Margrave’s Bastard Son was The Emperor [EN]: Chapter 344

“Understood.”

Volv raised both hands, signaling his retreat.

The generals’ heads moved swiftly, silently protesting Volv’s decision. It was a form of pressure, urging him not to back down from such a golden opportunity.

However, Volv’s stance remained unchanged. He could feel the shift in the meeting room’s atmosphere, so he knew when to retreat. Instead, he could always try to gain something else.

“While keeping a close watch on Clifford, we will follow Your Highness’s and several officials’ wishes and wait for a new message from Sir Ian.”

This way, even if a problem arose, it would be the fault of Crown Prince Jin and those who agreed with him, not the Imperial Defense Department.

Jin inwardly sighed. For now, things were going his way, so he would observe the situation and reconsider his next steps.

“And-”

Volv continued, emphasizing his words. His gaze landed on Romandro. Romandro, too, tensed his brow, ready to retort, but their positions made it difficult. Romandro had no choice but to slightly lower his head.

“We will also diligently carry out Your Highness’s orders to keep Burgos and Rusweena in check. However, in this process, information regarding the distribution and acquisition of Idgal [a rare and valuable substance] will inevitably surface. Given the current situation, the Magic Department is not in a position to handle this. Please grant the Imperial Defense Department temporary decision-making authority.”

“Absolutely not! I cannot allow it!”

“Romandro, do you even know? What substance is Idgal made of, what problems it has, how to handle it, and what to be particularly careful about?”

Volv raised his chin and retorted. Currently, the Magic Department only had Romandro and a few magicians in charge of palace access. Although information about Idgal remained, it was not their area of expertise, so they couldn’t handle it carelessly.

“Look. Even the Magic Department’s aide cannot comment on this matter. We cannot simply stand by and watch Idgal, which could shake the political situation in Bariel. We need the authority to make decisions throughout the entire process of confirming and handling it. We cannot ask Sir Ian in Clifford about every single detail.”

It was clear that Idgal would be involved in the investigation of Burgos and Rusweena. The problem was the ‘trust’ that the Imperial Defense Department would properly report on Idgal if given temporary decision-making authority. Even if it was omitted during the process of securing and handing it over to the palace, no one would notice.

This would be giving a new sword to the Imperial Defense Department, threatening the Magic Department and the Imperial Guard, and even burdening the Imperial Family.

“Volv. I thought the issue of investigating Idgal was already agreed upon.”

Jin’s voice lowered significantly.

It sounded calm, but the Prime Minister sitting next to him could see the child’s neck flushing.

It was anger. Anger at Volv for constantly creating noise in the midst of the chaos.

“Yes. Of course, the investigation should be done by the Magic Department. But if Idgal is right in front of the Imperial Defense Department while we are investigating Burgos and Rusweena, we cannot ignore it, can we? Even if our departments are different, we are all one family under the Imperial Palace.”

At the mention of being one family, Romandro was so dumbfounded that he couldn’t help but laugh.

‘Laugh?’ The generals glared at him with sharp eyes, but Romandro, pretending to be crazy, widened his eyes and met their gaze. ‘I can handle the generals, even if not the ministers! You bastards!’

“Please allow it for flexible work processing. I promise that the Imperial Defense Department will hand over everything collected without any problems when Sir Ian returns. Or, what? Is the Imperial Defense Department only meant to be a watchtower?”

Volv placed his hand on his chest with a pitiful expression. The officials began to whisper among themselves, sharing their opinions on the current issue.

The Prime Minister gave Volv a look, but he only looked wronged. They had united under the cause of keeping the Magic Department in check, so he didn’t understand why the Crown Prince and the Prime Minister were trying to suppress the Imperial Defense Department.

“Your Highness. I believe Minister Volv’s words have merit. The Magic Department is currently incapacitated, and it is inevitable that we will get involved in each other’s work. Dividing things like ‘this is the Magic Department’s job, that is the Imperial Defense Department’s job’ is inefficient and foolish.”

