Margrave’s Bastard Son was The Emperor [EN]: Chapter 454

The coachman, who had been steadily but not hastily holding and shaking the reins, frowned. In the middle of the hill ahead, where the carriage was to pass, stood a woman. She was in shabby attire, with clothes that looked unremarkable. It was a place with hardly any houses, so had she come deep into the forest to pick flowers?

Since the distance was considerable, it seemed easy for the woman to move out of the way. However, the coachman, just in case, grabbed a flag and waved it.

Whirr!

“What is it?”

“There’s a person up ahead.”

“They’ll pass by.”

“They keep standing there. If the carriage stops unnecessarily, it could displease Lord Rutherford, so we must be careful, right?”

“Indeed, you’re right. From a quick glance, it seems he just fell asleep.”

“Hey, you there! Up front! Come down beside the hill!”

Fearing that Rutherford might wake up, the coachman couldn’t use a whistle and only raised his voice. But it was no use. Was she deaf? As the distance closed, the coachman’s hands moved urgently, and soon he realized that the woman was looking directly at them.

“Gasp!”

Something was amiss. The coachman quickly grabbed another flag and this time signaled to those following behind. It meant that an unknown problem had occurred ahead.

Soon, knights on horseback sped up and appeared in front of the coachman.

Clatter, clatter!

“There’s a woman up ahead! But she shows no sign of moving aside! Could it be a trap?”

“Slow down the carriage, but don’t stop!”

“Yes! Understood!”

Whirr!

Neigh! Clatter, clatter!

The knights leaned close to their saddles and forcefully cut through the wind. It was a familiar sight. Their lord, Rutherford, had many followers, but he also had just as many enemies. There were often cases where people would block the path like that one, trying to evoke sympathy to attempt assassination, or set up traps.

The knights didn’t let their guard down and released their magic power.

Buzz!

“Huh? Wait!”

Then, one knight raised his sword high, stopping his companions. Although she was covered in rags, there was a certain elegance about her, and she looked familiar. At the knight’s signal, their horses also slowed their pace.

The woman bit her lip and spread her hands to her sides. It was to prove that she had no ill intentions. And it also meant that she knew who the owner of the carriage procession was.

“Who are you?”

“I wish to see Lord Rutherford.”

“So, who are you-”

As the woman pulled back her robe, one of the knights muttered.

“Melania Haiman?”

“The surname Haiman has long since disappeared from the world. I am merely Melania, so tell your master that. Then he will surely want to see me.”

Melania? The young lady of the Haiman family who held the purse strings in Bariel with her financial business? The knights exchanged glances.

They couldn’t not know. Haiman was the greatest source of funds in Bariel, excluding the Imperial Palace, and was quite an important client for Rutherford, who was a merchant. Though it was a past glory.

Anyway, the name Haiman was not something that would be easily forgotten, and the same was true for Melania, the only young lady of that family.

“What proof do you have that you are Melania?”

“I’ve lost the surname that was half of my existence, so how could I possibly have such a thing? Your lord knows my face, so that is the sure proof.”

What should they do?

The knights looked down at her from their horses. There were plenty of crazy people spouting nonsense, so they could have ignored her and moved on.

However, the carriage’s speed had already noticeably decreased, and after the carriage stopped, Rutherford’s questions would surely come. If so, they would have no choice but to report using this woman as an excuse.

“We will search your body.”

“Anything. You can strip me bare.”

The knight’s eyebrows twitched.

That attitude seemed to add to her credibility. Wasn’t she the young lady of a great family, the Haiman, who was called the next to the imperial family, the nobility among nobles? If she had only a petty pride when she had lost everything, that would be ridiculous in itself.

The knight briefly searched the woman’s body, then pointed his sword at her back and nodded.

“Follow us. Our master has a place to reach as soon as possible. If he is angered by the carriage stopping, you will have to beg for forgiveness with your life.”

Melania felt the tips of the knights’ swords on her back and slowly took a step. The coachmen had already come down from their seats and were bowing.

And among them, a man stood upright. Rutherford, with his long hair tied up in a single knot and wearing a loose robe. He was about to put a cigarette in his mouth when he tilted his head at the sudden appearance of the unfamiliar woman.

“What is it? I thought we caught some wild animal on the road.”

“It’s someone claiming to be Lady Melania. This person caused a commotion, and the carriage stopped, Lord Rutherford.”

“Melania?”

Rutherford knew. If it were anything minor, his subordinates would have taken care of it on their own. The fact that they brought her before him meant that she was someone who needed to be watched closely. Rutherford bent down and carefully examined Melania’s face.

At his leisurely movements, Melania held her head high and lowered her gaze. It was a way of looking that she could not have imagined when her family was still intact.

Rutherford, who had been circling around Melania, nodded as if he had realized something.

“The mole next to your neck is still there, young lady.”

“…It’s been a while.”

Melania’s face flushed slightly as if she had been teased, but she didn’t show it. She had expected him to be this kind of man.

“Indeed. I’ve heard the news. They say a storm has hit the Haiman family. How are you here, young lady? Shouldn’t you be by your father, Duke Haiman’s side?”

