Margrave’s Bastard Son was The Emperor [EN]: Chapter 621

It had been long since morning arrived in Tolun, yet there was no sign of movement from the king’s bedroom. The attendants were at a loss, unable to casually look upon his face or speak to him, and were merely wasting time standing there. Had it not been for the Prime Minister, who arrived with a letter, they would likely have remained that way until midday.

“Is His Majesty…?”

“He has not spoken.”

“…Open the door.”

Unlike the bright outdoors, the bedroom was dark due to the blackout curtains. Only a few rays of light barely penetrated the space above the bed. There, the silhouette of a child with white hair was visible, sitting up.

It was Kumasha, the king of Tolun.

The child was muttering something, but it was not easily heard. It seemed he had been awake for quite some time, yet he was still in his pajamas.

“Your Majesty?”

“Shhh.”

Kumasha gestured for him to be quiet without even looking at the Prime Minister. Upon closer inspection, the child was holding a doll. The connecting strings were all broken, and its limbs looked damaged, but the Prime Minister immediately recognized who the doll was connected to.

They were the puppeteers who had gone to Bariel. The ones who had gone to retrieve Ian Hielo’s birth mother, Philia.

“Ah, just live a little longer. Just turn your gaze.”

The child narrowed his eyes and kept shaking the doll. Judging by its condition, it seemed he had been doing this since he woke up. The Prime Minister stood behind him, patiently waiting for Kumasha to finish his business.

Not long after, the child’s lament was heard.

*Ting!*

The last string of the doll had snapped.

The death of the puppeteer. The Prime Minister had not heard anything about it, so he internally rehearsed what he should report to the king.

However, the child seemed to have no intention of assigning blame, and simply lay back, kicking his feet. In his enraged grip, the doll was crumpled as if it would be torn apart.

“Of all times, ah! Seriously!”

“Your Majesty. Are you alright?”

“The puppeteer who went to Bariel is dead. I noticed the strings were loose this morning, and I thought it was strange, but they were just unlucky. It seems they ran right into the Cut-Off Demons. It seems it was before they even entered Tolun.”

The child mumbled, letting his hair hang down from the bed. Seeing him lying upside down, he looked like a child, but the words he spoke were so cruel that it made one’s tongue curl.

“If they were going to die, they should have died right away. Because they died slowly, I was late to find out. Wouldn’t it have been better if I had known sooner?”

“Did you not see anything?”

“Just some bushes. Not enough for a clue.”

“How did you know it was the Cut-Off Demons?”

“The coachman was lying next to them. His ear was cut off, you know?”

The Cut-Off Demons were a band of thieves operating in the borderlands of Tolun. Most of them were former mercenaries hired by merchants traveling to and from Tolun. They operated in the underground world, based in the slave market, until they were defeated and driven out.

The name Cut-Off Demons was a double entendre, given because they appeared like ghosts, killed their victims, and cut off their ears. According to rumors, there was a reason why they did that, but Kumasha was not interested and did not think about it deeply.

‘It seems Philia was taken by the Cut-Off Demons. What should I do?’

Did they know Philia’s value? If they didn’t know she was Hielo’s mother, she would likely end up in the slave market.

As Kumasha pondered various possibilities, he suddenly noticed a letter in the Prime Minister’s hand.

“What is that?”

“It is a letter from Ian Hielo, the Minister of Magic of the Bariel Empire.”

Oh?

At the unexpected news, Kumasha jumped up. His disheveled white hair was sticking out like doll strings. The Prime Minister pretended not to notice and respectfully presented the letter.

-Greetings. I am Ian Hielo, Minister of Magic of the Great Bariel Empire. I apologize for this sudden letter. This is not an official letter from the Imperial Palace, but a request for cooperation from the Minister of Magic to Tolun.

Currently, an unidentified individual from Tolun has caused a disturbance in Bariel and is currently being held. This individual claims to be associated with the Tolun Royal Palace, so close cooperation from Tolun is necessary to verify the facts. If you permit, the Ministry of Magic will visit Tolun directly.