“It’s not permanent, but a temporary authority, so wouldn’t it be better to allow it?”

“My position is not much different.”

“I agree. I know it’s inconvenient for the Magic Department, but what can we do? There are no magicians.”

“Your Highness…”

The Prime Minister whispered to Jin. He, too, had no reason to go against the flow of the meeting.

Jin kept his mouth shut, staring only at Volv. The difference from before was that the burning anger had cooled down. The child looked up and down at Volv with empty eyes, wondering what he was thinking.

“…Okay. I understand.”

“Thank you, Your Highness.”

“Once a professional magician for Idgal other than Sir Ian returns, all decision-making authority will be revoked.”

“Romandro, don’t worry too much. Isn’t this the Imperial Defense Department? I will give you a lot of information about Idgal. Haha. Who knows? Maybe we’ll give it to you in bulk?”

*Thud! Thud!*

The Prime Minister, noticing Jin’s expression, struck the gavel to signal the end of the meeting. The generals patted each other’s shoulders and left their seats with satisfaction, and some officials also quietly left the meeting hall.

However, even amidst all this, Jin remained still, staring straight ahead. In the end, only the Prime Minister and Romandro remained, and the Prime Minister’s aide discreetly closed the meeting room door, creating a space for just the three of them.

“Your Highness. Are you alright?”

“Of course. I’m fine. I actually feel like my head is clearer.”

“Yes? What do you mean by that…”

Jin turned to the Prime Minister. And, as if reminding him of what had just happened, he gestured towards Volv’s empty seat.

“Prime Minister, you saw it. The purpose of keeping the Magic Department in check is to strengthen the imperial authority, but there are those who don’t understand that.”

“I did not anticipate Minister Volv’s sudden actions. Your Highness, I will meet with him again and talk to him…”

“No. It’s fine. They say people can’t be fixed. Besides, Minister Volv was appointed to a temporary position during the civil war. He is holding a position that is too much for his capacity.”

The Crown Prince’s muttering was ominous. The Prime Minister checked again to make sure the door was properly closed, and Romandro nervously bit his dry lips.

“It’s a good thing Sir Ian isn’t here right now.”

“Your Highness. I apologize, but what are you trying to say…”

“Right now, they see me as just a young royal. To properly seize power, the most accurate and fastest way is to place my people in key positions. Do you disagree with this?”

No, he didn’t. The reason the Imperial Defense Department was so threatening was because Minister Volv did not fully share Jin’s goals.

Jin wanted to strengthen the imperial authority, while Volv wanted to elevate the status of the Imperial Defense Department and his own authority, so it was inevitable that they would clash.

“Romandro. You were in the administration, so you know well when the ministerial positions are changed.”

“Usually, the Emperor selects them at the New Year’s meeting, and in special situations, the person who gets more than half of the votes in a meeting attended by the Emperor’s representative is appointed to a temporary position. If there are no problems with their performance…”

“Not what has happened so far. There must be other cases.”

“Ah, um, if the current minister dies, the Emperor selects a new one. But since His Majesty’s condition is not good right now, a new one will be chosen at the meeting.”

Jin turned to the Prime Minister. As if hoping his intentions were clear.

“Are you saying that we should deal with Minister Volv now?”

“Rather than dealing with him, I think it would be better to have him step down since he doesn’t seem to fit in his position.”

“I understand what you’re saying, but there are generals under Minister Volv. They will surely resist and not stay still, and there is a high possibility that another minister will come from among them.”

“The person to take care of that is Commander Jeyrut.”

“Commander Jeyrut?”

“Yes. Summon Jeyrut to His Majesty’s bedroom.”

“…Your Highness!”

Jeyrut, who was unaware of the Emperor’s condition. Therefore, the position of the Imperial Guard was quite ambiguous. He had a primary lord, so it was hard to say he was Jin’s man.

