Margrave’s Bastard Son was The Emperor [EN]: Chapter 187

‘I am Ian Hielo, Minister of the Magic Department. Are you Duke Gaudino Haiman?’

At Ian’s question, Haiman slowly turned his head. Facing him, Ian was certain he had never seen him at the New Year’s party. If he had, he would never forget his appearance.

‘Minister Ian Hielo, I presume. I am Duke Gaudino Haiman.’

He was a peculiar middle-aged man. Beneath his neatly combed hair, his forehead was broad, his eyebrows were angular, and his sharp nose was striking. But what was even more unusual were his eyes, where the whites were barely visible. His imposing aura didn’t seem to come from the Haiman family name but from his gaze.

‘Have you been waiting long?’

Ian didn’t offer a handshake first. In terms of rank, Haiman was an untouchable figure, but in the current situation, Haiman was one of those who had harmed the Imperial Palace, and Ian was the one responsible for resolving it. Aware of this, Haiman smiled politely.

‘Compared to Minister Hielo’s efforts, it’s nothing. Ah, this is my youngest daughter, Melania. It’s our first time meeting. Please take care of her.’

Haiman already knew that Melania and Ian had met before. However, introducing them as if it were their first meeting was a way of lightly denying Gale, the link between Melania and Ian.

In high society, even if you have met before, it is considered proper to act as if you are meeting for the first time in an official setting.

‘It’s a pleasure to meet you.’

Lady Melania lightly grasped her green dress and bowed. Her eyes, which briefly met his, were smiling. Her ability to match her father’s rhythm so naturally was quite something.

‘It may be our first meeting for you, but I have actually seen you before. I went to deliver a report to His Highness Gale’s residence and saw you from afar.’

Ian smiled, pressing his lips to the back of Melania’s hand. It was a way of maintaining decorum while also pointing out the connection with Gale. The Haiman father and daughter showed an unnatural look of difficulty, as if they had anticipated Ian’s response.

‘Sir Hielo, I actually came to the Imperial Palace urgently because of that. It seems that His Highness Marib and His Highness Gale have caused a very unfortunate incident. Thus, my position has become difficult. I wish to explain myself directly to His Majesty the Emperor, but your mages are not allowing me passage.’

It was a request to meet the Emperor directly. Instead of answering, Ian looked into Haiman’s dark eyes. Because the whites were not visible, it was impossible to tell where he was looking.

‘How much does he know?’

If he hadn’t contacted Delilah yet, he wouldn’t know that the Emperor had been frozen. Since no one had left the Imperial Palace, he wouldn’t know that Marib had stabbed the Emperor either.

The answer Ian gave now would be information for him, and the moment he left, it would become a guideline for his actions.

‘There has never been a history of a traitor meeting with His Majesty the Emperor, and there never will be.’

At Ian’s answer, Haiman’s jaw tightened. He didn’t give information about the Emperor’s safety but made it clear that the charges for the disturbance in the Imperial Palace had been confirmed.

‘So, if you have anything to say, say it to me.’

It was a subtle way of revealing that he was the one in charge of the current Imperial Palace. Haiman raised his head and asked.

‘Are both Marib and Gale safe?’

‘I cannot say.’

If Gale was alive, it was obvious that the Haiman family’s protest would lose its validity. Because Ian didn’t give out any information, Duke Haiman’s eyes narrowed. He then carefully broached the subject.

‘…It’s a misunderstanding. It’s true that Melania had a brief relationship with His Highness Gale, but the magic stone armor was provided to help with the research of the Imperial Army’s forces. I never expected it to be used like this.’

He could have countered by saying that the Imperial Defense Department had sided with Marib, but saying that now would be the same as informing Haiman of the absence of Imperial Palace troops. Sometimes, silence can pierce the opponent’s heart more deeply than a rebuttal, and this was one of those moments.

‘Therefore, I quickly took action by recovering half of it when I sensed something suspicious. I wish to inform His Majesty the Emperor of this directly.’

‘As I said, it is not possible.’

