Margrave’s Bastard Son was The Emperor [EN]: Chapter 224

At the same time Ian was receiving his report, a servant of Delilah was also rushing through the dark corridors. Ever since it was revealed that Arsen was a mana user, her palace had been filled with guests day and night.

The same was true now. At the entrance of the reception room, besides Delilah’s servants, unfamiliar faces were lined up, waiting for their masters.

“What is all this commotion at this hour?”

The head servant, with a dignified air, scolded the servant who had rushed over, panting for breath. But the servant, unperturbed, quietly reported so that no one else could hear.

“It’s urgent. Please inform her. A priest from the Carbo Temple has just entered the palace.”

A priest entering the palace? At this hour? The head servant was taken aback and let him inside. As he pushed open the inner door and got closer, he could hear the lamentations of the high-ranking officials.

“In the end, Ericse stamped the accusation.”

“If I had known this would happen, I would have killed him. Tsk, tsk.”

“That’s a dangerous thing to say. Everyone knows, one way or another. From the Minister of Justice down, they haven’t been able to come to work, so they’ve noticed that something is not right. But if someone had died, how would you have handled the aftermath?”

“That’s right. If Lord Ian digs into it and makes an issue, it will be even more uncontrollable. We’ve done all we can within our limits.”

“I heard there was a brawl in the Justice Department?”

“If we had just pretended not to know and broken a few mages’ arms, I would have felt much better.”

“Hmm. Since it was filed today, if it’s processed quickly, a Grand Council will be held before the mana confirmation ceremony. How many of us are there now? Let’s send as many opinions as possible that we can’t attend, and try to postpone the date. That’s the only way.”

Knock knock.

Squeak.

The servant opened the door as soon as she made her presence known. The high-ranking officials looked at her with curiosity, but she quickly approached Delilah and whispered.

“A priest from the Carbo Temple has urgently entered the palace. It seems there was a problem while moving the Light of the Oracle, and they are here to ask for help.”

“What?”

Delilah’s eyes widened in an instant. This was unexpected good news. If the priest had come directly to the palace to ask for help, with some time still remaining, it meant they were quite close. For them, who needed to hold the mana confirmation ceremony before the Grand Council, this was very welcome news.

“Lady Delilah? What’s wrong?”

“They say a priest from the Carbo Temple has entered the palace. It seems there was a problem on the way, which means they are close to the center.”

The lamentations had turned into exclamations of joy. The officials even clapped their hands in delight.

“Oh! Is that so? That’s a relief.”

“To get from Carbo to the center, you have to cross the eastern mountains. If there was a problem, it probably happened there. The mountains are so steep and rugged that the path was only recently opened. If they didn’t know, their carriage would have broken down.”

They had been lamenting about Ericse filing the accusation, but now the situation was changing again. Ian had said himself that he would hold the mana confirmation ceremony as soon as the Light of the Oracle arrived, so all they had to do was bring it in first, right?

“They must have gone to the Magic Department?”

“The mana confirmation ceremony is under the jurisdiction of the Magic Department.”

“Lady Delilah, send someone. The Magic Department will try to hold the Grand Council first, so they will just drag their feet. Use the connection with the Carbo family and say that you will help directly. And let’s bring in the Light of the Oracle as quickly as possible.”

At the urging of the officials, Delilah nodded. It was true that when one door closes, another opens. As soon as the accusation was filed, such an opportunity had come. She rose from her seat as if to go herself.

“I will go see the priest myself. If it’s someone who helped with the postpartum care, they will understand our position even more. You all wait here. I will return after taking care of things.”

At Delilah’s declaration of departure, the servants moved busily. They gathered her coat, called for a carriage, and sent word to the Magic Department.

As she left the reception room, the officials tilted their wine glasses and added a word each.

“By the way, the situation is strange. At first, Lord Ian wanted to hold the mana confirmation ceremony quickly, but now it’s the opposite.”

“It’s because Duke Hyman is in the middle.”

“Speaking of Hyman, I just remembered. There’s a rumor that the Duke asked for help from Luswena.”

“Ah, I heard that too. Isn’t it a foregone conclusion?”

“Then, does that mean Prince Gail is trying to defect to Luswena?”

“What? What do you mean?”

It was the moment a rumor took its first step. The one who had started the conversation raised his eyebrows and whispered as quietly as possible.

“To be precise, it’s a defection based on an engagement.”

“Hahaha! An engagement? Prince Gail is quite something.”

“Hmm, but it’s a clever move. If he goes to Luswena, he can save his life and keep both the Magic Department and Hyman in check, can’t he?”

“From Luswena’s perspective, it’s welcome. By securing Prince Gail, they can exert influence over Bariel. No matter how it is done. As long as Prince Gail is alive, it’s a burden for Arsen and Prince Jin.”

“But is it true?”

“I’m checking, but it doesn’t seem like a complete rumor. I just got information that Lord Ian went to Prince Gail’s palace. It’s probably to warn him about the defection.”

The officials sipped their wine and calculated what kind of wind Gail’s defection would bring. Would that wind carry the smell of blood, or the scent of sweetness? Depending on which side they were on, the smell they would encounter would be different, so the officials fell silent without realizing it.

“For now, it’s best to watch.”

Clink-

They lightly clinked their wine glasses and had no choice but to wait for Delilah to return.

* * *

Neigh!

Squeak!

A carriage stopped abruptly in front of the Magic Department. Ian went up the stairs with the mages. The Magic Department was in disarray due to the visit of an unfamiliar guest. A servant who saw Ian approaching opened the door to the office wide.

