Margrave’s Bastard Son was The Emperor [EN]: Chapter 145

A terrible smell of ash. Gale frowned and barely opened his eyes. Faint smoke was rising beside him. It was a candle meant to calm the mind and body, but to Gale, it was nothing but disgusting.

Clang!

“Oh my. Your Highness Gale!”

A servant rushed in at the commotion from the bedroom. How could he be like this as soon as he came to his senses? While the servant was cleaning the floor, Gale asked, holding his forehead.

“How many days have passed?”

“It hasn’t been long. It’s just about a full day. I’ll contact the medical room. Please don’t overdo it…”

Despite the servant’s dissuasion, Gale got out of bed. Then, he naturally reached for the sword that would be on the table. But there was nothing to touch. Only then did Gale realize that he was lying in an unfamiliar bedroom.

Creak.

“You’re making a fuss as soon as you wake up, Gale.”

“Marib…”

“Did you give the title of ‘brother’ to your lover?”

Marib smiled brightly. It was a very radiant smile that he had never seen before. As always, the moment one of them smiled was the worst situation for the other. Gale swept back his hair and let out a sigh.

“Lover? Your words are excessive.”

“Yes, yes. You kissed in front of everyone, but you may not be lovers. I cannot understand debauchery, but I thought you would understand it deeply.”

Gale gritted his teeth in annoyance. He had given him a perfect excuse. He was always on edge, waiting for even the slightest opening. Gale first pretended not to know.

“What happened to Minister Wesley?”

“The personnel conference was successfully concluded. While you were having a love affair outside, everyone was distracted, but somehow it was finished well.”

“…Please refrain from using that damn word ‘love affair’.”

“So, Wesley is no longer a minister. The position of Minister of Magic is currently vacant, and each department is continuing the investigation of this incident, including new personnel reorganization. Gale, I don’t know how long I’ve been waiting for you to wake up.”

Marib slowly approached Gale and smoothed his collar. He flicked his eyebrows as if to say, ‘Tell me quickly,’ while straightening his collar.

“What curse did Wesley put on you?”

“……”

He looks excited. He looks very excited.

Gale slapped Marib’s hand away, but he didn’t care and grabbed his collar again. He had never approached him so openly before. Gale guessed that Marib was completely confident in his victory.

“The Imperial Palace is in an uproar because of it. Why you tried to depose Wesley, whether Wesley used forbidden magic because of it, and what curse she poured on you while dying.”

‘If even one secret hidden beneath the surface is revealed, I will cut off your head immediately.’ Marib lightly stroked his younger brother’s cheek and smiled brightly again.

“It would be better to tell the truth quickly. If it’s a curse that threatens the existence of the Imperial Family, you should cut off the curse with your life.”

“……”

Gale met Marib with a calm gaze. They were clearly the same blue eyes, but one was cold and the other was hot. Marib stepped back slightly and straightened the fallen candle.

“Come immediately when His Majesty the Emperor calls you. Take care of yourself.”

Creak.

Marib left the bedroom, his neatly tied hair fluttering. He walked with a very confident and self-assured stride, as if the throne had fallen in front of him.

Gale’s aide, who had been standing at the door, bowed and saw him off, then entered the bedroom. Gale sighed and flicked his fingers.

“…Cigarette.”

The aide immediately lit a cigarette and handed it over. He took a deep puff and exhaled the smoke with an order.

“Hit.”

Thud! Thud!

At the same time, the aide prostrated himself and banged his forehead on the floor. He did not hesitate to beat himself. It was a disgrace for an aide not to handle his work properly, and if there was no sincerity in the beating, his head would be cut off.

“I am sorry, Your Highness!”

Thud!

He cried out and continued to bang his head. The servants bowed their heads as if they couldn’t bear to watch, but Gale clearly watched the scene. Soon, his head cracked and blood flowed down his nose and chin.

“…Wesley was able to escape because of the help of her aide that I missed.”

Gale only remembered that the aide was always by Wesley’s side, but he couldn’t recall his face. That was how faint his presence was, and he was not someone to pay attention to. But he had caused such a big problem.

“His body was found in Your Highness’s bedroom. It seems he used forbidden magic with Wesley. Therefore, the Magic Department is currently investigating and controlling it, so he was brought here.”

Gale threw a dry cloth to his subordinate who was kneeling. It meant to wipe the blood, and it was a sign of forgiveness to stop the beating.

“…What’s the atmosphere in the Magic Department?”

Gale asked back, putting on his clothes. He had to be on his guard. He had been pushed to the edge of a cliff by a moment’s mistake, so if he showed any more gaps here, he would fall straight into the abyss.

“It’s a bit strange.”

Strange? Gale tilted his head and told him to continue without interruption. The aide put a cloth on his forehead and continued his report clearly. It was the content that Gale had repeated dozens, hundreds of times in his mind while he was lying down.

“The Magic Department is being investigated, but at the same time, they are in a position to do it. It is clear that trying to harm Your Highness is treason and a serious crime. But since the means was forbidden magic, other departments could not conduct the investigation at all.”

Every time he exhaled cigarette smoke, Gale felt his head clear. Then the situation was as clear as water.

“The factions must have been completely divided.”

“That’s right. It has been divided into the Magic Support Department, which was Wesley’s direct responsibility, and all other departments except for him. Since the position of minister is currently vacant, a power struggle among the mages is expected.”

Tick-tock, Gale tapped his chin as if he was in thought. Since Marib knew that he had woken up, he would soon be summoned and questioned.

“There aren’t many people who know about forbidden magic?”

“Yes. They are currently searching through old records to figure it out. But Your Highness, that…”

The aide continued cautiously. As if it was too absurd to even say out loud.

