Margrave’s Bastard Son was The Emperor [EN]: Chapter 541

At Ian’s signal, the attendant swung the doors open. Instantly, a stench of blood filled the air. Acorella, who had been casually perched on the table, waved cheerfully when she saw Ian.

“Oh, you’re here?”

With a cigarette dangling from her lips, her legs swung back and forth. Her posture was no different from a street thug hanging out at a back alley bar. Romandro, who had entered with her, asked with a displeased look.

“Why are you sitting like that?”

“Ugh, don’t even ask. It was so exhausting. Is the coronation over? It seems like people are starting to leave.”

“It’s mostly wrapped up, and His Majesty has retired to his chambers.”

“Oh, His Majesty. It really hits home now.”

“What about Repin? You didn’t kill him, did you?”

“Of course not. I’m not an amateur. He’s in a state similar to death, but he’s still breathing. Over there.”

Acorella flicked her cigarette, pointing towards the bed. Repin lay there, almost completely drained, like a corpse. Dried bloodstains were evident around his mouth, and upon closer inspection, a few of his front teeth were missing.

Romandro was shocked and turned to Acorella, who just shrugged as if to say she was innocent.

“That wasn’t me. He was just freaking out and fell, breaking them himself.”

Whether that was true or not was anyone’s guess.

Romandro carefully lifted his upper lip to check the injuries, while Ian picked up the report in front of her. It was a vivid record of torture, or rather, interrogation.

“So, what did he say?”

“In my opinion, it would be good to interrogate the others the same way as Repin. He was spouting such unreliable nonsense.”

She paused to gather her thoughts, then blew smoke towards Repin.

“There are a total of about fifty illegally crossbred dragons.”

“What? Aren’t there only about fifteen officially managed in Luswena right now?”

“Yes. Even ten years ago, during the Hyman incident, it was expected to be just a few, but the number is surprisingly high. It seems the authorities actively promoted crossbreeding. According to Repin, that bastard, his uncle was in charge.”

“Wait a minute. How many suits of black armor can be made from one dragon? Ian, do you know?”

Ian paused at Romandro’s question, then nodded. He was recalling the contents of a report he had read before.

In fact, how many suits could be made from one dragon wasn’t a crucial issue. They had ten years.

“It varies slightly depending on the size of the dragon and the manufacturing method, but it’s easily possible to produce about ten suits of black armor per dragon per year. If there are fifty dragons, that’s 500 suits a year, and if that’s been going on for ten years, that’s a total of 5,000 suits.”

“F-five thousand suits of black armor.”

Romandro vividly remembered the power of the black armor. During the rebellion, the Imperial Guard Commander had died because of it, and Viviana and Beric had also narrowly escaped death.

Ian quietly added,

“That’s assuming it takes a year for a dragon’s scales to regenerate. If the regeneration cycle is reduced to a few months, the number would increase even more.”

“This, this is a big problem, isn’t it? Even the Imperial Guard Commanders couldn’t easily face that armor. But if there are thousands of them prepared, uh-oh.”

This is a big problem! A big problem!

As Romandro clutched his temples in despair, Acorella pulled out a new cigarette. As if to say, it’s not over yet, calm down and keep listening.

“There’s an even bigger problem.”

“What, what else is left?”

“During the crossbreeding process, dragons that awaken their killing abilities are sometimes born. Like Kyu.”

“Kyu, like Kyu?”

“But they didn’t know Kyu was one of those. They just peeled off his scales and threw him away, thinking he was dying, which is a total mess for Luswena.”

Ian read Acorella’s report and quietly asked,

“What’s the possibility that they’ll mobilize those dragons in the war?”

“It’s quite high. I think if Bariel uses Kyu for propaganda, Luswena would try to bring in their dragons as well.”

“Wait! So, Luswena anticipated our reaction?”

“They even considered that we might exploit the loophole in the agreement that Kyu isn’t a purebred dragon. Instead, they seem to have painted a picture where they have killing abilities and we don’t. But that failed because of Kyu.”

