Margrave’s Bastard Son was The Emperor [EN]: Chapter 325

At the Border

The coachman at the front slowly opened his eyes. Lush leaves covered him, making it feel like time had stopped.

‘Stop, and you’ll live, but if you don’t, you’ll die?’

That’s absurd.

He knew the carriages were following closely behind. If he stopped suddenly, there would be a chain collision, and he, at the very front, would be crushed. The mysterious boy had warned him, but rationally, continuing to run seemed like the way to survive.

The absinthe-colored gaze [a pale green color] sparkled in the sunlight. The moment he made eye contact with the child, the commander’s order returned the slowly flowing world to its original state.

“Is this bastard crazy?! What are you doing?!”

Thud! Bang!

He must have unknowingly let go of the reins. As the commander roughly pushed the coachman’s shoulder and shouted, the coachman reflexively pulled the reins even harder.

“To the side! Pass to the side!”

The carriages split to the left and right, avoiding the rising earth. The gatehouse came into view again. In the distance, a huge red flag was waving, a signal that the border could not be opened.

Booooo-

The sound of water buffalo horns echoed from all directions, and the carriages swayed due to the slope of the ground. But even in that state, they did not stop moving forward.

Ian frowned and gestured firmly, as if telling them not to cross a set line.

Thud!

“Aaaah!”

“Save me, save me!”

The ground split along the path Ian had drawn. When the World Tree did not appear, the area became a cliff, swallowing the carriages in an instant.

With a roar, the coachmen’s screams tore through the air. Those who followed behind were startled and quickly turned their horses.

Hee-heeing!

Like snakes climbing up their ankles, the World Tree’s branches quickly entangled the carriage wheels, holding them firmly, and the horses tripped helplessly over the branches that crossed their paths. It was a moment when everything collapsed into chaos.

“Haa, haa…”

The survivors were panting, not even realizing that their bodies were tightly wrapped.

The earth slowly healed. What the end would be for those who had fallen into it was beyond imagination. That was the true threshold of death, wasn’t it? Once crossed, there was no turning back.

Tap.

Ian lightly stepped down and looked around. Most of the carriages were out of commission, and there seemed to be quite a few injured.

Where was Prince Noah’s carriage? After a moment of thought, Ian found Beric standing tall in the distance. He was smiling sheepishly while being grabbed by the collar by the May envoy.

“You, you mentally unstable person! Violent thug! Idiot! Go drink sewer water! The prince almost died!”

“Ahaha. What kind of insults are so elegant? They have no impact at all. So, why don’t you just stop when you’re told?”

“You, you, commoner!”

“You, you, cooommoner!”

“Don’t copy me! You-!”

May, who was at the end of her rope, shook Beric’s collar mercilessly.

Meanwhile, the mages also came down to the ground and gathered nearby. It was a situation where a physical conflict was highly possible, so everyone was in full battle readiness. Barsabe also grabbed his sword and checked the positions of the guards.

Swoosh.

But Ian tilted his head, telling them to lower their guard. This was still Bariel’s territory. If Clifford responded with force, they would fall into an uncontrollable quagmire. They were in a very disadvantageous position, so there was only one way for Prince Noah to go.

“Sir Ian. What is going on?”

“Prince Noah. Are you alright?”

Perhaps because everyone was trying to protect the prince’s carriage, it was in better condition than the others. Noah brushed off the dust, not hiding his displeasure. His brow was furrowed. He gestured in protest and spoke loudly.

“Is this how Bariel escorts its guests? Truly amazing and amazing. As a great nation, I cannot possibly follow your common sense. You call us honored guests in front, and then treat us like this behind our backs. Ha!”

“I apologize, but it was the best we could do. You sped away as soon as you saw us, like a thief with a guilty conscience. What else could we do?”

“Clifford is right in front of us. It was out of joy to return to our country. What are you talking about?”

It was an excuse. They didn’t know about the existence of the mages, and they were just going on their way. Beric, who was listening from the side, made an X with his hands in protest.

“Ian, that’s a lie. I told them to stop, and the prince heard me. Really, really.”

“How could we stop when we were suddenly attacked? How were we supposed to know what was going on? Anyway, Sir Ian. The damage to the carriages is severe, so I will officially raise an objection about this. I had hoped that Bariel and Clifford could forge a new relationship, but this is truly absurd. Why? Are you going to kill me right here and now?”

Noah threatened with a face full of anger. The people immediately became wary. Ian crossed his arms and raised his chin.

“Kill you? Please refrain from using such violent language.”

“The violence is what you did!”

“Let me ask you one thing. On your way south, were you attacked?”

“Attacked? Yes, right now!”

Prince Noah shook his head as if there was nothing to say. Ian slowly looked around the prince’s carriage. Following his steps, the prince and May’s gazes anxiously followed.

“Bariel expected that Clifford would be attacked by a stranger. Therefore, we came here out of concern to assess the situation.”

Ian examined the baggage carts. The luggage was mixed up and messy, but it didn’t seem much different from when they had left the Imperial Palace.

“However, based on the fact that you did not comply with the order to stop and that you sped up when you saw us, we judged that the Clifford carriage might have been hijacked by a stranger.”

“That’s absurd. When did you tell us to stop?”

“Yes, we did. Didn’t you hear us? It seems there was definitely a problem with communication.”

Did they? Beric scratched his chin in confusion, but soon realized that his presence was the signal. Above all, the flag was fluttering at the gatehouse. The sound of the water buffalo horns had subsided, but it was clear that the border guards were approaching from that side.

