Margrave’s Bastard Son was The Emperor [EN]: Chapter 165

Sniff, sniff. Beric circled Siaosi, sniffing incessantly. Was it the ragged clothes, or the unwashed body? Siaosi looked down at his blackened hands in silence.

Then, Ian entered the room, clicking his tongue.

‘You’re not a dog, why are you sniffing so much?’

‘Smells like raw meat. Fresh meat. Good.’

Mini, who followed behind, placed clean clothes down, announcing. Both top and bottom were plain black. Perfect attire for sneaking around in the dark.

‘The bathwater is ready.’

‘Alright. Thank you.’

‘Call me again if you need anything else.’

If he were to be arrested as an assassin, he would surely be stripped bare, so he couldn’t look like a dirty slave. Ian sat in front of him and unfolded a piece of paper.

‘Can you read?’

‘No, I cannot.’

‘Me neither, me neither!’

‘Then, memorize this well.’

Ian sat in front of him and unfolded a piece of paper. Even ordinary people often got lost when they first entered the palace. But for someone who had spent half his life in a cage to reach the imperial palace, especially Gale’s residence, was quite a difficult task.

‘This is around the entrance. I’ll drop you off here, so keep the wall on your left and go straight, passing through the largest door. After passing the garden, the third room on the second corridor. That’s the reception room closest to the target.’

Beric, who had been listening beside him, looked shocked. As if he had heard a complex chemical formula, he looked completely unable to understand. At first, he had said he could go, but now he was completely fed up, as if he had given up entirely.

‘This won’t work. Absolutely not.’

‘Beric. I know. That’s why I chose someone else.’

‘Sia, can you do this? Really?’

Siaosi glanced at Beric with a nonchalant look, then nodded.

‘I understand.’

‘Repeat what I said.’

He remembered exactly what he had heard without a single error. A satisfied smile appeared on Ian’s lips, and Beric clapped his hands repeatedly as if he was impressed. Such a reaction to something so trivial. Siaosi felt embarrassed for no reason and lowered his eyes.

‘Remember well what I’m about to say now.’

* * *

Siaosi firmly secured his mask. The day the full moon rose and then waned. The palace scenery, which he was seeing for the first time, was beautiful enough not to be hidden even by the darkness.

‘So this kind of world exists,’ he thought, marveling for a moment. He recalled his master’s words and kept the wall on his left, concealing his presence.

Taptap!

The sound of his footsteps seemed unusually loud, but it must be his imagination. He could instinctively tell. That he was getting caught up in something huge. Not only would his life change, but he was also standing at a turning point in history.

‘But what’s the problem?’

He knew, but he didn’t care. It was the fate of a slave to simply carry out the given orders. The invisible shackles were even heavier. The imprint of a slave, which had continued from his parents, or even before, seemed to have been engraved on his soul. Though he himself was not aware of it.

Creak.

Siaosi slowly opened the largest door. Although there was a latch, it was not locked. The only sign of life in the vast space was himself. It was late at night, so even if the servants were gone, not even a single guard was visible.

‘Everything has been arranged, so walk without worry.’

His master’s words made Siaosi move his feet. While passing through the garden and entering the corridor. He walked without concealing his presence, but he couldn’t meet anyone. As if welcoming an intruder.

Swoosh.

‘Gasp!’

As he entered the corridor, a servant spotted him in the distance. Siaosi reflexively grabbed his sword, but she gasped as if she had seen something she shouldn’t have and disappeared into the darkness.

At this point, a chuckle escaped him. He had thought it was a strange mission, but he didn’t expect it to be this much. He understood why his master had chosen him.

‘The third room. If you open the door closest to the window in the reception room, that’s the target’s bedroom. Go and stick the knife into the pillow.’

Siaosi completely released his killing intent and simply walked towards his destination. Something sparkled in the pitch-black darkness. Siaosi unknowingly turned his head to the side and was soon faced with a bewildered person.

‘A child? In a place like this?’

Silver hair and blue eyes. The child was staring at Siaosi in the darkness. Unlike the servant from before, there was no sign of running away.

What should he do in this situation? Could it be the target’s son? Or perhaps, could it be the target himself? No. He was told that there would be a black-haired man in the bedroom.

‘There must be absolutely no physical conflict. Just avoid, ignore, and move forward. Even if you run away, no one will try to find you. Siaosi, your capture is already planned.’

The child was staring intently at Siaosi. He tried to avoid his gaze and turned his body. It was somehow creepy. He had seen all sorts of things as a slave, but it was the first time he had seen a child with such eyes.

Taptap!

Siaosi, wanting to finish the job quickly, entered the door without hesitation. The reception room, the door closest to the window, the bedroom, and-

‘You’re late.’

‘……!’

A black-haired man was leisurely lying on the bed, waiting for him.

‘I almost fell asleep.’

‘…….’

‘Did Ian cut out your tongue? Well, that’s a wise move.’

He gestured for him to come closer. Siaosi slowly walked forward, drawing his sword from its sheath. The pillow next to him. That was the target.

‘Because I don’t know what kind of words will come out of your mouth.’

Siaosi simply raised his sword upwards without replying. He didn’t know if the man lying in front of him was a prince or a noble. He just knew that making a hole in the pillow was the highlight of this night.

Swoosh.