“I-Ian! Then we shouldn’t bring dragons to the battlefield, should we?”

Ian quietly shook his head.

Luswena was already planning to bring dragons with killing abilities, including black armor, to the battlefield. So, whether Kyu was there or not, the killing dragons would surely be deployed depending on the balance of power.

“Since Luswena’s national fate is at stake, they will use every means to reverse the situation if they are pushed back. It’s an indispensable weapon for Luswena, which lacks mages.”

“Oh, our soldiers, what will happen to them? This is a real problem.”

On the ground, black armor would be rampant, and in the sky, dragons would be flying around. Ian carefully folded Acorella’s report and put it in his inner pocket, then gestured to hurry out.

“Romandro, we need to meet with the Imperial Guard Commanders. We need to discuss the black armor.”

“Ah, right! I’ll send a message right away.”

“Acorella, clean up here and take charge of the other Luswena delegation.”

“Yes, as you command.”

Acorella playfully raised her hand to her chest in a salute.

“But aren’t we leaving tomorrow? We’re moving with His Majesty, right?”

“That’s right.”

“Ah. So, finish up the work by then? Yes, yes. I almost got complacent for a moment. I’ll quickly write another report and come back.”

“Acorella.”

“Yes?”

Ian, who was about to leave, stopped and turned back to her. He wanted to remind her again, just in case.

“Make sure to pack enough magic amplifiers and recovery potions.”

“Don’t worry. I have enough to die from eating them.”

The mages’ stamina was not the same as before due to the coronation. They would probably just be resting and letting the procession carry them for a few days.

Acorella made a circle with her finger, telling him not to worry. As Ian and Romandro left, she put out the rest of her cigarette and got up.

“Okay, then-”

She stretched out! She staggered for a moment because her injured ankle was unbalanced, but she shouted cheerfully.

“Let the next Luswena test subjects come in!”

“Yes, I’ll bring them right away.”

“Alive, fresh. Good!”

After going through biological experiments, the side effects were often surprisingly improved. The problem so far had been that there weren’t suitable subjects. Everyone was so precious and ran away, oh my!

“Oh, there was also a mage, what should we do with him?”

“A mage? Ah.”

“Did he say anything?”

“Ah, no. There were no special instructions.”

“Really? That’s a shame.”

He was a mage, even if he belonged to Luswena. Wasn’t he a being connected by the love of God? Zaira and the Luswena-affiliated mages had tried to persuade him, but it seemed they had failed. Acorella ruffled her hair, genuinely disappointed.

“Tsk tsk, bring him along. It’s good in a way. It’s been a long time since I’ve done this with a mage.”

“Yes. I understand.”

The attendants hurried out, and Acorella stared at Repin, who was sprawled on the bed. She smiled briefly. Then, she grabbed his mustache with all her might and shouted.

*Tear!*

“Get up! Don’t just lie there!”

* * *

It was night. A night that had come after a long time.

Everyone in the Imperial Palace felt that the coronation was over and looked up at the sky. The endless daylight was also amazing and fantastic, but the night that came after the long day was also beautiful and wonderful.

*Clatter clatter!*

*Neigh!*

Ian’s carriage arrived in front of the Imperial Palace main building.

Jin’s residence had been moved from the Crown Prince’s Palace to the main palace, and the Imperial Guard was originally near the main palace. Ian naturally walked up the stairs and entered.

“Is His Majesty asleep?”

“It seems so, as he has been awake for almost two days.”

“Then, let’s meet Commander Jayrut first.”

“Yes, I will guide you this way.”

The attendant in charge of the main palace bowed slightly and walked ahead.

Tomorrow, the Emperor would also leave the palace and head to the battlefield. Everyone was busy preparing for the departure.

The fact that the Imperial Guards were all gathered in the main building, not the training grounds, was proof of that. They seemed busy with their own preparations, spending their last night in the palace.

