Margrave’s Bastard Son was The Emperor [EN]: Chapter 532

Unlike the grand banquet hall, the Magic Department was quiet. Only two mages were on duty, just in case Lusweena decided to visit.

The head of the department, Acorella, and his aide were sitting on a mat in the back garden, enjoying the brightened sky. It was their masterpiece, after all, and it was quite a sight.

Acorella lay back, muttering,

“What a waste of a good day, just sitting here on standby. Damn it, I should be running experiments.”

“It can’t be helped. We don’t know when Lusweena’s people will arrive, so a department head has to wait and greet them in place of Ian.”

“You gonna stay here? I’m gonna pop into the office for a bit.”

“No, you can’t. I’ll tell Ian if you leave your post. You’re going to do experiments, aren’t you? Once you get started, you lose track of day and night. Can you even maintain the daylight?”

“Hey, who’s the superior here?”

“You are, Acorella.”

“Right. You know it. You’re a pain in the ass, though.”

Acorella ruffled his hair and rolled around. He wanted to give up, but it wasn’t that easy. There were magic stones that were affected by day and night or the weather, and if he missed today, those experiments would never see the light of day.

‘Damn Lusweena. What the hell is taking them so long?’

“Bastards. I should just let them fall and catch them right before they die.”

“Well, I won’t stop you if you want to write a report. But I’m not taking any responsibility.”

“Ugh, fine. Go get the stuff from the lab.”

“Huh? What’s that?”

Acorella was about to list the items for his errand when the mage suddenly stood up and looked at the sky. Acorella narrowed his eyes, not falling for it, and punched the mage in the calf.

“Don’t try to change the subject, hurry up! The second shelf in the cupboard and the frozen Luron crystal below it. Cytomark, Galen, and-”

“Chief, they’re here!”

“What the hell!”

“It’s Lusweena!”

They were supposed to arrive just before the portal closed, so what nonsense was this? ‘Ugh, if he fell for it, he’d lose.’ The acting was good, so he’d give him that. Acorella turned his gaze suspiciously, and then froze, standing up.

“That…”

“Ch, ch, chief. Should I go get Ian?”

“Oh, crap!”

What slowly emerged from the black moon was not a carriage, but a ‘creature’.

A sleek, angular snout and ivory horns on its forehead.

A body covered in red scales and wings extending from its back.

“Is that… a monster?”

“…It’s a dragon.”

Whoosh!

The dragon, now fully visible, spread its wings wide and soared into the sky. Acorella immediately noticed that it had something like a chain around its neck, and then realized that the end of it was connected to a carriage.

In the place where a horse should have been, there was a dragon.

“Chief!”

“Damn it, let’s go!”

Whoosh!

Their first task was to safely receive the carriage. The two took a stance to fly, but soon realized it was futile.

The carriage, which had fallen from the sky, maintained its balance as if it were on the ground. There must be a mage within the Lusweena delegation besides them.

Whoosh!

“Uwaaa, they’re coming. They’re coming…”

“Shut up, you! Stop being so dramatic.”

The mage mumbled, sticking close behind Acorella, who then scolded him.

The carriages landed smoothly as if they were following an invisible road, and the dragon calmly folded its wings. Up close, it was almost the size of a house, and its presence was overwhelming.

Squeak.

“Are there so few mages in Bariel?”

“Welcome. I am Acorella, head of the Magic Department. The banquet is currently underway, so there are few to greet you. I hope you understand.”

It was the guy Elderte sent in his place. A skinny figure with dull eyes. Even if he overlooked his late arrival and attitude, the most annoying thing was-

‘That vile mustache. Damn it.’

It was a bizarrely shaped mustache that made him wonder how he grew it. Acorella fixed his gaze on the mustache and asked,

“By the way, what is that dragon?”

“Ah, don’t be so surprised! It’s a gift from His Highness Elderte to His Highness the Crown Prince for his enthronement! Hahaha! It’s a shame that there isn’t a single dragon in Bariel, so he sent a precious and sturdy one.”

Thud!

The man roughly patted the dragon’s head and burst into laughter.

To treat a sacred creature like that? It was a dangerous act, and the subordinate mage flinched, but the dragon, tamed by domestication, only snorted a few times and showed no other reaction.

“How is it? It must be the first time you’ve seen one.”

He looked at Acorella triumphantly, expecting some great admiration, but Acorella just crossed his arms silently.

The mage sensed that something was amiss. He quickly activated a summoning spell and whispered, grabbing the chief’s sleeve.

“Chief. Hold it in. Hold it-”

“I said I’m Acorella, head of the Magic Department, just now.”

“Huh? Yes. I heard you.”

Crack. A vein popped out on Acorella’s temple.

“Does Lusweena not have a culture of introducing themselves?”

“Wh, what?”

The mage was horrified and squeezed his eyes shut. The madness in Acorella’s eyes, which was usually half-crazed, was now blazing. It seemed that his reason had flown far, far away.

“We stated our affiliation and names, but since we didn’t get a response, I wondered if you were really from Lusweena.”

Woo-oong.

If they weren’t guests, they were intruders into the imperial palace and subject to immediate execution. Acorella emitted a murderous aura and created magic orbs in both hands, causing the man to step back.

