Margrave’s Bastard Son was The Emperor [EN]: Chapter 250

Melania was the center of high society. As the only daughter and youngest child of the Haiman family, she was always the focus of attention for her beauty and poise.

She had endured and enjoyed countless gazes in many situations. But never had she experienced anything like this. Cold sweat trickled down her neck.

‘…I didn’t realize you were having a meal.’

It was because the four men were looking at her in their own unique ways, without holding back. Beric seemed to be ‘observing’ her, munching on meat without batting an eye, while Romandro was ‘watching’ her, assessing the overall atmosphere.

Siaoshi, standing behind them, was even more of a sight. Though her head was bowed, it was clear she was ‘guarding’ her with all her senses, not just her sight.

The problem was Ian-

‘It’s alright, Lady. I’ve been so busy lately that I don’t have separate meal times.’

He was ‘observing’.

Perhaps it was because she had heard Ian’s words before entering? Melania found Ian’s leisurely knife work to be truly unreasonable.

It was reminiscent of the arena’s director, who enjoyed the spectacle with delicacies while those who had bet their lives were engaged in a bloody battle. Just a few days ago, Melania was no different from him.

‘Eat up, Beric.’

‘Okay. Wow, this is really good.’

Even though a guest he had personally called had entered, Ian did not stop eating. It was rude, but could rudeness even be established between them?

Melania realized what Ian’s actions meant. It was about understanding her place, realizing the absolute hierarchical relationship, and a kind of preemptive strike.

Swoosh.

Melania looked down at the carpet that ended at her feet. Although they were in the same place, this marked the clear difference in their positions.

She was in the arena to survive, while Ian was the one looking down and enjoying it. She needed to acknowledge that.

‘…Even the sun sets before the day is over. The power of humans is the same. There is a time to fall, and if you wait, it will rise again. If you wait, it will rise again. Surely, that is the truth.’

She clenched her fist hidden beneath her dress sleeve. Then, she took a step back and bowed politely. Since Ian had called her first, it was polite to wait until he brought up the matter. At least, in their current hierarchical relationship.

‘Have you eaten?’

‘Yes. Thanks to your consideration.’

Ian’s green eyes did not miss a single one of her gestures. With a light question, the fork and knife were placed down. It was a signal that the meal was over. Beric, however, didn’t understand and continued to scrape his plate clean.

‘Lady Melania. About what you proposed.’

The proposal to give up everything if the Haiman family was spared, and to also reveal Ian’s past. Melania swallowed hard, with a hint of hope.

‘No matter how much I think about it, it doesn’t add up.’

‘Um, Sir Ian.’

‘I think it would be good to adjust the details.’

‘…What do you mean?’

Did adjusting the details mean that Haiman could be spared? If so, she would do anything. There was nothing she couldn’t do.

As she made that resolution, intoxicated with hope, a thought suddenly broke the chain of her thoughts. Seroh, that name came to mind. The analogy that Haiman was the winner and Seroh was the challenger.

If so, the details would surely include something about Seroh, wouldn’t they?

‘First of all, the biggest thing in your proposal is the share of the banking rights and the tax burden. But these are things that would naturally be absorbed by the Imperial Palace if the Haiman family were to fall. It’s more beneficial for us to burn them to the root than to keep Haiman alive.’

If Haiman was gone, all the assets would be returned. Of course, a certain portion would go to Seroh and the remaining nobles as a privilege.

The part where Haiman could make a move was in this small portion. The benefits that would fall to other nobles, not the Imperial Palace. If they could protect this, the winner’s defense would be successful, and if they failed, the challenger would gain new honor.

Melania was lost in thought, her head spinning. Right now, that is….

‘You’re saying I need to prove a value greater than the Seroh family.’

‘Would you be satisfied with just greater? You are traitors. Show me a value so excessive that it wouldn’t be bad to keep someone like Melania alive.’

One person. Melania mulled over that part. It meant that she couldn’t save her family, including her father, the Duke.

She clenched her fist even tighter. The tips of her nails dug into her palm, but it seemed to awaken her spirit rather than cause pain.

‘Do you perhaps have something else you desire?’

Sacrifice was inevitable to gain something. And it was none other than treason. Melania was well aware that Ian giving her a chance was already a remarkable situation. Besides the external situation, it could be that her past connection with him had played a role. She couldn’t be sure.

‘No, what would I want from Haiman? Do as you please.’

‘…Then, would you allow me to leave the palace?’

‘Melania. The Imperial Palace has never dictated your residence in the first place. Leaving the mansion was entirely your own choice, wasn’t it?’

Whether she left or not, what did it matter? After all, her younger brother remained in the mansion. Although he would be under the surveillance of the Imperial Palace guards, he would be able to enjoy some freedom until his guilt was confirmed in court.

‘You don’t want anything, and you’re telling me to do as I please?’

Melania’s mind raced. The opponent was Seroh. A family that had supported Ian and would reap the benefits.

In a way, he was like a gladiator who was deeply loved by the director. But to prove her worth by surpassing him.

‘If I want to prove a value greater than Seroh, it would be much easier and more certain to pull him down than to show something. Sir Ian can’t not know that. Is he trying to keep them in check?’

If that was the case, it was truly terrifying. It was a time when the seven families had not yet been defeated. Even if they were to unite and finish it, it would be lacking, but they were sharpening their swords against each other.

However, this was also proof that the seven families would fall without any problems. Because they were sure of their opponent’s end, they were checking their companions.

‘Sir Ian. By the way, there is something I’m curious about.’

Melania cautiously spoke, glancing at Romandro and the others. It was a meager deal, like cutting off all the limbs and barely keeping the breath alive. In this situation, why wasn’t Ian asking about the amber gemstone?

‘Why do you not inquire?’

