Margrave’s Bastard Son was The Emperor [EN]: Chapter 300

‘Ah…’

Romandro exclaimed, as if struck on the back of the head with a hammer. He realized that something was definitely wrong.

He looked down at the tributes, which were still not fully organized, and examined them closely.

It was as Ian had said. They were introduced as expensive and precious items like diamonds, but when you looked at the origins, they all came from the nobles of Vergos. Each one, hadn’t they received separate greetings?

‘Goodness, why didn’t anyone…’

Why hadn’t anyone noticed this? There were so many officials in the reception room.

Following that, Jin’s expression also hardened. It was a problem that the officials hadn’t noticed, but in any case, Ian had noticed and told him. The real problem was that he hadn’t realized it himself.

‘Although there were issues with the attitude and process, even Luswena presented a bow made in the royal palace. Since Your Highness returned it, they will make another one that fits your physique. Clifford, of course, specially crafted three royal traditional instruments. But what about Vergos?’

Nothing.

They had bowed deeply, saying they were doing their best, but in reality, it wasn’t so. Ian crushed a dried leaf in his hand.

‘…There’s no need to be too disheartened that you didn’t notice. It was thoroughly intentional on their part.’

It wasn’t just King Damon acting alone. While the king was meeting with the prince, the nobles who had stepped back were meeting with the officials.

‘There were many items, and the meanings and stories behind them were significant. If they weren’t from the nobles, the quality would be truly astonishing. Moreover, each time they introduced an item, they brought in a noble, increasing the number of participants in the conversation, and above all, they showed politeness to Your Highness with impeccable manners. Breaking down the barriers, it was a calculated move from start to finish.’

And whether or not they could see through it was another test. How presumptuous.

Ian raised the corners of his mouth and brushed off the powder on his hand. He was smiling, but it was truly chilling.

‘Your Highness.’

It was an act of provocation that went beyond rudeness, a declaration of war that went beyond provocation. Would he understand the meaning of presenting the nobles’ tributes to the prince? As Ian asked with a look, Jin lowered his head and sighed. It was a self-deprecating and self-loathing sigh.

‘…Not knowing any of this, I smiled.’

‘…Your Highness.’

‘I thought they had prepared well enough, so I smiled.’

‘Your Highness. Please look at me.’

Ian knelt in front of Jin and met his gaze.

‘Shall I tell you something interesting?’

‘…Something interesting?’

‘Mistakes, you see, are called mistakes because they can be corrected. Failures are unforgiving, but mistakes allow for a next time. You said you didn’t know just now. You said you smiled because you didn’t know? But King Damon won’t know either. What your smile meant.’

Just as King Damon’s exterior and interior were different, couldn’t Jin’s exterior and interior also be different?

Romandro, understanding Ian’s intention, clapped his hands excessively and moved closer. He also knelt down to match Jin’s eye level.

‘That’s right, Your Highness! What does it matter if you didn’t know? What’s important is that you know now. You smiled like that earlier, but in fact, you had grasped everything and were acting to look for an opportunity. Think of it that way. Then what does King Damon know?’

‘So, you’re saying the banquet is the opportunity?’

‘Of course.’

At a gathering where the leaders of the three countries were all present, if they cleverly checked and attacked Vergos, King Damon would judge Jin’s smile as calculated.

But if he didn’t show any special behavior at the banquet? He would think of him as a foolish prince who didn’t understand the meaning of the tributes.

‘If there’s an opportunity, how can we leave a mistake as a mistake?’

Jin rolled his eyes, looking back and forth between Ian and the tributes. And then, he suddenly asked, without realizing it.

‘Has Sir Ian ever been like this?’

‘Like this, you mean…’

‘Made a mistake, but pretended not to and covered it up.’

From what he had seen so far, Ian had overcome numerous obstacles without making a single mistake.

It was quite an interesting question, so Romandro also glanced at Ian. Siao Shi was the same. They didn’t say a word, but they were waiting for an answer.

‘I have.’

Ian said with a bright smile. When Romandro tried to ask again with sparkling eyes, he immediately shut him down.

‘But it’s a secret.’

‘Huh? Why?’

‘Now, Your Highness. Let’s go back to the beginning. The King of Vergos presented tributes through the nobles. What does this mean, please explain.’

‘Oh, Beric should have been here at a time like this.’

He had no doubt that Beric would have persistently clung to Ian. Romandro put his regret aside and brought paper and a pen, presenting them to Jin.

‘First, they ignored me and degraded Bariel.’

To dare to entrust the tributes sent to the Empire to the hands of nobles, it was the same as not seeing the great nation as a great nation.

But what to think about further from here-

‘That’s right. In addition, with the alliance of the three countries being likely, it was expected that there would be a force that would take the lead in uniting them. At first, we suspected Luswena because she was related to Haiman, and thus knew the internal affairs of Bariel better than the other two countries. Do you remember?’

There was no need to remember. It was a conversation they had before going to meet King Eripony. Jin pondered and muttered.

