Margrave’s Bastard Son was The Emperor [EN]: Chapter 242

Vivianna, who had been nursing Romandro, came to the office upon hearing about Ian. The mages were relieved that he had regained consciousness so quickly despite the excessive bleeding, and their murmurs of relief echoed softly.

She carried a tray with warm tea and turned the corner. Philia was standing in front of the half-open door. Vivianna, surprised, called out to her.

“Madam?”

“Oh, hello.”

“What are you doing here? Why aren’t you going in?”

“I heard he woke up, but, well, I saw him talking with the mages. I’m waiting in case I might be a bother.”

Philia smiled shyly and fidgeted with her fingertips. There was a bowl of barley porridge by the window in the hallway. It looked cold, so she must have been there for a while.

“When Ian was little, he always looked for barley porridge when he was sick. The Imperial Palace is full of delicacies, so he probably doesn’t eat this anymore.”

“The food we ate when we were young is what we remember when we are having a hard time, Madam. Don’t worry and let’s go in together.”

“Oh, shall we? Haha. It would be nice to go in together.”

Oh, this wildflower of a person. Vivianna smiled sadly, looking at the woman’s happy face. How could her features be so similar to Ian’s, yet her nature so delicate? Vivianna opened the door and guided her in, and Philia nodded shyly.

Squeak.

“Ian?”

Vivianna paused as she was about to step inside, making her presence known. The door to the small bedroom in the office was wide open, and Ian was clearly visible. He was buried in soft pillows and cushions, flipping through reports.

Clatter.

“Madam, how is Romandro doing?”

“Kyaaa! What on earth are you doing?!”

Vivianna was in shock. After losing so much blood, he was back to work as soon as he regained consciousness! Ian must be crazy, or she must be seeing things.

Hale, who was injecting mana from the side, turned around in surprise.

“Madam. Are you alright?”

“A, alright? How could I be alright! Ian, what is this sight? Do you not know the meaning of ‘absolute rest’? Which cold-hearted person handed Ian reports as soon as he opened his eyes? Huh?”

Huh. Hale instantly became the cold-hearted person and shut his mouth. As Vivianna was in shock, Ian shook the report as if to show off, trying to calm her down.

“I’m lying down.”

“Lying down is not everything!”

Why on earth was there a bed tray in the Magic Department?

Whether he knew Vivianna’s thoughts or not, Ian tapped the wooden board and smiled contentedly. Everything was soft and fixed at the perfect angle, so he only needed to move his wrist. As he slowly raised his head, Vivianna covered her forehead.

“How is Romandro?”

“…He is still recovering, but he has improved enough to wake up and eat.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.”

“Why do you say that?”

“I can at least receive help from the mages, but your husband has to overcome it all on his own.”

Clatter.

Ian flipped another page of the report. He still looked tired, but his gaze was steady. He only moved his fingertips, urging Hale not to stop the flow of mana.

“Oh, right, Madam Philia. Please come in. It’s alright.”

Vivianna turned around in surprise. She had been so shocked upon entering the office that Philia had not been able to cross the threshold. Ian turned his head slightly and called out to her.

“Mother?”

“Ian.”

She appeared, still holding the tray, looking hesitant. Seeing this, Ian leaned back into the cushions and smiled gently. This was the son who had been on the verge of death, covered in blood. This small smile was a small gesture to ease her worries.

“Were you worried?”

“I, I brought you barley porridge.”

“Thank you. I was just getting hungry.”

Hale looked puzzled. He had refused all the food from the kitchen, saying he had no appetite due to extreme fatigue. More than anything, Ian was filling his body with mana because he couldn’t overcome sleep if he was full.

“However, I’m still dizzy, so I’ll eat it later if you leave it here.”

Right. That’s what he would do, he wouldn’t eat it. Hale nodded briefly and focused on delivering mana.

Buzz. Buzz.

“Yes. It, it will be better if you warm it up.”

“Yes. I will have the servants do that.”

Philia glanced at Ian with a look of emotion. Seeing him buried in the cushions, she was vividly reminded of her son when he was young.

Ah. He was so cute back then.

He’s still cute now, but back then, he was really…

“Mother. What’s wrong?”

“Oh, no. And I have something else to give you.”

Philia shook her head, waking from her reverie. Then, with hurried hands, she took out some notes from her pocket. They were crumpled and covered in food stains. At first, Ian didn’t know what they were, but he let out a short, knowing laugh.

“It’s a gift from His Highness Gale.”

A contact from a traitor using the rumors of defection. He had not expected that he would cooperate and gather evidence. He had been thinking about what to do later, but this would make things much easier.

“But His Highness burned one of the papers. I tried to salvage even half of it, but it was completely reduced to ashes.”

“It’s alright. Thank you, Mother.”

Philia smiled brightly at Ian’s words. The satisfaction of being helpful overflowed around her with her smile.

It was more accurate to see this as a reward for Philia, who had been eating with him regularly, rather than a favor to Ian.

‘Let’s see.’

Ian flipped through the papers one by one, checking the contents. Some had names written on them, and some did not. The handwriting was so clear that there would be no difficulty in comparing them.

“…Hale.”

“Yes, Ian. I’m still injecting mana.”

“There, the bookshelf in the middle, from the left to two shelves over, is the important report storage. Check the list and bring the reports that each person submitted. And call Dainels, Brennan, and Petrick. Hmm. Also, call the Imperial handwriting expert. Usually, there are two or three on staff, so one should be left in the palace.”

Hale paused at the stream of orders. But without asking any questions, he immediately got up and called his subordinates outside the office. While he was busy moving, Ian continued to flip through the reports without stopping.