“So, you were here. You must have been in a lot of pain.”

“No. It’s all healed now, so I’m fine.”

“May God’s blessing be with you, I sincerely pray.”

A woman wearing a robe was kneeling and talking to Jin. Siao Shi noticed Ian’s arrival and stepped back.

“Oh, Lord Ian!”

“Prince Jin.”

At Ian’s call, Jin approached.

“She’s a priest from the Carbo Temple. She said she saw me when I was young, so I was sharing a pleasant greeting.”

“I see.”

The priests bowed respectfully. Their faces were not visible due to the semi-transparent veils that covered their eyes and mouths under their white robes. They didn’t show even a fingertip outside their clothes, so one could only tell they were women by their voices.

“It’s nice to meet you. I am Avidiel, a priest from the Carbo Temple. I apologize for visiting so late at night.”

“I am Macael.”

“I am Ian Hielo, the head of the Magic Department. What brings you here? I heard there was a problem with the transportation of the Light of the Oracle.”

“Yes. As you know, the Carbo Temple doesn’t have much experience in extracting the Light of the Oracle. So, it seems we were ill-prepared when we had to depart so suddenly.”

Although the mana confirmation ceremony itself was rare, the Carbo Temple was not relatively close to the center. It was a place with little interaction, except when Delilah visited for childbirth and occasionally when delivering the oracle.

Presumably, it was also a rare outing for the priests.

“Did the carriage have a problem?”

“The wheels were completely broken while crossing the rocky mountains. There is no problem with the Light of the Oracle, but we are stuck, so we have come to ask for help.”

The harp was so heavy and huge that even with wheels, it would take three or four people to push it. It was likely to be a problem for the priests, who were not professionals, to move it.

Ian brought a map and spread it on the table.

“What is your location?”

“We crossed a large river twice, so it should be around here. It took us half a day to ride a horse from where we stopped to here.”

Ian paused, tracing the path with his fingertip. They were closer than he thought. If he sent support now, they could arrive at the Imperial Palace earlier than expected. That meant they could hold Arsen’s mana confirmation ceremony before the Grand Council.

Jin was pacing beside him, looking worried.

“Lord Ian?”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

What should he do? Romandro and the mages had worked their butts off to file the accusation, but wouldn’t it be useless if this happened?

Ian, reading his anxious mind, smiled.

“Let’s send support.”

Officially, he had to send it first. But it would be better to decide what to do after seeing how the situation developed. Ian instructed the person standing behind him.

“Check the carriages that can be sent for support. The Light of the Oracle is very heavy. A normal carriage won’t do, so keep that in mind.”

“Yes, I understand.”

The priest put her hand on her chest and bowed in gratitude. Avidiel’s head turned slightly towards Jin. Although her gaze was not visible, it was clear that she was looking at his wound.

“Excuse me, but how did Prince Jin get his wound?”

“There was a lot of commotion in the Imperial Palace. It would take too long to explain.”

It was an answer that showed she had no intention of telling him.

The Carbo Temple was deeply connected to Delilah’s family. In Ian’s judgment, they had given ridiculous oracles, and it was entirely the place where Jin’s misfortune had begun. He couldn’t trust them, so he couldn’t give them information.

“The Magic Department requested that the person in charge of the oracles for Jin and Prince Arsen also accompany you, in addition to the Light of the Oracle. Is there any problem with that?”

Although it was called a request, it was actually an order with a seal.

Then Avidiel lifted her veil. Under her light brown eyes, there were many freckles.

“Yes. You said you called for me.”

“Priest Avidiel, is that you?”

“Yes. And Macael is the priest in charge of the oracle that was given this time.”

It matched the testimony of the doctor who had performed the surgery at the time. He had said that there was a priest with many freckles, although he didn’t know her name.

“I have always felt sorry for Prince Jin. Although it is said to be the word of God, it was I who delivered it. It was a curse-like word, so I can’t even imagine how much it must have weighed on you.”

Jin was flustered and opened his mouth. But soon, he shook his head, taking the priest’s hand. If there was no malicious intent, she had simply done her part.

“It’s, it’s not your fault.”

“Your Highness.”

But Ian was not. He knew that the oracle itself was problematic, so wasn’t it clear that Avidiel had made a mistake or intentionally caused a problem in the middle?

“Avidiel. When you received the oracle, how many years had you been a priest?”

“It was in my third year.”

There was no high or low in the position of a priest, but among those who lived in the temple for their entire lives, three years was…

“Hmm.”

“Why do you ask?”

“I would like you to tell me the situation again, in detail.”

“Isn’t it recorded?”

“Still. There is something I need to confirm again with your own words.”

Avidiel bowed her head and recalled that day ten years ago. It started with ‘It was a rainy day,’ which was the same as what the doctor had said.

“At that time, I was praying with the priests for a safe delivery. With the sole desire that our intentions would reach God, we simply knelt and prayed for hours.”

She testified calmly. Then she recited the curse.

“The one born later will harm the one born first. And if the one among the brothers who is closer to the throne dies, the imperial line will be completely cut off.”

“A voice. Yes. What was the voice of God like?”

“Pardon?”

She was flustered by the sudden question and asked back. How could she remember a voice she had heard once ten years ago? But she carefully spoke.

“There was nothing special about it. It was just clear and thin…”

As Avidiel explained, Macael, who had been listening quietly, raised her head. Her eyes were filled with bewilderment.

“Why, Macael?”

“No, it’s nothing.”

“It’s not nothing.”

“That’s…”

She mumbled in confusion.

“In the oracle I heard, the voice of God was considered low and heavy.”