Margrave’s Bastard Son was The Emperor [EN]: Chapter 237

“Everyone, stand back!”

“Go get a doctor, get a doctor!”

“Sir Ian! Open your eyes. Sir Ian.”

Siaoshi scooped Ian up and dashed away. The situation was already chaotic. He was trying to keep the anxiety from amplifying due to his lord’s collapse. He ran around the building to the office as quickly and discreetly as possible.

“Ian! Please, ah, the blood keeps coming!”

Philia, who had been desperately following, cried out in horror. At the same time, Siaoshi felt his shoulder getting wet. His lord was unconsciously vomiting blood.

Nershaln grabbed Philia, who was about to fall, and Romandro and Jin, with tears streaming down their faces, cleared the way.

Thud!

The main building was deserted. Most of the mages had been with Ian for the mana verification ceremony, half of whom had been struck down by Arsen, and the other half were busy with the aftermath. Even though they had burst into the main building, there was no one to ask for help except for the servants.

“H-huh, Sir Ian?”

“Where are the mages? Are there no mages left in the main building?”

“Th-there should be someone on duty.”

“Bring them here quickly! And a doctor too!”

“Y-yes, sir!”

“Warm water and towels!”

Tap tap!

Siaoshi laid Ian down in the small bedroom next to the office. It was a space where he would catch a few winks when he was tired from work. Beric used to frequent it, and recently Romandro had been using it more often.

“Slowly, slowly, lay him down.”

His head was bent back, his red shirt was devoid of any white, and his face was pale, making it impossible to deny the severity of his condition.

“Where, is there anything to cover him with…”

It was the moment Romandro was looking around for a blanket or something. He suddenly realized. Since coming to the center, Ian had not given any thought to a place to rest.

To think that when he collapsed like this, the only place he could rely on was a small room attached to his office. Moreover, the bed and all the small items were all things that the former minister, Wesley, had used.

“Here it is.”

“Ah, yes.”

“Sir Ian? Huh, what happened to him?”

A servant brought Acorella with a thick blanket. Judging by the protective goggles she was wearing, she must have been secretly sneaking out to do experiments in the basement.

She was horrified as she examined Ian. There were no major external injuries, but the fact that he was constantly coughing up blood meant that there was a problem inside.

“Captain Acorella! Please do something about Ian.”

“J-just a moment. You! Go downstairs and bring everything in the second drawer on the right side of my office. And you, uh, go to the storage room and tell them to bring a mana amplifier! Ah! And a syringe!”

Acorella, who was usually calm, stuttered as if her mind had stopped. While the servants were busy following orders, Jin kept crying while holding Ian’s right arm.

“Sir Ian, you can’t die.”

“Your Highness. Don’t worry. Minister Ian is…”

Romandro, who was trying to comfort Jin, grabbed his nose. Blood dripped through his fingers.

It wasn’t just Ian who had been burning his stamina for days. Romandro had also been using artificial stamina with magic potions. His body was now signaling that he had reached his limit.

Vivianna, who had come in late, noticed this and immediately held out a towel.

“Honey!”

“It’s okay. Vivi. Don’t worry.”

“Oh my god, haa. Really…”

Romandro smiled and stroked Vivi’s back. He was trying to reassure his wife, saying it was just a nosebleed, his gestures gentle.

Siaoshi wiped away his sweat and looked back at him.

“Sir Romandro. You should go and rest too.”

“It’s fine. If I leave my post while Ian is lying here, how will we handle the aftermath?”

“…I’m sorry, but we must consider that Sir Ian may not wake up for several days. Since you have ordered the cleanup, wouldn’t it be better for those who were at the scene to take the lead for a few hours?”

If the Magic Department needed a resolution, it would be truly difficult if even the aide, Romandro, was not there. Therefore, it was a suggestion that it would be better to replenish his strength and allocate it, even if it was only for a few hours.

As Romandro tried to refuse with a wave of his hand, blood poured out again as if in defiance.

“Kyaaak! Honey!”

“Ah, okay. Vivi. Please don’t be alarmed. I’m really okay.”

“Romandro. Sia’s words are valid. There were many casualties, but the Prime Minister is safe. So is Commander Jayrut of the Imperial Guard. Just a few hours, trust them for a few hours.”

Jin pushed Romandro’s back. He looked back at Ian, who was lying down, several times, and then left with reluctant steps. He kept muttering that he would be back soon, that he would be back after just one nap.

“Captain Acorella. I’ve brought the things you asked for. The doctor will be here soon as well.”

“Put them down here. Haa, it’s still my potion. The effects and side effects are so precise, geez. Hahaha. If I had known this would happen, I should have done some mana training. Your Highness, I’m an office worker. I use my head more than my strength…”

“I get it, hurry up!”

“Yes, sir. Minister Ian. Keep your mind sharp. Here we go.”

Acorella injected the mana amplifier into her arm and gritted her teeth. It was still in the experimental stage, but what could she do? Her superior was dying. She released her mana and channeled it into Ian.

Zzzing. Zzzing!

Minutely, very minutely, Ian’s breathing seemed to be calming down. But Jin couldn’t be sure if it was real. Expectations always lead to illusions. The child pressed his ear close to Ian’s chest and murmured.

“Keep going, keep…”

When Ian coughed up blood, Jin, Siaoshi, and the servants simultaneously reached out to catch it.