“Ha!”

Prince Noah crossed his arms as if he was dumbfounded and blocked Ian’s path. It was a trick to prevent him from seeing inside the baggage cart.

‘How cute.’ As Ian smiled and turned to the side, Prince Noah quickly followed him.

“If we just cross that, there’s the Clifford gatehouse. You’ve confirmed that I’m safe, so why don’t you just get out of the way? I want to hurry back and report this situation.”

“Prince Noah.”

His eyes were so narrow that he couldn’t see his pupils, but Ian didn’t take his eyes off him and said,

“What happened to you?”

“Silence is the best answer for those who ask with a predetermined answer.”

“Be precise. What is blocking Prince Noah right now? There is still no problem with the relationship between Bariel and Clifford. I am just a mere minister of many departments, and the person you will face is in the Imperial Palace.”

It was a persuasion to reveal the secret and ask for cooperation. Depending on how he reported to the Imperial Palace, many options would arise.

Prince Noah was silent for a moment and turned his head.

‘I’m almost certain.’

The fact that the power of the Imperial Palace had come with the mages meant that it was already over. Ah, if only he had left earlier yesterday. Then he would have crossed the border by now.

As Noah’s mind became more and more tangled, a smile appeared on Ian’s face. Instead of facing Noah, he focused on May, who was a step away.

Swoosh.

‘The mages…’

Perhaps because she thought Ian was focused on Noah, May was looking at the mages more comfortably. It was an attitude to gauge if there was anyone she knew among them.

Ian gestured to Beric to search the baggage cart.

“Beric. Open all the boxes here.”

“Okay, okay.”

Beric immediately jumped into the baggage cart. He opened, flipped, and tore everything he could get his hands on, and the messy things were pushed out. Prince Noah held his head and protested again.

“Sir Ian. Your rudeness is excessive. I cannot tolerate being treated as if I were involved in smuggling.”

“Oh, Prince. Perhaps smuggling would be better. Would you show me the jewel that His Imperial Highness Crown Prince Jin entrusted to you?”

The prince, as well as the May envoy, paused. ‘Just in case’ became ‘as expected,’ that annoying mage, no, Minister Ian, clearly knew everything.

As Noah chewed his lips in embarrassment, May stepped forward.

“The jewel was not loaded onto the baggage cart, but it will be possible after the carriages are recovered. And before that, please state the purpose of why you are looking for the jewel. We cannot hand it over before that. You never know what might happen, right?”

It was a statement based on the premise that Ian was secretly doing things behind the Imperial Palace’s back to get the jewel. The mages who were listening from the side retorted as if they were protesting.

“We are an investigation team officially summoned by the Grand Council. May envoy, please watch your words. In the first place, this matter would have been resolved without any damage if you hadn’t done anything suspicious.”

“Suspicious things!”

As the atmosphere heated up again, Ian and Noah simultaneously raised their hands to stop their subordinates. Beric, who had finished inspecting the inside, shook his head as if there was nothing there.

“Ian, should I keep going?”

“That’s enough. They say the jewel is somewhere else. And May envoy. It seems like you’ve been looking for someone since earlier.”

“Who am I looking for…”

“There are two more mages on the gatehouse side. They are called Otrick and Philic.”

When Ian pointed out their names, the mages sensed something. Hadn’t Ian been cold to Philic before they left? They had been pretending not to know, closing their eyes and ears, but now they had a sense of what was going on.

“…Sir Ian. Philic, that bastard.”

“No, right? Please tell me that what I’m thinking is not true. Oh my god, damn it.”

That he was involved in this mess.

That he had some kind of contact with Clifford.

In response to the mages’ questions, Ian nodded, passing the question on.

“I came here to find out the details, so I guess you’ll have to ask the prince.”

As everyone’s gaze turned to Noah, he ran his hand through his hair as if he had given up. A deep sigh was a bonus.

May clenched her fist and blocked the prince to protect him.

“Why are you all looking at us like that?”

“Time is passing. If you don’t speak quickly, I will have no choice but to write an interim report first.”

The circumstances were sufficient. If this was officially reported to the Imperial Palace, the alliance between Bariel and Clifford would be completely overturned.

Hostility through justification would be established, and this was entirely a matter for Clifford to bear. They had cut off the Burgos side, so it was like all the ropes were cut off.

“Sir Ian.”

Noah finished his calculations in his head and called him quietly.

“Let’s move a little further away.”

“Of course. As you wish.”

“And I’ll say this in advance, I hope you realize that you have attacked Clifford and caused damage.”

It was a setup to understand each other and move on. As the two moved away from the noisy situation, Noah immediately came closer and whispered.

“Okay. I’ll tell you the truth. There is no jewel.”

“I knew it.”

“Don’t you often hear that you’re unlucky?”

“Well, I don’t know about behind my back, but in front of me…”

The more Ian smiled, the more Prince Noah’s expression crumpled. The moment he was about to tell the whole story.

Kwaaang! Bang!

The sound of an explosion came from the gatehouse side. It was a trace of magic.

Everyone was surprised and looked in that direction, and Noah’s eyes sparkled. Perhaps it could be a turning point to overcome the situation. But Ian patted the prince’s shoulder and said,

“Prince.”

Philic’s magic had reached its limit. Then who would have done that?

It was Otrick’s power, following Ian’s instructions.

To subdue Philic without hesitation if he did anything suspicious.

“Have your sweet dreams when you return.”