“Oh, isn’t that Minister Ian Hielo? Hello.”

“Yes. You’ve been working hard.”

“Did you come to find Beric? He’s getting punished in the back right now.”

“…No, I came to meet Commander Jayrut.”

“Is that so? You’ll have to go that way anyway, the commanders are all over there. I’ll guide you from here.”

The guard gestured to the main palace attendant to leave the guidance to him, and the two followed him. Romandro, who had been watching quietly, couldn’t hold back and spoke up.

“By the way, why is he being punished today?”

“Ah. Earlier, he was sparring lightly with Commander Jayrut, and they agreed not to use weapons, but he drew his sword first. He got his head cracked open and is now doing headstands.”

“Ha! It’s driving me crazy how he does that every other day. If getting punished was a job, Beric would be a medal winner.”

“Hahaha. That’s right. He got severely scolded not too long ago, right?”

“That dragon thing, uh-huh. I almost fainted and died watching from the side.”

In the distance, Beric was actually doing headstands. Around him, the guards were sitting freely, polishing their swords and preparing their armor, focusing on their departure preparations.

“Commander! The Minister of Magic has arrived.”

“Are you busy?”

“No. Well, except for a crazy dog making a ruckus, I’m fine.”

“Ian-ah!”

Jayrut glanced at Beric, who was barely rolling his eyes while doing headstands, and muttered. Ian just smiled, telling him to ignore it.

“Please, sit down. You’ve worked hard at the coronation.”

“Yes, everyone has worked hard.”

“But, what brings you here?”

“I just received information from the Luswena side. It’s about the black armor, and it’s estimated that there are a considerable number of them.”

*Swish.*

Ian handed over Acorella’s report as it was. Jayrut reacted reflexively to the word ‘black armor.’ He stroked his chin, looking troubled.

“Five thousand suits.”

“Commander Jayrut knows better than anyone that ordinary soldiers cannot handle them.”

“Yes. I know. How could I forget that?”

“The only way to stop them is with mages and magic swordsmen, but I came here to hear if you have any suggestions. We won’t face them tomorrow, but it’s a danger we might encounter anytime after crossing the border.”

“…Based on past experience, if I and six of my men strike at the same time, we could break the helmet. We haven’t been neglecting our training, but if the black armor has also improved during that time, things will be different-”

“The scales of the presented dragon were severely damaged. If the quality decreases as we acquire more, the quality of the black armor will also decrease. But yes, I can’t say anything until I see it myself.”

“If you’re talking about the presented dragon, is that the one Beric was riding? Does it have a name? I was going to suggest it to the Magic Department, as they are in charge of it. Unlike mages who are skilled in flight, magic swordsmen have limitations in jumping-”

“It’s called Kyu, I believe.”

“Pardon?”

At the same time Jayrut asked in surprise, Beric raised his head sharply and looked at Ian. The Imperial Guard members who were passing by did the same.

“It seems Acorella named it that.”

“Ah, yes…”

“Ian-ah! What did you just say? What’s his name?”

“…Kyu?”

Ian turned to Beric, raising an eyebrow as if asking why he was asking such a silly question.

Beric clutched his stomach and flipped over, and the Imperial Guard members pretended not to hear and went on their way. Romandro also covered his mouth with his hand and froze.

“Ian, what? Kyu? Kyuu?”

“……”

“Damn, I’ve lived to see him say Kyu Kyu! Oh my, I’ve lived a full life! I have no regrets even if I die now! Hahahaha!”

“……”

Ian realized he was being teased by Beric, and then gave a bright smile and threw a small stone.

“Huh?”

“Keep doing what you were doing, Beric.”

“What’s this?”

For Beric, who was looking back and forth between the stone and Ian with a puzzled expression, Romandro explained while holding back his laughter.

“That, Beric. Don’t do headstands on the ground, do it on the stone. Uh-huh. Do it hard. With all your might.”

Ugh, that’s why you have to be perceptive!

Oh