Margrave’s Bastard Son was The Emperor [EN]: Chapter 139

Ian’s departure left Marib’s office quiet. Aides, summoned at dawn, hurried inside, their hair still disheveled from sleep.

Knock knock.

“Your Highness, it’s Paal.”

“Enter.”

Marib sat by the window, unusually, his gaze fixed outside, like someone searching for a path in the darkness.

“Just now, Baron Ian Hielro was here.”

“Ah, yes.”

“He said Gale would remove Wesley.”

“Pardon?”

Did he mishear something? Paal rubbed his face, trying to wake up. Gale removing Wesley? Wouldn’t that be like cutting off his own wings?

“That’s absurd. Did Baron Ian say that?”

“He said we’d know after next week’s personnel meeting. I can’t believe it, but if he says so, there must be something to it.”

The aide realized why Marib had called him so urgently. He was to find out why Gale would remove Wesley. What could be so important that Gale would sacrifice Wesley? It could be his Achilles’ heel [a weakness that could lead to downfall].

“And is there any way to obtain Siltham Potion?”

“It’s possible, but it will take time. Or, in the case of Siltham Potion, perhaps Baron Ian…”

Marib had only seen Siltham Potion once, during a report meeting about its commercialization. Some were still under research, but the Magic Department was reluctant to show them. The aide trailed off, gasping softly.

“You intend to use it on Baron Ian.”

“No matter how I think about it, something feels off.”

It was as if, even when Ian bowed his head, he was looking at Marib as an equal. For example, none of Marib’s orders to Ian had been properly carried out. Supporting the Magic Stone Management Department, not supplying Luron Stone, and so on.

‘There’s logic and reason to it, so I let it go, but that itself is strangely unsettling.’

A piece on a chessboard. It should have no will or ego, yet it felt like he was being given advice every time he made a move. If he kept following this, he would lose his own center and judgment.

“Pay close attention to Gale and Wesley’s movements. The personnel meeting is next week, so if they act, it will be soon. Also, find out who in the Magic Department has the most contact with Gale after Wesley.”

That person was Gale’s next choice for minister, his second wing. The aide bowed his head, acknowledging Marib’s order.

“Oh, and Your Highness, the Rutherford Merchant Guild has contacted us. They said they’ll be passing through Hawan and entering Bariel again this year. They expect it to be sometime between summer and autumn.”

“Rutherford? Has it been that long?”

Marib took off his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose. They were his unofficial sponsors, old acquaintances, and alchemists.

“There was nothing else in the letter. There was no magic stone enclosed, so it seems impossible to reply.”

Swoosh.

The aide handed Marib a small letter, adding that it was too shabby to be a report for a prince.

“Did they find ‘it’?”

“I believe so. If they hadn’t, they would have mentioned it. It’s fine. This is something to worry about in the second half of the year anyway.”

Merchant guilds buy, sell, and transport requested items. The fact that they were coming to the center of Bariel through Hawan, as before, was proof that they had fulfilled Marib’s request.

‘They’ll pass through Mereloff via Hawan, just like last time.’

Time had certainly passed. The owner of Mereloff was dead, and Bratz next to it had become Hielro territory. Marib chuckled and put the letter in a drawer.

* * *

Ian and Romandro arrived at the mansion around dawn. After changing clothes, Ian returned to the Magic Department, and Romandro to the Administrative Department to monitor the situation. As soon as Ian got out of the carriage, Beric, who had been waiting, roughly threw open the door.

“Iaaaann!”

“Hey, you’ll wake up the whole neighborhood!”

Romandro covered his mouth with his finger, but it was no use with Beric. Beric, who had been running, stopped abruptly and scanned Ian up and down. It was because of the stained blood.

“What, what’s wrong, Ian?!”

“It’s nothing. Don’t make a fuss.”

“That’s not your blood, is it? Is it the other guy’s?”

“It’s mine.”

“Damn it, why are you getting beat up outside? Which bastard did this?!”

The lanterns on the second floor of the mansion lit up. Minni and Vivianna must have woken up from the commotion. Romandro frowned at Beric as if scolding him and hurried inside. Ian did the same. Beric kept circling, trying to find Ian’s wounds.

“Which empty-headed bastard did this? Huh? Don’t you need to see a doctor?”

“Oh my, Baron Ian! Good heavens!”

“Minni, I’m sorry for waking you. I have to leave right away, so please prepare some clothes.”

Minni, still in her pajamas, was also shocked and froze. But she quickly came to her senses and went upstairs to prepare Ian’s clothes. Ian pushed away Beric, who was still yelling beside him.

“Our Baron Ian Hielro! Huh? A baron! A mage! A precious person like no other in the world! Should I kill that bastard? Or, huh? Break all his bones?!”

“Seriously, I won’t blame you for not fulfilling your escort duty, so please stop. My head hurts.”

“Ah, okay. Hehe.”

