Margrave’s Bastard Son was The Emperor [EN]: Chapter 580

The brown hair, pulled back tightly under her helmet, and her gently curving eyes. Though she was a mess, covered in sweat and dirt, Ian recognized her immediately. It was the woman he had seen in front of the puppet show when he went on a covert mission with Jin. The woman who had appeared in Jin’s dreams countless times, replacing Roverside.

Aylin looked bewildered, wondering why the Minister of Magic had called for her.

“What is the matter?”

At Ian’s call, all attention focused on them. The Minister of Magic had personally stopped a low-ranking soldier, so there must be a good reason. Some soldiers rolled their eyes, wondering if it was because Aylin was a woman.

“Aylin?”

“Yes, that’s me.”

Aylin, huh. Ian felt like he had heard her name somewhere before.

He immediately noticed that the soldiers’ attention was intensifying as his silence grew longer, and at the same time, he found a fragment in the back of his mind.

“You were a soldier who fought in the northern battle, right?”

“Yes, that’s correct. I am one of the survivors.”

One of the soldiers who had fought against the northern demonic surge and returned alive by the grace of God. He had only confirmed the names of the survivors of the northern demonic surge later on a list, but he remembered her because she was the only woman’s name, which left a deep impression.

As Ian spoke, the soldiers let out small exclamations. Of course, someone who was a minister was different! He had recognized her out of tens of thousands of soldiers.

Some soldiers praised Aylin, adding their own words.

“Aylin was truly amazing. She was at the very front of the line. A soldier with incredible courage.”

“That’s right. She did her part even with severe injuries. A comrade worthy of emulation.”

“Hey, how dare you. That’s disrespectful!”

“Ah, I, I apologize.”

When a superior officer raised his voice in reprimand, Ian stopped him with a gesture. He needed more information about her.

“It’s alright. A soldier with such valor is a blessing from Bariel [a deity or divine power] and a treasure for His Majesty the Emperor. It is only right that you should try to praise her good points. I don’t mind, so don’t be too harsh.”

“Yes, Minister.”

“Yes. I heard that His Majesty himself came to commend your hard work. It’s good to see you like this.”

Ian mentioned the Emperor, watching Aylin’s reaction. If the two had met, there was no way he wouldn’t know. Jin would have told him.

But judging from the current situation, they had clearly missed each other.

“I was only doing my duty as a Bariel soldier, but they gave me wine and meat to comfort me. It was a true honor.”

‘She didn’t see him directly.’

As Ian’s eyes narrowed, Tweller also looked at Aylin with a questioning gaze. Ian Hiel, whom he knew, would not be standing here, holding a random soldier without a special reason.

It was not an appropriate situation to boost morale. There were not many soldiers around to make it a propaganda effect by directly comforting her. Besides, everyone was busy right now, ahead of an important scouting mission, right?

“Alright. I understand. Keep up the good work.”

“Yes, Minister. I will keep that in mind.”

After a moment of thought, Ian passed by her without taking any special action. The soldiers exchanged glances and made a fuss, and Aylin continued on her way to her shift.

Tweller watched Aylin’s disappearing figure in the distance, then matched his pace with Ian and whispered.

“Why is that? Is she an acquaintance?”

“Yes. A little. But it’s okay. Minister Tweller, please forget about our encounter just now and treat her like any other soldier. I know you would do that without me saying so, but this is a request based on my concern.”

By repeating the obvious, he emphasized that Aylin’s existence was special. It meant not to interfere but to keep an eye on her. Tweller understood Ian’s intention and simply nodded.

“Thank you.”

Ian smiled faintly.

The fact that Aylin was appearing in Jin’s dreams, replacing Roverside, was surely a sign of a destined connection. No matter how it unfolded, it was bound to bring about a positive change for Jin.

But, they had missed each other once?

‘Is it not the right time yet?’

It was God’s judgment that it was not the right time, and Ian agreed with that. What could a common soldier from a non-noble background do right now? It would not help Jin, nor would it help Aylin herself.

It was better to secretly watch her and only help when intervention was truly needed. Like God guiding the way with his fingertips.

“Minister.”

“Siao Shi. Did you feel the earthquake just now?”

At that moment, Siao Shi, who had been called, approached fully armed. It seemed that the night of rest granted to everyone else did not apply to Siao Shi.

“Yes. I felt it, but the exact location is unknown.”

“It’s because you’re a bit far away. I will organize a scouting party. You will lead them and return quickly.”

“Understood.”

Siao Shi bowed to Tweller and Ian, then led the soldiers away.

Soon, the sound of horses’ hooves echoed through the darkness. The residents cowered and looked outside, and Ian continued to watch Siao Shi and the soldiers gradually disappear. Then, Tweller spoke firmly.

“Don’t worry, Minister Ian. If something is happening, Siao Shi will inform us immediately.”

* * *

“Wow, shit. That woke me right up.”

Clutching her thigh, Barsabe muttered a curse through her teeth. At first, it had felt like it was on fire, but now warm, wet blood was constantly flowing down.

She swallowed hard and looked ahead. She had been prepared that she wouldn’t be a match, but she was now acutely aware that there was no way to win against a real gang-up. She should have at least pretended to listen when Beric was ranting.

“So, you’re that Imperial Guard magic swordsman from earlier.”

“Magic swordsman?”

