Margrave’s Bastard Son was The Emperor [EN]: Chapter 427

The attendants’ hands meticulously brushed past Jin’s hair and collar. Should it be blue, or green? They were carefully adding each piece of fabric, preparing the attire for the grand assembly.

Jin was looking at himself in the mirror, but he couldn’t deny that all his attention was focused on the Magic Department. Sir Ian had returned! Bringing back the runaway mages!

Now, they would return to their previous days. He would ask Ian about things he didn’t know, and Ian would kindly explain, and with each sunrise and sunset, they would get closer to the Emperor’s seat.

The moment Jin smiled faintly, Siao Shi sensed movement outside and reported.

“Your Highness. It’s the Secretary-General who was dispatched to the Magic Department.”

“Let them in.”

Jin tilted his head, puzzled, and looked at the door in the mirror.

The door opened, and the Secretary-General walked towards Jin. She seemed urgent. She knelt down naturally, exchanging glances with the child from behind.

“What is it? Has the interrogation of King Damon already ended?”

“No, Your Highness. The King’s interrogation has been temporarily halted at the request of Minister Ian.”

Rustle.

The Secretary-General handed Jin a piece of paper and whispered. The attendants, noticing that something unusual had happened, slowly backed away and closed their ears.

“Something problematic came up during King Damon’s testimony.”

“What is it?”

“Minister Ian is said to be related to the Imperial Family.”

“What?”

Jin frowned and quickly scanned the paper. The handwriting was a bit messy from being written in a hurry, but the content was clear.

“King Damon and Sir Ian shared a secret before, and this is what they exchanged. Even in the face of the Truth Serum, he didn’t back down, so from King Damon’s perspective, this is subjectively true.”

Subjectively true. At least, it meant that Ian had mentioned something related to this to Damon.

Jin suddenly felt a sense of déjà vu. Didn’t Duke Haiman make a similar statement when he was cornered? About why Ian was helping him, who had no presence.

Haiman’s answer was that Ian was doing it to naturally exist behind him because he held a secret about the Imperial Family.

“That’s absurd.”

“But Your Highness. King Damon will surely try to make this public at the assembly. His momentum is unusual. It would be wise to prepare questions for Sir Ian.”

“……”

He said it was absurd, but it had already been said twice. And not from some baseless rumor on the street, but used like a trump card by those who had everything, like Haiman and Damon, when they were cornered.

Was it really absurd?

Was it truly absurd?

Really… was it absurd?

“Your Highness.”

Siao Shi called out worriedly as Jin’s complexion turned pale. The Secretary-General bowed her head and rose on her knees, then whispered.

“Minister Ian and Commander Acorella’s reactions were somewhat unusual. The fact that they stopped the interrogation is proof of that. Your Highness. As you know well, the production of the Truth Serum is overseen entirely by the Magic Department. Wouldn’t it be difficult to believe that it would work effectively on Sir Ian, the great young mage?”

He knew. Jin might believe it, but other officials would never believe it. They would rather shout that they could cover the sky with their palms [a metaphor for having immense power]. How could they use a potion made by the Magic Department to reveal the truth of the Minister?

“…The interrogation?”

“It seems it will resume soon.”

“You stay in your place and fulfill your duty. Report again before entering the assembly, and thoroughly control the words of the other officials.”

“I will follow your orders, but it seems it’s already too late.”

“Why is that?”

“It’s not a problem with the secretaries, but there’s a lot of talk within the Magic Department.”

The closer they were, the more they couldn’t help but talk. The mages were noisily chattering about who Ian, whom they followed, really was. Having directly witnessed the reaction of the Idgal Pendant [a magical artifact], the fervor was even more intense.

Jin frowned slightly, touching his temple, and the Secretary-General quickly bowed and left the room.

“Siao Shi.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“What do you think?”

“…Are you referring to Sir Ian’s origins?”

“Yes. I honestly think it’s a rumor, but considering it’s been mentioned twice, it seems there might be something to it. Not about his origins, but about his existence.”

Proving his origins was not difficult. His biological mother, Philia, who looked exactly like him, was in the center.

“Those who doubt will cling to Philia rather than digging into Ian. It’s also strange that she suddenly disappears here. She will inevitably stand on the platform, and I’m worried about that.”

“Philia is a strong person.”

“She’s only strong when it comes to Ian. But now she’s even carrying Ian’s younger sibling. If she overdoes it, everyone will be uncomfortable.”

Ian wouldn’t like it either, and Jin himself wouldn’t like it either. There would be nothing but harm without anyone being pleased.

Jin lightly gestured to the attendants dressing him, urging them to hurry.

“Hurry. No matter how I think about it, it seems faster for me to see and hear directly than to receive reports from the secretary.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“I will prepare a carriage to go to the Magic Department.”

“Yes, do that.”

It would be better to meet Ian, discuss this matter together, and then attend the assembly.

That way, there would be no more forces that would antagonize the Magic Department as before. It would be the same as Crown Prince Jin directly accompanying Ian, the person in question, and completely denying the baseless rumors.

Yes. Let’s do that. Now that the Imperial Defense Force was under Jin’s command, there was no reason for Ian to distance himself. For Bariel, and for himself. Jin needed to maintain a distance so that Ian wouldn’t drift further away.

Neigh!

Clatter, clatter!

Jin, who had finished preparing, quickly headed to the Magic Department. Dozens of attendants moved hastily at the sudden departure, but Jin paid no mind and walked the familiar path.

The Magic Department was where he had taken refuge from Delilah not too long ago. Back then, the stairs seemed so high, but now they didn’t seem so daunting.

“Your Highness. What brings you here?”

