Margrave’s Bastard Son Was The Emperor [EN]: Chapter 518

Clatter, clatter!

Kyla Holin, the young lady, was bent low, examining the sword blade on the table. The straight, gleaming sword, catching the light, was more beautiful and captivating than any jewel.

Watching the tip of the sword become lighter and sharper, she wondered whose blood it would drink next. When she heard a commotion outside, Kyla reflexively frowned and turned her head.

Knock, knock.

“Ah, young lady.”

“What’s all the fuss about?”

“A guest has arrived from the Imperial Palace.”

‘Again?’

The Imperial Palace officials, already with their backs against the wall, were wearing out their shoe leather going back and forth between the palace and the mansion. They tried to persuade her father, the Duke, with trivial words, and they begged and pleaded with her, too, asking for leniency. Did they think she was easy to deal with because she was laughing? They were trying to convey proposals to her that they couldn’t easily make to her father.

Kyla was sick of the Imperial Palace officials, so she had no intention of going out and was about to put away the sword.

“That’s enough. Tell them I have business today.”

“Well, it’s Minister Ian Hielro of the Magic Department. And it seems the Duke is out…”

Kyla paused. As soon as she heard the servant’s announcement, she immediately threw open the door.

“Lead the way. Is he in the drawing room?”

“Ah, yes, yes. But it seems he came knowing that the Duke is absent.”

“Of course. How could he not know that the master of the house is gone when he’s come all this way?”

Kyla smoothed her hair as she walked down the hallway, and the servants followed her, gracefully holding up the hem of her dress. Every action, from putting on her rings to fastening her necklace, was like a warrior preparing for battle.

In front of the half-open drawing room, Kyla took one last look at herself in the reflection of the window. Then, she put on a bright smile.

Knock, knock.

“Hello, Minister of the Magic Department.”

“Greetings, Lady Kyla.”

Ian Hielro was sitting on the sofa in his Magic Department uniform, waiting for her. He hadn’t even touched his teacup. Kyla glanced at the full teacup and then nodded slightly towards Ian.

“What a pity. It seems you came to see my father, but he’s out right now.”

“I heard from the butler. It seems I’ve come at a bad time, but the matter is urgent, so I came here to deliver my message quickly. Are there no other children besides Lady Kyla?”

“No. You can tell me. I will keep it safe and deliver it to my father as is.”

Kyla gestured to the servant to pour fresh tea. She didn’t know what his intentions were, but it wasn’t polite to not touch what was offered. She needed to see if it was simply that he didn’t want it, or if his intentions were otherwise.

Sip, sip.

“So, Minister, what brings you here?”

“Well, I heard that there are many visitors coming to the Holin family these days.”

“Isn’t that thanks to the Magic Department? I really didn’t know that we would be mentioned in the matter of the Imperial Palace departments’ payment issues.”

She was smiling, but her words were full of thorns. The payment issue was something they should resolve among themselves, so she was questioning why they had dragged in someone who had nothing to do with it.

However, Ian just smiled and replied.

“Indeed. I was surprised too. I thought the Holin family and the Imperial Palace were unrelated, but it seems your influence is so great that you were mentioned.”

‘So, who was it that told them to expand their business by colluding with the Imperial Palace officials? They were the ones who reached out in the first place. So, if they wanted to complain, they should blame themselves in the past.’

‘Ha.’

Kyla felt her smile slowly stiffen. She was usually able to maintain her composure in any situation, but Ian Hielro’s tone and word choices were particularly irritating.

“So?”

“Didn’t you make a counter-proposal? I’ve come with the answer to that directly. First-”

With a flick of Ian’s hand, Romandro, who was sitting next to him, handed over a stack of documents. It was a contract for the sale of the territory and the disposal of the infrastructure. All preparations had been made so that the Holin family could complete the process simply by stamping it.

“What is this?”

“Have you never seen a contract before? Ah, if there’s a problem, young lady, it’s okay. We can wait until the Duke arrives.”

No matter how influential she was in the family, the Duke had always been at the forefront of all business activities. Kyla couldn’t stand his attitude of telling her to back down if she couldn’t handle it, and she frowned.

“I can see that it’s a contract. My question is why you’ve presented it. It seems you haven’t understood because you’ve been away from Bariel for so long.”

‘Ooh!’ Romandro, who was standing behind them, widened his eyes slightly, holding his breath. Ian was something, but the young lady’s sharpness was truly formidable.

“Is this the answer to the counter-proposal?”

Thump.

Kyla picked up the contract and put it down again. As if she didn’t know what to do with it.

Regardless, Ian smiled brightly and even took the cap off the pen, placing it in front of her. Even though he knew that Kyla didn’t have the authority to make a decision right now.

“You proposed the dismissal of Lord Macro and Lord Childs.”

“Yes, I did.”

“Are you aware that it’s an overreach of authority?”

“An overreach? That’s ridiculous. I didn’t issue an order, I just stated it as a condition of the contract. So, were those two officials dismissed? I didn’t take any authority, so I don’t know why you call it an overreach.”

“The act of trying to cut off the people of His Majesty the Emperor and His Highness for personal reasons is the problem. For someone who is the Duke’s daughter, not to know that. Time has passed indeed.”

Ian tapped the edge of the contract.

“However, His Highness the Crown Prince was generous and, considering the Magic Department’s budget and the special circumstances of the war, he has offered a compromise. From now on, all officials of the Imperial Palace will be scored under His Highness’s evaluation system. Do you understand what that means?”