‘Is it His Majesty’s will?’

It was a question of whether there was an order from the Emperor. No one could say that they had ordered something that the Emperor had not directly ordered. When he was at the border, Ian had used the letter of appointment to strike down Cielonia, hadn’t he?

‘It is the will of the Imperial Family.’

Ian evaded with a vague but definite answer. Haiman covered his daughter’s hand with his gloved hand. Melania looked at Ian with a calm gaze.

‘I deeply regret it. I admit that I was involved to some extent in this incident, though it was not intentional. I will repay with the best compensation, and if there is a way to protect Haiman’s honor, I will do my best to follow it.’

Compensation, not damages? Damages are for cases involving legal punishment, while compensation is for when one takes moral responsibility.

‘His choice of words is clever and sharp.’

It was an arrogant attitude to think that he could survive even after being involved in treason. He was acting like this because he knew Haiman’s status better than anyone else.

Judging from his attempt to push his daughter into the Empress’s position, there was enough room for him to intervene in the imperial power.

‘Indeed, it would be good to keep him in check along with Arsen.’

Ian frowned visibly and muttered.

‘It seems you think you can buy the safety of the Empire with money, Duke. No matter how full your vault is, it’s just a lump of stone in front of the authority of Bariel, which has lasted for hundreds of years.’

‘The authority of Bariel was built on that very stone.’

‘I apologize, but there will soon be an investigation into the connection between the Haiman family and His Highness Gale. Instead of ‘compensation,’ you can pay ‘damages’ that are appropriate to the results of the investigation.’

Damages are always followed by other punishments. At the very least, it could be the revocation of titles or reduction of authority, and at worst, imprisonment or execution. At Ian’s words, Duke Haiman flicked his hand. A subordinate approached and handed him a tobacco pipe.

‘…Are Lady Delilah and the twin princes safe?’

A low question was exhaled along with the cigarette smoke. The Duke’s dark eyes, trying to gauge the situation, quickly scanned Ian.

‘They are safe.’

‘If I cannot meet His Majesty, I would like to see Lady Delilah at least.’

‘I forbid it.’

‘You forbid it?’

At Ian’s words, Haiman’s lips twisted slightly. As if he had caught a clue that had slipped by. Forbidding it meant that it was not Delilah’s will, but entirely Ian’s will, didn’t it?

‘Why?’

‘It is for the purpose of maintaining order within the Imperial Palace.’

‘Sir Ian. If an outsider were to see this, they would misunderstand that it was not His Highness Marib and His Highness Gale who caused the disturbance, but that you overthrew and seized control.’

‘Ahem! Cough!’

At Haiman’s words, Romandro, who was listening from behind, coughed unpleasantly. Haiman’s guards also sensed the shift in the atmosphere and frowned. In the tense atmosphere, Haiman calmly requested again.

‘Tell Lady Delilah that the Duke of Haiman is requesting an audience.’

Otherwise, it was an attitude that they would assume the misunderstanding was true.

‘Very well. However, I will only allow the Duke, excluding Lady Melania, and the guards of the Imperial Palace will accompany you. You cannot deny that you are suspected of colluding with His Highness Gale.’

Ian stood up and conveyed the rest of the instructions. Coming in was at their discretion, but leaving was not. Even if it was the Emperor, no one could contact the outside until the palace was settled.

‘Are there any people waiting for you in front of the gate?’

‘Yes, there are.’

It was a knight order waiting with orders to come to the rescue if there was no word after exactly one day. They had entered the tiger’s mouth, but they had secured a safety device around their waist. Ian knew it would be like that and continued.

‘We will complete the first stage of the settlement within three days. Until then, no one can leave the palace, so I will have the gatekeeper convey this matter instead. Then.’

Squeak.

Ian said that and walked out. His footsteps grew more distant, and soon there was complete silence. Melania leaned back on the chair and sighed.

‘What should we do, Father? It seems His Highness Gale is alive. His Highness Marib is quite something too. While turning the Imperial Palace upside down, he couldn’t even kill that one person.’

