Margrave’s Bastard Son was The Emperor [EN]: Chapter 370

Realizing is like opening one’s eyes.

Timothy, leaving the general’s tent, opened his eyes. A strange, foreign land, black clouds pressing down on him, and the gazes of numerous soldiers were watching him.

The person who made eye contact with him smiled awkwardly. He had no particular intention, but Timothy felt uneasy. Those who were whispering seemed to be talking about him, and if he turned around, they would all pretend not to notice.

What kind of feeling was this? He had just walked silently forward, but when he looked back, the path seemed to be twisted. Something, that something, was instinctively making Timothy’s steps move.

“Sir Timothy?”

“Are you inside?”

“Ah, yes, yes! Commander! It’s Sir Timothy!”

It was the tent of the officer who had stopped him earlier. He was surprised and got up to greet Timothy, tilting his head in confusion.

His pupils seemed vacant. As the huge Timothy entered, a long shadow fell in front of the officer’s desk. Was it thanks to that? The officer didn’t notice that Timothy was pale.

“What’s the matter, Sir Timothy?”

“Earlier…”

He must have been scolded by the general and come to vent his anger on me. The officer swallowed hard, his fingertips slowly moving. Towards the sword hilt he had put down because it was heavy.

“Thank you for earlier.”

“Yes?”

“If I had gotten carried away and harmed the necromancer, it wouldn’t have ended with just a scolding. Now, with the important matter with Clifford ahead, I almost made a mistake and lost a key asset. I’m saying thank you for stopping me.”

“Ah, ah.”

The officer finally relaxed and exclaimed. Yes, as expected of a diplomat, his personality is flexible and fair. It’s right for him to express his gratitude to me. Of course.

The officer patted Timothy on the shoulder and laughed heartily.

“Haha. Don’t mention it. When you’re at war, you get on edge and react sensitively to even the smallest things. Sir Timothy, you must have felt it even more because you don’t have much experience with this. If that necromancer was rude, I’ll pay him back later.”

“No, it’s alright. There’s no need for that. Thinking about it, it was all my fault.”

It’s all my fault. The officer suddenly felt that the depth of those words was light. As if he were speaking to someone far away, not to the person in front of him.

“Could you give me a cup of tea?”

Timothy asked as he sat down. The officer gestured to his subordinate, and the two soon spent time chatting about trivial things.

“Even if we come from different backgrounds, if we roll around together on the battlefield like this, we’re comrades, allies, and family, aren’t we? Haha!”

“Commander, you are right.”

“By the way, your martial arts skills are outstanding.”

“I guess it’s because I’ve been traveling through the backwoods…”

Timothy echoed the officer’s words, subtly looking down at the table. It was a map of Clifford that he had obtained from Vergos.

Since it was an element that could affect the strategy during war, each country strictly prohibited geographical surveys by foreigners. It was a product of time, created by adding and adding to the provided minimum map by traveling merchants or diplomats.

Timothy’s gaze moved keenly and swiftly.

‘Since we are here now, the road back to Baki Village is blocked. There is a path that leads to the area where Prince Noah ambushed earlier. If I go back that way, I’ll pass through the village, but it will be difficult to approach due to the war rumors. Then, I should go down the cliff…’

“Sir Timothy?”

“Ah.”

Go back to Vergos. Timothy realized the unconsciousness that had moved him. Once he had roughly found the way, he got up as if he had no more business.

“Thank you for the tea. Rest well. For tomorrow.”

“…Y-yes. You rest too.”

Watching Timothy’s back as he left without hesitation, the officer frowned repeatedly. And soon, he noticed that he hadn’t even taken a sip of his tea. He was a very strange man.

Swoosh.

Meanwhile, Timothy returned to his tent and began to pack his things. In fact, there wasn’t much to pack. A rope and weapons that would be useful, and…

‘This is a Bariel pass. It’s for a total of three uses, and if you have companions, it will be deducted together.’

Timothy covered his head. If only he had known, he would have brought the pass with him.

Could it be that Sir Ian foresaw all of this and gave it to him? Or was it a trap? No, but the general’s attitude wasn’t normal.

Timothy clenched his teeth and waited for the night to deepen. When everyone was asleep and only a minimum number of people were on guard, he would ride his horse out of the camp and return to Vergos.

He put his hands together as if praying and thought of his wife and son’s faces.

“Damn it.”

It was because he was anxious. It was because his head was complicated. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be unable to picture his family’s faces. Come to think of it, when did he play with his son? When did he have a chat with his wife over tea?

He couldn’t remember at all. He thought he had been working hard for them, but the more he looked back, the more he realized things were definitely out of sync. Looking at how clearly he remembered King Damon’s face, that was proof.

Timothy closed his eyes, repeating the map in his mind. Please, let the deeper darkness come quickly.

* * *

In the early morning, when the heat from the makeshift stove was almost gone.

Ian was leaning back on the sofa, staring at the ceiling. The endless, geometric patterns seemed to resemble the tangled lives of humans.

Even though it was wartime, now that even the sun was asleep, this place was unusually peaceful. Except for Beric’s snoring, who was sleeping back-to-back with the mages.

“It’s moving, it’s moving…”

Accorella, who had stayed up all night for fear that something might happen to the magic stone, muttered. As she said, the magic stone was tilting at a very slight angle.

To the right? Just as Ian was about to check outside the window, he felt footsteps quickly running down the hallway. It was a Clifford soldier.