It meant that if the Holin family wanted to keep Davion in check, they should not raise their thorns but rather bow down and stand by Jin’s side. As long as the Crown Prince held Davion’s leash, he could loosen or tighten it as much as he wanted, depending on the gains and losses.

Kyla’s mouth slightly opened, wondering what this was all about.

“An evaluation system? In the Imperial Palace?”

“Yes. It will be officially announced soon. I’m telling you this beforehand, so it would be good for the Holin family to seize this opportunity.”

“No, what is-”

As Kyla just gaped, Ian kindly added.

“Originally, dismissals and appointments were made every year based on the New Year’s meeting, but there was no proper system to objectively assess the performance of officials. With this opportunity, all officials at the rank of captain and deputy captain or higher will be given a new system under His Majesty the Emperor’s standards.”

“…How?”

Why on earth would the Davion family put a leash around their own necks? No, before that, how did Crown Prince Jin do it? Kyla asked back, but Ian laughed as if he didn’t know what it meant.

‘What would you do if you knew?’

“Anyway, I’m telling you that the authority to dispose of the two officials you proposed will be given to His Highness the Crown Prince, not me, and I’ve told you a way to achieve that, even if it’s not a dismissal. Isn’t that enough to meet the conditions?”

Kyla clenched her fist under her dress. She needed to confirm if this was real or not. It didn’t make sense logically.

It was suspicious that people who would have been well-fed and well-off if they had stayed still had willingly gone into the hands of the Imperial Family.

“Will the officials stay still?”

“Young lady, do you know which position is the only one that is appointed independently without the Imperial Family’s discussion at the New Year’s meeting?”

“…No.”

“The Minister of the Magic Department, this position.”

That was the tradition.

Even if it wasn’t, the Minister of the Magic Department was taking the lead in entering the shackles, so what justification could other officials have to stop it? Ian shook his head briefly, as if there was nothing else to say.

“And soon, a complaint will arrive at the Holin family.”

“A complaint?”

“A complaint from the Davion side. They’ve accused you of violating the Imperial Law. We’ll have to sort out the rights and wrongs in court, but are you okay with that?”

The judiciary was said to be fair, but it was still a department under the Imperial Family. Especially now, when the public outrage was clear, and there was no difficulty in proving the Holin family’s guilt.

Kyla looked at Ian with a cold face, and Ian spoke to her in a gentle tone, telling her not to look at him like that.

“The exact details will have to be determined according to the Imperial Law, but in the worst case, some of the Holin family’s territory may be confiscated. If that happens, you won’t get a single penny.”

“…I don’t understand your intentions.”

Kyla knew that if they followed the Imperial Law, the Imperial Palace would be the beneficiary of the confiscation of the territory. It was something the Magic Department would welcome with open arms. But she didn’t understand why he was giving her a heads-up like this and acting like he was going to help.

“Before that, transfer it to the Magic Department for the same amount you originally purchased it for. Then you can get your money back.”

Only then did Kyla realize that the price for the disposal of the infrastructure had not been set. So, the price of the territory he was talking about now included that.

“Blacksmiths are coming up from Laza Mountain. The war is just around the corner, so this is an opportunity I’m giving you under the judgment that it would be good to start as quickly as possible.”

They would get it for free if they waited, but no one could guarantee how long the trial process would take. It was judged that a hasty process was impossible due to the reputation of the judiciary and the attention of other central nobles, so he was telling them to cooperate.

“If you transfer the territory under these conditions, I will try to ensure that the trial proceeds smoothly.”

“…Didn’t you also coax Davion like that? Promising to help with the trial process. Then, Davion would have willingly put on the leash to cut us off.”

She had a good sense of things.

Ian nodded as if he was a little surprised, but he didn’t give any answer. He just stared at the teacup that had gone cold again.

Kyla also pondered for a while before finally parting her lips with difficulty.

“Guarantee one more thing.”

“What is it?”

“If the Holin family’s power falls, my competitiveness as a candidate for Empress will also fall. That’s like taking everything away from me. Don’t touch the general weapons business rights. I won’t interfere with whatever you do with the monsters or anything else.”

“A businessman speaks through the goods they sell. The Dera blacksmiths will arrive soon, so why don’t you go to the Imperial Palace with the best sword in your family? The one who survives the competition will become the Empire’s sword.”

Ian said that and got up. Just as he was about to turn around and leave, he remembered something and stopped.

“And young lady, this is a question I’m asking just in case.”

“What is it?”

“Is the Duke’s wife perhaps a Burgosian?”

“……!”

He was asking because of the deal they had made during the Burgos civil war, and because Kyla’s eye color and hair color were suspicious. For a fleeting moment, a look of bewilderment flashed across Kyla’s face, but she straightened her back and said nonchalantly.

“What are you talking about?”

“I’m just saying this because I’m worried. Don’t transfer the ownership of the territory to anyone outside. The moment that happens, whoever it is, this mansion will lose its owner again.”

Following the Haiman family.

Kyla didn’t react. Not until Ian left the drawing room.

Clatter.

Kyla grabbed the table and fell forward, slightly spilling the teacup. The hem of her dress was a little wet, but she didn’t care.

‘He definitely knew something.’

‘About her mother.’

“…Damn it.”

Kyla muttered a vulgar curse and tried hard to suppress her anger. She stared at the contract for a long time before calling for a servant.

“Where’s Father!?”

“Ah, he’s on his way in urgently…”

“Get the office ready. He needs to stamp it as soon as he arrives.”

“Yes, young lady.”