‘Ah. Wait a moment.’

But the sword stopped in mid-air again. Just like when he had stopped aiming for the vital point of livestock. It was because Gale had raised his hand to grab the blade.

‘You’re supposed to be an assassin, but you’re not going to draw any blood?’

‘…….’

‘Then that’s a shame. The people of the imperial palace are not so easy to deal with. A reasonable sacrifice brings validity. Now, hurry.’

This was different from what his master had said. His master had said to never draw a single drop of blood, but the target was telling him to cut him.

‘What are you doing? Are you going to keep standing there? Putting your feet on the bed so disrespectfully?’

Gale smiled playfully. As expected, Ian seemed to have ordered him not to inflict any physical harm on him.

It was a signal flare agreed upon, but Gale could later change his mind and use it as a weakness. Regardless of the tacit agreement, it would be as if Ian had actually tried to kill Gale.

‘…….’

Siaosi bit his lip and looked at Gale. What should he do in this situation? His master hadn’t said anything about this.

‘If you don’t show blood, I won’t call for help. You can stay there until sunrise.’

At Gale’s words, Siaosi sighed and took his foot off the bed. And without hesitation, he slashed his left arm.

Swoosh!

A diagonal wound from his shoulder to his wrist. Soon, blood dripped down, staining the marble floor. Siaosi felt nauseous at the sticky, dull sensation, but he maintained his composure by regulating his breathing. In that state, he slowly approached Gale.

‘…That’s absurd.’

Why were all the people Ian had like this? He had heard that there was a red-haired mad dog, and the magic operations department of the magic department were not sane either.

Swoosh.

Siaosi smeared blood on the bed as he slowly passed over Gale. And without hesitation, he stuck the knife into the pillow. As if the mission was complete. He sat there blankly, waiting for the next step.

‘…….’

Did he really cut out his tongue? Gale opened his jaw and looked inside, but it was fine. It was incomprehensible. Gale fumbled on the table to finish the charade.

Ding- Ding ding-

The golden bedroom bell rang pleasantly. Soon, Gale’s palace, which had not had a single light on, became bright. The sound of servants and guards, who had been hiding their presence, rushing over could be heard, and soon the door was roughly opened.

Thud!

‘Your Highness, are you alright?’

‘Intruder. Arrest him.’

The servants hesitated at the blood on the floor, but they were relieved to see that it was not Gale’s. The guards bound Siaosi, and the servants were about to move in an orderly fashion to clean the room.

‘…Your Highness?’

The head servant cautiously called out to Gale. Gale, who was frowning in confusion, turned his head, and the other servants and guards also flinched in surprise.

‘…Your Highness!’

‘Prince Gale!’

‘How can this be-‘

‘Bring a doctor! A doctor!’

What was all the fuss about? It was the moment Gale was about to speak.

He could feel an unpleasant trace flowing down his face. Blood was flowing from his eyes, nose, mouth, and ears. It was more accurate to say that it was pouring out rather than flowing.

‘Cough-!’

‘Your Highness!’

He didn’t feel any pain. But it was painful to breathe due to the blood flowing back up. As Gale collapsed forward, chaos ensued. Even the guards who were holding Siaosi ran to check on Gale.

‘You! What have you done!’

‘…I didn’t do anything.’

‘You’re like a demon!’

‘I didn’t do anything.’

Slap!

A guard slapped Siaosi’s cheek. His head turned violently to the side, but his posture remained unchanged. Gale raised his hand to stop his subordinates, but because blood kept pouring out of his throat, the order did not come out as a sound.

Slap! Slap!

Siaosi silently endured the beating and looked at Gale.

He was a prince. The emperor’s son. Now that the lights were on, he didn’t look old enough to have a child. Well, the higher-ups often had arranged marriages from a young age.

‘Prince Gale! The doctor is here!’

‘Oh my, heavens! What is going on?’

‘An assassin broke in. Hurry and stop the bleeding-‘

‘Your Highness, please lift your head! Are there any wounds?’

‘It suddenly poured out.’

‘It could be poison. Wait a moment, move aside! Head servant! Warm water and clean cloths!’

Gale was still sane, and he lifted his head as the doctor instructed. When he saw the brilliantly shining chandelier, Ian’s blonde hair came to mind.

‘…Did Ian do this?’

To suddenly bleed without any warning signs. This was impossible without poison, some kind of sorcery, or magic. Moreover, he was only bleeding without any pain. It was not a normal situation.

‘Besides, if I were truly in danger in this situation, Ian would be the most troubled. There’s no way he would do that.’

Ian was not someone who would take risks, even if it meant taking losses. How well he walked the line between Marib and Gale? There was no benefit for him to make me bleed in this situation.

‘Your Highness, can you speak?’

‘…Let it be known.’

‘Yes?’

He didn’t know what was going on, but yes, it was good. He wanted to bleed, so it was good. Anything in a play needed a dramatic element.

‘Let it be known that an assassin broke into my residence. Let the entire imperial palace know.’

‘Ah, I understand!’

He would find out about this strange phenomenon later. Before that, the signal flare had gone off, so he would run first. If he moved first, he could get ahead of his opponent.

‘Also, let it be known.’

To the forces that followed him.

‘There is someone in the imperial palace who is trying to harm me, so everyone should arm themselves and enter the imperial palace.’