Margrave’s Bastard Son was The Emperor [EN]: Chapter 421

Clack.

The coachman instinctively knew something was wrong with the carriage. As he slowly pulled the reins, the person in the passenger seat waved a flag, signaling the situation to the rear.

A blue field.

It was similar to what they had seen in Clifford, but the hills were distinctly colored with Bariel’s hues. The guards, who had been silently following, gradually slowed down, and soon the procession came to a complete stop.

“What’s the matter?”

“It seems something is caught in the wheel. I hear a grinding sound every time it turns, along with a clack. Are the carriages in front or behind having any issues?”

“It doesn’t seem like it in the front, and the back… let’s check.”

“Yes. Anyway, it’s about time we took a break, so it would be good to report to Ian and rest for a bit.”

“The air is definitely different here. I didn’t know the air could have a taste. Coming back to Bariel, it tastes like what I’ve been drinking my whole life.”

The coachman smiled and bowed. His hands, scanning the front and rear wheels, were extremely careful. Although all the technicians were gathered, they had to be sensitive to even the smallest noise, as they were carrying such precious people.

Meanwhile, Ian got out of the carriage and called the coachman.

“Is there a problem?”

“Ah, Ian. No, it’s nothing. It seems the carriage wheel was turning with a sharp stone caught in it. The support is a bit bent, but it’s fine to go on after a little repair.”

“It would be troublesome if the carriage stopped in the middle of the city. There are no eyes watching here, but once we go a little further, the eyes of the Bariel Empire’s citizens will be upon us wherever we go.”

Ian looked at the small map in his palm and spoke. For the fastest possible travel, they had chosen a route that didn’t avoid rough roads but rather embraced them.

Thanks to that, even though they had entered Bariel, meeting an imperial citizen was like finding a star in the sky. All they saw were herds of mountain goats passing by, endless rolling hills, and their companions gradually becoming more haggard.

Ian watched the mages stretch. Because the carriage was so shaky, the mages who could fly in the sky were struggling with mere motion sickness.

“It’s okay if it’s a little late, so fix it properly. It’s better than the carriage of mages returning with news of victory breaking down in the middle of the road.”

“I will fix it thoroughly.”

“We will stay here tonight. There’s flat ground, and since there are herds of mountain goats around, it seems there’s little danger from wild beasts.”

“If we rest here today, we should arrive in the center by the day after tomorrow. Probably early in the morning.”

“It’s better than rushing to arrive in the middle of the afternoon. Now, everyone, unload your luggage and let the horses rest.”

“Yes, Ian. I’ll prepare the meal.”

“Berik! Do you see that herd of mountain goats over there? Catch some today! Or else, you’ll only get one serving!”

“A hunting party? What hunting party?”

“The mountain goats. Over there.”

“Oh! The meat is moving!”

“I don’t like the taste of mountain goat meat.”

“Do you think he eats meat for the taste? He eats to live. Berik! While you’re at it, scout around! See if there’s a place to get water.”

Tap tap!

Before the mages could even shout, Berik was already dashing up the hill. Since the food they were carrying was limited, Berik’s portion was close to fasting from his perspective. That is, unless he could provide for himself at every meal.

Ian watched Berik’s back and nodded to Hale. He understood and responded with a look, then turned to the carriage where Damon was imprisoned.

Squeak.

As the carriage door opened and a cool breeze blew in, Damon’s brow furrowed.

A gag to prevent self-harm and suicide. Limbs tightly bound. A guard always present, showing no respect for a former king of another country. But more than anything, with all his senses heightened, he could smell Bariel.

The scent of a foreign land in the wind. Damon lifted his clouded eyes and looked at Ian. Due to the backlight, Ian’s face was not clearly visible.

“Any problems?”

“No, there aren’t.”

“Not causing any trouble either?”

“He’s quiet.”

“Good work. Take a break before your shift.”

