Margrave’s Bastard Son was The Emperor [EN]: Chapter 517

The atmosphere in the main conference hall was unusual. Normally, it would be bustling with activity as people reviewed the meeting agenda or prepared for anticipated questions, but now, all that could be heard were words filled with anger and contempt.

Thump!

“They’ve crossed the line!”

“Yes, I wholeheartedly agree. Even if he is a Duke, this is unacceptable. How dare he try to drag out and control officials of the Imperial Palace from the outside?”

“Moreover, he’s openly trying to keep the Davion family in check, which is only causing unnecessary turmoil in the central government.”

“Honestly, this is the most appalling insult I’ve ever experienced in my life.”

“Has His Highness not responded yet?”

“Rumor has it he’s left the palace. It might take some time.”

“The Minister of Magic also left his post; it seems they went out together. The Imperial Palace is in such disarray! Honestly!”

“And you all are going too far.”

A Davion family official shouted, looking at the other officials who were standing far away.

“As fellow officials, instead of immediately objecting to this external overreach of authority, you’re submitting reports to the Magic Department exactly as the Duke dictated?”

“Why are you taking it out on us? What good would it do to say anything there? Would the Duke even listen? And regardless of the content, we have to submit the reports! We don’t have any decision-making power!”

They were the officials who had gone to see Duke Holin. They were the ones whose payments were tied up in the Magic Department, and who were also more closely aligned with the Holin faction.

The Davion faction raised their voices in disbelief.

“You went to beg for help because you were in a difficult position, didn’t you? But instead of getting results, you’re just relaying nonsense to the Imperial Palace. It’s deplorable!”

“Beg for help? Nonsense? Your words are harsh!”

“We were the ones who were insulted first. Should we be speaking nicely?”

“Everyone, stop it. This is the solemn Imperial Palace. And frankly, I understand why the Davion side is so upset, but weren’t you watching from across the river? Now you’re trying to form a bond by saying ‘fellow officials,’ which is a bit absurd.”

“What are you trying to say?”

“When we were being held by the neck by the Magic Department over the payment issue, you were all just watching. Whether we got cut off or the Holin family gave up their territory, Davion wouldn’t lose anything. And now you’re coming here-”

“You’re the ones who messed up the payments, so why are you trying to blame us?”

“If you put it that way, isn’t the current situation also a problem of the Holin family, not ours?”

“What? How old are you!”

Things had gone too far. Papers went flying, and people were pointing fingers at each other, their anger ignited.

Maxim Tweller, who had been silently sitting through the chaos, finally sighed and lit a cigarette. Had everyone forgotten that they were on the verge of war? If he had his way, he would cut down those people before he even touched the enemy.

The Minister of Technological Development, sitting across from him, also remained silent, just massaging his forehead.

“His Highness the Crown Prince is arriving!”

At that moment, a page’s announcement cut through the commotion.

Tweller put out his cigarette and stood up, and the officials who were on the verge of a physical fight also dusted off their clothes and returned to their places. Their angry gazes remained, however.

Swoosh.

Jin, who was entering, paused, sensing the overheated atmosphere. But it was only for a moment. He immediately sat down and gestured for everyone to take their seats.

Ian Hielo, the Minister of Magic, followed right behind him and took his place.

“You all gather like this even on a day off; you have a lot of energy.”

“Your Highness, this is truly infuriating and appalling!”

“Yes, I know you’re all very angry, so I put aside what I was doing and came here, didn’t I? So stop making such a racket.”

Those with any sense immediately realized that Crown Prince Jin was not in a good mood. They didn’t know what ‘what he was doing’ was, but it seemed he was annoyed at being interrupted.

As Jin announced the start of the meeting, Ian passed over some documents and spoke first.

“Is it true that the counter-proposal from the Holin Dukedom is controversial?”

“Yes! Absolutely. They said they would sell their territory on the condition that Macro of the Administrative Department and Childs of the Ministry of Internal Affairs be dismissed. Isn’t that insane?”

“Please, restrain yourself, this is in front of His Highness the Crown Prince!”

Someone warned him, but the Davion faction, already furious, didn’t hear it.

“Macro was appointed by the late Emperor, and Childs was directly appointed by His Highness the Crown Prince. How dare they try to cut them out under the guise of a deal? If that’s not insane, what is it?”

“That’s right. It’s no different than challenging His Highness the Crown Prince.”

The other departments glanced at the Davion faction. If only those two were removed, the payment issue would be resolved smoothly, but they were stubbornly resisting, yelling and screaming. The Davion faction, feeling their gaze, responded with narrowed eyes.

Then-

“The departments with frozen payments-”

It was Ian. He continued, flipping to the next page of the document.

“Ultimately, you haven’t been able to produce any results.”

His tone was soft and gentle. Hearing it in the midst of the heated atmosphere was quite jarring. The Holin faction officials paused, but soon retorted.

“There’s still time left, Minister Ian.”

“About 21 hours left, I believe. Will it make a difference?”

“Of course. Although we haven’t achieved results, we’ve found a way. If the Magic Department could consider these circumstances and extend the deadline, wouldn’t that be good?”

“It seems you can’t hear or see the commotion going on right now. You’re causing chaos in the Imperial Palace. How impressive.”

“That’s right! Ahem!”

“Yes, yes, very impressive!”

The Davion faction added their agreement to Ian’s rebuke. They had refused the meeting with the Count of Davion, but they were good at discerning right from wrong!

Jin stroked his chin with his fingertips, glancing around the conference hall.

“Your Highness should not take sides. This will lead to issues of fairness and ultimately fuel dissatisfaction on one side, causing you to miss out on the benefits that could have been gained through balance. It’s not about the balance between Your Highness and the officials. It’s about the balance between Your Highness, Davion, and Holin. If we tilt, it means one side will rise.”

