worn brown paper. It was the portrait that had been distributed throughout Burgos to find her. Though she had already safely returned to Bariel, it was good to continue showing outwardly that they were still searching for her whereabouts to pressure Toollun.
“Reduce the quantity, but don’t stop the distribution. It’s enough if Toollun believes we’re continuing the search.”
“Yes, understood. If we post them on bulletin boards, all sorts of people keep taking them down—it’s incredibly annoying. It would be more economical to just station a soldier there. The painters complain so much about their wrists getting injured.”
“By the way, Ian. And lately, there’s been some strange rumors circulating.”
“Rumors?”
Ian set down the report and asked with a puzzled expression. During the civil war, security had been so unstable that all manner of rumors circulated. But now, weren’t things gradually returning to normal under Bariel’s rule?
“The river flowing through Kalamatt is apparently drying up.”
The natives called it “Burgos’s Milk”—a river that flowed from the north of Gaia and ran through all of Burgos, literally the lifeblood of the nation. Yet the water depth was growing shallower.
Ian unfolded a map.
“Where is the source?”
“We’d need to go further north from the northern territories.”
My finger traced along the river’s course, sliding naturally upward. Eventually, it stopped at the southern region of Toollun. I tapped my finger suspiciously.
“It’s a river that flows through Burgos and reaches all the way to Cliffford. Of course, they shouldn’t suffer much damage.”
“Is the decreasing water depth an objective fact?”
“It hasn’t been verified yet, but it doesn’t seem to be just one or two people talking about it. The entire population seems to agree. Could it be a problem from Toollun’s side?”
It was certainly plausible as a means of pressuring Burgos. But restricting the water rather than contaminating it—I couldn’t discern what intention or circumstances lay behind it.
“If the river dries up, production will fall, and daily life itself will become impossible. The Hollin Family seems aware of this, but they don’t appear to be taking immediate countermeasures.”
“They can’t. They’ll be too occupied entangling the nobles. Bring me paper. I must report this to His Majesty.”
“Yes, understood.”
“Since it’s the southern region of Toollun, we can include it in the route without overextending. I’ll inquire about their intentions.”
Whether this was orchestrated from Toollun’s center or a unilateral action by the south remained unclear. In fact, it was uncertain whether Toollun was even involved at all.
Swoosh.
Just as Ian picked up his quill to begin writing the report, ink streamed down and blotted the paper with stains.
Under normal circumstances, Ian would never tolerate such a thing. Even the Mage seemed surprised, quickly offering a handkerchief.
“Are you alright? This is the quill you usually use—why would it do that? Did it splash on your clothes?”
Ian raised his hand to show it was fine. Strangely, there was nothing wrong with the quill itself.
“That’s odd. Ominous, even.”
“Ominous? Nonsense.”
“What do you mean? Don’t you believe in such things? When pen ink suddenly bleeds or a decoration falls from the wall, it feels like it’s foretelling an incident.”
“Not at all.”
The moment Ian spoke with certainty, something made a sharp sound. And then a frame hanging on the back wall fell.
The Mage’s eyes widened in shock, and Ian furrowed his brow, turning to look behind him.
“Wh-what…?”
“The Royal Palace’s maintenance is lacking.”
Before he could finish speaking, a thunderbolt suddenly crashed down from the clear sky—BOOM! CRACK!—and the fair weather instantly transformed into a downpour.
Ian searched for a candle without particular reaction, but the Mage froze solid, trembling uncontrollably. As a transcendent being, he feared transcendent phenomena.
“I-Ian, sir. This is terrifying.”
“You frighten me more. Go finish your work.”
Patter patter patter!
Then another Mage rushed in without warning, clutching a rain-soaked letter in his hand. Ian immediately recognized the seal at the bottom as Cliffford’s.
“Ian, sir! Urgent message! Something terrible has happened!”
“What could be so dire?”
“Prime Minister Shatima has been murdered. All evidence points to assassination…”
“…What?”
Ian rose from his seat without thinking. Shatima, the leader of Hawan’s rebel forces and reportedly the one holding real power, assassinated? And so soon?
As I stood on the precipice of a fierce confrontation with Ruswena, the impossible unfolded before me. My brow furrowed, and thunder roared across the heavens once more.
Rumble! Crash!
“To whom?”
“Cliffford appears to be investigating as well, and by now word should have reached Bariel. From the circumstances, it seems to be someone close to Shatima. The last we heard was that he had successfully seized power in Hawan, so there’s little else to conclude.”
I leaned against the desk, lost in thought for a moment. I considered what chaos Shatima’s death might bring to the eastern politics of Bariel.
But what if this was no mere internal strife—what if it was orchestrated by an enemy?
Which nations would benefit from this?
‘Ruswena. And…’
If this incident scattered Cliffford’s main forces, Toollun would gain considerably as well.
I examined the rain-soaked letter carefully, my brow deepening with concern. Toollun was showing far more aggressive movements than I had anticipated. Given this turn of events, Bariel could not remain idle.

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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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