Margrave’s Bastard Son was The Emperor - Chapter 648

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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 648. The Fallen Mage
“Your Highness!”
The cry was urgent and desperate.
Just as Eldetr lowered his spectacles in confusion, he felt the ground tremble beneath him. Something was terribly wrong. The Servant stammered out his words, his face drained of all color.
“Y-Your Highness, one of the Mages who departed for the Great Desert behind the Royal Palace has returned, but, but their condition is… most abnormal. I believe you must go at once.”
“One of them? Their condition is abnormal? And why did they return to the rear courtyard instead of the Magic Department building?”
“I don’t know. It’s quite strange, I… The Royal Palace Mages are gathering there as well, so perhaps you should hurry, h-hurry…”
Eldetr furrowed his brow and rose immediately.
The sudden return of a Mage had thrown the Royal Palace into considerable chaos. Servants scattered in all directions, but upon seeing Eldetr’s arrival, they prostrated themselves in greeting.
As he reached the entrance to the rear courtyard, he saw Mages covering their mouths in shock, muttering something incomprehensible.
“What in the world has happened?”
“Your Highness. It is…”
“…!”
In the center of the courtyard, a Mage whose entire body had turned black was gasping for breath, supporting himself on the ground.
His skin had liquefied and melted away, leaving his form grotesque and unrecognizable. His sclera had turned crimson, and his pupils had deepened to an unfathomable darkness—he looked far more like a demon than a Mage.
“…Your Highness.”
“Vitor? Where are the other two?”
“Dead. Presumably.”
“Presumably? And what in the world is this condition—”
As Vitor chuckled, dark crimson blood poured from his mouth. The grass of the courtyard withered instantly, accompanied by a horrific stench.
The Ruswena Mages whispered to Eldetr.
“…It appears he used forbidden magic.”
“Yes! That’s right! Just my rotten luck—we happened to encounter a sandstorm there, cough.”
Forbidden magic.
The image of Zaira’s Grandmother in her final moments flashed through Eldetr’s mind.
But she had died immediately in that battle, hadn’t she? Her soul had been scattered and destroyed by blood-mixed magic, hadn’t it? Yet how was this man still alive?
“Damn it!”
He convulsed in irritation, barely managing to raise his upper body.
“Your Highness Eldetr. As you commanded, I have annihilated Cheonrye, and in the process, I also burned Hielo to ashes before returning. I have accomplished everything you desired, so please provide additional compensation. Including payment for my fallen Colleagues.”
“Y-Your Highness.”
The Advisors called out to Eldetr in bewilderment. The annihilation of Cheonrye was indeed a clear order. But burning Hielo as well? What kind of calamity was this?
Eldetr gestured for everyone to calm themselves, then approached the Mage.
“Is it true that you burned Hielo as well?”
“I’m dying from exhaustion—don’t make me repeat myself two or three times. While we were eliminating Cheonrye, one of them escaped and fled to the Hielo border. But somehow they found out… Hielo sent out a reconnaissance unit. I judged that quietly annihilating only Cheonrye was meaningless, so I cleaned up Hielo as well.”
It was also to honor the two Mages who had fallen as Colleagues. How dare these beasts, these lowly humans, wound a Mage’s body and take his life? It would have been unimaginable without that sandstorm.
“By ‘cleaned up,’ how thoroughly do you mean?”
“…Sigh. I burned everything alive and toppled every standing structure. You can stake the rest yourselves. Anyway, I’m running low on strength, so I’d appreciate it if you’d settle this quickly. The situation became more complicated than expected. You’ll need to pay at least three thousand gold coins per person.”
That would mean the Mage was demanding at least ten thousand gold coins. It was a sum that was absolutely unacceptable. Even if they agreed, whether they could pay it all at once was another matter entirely.
As the Advisors began to protest, Eldetr silenced them with a gesture.
“Of course.”
“Your Highness!”
Everyone sent him a look of absolute disapproval, so Eldetr also turned his head away from the Mage’s sight and gestured with his eyes. It meant he understood.
“You used forbidden magic, didn’t you? Yet how are you still alive?”
“Because what I desired was ‘immortality.’ Damn those wretched beasts. Give me the gold coins and I’ll leave the Royal Palace immediately.”
Immortality. Eldetr’s eyes shifted subtly.
Zaira’s Grandmother had wanted power strong enough to defeat Ian Hielo. But she ultimately fell into the abyss in defeat, so the Author might have escaped death in that moment, but would eventually meet his end someday.
“…Where will you go?”
“To the Mage’s Forest. I need to dispel this forbidden magic first. Damn, it hurts so much. Really.”
Dispel forbidden magic? Nonsense. The Mages laughed at Vitor groaning and collapsing. Even in that state, he coveted gold coins. They kept their distance and watched him with disgust.
Vitor groaned continuously, cold sweat pouring down his face.
“You heartless bastards. Come here and infuse me with some magical power.”
“…If you used forbidden magic, your magical depth must be considerable. Is that really necessary? Just rest and preserve your body.”
“You’re rude. Fine. That’s not my problem anyway. Listen here, Your Highness. What are you all doing standing around? Go get those gold coins now!”
With his body in this state, his determination to extract gold coins was considerable. If he could just dispel the forbidden magic here, or rather, if he didn’t die, it wouldn’t be a loss. It was a sum of ten thousand gold coins, after all.
As Vitor shouted, one Advisor stammered out a proposal.
“Well, I’m sorry, but we can’t produce ten thousand gold coins immediately. It’s such a large sum that we’d need at least a week or more—”
“Damn it, what are you saying! Don’t you see my condition?”
