Margrave’s Bastard Son Was The Emperor [EN]: Chapter 582

“Hic!”

In the quiet of the night, when everyone was asleep,

Philia woke up in a cold sweat. Tears streamed down her face, and her heart pounded, but the nightmare that had just gripped her shattered and scattered in an instant.

What kind of dream was it?

It was a dream where someone died and she was weeping sadly.

Swoosh.

Philia got out of bed and took a sip of water from the table. It was the first time in her life she had experienced such a vivid nightmare. Even when she lived on the floor of Bratz [a poor district], she had never had anything like this.

It was just a dream, a meaningless one, and she tried to soothe herself by saying that she didn’t even remember it well. But she couldn’t fall back asleep, so she put on a jacket and left the bedroom.

Creak.

The second floor of Romandro’s mansion was now filled with traces of her and Roel.

The sight of flower petals decorating the walls, the pictures Roel and Bibi had drawn together, and their shoes neatly placed, made her feel a little calmer.

‘Are they sleeping well?’

Philia checked on Roel and Bibi, who were fast asleep in each other’s arms, and only then could she shake off the strange, eerie feeling. Yes. This was such a peaceful and stable daily life, so what on earth was making her afraid?

She was worried about Ian and his friends who were out on the battlefield, but it was okay. She could trust them. Ian would surely return alive, just like he did ten years ago, and His Majesty would achieve a complete victory.

“Oh my, honey. What’s going on at this hour?”

She was about to go back to the bedroom when she heard a voice. Vivianna, who had just woken up, was greeting Romandro, who had just returned home.

He had been practically living in the palace to guard the empty Magic Department, so why was he leaving work at this hour? Something must have happened.

Just as Philia was about to go down the stairs-

“Where is Mrs. Philia?”

“She’s sleeping upstairs.”

“Oh, okay. Just come here for a moment, Vivianna.”

Philia’s footsteps stopped abruptly at Romandro’s question about her whereabouts. The old Romandro would have mentioned Bibi first? Something felt strange.

Philia followed the two into the dining room, hiding her presence as much as possible.

“What’s wrong? Is something the matter?”

“Something the matter? Yes, there is.”

“Is it about Ian?”

Vivianna, who still seemed half-asleep, was startled and raised her voice. Romandro hushed her, pressing his finger to her lips, and then pulled a letter from his pocket.

“Vivianna, look at this. It’s a special letter from the Magic Department, and no matter how many times I read it, I don’t know if I’m reading the words correctly. His Majesty the Emperor said he would send a separate confirmation letter, but it hasn’t arrived yet.”

“What is it? The Bariel army has occupied Agiar and is now pursuing Rutherford… Oh my, that’s good news! And they say no one was hurt.”

“The problem is below that. The part Ian wrote.”

“Hmm…”

Philia pressed her back against the wall, clasping her hands together. What could it be that was making Romandro like this? Should she show herself now?

While Philia was pondering, Vivianna let out a puzzled groan.

“Huh?”

“I, I read it right, didn’t I? It’s not just me seeing it strangely, is it?”

“Ian was the Emperor 100 years in the future? What on earth does that mean?”

“That’s what I’m saying! What does this even mean!”

Philia’s eyes widened slightly. Her heart stopped, and time seemed to stand still.

Nevertheless, Romandro continued.

“I don’t know the details, but it seems that the Emperor from 100 years in the future, for some reason, possessed Ian’s body, or rather… Philia’s son’s body.”

“What, wait a minute, honey.”

“There’s also something about Ian being an illegitimate child, but this is just…”

Romandro scratched his head, looking at his wife in bewilderment. Ian, the illegitimate child, was the agent of God? He didn’t know if he should believe this.

But it was Ian’s own handwritten letter, with his seal on it, and the Emperor’s letter to prove it would arrive soon. Still, wasn’t the content itself too unrealistic?

“Well, honestly, if you think about it, Ian was a bit extraordinary. He knew a lot about the Imperial Palace, and he even knew things that we didn’t.”

He twisted his beard as he recalled his memories. Extraordinary? No. From the first time they met in Bratz ten years ago, he was already an untouchable child. It wasn’t just because he had the blood of a mage, but because he had the secret of being the Emperor from 100 years in the future.

“Geez, I didn’t know I’d regret not going to the battlefield. If Ian were in front of me, I would have asked him everything in detail.”

“So… are you saying that Philia’s Ian and the current Ian are different?”

“Yeah. That’s what I’m worried about right now. I don’t know how to tell Philia this. Judging by the fact that Ian didn’t add any extra words, it seems like he wants us to tell her, but will Philia be able to accept this? It would be better to tell her when there’s a more flexible situation.”

“I don’t know. No situation can lessen the shock. Her child has changed, you know.”

“Oh, dear. Well, no wonder he was a little awkward with Philia. I thought it was just Ian’s personality? And there was that incident in Bratz before.”

“His personality might be somewhat similar?”

Romandro gulped down cold water, calming his excited emotions. Then, the two looked at each other for a long time without saying a word, and then simultaneously put their hands on their foreheads and looked away.

Okay, that’s it. Anyway, for them, the Ian they first saw and the current Ian were the same person. It was just that the secret of him being the future Emperor had been revealed.

