Margrave’s Bastard Son was The Emperor [EN]: Chapter 493

Wandering through life in search of monsters.

The Atan tribe carried only two burdens.

A sword to carve flesh and bone, and a vial to hold blood.

Instinctively following the scent of monsters carried by the wind, they naturally shed other cumbersome things.

Somewhere almost touching the northern border of Bariel, Efdram stretched, welcoming a refreshing morning.

“Let’s eat!”

“You’re looking for food as soon as you wake up? That’s very like you.”

“Is there any meat left from yesterday? How much is left?”

“The kids ate a little bit at night, so half of it is gone.”

“I knew it. Tell them to stop stealing food!”

“Does talking work? Eating at night is the best. I’ll start a fire. Hey! Go gather some wood!”

At his subordinate’s shout, the tribe members began to stir and move. Except for eating monsters, they were no different from any other community. The problem was that they had to keep chewing constantly and rarely felt full.

“Efdram, this is the expected route to the north.”

“You didn’t sleep?”

It was Beno, the swordmaster who was the tribe’s leader. He handed over a map without answering, and Efdram chewed on dried meat, carefully examining it.

“It will be difficult to obtain monsters in Burgos. It would be good to stop by the completely open rift zone beyond the Bariel border to the north.”

“Okay. Tell the kids that too.”

“Yes, and-”

Swish.

Efdram and Beno turned their heads simultaneously. They had sensed a strange presence.

The two stared into the bushes, then reacted in opposite ways. Efdram raised an eyebrow as if intrigued, while Beno gripped his sword tighter.

“You little rascal, I almost didn’t recognize you after so long.”

“Your curly head is still the same.”

“If I were you, I’d at least try to hide my presence out of courtesy.”

“We’re not exactly on terms to be courteous, are we?”

“You’re lost, aren’t you?”

“…No, I’m not.”

“Then why are you coming out from there?”

Berik frowned, pushing through the thick branches. Damn it. Hale had brought him right to the front, but he had gotten a little lost. Berik wiped his nose, deliberately ignoring the perfectly good mountain path nearby.

The Atan tribe also noticed the appearance of an outsider, and one by one, they gathered behind Efdram, armed.

“Okay, first, let me introduce myself.”

“What the hell? Out of the blue?”

Berik showed his identification card with the magic stone missing, and said. This was the first thing Ian had told him to do.

‘Berik. Reveal your identity. The start of the meeting is to tell them that you are from the Imperial Palace and have come to meet the Atan tribe under the order of His Highness the Crown Prince Jin.’

Thwack!

“I’m this kind of person. See?”

The entire Atan tribe, including Efdram, stared at Berik with a ‘So what?’ look. They didn’t say it, but their expressions clearly showed they thought he was pathetic.

“Where did you lose half of your ID?”

“You don’t need to know. Anyway, I came because of His Highness the Crown Prince Jin of Bariel. Let’s talk, ‘Bbagal’ chief.”

“…It changed from ‘Curly’ to ‘Bbagal’. Hmm.”

Unlike her joking murmur, Efdram’s eyes narrowed. Look at this? The Crown Prince Jin, who was about to have his coming-of-age ceremony and coronation, had sent someone to the Atan tribe? And it was a mutt from the Imperial Guard with Atan blood?

She sat on a rock and shrugged at Berik, as if puzzled.

“As you can see, we don’t have anything.”

“I didn’t expect anything.”

“So, what is the reason that His Highness the great Crown Prince of the Empire sent a mutt? Even a stray dog would know that you are not suitable for this kind of task.”

“It’s a side mission.”

“Ah, a side mission?”

So there was another mission given?

To Efdram, Berik was a gold mine. A gold mine that would spill Imperial Palace information if she just dug a little. She adjusted her posture and smiled. This cute and sassy little bastard.

“So, what’s the message?”

“The Atan tribe should stop messing around in the north and stop bothering the mages. Otherwise, we’ll wipe you out.”