However, if Jeyrut saw the Emperor’s condition with his own eyes, he would fully recognize that Jin was the next Emperor and clearly take that position.

“Commander Jeyrut’s position was the same as the Imperial Defense Department. He wanted to keep the Magic Department in check to stabilize the imperial authority. But he is walking a completely different path from Volv. If I summon him to my father’s bedroom, Jeyrut will want my stability, not the stability of the imperial authority.”

Only Romandro blinked, not understanding what he meant. Is His Majesty’s condition really that bad? It’s amazing that he’s still alive despite that.

Jin turned his head sharply and looked at Romandro.

“Romandro.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“You will represent the Magic Department in the decision-making of the meeting, so I ask for your cooperation. Then, I will promise you again. The exclusive authority over Idgal. Everything will be decided by Sir Ian.”

“Ah, yes. Of course. I will follow Your Highness’s will.”

“Prime Minister, I will leave the administration to you.”

Jin’s words that it was a good thing Ian wasn’t here made sense. The child’s leap to keep the Magic Department in check with the help of the Magic Department and to strengthen the imperial authority.

If Ian had been here, it would have been impossible. His presence was so strong that all other forces would have looked the same color.

But now that Ian was gone, it was an opportunity to weed out all those who had been disguised in similar colors.

‘It’s okay even if I fail. When Sir Ian returns, everything will look the same color again.’

And there was no way Ian would just watch him fall.

It was an opportunity. Just as Volv thought it was an opportunity, it was also an opportunity for Jin. An opportunity to step back five steps. If he did well, it was an opportunity to step back more than five steps and ensure that Ian would be in that position when he returned.

“Your Highness. No matter how I think about it, it’s dangerous. If you fail, a civil war will break out.”

“Every moment in the Imperial Palace is dangerous. Prime Minister, you must know that. And Volv is different from Marib and Prince Gail. Do you think that someone without legitimacy can control Bariel just by holding military power?”

The child’s rebuttals were all correct, making him flustered. The Prime Minister held his head and pondered. He was the one who had the duty to assist the Imperial Family, and Jin.

But as he said, power cannot grow only with the passage of time. Objectively, now was the right time to seize the Imperial Palace. This also coincided with his desire to keep the Magic Department in check.

“…Who will you use? If you wish-”

“No. That is not something the Prime Minister should be involved in.”

It was important that everything moved under Jin’s leadership. Otherwise, it would be meaningless.

The child turned to Siao, who was standing behind him. He was a member of the Imperial Defense Department, so even if he was discovered, it could be claimed as an internal accident. He was a person with excellent skills and tenacity. Above all, he was a person who could die for his lord.

“Siao.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

The two had already discussed this plan, so there was nothing more to say. Romandro clasped his hands together, praying that Volv would die safely, and the Prime Minister also closed his eyes, calmly calculating any unexpected situations. Since the Crown Prince had already made up his mind, he had no choice but to help.

“First, I will summon Commander Jeyrut to His Majesty’s bedroom. And the generals…”

Whether he dealt with them, organized them, or persuaded them, that was up to Commander Jeyrut. Jin looked at the setting sun outside and grabbed Siao’s shoulder.

“Siao.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“I trust you.”

Romandro grabbed his other shoulder with trembling hands.

“Siao, I trust you too.”

“Don’t worry.”

“When, when do you plan to carry it out? Your Highness.”

“It just so happens that tomorrow is the new moon.”

Under Ian’s order to kill a precious person, he had infiltrated Gail’s chamber, hadn’t he? Of course, it was all staged back then.

‘This time, I will die for a precious person.’

Siao smiled slightly as he looked down at Jin, who was looking at him resolutely.

A night without a moon would be the right time. A night when even the blood on his hands would not be visible. A night when the opponent would not see him either, so he could die without any problems if things went wrong.

Jin hugged Siao’s waist and sighed with a heavy heart.