Margrave’s Bastard Son was The Emperor - Chapter 96

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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 96. The True Pilgrim
“Hey there.”
Red hair—it was Berik. Those who climbed up behind him were the Cheonryeo Warriors I’d only heard rumors about.
The Knight stumbled backward in surprise at their sudden appearance. Dive, watching from the bedroom, slowly lowered his hand and furrowed his brow.
“What’s the matter?”
Creak.
Dive and the Butler fully opened the door and poked their heads into the corridor. Five Cheonryeo Warriors—each worth a hundred men in combat. The Countess seemed curious as well, but she deliberately remained in her seat.
“Has Berik arrived?”
Romandro asked while organizing papers with quick taps. The Butler barely muttered in a hollow voice.
“No, Romandro. What on earth is this…?”
“Nothing much. Lady Lien was concerned about safety, so we’re providing a small measure of assistance. There’s much to attend to in preparing the funeral, and if anything were to happen to the lady in the meantime, it would be quite troublesome.”
“Happen? What could possibly happen in this mansion…?”
“Something did happen—that’s why the Count passed away.”
Romandro answered calmly and slipped the parchment into his inner pocket. The Knight stopped his hesitant retreat and asked.
“What was that loud noise just now? My colleague should have been downstairs.”
“Your colleague? Ah, yes. There was one.”
“…There was one?”
“Did you dismiss all the knights, ma’am?”
The Three Knights, Dive, and the Butler couldn’t fathom Berik’s intent. It was Romandro who answered instead of the Countess.
“Yes. She just declared it verbally. Those men are no longer affiliated with Merelrof.”
“Ah. Perfect timing.”
Perfect timing? For what?
Then, from far down the corridor, two men climbed the stairs. It was Ian and a Warrior, with a familiar body slung over the Warrior’s shoulder.
“Kel! Damn it, of all people!”
One of Merelrof’s Three Knights. There was a reason the body could only be identified by its form—the head was so drenched in blood that no facial features were visible.
Clang!
Another Knight gasped and drew his sword, but the atmosphere didn’t shift. If anything, it felt like the desperate thrashing of prey, a one-sided display of overwhelming power.
“I mean, he kept blocking the way and wouldn’t move. He said he’d never let us through even if it killed him, so… it did.”
It happened in an instant. The impatient Cheonryeo Warrior grabbed the head and smashed it against the door. Whether from carelessness or sheer strength, a single blow was enough to break through.
“Hey, he wasn’t careless. I’m telling you, I counted the force.”
“Yeah, no. I could’ve broken through too.”
“Berik, you broke through because of your own bulk. Weren’t that guy and this one about the same level as the one from the Great Desert back then?”
“Again! Stop bringing that up! I’m sick of hearing it. Let me fight and show you!”
“Alright, alright. You sure talk a lot.”
“You don’t believe me, that’s why!”
Thud!
The Warrior who’d been joking with Berik hurled the corpse to the ground. Ian glanced inward toward the bedroom, confirming Romandro and Lady Lien.
“No problems here.”
“Aaaaah! Count Ian! Do you even realize what you’re doing right now?!”
Dive shrieked at the lifeless body crumpling to the floor and fled into the bedroom. Cold sweat dripped down the back of the Knight holding his sword.
‘Ian said he wouldn’t intervene directly. Damn it.’
It was the opinion of Puulu, the captain of the Three Knights. Ian was currently being checked by the imperial palace and would soon have to head to the capital, so the analysis suggested he couldn’t meddle in Merelrof’s internal affairs.
Every point made sense and had proven effective in practice, but variables always existed.
“Yes, Dive. I understand, but I’ve been gravely insulted by three former knights.”
“In, insulted?”
Dive’s voice trembled thinly. He’d expected to conduct the funeral smoothly and inherit the title, but this bloodshed…
“The Butler must have heard. When I rushed over out of concern for the Count’s passing, they asked if I had an improper relationship with the Countess. It’s the first time in my life I’ve suffered such an insult, so I intend to prove my innocence through their deaths.”
“Isn’t innocence usually proven with your own life?”
“Is that how it usually works? Not for me.”
I looked at the knight who’d drawn his sword.
“My innocence is only proven if I remain alive to demonstrate it. Meanwhile, disrespectful thoughts only disappear when their source dies. Berik.”
“Okay.”
Berik slowly grasped both door handles and pulled. The Butler standing nearby naturally stepped back, and along with one of the Three Knights who’d drawn his sword, the bedroom door soon closed completely.
Creak.
“What in the…”
“Y, you lowborn wretch!”
Unlike the overloaded Butler, Dive managed to grasp the situation with surprising quickness. Hadn’t Ian brought those barbarian brutes to protect the Countess?
“You, you’re trying to destroy the family!”
Dive grabbed a nearby ornament and lunged at the Countess. The affair was certain. Otherwise, why would Ian help the Countess? The knights had suspected it from the start, and everything fell into place like puzzle pieces.
“That won’t do, Dive.”
“Let go! You, you bastards. Are you in league with Ian and that whore? Divine punishment will strike you down!”
“I suggest you calm yourself. If you harm the Countess now, think about what will happen when that door opens.”
At that moment, a vibration rang out as if the floor would collapse.
Boom! Crash! Thud!
Clang!
