Margrave’s Bastard Son was The Emperor [EN]: Chapter 311

“Stop.”

“Yes? What is it, Your Highness?”

“Stop! Halt the carriage!”

At the king’s sudden command, Timothy was flustered and knocked on the window of the driver’s seat. Since it wasn’t just the four wheels rolling, the coachman shouted at the escort carriage ahead to slow down.

Damon leaned out the window and looked back at the distance they had traveled. It was instantaneous. The place where he had made eye contact with the gypsy was already far behind.

Hee-ing!

Screeeech!

“Damn it.”

“Your Highness!”

As soon as the carriage stopped, Damon opened the door himself and dashed out. He left the well-paved central road, weaved through the crowd, shouted to clear the way, and stepped over cumbersome stalls.

Timothy hurriedly followed Damon’s frantic figure. It was as if he were seeing things. Wasn’t this the man who always maintained his composure?

Even when the late king died, even when a new mine was discovered, he had never shown his emotions so openly.

“Get out of the way! Clear the path!”

“Kyaaa! Don’t push, you jerk!”

“The stalls are all falling over, that damn bastard!”

“Who is that? A foreigner? Looks like he came from the palace.”

“Don’t block the way, move! Damn it! Your Highness!”

“Cease the titles! Shut your mouths!”

It was chaos. A clash occurred between the soldiers moving with Damon and the citizens, and Timothy forbade the exposure of the king’s identity.

Even if it spread by word of mouth later, there was no need to declare him as the King of Vergos right now, was there?

Tap tap!

Damon was out of breath, but he didn’t stop running.

He knew it. It was a situation he had foreseen since he first entered Bariel. If the gypsy was arrogant, she would appear before those who were looking for him and send a mocking greeting.

Damon arrived at the place where he had seen the gypsy and looked around.

“Huff, huff…”

“Y-Your, no, Master!”

“Just move aside for a moment! Please!”

“You knocked this over! Compensate me!”

“Alright, damn it. Where is Master? Just stop for a moment!”

The crowd was so thick that the nearby soldiers were nowhere to be seen. A child sitting in front of the stairs told Damon.

“Are you looking for the old lady?”

“…What?”

“She said, ‘I have to run away-‘ and went that way.”

The place the child pointed to was a dark alley. A narrow and dark path where only three or four people could barely enter. Even though the festival was so bright, there were always places where the light did not reach.

Swoosh.

Damon entered without hesitation. But after turning a couple of corners, he realized he had been tricked. He was facing a dead end. He hadn’t seen a fork or a hole.

‘Damn it.’

Damon stood there, holding his forehead. He couldn’t mistake it, nor could he misinterpret it as an illusion caused by expectation. The child sitting in front of the stairs had confirmed the gypsy’s presence.

‘But…’

It was strange. Ian Hielero of the Magic Department had asserted that the gypsy had moved to another country, and he didn’t seem to have any doubts.

The gypsy was extraordinary, but did she have the ability to deceive the eyes and ears of the mages and disappear? Did Ian Hielero really think the gypsy had fled abroad?

If so, it was disappointing yet fortunate. It was clear that there were limits to those who were said to be close to the power of God, and it made him think that they were manageable.

‘If they didn’t know, if they really didn’t know, it would be pathetic, but what if they knew? What if they knew the gypsy was in Bariel but didn’t report it to Vergos?’

Swoosh.

The wind swirled through the narrow alley.

Damon frowned and touched the wall. If the gypsy and Ian Hielero had some kind of contact and were hiding it from Vergos, the situation would become serious.

The ways to find out were limited, and there was only one thing Damon could do right now. He quietly whispered, using the distant, buzzing festival noise as a shield.

“I am-”

If he returned to the Imperial Palace, his portrait would hear, and he could be caught by the mages’ surveillance. Only the shabby alley, a product of impulse and chance, could accept Damon’s secret.

“Damon Runkvis. I am living a second life.”

Damon covered his mouth without realizing it and leaned against the wall. He felt like his heart had stopped.