The Mage’s desperation was laced with poison. At the nauseating energy welling up, the Advisor flinched and stepped backward. It was a warning that he’d blow up the Royal Palace on the spot if his demands weren’t met.
The reason Eldetr hadn’t refused at the beginning and accepted the proposal was precisely this. The actions of someone cornered were predictable.
“Listen, Vitor. Raising your voice will strain your body. For now, focus on recovery. Even if I gave you all the gold coins immediately, could you even carry it?”
“Jewels or certificates will do.”
“Right. That works. In any case, all matters require procedure. Even with certificates, it will take some time. I’ll simplify everything as much as possible and grant your wishes. If waiting is difficult, you’re welcome to go to the Mage’s Forest first.”
“Are you insane? I won’t move a single step from the Royal Palace until my pockets are full. Remember that.”
If he left the Royal Palace, the remaining Mages could generate a barrier to block his approach. Only now, holding the Royal Palace’s safety in his grasp, could he maintain the upper hand in negotiations.
“Until sunset today. I’ll wait until then.”
“…That’s tight. Understood for now. Everyone, move.”
Eldetr commanded everyone to withdraw with a nod. Only a few Mages guarded the entrance connected to the back courtyard, while the rest wiped cold sweat and followed Eldetr out.
Tap tap tap!
Boom!
“Your Highness. What should we do about this?”
“Ten thousand gold coins, you say. Ha, this is ridiculous.”
“He looks like he’ll die soon. What if we write him a fake certificate?”
“That won’t do. If I write a fake certificate, I’ll betray the trust of the Mages still remaining in the Magic Department. For their sake, deception is absolutely forbidden.”
“You’re right. There are still quite a few mercenary-born Mages. Even if they’re from Ruswena, rewards like bonuses are powerful motivators.”
“Good grief, this is maddening. Ten thousand gold coins isn’t some dog’s name from a back alley. Then we have no choice but to draw from the reserve funds in this year’s budget.”
“With war approaching, expenditures are already too large. And we’ve already spent a considerable portion of the reserves on Dragon and Black Armor operations.”
The moment they entered the conference room, they argued with heated voices. Eldetr listened quietly to his Advisors’ opinions, then gave a low command.
“…Call the Minister of Defense. We’ll quickly mobilize the Soldiers and advance toward Hielo Territory.”
It was an opportunity. If the Mage spoke truth, Hielo—the first gateway among the passages leading to Bariel—was practically wide open.
Moreover, since Hielo and Merelrof were adjacent, if we could secure that route, we could easily draw Hawan into participation as well.
And above all else.
“Hielo and Merelrof are cut off from the central region by the Denba Mountains. Even if the center learns of this and sends reinforcements, it will take considerable time for them to arrive. It would be advantageous to swiftly occupy the region once they’re neutralized and establish it as a Ruswena stronghold.”
“Oh, your words are wise, but it’s too risky to send soldiers based solely on a mage’s report.”
“Two mages are dead, and the remaining one had no choice but to resort to forbidden magic. We can assume Cheonrye’s annihilation is certain, and there’s no reason to believe the report about Hielo contains falsehoods.”
This was the opportune moment.
Eldetr nodded, signaling he would not refuse the order. The black armor and dragon were already nearly prepared. There was no harm in hastening things slightly.
“If we traverse through the Mage’s Forest, we can reach Hielo by the shortest route.”
“Understood. I shall summon the Minister of Defense.”
An advisor reluctantly left the conference chamber, as if resigned to the task.
Yet the unease in the chamber showed no signs of subsiding. Completely subduing Hielo? That was fine. The problem was that a mage—little different from a monster—was firmly entrenched in the very heart of the Royal Palace. If things went wrong, the palace could be destroyed before war even began.
As other advisors began to voice their concerns, Eldetr silenced them with a gesture.
“The Puppeteer descending from Hawan—we must bring him here with haste.”
“A, a Puppeteer, my lord?”
Whether mage or monster, controlling their will would resolve the matter simply enough.
In fact, this worked out well. Since this one survived as a product of forbidden magic, he could prove useful against Bariel.
“However, we’ve received no word yet. It’s unclear whether he’s even descending toward Ruswena, so we cannot appease the Author today—”
“Issue a promissory note. We can reclaim it through the Puppeteer later, so what could we possibly lose?”
“Yes, yes, that is true, but forbidden magic exists in uncharted territory. If the method proves ineffective, it would be a disaster.”
“It matters not. Ensuring the palace’s safety before war takes precedence. Considering Bariel’s value, ten thousand gold coins are trivial.”
The advisors groaned and fell silent. But soon they realized there was no alternative to Eldetr’s proposal. Eventually, they bowed their heads in agreement.
“Understood, Your Highness. We shall hasten to prepare the funds.”
“We shall also make inquiries about the Puppeteer. I will send Jeonseogoo toward Hawan. And it would be wise to instruct the Royal Palace Border Guards to grant unconditional priority entry to anyone from Toollun.”
“Good. See it all done.”
At Eldetr’s approval, the advisors rose simultaneously and departed the conference chamber. The moment when war with Bariel drew near once more.
‘I shall repay the humiliation received from Cliffford in kind.’
Eldetr gazed up at the Previous King’s bow hanging on the wall.
Perhaps Eriponi found his vow admirable. Hours later, Eldetr received most welcome news.
Tap tap tap!
“Your Highness. Word has arrived that a Puppeteer from Toollun has reached the capital, Elbasa. He should enter the palace within a couple of hours!”

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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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