Margrave’s Bastard Son was The Emperor [EN]: Chapter 335

Ian regained consciousness only for a brief moment. He quickly fell into a deep sleep again, induced by the sedatives and sleeping pills the doctors administered, while the mages took turns guarding his door.

Now that they knew the communication issues were due to a magical imbalance, they needed to send someone directly instead of relying on messenger birds.

The mages ate grapes one by one, voicing their concerns.

“Even if we can reach Bariel, will we be able to move Ian? In his current state, he can’t even take a step out of bed.”

“You saw his condition. It’s a miracle he’s alive.”

“The only option is for the others in Bariel to come and replenish his magic.”

“How long will that take? About fifteen days.”

“It would be better if Ian recovers before then.”

Having passed the worst, they could finally joke around a bit. The mages gazed at the vineyard under the clear sky, each lost in their own thoughts.

The green grapes, specially cultivated within the palace, were a sight of freshness, harmonizing with the lush green leaves. Some thought that Cliffold was a better place to live than they had imagined, while others wondered what was moving among the vines.

A mage, peering out the window, touched his forehead.

“Goodness. Beric, he’s….”

“Leave him be. Maybe it’s because the prince and princess are young, but Beric seems to get along well with them.”

“That’s rude. It’s not that they get along, but that they’re fascinated by him.”

Three children surrounded Beric. They kept offering him grapes as if feeding an animal. Food kept going into him as if he had a hole in his stomach, so how amazing must it seem to the eyes of a child?

“Try this one, Beric.”

“And then this one. It’s the sweetest when it’s soft.”

“Is this also a grape? Ah, I’m getting tired of eating so many grapes. Don’t you have any meat? Burp.”

“Meat? We do! I’ll give you some after you finish all of this. Eat it like you did before, all at once.”

“Okay. Watch closely. This is the last one.”

“Wow!”

He put it in his mouth and pulled it out, leaving only the bare stem. That was also a kind of organ, wasn’t it? The mages watched the scene from the window, dumbfounded.

Normally, this would be the busiest time for the Magic Department, but being here felt like a vacation. Everything was peaceful. It would have been hell if Ian hadn’t woken up safely.

Then, someone appeared.

Swoosh.

“How is Lord Ian?”

“You’ve arrived? He’s been sleeping since the doctor left. He still needs a lot of rest and treatment, as even the slightest movement is too much for him.”

“Is that so?”

It was Prince Noah.

He must have received a separate report, so why was he asking? It didn’t seem like he had business with Ian, who was sleeping. The mages realized that Prince Noah had business with them.

“What brings you here….”

“A soldier has just left the palace to deliver a letter.”

“I see. Thank you. When Bariel learns of this, they will be deeply impressed by Cliffold’s consideration and kindness.”

In truth, they hadn’t sent it to save Ian. It was a measure to prevent a war from breaking out due to a misunderstanding. Prince Noah pulled up a chair and sat down, telling everyone to take a seat.

“Is there something you wish to say….”

The situation was a bit complicated. Or rather, it was a bit complicated for the mages to handle without Ian. Cliffold had tried to secure Idgal, abandoning their alliance with Bariel, and when that was exposed, they tried to make a contract with Ian.

But as you can see, everything was temporarily on hold. The mages tensed up, trying to anticipate what Prince Noah would say.

“About a mage named Philic.”

Noah smiled leisurely, as if he knew the mages’ feelings well. He always had a smiling face, but the way his eyes curved made him seem even more meaningful.

“He finally spoke.”

“Is that true? What did he say?”

“Why did he betray us and go to Cliffold-”

“Hey, hey, hey.”

“Please, tell us what he said.”

Why did he betray the Magic Department and approach Cliffold? It was a bit awkward to mention it in front of the person involved. Noah shrugged, letting them know he didn’t mind.

“Before that, I don’t know if it’s credible.”

“What do you mean….”

“He said Idgal is related to Lord Ian.”

“Huh?”

Silence fell. The mages stared blankly at Noah, unsure if they had heard correctly. But he kept tapping his chest, as if swearing that he was only telling the truth.

The silence broke in an instant. Several mages jumped up from their seats, rolling up their sleeves.

“That crazy bastard, I’ll kill him right now.”

“Calm down, calm down. Is he even in his right mind after being tortured?”

“No, damn it. If his tongue is working, he should be apologizing, but what? Lord Ian is related to Idgal? That’s too much nonsense to listen to.”

“I agree. If he says that in Bariel, it will only make things difficult for Lord Ian. Let’s kill him.”

“Calm down. We’re not alone here.”

Prince Noah was amused by the mages’ confusion. Their reaction clearly showed that Philic’s testimony would cause trouble if it reached Bariel. He tapped the table, telling them all to sit back down.

“I apologize, Your Highness. May we see Philic ourselves?”

“Of course. But before that, I have a request. I hope you see it as a small gift for treating Lord Ian and you mages humanely.”

“I don’t know what you want, but we can’t make a decision without Lord Ian.”

“Hmm. It’s nothing much. Just refrain from mentioning Philic’s connection to Cliffold as much as possible, and-”

That meant they wanted to conceal Cliffold’s attempt to secure Idgal. Ian wouldn’t allow that, would he?

The mages bit their lips in dismay, and Noah continued.

“There are places in Cliffold where the mages’ power is needed. If possible, I’d like you to help while you’re here.”

