Margrave’s Bastard Son was The Emperor [EN]: Chapter 277

The meeting had run far too long. While everyone else hurried to leave, Commander Jayrut remained in his seat. He endured the light scolding from those passing by, finishing up the reports he needed to handle personally.

He rummaged through his inner pocket, looking for a light to smoke a cigarette.

Then, a lighter was offered to him. It was Quintana.

‘Thank you.’

‘You’re welcome.’

‘Aren’t you going home? It’s late.’

‘What about you, Commander Jayrut?’

He must have something to say. Jayrut bit down on his cigarette and puffed out smoke.

The Prime Minister also didn’t get up. They remained in their places as if waiting for the meeting room to empty. The officials who had been throwing glares at Jayrut also sensed the atmosphere and quietly left.

Squeak.

Bang!

Besides the attendants waiting outside, only the Prime Minister, Quintana, and Jayrut remained. Jayrut tapped the half-smoked cigarette into the ashtray and asked,

‘Do you have any questions for me, Prime Minister?’

‘Commander Jayrut, how long has it been since you entered the palace? If I remember correctly, it’s been well over thirty years.’

‘I entered the palace when you were the Deputy Minister of the Administrative Department.’

Jayrut chuckled slightly. It had been a long time ago, indeed. Back then, Petreio, Barsabe’s father, was also by his side, and Liam and Beols were his colleagues in training. The days he had toiled for the honor of being the empire’s strongest and the glory of protecting the emperor flashed by in an instant.

‘Thirty years. It’s been a long time, indeed. Jayrut, I know you. You are a man of deep loyalty, intelligence, and will.’

‘Don’t try to scold me indirectly. I am a warrior.’

The Prime Minister smiled and slightly furrowed his brow. Ian had already shown his displeasure and warned him during the meeting, but the Prime Minister was trying to give him a word of caution once more. Quintana watched the two of them, exhaling faint smoke.

‘It hasn’t been long since the imperial palace was stabilized. I deeply understand your intentions, but this time it was a mistake. Why try to stir up trouble in calm waters? Especially at a festival where the people of the empire are gathered. Beric and Sio are His Highness Jin’s right-hand men.’

They were by the side of the lonely young prince. Yet, he was creating such discord. The Prime Minister shook his head slightly and scolded him.

‘It’s natural that Sir Ian doesn’t hide his displeasure.’

‘Prime Minister, Beric and Sio are not His Highness Jin’s right-hand men, but Sir Ian’s. Please see clearly where the foundation of these two lies.’

‘Jayrut.’

‘Beols-‘

Jayrut paused, as if asking them to listen to him, and mentioned the name of Beols, one of the three great commanders. A knight who had protected the emperor together, and a close friend who had died in vain during the Arsen incident.

‘I received a message from Beols’s mansion a while ago. They found a small letter he left for me.’

‘What are you talking about?’

‘I want to ask you, Prime Minister. I really don’t know what Beols’s intentions were either.’

Swoosh.

Jayrut took out a neatly folded letter from his pocket and placed it on the desk. A gesture to read it. Quintana unfolded the letter in place of the Prime Minister.

-Jayrut. If this reaches your hands, I must be living in another world now. This was written the night before His Highness Arsen’s mana confirmation ceremony. Jayrut, I earnestly ask you, my colleague and friend. Please continue to fulfill the solemn duty given to me. May only the authority of His Majesty the Emperor stand firmly at the center of the world.

Quintana paused for a moment and glanced at the Prime Minister.

-No one in the imperial palace can carelessly increase their power. Be it the ‘Prime Minister,’ the ‘Minister of Magic,’ or anyone else. Remember and keep this in mind. If the balance is disrupted, a rock will roll down. That rock will harm His Majesty the Emperor.

The Prime Minister let out a small groan inside.

Beols was by the emperor’s side when he was frozen. He was the one who carried the emperor’s last concerns. In the absence of the emperor, he was worried about a rebellion using this situation.

Especially the Prime Minister and Ian, who were not of the imperial bloodline, would be the targets. Delaina was, after all, a member of the imperial family.