“Is the curse real?”

“…Does no one know?”

“I was right next to Your Highness at the time, but I couldn’t hear it. I think my mind was clouded by Wesley’s dark energy.”

No one, no one knows what Wesley’s curse is? Gale unknowingly smiled and put a smile on his lips. He quickly turned his head and got up from his seat.

“Where is Ian?”

“Yes? Ian?”

“Yes. I need him very much right now.”

“Ian is currently attending an emergency meeting and has not been able to come out for half a day.”

Gale frowned as he was being dressed by the servant. Did Marib notice that Ian knew about Wesley’s necromancy? And that he was trying to deceive Marib?

It would be a problem if Ian was abandoned by Marib. Among the weapons he had in his hands now, there was nothing as reliable and useful as Ian.

The aide understood his intention and immediately added.

“Didn’t Ian confront Wesley? Therefore, he is participating in the meeting representing the Magic Department at the scene, so you don’t have to worry.”

He was the one who stopped Wesley, who was the head of the Magic Department. Even if the commanders were not there, it meant that he had the strongest magical power among the mages at the scene.

‘Even more, I need Ian.’

It felt like the balance was slowly tilting towards Ian. Just a few days ago, Ian was in a position to rely on him, but now, wasn’t Gale becoming impatient?

“Is Father at the meeting?”

“It’s an ongoing emergency meeting. He is repeating his entry and exit depending on his physical strength. The other officials are the same.”

Marib seemed to have taken a break in the middle. Gale quickly put on his uniform and put his sword on his waist.

“Let’s go. Everyone must be waiting for me.”

* * *

“No, are you saying that now?”

“Where are you raising your voice? If you think about it, aren’t they all correct? I said that something was strange from the beginning when the dismissal of former Minister Wesley was suddenly discussed. Clearly, the discord between His Highness Gale and former Minister Wesley is the beginning of the matter!”

“That is His Highness’s private life. It’s not even a matter for discussion. The part we need to investigate is why Wesley used forbidden magic!”

“That’s because it’s related to His Highness! Oh, come on. You’re frustrating. It seems like you’re trying to cut off the tail, but make sense!”

“Frustrating? Have you finished speaking now?”

“You? You!?”

Thump! Thump! Thump!

A chaotic emergency meeting room. It was almost a war between Marib’s forces and Gale’s forces, except that papers were not flying around. I don’t know how many hours this fight has been going on. The Prime Minister was struggling to bang the gavel and demand silence.

“Everyone, please stop.”

He was exhausted. After finishing the long journey of the personnel conference, this time it was an emergency meeting. The Emperor, who was sitting at the head of the table, had been watching silently with his mouth shut since some point.

“Sir Ian!”

At that time, a minister called Ian. Ian, who had been sitting upright, nodded and got up from his seat.

“Testify again.”

How many times was this already?

He was repeating like a parrot that what Wesley used was forbidden magic, and the testimony of the scene at the time. In addition, he was also expressing the position that the Magic Department had nothing to do with this matter.

Ian thought that if he were the Emperor, he would have dismissed all the ministers who were talking nonsense, and opened his lips to testify.

But then.

Screech.

“Reporting. His Highness Gale is entering.”

“His Highness Gale?”

“I heard he woke up, but was he able to move right away?”

“Quickly, quickly, bring him inside!”

Gale’s appearance brought a new atmosphere to the meeting. Ian, who had stood up awkwardly, sat down and swallowed a sigh.

‘Wesley did a great job. In just one day, his power has fallen so much.’

There was no need to weigh between the first prince and the second prince. At this rate, Marib’s influence would be stronger than Gale’s in the appointment of the next Minister of Magic.

‘There is one way for Gale, though…’

There was no need to tell him. In the early stages of the battle, he thought he might be needed as a check on Marib, but there was no reason to push him too hard in a situation where he had received a forbidden curse.

“Your Highness Gale! Are you feeling okay?”

“Heeuk, Your Highness. I was really worried.”

“Your Highness, now that you’re here, please tell us. Is it true that you received Wesley’s curse?”

“Hey, you! He just arrived!”

“Whether he just arrived or arrived earlier, what does it matter? Frankly, I’m worried about him being in the same place as His Majesty the Emperor. What kind of curse is it!”

Marib’s forces were fiercely arguing. Even if the words were excessive, they were all correct, so Gale’s forces could only look at the prince and remain silent.

Swish.

“Curse, yes. It can be seen as a curse.”

Gale slowly stepped forward and looked at Marib. Marib just smirked as if to say, ‘Go ahead and talk.’ But Ian could feel a strange confidence in Gale’s tone…

‘Could it be.’

“Curse! Did you hear that? His Highness Gale admitted it! It’s a curse! You must order him to leave the palace immediately!”

Gale, who was slowly examining the boiling atmosphere of the meeting, put his hand on his chest and knelt on one knee to his father, the Emperor.

“Father. I have been cursed.”

“…Gale. Tell me.”

“I have always wished only for the glory of Bariel [the name of the kingdom], and I have considered the right development to be the reason for my life. There is no other meaning to me other than that.”

Gale continued in a very appealing voice, unlike his usual self.

“So, Wesley said to me. ‘Starting with your death, the shadow of death will cover countless citizens of Bariel. Therefore, it will lead to the path of decline, which is the destruction of Bariel.'”

Marib, who had been listening quietly, took his chin off his hand and opened his eyes wide. Ian also laughed inwardly.

‘It’s a lie. But it’s the best option for now.’

“Also, she said this.”

Gale looked up at his brother, Marib, as if to tell him to listen carefully. This time, Gale was smiling.