Margrave’s Bastard Son was The Emperor [EN]: Chapter 151

The Illegal Slave Trade

Thud! Thump!

As the commotion grew louder, Romandro finally rose from his seat. He pressed his ear against the door, his eyes darting around. It was clear that the situation was chaotic, filled with curses and loud noises.

Romandro, looking disgusted, called out to Ian.

‘I-is that Beric, do you think?’

What if it wasn’t Beric, but some other problem? What if the slaves had escaped and were fighting? Even their own safety, sitting in the office to buy slaves, could be at risk.

However, Ian calmly rummaged through the office desk and drawers, nodding his head.

‘It must be him. The magic has faded now, but I definitely felt Beric’s.’

‘W-well, that’s a relief.’

Crash! Clatter!

‘Aaaah!’

At the same moment, the door burst open. Romandro was startled and fell backward. The one who opened the door was Beric, his hair disheveled. He grinned at Romandro and Ian.

‘IanIanIan!’

‘Oh, Beric. It’s been a while.’

‘Ah, seriously, I had a really, really, really hard time! It was so tough?’

‘You bastard! Die!’

‘As soon as we get back, roast a whole pig for me.’

‘Sure. If you clean up properly, that is.’

Thwack!

A slave trader swung a sword at Beric from behind. But he naturally ducked his head to the side, dodging it, and used the momentum to plant a fist into the man’s face.

‘By the way, Beric. Why did you call us? It doesn’t seem like you had any trouble handling it alone.’

‘Ah, that’s because of Hasha.’

-Ian, sir! Ian, sir!

Tap!

At that moment, a white dog darted between Beric’s legs and jumped at Ian. Ian put down the documents he was reading, picked up the dog, and gently stroked its neck.

‘Hasha. Are you alright?’

-Ian, sir, I’m sorry! I accidentally spoke in front of these guys! I thought they’d buy it if I just panted like a dog, but no, they caught me right away! Ugh, I’m so frustrated!

‘Shhh. Calm down. It’s alright as long as you’re safe. Hasha, I have a lot to tell you.’

-I feel the same. Ian. Before that, the reason I asked Beric to call you is…

Along with Hasha’s words, about half a dozen people appeared at the door. They had blue hair and pointed ears. Ian immediately recognized them as Astanans [people from Astana].

‘Beric, quickly clean this place up. You can kill them all, but keep the head of the trading group, Pakens, alive. Do you know his face?’

‘Yep, yep. I know it.’

‘Good. All the Astanans, come inside.’

‘I’ll be back! Ian!’

Squeak. Bang!

At Ian’s gesture, the Astanans hesitantly entered the office. They were all shackled. Beric closed the door as if to say he’d take care of it, and Romandro grabbed a fallen wooden stick as a weapon, guarding the outside.

‘The Astanans were captured, so they couldn’t escape alone. Even if Beric killed everyone and broke their shackles, if those foreigners and slaves were caught by the guards, they could be sold to another slave trader.’

‘Hasha, you did very well to call me.’

At Ian’s praise, Hasha’s tail thumped against the floor. They needed an imperial citizen with authority who could handle the situation.

‘And don’t be too surprised when you hear this. Wesley is dead. Or rather, it’s more accurate to say he self-destructed.’

-Now, what did you say?

Hasha’s tail stopped abruptly. The man who had changed Hasha and her grandmother’s lives with his forbidden necromancy research was dead? It was unbelievable.

‘…The mayor of Karenna sent a letter.’

Ian slowly stroked Hasha’s back. Then, he explained in detail how she had been destroyed, starting from the beginning of the incident.

Although he was in the form of a dog, it was clear what emotions he was feeling. The Astanans, who did not understand Bariel, were agitated by the unusual atmosphere and held each other’s hands.

‘So, Hasha. You are safe from now on. No one in Bariel will threaten you. Wesley is dead, so if you have any remaining grudges, use them as motivation to live your life to the fullest. That is the last way the living can take revenge on the dead.’

At Ian’s consolation, Hasha lowered his head. Slowly, he followed Ian’s touch and gently rubbed his snout against his hand.

Tears dripped down.

Ian willingly wiped them away with his sleeve.

‘…Thank you.’

‘If you want, I’ll send you to Astana as soon as possible. Will you go?’

Wesley’s death itself was proof of forbidden necromancy. Otherwise, Gale would not have made that decision. Now that it had come to this, Hasha didn’t need to take action herself.

-I was going to talk about that. Do you remember? My grandmother was the head of the largest faction in Astana.

She had always wondered why her grandmother had not returned to her homeland to avoid Wesley, and why her family in Astana had not looked for them, but Hasha finally realized.

-I heard that there was a major earthquake in Astana while we were running away from Wesley. These people were also displaced by the disaster and were caught by slave traders. Also, the power struggles between factions, taking advantage of the chaos, have reached their peak, so I must hurry back and convey my grandmother’s spirit.

‘There have been more earthquakes on the continent in the past few years. I also went to the restoration work of the Great Temple due to the earthquake before I went to Bratz, no, Hiel.’

Romandro, who had been listening quietly, added a word. Hasha’s black eyes were wet and sparkling.

-Even if I don’t have my original body when I return, there should be a way to transfer my soul into a human form. Ian. I ask you one last favor, please send me and the Astanans back to our homeland.

Hasha bowed his head. When he said something in Astanan, the others also knelt down and pleaded with Ian in their own languages.

‘Hasha. I have already promised you once. It remains in your memory, so how can I say anything different? Stop it and pull yourself together.’

