Margrave’s Bastard Son was The Emperor [EN]: Chapter 426

Acorella, with her neck bent back against the sofa, exhaled a plume of cigarette smoke.

‘Good, this is it.’

The sight of a human plummeting from such heights to the ground, struggling in their final moments, was naturally expected. It was also fine that she had smashed all the perfectly good Siltham potions with her own hands. She could just make them again.

However, the source of the sigh welling up from deep within Acorella’s chest was none other than Ian. Or rather, Ian’s reaction, which was impossible to read.

“Sir Ian.”

“What is it?”

“There’s something else you’re hiding, isn’t there?”

Ian’s pen paused for a moment before resuming its dance across the page.

That momentary pause. Acorella narrowed her eyes and clenched her teeth. And, careful not to let any words slip out, she whispered very cautiously and quietly.

“I understand about Idgal, since you told me about it before. Commander Hale knows about it too. That pendant must be related to the time when your memories were blank, Sir Ian. But, what about the royal family?”

“Acorella, do you believe that man’s words?”

“It’s not a matter of believing or not, it’s that it keeps being mentioned. This isn’t the first time, is it? The rumor that you’re royalty has been around for a while. When was it? Arsen—ah, damn it.”

Arsen. A forbidden name that should never be mentioned in the Imperial Palace. When Ian rebuked Acorella with a cold gaze, she raised both hands as if to admit her mistake.

“So, to be more precise, wasn’t it the nobleman Hyman who first mentioned it? Well, there was a lot of talk.”

“There was a lot. So much that everyone dismissed it as false.”

“There’s no smoke without fire. If Damon’s statement brings it back into the public eye, even those who didn’t think much of it will start to have doubts. Ah, really. Let’s just live peacefully. I want to go crazy with my research, and you can focus on your work. Isn’t that great? Do we really have to stick our heads into another political storm as soon as we get back?”

“That’s the fate of those who serve in the Imperial Palace. How can you wish for peace in a place where all the world’s power is concentrated?”

“No, so, Sir Ian. Let’s just get one thing straight. We! We can do that, right?”

The method to counteract the Siltham potion was already in the hands of the Magic Department. Gale had benefited from it before, and unofficially, it was believed that the countermeasure would open up a new market after its commercialization.

There was no way Ian would be in trouble at the Grand Assembly. That was something Acorella could say with confidence. But before that, Acorella wanted to know. What the truth was. The truth that included all the facts.

“Sir Ian. Are you really royalty?”

“……”

Ian closed the file and twirled his pen. He was pondering what to say. The longer his silence stretched, the more Acorella’s jaw slowly dropped in astonishment.

“I am—”

‘I am Ian Verosian from Bariel a hundred years in the future.’

Ian slowly opened his mouth, repeating the words he couldn’t bring himself to say.

“This body is, indeed, the child of Philia.”

“I know that. You look like mother and son even from a distance.”

“You know my mother? She is pure and cannot tell a lie, so how could she harbor such a huge secret?”

“So you’re saying it’s not true?”

But why would Damon say such a thing?

“I’ll dismiss Damon’s claim that you’re related to the royal family as nonsense.”

“Acorella. It’s not nonsense. Like Hyman said, everyone has questions about how I was able to stand alone during ‘that’ incident.”

By ‘that’ incident, he meant the Arsen incident. When everyone was collapsing from mind control and attacks, Ian was the only one who stood firm and faced the demons.

Acorella dropped the cigarette from her mouth with a thud.

“Wait a minute. Right now……”

“It’s complicated to explain, and for now, this is all I can tell you.”

Was Ian speaking in circles? He wasn’t royalty, but he had received the blessing of the royal family? Was that even possible?

Acorella herself was not royalty, so she knew nothing about blessings. It was the same for other officials. Currently, no one except the Emperor and the Crown Prince knew the details about blessings.

Knock, knock.

“Sir Ian.”

Acorella was startled by the sound of someone outside and straightened her clothes. She needlessly smoothed her hair and picked up the cigarette that had fallen to her feet, blowing on it.

One of the mages peeked in, pushing a trolley. Judging by his expression, it seemed that the interrogation with Damon had reached everyone’s ears. If so, the news must have reached Jin through the scribes of the Imperial family.

“These are the documents related to the rifts from the archives.”

“Bring them here. What about the copies?”

“They’ve all been separated. We’ll look at this part, and the support team will look at the rest. We’ll submit a brief report before the Grand Assembly. Sir Ian, are you going back into interrogation?”

“Hmm.”

Ian clicked his pocket watch, watching the second hand move. Time was a bit tight. It was partly because all the Siltham potions had been broken, but also because it was the first Grand Assembly to report everything after the war, so Ian needed to take the lead in preparing the documents.

“No. I’ll leave the interrogation to someone else. Acorella.”

“Me?”

“Just read the questions as they are. Assist Romandro in conducting the interrogation.”

“Shouldn’t Lord Romandro be assisting me?”