Beric scratched the back of his head and smiled awkwardly. His master had come back covered in blood while he was passed out drunk, so he was trying to get ahead of the scolding by getting angry first. But, apart from that, he was genuinely surprised and worried.

“But seriously, how did this happen? Does it hurt?”

“It’s a side effect of a magic potion. There was no pain, so it’s fine. By the way, where’s Hasha?”

She wasn’t there when he went out during the day, and she wasn’t there at dawn either. Beric scratched his ear and shrugged. He had just woken up from the sound of the carriage, so he had no idea where Hasha was.

“I don’t know.”

“…What?”

Ian stopped unbuttoning his shirt. He had heard that she had been going out often lately, but he hadn’t heard that she was this late. Above all, Hasha was a smart child. Being in the center, she knew she had to hide from Wesley’s forces.

“Romandro! Minni!”

“Huh? Oh, yeah.”

Romandro, who had been greeting Vivianna, came down urgently. Minni did the same. Ian took the new clothes and asked.

“Minni, do you know where Hasha might have gone?”

“Hasha, well, she just kept going around the neighborhood.”

“She’s never been this late, has she?”

“No. But I’ve fallen asleep before, so I thought she would be the same today. Hasn’t Hasha come back yet?”

If something happened to Hasha now, it would be a problem. The child was the only survivor who could testify about the forbidden necromancy. He had lit the fuse by meeting Gale and Marib, so Hasha would soon be summoned.

The problem was that he couldn’t say when.

“Hasha disappeared?”

“It’s not that she disappeared, but it seems like there’s a problem.”

“Oh my, I’m going crazy, I’m going crazy!”

“The good thing is that we have secured her testimony with the brooch, but it’s difficult for it to be accepted as objective evidence. It would be best to send people out as quickly as possible.”

Minni, who had been listening quietly, was startled and covered her mouth. The brooch had reminded her of something.

“What’s wrong?”

“That…”

“Minni, we don’t have much time.”

“The brooch, Hasha has it. It’s on her necklace.”

It was to record fragments of the past that she suddenly remembered. Like adding layers to her testimony.

Romandro frowned, looking troubled, but Ian’s face brightened.

“Hasha went out wearing it?”

“Yes, probably. And this is a high-end residential area where civil servants live, so stray dogs without owners are caught. She needs a mark like that to wander around.”

“H-has she gone far outside the neighborhood? Then she’ll be an easy target.”

If a dog had a shiny necklace around its neck, it could be threatened by vagrants or thugs. Romandro wailed, covering his cheeks, but Ian waved his hand.

“Go get the leather bag.”

“Leather bag? W-wait a minute!”

The brooch that Derga had given Ian. It could record and track location at the same time. A direction needle made of a magic stone similar to the brooch, not a compass, would roughly indicate Hasha’s location.

Click.

“H-how do you read this?”

“It’s a low-grade magic stone, so I don’t know the details. You can only guess by the direction and the intensity of the light.”

The magic stone direction needle of the compass was pointing north. The intensity of the light was faint, but it hadn’t gone out yet. It meant she was quite far away.

“Beric.”

“Huh?”

Thwack!

Ian threw the compass to Beric, who caught it reflexively. But he was startled as if he had touched something he shouldn’t have and threw it onto the sofa. He had understood Ian’s order.

“You want me to go?”

“Then, should I go?”

“The distance isn’t shown. How far am I supposed to go?”

“It should be within the center. If you go beyond the center, send a message to the mansion and continue tracking.”

“It’s normal to be late when you’re playing! Especially kids!”

“You’re the youngest here.”

“That’s ridiculous! You’re the youngest!”

“Ah. Is that so?”

That’s right. Ian had forgotten that he was living his second life. When Ian didn’t continue his words with a short answer, Beric lay down on the sofa and complained.

“Go find Hasha, and if there are those who threatened Hasha, you can do whatever you want, Beric.”

As Ian muttered, adjusting his clothes, Beric’s ears perked up.

“Kill them, let them live, cut them, stab them, do whatever you want.”

“…Magic release?”

“Of course not. They won’t be that strong.”

She hadn’t come back after going out before receiving the letter from the Karenna market, so it probably wasn’t Wesley’s doing. And above all, if it was her doing, Ian would have reacted long ago. It was more likely that she had been caught up in something unlucky.

“Don’t go back on your word later.”

“Be reasonable, think about it.”

“Of course! How smart do you think I am!”

Beric smiled brightly, and Romandro covered his forehead. That guy had no self-awareness at all. Ian hurried to prepare for work, watching the dawn break.

“Now, Beric. Bring Hasha back safely. Then I’ll give you a reward.”

“What kind?”

“Have you ever eaten a whole pig?”

Thump! Thud!

No sooner had Ian finished speaking than Beric ran out. He ran straight to the right, then realized it wasn’t the right direction and turned left again.

“I wonder if we can trust that guy.”

“Aren’t dogs the best at finding people?”

Ian nodded, watching the sunrise. Just as many things had happened to him during the night, many things might have happened to Hasha as well.