‘There’s nothing to worry about. Delilah is the answer.’

‘Lady Delilah?’

Haiman muttered, slowly reviewing his conversation with Ian.

‘Think about it. If Marib and Gale are dismissed for treason, the next successor will be the twin princes. They will be so influential that they will be called the next Emperor. But they are still too young.’

‘Lady Delilah will act as their proxy.’

‘Yes. Then, of course, the real power in the Imperial Palace is Delilah. But judging from Ian’s actions, it’s clear that the situation is leaning that way. For now, Delilah may be stepping back because of the settlement, but if this momentum continues, it will be burdensome.’

Above all, Ian’s attitude towards Haiman was hostile. Surely, some of the loose screws in the Imperial Palace would want to continue to use the value of Haiman.

‘Haiman is the perfect person to keep in check those who have subdued Marib and Gale. It would be good to push in that direction and look for an opening.’

He didn’t know that Arsen and Jin had split, but Haiman had successfully drawn a rough situational inference. Everything would become clearer when he met Delilah.

‘Haa. Anyway, what is going on? Both Marib and Gale have ended up like this. It’s a failed investment.’

Melania sipped her tea with a tired nuance.

‘Would it have been different if we had known earlier that His Highness Marib was connected to the Rutherford Merchant Guild?’

Rutherford, a mysterious merchant guild made up of alchemists. It was the place where Marib had been supplied with amber-colored raw stones, and it was also a place that Haiman had been trading with for a long time. It was such an unpredictable and secretive group that he didn’t know they were connected to the prince.

‘No. Daughter, the process would have been different, but the result would have been the same. The choice of history is absolute.’

He found out too late. After colluding with Gale, he recognized the flow of Rutherford’s processed raw stones. After tracking it, he found that it was connected to Marib, and soon Haiman was able to guess that Marib was preparing something equivalent to a magic sealing stone.

‘It would have been good if Gale had won, and if Marib had won, we could have sided with them through Rutherford. That’s why I only sent half of the magic stone armor.’

He had walked a tightrope, but it had snapped. Fortunately, the act of betraying Gale would bring them another opportunity.

‘Go out and find out the schedule for a private meeting with Delilah.’

‘Yes, Duke.’

Tap.

Along with the name Rutherford, Melania recalled the child she had seen in the borderlands. Ian Hielo’s face was superimposed on the faded memory. Since she thought they were similar, it didn’t easily disappear.

* * *

Meanwhile, Ian’s group came out. Romandro opened the carriage door and asked worriedly. Even so, he was still worried about letting Haiman and Delilah meet.

‘I don’t know if it’s really okay to let them meet in this situation. Aren’t they difficult people to deal with individually?’

‘Being on the same boat means sharing will and weaknesses. There’s no need to be afraid just because they’ve grown bigger. The bigger they are, the more they will be hit by attacks no matter where they are thrown. To create a justification for checks and balances, we must attach those who have it.’

‘That’s true, but…’

‘And the conversation earlier was quite fruitful.’

‘Hmm? Was it fruitful? Really?’

Romandro looked like he didn’t understand. That was because they were outsiders who had come in with a blank slate. Ian was the one holding the information.

No matter what kind of conversation they had, wasn’t it natural to think that Haiman was the one who benefited from the imbalance?

‘They told us directly, didn’t they?’

‘That’s strange. I didn’t leave my seat.’

‘Didn’t they say that outsiders would think that I had overthrown and seized control? Words are an expression of thought. It means that they are considering that as a way to reverse the situation.’

Romandro’s mouth dropped open. It didn’t make sense, but it did! If the imperial citizens outside, who didn’t know the situation, heard fabricated rumors, it would be a blow. Especially to Jin’s succession.

‘Smile, Romandro. The situation is not bad.’

Ian leaned his head against the window and smiled. Romandro awkwardly raised the corners of his mouth in response. Clatter, clatter, the carriage carrying the two men drove towards the Magic Department.