To be able to speak the secret. The secret he had sold to the gypsy, to be able to convey it at his own will. This couldn’t be. The gypsy wasn’t dead, so how?

‘…Did I give away a secret? To whom?’

Just as he had given away a secret and obtained his parents’ secret, someone else had done the same.

Damon felt nauseous with shock. He felt so unpleasant that he couldn’t stand properly.

“Your Highness!”

Then, Timothy’s call from behind. He was approaching with a very troubled look.

“Your Highness. What’s wrong?”

“You…”

“Just a moment. Here! I found it! Everyone, get the carriage ready!”

“Yes. Understood! The Bariel guards have arrived.”

Even as Timothy was directing his subordinates, Damon’s mind was in a complicated tangle. Timothy had been chasing the gypsy for months.

Should he tell him?

Should he say that he saw the gypsy while passing by?

“Your Highness. What is the matter? You don’t look well.”

Damon looked up at Timothy, his mind sharp.

The strange coincidence of meeting Ian Hielero ‘by chance’ during his mission before returning home. His immediate understanding of the gypsy’s whereabouts at the banquet.

And in his previous life, he had abandoned his country…

“Perhaps, is there anything you need to instruct? The guards have arrived, but I will handle it well.”

Timothy asked worriedly, but Damon shook his head.

“It’s fine.”

“Yes? But-”

“I said it’s fine.”

Currently, the place where his secret could have leaked was the center of the Imperial Palace, specifically, the Crown Prince, including Ian Hielero.

If it was the Imperial Family, it wouldn’t be strange if they possessed something so great that it could be exchanged for his secret.

…And above all, Timothy.

‘Since he was directly involved in the pursuit, he might have heard the secret from the gypsy and let her live.’

He couldn’t be sure at all. The more he counted and counted, the more infinite possibilities arose.

Damon passed by Timothy, who was looking at him with concern, and left the alley. The child who had been sitting in front of the stairs had disappeared without a trace. The street was a mess, chaos itself, due to the confusion he had created.

“Let’s pass through! Yes?”

“I said no. Wait! Or go around that way!”

“Why are there so many people! Move aside! Just around that corner.”

The guards blocked people with their bodies to make a path, and Damon got into the carriage as if nothing had happened.

Timothy asked the guard captain for something and arranged the carriage.

Hee-ing!

Tap tap!

Damon’s carriage continued on its way. Timothy, sitting across from him, had a constantly puzzled expression, but he remained silent and watched outside.

How could he tell a suspicious person that he had seen the gypsy? The one who had been making ridiculous claims that she had crossed the Bariel border and gone to another country.

“Your Highness. Is there something I did wrong?”

“Has the departure schedule been set?”

“Yes? Well, His Highness the Crown Prince ordered the Kingdom of Vergos to leave the palace first. It seems we will be leaving by the afternoon tomorrow. Then, it will be Clifford, and then Lusweena.”

“When I go to the palace for the work report, I will go to the Magic Department. Go ahead and tell them that I want to meet with Minister Ian Hielero.”

“Why Ian…?”

It was a pure question. As an aide and representative of the delegation, shouldn’t he know why the king was meeting with a minister from another country, so he could help?

The matter of the magic stone trade was something that Captain Acorella would handle, so there was no need to meet Ian. The accompanying mage would report it.

Moreover, since his position in the Imperial Palace was not good, it was reasonable to take a calculated approach to even the smallest thing…

“The only thing you have to say is ‘I will obey’.”

Damon scolded Timothy with a chilling gaze. It was an undisguised look of hostility, telling him not to speak.

Why was he acting like this? He had thought something was strange since he jumped out of the carriage, but it seemed a bit excessive. Timothy, feeling embarrassed and worried, bowed his head and replied.

“…Yes. Your Highness. I will obey.”

Even though it was a well-paved stone road, it felt like the carriage was shaking a lot. Damon frowned even more at the nausea rising from within, and Timothy also glanced out the window, watching his mood.