“I, I am Repin, the representative of the Lusweena delegation.”

“So you are a guest. It seems there’s a mage with you.”

“Y, yes, one!”

Why was he being so rude? Acorella frowned, and Repin brought someone forward. It was a young boy. He must be a new mage discovered in Lusweena after the war. They probably brought him to show that Lusweena also had magical power in the war.

Acorella nodded and ordered,

“The mage must equip a magic sealing stone. Only then will I allow entry to the palace.”

“Come this way first.”

“Mr. Repin.”

“Yes. Go on! Go on!”

The mage took the boy and moved towards the main building of the Magic Department, while Acorella still looked displeased and turned to the dragon. He sighed involuntarily.

“Haa.”

“It’s the most beautiful one in Lusweena. It’s a free loan for about ten years, so Bariel will have time to research and understand dragons. This is a value that cannot be converted into gold, so His Highness Elderte has given Bariel a gift for the future.”

As soon as he heard that, Acorella glared at Repin. Those Lusweena bastards were always good at playing tricks with tribute, just like before.

‘Where are they raising this thing?’

Unlike Lusweena, which had hatcheries and breeding grounds, Bariel had no facilities for dragons. Was it just the facilities? They had no knowledge or experience in management and breeding. It wasn’t going to be cheap, so when would they build the facilities before the war, and who would they entrust the work to?

‘Besides, it’s only ten years, not indefinite. Once we invest and get it going, they’ll take it back, leaving us in a mess. And what if it dies in the middle? It could be a diplomatic issue, no, an international issue. Damn it.’

They were talking about the most beautiful dragon with fancy words, but when they checked it later, it would surely have health problems. And above all, after all the trouble he had with the dragon scales, this was just…

“Ahem. Shall we go straight to the banquet hall?”

Curses rose to the tip of his throat, but Acorella barely managed to hold them back with superhuman self-control. This bastard, did he know who was in the banquet hall? He was dead now.

“Okay. Let’s go. Wait a bit until your mage comes.”

Acorella gestured as if to prepare, and Repin and the Lusweena attendants got back into the carriages.

The dragon, who was just blinking, scratched its snout with its front paw.

* * *

“Ian, we just received a call. The Lusweena delegation has arrived.”

“Who greeted them?”

“Chief Acorella.”

“I see. They will be guided here, so prepare.”

“Yes. But… the call is a bit strange.”

Ian, who had been carefully watching the banquet hall, raised an eyebrow. It was suspicious that they had arrived earlier than expected, but if the call signal was strange, it meant there was a problem from the very beginning.

Ian nodded in understanding and ordered the mages to prepare. Then, without moving, he continued to watch Shatima, who was facing Jin, or rather, the Hawan side.

“…Therefore, I would like to congratulate you once again.”

“Yes. Tell the King of Hawan. I wish him a speedy recovery. And that there are many excellent doctors in the center.”

“…I will convey your words as you have said.”

“You may leave.”

At Jin’s order to conclude the audience, Shatima bowed and stepped back. Her attendants approached and held the hem of her dress, and among them was the woman who had entered with Ian. Shatima noticed that she had returned and gave her a subtle look. It was a look that seemed to scold her, but also had a hint of anger.

Romandro, who was looking at Ian, asked,

“That woman from earlier? Are you worried about her?”

Ian just sipped his drink and nodded.

After the audience, Shatima left the banquet hall under the pretext of adjusting her dress, and Ian signaled to the mages and followed her.

Squeak.

Thud!

The waiting room given to the VIPs was tightly locked. Shatima made sure that no one was inside and growled softly.

“I told you not to act foolishly.”

“I’m sorry. The investigation team’s building wasn’t far from here, so I went there for a moment.”

“Why there?”

At Shatima’s urging, Erica lifted her veil and showed her face. She looked clearly embarrassed.

“Before I went down to the border, I left a photo in my old place. It’s the only family photo I have, so I wondered if it was still there.”

“There’s no way it would be!”

It had been ten years. And she was a public official of the imperial palace who had been left in limbo because she had not completed her mission. There was no way her position would still be there.

“Yes. So, it took me a while to look around the lost and found storage inside. Since the situation is what it is, there was no one in the building. I went carefully, so don’t worry. I’m sorry for causing you concern.”

“This is Bariel, not Hawan.”

“I will keep that in mind.”

Shatima sighed and stroked her forehead with her long nails. Since she was choosing the path of revenge, it was better to refrain from further nagging. She waved her hand and said,

“Go get some new accessories.”

“Yes, I understand.”

The accessories were the height of splendor for the audience. They were so heavy that her neck and shoulders were stiff, so it was time to change to something lighter.

Squeak.

Erica went outside and gave orders to the attendants. Then, she turned around.

“Excuse me.”

“……!”

It was Ian.

Erica was so surprised that she froze, having not felt any presence at all. Their eyes met, and for a moment, Erica wondered if she had not covered her face. She unconsciously raised her hand to feel the veil, and only then did she feel relieved.

“Do you need something?”

“Ah, no.”

“You seemed to be looking for something. Like, for example-”

“It’s okay.”

Erica bowed her head and tried to quickly pass Ian.

But the words that followed strongly grabbed her ankle.

“Like the corpse of Merina Chell?”