Margrave’s Bastard Son was The Emperor - Chapter 663

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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 663. The Third Forbidden Mage
Eldetr stared at the glass bottle on the table with a look of disgust. The pupils of two eyeballs suspended in viscous liquid continued to dilate and contract repeatedly.
He pressed his forehead and turned to Minister Martin.
“This is the Countess Darsi?”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“This is maddening. She’s still alive despite being in this state?”
“Given the continued pupil responses, yes, it appears she is alive. More importantly, the Ruswena Mages have not broken free from the puppet spell.”
“It’s grotesque, absolutely grotesque.”
When the Mages were made to cast forbidden magic, the Countess’s body melted away. There were testimonies that at the end she seemed to be calling out to the King of Torlun, but since the Countess had no mouth, no explanation could be heard from her.
It was truly absurd and bewildering. As Eldetr paced back and forth through the conference room, the Countess’s pupils seemed to shrink in response.
“So the Bariel Mages have nearly all crossed over?”
“Yes, from what we can tell. Minister of Magic Ian Hielo and one Mage Knight entered at the vanguard and hid themselves in the Mage’s Forest, and reinforcements arrived after combat began.”
“While he was in Calamat, how in the world did he know?!”
Eldetr slammed the desk and shot to his feet. The glass bottle containing the Countess shook violently from the impact.
“My apologies, Your Highness. I suspect he may have set up some mechanism in Hielo Territory. Since it is the Minister of Magic’s domain, there must be something to relay information immediately, wouldn’t you say?”
Martin speculated cautiously, but there was no certainty in his words. And for good reason—the Mages who should have added their opinions to his argument all stood dazed with vacant expressions.
Eldetr clutched his head as if it were throbbing.
“The casualties?”
“Aside from the Black-Armored Knights and Dragon that went to scout the Mage’s Forest, there aren’t many. The problem is the Mages. Two of the Mages who used forbidden magic were dealt with by Ian Hielo, and the remaining one—”
“Is still standing there?”
“Yes. He hasn’t moved.”
After the sun had completely set, Ruswena circled the Mage’s Forest on a Dragon to ascertain Bariel’s movements. It was then that they discovered the Mage held by Idgal.
The Soldiers broke him free with hammers, but he remained motionless, still standing in that very spot.
“I have no idea what’s happening.”
Eldetr examined the glass bottle while pondering, when he noticed something strange. The faint threads he had taken for hair extended unusually long. The length was far too great to belong to the Countess.
‘…Threads?’
The Puppeteer’s threads? Why would they appear on the Countess? Eldetr furrowed his brow.
‘Was the Countess also strung by threads? If so, the sorcerer must surely be the King of Torlun. This matches the testimony that she called out to the King before her body melted.’
The Countess was merely a puppet, and because the source entity remained intact, the Ruswena Mages could not escape the puppet spell.
Eldetr fixed his gaze on one of the Mages standing motionless and asked.
“…King of Torlun, are you there?”
“Your Highness?”
“If you’re listening, answer. Don’t lurk and eavesdrop.”
Martin looked alarmed, watching both Eldetr and the Mage.
The Mage seemed unchanged at first, then his eyes rolled smoothly and he laughed. His body was that of a middle-aged man, but his manner of speech was that of a young girl.
“I didn’t wish to make a first acquaintance in this manner.”
“I find it difficult to accept the current situation. With the Countess in that state, what becomes of the Ruswena Mages?”
“The King of Ruswena need not worry and should proceed with your plans. Your objective is to deal with the Bariel Mages. I shall help you achieve that purpose. However—”
The Mage’s eyes rolled in circles.
“Forbidden magic appears to be a burden too great for the Puppeteer to handle, so for now it would be wise to manage with the one that remains.”
“Are you referring to that thing standing near the Mage’s Forest right now? If it’s such a burden that even moving it becomes problematic, then Ruswena cannot expect Toollun’s aid. And more than that….”
Eldetr narrowed his eyes and trailed off. It seemed as though he had overheard every word exchanged in their own royal palace, yet he hadn’t revealed himself—which was deeply suspicious.
“Why didn’t you show yourself sooner? If I hadn’t noticed, would you have remained hidden?”
“That’s not quite it. I felt a bit sorry.”
“Sorry?”
The Mage chuckled, his vacant eyes staring into empty space while his lips stretched sideways as if they might tear.
“I didn’t expect the Mages to redirect the water flow in that direction.”
“Water flow? What do you mean by that?”
“Ah, you didn’t know? The contaminated water that Toollun sent out traveled through a portal alongside the Mages to Ruswena. It wasn’t intentional, mind you. It happened during my attempt to keep the Mages pinned down in Kalamata, so I hope you’ll understand.”
Eldetr turned to Minister Martin. What exactly was this contaminated water the Mage was speaking of? But the Minister’s expression showed equal confusion, so the Mage straightened himself with a chuckle.
“I’ll keep the Forbidden Mages stationed there. Should Bariel attempt to invade Ruswena again, they’ll serve as the first line of defense. I’ll also send signals to the ‘Dolls’ on Hawan’s side, so I’d appreciate it if you could hold out a bit longer.”
“Wait. If Hawan pushes forward, it’ll be difficult to respond when the Central Army arrives at Hielo. I’d prefer if Hawan waited near Merelrof.”
“That’s something I’ll judge for myself.”
At the Mage’s retort, veins bulged on Eldetr’s neck. The audacity of this creature, pulling puppet strings from afar.