‘The role of the three great commanders is merely to ensure the safety of His Majesty the Emperor, but I don’t know why Beols had such concerns and passed them on to me.’

‘Well, Jayrut.’

‘But surprisingly, I felt that the current situation in the imperial palace is flowing quite similarly to what Beols was worried about. You saw it earlier too.’

When Ian showed his displeasure, everyone at the grand meeting flattened themselves and bowed their heads. This was certainly not normal.

Having gone through the civil war and the monster incident, Ian’s presence in the imperial palace was now surpassing the current emperor. Surpassing the emperor was the same as surpassing Jin.

‘As a result, I feel somewhat sorry for making the meeting difficult, but it’s self-inflicted. It’s because other departments are not doing their jobs properly that this has happened.’

Unlike other departments that were closely related, the Imperial Guard was independent. The Imperial Guard was the emperor’s direct department, and the appointment of the three great commanders was not decided at the New Year’s meeting.

Only the emperor’s will. That alone was the core of the department, and the guideline they had to follow and protect.

Now, the emperor was lying in bed, and the acting Prime Minister was with him, but it was clear that even he could not trespass into that area.

‘Beric and Sio are both skilled. But that’s the problem. Don’t you know? The reason why Sir Ian sent the two of them to the selection [a competition to join the Imperial Guard].’

It was to expand his influence by placing Beric in the Imperial Guard and Sio in the Imperial Defense Department.

The Prime Minister couldn’t say anything and kept fiddling with his beard. His head was complicated with worries. The emperor’s freezing, should he pass it on to Jayrut after Beols? Or should he keep it a secret as much as possible?

‘In my opinion, anything more than this is dangerous. It’s like a frog dying in hot water. No matter how much His Highness Jin follows Sir Ian, how can we know people’s hearts? Think about the princes.’

One of them wielded a sword against his father, the emperor, and another abandoned his lover himself. I don’t know what people’s hearts are.

Quintana, who had been listening quietly, pulled the ashtray and tapped his cigarette.

‘Beric is a magic swordsman, so it’s worth taking the risk, but not Sio?’

‘That’s a misinterpretation, Deputy Minister Quintana. Have you ever watched Sio closely?’

‘No. Only from afar when I faced His Highness Jin.’

‘In my opinion, Sio is especially dangerous. Especially the fact that his relationship with His Highness Jin started with Sir Ian’s orders.’

Who was their true master? That was the key, but it was impossible to know unless you were the person involved. And as much as it was unknown, the possibility of danger was proportional.

The Prime Minister put his clasped hands to his forehead and muttered.

‘Alright. I understand your intentions, Jayrut. So, you’re going to continue to provoke Sir Ian little by little?’

‘Who else would do it but me? The other commanders are not left.’

The scattered forces gather for one point. Currently, there was no force opposing Ian, so even if everyone was hiding and keeping quiet, if Jayrut continued to step forward, they would ‘recognize’ it.

That they could voice their opposition through him.

Also, that they could keep him in check.

Swoosh.

Jayrut raised his hand to his chest as a sign of oath.

‘I will only move for the imperial family, specifically for His Majesty the Emperor. It is a given that His Highness Jin will succeed to that position in the future. This is also for His Highness.’

Quintana gave a troubled yet intrigued smile. Both Sir Ian and Jayrut were definitely doing things for His Highness Jin, but how could the results be so different? They were looking at the same place, but walking in completely opposite directions.

The Prime Minister pondered for a moment, then nodded slightly.

‘There’s no need to reveal His Majesty the Emperor’s freezing. Whether they know or not, Jayrut’s position won’t change. If they know, they might become more sensitive to Sir Ian’s actions, or even my actions.’

‘I understand. I understand your intentions for now.’

Frankly, there was no reason for the Prime Minister to oppose. It was too idealistic and unrealistic for Jin to rely on Ian so deeply.

If even a small gap were to appear, could Jin endure it? It was a good thing for the Prime Minister that someone was stepping forward to keep him in check and create tension.