-There is something else to tell you. The Pakens trading group was a group that sold undead to the Karenna bandits. But no matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t figure out how they used my corpse for necromancy. After listening to the Astanans here…

When the displaced Astanans were captured by the slave traders, they said they were checked for their origins several times. And they also cared a lot about whether they were from a faction that could use necromancy.

-It seems that there is a necromancer who gave them the knowledge of necromancy. That person is probably in the Imperial Palace. I don’t know if their goal is just to make money, but it would be good to find them and keep a close eye on them.

Crash! Bang!

At the same time, a loud noise erupted. Then, silence. The sound of someone approaching was heard, and the Astanans knelt on the floor, their hands trembling.

Squeak.

‘Aaaah!’

‘Aaaah!’

The Astanans screamed once at the sight of Beric, covered in blood, and twice at the sight of the hair he was dragging. On the other hand, Beric grinned and threw Pakens forward.

‘Ian, is this the boss?’

‘Yes. Good job. What about outside?’

‘They’re probably all dead.’

‘……All?’

‘Yeah. It just happened.’

Looking at the way he was glancing around, it seemed like it wasn’t ‘just happened’ but rather he had done it on purpose? When Ian narrowed his eyes and looked at him, Beric just grinned. After all, it was the first time they had seen each other in a week. He didn’t think he would be scolded.

‘…Okay. Good work.’

‘Wow, Ian. I had a really hard time? I followed the compass and kept hitting dead ends, and when I went around, the path was cut off. I haven’t eaten properly for a week.’

‘Why didn’t you just jump over the walls?’

‘I did. So I went further to avoid the guards. You told me not to kill the guards. Ah, it was really, really annoying!’

‘…I can imagine.’

That’s why it took him a week. Considering that it took Ian less than a few hours to get here from the Imperial Palace by carriage, it was an amazing level of work performance. Ian decided that he should not entrust him with anything related to pursuit in the future and opened the last desk drawer.

-Brooch!

‘It would be good for Hasha to wear this at all times before going to Astana.’

Ian put the brooch around Hasha’s neck and then looked at the unconscious Pakens. He was wondering what to do with him since all the traders were dead.

‘Guards! We were dispatched because of a noise complaint, oh!’

‘Hey! Is anyone inside?’

‘What is this place? Oh my god, they’re all dead.’

‘Is anyone alive? If there is anyone, respond!’

It was the guards. They were entering, stepping over the corpses that were bleeding profusely. As Ian was about to step forward, Romandro stopped him this time.

‘I’ll take care of it. Ian, you’re about to become the Minister of Magic, aren’t you? It would be troublesome if any noise got mixed in. Leave it to me! Even if I can’t hold a sword like Beric, I’m someone who has lived my whole life in the Imperial Palace with just a pen!’

‘Ooh, that’s cool, Romandro!’

‘You should wipe off some of that blood! If the guards see you, they’ll think you’re a monster and attack you.’

Beric chuckled and rubbed his face. Then, the bloodstains spread, creating an even more bizarre atmosphere.

‘Let’s talk about the details when we get back to the mansion.’

-Yes. That would be good. What about Pakens?’

‘We’ll take him. There are things to ask him, and he’ll be useful. Beric, cover him with a cloth and carry him on your back.’

‘Will you roast a pig for me right away, master? Actually, I’m so hungry right now. I think it would be better to just drag this guy.’

Beric staggered and groaned as if to show off. Then, the Astanans looked at each other and offered their hands. They would carry him instead of Beric.

‘…I’ll give alcohol to the one who carries him on their back.’

‘Move!’

At Ian’s words, Beric immediately pushed away the Astanans’ hands. And as if he had never groaned, he lifted Pakens onto his shoulders and stood up. Hasha, who was about to lead the way, paused and looked back.

-Ian. But there are more slaves in the basement. What will happen to them?

‘Slaves?’

The Astanans were a tribal nation that lived in harmony with nature. They knew about slavery, but it was the first time they had encountered it culturally. But what was trapped in the iron bars was not a human, but their dignity.

It was the moment Ian was about to say something. Romandro’s voice was heard from outside.

‘Hey, don’t go inside! A high-ranking person from the Imperial Palace is inside. If you see their face, you’ll be in trouble, I’m telling you.’

A guard stopped as he was about to enter the hallway towards the office.

‘There was a fight while we were checking on those who were illegally enslaved. Are these people slave traders who have been authorized by the country?’

There was no way that those who were in contact with bandits would have received permission. And if traces related to the undead were found, it wouldn’t be a big deal if a few traders died here. Most of all, they all seemed to be foreigners.

‘Uh, we’ll have to investigate that separately.’

‘You are the guards of Bariel, how could you not notice until a noble’s family member was kidnapped by illegal slave traders? This is a clear mistake! State your names and affiliations.’

‘No, sir, there are so many illegal immigrants here, how can we pay attention to each and every one of them?’

‘I know, I know!’

And he slipped them some money. If they were demoted and assigned here, it meant that they had caused a lot of trouble, and most of them would be accused of bribery. The guards looked at Romandro’s ID and looked around, making eye contact with each other.

‘Then, please submit a report to the guard as soon as possible. We will also check the legality of the trading group. You said there were illegal slaves?’

‘That’s right! And they were kidnapped!’

‘Hmm. I understand.’

People had died, but they were willing to accept a few coins. Romandro tried his best to hide his trembling heart while handing over the money. A guard scratched his head and asked,

‘Were all the illegal slaves members of your household, sir?’

‘Huh? Uh, yes! That’s right!’

‘I understand. We will provide you with a carriage. Please go back with the victims for now. We will report to you after the incident is resolved.’

All the slaves? Romandro was flustered and turned around, and Ian just shrugged his shoulders. As if to say, ‘What are you doing?’