Margrave’s Bastard Son was The Emperor [EN]: Chapter 425

“This marks the beginning of the war. It’s confirmed that Vergos sent an envoy to Clifford. I and my subordinates, who were in the palace at the time, can attest to this, so there’s no need to debate its truth. However, one question remains: is it true that you attempted to signal Vergos by killing the envoy?”

“Clifford claims no envoys died, yet you speak as if they did.”

“Vergos assumed they were dead, and wasn’t that the catalyst for the war? I’m simply asking accordingly. The deaths of the envoys in that process are not the fault of Bariel or Clifford.”

“You’re twisting words to suit your narrative. It’s not something a person who values their place in history would do.”

“What is history? History is what is recorded and read by future generations. Bariel intends to document everything based on our justification for entering the war, and you are here because of your responsibility for starting it. All of this will become history.”

Ian handed over the documents and looked at the scribe. Her pen moved rapidly, trying to keep pace with their conversation.

“I’ll ask again. Is there any truth to the attempt to send a signal by killing the envoy?”

“……”

Damon stared at Ian, his mouth clamped shut as if his tongue had been severed.

Ian closed the documents with a snap and gestured to Acorella. As if she had been waiting, she immediately rushed over and roughly grabbed Damon’s chin.

“How dare you!”

Damon tried to push Acorella away with his bound hands, but she easily restrained him. Acorella smiled sweetly, her eyes gleaming with a hint of madness. How could eyes that curved so much be so terrifying? The mages turned their heads away, unable to bear the sight.

“Uh-uh. No impudence here. Ah, say ah. Ah.”

“You dare-”

“Or you’ll eat even more pathetically, King Damon. Do you want to drool and shed tears and snot? Or would you prefer to bury your face in a bowl like a dog?”

Damon hesitated at her blunt words, and Acorella seized the opportunity, pouring the drug into his mouth. It was like giving medicine to a recalcitrant child.

Acorella roughly held King Damon’s mouth shut, preventing him from spitting it out, and soon the Siltham potion [a truth serum] flowed down his throat.

“I’ll ask again. If we continue like this, you’ll be full of water and won’t need dinner tonight. Is it true that you tried to send a signal by killing the envoy?”

“Cough! Y-yes, it is.”

“Hmm.”

Damon coughed up blood as he spoke the truth. Ian frowned and looked at Acorella at the sudden spurt of blood. Wasn’t this the one that was controversial due to initial side effects?

“It’s about half-mixed. This one is faster to make. There are no problems except for coughing up blood. You know that, right? And what’s wrong with being a little full of water? It’s balancing things out by spitting out blood like this. Okay, what’s next?”

Acorella shook the pile of Siltham potions, urging Ian, and the scribe also scratched his temple with his pen, showing agreement. What problem was there if the king of a defeated country spat out a little blood?

Ian handed him a handkerchief and passed over the documents.

“Next…”

The more Ian questioned, the more Damon’s shirt became soaked. He was so stubborn that he didn’t give a cooperative answer even once.

Ian frowned as he looked at Damon, who was staggering with dizziness. The stench of blood was truly disgusting. He kept his gaze fixed downwards, continuing to spill blood mixed with saliva. What on earth was swirling in his head?

“Are you having a hard time?”

“……”

“Acorella, from now on, use the ones without side effects. We have a long way to go, and the king is already tired.”

“Well, should I give him something to eat?”

“How dare you…”

“How dare I?”

“Get…”

“Get out?”

Damon, overwhelmed by anger and fatigue, simply closed his eyes. He collapsed onto the table, breathing heavily. His whole body was dirty with blood, but he didn’t seem to have the energy to care.

Ian lightly touched the edge of the paper and slowly continued his questioning. This was just the beginning. The existence that would be important to him and to Bariel.

“Next is a question about the Rutherford Merchant Guild. According to the information obtained in Bariel, it is presumed that you have been trading with them for quite a long time before this incident. Is it true that the Rutherford Merchant Guild helped Vergos secure and distribute Idgal [a magical artifact]?”

Damon didn’t answer, only lowered his gaze.

He would end up telling the truth once the Siltham potion took effect, so why was he hesitating so much? The mages all whispered in confusion, but Ian knew the truth.

This man was seeking his third life. That meant he had already lived two lives, and since his greatest secret was related to Rutherford, it was natural that he couldn’t speak.

“Damon.”

Ian called him quietly. He knew what thoughts were swirling in his head right now. If he died in the palace for refusing to cooperate with the interrogation, he must be wondering if he would be given a new opportunity again.

Ian tapped the desk and whispered softly.

“I don’t care if you start a new life. You will die here, but I will continue to live, and I will be in your third life anyway, won’t I?”

Whether as the bastard Ian or Emperor Ian.

Damon’s eyebrows furrowed slightly.

“The me there will also create this kind of situation again, regardless of whether you have lived three or four lives. Remember one thing. It may be a new beginning for you, but not for everyone here. The people of Vergos certainly exist, and they will all watch your death and pay the price.”

He had no intention of letting him die, but he meant that he shouldn’t irresponsibly escape the situation by dying.

Even if he went to a new world, wouldn’t this world continue?

It was advice to a man who had been a king, to remember that and not abandon his people. This was not a statement from the minister of an enemy country, but advice from someone who had been a member of the imperial family.

“Why? Does it look bad? Some people are struggling in the position of minister despite having the blood of the imperial family, while others seem to be giving up everything despite having everything as a king.”