“Ian. Are you really going to keep working?”

“Y, yes. Ian, you lost too much blood…”

“I’ll do the urgent things first and then rest again. There is a time for everything.”

By dealing with Arsen, the bugs that had been clinging to him were now scattering in confusion. If he didn’t catch them now, they would run away. And then, they would lay eggs again in unseen places, gnawing away, and one day they would crawl out into the sun again.

‘So this is what His Highness Jin meant.’

The countermeasures meeting was not recorded, and only Ian received a face-to-face report from Commander Hale. How to record Gale’s death in history, and what to do with those who were sacrificed, etc.

However, the decision on the eligibility of the indictment was a separate matter from Arsen, so it could be written in a report like this.

‘Yes. He deserves praise.’

Ian smiled involuntarily. He had used the gathering of all the officials very well. And since the order of those who agreed was recorded, it was a rather aggressive expression of intent in building power.

As Ian chuckled, Vivianna and Philia glanced at each other, exchanging puzzled looks. How could he read the report so interestingly, as if it were a novel?

Knock knock.

At that moment, a mage came from outside to deliver a message.

“Ian. The Prime Minister has arrived.”

“The Prime Minister? Show him in.”

The two women urged Ian to rest and went outside, and soon after, the Prime Minister, accompanied by his aides, arrived at the office. His gray hair seemed even whiter. His wrinkles also seemed deeper…

‘He must have had a hard time at the conference.’

“Greetings, Prime Minister.”

The Prime Minister seemed momentarily flustered to see Ian buried in the cushions. But he gestured for him to stay lying down and pulled a chair closer to the bed.

“Keep lying down. How are you feeling?”

“Thank you. As you can see, I’m fine.”

“Yes. It seems so. That’s a relief.”

He said this after seeing the report in his hand. Ian, as if it was a good time, straightened his upper body and adjusted his pen. First, he wrote down the names of the mages.

“The Magic Department is currently identifying the traitors.”

“Traitors? What do you mean?”

“I cannot tell you the details, but many of them are likely to be related to Haiman. Their collusion contributed to the Arsen incident, so as the head of the Magic Department, I believe there must be appropriate punishment.”

Even if it wasn’t the Magic Department, no superior would stand idly by if their subordinate was colluding with the other side. But given the situation, the Prime Minister expressed concern.

“What kind of punishment? The Magic Department is short of manpower right now. Every single person is needed. This is not just a problem for the Magic Department, but for the entire Empire.”

“If there are traitors among the dead, they will be recorded as traitors in connection with the death of His Highness Gale, and those who are not will have their positions demoted and fixed.”

Killing them would be too much compared to the value of their talent, and sending them to the border or abroad would be too dangerous. How could they know what the mages would do in unseen places, or who they would collude with?

The reason why the mages of the Empire were gathered in the capital was because their numbers were small, but ultimately, it was also the intention of the Imperial Palace to control them effectively.

“Demotion. Quintanna will like that.”

Salary cuts, deprivation of various benefits, and the contempt of their returning colleagues. People could not be reformed, so it was better to just throw them to the bottom of the barrel.

“And I heard in the report that Duke Haiman and his core members are in custody. The charge of insulting and disturbing the Imperial Family is only for three days at most, isn’t it? Do you think the trial date will be set before then?”

“Hmm. The judiciary is trying to cooperate as much as possible. At that time, the collective absence of the judiciary when the Magic Department filed the indictment is becoming public knowledge. It is almost certain that Haiman had a hand in it.”

In fact, the judiciary was very shocked and surprised. They were considered the epitome of integrity, but Haiman’s influence had reached them without their knowledge, and they were on guard because it had been quite effective.

Clatter.

Ian slowly recited the words, muttering to himself.

“More than anything…”

“Hmm?”

“We must focus on returning the assets of the central nobles, including the Haiman family, to the national treasury. That will be the driving force that moves everyone. Please be thorough with Duke Haiman’s wife and children as well.”

Each department of the Imperial Palace was expecting support from securing the national budget, and this was the main reason why they were cooperating with the Magic Department. The nobles who were opposed to Haiman were the same. Serio, wasn’t his goal to divide the assets of the Haiman family and take advantage of the gap?

“If only the crime of treason is established, the family will be destroyed, so the return to the national treasury will be natural, but it would be troublesome if there were any variables before that. Wasn’t the Duchess from Lusweena?”

“Ah, yes. Ian. That’s what I came to tell you. A delegation has arrived from Lusweena, and it seems that Haiman called them.”

“Is that so?”

“They were supposed to leave the palace this morning, but, well, they all had severe stomachaches and were bedridden.”

The Prime Minister also knew that it was intentional. But the tea served at the Imperial Palace was the center of the problem, and they were not asking for anything else, but just to stay a few more days and rest. It was difficult to harshly turn away a delegation from another country, so it was truly perplexing.

Ian raised his eyebrows and muttered.

“…Hmm. They’re making trouble for themselves.”

Ian scribbled something down with his pen. It was instructions for what to do in the future.

“Prime Minister. Suppressing Haiman and the central nobles is the cornerstone of strengthening the imperial power. This is the path to becoming a great nation.”

“I agree.”

If the imperial power was strengthened, the Prime Minister’s authority would also be reduced. Yet he agreed without a moment’s hesitation. The Emperor seemed to have appointed the right person for the position of Prime Minister, if nothing else.

“It is time for a purge.”

Purge.

The Prime Minister nodded and took Ian’s report.

“And when this is finished, we will proceed with the official appointment ceremony for our Prince Jin as the successor.”