Without even looking, I could sense it with all my senses. The knight’s body was hurled, crashed into the floor, the window shattered, and he continued to slam into the wall.
Dive’s face turned pale as stone.
“Damn it.”
Then he shook off Romandro’s hand and fell to his knees, beginning to pray. Muttering incomprehensibly, he continued to murmur unknown words, pleading for mercy from the underworld god he believed in.
“Well, I’ll be.”
I knew of the underworld god religion, but this was my first time seeing an actual believer. Romandro watched Dive’s pathetic state with equal parts fascination and bewilderment.
“Let him pray. It’s better than him attacking again. Disgusting as it looks.”
“Shut up! Evil demon!”
“Bullshit.”
Lady Lien now showed her middle finger without hesitation.
Dive’s face flushed with insult and he bit his lip hard, but chose to focus on his prayers rather than spout profanities. He practically prostrated himself as he cried out.
Boom! Crash!
“Aaaaagh!”
“Haha! Ah! That won’t do!”
Prayer sounds mixed with dull, thunderous booms and screams. This wasn’t an evenly matched fight—the disparity in power was unmistakably clear.
How much time had passed?
The commotion gradually subsided, then ceased entirely.
Everyone except Romandro stared at the firmly closed door—their gazes filled with dread, wondering if it would open at all, and if it did, what horrors might emerge.
Creak.
As the door slowly opened, the corridor wall came into view. Bloodstained handprints. A long trail of blood—I didn’t need to ask whose it was.
Romandro smacked his lips and asked.
“Is it finished?”
“There’s one more knight remaining, but he doesn’t appear to be in the mansion, so I’m planning to send Berik to pursue him.”
Of course, some Cheonryeo Warriors would accompany them. Dive turned his head away, dreading the sight of another corpse.
Ian sat across from the Countess and gestured.
“Please sit over here. I have something to tell you.”
It felt like when my parents called me as a child, saying they had something to discuss. I didn’t want to, but there was no way to escape, and my anxiously trembling heart made my stomach churn.
Dive forced himself to sit calmly.
“First, I’d like to apologize for the commotion. But as you’ve heard, these men are no longer connected to Merelrof.”
“Do you think that’s a reasonable argument right now?”
“Dive. I’m about to offer you several proposals. I hope you’ll think carefully and make a wise choice. Countess, the same applies to you.”
Ian cleanly ignored Dive’s words and pushed forward with what he had to say. Lady Lien regarded him with an indifferent expression, merely bringing the now-cold tea to her lips.
“It doesn’t seem like either of you has the will to coexist. Is that correct?”
“Yes. We don’t.”
“Ha, good grief. Who does he think he is to say such things!”
The most peaceful method would be for Dive to inherit the title according to custom while delegating all authority to the Countess. That way, the matter could be resolved without reporting to the imperial palace. But given how the two of them were acting…
“For each other’s safety, I believe one of you should leave Merelrof—specifically, Bariel. Personally, I would prefer that person to be you, Dive.”
“What is this treachery! Outside! Is anyone out there!”
Dive, flushed with rage, bellowed at the top of his lungs. The door opened, and a couple of Cheonryeo Warriors poked their heads in.
Creak.
“Did you call, Ian?”
“No. Just continue with the cleanup.”
No one would help a pseudo-heretical successor who had spent his days praying in a remote mansion without any real power.
Bang!
As the door shut firmly, Dive squeezed his eyes shut and began muttering an incomprehensible prayer.
“The cleanest solution would be if everyone bearing the name Merelrof simply disappeared, but if that happened, it would be difficult for the Countess to manage. An imperial investigator would come down, review the matter again, and she would need to receive a new title from the Emperor as I did—proving her capability would be no trivial task.”
Even if she proved her capability, it was uncertain whether she would be chosen. Most likely, Prince Gail or other opposing factions would try to place their own candidate. Like Erika.
“By that time, I’ll be advancing to the capital, so I won’t be able to actively assist you.”
“Then what?”
“It would be most ideal if Dive left his territory for a long, very long time. Isn’t Toolun in the northern hemisphere where the Underground God resides? I’m suggesting you undertake a pilgrimage there.”
It was a polite way of saying he should leave and never return.
“I believe 1,000 gold coins should be sufficient for embarking on such a pilgrimage.”
“…Do you have any idea how far that is?”
“I’ve heard it takes three months of solid walking.”
A kind of vacancy. If Dive left before the succession after the Count’s death, the lordship would be left completely vacant. But then the imperial palace would have no real reason to intervene, and the Countess wouldn’t need to struggle through the complicated process of gaining recognition and proving herself.
“What if the author leaves, and after Count Ian departs, he returns and secretly informs the imperial court about all this?”
“The author? Did you just say the author? Now?”
Lady Lien didn’t even glance toward Dive. He looked ready to topple backward at any moment, his face flushed with rage, but with Ian and Romandro present, he couldn’t afford to raise his voice.
“You needn’t worry about that.”
“Do you have something in mind?”
“Yes. Though it will require the Countess to spend some money. I believe that won’t be an issue. What truly matters is Dive’s decision.”
I smiled and looked toward Dive. Simultaneously, gazes poured down from Romandro and Lady Lien. Dive’s lips trembled dryly as he found himself cornered.
Without divine revelation, it was painfully clear what would befall him if he refused my proposal.

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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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