‘Are you saying that Vergos is the main force of the alliance?’

‘Yes. Not acknowledging Bariel as a great nation, it degrades us, but at the same time, it elevates Vergos itself. Also, it’s telling Luswena and Clifford.’

Look. The alliance of the three countries can stand against Bariel, and Vergos is taking the lead. Since they pulled the bowstring first, the two countries behind them must surely follow.

Romandro, who had been listening quietly, carefully added his words.

‘Um, Your Highness. Thinking about it, the nobles of Vergos are also not ordinary. No matter how much it is the king’s order, they are not offering it to their own country, but to the prince of another country. They cannot easily send jewels passed down from the head of the family, or crops that are so precious that they themselves cannot use them, and in such large quantities. Now that I realize it, I can see it.’

Nobles are those who calculate gains and losses like ghosts. The fact that they have given away family treasures means that they have assumed a corresponding gain, but there is no way to know what it is.

Just as Ian was about to add an explanation.

Siao Shi, who had been quietly sitting, raised his hand.

‘…Siao?’

‘Your Highness, I apologize, but may I dare to say a word? It is a humble experience, but I would like to share it.’

‘How can experience be divided into humble and noble? Speak.’

Ian was a little surprised. It was because he had never seen Siao Shi add anything before. Judging by Jin’s natural reaction, it seemed like this wasn’t the first time.

‘He’s doing much better than I thought.’

It seemed that Siao Shi was playing his role well by Jin’s side, where Ian was not. Ian also gestured for him to come over, as if agreeing.

Siao Shi carefully began to speak, sharing the sofa with the three of them.

‘It happened a long time ago, when I was very young.’

‘When you were young, when was that?’

‘I don’t know my age, so I can’t say for sure. But it was when my height didn’t exceed a reed, so it was quite a long time ago.’

Oops. Romandro wondered if he had touched a sore spot and closed his mouth. Siao Shi didn’t seem to care much.

‘At that time, my master was a loan shark. He would lend large sums of money to people who, even to my young eyes, seemed unable to repay, and even find them land and arrange it for them.’

He didn’t even remember how many masters he had had. But there was a phrase that had been etched in his mind for a long time.

‘One day, that master’s child, having the same question as me, asked his father. Why do you lend money and goods to such people? Then that man replied like this.’

‘…What did he say?’

‘It will all come back anyway.’

He was confident that he could recover it, so he had given it away so easily. This would also apply to the nobles of the Kingdom of Vergos.

‘Isn’t it because they can recover it that they offered it as tributes? Before that, we can also guess that the king’s power is strong enough to propose such a matter.’

‘That’s right. No matter how much of a king he is, he can’t easily raid the warehouses of nobles in distant provinces. I heard that he hasn’t been on the throne for long, but he’s showing off his considerable influence…’

‘Showing off? What is it, Romandro?’

Jin urged Romandro to continue his words, but he only opened his mouth and didn’t easily make a sound.

To establish a correlation between being confident of recovery and having strong royal authority, there was only one assumption.

‘Your Highness.’

Romandro couldn’t bring himself to say it, and only swallowed hard. Ian took his place.

‘The reason why the three countries have not formed an alliance until now is because they were watching Bariel’s every move. The fact that they were watching means that there was tension between the countries, which means national sanctions in many areas.’

‘Then…’

‘Political, economic, and cultural sanctions. Or war.’

War.

If you assume that, you can guess the nobles’ calculations much more easily.

If the imperial palace falls, they can not only recover their family treasures, but also receive more land and property in terms of contribution, right? There is no other appropriate gain to make an equal exchange.

‘…War?’

‘There’s no need to be surprised. If the three countries form an alliance, physical conflict, whether big or small, is inevitable.’

If they were considering war, everything about Vergos was understandable. Their provocative attitude, and the fact that they didn’t give away a single penny of the kingdom’s wealth.

‘Hmm. It makes sense. It’s too much to say that the royal family is short of money and asked the nobles for help. It’s not the kind of loyalty you’d give to a king who has no money.’

Romandro crossed his arms and clicked his tongue. His head seemed to be filled with all sorts of thoughts and calculations. But how could they see through King Damon’s intentions while sitting here?

Ian closed the lid of the tribute box and said to Jin.

‘Your Highness.’

He thought it had subsided while talking to Jin, but a cold smile was back on his lips.

‘Instead of being here, let’s go back. Along with the banquet, it would be good to prepare what we will return to Vergos.’

To dare to do such a cute thing to the great empire of Bariel, especially at Jin’s inauguration ceremony, which is the starting point of a new history. Ian said that it was something he couldn’t easily overlook, and without realizing it, he took the child’s hand. Jin did not refuse. Suddenly, he thought that it had been a long time since they had held hands like this.

‘…I understand. I’ll do it thoroughly.’

‘Of course. Your Highness can do it. It’s time to change the meaning of the smile.’

He would help. The mind of the one who saw the future was soon his own mind.

Ian nodded and got up from his seat.