It was a very vulgar message for a crown prince’s envoy. Berik must have fabricated it on his own.

The Atan tribe members who were listening from behind flared up and raised their weapons. Their murderous glares looked like they would attack at any moment.

“Ha, wipe us out? Do you think we’re trash? I’ll kill you!”

“Chief, let’s skin him and show him what’s what!”

“Take back those words and apologize right now, you brat!”

“Hey, you guys mouthing off over there. I remember your faces. We’ll talk after this, okay?”

Berik pointed at his eyes and then at the Atan tribe members, warning them.

As the atmosphere grew more heated, Efdram frowned and raised her hand. The surroundings instantly became quiet.

“That’s not a nice thing to say, is it?”

“You should come to the Imperial Palace and hear nice things yourself.”

“…I think there’s a difference in opinion, we had no intention of bothering the mages. We were just trying to make a living. As proof, there hasn’t been any armed conflict between your side and ours. And we’ll be leaving Bariel for a while? Then it’ll be quiet as the Imperial Palace wants, so isn’t that fine?”

“No. There’s one more thing. You’re going to look for Rutherford, right?”

“Did you hear that from the mages?”

“Don’t go. Stay in Bariel, not Burgos.”

Efdram let out a small exclamation. It was a very short sentence, but the information it contained was too clear. She smiled and put a cigarette in her mouth, as if she couldn’t believe it.

“Crazy. Rutherford is really here?”

They were moving to confirm the rumor that Rutherford had appeared. But for an Imperial Palace envoy to appear and tell them the truth like this. Unbelievable.

Efdram flicked her cigarette-holding finger and scolded Berik.

“If I were your superior, I would have burned your eyes out with this. You know?”

“Yeah, go ahead. Our superior doesn’t smoke that stuff.”

Berik brushed it off, picking at his ear. Then he remembered Ian’s second instruction.

‘If time hasn’t dulled her, Efdram is a smart one. It won’t be easy to take the lead in the conversation or get any information. Instead, she tends to interpret things on her own. We just need to leak information.’

‘So, you’re saying to let her know that Rutherford is in Burgos?’

‘There’s no need to tell her. She’ll naturally find out herself during the conversation.’

‘Yeah, but is it okay for her to know? Wouldn’t it be more advantageous for us to get her on our side if she didn’t know?’

‘Not really. It’s information that will lose its value over time anyway. And Rutherford means a lot to the Atan tribe.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘A long time has passed, and it’s no longer just a friendly relationship.’

Tap!

Efdram snapped her fingers at Berik, who was lost in thought, telling him to focus. She had completely made up her mind after the previous conversation.

“Hey, if Rutherford is really back, there’s even less reason to stay in Bariel. Not for a single moment.”

“Why?”

“Do you even need to ask?”

First.

Bariel’s position was to completely block the rifts, while Rutherford’s position was to activate them. As the Atan tribe, whose staple food was monsters from the rifts, wasn’t it natural to go find Rutherford?

And second.

Idgal [a magical artifact] was used to check Bariel, specifically the Bariel mages, to balance power. But now that the mages were half-destroyed, its original purpose was gone, and Idgal was currently being used to stabilize the rifts.

They needed to confirm whether Rutherford’s goal was still to activate the rifts, and if not…

‘We have no choice but to kill Rutherford, the source of Idgal.’

It was important. What Rutherford was thinking and how he would act in the future. The best way to find out was to meet him directly.

“The Bariel monster disposal squad, or whatever, isn’t appealing?”

“I’ll kill you. Live like livestock, eating the food the Empire throws at us? Hunting and fighting are our identity.”

“We could even give you the northern region entirely.”

“On the condition that we belong to Bariel.”

“Looks like you’re not interested.”

“Maybe in the past, but the world has changed a lot now. With the creation of the Clifford Rift, the number of those who realized they had Atan blood has increased exponentially. Do you know what that means?”