“Where is Sir Ian?”

“He should be in his office right now.”

“Guide me.”

“Ah, yes! This way, please!”

Jin was guided to the office by a guard from the Magic Department. The building was quieter than expected, as most of the mages had gone down to watch the interrogation.

“Step aside. I will go in myself.”

Jin, having arrived in front of Ian’s office, raised his hand to stop the attendant before he could announce his presence. Then, he opened the door himself and stepped inside.

Creak.

Inside, it was dark and smelled strongly of dust. Ian was facing away from the sunlight, deeply engrossed in something.

There was something cold in his calm gaze. White snow that seemed like it would fly away if you blew on it. It seemed resolute yet cold, pitiful yet composed.

“Sir Ian.”

Jin called out to Ian without realizing it, and their eyes met as Ian turned only his pupils.

* * *

“Your Highness.”

Ian smiled, looking momentarily flustered as he swept back his hair. He was asking how Jin had entered without making a sound.

Jin took a step closer to Ian and asked.

“What were you looking at?”

“…It’s the Imperial records about the rift. It’s about an incident that happened near the north of Bariel a thousand years ago, and it’s very helpful.”

Jin checked the cover of the document Ian was holding. It was different from the ones from the Imperial Archives.

“It looks like a court record?”

“…Yes. There was something interesting.”

“Show me.”

“But, it was nothing much.”

“Give it to me.”

Jin strode forward and stood close to Ian. It was as if he was shouting with his whole body that he was not the Jin of the past. The child who simply accepted what he was told was dead, and now only the Crown Prince who checked everything with his own eyes and ears was alive.

Ian smiled faintly and reluctantly handed over the document.

Rustle.

“Bandor?”

“It’s a court record about a man who called himself the mage Bandor after the rift was sealed.”

Was it really nothing much? The child frowned as he read the words, stopping at the same passage.

“There’s an abyss below the rift? If it’s an abyss, isn’t that where mages who used forbidden magic fall?”

“That’s right.”

“…‘Below this place where we stand, there is their own world.’……”

“Bandor was found guilty and sentenced to prison. He died mysteriously while in prison, and the record no longer exists.”

“But why this?”

It was clear what they needed to find out urgently now. How to stop the rift. And furthermore, how to close it as before, and so on.

Finding information to overcome the current situation was a priority, and the court record of an unknown person was naturally pushed to the back. That was the Ian that Jin knew.

But the fact that he brought this out meant that there was definitely a part of this content that caught Ian’s attention.

“Bandor was a mage who led mages into the rift when it first occurred. I was just looking to see if there was any connection, so don’t worry about it.”

“Jumped into the rift? Is that true?”

“If there are no problems with the record. Ten years after the mages entered the rift, the earth sealed the gap again. It is necessary to check if there is a meaningful causal relationship.”

“Wait a minute!”

Jin was startled and interrupted Ian. Didn’t this mean that he was going to send mages into the rift? To sacrifice Bariel’s mages for Clifford?

“That’s absurd. How can you send mages? How is that different from sending a living person into a fire pit?”

“There is definitely another world besides Gaia below the rift. So, there are also monsters. It is necessary to dispatch personnel for investigation. In a thousand years, Bariel has virtually no information about the rift. And if we consider expertise, it is natural that mages cannot be excluded.”

A thousand years ago, the situation when Bandor led mages into the rift was not much different from now. Bandor back then must have also jumped in with a sense of mission to go to an unknown world.

“That was an incident that happened in the northeast of Bariel, and now it’s happening in Clifford. If anyone goes, it should be the people of Clifford.”

“We will also draw personnel from Clifford. However, since there are no mages there, they will naturally request support from nearby areas. Not only Bariel, but also those wandering in Luswena or the northern regions will hear the call-”

“Sir Ian!”

Jin shouted urgently. He felt sweat running down his spine without realizing it. The nuance of what Ian was saying was exactly like……

“Sir Ian. You’re not thinking of going, are you?”

It was as if he was about to throw himself into the rift.

Jin grabbed Ian’s sleeve and asked again.

“No, you can’t. I won’t allow it. Not just Sir Ian. Not a single mage from Bariel can set foot in that unknown world. Before you are mages, you are my people.”

“You are so great, the mages would be moved to tears if they heard that.”

“Ian!”

Ian patted Jin’s shoulder as if to calm him down.

“Your Highness. Don’t worry. You know me, don’t you? I’m not a reckless person.”

“It sounds like you’re saying you’ll go if the information becomes more credible.”

“Oh dear. Did it sound like that?”

“Sir Ian is always like that. You don’t answer and just smile, so it’s always my job to figure out the answer.”

As Jin frowned, Ian smiled even more brightly. As if asking why his beautiful brow was furrowed.

“Your Highness. You heard from the Secretary-General, didn’t you?”

“Secretary-General? Ah, yes. I was so dumbfounded that I came here directly-”

“King Damon will make the same statement at the assembly. That I am related to the Imperial Family.”

“It would be better to take away his right to speak.”

“We can’t do that. Although he is a prisoner, he is still the official king of Burgos. Anyway, if King Damon speaks, someone among the officials will surely try to summon my mother.”

“Yes. I thought of that too.”

“But I don’t intend to give my mother the Truth Serum. What difference would it make if I drank it or my mother drank it? It’s meaningless. Above all, Acorella hasn’t verified the problems when a pregnant woman drinks it.”

Jin’s eyes widened slightly. Then, what would he do?

“Your Highness. I have no way to explain this controversy.”

The child, slowly examining Ian’s face, blurted out a word. He was tightly holding onto Ian’s sleeve.

“…A lie. You don’t intend to, do you?”