‘But I will not interfere. You walk the path you have chosen, walk it alone.’

‘I don’t want company. If I fall along the way, you should go another way, Prime Minister.’

‘Goodness, well. Then, what about Beric?’

‘In my estimation, he will probably be ranked around the top 10 and enter the Imperial Guard.’

He needed to be handled more carefully and closely. Jayrut looked back at the Prime Minister and placed his hand on Beols’s message. It was a sign that he had nothing more to say about it.

‘…I see. Let’s adjourn.’

‘…Yes. Please go in.’

The Prime Minister pretended not to notice and got up to leave the grand meeting hall. Quintana, who was following him, turned back and added,

‘Commander Jayrut. Regardless of right or wrong, please be careful. If you focus too much on one thing, you won’t see what’s next to it. I’m worried that you might miss His Highness Jin’s tears while trying to look into Sir Ian’s heart.’

Jayrut nodded in acknowledgment, promising to keep it in mind.

As the two left, the Imperial Guard members who had been waiting outside entered. As if to say it was time to leave.

‘Commander. Let’s go.’

‘Alright. Take good care of this. As soon as we return to the office, I will prepare and distribute the report.’

Jayrut handed the documents to his subordinates. The selection festival was not over yet. He also had a lot to do.

* * *

Romandro and an attendant carrying a gold tray followed Ian. The gold tray contained letters from various countries.

They were responses to the invitations to Jin’s inauguration ceremony. They heard that Jin was with Sio and were turning their steps.

‘How are Beric and Sio’s conditions?’

‘Hmm. Beric is fine as expected, but I’m a bit worried about Sio. It seems like he can’t receive mana from anyone other than a healing mage.’

‘Is he in very bad condition?’

‘It’s not that bad. He’ll have a hard time, though. But when I look at that doctor, he seems a bit serious. After seeing Beric get hurt, it seems like he doesn’t see any ordinary wounds as wounds anymore.’

Tap tap.

The attendants standing in front of Sio’s room noticed Ian and Romandro and quickly bowed. The door opened as they announced their presence inside. Jin was sitting by Sio’s bed, reading a book.

‘Sir Ian.’

‘Your Highness. I came here after hearing you were here. The replies to the inauguration invitations have arrived. Let’s read them together.’

‘Ah, yes. I was waiting for them as well.’

Ian carefully observed Jin. He thought he would be upset that Sio was lying there, but he seemed better than expected. Jin tilted his head, feeling Ian’s gaze.

‘Why are you looking at me like that?’

‘It’s nothing. Has everything been alright? It must have been uncomfortable without Sio.’

‘Yes, it was fine. There are so many people who follow me.’

‘…I see.’

Romandro knew Jin’s expression when he was receiving the sunset by the window earlier. He seemed more heartbroken than anyone else, but he never said it out loud. He was admirable. Romandro guided Jin and opened the door.

‘Let’s go to the office, Your Highness. It would be good to look at the replies and discuss what happened today and what will happen in the future.’

‘Yes, let’s do that.’

Sio was lying down in a straight posture, breathing evenly. Beric’s posture was a mess even when he was dying. Ian looked at Sio’s torn and bruised face for a moment, then moved the book from the bed to the table.

Swoosh.

At that small sound, Sio opened his eyes. It was hard to tell if he had been pretending to sleep from the start. If he could wake up at this sound, he would have woken up at Jin’s presence long ago.

Ian looked towards the door. Romandro and Jin were already out of sight.

‘Master.’

‘Yes, Sio. How is your body?’

‘…I’m fine. Is everyone else alright?’

It was a very meaningful and concise question. Ian pondered for a moment, then pulled a chair and sat next to him. It seemed like Sio didn’t know why he had ended up like this.

‘There’s no need to worry about anything. You were the most injured, Sio. Do you know how you ended up fighting Beric?’

‘Commander Jayrut tested me…….’

He knew to some extent. He was smart. Ian nodded in praise. Then, as if telling Sio a secret, he whispered softly.

‘But, Sio, there’s a more important reason.’

‘What is it?’

‘It’s because you called me master.’