Margrave’s Bastard Son was The Emperor [EN]: Chapter 4

The Plan

‘Ian?’

The child called out, watching Ian’s expression. His complexion wasn’t bad, but there was a strange sharpness to it. Rumors had been circulating that Ian was different from usual today, but no one had expected it to be this noticeable.

‘Ah, yes.’

Only then did Ian understand Chel’s attitude as well.

From the start, his mother’s life had been held hostage, so such harsh words had come out immediately. Ian smiled brightly and thanked the child.

‘That’s enough. There’s nothing to tell.’

‘Yes? But…’

The child’s eyes widened, as if it was the first time this had happened.

Wasn’t Ian the one who usually gave him a bundle of trivial things to say every time he went out? Since the servant also couldn’t write, he would roughly scribble pictures to remember everything.

‘My father went out.’

‘The Count?’

Today was the day of the special luncheon with Molin. It meant that the Count’s schedule was also different from usual. The servant, who went out at regular times, seemed to have overlooked that.

‘It would be troublesome if we ran into each other by chance. Besides, you’re still young. Be on your way.’

He kept mentioning brothels, which were dangerous places even in Ian’s time. But 100 years ago, it would be even worse.

If you were unlucky, even a healthy man could collapse from a drug and have his pockets picked. He couldn’t send a child to such a place.

‘Are you alright?’

‘Hmm? What do you mean?’

‘You cry every night until late…’

He knew that Ian cried late into the night? Was there someone sharing his room? If not, it meant that someone was outside Ian’s room in the middle of the night.

‘It seems I’m being watched as well.’

It was fortunate. He found this out before making a mistake. Ian smiled brightly and replied.

‘I’m fine. I don’t cry anymore.’

‘Then, the errand fee…’

‘Errand fee?’

It was the servant who looked like he was about to cry. He fidgeted with his fingertips, looking perplexed. Ian unconsciously rummaged through his pockets, but he had nothing.

‘If I don’t bring food today, my siblings might starve. I’m really okay, so please give me an errand. This time, I’ll bring back your words without missing a single syllable.’

The errand fee wasn’t money. Of course. He was a child who had been born and raised in poverty in the past, and now he was a child forcibly confined to the mansion. He wouldn’t have a single coin even if he wanted to die.

‘Please, Ian.’

Then what was given to Ian in this mansion? It was the abundant three meals a day.

‘Right. He was too thin.’

The Cheonryeo tribe were a strong and sturdy barbarian tribe. They were so strong that one person could fight against dozens without being overpowered. Thanks to that, the tribe alone was a headache for the Bariel Empire.

Even though the standard of robustness was worlds apart, if they sent a skinny child like Ian, there would definitely be complaints.

Thanks to that, his meals were equal to those of the Count’s family. That was all that was given to Ian, and it was the currency he could use to communicate with the outside world.

‘There are five siblings in total. If I don’t bring back the errand fee, my siblings will have to fill their bellies with gruel.’

The servant begged, even clasping his hands together. He had guessed that the territory’s situation was bad, but he didn’t know it was this bad.

However, he couldn’t even guarantee his own safety right now. He couldn’t just listen to the child’s situation. Ian pondered for a moment and then nodded.

‘Alright. But there’s a condition. This time, it’s an advance. The errand fee is given first, and later, when I want, you’ll do the work then.’

‘Ah!’

As if it was a truly welcome offer, the child kept bowing.

So there was someone here who was helping Ian. Although they were bound by a transactional relationship, what did it matter? It was better to have an ally in any form.

‘And I’d like to call you something more comfortable.’

He thought he should find out the child’s name and casually probed. It was a statement that implied he would have many things to ask of her in the future.

The child, understanding his intention, smiled brightly and replied.

‘Call me Haena! Everyone in the mansion calls me that!’

Ian had previously called her ‘hey’ or ‘you know.’ As if she had been waiting for it, Haena introduced her name clearly.

* * *

Ian’s room was at the end of the third-floor hallway.

The moment he opened the door, a musty smell wafted up. The small window seemed woefully inadequate for ventilation. It was clear that they had given him a servant’s room, not a guest room.

Creak.

The old chair creaked, but it didn’t disturb Ian’s concentration. Fortunately, there were cheap paper and a pen on the corner. The traces of the child practicing writing were evident. It was more like drawing than writing.

‘Imperial Calendar 1100.’

Ian was able to find out the exact date from Haena.

He had been in 1198, so he had returned to the past by almost a century. His guess of about 100 years was correct. Ian let out a weary breath and swept back his golden hair.

