Margrave’s Bastard Son was The Emperor [EN]: Chapter 270

Romandro’s mansion.

Vivianna and her maid, Mini, had been diligently preparing food in front of the stove from early lunch until sunset. It wasn’t just because Romandro was having a rare meal at home, but also because a more esteemed guest would be joining them.

‘Madam. Should I bake this a bit more?’

‘Hmm. It’s moist and delicious. This is good enough. Mini, go check if there’s enough wine. I’m worried the warriors might have drunk it all. And since His Highness Jin doesn’t drink, we must make sure there are plenty of beverages for him too.’

‘Of course, Madam. I collected fresh milk at dawn. I’ll prepare both cold and warm options in advance.’

It was none other than His Highness the Prince, the sole heir, and the next emperor, Jin. They had seen him at the Imperial Palace and had the honor of dining with him while he resided in the Magic Department.

But now, the situation was markedly different. They were daring to invite him to their mansion for a feast. If Romandro and his wife were nobles, the social circles would have been watching them with all eyes.

‘The new tablecloth is nice, clean. The chairs have been replaced with comfortable ones, the lamps, the decorative candles, the pre-dinner salad bowls, the paintings…’

Vivianna scrutinized every corner of the dining room with hawk-like eyes. She had already checked everything several times and there were no issues, but as the appointed time approached, she couldn’t help but feel anxious.

At that moment, the dining room door slowly opened. Philia cautiously peeked her head in. She was wearing the coral-colored dress Ian had bought her, and she looked so radiant that it was hard to imagine anything more beautiful in the world.

‘Madam, is there anything I can help with?’

‘Oh, my goodness. Philia, there’s absolutely nothing. You’ve been working in the garden since morning. Even a professional gardener would be tired and go home early. Please rest a bit before everyone arrives.’

‘Mini seems busy. I thought I could help if there’s anything.’

‘Thank you, but I appreciate the thought. If your dress gets wrinkled, my heart will ache. And today’s feast is ‘my’ treat for His Highness Jin, so I want to handle everything on my own.’

Where else would one get the honor of serving food to the prince? It was a polite refusal, asking her to allow her to do it all herself.

Philia smiled softly and looked around the kitchen. The flowers she had picked from the garden were perfectly arranged, making it feel like being in a forest garden.

‘Um, Madam.’

‘Yes, Madam. Please speak.’

Vivianna kept hanging and taking down paintings, not noticing Philia’s troubled expression as she answered.

‘I have something to discuss with you. Perhaps…’

‘Madam! Madam! Kyaaa! They’ve arrived, the carriage is here!’

Crash! Bang!

Mini’s shout cut off Philia’s words. Vivianna stiffened her shoulders as if nervous and clasped her hands. What was coming had arrived.

‘Philia. Is it urgent?’

‘No. Not at all. It’s nothing.’

‘Thank you. Let’s greet the guests first, and then we can talk.’

‘Yes. Let’s go out together. Madam, and your hair ornament today is so beautiful. You’re the perfect hostess.’

Vivianna gave Philia a light kiss on the cheek and ran to the entrance. Nershal and several warriors were also out in the garden.

Screech!

The carriage stopped, and as the coachman opened the door, Romandro was the first to step out. He was happy to see Vivianna, but like a seasoned bureaucrat, he maintained his composure and guided Jin.

Jin entered the garden, his eyes sparkling with curiosity. This was Romandro’s house, where Ian and Beric had stayed before entering the palace! Vivianna held her dress and bowed.

‘Welcome. It is an immense honor to have you grace us with your presence.’

‘Vivianna, thank you for inviting me to the feast. It’s simple, but please accept it.’

‘Oh my. The flowers are so beautiful! Thank you.’

‘These are for Philia.’

‘Your Highness, thank you. Ah, may I, may I call you Your Highness? I heard you use a different identity when traveling incognito.’

‘Of course. It’s fine. We’re alone, and this is the last thing on my schedule today.’

Jin handed the bouquets to the ladies and gave them light hugs. They were all faces he saw morning and evening at the Magic Department, but just moving to this residence made it feel like they hadn’t seen each other in a long time.

‘Wow. The smell of meat is amazing!’

‘Gasp, bl, blood!’

‘This isn’t mine! I’m okay!’