The incident where seven families were beheaded at the same time for treason had spread beyond the Bariel border to various places in Gaia. The seven families in the center of Bariel were like the greatest nobles on the continent. Their influence in various fields such as culture, politics, and economy could not be ignored.

Thus, he asked. If it was treason, shouldn’t all the members of the Haiman family have had their heads torn off and returned to the earth? Rutherford smiled with interest, wondering how Melania had not died.

“There are few people who would privately release a criminal who rebelled against the imperial family. It’s unlikely the imperial family did it. The only one who comes to mind is your childhood friend.”

Ian, the illegitimate child. That child who had been rolling around in the outskirts of Bratz and had risen to become the head of the magic department of the Imperial Palace.

Melania gripped her skirt tightly and lowered her head.

“That is something I cannot speak of.”

“It’s alright. Silence is affirmation, so it’s the same as what you just said.”

Melania couldn’t clearly define what this feeling she had for Ian was. There was a nostalgia for their childhood, he was the enemy who had destroyed her family, and at the same time, he was a savior who had left her with her life and an opportunity.

Melania’s being alive was like proof that Ian had rebelled against the imperial family. Someday, this could become a card that would tighten his noose, but not now. Since it was not a situation where she could use it, she was just waiting for the right opportunity.

“Please come this way, young lady. It’s a bit difficult to set up a seat since we stopped so suddenly. It wasn’t in the plan.”

Squeak.

Rutherford grabbed the carriage door and nodded to Melania. It meant for her to come inside. His nature, which didn’t want any delays in his schedule, seemed to be clearly felt.

Melania moistened her drying lips with saliva and carefully stepped inside the door.

Squeak!

Thud!

As the door closed, Rutherford left a silent gesture to his subordinates. Then, Clark, who had been waiting behind, drew his sword, and the coachmen quickly returned to their places to prepare for departure.

“So, how did you end up here?”

The carriage was filled with an exotic scent. Melania felt the wheels moving and pressed her body close to the window.

“…I was looking for Lord Rutherford. At first, news came from the Luswena side, so I went there.”

“Not because you had connections there?”

“The Haiman family has disappeared due to treason. My cousin in Luswena would have no reason to help me. If anything, it would give an external excuse.”

“Hmm.”

Rutherford lit his long pipe. As if telling her to continue. Melania realized that the scent filling the carriage was from that.

“After making inquiries, I heard that you had gone to Toolun.”

“Impressive. You have a talent for making inquiries, young lady.”

“I wondered how I could go alone, but I don’t know if it was an opportunity or what. You’re going back because of the war, right?”

“You’re not alone.”

“…Pardon?”

“You came with a shadow attached to you, and you’re pretending not to know?”

Tap!

Rutherford’s pipe quickly brushed past Melania’s cheek. The pipe collided with the window as if it would break. Then, from somewhere, there was a commotion, a clattering sound.

Melania was startled and straightened her back, her gaze wandering as if she couldn’t understand what was going on.

“What on earth is….”

“When Ian let you go, do you think he just said goodbye and wished you well? He planted a shadow behind you. Your whereabouts must have been constantly reported, so where was the last village before you came here?”

“It’s, it’s almost there. It was a very small place.”

Melania keenly noticed that Rutherford had called Ian’s name quite familiarly. The smoking pipe passed by Melania’s ear, then touched her neck and shoulder.

“You would have seen me soon even if you hadn’t come looking for me. That’s why it’s hard to take in the lowly. They easily forget the favor and think that what they have is thanks to themselves.”

“…What do you mean?”

Rutherford didn’t seem to want to speak, only smiling faintly.

“So, anyway. What is the reason you came looking for me?”

“I-”

“You’re not going to say something like asking me to help you, are you? I don’t accept future IOUs. I was friendly with Duke Haiman, but there’s no reason for me to reach out to a young lady from a fallen family.”

Melania’s words, which were about to say that she wanted him to help her rebuild, that he knew better than anyone about Haiman’s capabilities, were cut short. It was cruel, but it was all true.

Rutherford took a mouthful of smoke and remained silent.

“…I will give myself to you.”

“Oh, young lady. I’m sorry, but I-”

“Not in that way.”

Rutherford, who was about to refuse with a sly smile, and Melania, who was frowning as if telling him to shut up. It was then that the woman’s eyes came alive.

Rutherford shrugged his shoulders with an amused smile. As if telling her to continue.

“I mean, I will give you my ‘existence.’ Honestly, I don’t know. I’ve heard rumors that Lord Rutherford is moving on the Vergos side and that you have quite a stake in the war that broke out in the south. I can’t figure out your purpose, so I don’t know what you want. But-”

Melania took a breath and said.

“Lord Rutherford, you are a merchant, right? You want to have everything except what you don’t have, so currently, the greatest person in Bariel, excluding the Crown Prince, is Minister Ian Hielo. Isn’t my ‘existence’ the thing that can shake that man?”

The fact that he had let a traitor live and sent her away. It was the most powerful card that could shake Ian, who was in the position of minister.

Rutherford, as if he had been waiting for those words, blew smoke at Melania. In the midst of the scattering smoke, his blue eyes sparkled.