“You know very well that you’re not the right person for interrogation. I’m sorry, but there’s not much time.”

Acorella, with a look that suggested she was holding back a torrent of words, pointed at Ian with her cigarette before turning away. She was busy now, so she would let it slide for now, was the strong implication. Tonight, when all her tasks were done, she would barge in with a bottle of wine and get Ian’s secrets out of him.

“I’ll see you soon, Sir Ian.”

“Yes. Make sure everything is ready for the Grand Assembly.”

Squeak.

As Acorella grabbed the mage’s arm and pulled him out of the office, Ian was left alone. He looked at the thick pile of documents, half-slumped.

At this point, he thought it was a good thing he had fed the secret to the gypsy. If not, he might have already revealed his identity to Acorella. To Beric, to Romandro. And to Jin and Siao Shi, and even to everyone in the Magic Department and Philia.

He was currently occupying the shell of the illegitimate son Ian, so everything was intact, but he had almost broken their daily lives due to an unknown impulse.

“Haa.”

Just a little more patience. Naum had told him to go to the annex, so he just had to hold out alone until the annex was completed.

‘Third life.’

‘Rutherford.’

‘The illegitimate son Ian and the Emperor Ian.’

Ian pondered the words that suddenly appeared in his mind, and fell silent.

There was no real difference between Damon’s regression and new life, and his own existence here. The only difference was whether he had borrowed someone else’s body or had gained a new body of his own.

Ian guessed that Rutherford held the answer to regression, along with the construction of the annex. If so, did he, like Damon, have to pay a price to Rutherford?

‘Half-siblings.’

New words suddenly struck his mind. Ian straightened his back, unconsciously picturing Philia’s smiling face.

The face of his mother, who was happy to have a younger sibling. The face of his mother, who was deeply disappointed by his comment that it was not his business. Jin’s whisper that it would be a very beautiful child.

“Ah.”

Was he just tired? He was having all sorts of useless thoughts.

Even if the method of regression Damon had chosen involved the sacrifice of a blood relative, Ian did not need to choose the same method. There was no reason to, and more than anything, he did not want to go back that way.

As he had told Damon, even if he moved on to a new world, the beings here would be eternal.

Rustle.

Ian shook his head to clear his thoughts and opened the document. It contained old information, with some archaic language mixed in. Considering the depth of time, there wasn’t much data.

-…In the 23rd year of the Imperial Calendar, a massive earthquake occurred near the northwest of Bariel, and the earth split open. Two nearby villages disappeared without a trace. Following this, hot heat and unknown ashes led to concerns about a volcanic eruption, and an investigation was launched, but there were no significant findings…….

-Fifteen days after the earthquake of the 23rd year, monsters emerged from the cracks. Initially, it was suspected that the earthquake had changed the activity radius of the monsters, but investigations confirmed that they were being ‘created’ from the cracks in the earth.

‘The first rift officially recorded in Bariel.’

Ian rested his chin on his hand, focusing on the text to clear his mind. Bariel was relatively free from monster attacks, so each record was valuable and reliable.

-Centered around the mage Bandor of the Magic Department, five mages entered the rift to begin a full-scale investigation.

Perhaps because the times were chaotic, the response was surprisingly bold. Ian was curious about the outcome, so he scanned the text in chronological order, but the name ‘Bandor’ was nowhere to be found. However…….

-In the 34th year of the Imperial Calendar, a new anomaly was detected in the northeastern region that had been classified as a rift zone. A new earthquake occurred, but its vibrations were unique, and those who experienced it all said it was an unfamiliar experience. The earth no longer split open, but rather, the depth of the cracks decreased as if trying to fill them. The ashes and flames also stopped.

-Since it was a region that was not effectively governed, all sorts of lowlifes flocked to the area as the land revived, and it quickly transformed into a rising crime zone in Bariel. Among them, a man calling himself Bandor was indicted for defamation.

A man calling himself Bandor? But it was more than 10 years later.

Ian frowned and tried to look into the details, but the information about the rift ended there. Ian quickly called out to the outside.

“Is anyone out there?”

“Yes, Sir Ian. What is it?”

“Bring me the court records from the 34th year of the Imperial Calendar. It’s about a man who called himself the mage Bandor, who was indicted for defamation.”

“What is the exact date?”

“The fifth day of summer.”

“Understood. Please wait a moment.”

Tap, tap!

At Ian’s command, the attendant moved quickly. Soon, a small file was placed in his arms. It was a record of a lower-class trial, so it seemed to contain only basic information without anything special.

Ian carefully turned the fragile pages, reading the faint letters.

-…The mysterious man calling himself Bandor has no magical power.

-He recited the detailed realities of the Imperial Magic Department, which he must have heard from somewhere, so the Magic Department lamented this and created a secret prohibition law to maintain their dignity…….

And the last line. Ian’s eyes stopped.

-…Bandor claimed that there was an abyss below the rift.