“Hmm.”

Kumasha narrowed one eye as he read the letter. It was full of vague content. Why was it the Minister of Magic, not the Imperial Palace, who made the request? What crime had the unidentified individual committed? There was no mention of anything.

“Did he send this as a request? The Minister of Magic? He didn’t seem that foolish.”

“It seems to be a ploy to test the waters regarding the puppeteer.”

“The unidentified individual refers to the puppeteer?”

“He must have heard about his mother’s disappearance, wouldn’t he? It is interpreted that the reason he came as the Minister of Magic, not the Imperial Palace, is for that purpose.”

“It could be Rutherford.”

The child smiled and looked at the Prime Minister.

Rutherford was an unidentified individual of unknown origin who had a base in Tolun, had intervened in the Bariel princes’ rebellion, and had caused great chaos with the supply of Idgar [a powerful magical substance].

“It’s definitely a ploy to test the waters. Whether we judge the ‘unidentified individual’ to be the puppeteer or Rutherford is up to us. Let’s see.”

But what to do? Kumasha held up the limp doll and smiled.

Wasn’t it a smokescreen that was so obvious? He had just seen the puppeteer lying dead in the bushes with his own eyes, so Ian’s claim that he had been captured was clearly a lie.

“It’s clear they haven’t found a clue about Philia’s disappearance. If we deny the puppeteer, they’ll claim the unidentified individual was ‘Rutherford,’ right?”

“I agree, Your Majesty.”

“We can’t deny our connection to Rutherford to some extent, but there’s no need to state our position on something that isn’t an official letter.”

The king’s puppeteers had a history of supporting Rutherford and going to Agiar, and Kumasha himself had once approached the true emperor through the eyes of the magic swordsman, Barsabe.

“The carrier pigeon had the Kalamat seal on it. It seems Bariel has successfully entered the capital of Vergos, which means their next destination is here, Tolun.”

In other words, it was a letter thrown out to justify an invasion.

If they refused cooperation here, it would strengthen the unidentified individual’s claim, and Bariel would become suspicious and forcefully advance to the Tolun border.

On the other hand, if they accepted cooperation, it would mean letting the mages into Tolun, and even the royal palace, which was an unacceptable risk. Unlike other ordinary people, mages were capable of splitting the earth with just one person, weren’t they?

“Then what should we do? Should we not reply?”

Kumasha smiled and tapped the paper, and the Prime Minister was silent for a moment.

“That is also one way.”

It was not stamped with the emperor’s seal, and it was merely a request for cooperation from a mere minister of the empire. Kumasha, the king of Tolun, had no obligation to reply.

“But if we do that, the next step is clear. A letter stamped with the emperor’s seal will come.”

“It’s just a way to buy time?”

“Yes. Acknowledge that you supported Rutherford, but reduce the justification by claiming that it was not your intention.”

“That we weren’t trying to help Rutherford, but rather providing aid for the relief of the people of Agiar?”

“Excellent.”

Kumasha tilted his head.

“Then, since we’re agreeing to Bariel’s request for cooperation, we’ll naturally have to open the doors of the royal palace, won’t we? Is it okay to bring the mages here?”

I’m not the only one, you guys have a lot to protect too, right? At Kumasha’s question, the Prime Minister bowed his head.

“It is naturally impossible to bring them into the capital, but if you think about it, this is an opportunity.”

Puppeteers could exert influence as long as they were given a background and a doll, no matter how far away they were.

Therefore, if they could just push the mages into a designated space, it would be an opportunity to harm Bariel’s main forces without even touching them.

“Hmm.”

It was perfect in theory, but would the mages not know that? Moreover, Ian Hielo was playing a leading role in the war, would he risk coming to Tolun?

“Since they probably won’t come even if we invite them, how about we let them come to Tolun as they wish?”

“That is too risky.”

“…Alright. Then let’s allow them to come only near Tolun and hold a meeting there. Prime Minister, send someone. Where would be a good place near the border?”

