Margrave’s Bastard Son was The Emperor [EN]: Chapter 336

It felt like I could breathe a little easier. A cool breeze, even in my hazy state, was a welcome sensation. It wasn’t just on the surface; it gently stirred within, easing the heat. It was as if all pleasant sensations were converging on Ian, his senses heightened. Warm sunlight, rustling blankets, a sweet scent from somewhere, and familiar voices accompanying it.

“Wow, Lord Ian is smiling! He’s actually smiling.”

“Let me see, is he really? He must be comfortable.”

“Let me see too. Oh my, his face looks so much thinner.”

“Don’t hold back on your magic. I’m watching you all.”

“Shut up, you. I’m doing fine on my own.”

Ian’s eyes slowly opened, blinking leisurely and naturally.

The mages, huddled around the bed, were too busy bickering to notice that Ian had regained consciousness. One of them finally made eye contact with Ian.

“Oh, Lord Ian opened his eyes!”

“What?! Lord Ian, are you feeling better?”

“Can you recognize us? Say something. A-E-I-O-U.”

“Don’t push yourself, how is your body?”

“……”

The mages filled his blurry vision. One, two, three heads, it was endless.

Ian wondered if he was dreaming. Surely, this was Cliffold, but had his mind been affected by the contract magic of Ian the Bastard? How could the mages who should be guarding the Bariel Magic Division be here? As Ian blankly stared at them, some burst into tears.

“L-Lord Ian, he doesn’t recognize us.”

“He just woke up. He’s probably disoriented.”

“What if Lord Ian becomes an idiot? Sob.”

“Stop with the nonsense, move back! Lord Ian, we’ll keep pouring magic into you. If anything feels uncomfortable, tell us right away. Or, if it’s hard to speak, just blink.”

Zzzing. Zzzing.

The mages surrounded Ian and poured magic into him. So, this was the pleasant sensation he had felt in his sleep.

Ian sensed the energy filling him from deep within his body in real-time and twitched his fingertips. When he had first regained consciousness, it was difficult to even turn his head, but now he felt like he could lift and move his arm.

“Everyone……”

“Lord Ian, he’s speaking!!”

“Ian! You’re not in pain anymore!?”

He barely said a word, and it became noisy.

Beric, who was pushed back by the mages, tried to wiggle his way forward, but the mages pushed him back with all their might. Where did the peaceful atmosphere from before go? It was like a chaotic marketplace.

As Ian slowly raised his upper body, someone quickly placed a pillow behind his back. Beric’s eyes widened, and he jumped up.

“Ian! Can you get up? You couldn’t even move a finger before! Amazing! Wow, magic is really good. Do it more, quickly. Huh?”

“So, move aside. You’re in the way!”

“If I’m in the way just by being next to you, isn’t that a problem?”

Ian rubbed his chest and looked around. The quite spacious bedroom was full, and even the connected reception room was crowded with people. Judging by the numbers, most of the Magic Division must have come here.

Ian sighed and clenched and unclenched his fist.

“…What happened to everyone?”

“Acorella made a magic amplification potion without side effects. We used that to come through the portal.”

“Then, who’s left in Bariel now?”

At Ian’s question, everyone fell silent, their eyes darting around. Except for the two people in charge of the Imperial Palace entrance and Lord Romandro, it was empty.

Ian looked at Hale with a dumbfounded expression. He couldn’t believe that the leader had left Bariel so empty.

“Lord Ian.”

Hale knelt down to meet Ian’s gaze, and the mages behind him also knelt down in unison. Beric looked around in confusion before plopping down on the spot as well.

“We know you’re going to scold us. But after we crossed over to Cliffold, we couldn’t contact you, and the last news we received was that you were on the verge of death. Before being a division head, Lord Ian is the leader of the Magic Division. We decided that saving Lord Ian was the top priority, and we believe that our choice was right.”

“That’s right. The Imperial Palace has been treating the Magic Division suspiciously lately, and if Lord Ian is not there, it will be a real problem.”

“Lord Ian, even if you scold us, please do it with some energy.”

“Yes. We won’t listen to you before that.”

“That’s right! Ian, don’t scold the mages! They ruined the vineyard, and the king over there keeps sobbing, but still, don’t scold them! Would they have come here on drugs if it wasn’t serious!”

“Ugh! Beric, be quiet!”

“Yeah. You helping is by keeping your mouth shut!”

As Beric raised his hand and shouted, a couple of mages grabbed his mouth and pulled his hand down.

The vineyard was ruined? Why is the king crying? It was all confusing, but Ian leaned his head back on the pillow for a moment to organize his thoughts.

He could somewhat guess what had happened in the Imperial Palace due to his absence. The opposing forces would have taken this opportunity to limit the Magic Division’s influence or try to interfere. But…….

‘Since most of the mages have come to Cliffold, the reaction in the Imperial Palace will be intense.’

Whether it was positive or negative. It was a major issue that could lead to paralysis of work and even military conflict if information reached other countries.

As Ian frowned and touched his fingertips, everyone watched him silently.

‘Is Lord Ian angry?’

‘I think so? Oh, what should we do.’

‘But it’s reassuring to see him moving like that.’

They had acted impulsively because the Imperial Palace, specifically the Prime Minister and the Imperial Defense Department, had been so annoying, but now that they were confessing in front of Ian, they were embarrassed.