The Mage nodded in an eerie angle as a farewell.
“Anyway, thanks to this, I’ve learned that Kalamata is completely empty. I’m grateful.”
If all of Kalamata’s Mages were here in Ruswena, it meant the Emperor was alone. The Mage Knights would be at his side, but could they compare to Mages?
“I’ll send word if there’s good news. Then, good luck.”
“Hey!”
Eldetr called out urgently, but King Toollun had already severed the connection with the Mage.
“…”
Eldetr stood holding only the edge of his sleeve for a moment before turning to Minister Martin.
“What is this contaminated water the King of Toollun spoke of?”
“…I’m not certain. I couldn’t identify it.”
During the battle, his mind was elsewhere, and when surveying the front from atop the Dragon, it was too dark to discern anything. There was no opportunity to observe how far the contaminated water flowing in from the desert had spread, or what state the soil and vegetation were in.
“Send the Dragon again to investigate. If contaminated water is flowing in, dig trenches along the border to stop it! If the Mage’s Forest is damaged, all our plans lose meaning.”
“Yes, understood, my Prince!”
“Damn it.”
Crash!
As Minister Martin hurried away, Eldetr slammed his desk in frustration once more.
While Ruswena battled the Bariel Mages, Toollun seemed intent on targeting the Emperor left alone in Kalamata. I wondered if they could stand against the vast Bariel forces, but they must have their reasons for attempting this.
“Sigh.”
Eldetr gazed down at Countess Darsi’s eyes, which remained fixed upon him. Could King Toollun see the situation through those eyes as well?
Suddenly displeased, he tucked the glass vial into a drawer and passed the vacant-eyed Mages as he left his office.
“How goes the emergency assembly?”
“It’s underway, my Prince.”
The Bariel Mages had retreated. This meant they had suffered considerable losses as well. Eldetr recognized that this was both a crisis and an opportunity.
“Bring me the Royal Bow. I will participate in the next battle.”
* * *
“Boy.”
Berik sniffed irritably through his nose.
Damn it. He’d managed to cross the desert boldly and slip back across the Ruswena border, but that was as far as his luck had taken him. The moment he entered the Mage’s Forest, he’d lost his way like a ghost.
‘No buildings, no roads, no one to ask.’
And it was the middle of the night. All the trees looked identical, making it impossible to confirm he was even walking in the right direction.
Berik stopped for a moment and crossed his arms. There was a faint stench of filth coming from somewhere, but it mixed with the wind and became indistinguishable.
“Berik. You think you can make it alone?”
“Right. You can’t even tell left from right. Won’t the darkness make it harder?”
“What do you take me for? I can distinguish that much now. Besides, there’s still the scent of dragon and black-armored knight blood lingering there, so I’ll find it quickly.”
“I’m worried. Should I come with you?”
“That’s funny. You’ve never even been there. Besides me and Ian, who else is there?”
“Even without going, I’d probably find it better than you.”
“Is there a Ruswena mage here?”
“Yes, that’s me. But, ugh—”
“Your face is so pale you look like you’re about to collapse any moment. Never mind! Forget it! There might be Ruswena scouts patrolling, and if something happens, you’d just be dead weight.”
“Ian, will it be alright? Sending Berik alone?”
“…Shh. Ian just fell asleep.”
“Fine then. I’ll be back before Ian wakes up. Otherwise, I’m your younger brother.”
“You already are my younger brother, you bastard.”
Berik groaned, recalling the conversation at the mansion. He should have brought that Ruswena mage with him. He chewed on the dried meat he’d brought and unfolded the map the mage had drawn.
Relying on the faint moonlight, Berik barely made out the map. The mage who gave it to him had drawn it as simply and clearly as possible, considering his nature—
“This is supposed to be a map? Tsk tsk. That so-called smart bastard made it worse, really.”
Berik clicked his tongue while holding the map upside down. Following the scent would be best, but the wind and that musty water smell made it difficult.
He walked forward, roughly pushing through the brush with his short blade. If he kept going, something would eventually appear, right?
Whiiiiing—!
At that moment, a dragon flew overhead. Startled, Berik crouched down, and the dragon continued circling as if on patrol. It seemed Ruswena was checking the area near the Mage’s Forest.
‘Ah, this is really annoying.’
He was already busy finding his way, and now he had to hide his presence too. Should he just grab one of them?
Zing! Zing!
Berik hesitated while releasing his mana, but then stopped himself.
“I’ll let you off this time, you lizard bastard.”
Then, moving quietly and carefully, he resumed walking.
After walking for some time, as he ventured deeper toward the forest’s center, the stench of contaminated water grew fainter while the smell of blood grew stronger.
“Oh!”
Soon enough, Berik discovered a small hamlet. Splintered trees lay scattered about, dragon corpses, and remnants of black armor were all still there.
Berik carefully entered what looked like the village hall and opened a drawer.
“It should be somewhere around here….”
Boxes, boxes, triangular boxes…. As Berik rummaged through his memories, a shadow appeared through the window.
A desolate and unpleasant presence crept up his back, and Berik froze and turned around, his body going rigid.
“…!”
His eyes met those of a person smiling with a vacant, hollow gaze.
The figure pressing their face against the window was none other than the Third Forbidden Mage who had been lying in wait nearby. Sensing Berik’s magical power, I had been naturally drawn here.
“Damn—!”
Zing, zing!
Crash!
Startled, Berik reflexively unleashed a crimson-glowing mage sword, and the cottage window shattered with a deafening crash.

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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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