They had used up all their magic to save Ian, and whenever they recovered a little, they gave it to Ian. Both requests were difficult for the mages in their current state.

But they couldn’t refuse, as Cliffold was entirely responsible for Ian’s treatment. They exchanged glances, wondering how to overcome this.

‘This is troublesome, really.’

‘Should we ask for an audience with the King of Cliffold? He seems more reasonable than Prince Noah.’

‘Would Prince Noah allow that?’

‘Let’s pretend to accept for now.’

Having been together for a long time, they understood each other’s meaning with just a look. Just as one of the mages was about to agree on behalf of the group.

“Aaaah! Big trouble! Big trouble!”

Beric, who had been playing with the prince’s siblings outside, came running. Noah turned around in annoyance, thinking that he was always like this, and saw the prince’s sibling being carried on Beric’s side. Ears….

Thump, thump!

“Ear, ear, pop! Pop!”

“Crazy, Beric! Why are you coming here?”

“Then what am I supposed to do? No one from the palace was around, so I came here.”

“Brother, I’m like this too. Waaah.”

“Don’t cry, it’s okay. Give it to me.”

The mages tilted their heads, looking around with puzzled expressions. Prince Noah completely covered his sibling as he held them in his arms. The other children also came running on their short legs and clung to Noah.

They were momentarily flustered by the sudden situation, but the mages breathed a sigh of relief, glad that they had avoided answering.

“Beric, what’s wrong?”

“Yeah. There’s, how should I say it, an unspeakable family pain? But I know it? Well, let’s leave it at that.”

“What are you talking about, you idiot….”

His smugly shaking head was absurd. Beric squeezed through the mages and pushed his butt onto the sofa. He leaned his head back and muttered.

“Agh, I’m hungry. When is Ian going to wake up?”

“Beric. I saw you eating grapes down there.”

“Grapes aren’t a meal. I couldn’t eat meat because of the sudden ear pop. Damn it. Why are the people around here suddenly like this?”

Beric stared blankly at the blue sky. Then he spotted a very small dot. Was it dust on the window? But it gradually grew larger, becoming the size of a fingernail.

Ah, it was a bird.

He blinked without much thought.

“Huh?”

Whoosh!

A black mass grew instantly, large enough to cover the sky.

The mages also followed Beric’s gaze and looked up at the sky. They all knew what it was. The magical black moon that connected points to points.

They all stuck to the window in surprise, their faces filled with joy, delight, and relief.

“What, what is it? How did they open that?”

“Goodness. Everyone! Everyone!”

“Wow, they must have used some power? What’s going on!”

“Let’s go out! We need to tell them to come this way!”

The people of Cliffold also stopped what they were doing and stared at the sky, at the unfamiliar sight.

Noah, who was carrying his sibling, was the same. He knew that mages would come out when the black moon opened, so he leaned his head back and sighed. His sibling, in his arms, sobbed and pulled on his brother’s neck.

“Brother, what is that? It’s scary.”

“It’s okay. It seems like more guests are coming.”

Whoosh!

As he said, people began to fall from the black moon. Those with golden eyes descended coolly. The mages cheered with overwhelming joy, marking the Cliffold Palace as their landing point.

“Did we come the right way this time?!”

“Kyah! I’m going to kill them!”

“Everyone, slow down! It’ll be a disaster if you hit the palace!”

“I can’t hear you! I can’t hear you! I can’t hear you!”

“Acorella! Calm down, you crazy woman!”

“Ahahaha! I wonder where Lord Ian is?”

“Oh, there! There, I see our people!”

The mages came outside, waving their hands. They jumped up and down, expressing their joy.

Golden lines faintly remained as traces of their graceful spiral descent. Otric, who was excited, stopped as he counted them. One, two, three, four….

“Why, why are they coming out endlessly?”

“Could it be….”

Thud! Bang!

Was the entire Magic Department coming? As everyone was in shock, one by one, they began to land on the ground. On top of the vineyard that the palace cherished so much.

Thud! Bang!

Swoosh!

The leaves scattered everywhere, and the ground shook as if the world was trembling. Hale and Acorella, in awkward poses, looked around for a moment, then met the eyes of the surprised mages.

“Oh, are you all okay?”

“We should be asking you that. Are you all okay?”

“…Of course.”

“Hey! You guys! You punks!”

“We came because you weren’t coming! Hug us! You guys!”

“Y-you crazy bastards! Aaaah!”

Hale dusted off his clothes, and they ran to each other, hugging and sharing their joy. They had only been apart for a little over a week, but they hadn’t known if they were alive, so their longing had been great.

They jumped up and down, hugging each other, but only for a moment. Acorella was already munching on a bunch of grapes.

“So, where is Lord Ian now?”

“H-he’s on the third floor of this building….”

“Okay! Lead the way! Acorella is coming!”

“How is Lord Ian? I only heard that he was on the verge of death. We’ll share our magic too. You guys don’t look good.”

“Ah, it was a bit much. This way!”

“Kyaaah! Excuse us!”

The mages rushed to Ian’s bedroom, and Hale finally realized that they had ruined the vineyard.

At that moment, a small, plump man was looking at them with a tearful face.

“My gra, grapes….”

“I’m sorry. But who are you….”

“I should be asking that, I’m the king here.”

“…Ah.”

The King of Cliffold, with tears in his eyes, gestured for them to go up to Ian first, and Hale hesitantly stepped back and nodded.