Margrave’s Bastard Son was The Emperor - Chapter 95

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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 95. Family Strife
“Romandro? Where has Count Ian gone?”
Butler Samon asked with puzzlement as he watched Romandro walk down the corridor alone. He dismissed the question with a wave of his hand and stepped inside, immediately making his demands.
“Bring me parchment, a pen, and ink.”
“Yes, understood.”
As he entered the bedchamber, the stench of blood wafted up sharply. Along with it came the thick haze of cigar smoke. From within, I could hear Dive’s continuous sobbing, while Lady Lien sat on the sofa with an expressionless face.
“You’ve arrived? Where is Count Ian?”
“Something urgent came up, but he should be back shortly, Madam.”
Romandro glanced around before sitting across from her. It was obvious to anyone that he had something to say, and Lady Lien likewise regarded him while remaining conscious of the inner bedchamber.
“What is it?”
“Madam, Count Ian asked me to relay a message. He says it would be best if you kept the seal once you’ve secured it.”
“Ah.”
The Countess let out a small exclamation of surprise. Ian had sent his intention. If she made her decision, he would lend his strength to overturn the Merelrof estate.
Romandro poured the now-cold tea and spoke quietly.
“I will submit my report, but depending on the discussions above, an investigator may be dispatched again. When that happens, neither I nor Count Ian will be in a position to help you from the side, as we’ll be on the path to the Capital.”
“So I must accomplish this alone.”
“I’ll explain the detailed plan in full once matters are somewhat settled. Will you continue to hold the seal?”
It was a question of whether she would become the head of the household.
The Countess glanced toward the inner bedchamber. Dive had entered without even greeting her. A sister-in-law of slave origin—she found his disdain far too severe. If he became the next Count, Clark’s safety was uncertain, and neither was her own.
No, truthfully, whoever it might be, the only way to protect herself was to rise to the top.
“Yes. I will manage the seal.”
“Good. Then there is one task for you. First, dismiss the knights.”
“You mean the three knights?”
“Didn’t Count Ian mention this?”
“Earlier, yes. He said they had poor cost-effectiveness and to cut the knights first when managing the estate.”
At the Countess’s words, Romandro smiled faintly.
“Well, there’s some merit to that. But procedure is what matters. If they die while holding the title of Merelrof knights, we must report their names to the Imperial Palace, but if they don’t, there’s no need to record them.”
‘If they die while holding the title of Merelrof knights.’
The Countess’s green-tinged eyes gleamed. Romandro was now saying he would kill them all.
“Ah, I see.”
“I trust you understand my meaning.”
“Yes. I understand completely.”
Ian was under scrutiny and surveillance from the Imperial Palace. If it became known that he had killed the Merelrof knights and interfered in the succession under such circumstances, it would certainly become quite problematic. Lady Lien nodded and glanced toward the bedchamber again. Dive’s affected sobs were gradually subsiding.
“What about him?”
“Count Ian said he would handle him directly, so you can leave it to him. However, what you must promise is as follows.”
It was a condition to bind Ian and the Countess firmly together.
“Five thousand gold coins.”
“No problem. I’ll sell land if I must.”
“Maintain the number of soldiers at half or less of the current amount.”
It held the meaning of restraining Merelrof. It was a treaty for mutual peace, prepared for when Ian was absent. Naturally, it posed no problem whatsoever for the Countess.
“That’s acceptable.”
“Regarding all transactions offered to the Countess, Count Ian shall have right of first refusal. Of course, you retain the right to reject Count Ian’s proposals.”
Since Ian’s estate was the closest neighboring territory anyway, it was always the first mentioned in any trade or exchange discussions. The Countess nodded, signaling she had no objections to this arrangement either.
“If you agree, I shall prepare a formal contract once matters are settled.”
“I have no reason to object. Everything suits me.”
“Yes. Ah, and regarding a man named Clark…”
Lady Lien’s expression stiffened slightly. I had racked my brain repeatedly, but no solution presented itself. The only option I could squeeze out was for her to become lord and grant him a pardon.
But whether the knights and Dive would keep Clark alive until then remained uncertain. He was hanging by a thread—by Ian’s own words, it was a miracle he was still breathing at all.
What torture he had endured in the Underground Prison, whether he was already dead—I could know none of it from my bedchamber.
“Is there a way?”
“Well, there is one, but…”
Just as Romandro was about to continue, Dive appeared, dabbing the corners of his eyes with a handkerchief. From the sound alone, one would think he’d collapse backward, his voice hoarse—yet his face bore no swelling whatsoever. He had merely raised his voice.
“Sister-in-law. I regret that matters have come to this.”
“So now you notice me. You ignored me without greeting just moments ago. Was it because you were with Romandro?”
A direct hit. He was an Advisor officially dispatched from the Imperial Palace, the man who would submit the notarized report—image management was necessary. Yet Dive responded without batting an eye.
“How could that be? The shock of my brother’s death was so overwhelming that I rushed straight to my bedchamber. Sister-in-law, you remain as sharp as ever.”
“Indeed. And you remain as consistent as ever, Dive.”
Sparks seemed to fly between them. Romandro merely cleared his throat and interjected.
“Please, both of you, compose yourselves and sit.”
“Yes. Romandro. Sorrowful as it is, we must settle what needs settling. I hear that vicious slave who reduced my brother to this state still draws breath in the Underground Prison.”
“His name is Clark.”
“Please provide a detailed account of the incident for the report to the Imperial Palace, and I request notification regarding the succession of the title.”
