Margrave’s Bastard Son was The Emperor [EN]: Chapter 219

“Ugh…” Jin whined softly, rubbing his face against the pillow. Despite having learned the ways of the Imperial Palace, he was no different from any common child in the morning. The boy lay on his stomach, peeking around with just one eye open. Siaosi, who was always sitting on the sofa at the foot of his bed, was nowhere to be seen. Instead, Ian was leaning against the wall, slowly reading something. Jin immediately recognized it as a fairy tale book. “Sir Ian?” “You’re awake?” “…Where’s Sia?” At Jin’s call, Ian tilted his head slightly. Judging by the way he had his fingers between the pages, he wasn’t just reading through it, but examining it carefully. Why is Sir Ian doing that with a fairy tale book? Jin blinked drowsily, and Ian shook the servant call bell. “Siaosi has been sent on an errand. He’ll be back soon, so don’t worry. How about having breakfast with me today instead?” “I’d love that.” *Ting-* The sound of the bell seemed to clear Jin’s mind a little. Soon, a servant came running at the call. “You called?” “His Highness has woken up. Prepare for breakfast.” “Yes, we will serve it shortly.” Even as they spoke, Ian didn’t put down the fairy tale book. Jin was curious and approached Ian. He wondered if he had seen it wrong, but it was indeed the book. The portrait of Riversaid, Jin’s ancestor and guardian of the Carbo Temple, was faded with age. “But why do you have that?” “Your Highness, you said that if you read this fairy tale before sleeping, Riversaid always appears in your dreams. And that he plays with you.” “That’s right. Yesterday, I slept after seeing something else, but it was still the same without exception.” Jin smiled brightly and nodded. Playing with Riversaid was always fun. Especially when he was with Arsene, it felt like the only escape. Ian held up the book and asked, “May I borrow this for a few days? I’d be grateful, as there isn’t a copy in the Imperial Library.” There were many books about Riversaid, but the fairy tale book Jin had was nowhere to be found. It was a special edition published by the Carbo Temple. Jin nodded to show that he was happy to lend it. “You like the book too? There’s no need to ask. Feel free to read it.” “Thank you.” “Your Highness Jin. Please go to the bathroom. It’s ready.” “Okay, I’ll be there soon. Ian, I’ll see you soon. Let’s have breakfast together.” Jin followed the servants with light steps. Soon, the door closed, and Ian pulled up a chair, beginning to delve into the fairy tale book. ‘It’s strange. Is it really a coincidence that Riversaid appears in Jin’s dreams every time he reads the book? It’s too frequent to be just a child’s fantasy.’ And more than that, Riversaid had appeared to him as well, after he read the fairy tale book. It wasn’t a pleasant situation, with monsters running rampant and trying to kill Arsene. Ian could still vividly hear his desperate cry. ‘A child who should not have been born. Kill him!’ *Tap, tap,* Ian tapped Riversaid’s portrait, staring down at it. Riversaid, who sealed the last monster, Arsene’s abilities not recorded in history, the strangeness of the oracle… A hypothesis formed in Ian’s mind, but he couldn’t speak it out loud until he had solid evidence. ‘If my guess is correct, what happened to Arsene in the original history? Jin being the Emperor is unchanged, so there must have been an event that caused Arsene to fall.’ While Ian was deep in thought, Jin, having finished preparing for the morning, came running out looking neat and tidy. The child grabbed Ian’s arm, urging him to eat. “Sir Ian. Let’s go to the dining hall. The chef caught a duck today. Oh? But Romandro isn’t here either.” “He went with Siaosi.” “Oh, really?” Jin rolled his eyes left and right, gesturing for Ian to come closer. When Ian bent down to listen, Jin whispered a very careful secret. “I think Romandro and Vivianna’s child will be a daughter. Fortunately, she’ll look just like Vivianna, so she’ll be bright and beautiful.” “Where did you hear that?” “Lord Riversaid told me!” Jin’s dimples appeared slightly. Ian seemed a little surprised, lightly grabbing the child’s shoulder and glancing behind him. The servants quickly bowed their heads and scurried away. “Riversaid tells you things like that?” “Not often, just very rarely.” “Has he told you anything else?” “Hmm. Oh, about the last monster Lord Riversaid dealt with. It wasn’t in the book, but-” Jin rummaged through his memories and took Ian’s hand. Then, carefully, he drew something on his palm, drawing lines. It looked like a character, but Ian had never seen it before and couldn’t understand it. ᚫᚱᛋᛖᛀᛖ “He said this is how you write the name.” “How do you read it?” “I don’t know. He wrote it on the ground with a twig.” As far as Ian knew, it wasn’t a character from any nearby country. Since Riversaid was from the early days of the kingdom, was it something used in ancient times? Or was it a fantasy created by Jin? While Ian stood still, memorizing the characters, Jin greeted the passing mages. “Good morning.” “Did you sleep well, Your Highness Jin?” “Your tie looks very nice today.” “You look great too! Thank you!” The two entered the dining hall. A large table was set for two. Just as Ian was about to sit across from Jin… *Bang!