Jin looked at Ian, who was covered in blood, with a desperate look. Was death really this close? As if he couldn’t believe it.

* * *

“Iaaaann. Ian-ah.”

“…You said you’d watch quietly.”

“No, I know after having my insides turned upside down a few times. You need to come to your senses to recover faster. Ian-ahhh. Wake up. Master? Master?”

A whispering voice was heard. Jin was startled and raised his upper body, and then realized that he was on the sofa in Ian’s office. He seemed to have fainted and fallen asleep without realizing it.

When Jin turned his head towards the commotion, he met Beric’s eyes, who was grinning with his teeth showing.

“Beric?”

“It’s not the master, but Your Highness who woke up.”

Was it a dream? Beric, who was wrapped in a blanket, was being carried by Siaoshi.

“Can you move?”

“Huh. If I could, I wouldn’t be like this.”

Even though he couldn’t walk a single step, he had a keen sense of smell for blood and asked what was going on. The servant had no reason to lie, and told him the truth that Ian had collapsed. Thanks to that, the hardship fell on Siaoshi’s shoulders.

“Iaaaann~. We’re going to eat meat without you~? That one we ate last time, I’m going to order twice as much this time~. If you don’t wake up, I’ll order three times as much~?”

Beric kept chattering and calling out to Ian. At his call, Ian’s brow furrowed slightly. See, Beric was delighted that it was working.

“How is Sir Ian?”

“They said his life is not in danger.”

Siaoshi answered and turned his body. He had broken his promise to just look at his face, and was being so noisy. He seemed to be about to put Beric back in his place. Beric, realizing this, twisted his body this way and that in resistance.

“Just a little, ah, just a little!”

“…Shhh.”

“Shhh! So let me down. Huh?”

While Beric was complaining, Jin examined Ian. His complexion had definitely returned. His clothes were neat and tidy, as if he had changed in the meantime. At first glance, he would look like he was just sleeping deeply.

Jin let out a sigh of relief and looked out the window. The sun was setting.

“How much time has passed?”

“Three hours.”

Three hours. The world without Arsen had already passed that much. The demon who looked exactly like him and tried to kill him from the soul. A brother who had inflicted countless wounds that could not be counted one by one. The days when he existed were so overwhelming and heavy that this moment was truly unfamiliar.

‘It’s amazing.’

Arsen’s shadow was too dark. So, he thought that if he disappeared, the world would look different.

But the sunset was still red, the wind was blowing, and the clouds were flowing. Arsen, now that he thought about it, was nothing.

Clench.

Jin clenched his fist on his knee and made a vow. No matter what difficulties he faced in the future, he would not forget this moment. Even if it was an insurmountable burden, it was truly insignificant when viewed from afar. Just like Arsen had been.

Knock knock.

“Your Highness Jin. Did you cough?”

“What is it?”

At that moment, a servant cautiously made his presence known. It was as if he had been waiting at the door for Jin’s voice. Perhaps if more time had passed, he would have come in and woken him up himself.

“The Prime Minister has called an emergency meeting. Sir Ian and Sir Romandro were said to be unable to attend due to their physical condition, and the Magic Department is still in the process of cleaning up, so only Commander Hale will be going. The commander has already left, and your carriage is waiting.”

“…Okay.”

Jin slowly got up and straightened his clothes. This was not the time to be like this. He was the only prince in the Imperial Palace right now. Since even Ian had collapsed like that, he had to come to his senses.

Jin gestured to Siaoshi. It was an order to follow.

Thump.

“Ouch! That hurts!”

Siaoshi roughly put Beric down under the bed and chased after Jin. The Magic Department was still deserted. There were a few mages here and there, but they all looked distracted, as if they had just stopped by while cleaning up.

“This way, Your Highness.”

“Where is Romandro?”

“Lady Vivianna is taking care of him.”

Jin hesitated for a moment before getting into the carriage. It was the first time he was going to a major meeting without Ian. He was anxious and nervous, but it was something he had to do someday.

‘I guess they want to check what happened in the meeting room. I was the last one to walk out of there. Besides that, is there anything I should be aware of? Anything I should be careful of?’

Tap tap!

He didn’t know if it was the carriage that was making him feel nauseous, or if it was the tension. He had to make sure he didn’t make any mistakes so that Ian wouldn’t be in trouble when he woke up.

‘Ian, that’s royalty! Hahaha!’

Arsen’s last cry suddenly came to mind. Jin was startled and shook his head. But strangely, the rest of his words were not erased.

‘Jin. You didn’t know? Why would Ian help someone like you? It’s all because he has ulterior motives! …Only royalty receives blessings and is not affected by mind control!’

Jin was like that too. When the mages and priests were collapsing while clutching their heads, he was fine and faced Arsen. Also, Gale was the same. He entered the poisonous gas without any problems, where the soldiers could not approach.

But, why was Ian…?

‘No way.’

Ian was royalty? Then what about Philia? What about the former Count Derga? It was clear that Arsen, that demon, was trying to mock him until the moment he died.

As Jin bit his lip, the carriage slowly stopped. They had arrived in front of the main conference room of the First Imperial Palace.

“We have arrived, Your Highness.”

Siaoshi, who was sitting in the back seat, opened the door and guided him. Jin carefully got out and nervously climbed the stairs. And then he slowly realized.

Swoosh.

The gazes of the nobles who were not friendly to him, the sharp whispers, and the gestures of those who were wary, were flashing from all directions.