At Rutherford’s words, his subordinates laughed mockingly. A magic swordsman who served the Emperor in the Imperial Palace looked too ridiculous in this state.

Barsabe felt a burning sensation as her face flushed, and she couldn’t help but swing her sword. In a place where only dim darkness existed, the blades clashed, creating sparks.

Clang! Clink!

Whoosh!

“No one who talks smack during a fight has a tongue left!”

“Is it because they’re all dead? Like you?”

“Yaaah!”

“You’re not just foolish, you’re arrogant! What do you think you can do alone!”

Crack!

The blade pushed right up to Barsabe’s face. She was blocking it with all her might, but the wounds on her abdomen and lower body were disrupting her balance.

‘Those bastards. They’re playing with me.’

Even though her back was completely exposed, no one was attacking. They had completely calculated their chances of victory and were trying to take revenge on her for the fall of Agiar.

‘If the enemy is careless, an opportunity will come.’

Barsabe focused on each and every move, remembering Jaylott’s teachings.

Swoosh! Slash!

“Aaaah!”

Then, she heard the opponent’s scream. She had cleanly sliced through his throat.

Her sense of accomplishment was short-lived, as a strange magical power was unleashed from behind.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Thud!

Then, another man grabbed Barsabe by the scruff of her neck and slammed her to the ground. She tried to explode her own magic to create a counter-reaction, but she was too weak. Even if they had both exhausted their magic in the battle of Agiar, there were many opponents, and Barsabe was alone.

A man roughly grabbed Barsabe’s hair and slammed her head into the ground several times.

“You’re not even worth using a sword on.”

“Kuh…”

Barsabe’s resistance was meaningless. Aside from the pain in her forehead, she felt so humiliated by having her hair grabbed that she wanted to die.

While the magic swordsmen were beating Barsabe, Rutherford was whispering something to the Toolun puppeteers. The puppeteers frowned as if they were questioning Rutherford’s words, but then nodded.

“It’s worth a try.”

“Good. Hey, stop it.”

“Die! Die!”

“Stop!”

The excited magic swordsmen, drenched in sweat, turned around. Their breaths were rough, and Barsabe was motionless.

“Is she dead?”

“No. She’s still breathing. It looks like she’ll die if we hit her just one more time. Should we cut off a piece and throw it off the cliff?”

“No. There’s a better way.”

At Rutherford’s nod, the puppeteers walked over and surrounded Barsabe. They took out sewing kits and such from their pockets, then nudged Barsabe’s face with their toes.

“Tsk. It’s completely crushed. Even if she lives, will she be able to return with a healthy body?”

“She’s not just a regular soldier, she’s a magic swordsman. If there’s a chance of recovery, we can’t throw her away. It’s a loss.”

“Well, that’s true. Ahem. Now, open your mouth. Oh? You don’t have any molars? Did you lose them just now?”

“But the gums have healed.”

“Rutherford, what are they doing?”

The magic swordsmen, wiping away their sweat, muttered, looking displeased at the puppeteers. They were suspicious and dubious, and even though they were on the same side, they were suspicious.

Rutherford calmed the magic swordsmen with a gesture, as if telling them to stay still.

“We’re going to make her into a puppet. We’ve made puppets out of human skin before, but I think this is the first time we’re trying it with a living person.”

“Yes, that’s right. I don’t know if it will work. If you use necromancy on a living person, it becomes difficult to clean up afterward. Didn’t this cause a controversy in Bariel before?”

“If you make her into a puppet, what, what will happen?”

“It means I can move her as I please. Even if it’s not possible because she’s alive, if we concentrate, we’ll see what she sees and hear what she hears.”

“Is that possible?”

“I’m holding a needle right now to make it possible, so can you shut up?”

Maybe the visual aspect will be a bit difficult. The puppeteer’s mental energy consumption is considerable when using their abilities, and it’s almost impossible to visually confirm with the tools they usually use. In this case, well, it’s obvious, isn’t it?

But hearing is different. I think we can look forward to that.

“Hehehe. I’m glad I oiled the needles yesterday.”

Disgusting bastards. The magic swordsmen frowned and whispered to Rutherford.

“Rutherford, shouldn’t we move first? The pursuit is still ongoing. That magic swordsman followed us all the way here. If there’s anyone else nearby, they must have sensed the magic from the fight just now. It’s even more likely they felt the vibrations.”

“Puppeteers. How long will it take?”

“It’ll be done soon. 10 minutes? I’m the best sewing artisan in Toolun, after all.”

“Where did Bagban go?”

“That guy’s dead, so I’m saying it.”

10 minutes. Isn’t that okay?

Rutherford turned to the magic swordsmen, and the puppeteers also turned their heads as if they had given up. They were just checking their pocket watches, watching the endless flow of time.

“Oh, and about the portal I mentioned earlier-”

It was just as he was about to mention what the Luswena mages would do in the future.

Suddenly, the surroundings seemed to brighten, and a hot heat rushed in. Surprised, they turned around and saw flames rising from below the cliff.

Whoosh!

The scene in front of them brightened instantly, as if it were daytime. Their vision, which had been accustomed to the darkness, was momentarily lost. They hesitated and covered their eyes with their arms, and then they felt a dull roar.

It was-

Thud!

“…What are you doing with your molars?”

Beric, who had flown up from the cliff, landed on the ground, causing the vibration.