‘Where do I even start…’

Whether it was Naum or not, he had clearly been caught in someone’s space-time magic. If not, it was his own illusion he was seeing at the moment of death.

‘For now, the only thing is that the person who was possessed and I have the same name.’

However, it was difficult to give it much meaning. The name Ian itself wasn’t rare or special.

Swish, swish.

Ian wrote down the major events on the paper to clear his head. If this was an illusion or another world, things would happen differently from his expectations.

‘Hmm.’

Ian wrote down the Bariel historical chronology without much difficulty. There were gaps in between, but it didn’t matter. The fact that there were no memorable events meant that it was peaceful.

‘By the way, how can a child who studies have so little paper on their desk?’

The clean paper was soon filled with dark letters. The only paper left was filled with what looked like the crooked writing of the illegitimate son Ian. Ian sighed and tried to decipher what it was. He couldn’t recognize it at all.

‘Are they letters? Judging by the pattern, he wrote something… Is it not Bariel language?’

Knock, knock.

It was then. When he heard a sound from outside, Ian quietly put the paper in the drawer and turned around. Whoever it was, it could be troublesome if they could read.

‘Come in.’

‘I’m leaving dinner. Ian.’

Ah. It was Haena.

He fiddled with the crumpled paper in the drawer and looked out the window. The sun had already set. It was early spring, so the evening sky was still tinged with the traces of winter. The luminous stones on the ceiling began to glow.

‘Haena.’

‘Yes?’

The luminous stones were much cheaper lighting than candles. They only glowed faintly in the dark, enough to make out shapes.

‘Could you get me a candlestick?’

‘Ah. That is, everything that goes into Ian’s room needs the permission of the Countess.’

The child’s perplexed answer came from beyond the door. Looking at the shabby state of the room, there was no way she would give it to him. He was the very ‘mistake’ that her husband had made outside. He could guess how much of an eyesore he was.

‘Should I just be grateful that they don’t starve me?’

‘…Shall I go ask?’

The probability of getting a used candle and the probability of being grilled about why he needed it.

Which was higher? Especially on the day when her proud son Chel had made a mistake in the drawing room.

‘No. It’s alright. You can go.’

‘Then I’ll take my leave.’

The sound of Haena’s footsteps faded away.

Ian picked up the pen again. He tried to move the pen a few more times, but it was too dark, and he couldn’t even see the ink bottle anymore. He leaned back in his chair and looked towards the door.

Creak.

There was a small tray in front of the door. Two loaves of rye bread, a piece of cheap ham, and water.

‘Well, well?’

It was the meal that Haena had taken as her errand fee and left the bare minimum. No wonder he had no strength, eating this. Ian clicked his tongue and brought the tray inside.

It wasn’t enough, but what could he do with an empty stomach?

He soaked the bread in water and munched on it. Come to think of it, even the orphans on the battlefield didn’t eat like this. Back then, they had goulash soup at least…

‘Ah!’

It felt like a wind was blowing through his foggy mind. Everything became clear, and he scratched the itchy part.

Right, he thought something was strange about the kitchen.

It was a lavish luncheon, but something felt empty.

‘There was no goulash.’

Goulash was a vegetable rich in nutrients and eaten as a meal replacement. The taste was second to none, and it could be used in various dishes, making it an essential food item for the people of Bariel.

The ‘discovery’ of goulash was a turning point for the empire.

It had reduced the number of deaths from starvation by nearly 85% each year, so Bariel would be divided into before and after the discovery of goulash, both economically and in terms of living standards.

‘If it was the original timeline, goulash would be discovered about 50 years later.’

Not an invention, but a discovery.

It wasn’t about creating something that didn’t exist, but about finding something that did. The goulash that came from the East was toxic except for the seeds, so it had not been recognized as edible until now, and it had naturally become native as it was discarded in the mountains and fields.

‘No one knew how to eat the unfamiliar food from the East. For 50 years.’

But Ian knew how to eat goulash. That meant that if he ‘discovered’ goulash, he could erase the great famine of Bariel from history.

‘My goodness.’

Ian suddenly wished that all of this was real.

Not a magical illusion, but that he had truly come to the Bariel of the past. So that he could change history.

‘Ian, it’s okay. There are always, always opportunities. God doesn’t give you problems without answers.’

Naum’s last words echoed in his ears. He didn’t know the details yet, but strangely, he felt like he could find the answer. Whatever it was.

‘Let’s try to survive somehow for now.’

And then go to the Imperial Palace to find traces of Naum.

That was the first answer Ian had come up with.