Efdram flicked the ash off her cigarette and scanned Berik. Especially the black sword at his side. A sword that attracted monsters, a sword that the Atan tribe would inevitably encounter one day.

The fact that he was carrying it was proof that he was Atan, so how could he live like livestock, trapped in the cage of the Imperial Palace?

“The rifts are the power and source of the Atan. If we build a fence, we can live safely. But we can’t grow. You’ll soon find out.”

“So, you’re going to side with Rutherford after all?”

“Well, not right now. I’ll reconsider if Bariel is positive about expanding the rifts.”

“That’s a load of crap.”

‘The Atan absolutely need to meet Rutherford, and we can’t stop that. So, it’s important to bring the situation to our side when they meet. Berik, this is the real key from now on.’

Berik stood up, remembering Ian’s instructions. The Atan tribe parted to make way for him, as if he had finished his business.

“Anyway, I’ll tell them that. You’re going to ditch Bariel and side with Burgos.”

“The Atan’s goal isn’t the downfall of Bariel, but the activation of the rifts. I wish you would make that clear.”

“It’s the same thing, you idiot. I’m telling you clearly. From this moment on, we’re going our separate ways. Got it?”

Berik stretched his shoulders, and Efdram gave him a suspicious look. The crazy bastard didn’t know the middle ground. His attitude of dividing relationships like black and white was very suspicious. It was something a diplomatic envoy would never do, but since it was Berik, it was hard to tell if it was intentional or not.

At that moment, Berik grabbed his black sword and released his magic power.

Ziiing! Ziiing!

“…You!”

“What? This is also an order.”

It was an expression of his will that he could not let anyone who threatened Bariel live. With the rising murderous intent, Efdram, Beno, and the Atan tribe members simultaneously drew their swords.

“You idiot! Do you want to die?”

“No! I want to kill!”

Swish!

No matter how much of an Imperial Guard he was, Berik had no chance of winning here. Efdram was a seasoned mage, and there were several swordmasters, including Beno. Although their skills were still immature.

In any case, Berik’s actions were the height of foolishness.

Boom! Boom!

‘Beyond hostility, we need evidence that they threatened Bariel. His Highness has already set up a justification for war, but the more justifications, the better. If the Atan enter Burgos, Bariel can also enter Burgos. We can get a strong justification for pursuing the threat to Bariel.’

‘What if Burgos refuses?’

‘It’s war. And let’s say they accept and the Bariel army enters Burgos. Since the Royalists are in cahoots with Bariel, they’ll be happy to have gained power. Then, who would be the ones who would dislike it?’

‘The opposition. The anti-Royalists.’

‘That’s right. Then who would the anti-Royalists be in cahoots with?’

‘Oh, Rutherford?’

‘Exactly. Therefore, Rutherford will be burdened by carrying the Atan, and naturally, their interests will also be distorted. For the Atan tribe, entering Burgos is the same as losing their power. Then, there will come a moment when they want to talk to Bariel again.’

‘So, what do I have to do?’

‘Berik, you are an Imperial Guard and a diplomatic envoy directly dispatched by His Highness, so you represent Bariel. Then, what should you do to establish a hostile relationship between the Atan tribe and Bariel?’

‘Hmm. Fight?’

‘That’s right. Good job.’

Ian smiled, patting Berik on the shoulder.

‘Go to the Atan tribe, have a fight, and then get out at the right time. The mages will be waiting nearby with a boundary line drawn. If the mages get involved, it will become an undeniable dispute, so the Atan tribe won’t be able to chase you to the end and will turn back to leave Bariel.’

‘Ah, so you’re saying to get beaten up and come back?’

‘Don’t get hurt too much.’

Berik chuckled, remembering Ian’s instructions. This is my specialty! His sword drew a huge arc in the air, and then a loud explosion rang out.

Swish!

Boom!

‘Ian! Damn it, I think I’m doing pretty well!’