“The small city west of the capital, which we have already created as a background, would be good.”

To the west of the capital was Masantar, but to protect the temple, all the surrounding areas had been copied and made into backgrounds, making it suitable for luring and capturing the opponent.

“Okay. I understand. We need to find Philia, so let’s give ourselves a little more time. Send people to the slave market.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Kumasha hummed a tune and examined the torn doll.

Foolish Prime Minister. No matter how he thought about it, Ian Hielo did not seem like the type of person who would fall for such a simple trick. But the reason he was agreeing was to give that man a ‘mistake’.

Kumasha was the underground god and the king of Tolun, appointed by his vassals. To disrupt the foundation of the Prime Minister’s power, he had no choice but to use external forces.

* * *

“Commander Acorella! You didn’t bring your ID!”

“Oh, I forgot!”

“There are things you can forget, but how could you leave this behind?”

“What does it matter? I’m going to be with the soldiers anyway.”

It was the day Acorella, Chloe, and the soldiers were departing for the nearby high-grade magic stone deposit. Acorella had crammed his bag, which was bigger than his body, full of experimental equipment.

“But Commander, how are you going to carry that?”

“Am I going to carry it? Lady Chloe!”

“Yes!”

At Acorella’s call, Chloe naturally came running. The mages felt that something was wrong, but the two of them didn’t seem to care. It was as if they were doing something natural.

“It’s not a long distance to fly back and forth, so come if there’s a problem. Don’t cause any trouble, okay?”

“Oh my, what a worry!”

“How can we not worry? Oh? It’s a carrier pigeon.”

At the mage’s mutter, everyone looked up. A pigeon circled in the air with graceful wing movements, then lightly landed on Ian’s shoulder.

A letter was tied to its foot. Judging by the magic stone around its neck, it was a reply from Tolun.

“I-Is it a reply? That was fast.”

“I know. I thought they would ignore us.”

“I knew it would come. But I didn’t expect it to come so quickly. Ian, what do they say?”

Ian gestured for them to wait a moment and unfolded the letter. The content visible on the back was longer than expected. Ian’s eyebrows softened as he quickly read it.

“…The Prime Minister replied.”

“The Prime Minister! Suspicious!”

“Be quiet, Commander. Please read the room.”

“To summarize, they acknowledge that they supported Rutherford, but it was not intended to oppose Bariel, but rather for the survival of the people of Agiar. They are willing to cooperate, but it is burdensome to bring us into the royal palace, so they propose a meeting near the border. …They’ve set a rather long time frame.”

Ian tapped his fingertips and gave instructions.

“Map.”

“Ah, yes, yes.”

*Whack!*

Then, after examining the letter and the map, he muttered casually.

“The area they have designated for the meeting is definitely a space under the influence of the King of Tolun. It’s a long detour for the Bariel soldiers, and a place where we have to take risks.”

“W-What do you mean by taking risks?”

“It’s a place with a special influence in the vast land, so there’s a high possibility that there’s a temple. Coincidentally, it’s to the west.”

“Ah, that’s right. I’ll inform His Majesty and Minister Tweller.”

Ian nodded and added.

“…And more than anything, it’s hopeful.”

“Yes? What is?”

“They believe we have determined that the ‘unidentified individual’ is Rutherford, not the puppeteer, which means they are accurately aware of the puppeteer’s life or death. And one more thing. If we calculate the travel time from Bariel to Tolun and the date of Philia’s disappearance, it’s already past the time she should have arrived. But they’ve set a rather long time frame for the meeting. This means that Philia is not yet in Tolun, or more precisely, in the king’s grasp.”

Their kidnapping of Philia was definitely a ploy to lure or target Ian Hielo himself. But even though he had said he would willingly walk into their trap, they had set a long time frame, which meant they were not ready yet either.

Ian unconsciously recited the thoughts that kept popping up in his mind.

“…She must still be in transit. And judging by the fact that the transport is taking a long time, it’s clear that something has happened to the puppeteers.”