* Suddenly, the dining hall door was thrown open roughly, and Romandro appeared, drenched in sweat. He was panting heavily, quickly making eye contact with Ian. “Romandro?” “Y-Your Highness Jin is here too.” “You said you were going to work? Come on in. Have you eaten?” Unlike Jin, who greeted him warmly, Ian stopped unfolding his napkin and examined Romandro. And Siaosi, who was standing behind him. The two were holding documents tightly to their chests. “Sir Romandro.” “I-Ian. There’s, well, you see.” “Catch your breath. Siaosi, you too.” Seeing those who had gone to submit the charges arrive in such a state, Ian realized that his concerns had become reality. The fact that they were holding the papers separately was to prevent them from being lost at once. It meant that Romandro had felt that much of a threat. “Close the door, and everyone leave.” *Creak.* At Ian’s command, the servants bowed deeply and left the dining hall. Jin, not knowing what was going on, widened his eyes, trying to understand the situation. Something seemed to be wrong. “What happened?” “Hah, hah, it, it seems like they were trying to snatch it.” Romandro collapsed into a chair, panting. It wasn’t a word to use in front of the prince, but there was no better way to describe the situation. “Duke Haiman, I didn’t think he’d be so low. I was worried there might be something wrong with the carriage, so I walked. If I hadn’t met Quintana in the middle, my knees would have given out.” If they were kidnapped while riding in the carriage, there would be no way out. In the end, Romandro chose to walk, and he met Quintana in the middle, who sent two mages ahead to return first. “The person in charge, Ericse, had a carriage accident. It doesn’t seem like he’ll be out for a day or two, and the staff there, and the people gathered, they all seemed suspicious.” “That’s crude.” Ian moistened his lips with lukewarm water. It was crude, but a somewhat certain method. It seemed that Haiman’s side was trying to arrange for the Grand Council to be held after Arsene’s magic confirmation ceremony. Since there were only a few days left, direct physical action was the most effective. “And Ian. It seems like there are people from the Haiman family in the Magic Department too. The two mages who went with me earlier, they were a bit, how should I say it? Fishy?” At Romandro’s whisper, Jin’s eyes widened like a rabbit’s. The Magic Department had far fewer people than other departments. Also, they were generally wealthy and had high pride, so their belief in solidarity was strong. Yet, if Haiman’s influence had reached even there, how many would there be in the entire Imperial Palace? It was a moment that made him realize that Haiman was a noble among nobles. “I see.” But Ian nodded lightly, as if he had expected it. “A hunch is not something to be easily ignored. If Sir Romandro felt that way, it’s worth investigating.” “You knew about it too, didn’t you? That’s why you assigned Siaosi to me. If he wasn’t there, I would have cried from fear. Really. When I was running, I kept seeing Vivianna’s face, oh my!” Romandro grabbed Siaosi’s shoulder and shook him, groaning. Ian gave a bitter smile at his appearance. It was easy to suspect the other party, but it was always difficult to weed out one’s own people. “Ian, how did you notice? Huh?” “…I just hoped it wasn’t true.” To say he hoped it wasn’t true meant that he assumed reality was not so. Apart from the backdrop of the Imperial Palace, that was how human life was. Ian recalled Naum’s words and lightly folded his napkin. ‘Your Majesty. If three people gather, one of them is a traitor, and another is likely to turn. The only one left is Your Majesty, so trust only yourself.’ ‘…And you?’ ‘Your Majesty. Do not trust me either. Always suspect, but keep me by your side and take advantage of me. If you trust, you will always get hurt. I do not want Your Majesty to get hurt.’ Why hadn’t he taken that to heart back then? Ian lightly bit his lip, thinking of his nephew, Crony. Romandro, Siaosi, and Jin watched Ian’s heavy silence. His expression was indifferent, but his eyes were intense. They could feel a storm of emotions swirling within him. “Sir Ian?” At Jin’s call, Ian raised his head and smiled brightly. “Are you alright?” “I’m fine. It was something that had to be done sooner or later.” “What…?” Mages, at least, should not be swayed by personal gain. The strong responsibility that comes with strong power. Those who had taken the mage’s oath should not do that. Ian lightly shook the bell and ordered the meal to be served. *Ting.* “Find out the current status of the person in charge, Ericse. And prepare the documents, as I will send an official letter to the Judicial Department. When sending people, send two mages from different departments. I will not accept volunteers.” “Yes? Ah, yes, yes. I understand.” “And tell the two mages who went with Romandro to wait in their respective rooms. I will meet with them after the meal.” The servant was flustered by the sudden instructions, but only for a moment. He soon scurried away to deliver Ian’s orders. Romandro gulped down the remaining water and asked. “Ian. We’ll have to use the Siltham potion, right?” “The magic stone management department already knows how to neutralize it. If they know, it means other mages can know as well. There is no trust.” Ian held a knife in his right hand and a fork in his left. Then, he cut the tomato very elegantly. What was once one soon became two, and then three. “I will weed them out in a different way. The Magic Department is of one heart and one mind, if there is something else inside, it is not needed.”