As Ian moved aside from the carriage door, the guard thanked him and left. Ian sat opposite Damon and slowly crossed his legs. He was checking if he was still alive at regular intervals, and their silence was so heavy that it made the observer feel suffocated.

Would it be the same this time? As Hale habitually took out a cigarette he had been saving, Damon’s gaze shifted towards it. It was like a very natural reflex. Now, when he felt suffocated and everything seemed to be going wrong, the only thing that could soothe him while erasing the smell of Bariel’s wind was a cigarette.

Ian closely noticed his reaction and held out his hand to Hale.

“Yes?”

What does he want? Hale looked at Ian’s hand, confused. He didn’t have a report for him right now? After a few seconds of contemplation, Hale tried to gently grasp his palm, but Ian firmly slapped his hand away.

Slap.

“The cigarette.”

“Ah. Ah, ah. The cigarette. Yes? Ian, you don’t smoke.”

“Not me. Him.”

Him. A title that had been abruptly downgraded from His Highness Damon. Hale felt awkward for himself as he looked at Damon. But he didn’t seem to hear Ian’s words, showing no particular change.

Hale handed all the remaining cigarettes to Ian and closed the carriage door. Except for the faint light coming through the curtains, the surroundings were shrouded in darkness.

“It feels like a barn.”

Ian made a cynical joke as he saw that. He had never been locked in a barn, but he could imagine it well enough. The position of a powerless person being carried somewhere with their whole body bound.

“Want to smoke one? It’s dangerous if you do something foolish with a cigarette in your mouth. The ashes are hot.”

Ian held the cigarette between his fingers and flicked it. He was suggesting that he would temporarily remove the gag, so why not take a human-like rest without causing trouble? Otherwise, Damon would know what kind of ‘punishment’ would be inflicted. Only the one holding the cigarette in their mouth would know how hot the ashes were.

Damon stared at Ian silently. Silence meant agreement. Ian slowly shrugged and removed his gag. The blood that had been swallowed and swallowed flowed down.

“We’re already inside Bariel. Damon. You have lost, and now there is no way forward. If you go to the palace, there will be an interrogation centered around the Magic Department, but I’m curious about your words that won’t be recorded.”

“…”

Ian lit the cigarette and offered it to him. Like a wild animal wary of a stranger, Damon watched it for a long time, and then put the cigarette that Ian offered in his mouth.

Haah, the smell of stale blood seemed to waft with the deep breaths he took.

“Why are you curious about what won’t be recorded? When you are more interested in what will be recorded than anyone else.”

“A single sentence has the opinions of countless people added to it. Sometimes it’s so noisy that it clouds judgment. Therefore, I want to hear your pure statement, without anyone else’s opinion added to it.”

Scoff, Damon let out a ridiculous laugh and turned his head. In other words, he was saying it was nonsense. Is this the leisure that the victor can enjoy?

“Enough, just kill me. If you stab a sword into my heart, I will gladly tell you my last words. About Rutherford and regression? Or the secrets of the Burgos Kingdom? I’ll babble about anything until my last breath.”

Fwoo. Damon rebelliously blew smoke into Ian’s face. Ian didn’t even blink. He elegantly let the smoke drift away and mentioned a name.

“Timothy-”

Pause. It was a sudden change that was visible. Damon froze, holding the smoke in his body.

“Timothy will see your appearance.”

“…”

“Timothy will stand tall with others and look down as you bow your head to our Highness, bleeding.”

Something snapped in Damon’s eyes. It seemed he hadn’t expected it. The worst situation he had imagined in the swaying carriage was not actually the worst. He seemed to realize that he had been holding onto a faint hope.

Was it just Timothy? All the citizens of Burgos residing in the center of Bariel would witness his miserable end.

“You won’t be able to say what you want then, so it’s better not to miss this moment.”

Again, a small suggestion was whispered. To reveal anything in exchange for preventing a reunion with Timothy.