The people gathered at the festival looked so happy, but what was he doing here? It was the moment he thought he wanted to finish his mission quickly, go home, and see his wife and children.

* * *

A mage walked into the hallway, holding a thick stack of documents to his chest. The office door was half-open. The mage made a loud noise as if to be heard and poked his head in.

Knock knock.

“Is anyone there?”

“No one’s here. Go away.”

“You are here. I have a delivery.”

It was Romandro who greeted the mage. His cheeks were hollow from handling the aftermath of the procession in place of Ian.

Captain Hale and Beric were sprawled on the sofa. Hale was like that because he had given his magic to Ian, but it was unknown why Beric was lying down like that.

“A delivery? Where did it come from?”

“It was sent by the Minister.”

“Hmm. Just a moment. They don’t give us a break, do they? The inauguration ceremony just ended, how nice would it be to drink and play? Huh? Don’t you think so?”

“How is Ian? Is he okay?”

“Fortunately, the bleeding has stopped. What about the other mages?”

Romandro nodded, flipping through the first page of the document. The inner door was half-open. Ian’s profile, who had passed out after receiving Hale’s magic, could be seen. The way he was lying straight and the way he was breathing evenly was so neat.

The mage shrugged and whispered. It was because he realized his voice was a little loud.

“They say he overdid it, but it doesn’t seem like much. Ian suffered the most. Everyone was drooling from dizziness, but he was the only one bleeding. But should I deliver that message again?”

“Hmm? Wait, let me see.”

Romandro, who was concentrating on reading the letters, stroked his chin as if he was troubled. Beric, who was lying upside down on the sofa, pulled at his pants and asked.

“What is it? Judging by your expression, it’s like you lost your house deed.”

“Well, um. It says that His Highness Crown Prince Jin has canceled all of his afternoon schedules…”

“His Highness must be tired too. Haaam. I’m sleepy too.”

“It says that he will move his residence from the Magic Department to the former palace, so they want us to pack his belongings.”

“The palace? Where? That palace that was smashed to pieces?”

“I heard that the repairs are almost finished, so I thought he would return someday. But isn’t it too early?”

If you go a little further from the office, you will find Jin’s residence. As the Crown Prince, it was natural that he could not have a residence in a specific department.

But it was too bad. Although there were some sad and unfortunate things mixed in, there were also some things that they had laughed and enjoyed. Romandro sniffled as if he were sending off his child.

“Ah, you’re crying again. There’s nothing to cry about.”

“Aren’t you sad? You idiot, His Highness Jin is going to another palace.”

“Why would I be sad? It’s not like he’s going to another country, I’ll keep seeing him. That’s enough. What else is on the back page?”

Romandro glared at Beric and looked at the memo. It was added by the diplomat in charge of Vergos.

“The King of Vergos is coming to the Magic Department, and he wants to meet with Ian. He said he left the palace for the magic stone, but…”

“I heard that something happened on the way.”

“Something? What happened?”

“I don’t know. I heard that there was a problem with the carriage, and the road was controlled. It’s just what I heard, so. I think I can confirm the details when I enter the palace.”

What should he do? Ian’s condition was not good, so it would be better to postpone the meeting. While Romandro was deeply contemplating.

Ian, who had been lying quietly, opened his eyes.

‘He’s leaving.’

The consciousness that had been faintly awake became clear from the moment he heard about Jin’s move. Judging that he couldn’t fall asleep again, Ian called Romandro. His head was throbbing and ringing, but it was bearable while lying down.

“Romandro.”

“Oh? Ian. Are you awake? Ah, this. Beric’s voice is too loud.”

“Wow, that’s funny. Romandro was the one who talked the most!”

“Shut up! Be quiet!”

“…Both of you stop, and give me the report.”

“Here it is!”

Ian checked the memo while lying down. The King of Vergos had requested a direct meeting. He didn’t know what the intention was, but there was no reason to refuse. Ian nodded and said.

“…It would be good to get some work done before King Damon returns.”

He was saying, let’s have a meeting.