But for Philia, it was a completely different matter.

“How should I tell her this, really.”

Her child had changed. And it was just his mind that had changed, not his body. But could she say he wasn’t her child? He still had her blood, after all? Vivianna also had a child, so she could imagine the confusion Philia would be going through.

Swoosh.

Philia unknowingly took a step back and ran out of the mansion. Romandro and Vivianna turned their heads at the sound of the front door opening, but by then, Philia was already running across the garden.

“Haa, haa…”

No way, no way.

Philia ran as fast as her legs could carry her, without even wiping away the tears that were falling. Her thin slippers were torn right away, but she didn’t stop.

Could Romandro’s words be true? How could she understand that her son, Ian, was not actually Ian?

“Hic…”

She grabbed the corner of an alley and let out the breath that had risen to her throat, along with her tears.

Was the child who had smiled brightly at her when he was young gone now? Was the child who had snuggled into her arms and whispered that he loved his mother gone from the world?

“In this world where it’s hard to live alone, thank you for taking me in. Now, please only seek your mother’s happiness.”

But suddenly, Ian’s voice whispering to her at the engagement ceremony came to mind.

What she had felt then was definitely a warm, overflowing emotion. A kind of emotion that she could never feel unless it was her own son.

Philia brushed her hair back and her eyes trembled.

‘I have to meet Ian.’

If she met him, maybe the confusion would lessen a little. And she could think anew about the Ian she had given birth to and the Ian who existed now.

Philia roughly straightened her disheveled hair and clothes and looked around. It was an alleyway filled with dark shadows and silence.

“Ah.”

Oh, no. She had run too far in a daze at this late hour. She thought she should hurry back and turned around-

“Mom.”

A thin, faint voice grabbed Philia.

She was startled and turned around, and soon something appeared in the darkness of the alley.

“Mommy.”

‘A doll?’

A small doll was walking towards her all by itself?

How on earth was it moving? For a moment, Philia was puzzled, but she instinctively sensed danger and took a step back, watching the doll.

It looked familiar somehow. The rough straw hair was blonde, and the opaque, cheap green gem represented green eyes. Philia immediately recognized that it was modeled after Ian.

“Wh-what is it!”

How dare you, Ian!

Philia, filled with fear, looked around and shouted, and then she looked up at the giggling laughter she heard.

“… !”

Whoosh!

A human figure hanging upside down on the top of the building. As soon as she recognized it, a black cloth fell over her.

“Please save me! Save, ugh!”

The man landed lightly and covered Philia’s mouth, holding her down until she fainted.

When Philia’s violent resistance stopped, he nodded in satisfaction. Following his movements, the doll also began to clap and dance.

“Now it’s done!”

“Did the nightmare work?”

Another doll sitting on the man’s shoulder opened its mouth wide and repeated his words. It looked similar to the one walking on the ground, but its hair was a little longer. It was a doll made to look like Philia.

Swoosh.

The man looked around with a cheerful gesture, checking once again that there were no witnesses, and then dragged the black cloth away into the darkness.

In the deep night, the only witness was a stray cat.

* * *

Screech!

Siaosi lowered his body lightly and pulled the reins of his horse sharply. The soldiers following him scattered to the left and right with shouts, and immediately cornered Rutherford’s group, surrounding them.

Siaosi slashed the back of the puppeteer who was trying to escape at the front. At the same time, he easily avoided the magic power that the magic swordsman was unleashing. The enemy’s power was now almost depleted. Siaosi could clearly see its trajectory.

“Commander Jayrut, are you alright?”

“Of course.”

It was a bit tricky that there was a mage mixed in with the enemy, but the arrival of reinforcements was enough to shake them up. Siaosi, as if he knew it, announced it openly.

“Additional reinforcements will arrive soon. It’s not far away.”

Jayrut chuckled and looked up at Siaosi. He had saved him once when he was on the verge of death, but now the situation was completely reversed? Time was so funny and amazing.

“Can you handle the magic swordsman?”

Jayrut turned his body towards the mage and asked. It was a signal for Siaosi and the soldiers to hold the magic swordsman, as he, the magic swordsman, would deal with the mage.

Siaosi gripped his sword, saying that there was no problem.

“Beric is useful at times like this.”

“Haha! That’s right!”

The body he had trained with Beric, the power he had built up to protect the Emperor. He could stop a magic swordsman whose magic power was depleted. Definitely. Siaosi said so with conviction and got off his horse.

“By the way, where are the others?”

“Nakina is escorting Barsabe, and Commander Hale and Beric went down the cliff. To chase Rutherford.”

Down the cliff? An area where support was impossible.

Siaosi nodded and straightened his posture, and then clashed swords with the magic swordsman who was attacking him.

Clang! Clang!

He was not pushed back at all in terms of strength. Rather, it was the magic swordsman who was trembling. Siaosi, who he faced after already having exhausted a considerable amount of stamina, was by no means an easy opponent.

Clang!

Boom! Boom!

And again, as Siaosi was making his moves-

Several pillars of light shot up in a straight line from the gap in the cliff. Their own battle was also taking place below.