Ian stared down at the mages. He didn’t know what emotion was in his gaze. After a somewhat heavy silence, Ian finally spoke first.

“Okay. Thank you.”

“…Huh?”

Whatever had happened, it had already happened. And Ian was fully aware that the mages’ actions were for his sake. Therefore, there was only one thing he could say. Gratitude and comfort.

“There must have been a lot of trouble because of the problems. Thank you all, and you’ve worked hard.”

“……!”

The mages’ faces, which had been tearful, were instantly filled with joy, relief, and elation.

They gathered closer to Ian’s bed and began to tell him in detail what had happened in the Imperial Palace. How the Magic Division had been treated in his absence, what had happened, and how dramatic Acorella’s appearance had been.

Tap.

“Oh, Lord Ian. You’re awake?”

Just then, Acorella came in from the reception room, her cheeks full of grapes. She was holding a syringe in her hand, filled with an unknown liquid. Ian looked back and forth between the mages and Acorella with a suspicious expression.

“A magic amplification potion without side effects?”

“Yes. According to Captain Acorella.”

The mage whispered with a determined expression and nodded. She spun around happily and approached Ian. As if not to block the path of a madwoman, a path was quickly cleared.

“Lord Ian. I’m Acorella. The smartest one in the Magic Division.”

“Isn’t the smartest one Ian?”

“Yeah. Beric, who’s the second to last, shut your mouth. Anyway, you can get three shots in a row, but I don’t know after that because I haven’t experimented. I’m planning to do some serious experiments when we return to the Imperial Palace.”

Acorella’s eyes flashed as she scanned the mages. They instinctively avoided her gaze, and Acorella sat next to the bed and rolled up Ian’s sleeve.

“It amplifies based on the amount of magic left in your body. Since you can move now, you’ll get one shot now, and another one after you recover more. Then we can open a portal and go back right away.”

The medicine leaked out of the syringe needle. If it was anyone else, he wouldn’t trust them, but he could trust Acorella’s skills, and since most of the mages had received it, there was no reason to refuse.

Ian readily offered his arm.

“Here we go.”

“Ugh, Captain. Please do it gently. Please.”

“Ahem. No nonsense!”

As Ian grimaced in pain, the mages also grimaced and looked distressed. He could vividly feel the medicine flowing through his veins.

But even with the mages pouring in so much magic, it wasn’t enough to fill Ian’s vessel. The effect of the amplification potion wasn’t very noticeable. Everyone waited with sparkling eyes for Ian’s reaction.

Knock knock.

There was a knock from outside the door.

It was the King of Cliffold and Prince Noah. Beric’s testimony that he had been sobbing was correct, as his already plump eyelids looked particularly prominent.

“If you’re done with your urgent business, we need to talk.”

Not only had they crossed the border without permission, but they had also landed directly in the royal palace. On top of that, they had destroyed the king’s precious vineyard.

Citizens, surprised by the sudden appearance of the black moon [a magical portal], had gathered at the main gate of the palace, and the Cliffold soldiers and officials were in a state of panic due to the lax palace security and had issued an emergency summons. They had literally turned the entire country upside down.

Prince Noah glanced at Ian, who was sitting up, and quietly clicked his tongue. He needed to persuade the mages before that guy got up…….

“Your Majesty, I apologize for causing a disturbance. If you give us a moment, we will get dressed properly……”

“No, Lord Ian, you should rest more-”

“Lord Ian! You shouldn’t move!”

“That’s right. You just woke up! If you collapse again, we really can’t handle it. This isn’t Bariel, so we have to distribute magic well.”

As Ian tried to get up, the king was startled and waved his hands left and right. The mages who had been kneeling also stood up in unison. They all stood up and told Ian to stay still.

“May I have an audience instead?”

“Yes, who are you?”

“I am Hale, the head of the Magic Operations Division.”

The king looked back and forth between Acorella and Hale. He thought that the one who had at least greeted him earlier was better than the one who was grinning with a syringe. The king gestured as if to follow him, and then told Ian.

“Lord Ian, request an audience as soon as you recover.”

“Yes, Your Majesty. I am deeply grateful.”

He raised his eyebrows as if to emphasize and slightly raised his finger.

“Everything is connected, so this is also the will of Cliffold.”

Squeak.

Hale followed the king out, and Beric scratched his ear and muttered.

“What’s he talking about?”

“It’s Cliffold culture. It’s not about each person for themselves, but about how everything is connected if you dig a little deeper, you idiot.”

“Ah, connected? Like grapes? Is that why people in this country like grapes? But I’m not an idiot, and what’s ‘each person for themselves’?”

“Lord Ian, you’ve managed to take him in. Now, let’s keep pouring in magic. Hale is gone, so let’s try harder.”

Acorella clicked her tongue and gestured for Beric to move aside. Then Ian smiled faintly, and everyone there, including Beric, smiled along with him.

“Lord Ian, excuse me.”

Zzzing. Zzzing.

They placed their hands on Ian’s hands, arms, and knees and activated their magic again. Beric kept cheering him on from behind with some unknown dance, and Ian just smiled, leaning back on the pillow.

Ian’s smile. That’s what they had gone through all that trouble for. The mages felt a deep sense of fulfillment. And Ian, too, was aware of an indescribable emotion seeping into him.