Ian carefully delved into the tangled thread of Rutherford, the regression method, and Damon’s siblings, gently tapping his fingertips.

Damon spat out the burning cigarette and stomped on it with his foot.

“Rutherford-”

And as if he couldn’t help it, he muttered in a rather annoyed tone. He wanted to avoid that reunion with Timothy, if nothing else. If he could prevent it with just a small corner of an incident…

“Rutherford is someone who communicates directly with God.”

“God?”

Ian smiled and pointed his fingertip to the sky.

God? The one who looks down on Gaia [the world] at a glance and hears all the sounds of Gaia at the same time? The one who exists in countless humans all over the world, though there is only one?

“…Is he from the temple?”

“I’ve heard similar words, but I can’t be sure. But if you meet him directly, you can understand why he’s called that. Rutherford is the one who communicates with God and coordinates the world. Ian, no matter how skilled you are, you can’t do anything in front of that coordination.”

“So, Damon, that’s how you ended up like this.”

Hmm. Damon smiled and accepted Ian’s mockery. If he couldn’t help it, didn’t that mean he couldn’t help it either?

Knock knock.

“Ian, are you alright?”

At that moment, Hale knocked on the door from outside and asked worriedly. Then Damon turned his head as if he had said everything he needed to say, and Ian realized that he would not be able to hear Damon’s voice any more today.

“Come in.”

“Oh my, the smoke…”

“Ventilate for a moment, then double the guards.”

“Ah, double?”

To use two when one would suffice, this was an order that it was okay to remove the gag.

Ian slowly came out and breathed in the fresh air. In the distance, Berik chasing the herd of mountain goats was as small as a fingernail, and above him, a huge cumulonimbus cloud was rising.

‘Are you hiding behind that?’

God. If you are looking down on everything in Gaia, you must be seeing what I am looking at now. It seems better to deal with this than Rutherford, but why don’t you show yourself?

“Ian, the meal is being prepared.”

“Okay. I’m not hungry.”

“If you say that, Berik will come running. Asking for leftovers. Please refrain from doing that, it’s annoying.”

Hale clicked his tongue and straightened his collar, and then two guards entered the carriage. Until the door closed again, Damon did not look outside.

Those were Damon’s pure words that Ian had heard. The last statement that would not be recorded, which he could hear outside the palace.

* * *

Hee-ing!

Tap tap!

The coachman sniffed as he saw the central walls of Bariel in the distance. His home, which he had wanted to return to, was shimmering before his eyes.

It was just past morning, but Berik was commendably awake. With his forehead pressed against the window, he looked down at the bumpy road.

“Ian.”

“Yeah.”

“Isn’t this the road we took when we came up from the outskirts? With Uncle Romandro.”

“Why are you calling him that?”

“Right? Hasha was there too.”

“Yes, that’s right. This is the only mountain road leading to the center. This is also the mountain where we stopped when we brought the light of the oracle from the temple.”

“I knew it. See, I have a good memory.”

“Berik, weren’t you bad with directions?”

“It’s a little different from that.”

What’s different? Ian tilted his head, looking at the back of Berik’s head, who was constantly looking outside. Berik muttered as if he was constantly amazed.

“I never thought about the present back then.”

“The present? What do you mean?”

“Literally, the present. Going into the palace and eating a lot of meat, going to the battlefield, and coming back like this.”

“It was amazing, wasn’t it? Back then.”

“Yeah. It was a different…”

“A different world.”

“Yeah. It was a different world.”

Ian closed the book with a thud and looked down at the center in the distance. A white balloon slowly rising. Berik’s eyes widened slightly.

“This time, it will be an even more different world. Because you will see what kind of praise the citizens of the Bariel Empire give to the warriors returning in victory. Look. There, they are already creating a huge cloud.”

Welcome, like the clouds in the blue sky, this is where you belong. The cheers of the imperial citizens from afar were rising high into the sky.