Pause. The scribe’s pen stopped for a moment. She adjusted her glasses, looking around to see if she had heard correctly.

The mages had no idea what he was talking about, and they just frowned in bewilderment.

“Nonsense.”

“No, not at all. Isn’t it true? Sir Ian. Everyone around you may envy you, but in reality, you are one of the most pitiful people. The place you want to reach is far above, but you cannot go.”

“Sir Ian. Shall we stop the interrogation for a moment?”

“If we stop, that will also be recorded.”

“Scribe, let’s be a little flexible. Huh?”

“What are you talking about? I don’t belong to the Magic Department, but to the Imperial Family.”

The scribe retorted as if displeased, and Acorella was left speechless, her mouth agape. Unlike the others who were agitated, Ian remained calm and continued the interrogation.

“So, what is the answer to the question? Do you admit that there was some kind of deal between Rutherford and Vergos?”

“If you admit that you were born with the blood of the imperial family.”

“That crazy old man! Captain Acorella! Isn’t there another side effect of the Siltham potion? What kind of nonsense is he spouting?”

“No, the only side effect is coughing up blood!”

“Everyone, be quiet.”

Ian tried to calm the situation, but Damon’s momentum did not easily subside. He snatched the Siltham potion from Acorella’s hand and gulped it down.

He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, and then, like a doll that only spoke the truth, he repeated his conversation with Ian.

“Sir Ian. You gave me a secret, and I gave you one. You are definitely of imperial blood. I engraved it firmly in my memory that day.”

His words flowed without hesitation; it was the truth.

Acorella gasped and covered her mouth, and a silence of shock filled the mages. Only the sound of the scribe’s pen moving continued without interruption.

“The fact is not the truth.”

Ian chuckled and looked at Damon. What Ian had said might be a fact to Damon, but whether it was the truth was another matter.

How could they prove that Ian was of imperial blood? Only with the testimony of Damon, a prisoner of an enemy country?

“It’s good to see you trying so hard, but you shouldn’t use the Siltham potion for that purpose. I asked about Rutherford, didn’t I? Using it for anything else is a waste of taxes. It doesn’t seem like something King Damon, who doesn’t pay a single penny in taxes, would do.”

“Rutherford. Yes. I have met them, and we have given and received help, big and small. The Idgal pendant you touched in the war, do you know about it?”

Damon deliberately looked at the mages who were lingering outside the door and shouted.

“Everyone who was on the battlefield at the time must have seen it! What happened to Ian when he touched the Idgal pendant. According to Rutherford, it reacts when it meets its owner. Ian, are you the owner of Idgal?”

Acorella reflexively turned her body away. She and Hale knew that secret.

When Ian was young, so young that he had no memory, he had unknowingly participated in the manufacture of Idgal. In Clifford Palace, when he was asked to take on the position of the next minister, Ian had revealed everything, hadn’t he?

But she never expected that it would be spoken again through King Damon’s mouth.

The mages, who had been silent, couldn’t help but throw out a word each, and the scribe signaled to his colleagues to record even their words.

Tap tap!

“Are you crazy, really? We are mages, King Damon! How could we, no, how could Sir Ian be the owner of Idgal?”

“Captain Acorella! It’s a side effect! That’s a side effect, isn’t it! Please admit it now!”

“Aish, it’s not a side effect! Everyone, just be quiet!”

“Why would the Minister of Magic be involved with something like Idgal? It’s something that would bind mages and bind himself. Above all, there’s no way Sir Ian would do that.”

“That’s right. King Damon, retract your statement! Otherwise-!”

The process of retracting it would also be recorded by the scribe, but it was much better than letting it pass like this.

The Magic Department was just trying to regain stability in the imperial palace. With Jin’s control of the Imperial Defense Department, a new light was about to shine on the Magic Department. How could they pour cold water on it like this?

The scribe and his colleagues listened intently, making sure not to miss a single word in the noisy commotion, and their hands moved busily.

Rustle rustle!

“Bring a new pen!”

“Here it is.”

“It would be best if everyone restrained themselves. As a small piece of advice, everything in this place is being recorded.”

Acorella bit her lip and whispered to Ian.

“W-what should we do? Should we just say it’s a side effect of the Siltham potion?”

“That won’t do. If we do that, everything we’ve done so far will be in vain. And Acorella, you don’t seem to want to admit it very much.”

“Yes? Of course, there can’t be any flaws in my perfect work, but it’s important to move according to the situation, isn’t it? Above all, right now it’s a bit…”

Damon threw back the handkerchief that Ian had given him and said.

“Ian, this time you drink the potion and prove your innocence. To see if there is really any connection between Idgal and Ian.”

Ian looked down at the damp handkerchief and smiled faintly.

“Why should I do that?”

“If you don’t want to, then don’t, and I’ll report it directly to His Highness Jin. In front of all the officials, or in front of my execution platform where all the people of the empire will be watching.”

Damon gestured towards the Siltham potion, and Ian paused for a moment. He was gauging what would be best to do.

But that was only for a moment. Acorella didn’t hesitate and swept all the Siltham potions on the table to the floor.

Crash! Clatter!

The floor was a mess with glass shards and liquid. Acorella held her throbbing head and winked at Ian.

“…Shit, I spilled it all. I’ll go make some new ones. Sir Ian. Shall we take a break for a while?”