‘Mini, go get a towel soaked in warm water. What on earth happened? Such bloodshed during His Highness’s incognito trip.’

And why, every time Beric came to this house, did he arrive covered in blood like that!

Whether he knew of Vivianna’s dizziness or not, Beric just kept repeating that he was hungry and rushed into the mansion. He was immediately grabbed by the warriors, his head squeezed between their armpits.

‘Agh! Let me go!’

‘We haven’t seen you in a while, can’t you say hello? You rude brat!’

‘I heard you almost died? You look fine! Same as always. Hmm hmm.’

‘Ah, let go! I’m about to die of hunger!’

The boisterous commotion filled the garden with warmth. Jin followed Beric, and everyone in the mansion naturally stepped inside. Ian gave Philia and Nershal a light nod.

‘Have you been well?’

‘Yes. Thanks to you. How about Ian? I heard he bled again.’

‘No, it’s less now. Your dress is beautiful. It suits you very well. Nershal, the imperial attire doesn’t look awkward on you anymore.’

‘It’s about time I got used to it. I’ll go back to my old clothes when I leave the center.’

‘Let’s go in together.’

Ian guided Philia, supporting her back. Philia gave an awkward smile. Ian’s compliment felt strange. She had heard that Ian had personally chosen and sent the dress, so why was he talking as if he was seeing it for the first time?

‘Oh, so this is Romandro’s mansion. It’s neat and elegant.’

‘The second floor is the room Ian used to use. Would you like to see it after the meal? The food is warm, so it’s best to eat now.’

‘Ian-hyung’s room?’

‘Yes? Hyung?’

Jin covered his mouth in surprise, and Vivianna’s eyes widened. Hyung! No matter how close they were, it was a rather problematic term. Romandro pulled out a chair for Jin, trying to calm him down.

‘He’s been calling him that all day, so it’s become a habit. It’s okay. Just be careful when other officials are around.’

‘…I’ll keep that in mind.’

They sat around the round table and unfolded their napkins. Since it wasn’t a grand mansion, the entire dining room was packed.

Jin, who always ate in spacious places, surprisingly liked this. He could easily talk to the others since they were close. Reaching out to serve food and fill glasses offered a different kind of enjoyment.

As the meal began in earnest, Romandro wiped his mouth and asked.

‘By the way, Ian. Tell us now. What exactly happened? Why was Envoy Timothy there?’

Jin also nodded, munching on his salad. Beric, at the far end of the table, was devouring meat like crazy at the special seat Vivianna had prepared, oblivious to the conversation.

‘He said he was looking for a gypsy. An old man with a scar on his cheek. He accessed the information up to the vicinity, but the location was such that… I was investigating, assuming illegal enslavement.’

‘A gypsy with a scar on his cheek?’

‘Yes. Your Highness. Why do you ask?’

‘I saw him in the park earlier. I even talked to him.’

Ian stopped cutting his meat.

‘Rather than a scar on his cheek, it looked like a gap. Like gills.’

‘What did you talk about?’

‘He saw the past and future with a crystal ball.’

There were many old gypsy fortune tellers, and since they lived such harsh lives, facial scars were nothing special.

But was it really a coincidence that Jin met that gypsy?

‘Seeing that Timothy went out to find him himself, he must be a special gypsy. Did he seem to have any peculiarities?’

‘He called himself a secret eater. In return, he told my fortune…’

As Jin’s words trailed off, everyone looked at the child with curiosity. He was going to say that it was a trivial secret, that he had practiced a foreign language behind their backs to get praise, but he couldn’t. His throat felt blocked, and his tongue wouldn’t move.

Ian jumped up from his seat in surprise.

‘Your Highness, are you alright? Is something stuck in your throat?’

‘What!? Oh, Your Highness! Cough, cough hard!’

‘Mini! Go get a doctor-‘

‘No. I’m fine.’

Jin waved his hand, blinking in confusion, and sighs of relief erupted from all around. Jin shook his head, gulping down milk.

‘When I tried to tell the secret I gave as payment, I couldn’t speak. It seems like a very similar effect to a geas magic [a magical compulsion].’

Ian carefully examined Jin. Indeed, what Jin described was similar to geas magic. But how could a gypsy have it?

He had a feeling that it was deeply related to why Timothy had been wandering around for months. Ian patted Jin, pouring milk into his glass.