A secret only has power when it is known by a few. Melania knew this well, so she subtly asked in an ambiguous way.

Romandro and Beric looked at Ian, wondering what she was talking about. He was leisurely brewing tea.

‘Melania. You have nothing now.’

‘…….’

‘Honor, wealth, authority, nothing. So, the past is your only bargaining chip, your right to attack, and on the other hand, your right to defend.’

It was an answer that he didn’t ask because he knew she wouldn’t tell him. Just as there was a saying that a thirsty person digs a well, Ian, who had completely established his superiority, had no need to step forward first. If Ian had added an inquiry to the order to prove her worth, Melania would have surely tried to exploit the gap.

‘Besides, honestly, I’m not that curious.’

Ian smiled as he put down his teacup. Half of it was a lie, and half was the truth. Even if the illegitimate Ian was related to Idgal, it wouldn’t be a big problem if the situation was used well. If it became a problem? Judging by what Melania had revealed now, it was likely to end with a problem that wasn’t fatal.

‘Then, you may leave now. The Imperial Palace guards will escort you to your mansion.’

Ian nodded. It was the end of the one-sided conversation.

Melania couldn’t bring herself to say anything more and gracefully grasped the hem of her dress. A slight bow of the knee. It was stiff, without her realizing it.

Squeak.

Thud!

As Melania left, Beric wiped his greasy mouth and happily cut the remaining meat. It seemed he had been eating quietly, considering there was a guest. It was a shame that no one had noticed.

‘Ian. Is there any point in sending Melania away like that?’

‘Are you worried she might run away to Luswena?’

‘No. It’s not that. The Imperial Palace guards will be watching. And above all, wouldn’t it be a good thing for us if Luswena accepted her?’

Since they had accepted someone involved in treason, they would have no excuse even if they were to raise a diplomatic issue.

This was not just a problem limited to Luswena. No neighboring country would be able to help the seven families’ defection or escape. It was like declaring war on Bariel itself.

‘I’m just wondering if there’s any point to it. Her assets are frozen, and all the key figures are captured in the Imperial Palace, so what can she do even if she goes outside? It’s no different from being thrown into the streets with nothing.’

‘Those who are meant to survive will survive, even if they are thrown out with nothing.’

‘Well, when you say it like that, it’s quite credible.’

He was someone who had been sold to the desert as a lowly illegitimate child and had returned alive. He had returned alive, obtained a noble title in a short period, and then became the center of the Imperial Palace. When someone who was writing a new myth said that, there was nothing to say.

Romandro shook his head, crunching on gulla seeds [a type of seed snack] for no reason.

‘It’s not that I’m worried about Lady Melania.’

‘I know. How could Romandro be worried about someone involved in treason?’

Even if they lost their family and assets, those who were meant to do it would do it. Was it just a coincidence that Haiman had survived for a hundred years? It was possible that the wish of a single person had not died and had stubbornly survived, creating the Haiman of a hundred years later.

Whatever it was, there should be no noise in Bariel under Jin’s rule. Everyone in Haiman except Melania, and the nobles who were foolishly excited and didn’t understand their place, and even the foreign powers trying to exploit the gaps.

Clink.

Ian smiled and lightly shook his teacup.

* * *

‘Hahaha! As expected of the Seroh family.’

‘Yes, yes. I knew it too, of course. When was it? On the day of the First Prince’s execution, didn’t you meet Sir Ian in the greenhouse?’

‘You knew about that?’

‘Of course. Everyone knew about it, one way or another.’

‘His Highness Jin was also there.’

‘Oh ho! His Highness Jin, the next emperor, will be recorded as the first family he met.’

‘Is that also recorded? Hahahaha!’

The Seroh family’s mansion, which was quiet if you put it nicely, and desolate if you put it badly, was now bustling with guests, something it had never experienced before. The old butler was losing his mind trying to take care of the coats of the endless stream of guests.

Seroh, drunk, took out a cigarette. Then, those next to him all offered him a lighter.

‘Ha.’

What kind of luxury was this? Until recently, Seroh had been living as if he was invisible. Now, everyone was trying to curry favor with him.

‘So, will Seroh take over the Haiman family’s banking business? You’ll probably do that when you bid, right?’

‘Ahem. I don’t know the details yet….’

Seroh was about to let the words slip, but he shook his head. He couldn’t ruin the mood here.

‘Sir Seroh. If you have time later, how about introducing me to your sister?’

‘Oh, you. You’re about to become a Duke! At least it should be Sir Ian or the Imperial Family, right?’

‘The Imperial Family?’

‘Yes. Haiman is between the nobles and the Imperial Family. If the Seroh family becomes like that, it wouldn’t be unreasonable at all.’

At someone’s words, Seroh took a deep drag of his cigarette.

It was certainly not wrong. If Haiman was gone and the current atmosphere continued, the Seroh family would become the head of the nobles. Then, he could propose the marriage that Ian had rejected again.

‘Hahaha! Haha!’

Seroh couldn’t hide his ticklish feeling and burst into laughter. Everyone awkwardly watched him, then laughed along. False conversations that praised, embellished, and flattered flowed endlessly.

Then.

Creak.

‘Oh, everyone was here.’

‘Welcome. Did you receive the golden magic [a metaphor for imperial favor]?’

‘The order was pushed back, this. Haha.’

A noble who had left the Imperial Palace later joined them. He handed his coat to a servant and relayed the message.

‘But, I heard that Lady Melania also left the palace. Sir Seroh. Do you perhaps know why?’

‘Huh? Melania?’

‘Yes. I saw her carriage leaving.’

Everyone looked at Seroh with puzzled expressions.

How could the youngest daughter of the Haiman family leave the palace unharmed?

But Seroh only tilted his head in confusion and continued to smoke his cigarette.