He was refraining from saying anything as much as possible, as per Ian’s advice, but the way things were going made his tongue itch. He wanted to lash out at them, but he held back.

Ian, sensing Jin’s thoughts, quickly added.

“By the way, there’s talk that Davion is going on strike. Is that true?”

“Rather than a strike, it’s more of an expression that we will not return to work until Your Highness punishes the Holin family and restores order. This is also related to honor. Ahem. Unless the issue is resolved, normal work is impossible.”

“How can you ask the Imperial Palace to take responsibility for that? The Magic Department was the one who made the proposal first.”

Ian laughed in disbelief and looked straight ahead. Everyone had implicitly acknowledged that the Imperial Family and the Magic Department were on the same side.

“It’s right for the Magic Department to take responsibility. Perhaps it’s because times have changed, but the discussions about responsibility have been strange since the previous meeting.”

“The Magic Department? What do you mean to do?”

They had no authority over personnel matters.

Ian tilted his chin slightly, pretending to ponder for a moment. Then, he gave a nonchalant smile.

“Ah, this is difficult. Honestly, I’d like to accept Duke Holin’s proposal.”

“What? Minister Ian Hielo!”

“Do you know what you’re saying?”

“Are you saying you’re going to support the Holin family’s overreach of authority?”

As everyone shouted as if they were about to jump out of their seats, Ian gestured languidly.

“Calm down. I said, ‘I’d like to.’ Don’t you all know how much the land purchase price and the Magic Department’s annual budget are? Duke Holin wants five times the original purchase price, and I doubt those two officials are worth that much. As you know, I’ve been away for ten years, haven’t I?”

If they cut those two, they could save an astronomical amount of money. Were those two worth giving that up?

At Ian’s blatant question, the Davion faction fell silent for a moment. It was clear that even if they combined all the assets of the Davion family, it wouldn’t be enough to match the value of those two.

“They’ve been in office for quite some time, but they don’t seem to be doing any particular work, and I doubt they even come to work properly. Isn’t Macro over seventy? He seems to be aiming for the next Minister position, but I don’t know.”

“Minister Quintana is still holding on, haha.”

“That’s right? I think so too. He’s capable, and most importantly, he’s still young.”

As the other departments subtly supported Ian, the Davion faction’s anger flared up. So, they were saying to cut them? Even though the nobility’s overreach of authority was clear, were they going to bow down to money?

Just as the Davion faction officials were about to storm out of their seats-

“But we cannot remove a member of the Imperial Palace just based on the Duke’s words.”

Ian’s addition made everyone look puzzled.

…Was he on their side, or not?

“Minister Ian, what is your position?”

“The victims of this situation are the two who were targeted for removal by Duke Holin, so they should file a complaint themselves. The Magic Department will support them.”

“A complaint, you say?”

“About the overreach of authority. The charges-”

Ian seemed to think for a moment, then smiled.

“There could be many, but just like when you first requested relief from the Imperial Palace, you can make the main charge a violation of the Imperial Law.”

At that, the Judicial Department, who had been listening quietly, was startled and raised their heads. If a trial was held for violating the Imperial Law, all the damages would go to the Imperial Palace if they won. The victims were Macro and Childs, but the compensation would be received by the Imperial Palace.

Was he doing all of this knowing that?

“Is there a problem?”

Ian asked, making eye contact with the Minister of the Judicial Department.

Ah. He knew.

“…No. There isn’t.”

“Yes, that’s good.”

A hypothesis formed in the Minister of the Judicial Department’s mind. There was a high probability that the damages would be claimed from the Holin family’s territory. Then, the benefits would go directly to the Magic Department. How truly cunning.

“For now, this is the Magic Department’s official position, but I want you to know that if we were to consider value, I would want to accept Duke Holin’s proposal right away.”

“What is the standard for the value that Minister Ian is considering? They are indispensable members of the Administrative Department, and the same goes for the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Even other departments-”

“Oh, that’s right. There is no standard.”

As someone mentioned that, Ian didn’t miss the chance to latch onto it.

“If there was a quantified standard, everyone could understand and accept it. Your Highness, I have a suggestion.”

“Speak.”

Jin, who had been resting his chin on his hand, straightened his posture and gave his permission.

“Although it is a conflict between the Davion and Holin families, it is also a situation involving a huge budget. The Magic Department wants to accept the Duke’s proposal to purchase the territory, but that would be unfair, so I propose a compromise.”

“A compromise, you say? What kind?”

“How about introducing an evaluation system that can quantify the ‘value’ of all officials, including Macro and Childs?”

Everyone’s eyes widened as if they were about to pop out, and their heads turned towards Ian. Was he truly insane?

“If we do that, it will be easier for the Imperial Palace to determine what is more valuable. If we decide on promotions and positions based on periodic evaluations, the Holin family would also feel like their proposal has been somewhat accepted, making it easier to negotiate the deal.”

“Wait a minute, Minister Ian?”

You’re one of us, a fellow official.

Do you know what you’re saying?

“If the deal is negotiated, we won’t need the payment right away-”

Ian looked at the relevant departments one by one. If they failed to make the payment within the next 21 hours, it would also be a matter for complaint. Either they would be dismissed for being complained against, or they would have a leash around their necks, Ian was saying.

“Likewise, I don’t have to turn to the unjust position of dismissing the two officials, so wouldn’t that be good in many ways?”

For the Magic Department, it was much more economical and beneficial to cut those two officials and save the money. They would side with Davion, following the righteous path, so they were telling them to put a leash around their necks as well.

“What do you all think?”

Jin asked indifferently, and no answer came from anywhere. Silence meant agreement, so Jin shrugged once and replied.

“Alright. I will do as you all wish.”