‘Before Envoy Timothy leaves Bariel, he will formally visit the Imperial Palace. We will meet him then and find out the details.’

‘Okay. Alright.’

‘And the illegal gambling that was uncovered earlier will be handled by the guards first, but the situation is serious, so it would be good to form an investigation team within the Imperial Palace itself. There are also issues with the local security…’

Ian paused while eating a piece of meat. Everyone except Philia was glaring at him. Even Beric stopped eating and jeered. Ian acknowledged his mistake and chuckled.

‘My apologies.’

‘Yeah. That was a bit much, just now.’

‘Okay, shall we talk about something else? Oh, right. Philia, you said you had something to say earlier?’

‘Yes? Ah, well…’

Vivianna remembered Philia’s words that it was a minor matter and brought it up. When changing the subject, nothing was better than something minor.

Everyone was casually cutting meat or picking up noodles, but Philia was flustered, fidgeting with her fingers. Nershal covered her hand with concern.

‘What’s wrong?’

‘It’s, it’s, it’s not anything else!’

Philia spoke loudly as if she had made up her mind, and everyone stopped in surprise. She was trembling as she faced Ian. What was it? Had Ian done something wrong?

‘I, I, Ian.’

‘Yes. Mother.’

His gaze was calm, telling her to speak. Philia bit her lip and squeezed out the words.

‘…How, how would you feel if you had a younger sibling?’

‘……’

‘……’

Everyone froze as if they had turned to ice. Forks stopped in mid-air, noodles slipped from chopsticks, and the silence was so deep that even breathing couldn’t be heard.

Many pairs of eyes rolled simultaneously. To Ian, then to Nershal, then back to Ian.

‘Ah.’

It seemed that what Jin had told them before was correct.

Ian was the only one who continued to cut his meat, clinking his utensils. He didn’t care much. In fact, it wasn’t something he had a say in.

‘Are you pregnant?’

‘…Ah, ah, maybe.’

‘I see. I don’t mind.’

Philia’s eyes widened as if her mind had stopped working. And then tears streamed down her face. She had imagined Ian’s reaction dozens, hundreds of times, but this was not what she had expected.

To be so calm and composed, as if it were someone else’s business. Ian knew beforehand, but Philia had no way of knowing.

‘Why don’t you mind? We’re family…’

‘Ah, what I mean is-‘

Ian realized there was a misunderstanding and calmly corrected himself.

‘I meant I don’t mind if it’s okay with Mother.’

‘I, I’m so happy.’

‘Then I’m happy too.’

‘Really?’

‘Yes. Really. It will be very lovely. Congratulations, Mother.’

Philia stood up and reached out to Ian, and Ian gently hugged his mother. Romandro and Vivianna, who had been nervous that he might object, breathed a sigh of relief. Beric, who had been frozen, was the same. He shook a bone with meat on it and shouted.

‘Hey! Then congratulate her more enthusiastically! I thought you didn’t like it and was so surprised!’

‘That’s right, Beric is making sense for once! Oh my, my heart is pounding.’

‘H, honey. Some water for me.’

‘Vivie, here. Drink it cool. And give me some too. Oh, my, my insides were parched in that short time. Nershal! Congratulations! It’s truly a joyous occasion! Oh? Nershal?’

Romandro stood up and patted Nershal’s shoulder. The huge body weakly swayed to the side.

Thud.

He looked up at Philia as if he had only come to his senses after falling to the floor. He looked like he was half out of his mind with ecstasy.

‘Uh…’

Ian reached out his hand to help him up.

‘Congratulations, Nershal. You’ve become a father.’

For the first time, Nershal’s eyes welled up as he hugged Ian. Thank you, thank you so much. Thank you for turning the moment of confession into a blessing.

It was a force that squeezed him so tightly he couldn’t breathe, but Ian smiled and patted his back. Beric, seeing that, rushed in with meat in his mouth.

‘Me too! Congratulate me too!’

‘You, know your place!’

‘Ugh! That’s too much.’

As always, he was stopped by Romandro grabbing his neck.

At that cheerful scene, Jin smiled and told Siao-si about his dream, and Vivianna drank cool water, relieved once again.

Fortunately, today seems like it will be the best feast that everyone will remember.