Tap tap!

Bang!

“Hey, mages!”

“Open the door gently! The stones will fall! And don’t you know how to knock? Just barging in! Seriously.”

“Ah, I’m, I’m sorry. A message just came from the royal palace, and Prince Noah wants everyone to gather.”

Some of the mages woke up, sensing the commotion. But they were still half-asleep. They were just blinking, not fully awake.

Ian got up from the sofa and gestured for them to be quiet.

“Accorella. Stay here. I’ll go.”

“Yes, yes. Please close the door gently when you leave. Hmm. It feels like it shook a little.”

It’s nothing, the mages who had been rustling around fell back into a deep sleep. Beric, who was having some kind of dream, was scratching his belly and grinning to himself.

“Um, they said ‘everyone’ should come.”

“I am the superior and the person in charge of these people. So, me going alone is the same as everyone going. I will listen to what message came and decide. Lead the way.”

Ugh. The soldier pursed his lips, feeling like he was going to get scolded for no reason. And as Accorella had asked, he closed the door as gently as possible and guided Ian.

Here and there, officers were seen coming in without their armor. They had been sleeping in nearby barracks and had been called in the same way.

Squeak.

“Your Highness. What’s the matter?”

“Did you call for us?”

Noah was holding his forehead, looking down at the royal palace letter. And then, seeing that Ian had come alone, he frowned.

“I told everyone to come.”

“I know it’s a sudden call, so it must be urgent, but the mages are recharging their magic, so I thought it would be better for me to see Your Highness alone for efficiency’s sake.”

Cough. The officers coughed, watching Noah’s reaction. He had openly stated that he had disobeyed an order. If it had been them, they would have been beheaded on the spot.

But perhaps because what came from the royal palace was truly urgent, Noah just sighed once and turned his head.

“They say reinforcements have arrived.”

“Reinforcements?”

“Oh! Really? So that’s why you wanted all the mages to come. That’s a relief. It’s true that we have the advantage inside the barrier, but it would be troublesome if more reinforcements came from their side. Especially if they bring monsters with them.”

“Then it would be best to attack as soon as it gets light.”

“Yes. That’s right. Before they join up, we should take care of them first-”

Noah frowned and raised his hand. It meant that wasn’t it.

“They say the reinforcements from Vergos have arrived.”

“Your Highness, that’s…”

“Luswena.”

Ian told him instead of the officers who had just woken up.

If there was a force that had joined hands with Vergos, who else could it be? They were probably all facing off at the border. So, as the war situation was shared, they would advance and crush Clifford from both sides.

“Did Luswena say they were waiting? To receive information on how the battle is going, what the war situation is, and whether Bariel has intervened or not.”

At Ian’s question, Noah clicked his tongue inwardly. He was reciting it so accurately without even looking at the royal palace letter, that it was now beyond surprise, it was annoyance and creepiness. Noah pushed the paper to the center of the table as if to show everyone.

“The number of soldiers doesn’t seem that high. They say they keep asking us what’s going on, but they don’t answer. A complete wall. It’s a strategy to disperse Clifford’s forces by pushing from the front and back at the same time.”

They wanted to pop Clifford like a balloon. Noah looked at Ian and asked.

“So, could you send a few mages to the east? They said the number of soldiers isn’t that high. It’s definitely possible with just a few.”

If he agreed, he was planning to send them right away. That’s why he had asked everyone to come, but this brilliant head of the magic department had taken the order of a prince of a nation as nothing.

“…”

“Sir Ian?”

He had expected him to agree easily, but Ian’s contemplation was deep. The officers looked at each other, watching Ian’s face.

“I don’t think that will work.”

“What?”

An unexpected answer.

It was as if they had formed an alliance, and their current position was no different from that of mercenaries. It wasn’t like they were sending everyone, just a few, just to protect the rear to prevent the dispersion of forces, and he was saying he couldn’t do that?

The officers added a word each, trying to persuade Ian.

“S-Sir Ian. We have all seen and felt the power of the mages. I know it’s a burden to send your subordinates separately, but even if you deploy just one or two-”

“It doesn’t say what they are wearing.”

“Yes?”

What was he talking about? Of course, they would be wearing Luswena uniforms. The officers exchanged glances and pursed their lips. They sensed that if they said something wrong here, Clifford’s fate could change.

“Don’t you know? The black armor they used in Hyman. The main material is dragon scales. Mrs. Hyman is from the Luswena royal family and has close ties with them. They should be pushing right away, but they only sent a few soldiers? The intention is too obvious, so I refuse.”

There was a risk of being killed like dogs if they lightly sent one or two mages. Ian shook the letter and suggested.

“First, Clifford should focus on maintaining its confrontation with Luswena. Now that they know we are waiting for a messenger, cutting off that communication network is the priority. I will not send mages to the border, but I will order them to search the surrounding area and block contact between Vergos and Luswena.”

Tap tap, Ian frowned as if he was thinking about something. And then, looking at the map, he traced the border line from the east of Clifford to the west, that is, from the border with Luswena to the border with Vergos, with his finger.

“They are likely to share the black armor. Send a reconnaissance team to check if there are any supplies being transported from Luswena to Vergos. This side is dead land, so the roads are limited. It won’t be difficult, will it?”

They could do that much, right? Ian’s eyes seemed to be asking that.

Noah closed his eyes tightly and then nodded as if he had given up.

“…I understand, Sir Ian.”