Unlike Ian, who received a new house and title, this was succession within the family. It required only notification to the capital through report, not imperial sanction.
Dive’s butler brought writing implements along with a parchment rest. Romandro nodded as he dipped his pen in ink.
“Of course. What tragedy could be more extraordinary than this? A slave murdering his master—a nobleman, no less. But tell me, Dive, do you have no other family?”
“I do not.”
“Ah, I hear you believe in the Underground God.”
“Me? No. Who said such a thing? Did the Countess tell you?”
Dive denied it flatly. Though Bariel granted religious freedom, that freedom was granted with the assumption of non-belief. In an empire where the Papal See officially presided over a god, heresy was unthinkable.
In the Borderlands, there would be no direct punishment, but disadvantages were certain. Had he known Ian was a neighboring lord, he would have refrained from mentioning the Underground God in his own home or making prayer gestures.
“Or perhaps Count Ian mentioned it?”
“It matters not who spoke of it. What matters is the fact itself. Is that not so?”
“No. Such a thing never occurred.”
“I see. Very well.”
For the sake of the title, I denied my faith outright. This lamentable situation caused me such anguish, and I longed only to offer a prayer of repentance.
Yet outwardly, I feigned indifference and changed the subject.
“Given these unfortunate circumstances, the succession ceremony cannot be conducted grandly. Let us proceed simply tomorrow and then hold my brother’s funeral.”
“No. The funeral comes first. That is proper protocol.”
Romandro flatly refused. This bought time for the Countess to reorganize the knights. Dive, about to protest, fell silent at the word “protocol.” As a nobleman, wasn’t that the foremost thing to uphold?
“I shall ask several questions so that I may detail them in the report. Would that be acceptable?”
“Please do.”
“If he inherits, how many generations removed would Dive be from the title?”
“Since my brother was the eighth, he would be the ninth.”
Romandro diligently wielded his pen, asking questions here and there. Yet throughout this exchange, my mind boiled with fervent heat. A desperate hunger consumed me—to sever every trace of my husband and cast it all away.
Start anew. Abandon everything and begin fresh.
Survival came first. Even if I had to discard everything again later, living mattered most.
‘Clark…’
“…Madam?”
“Yes?”
“Were you listening?”
“Oh, I apologize. I lost track for a moment. What were you saying?”
Lady Lien turned to Romandro with a slight smile. Dive seemed displeased even by her demeanor. His disapproving clicks of his tongue grew increasingly blatant.
“I’ve asked the estate villagers to announce the matter today and requested assistance with reorganizing the household.”
“Ah, reorganizing the household. Of course.”
He meant the dismissal of the knight I’d mentioned earlier. As I nodded, agreeing to proceed immediately, Dive interjected with a truly unpleasant expression.
“No. That won’t be necessary.”
“Won’t be necessary?”
“What good is management by someone who will soon leave this estate? From now on, I shall handle it. Sister-in-law, please step back and compose yourself.”
The phrase “someone who will soon leave this estate” carried a barb. It meant: don’t even think of playing family with us, you slave-born wretch. And beneath it lay another concern—fear that while he was away, I might strip the household of its furnishings.
As Romandro attempted to mediate, Lady Lien struck back sharply.
“Haven’t you been away from this estate for quite some time? I doubt you’d even know where to begin managing it now.”
“Sister-in-law. Your words are rather presumptuous?”
“Is that so? If that’s how you feel, I’m not sorry. The Count hasn’t even held his funeral yet, and you’re already desperate to seize the title. I understand your circumstances—cast out by the family for following heresy—but there is such a thing as propriety.”
Each word she fired was aggressive and cutting. Dive raised his hand as if to strike her down immediately, but Romandro and the butler rushed to restrain him in alarm.
“Really, what is this? Dive.”
“Dive! You mustn’t do this!”
“Even cast out, you’re still Merelrof blood. Always resorting to violence.”
Yet I didn’t flinch. I drove my point home with the venom of a woman with nothing left to lose.
Dive trembled with indignation at being contradicted by a slave-born woman, his voice rising to a shriek.
“You know your place, you lowborn wretch!”
“Exactly. A lowborn wretch elevated to Countess—your brother must have been truly mad. Utterly insane. Same blood runs through you, so you’re no different, are you? Well, madness begets madness.”
Dive flailed his hands more violently, but he could not overpower both Romandro and the butler. As I’d said, the brothers shared even the same lean, wiry frame.
I moistened my lips with tea and glanced toward the door.
A knight had appeared in the doorway, drawn by the sudden commotion.
“You there.”
At my summons, the knight’s eyebrows twitched. I gestured toward Dive and spoke with an incredulous tone.
“If you were the Count’s knight, isn’t it your duty to protect me as well?”
“Madam, until we uncover the truth about the Count’s death, we cannot protect you.”
“Clark is locked in the Underground Prison, yet you speak of truth from there? If you insist on this course, I have no choice.”
My eyes held a question: what will you do about it?
“Before the funeral, Romandro proved that the responsibility of this estate falls to me. I’m dismissing all three knights belonging to the Merelrof household.”
“Dismissing them?”
The Knight laughed again. What meaning could dismissal possibly hold? But in that instant.
Crash!
A strange sound erupted from the floor below.
The sound of something collapsing and shattering—not an explosion, but something folding in on itself.
The Knight’s gaze shifted uncertainly toward the end of the corridor. Someone was ascending the stairs with fierce momentum.

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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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