Margrave’s Bastard Son was The Emperor [EN]: Chapter 622

Philia pursed her lips, gazing up at the people hanging like slabs of meat. Limbs dangled between the iron bars, decorating the ceiling like a giant chandelier. It was pointless to distinguish between the path and the floor. The listless people were scattered everywhere like broken objects.

Philia unknowingly gripped the bars tightly, her eyes darting around.

‘This is a slave market.’

It was her first time seeing one in person.

Although there were slaves in Bariel, they were managed by the state in designated areas. She had often heard that slave markets were held in the capital, but she had never considered going. Lost and wandering, she had settled near the red-light district, too busy trying to make a living.

“Oh, look over there. A blonde woman.”

“Is she new merchandise?”

“Hey! You with the cut ears? Where did you get that?”

“Don’t come closer. She’s not for sale yet.”

“How prickly. Don’t you take reservations?”

Philia glared at the approaching merchants warily. They were so greedy and dangerous that she was momentarily grateful to be trapped behind solid iron bars.

Philia strained her ears, hoping to hear the Bariel language amidst the incomprehensible chatter.

‘The slave market is quite large. To be this active, it must be near the capital of a country or a place where two or more countries border. I’ve been running for days… It’s safe to assume this is the capital of Tolun, right?’

She had thought it was a stroke of luck to encounter the bandits while being kidnapped by the puppeteer, but now she realized it was up to her. Philia decided it would be best to find someone who could speak Bariel and ask for an interpreter.

“Long time no see. How have you been?”

Just then, a familiar greeting reached her ears. It was Bariel! Philia jumped up and turned her head to the left, quickly shouting,

“Are you from Bariel? Please help me!”

“Why is she suddenly like that? Hey, be quiet! Or we’ll tie you up.”

“I’m the mother of the Minister of Magic! Please, just listen to me! I’ll reward you!”

“That’s it. Tie her up. She’s got a good set of lungs.”

“Please, help me! I’ll reward you! I can give you as much gold as you want!”

When the usually quiet Philia started shaking the bars and making a fuss, the cut-ear bandits stopped their donkey. They were about to pull out restraints from their pockets when-

“Ah, wait a minute. It seems like she’s doing this because of me.”

A young woman appeared, pushing through the crowd with a hearty laugh. She had been working in the Tolun slave market for a long time, as evidenced by the thick, worn notebook hanging from her side.

“You’re from Bariel?”

“Yes! I’m Ian Hielo’s mother, the Minister of Magic. I came here because of a problem, and if you send me back to Bariel, I’ll reward you. I swear. I left Bariel for another reason, so I won’t blame you for anything.”

“Proof?”

“P-Proof?”

Philia hesitated. If this person knew Ian’s face, she wouldn’t need proof. What could be more certain than the faces of the mother and son, who were like two peas in a pod? But Philia had nothing else to prove her identity.

“You can find out immediately by sending a letter to the Imperial Palace. If the Imperial Palace is too much, please allow me to write a letter to Lord Romandro, the Minister’s aide.”

“Listen, lady. There are tons of people here who claim to be the hidden children of some king or from noble families, spouting nonsense.”

“Isn’t it worth a shot? If it’s true, you’ll get a big reward, won’t you?”

The woman crossed her arms and looked down at Philia. She was definitely a valuable item just by being there.

The cut-ear men frowned and interrupted.

“Hey. What are you two talking about?”

“Ah, it’s nothing much-”

The woman hesitated for a moment, then smiled and closed her mouth. She wasn’t going to reveal that this woman claimed to be the Minister of Magic’s mother. There was no need to raise the price of the merchandise with unnecessary words.

“She says she wants to go back to Bariel.”

“Bariel? Was that what she was babbling about?”

“How much are you selling her for? There’s a customer looking for someone fluent in Bariel. I’ll give you a good price.”

“I’m not selling her yet. Try your luck at the auction later.”

She was a valuable item with high expectations. It would be more profitable to sell her at auction than through a regular sale. Nevertheless, the reason she was taking Philia through the market was to spread the word.

“I’m a bit short on time. How about fifteen gold coins?”

“No way. I’d rather not sell her at that price. I’m leaving.”

“Thirty coins.”

Tap.

The woman grabbed the bandit’s arm and added.

Look at that? Philia was beautiful, but was she worth thirty gold coins on the spot? The bandits glanced at each other, wondering what to do.

“Wait here.”

“As you wish.”

The bandits put cheap cigarettes in their mouths and glanced back and forth between Philia and the woman, whispering.

“Isn’t it better to sell her right away for thirty gold coins? It’ll be hard to get that much at auction if there are no big spenders.”

“Have you ever seen a merchant take a loss? I haven’t. She’s worth thirty coins, that’s why she’s offering it. Let’s not sell her.”

“I’m conflicted, should we tell her to talk later?”

The bandits’ conversation was drowned out by the noise of the market.

Philia watched the woman, who was constantly writing something down, trying to figure out what was going on. She didn’t know anything else, but it was clear that the woman hadn’t told the bandits about Philia’s identity.

‘She’s probably trying to buy me cheaper? If the woman helps me return to Bariel, it’s fine, but if not, it’ll be a problem. I won’t be able to predict where I’ll be going next.’

It wasn’t that the bandits were safe, but they hadn’t harmed Philia. Was it really beneficial to go along with this? Philia had to decide.

“Excuse me.”

It would be better to check with the woman. Philia carefully leaned forward and spoke to the woman.

The woman didn’t even look at Philia, only raising her eyebrows.

“Will you let me send a letter to Bariel?”

“Not without proof. It’s not just anywhere, it’s the Minister of Magic of the Imperial Palace, right? It’s too much of a burden to contact them directly in any way.”

“Th-Then what are you going to do with me?”

“I’ll send you to the Imperial Palace. If they sell you, that is.”

Philia was beautiful and fluent in Bariel. And it wasn’t a lie that there was a customer looking for such a person. There was a high-ranking official in the Imperial Palace looking for someone with those qualities.

The woman’s plan was to reduce the risk by handing her over to them, make a reasonable profit, and then wash her hands of it.

‘Even if she’s not the Minister of Magic’s mother, she’s still top-tier, so they’ll save face. What if she really is the mother? It would be like giving the Imperial Palace a diplomatic advantage, and I could make a lot more money.’

No matter how much she paid the bandits, she would get at least twice as much from the official.

As the woman hummed a tune, Philia’s heart sank. Send her to the Imperial Palace? Could the kidnapping of the Minister of Magic’s mother have been the work of mere bandits? They must have been acting on the orders of the Imperial Palace. Was she really going back there? If so, wouldn’t it negate the meaning of her lucky escape?

“Ah.”

It would be much safer to stay with the bandits. They were the ones who killed the puppeteer, so they must be on the run from the Imperial Palace. Just as she was running away from the Imperial Palace, the bandits had no choice but to do the same.

In other words, they were in the same boat.

‘That’s right! If the puppeteer was related to the Imperial Palace, they must have sent people to find me. If I buy some time, the bandits will realize this too.’

Philia calmly composed herself and looked around. Surely, there must be something to buy time.

A small window to escape this terrible hell where people were tied up and hanging like slabs of meat!

* * *

“Your Majesty, it’s Ian.”

“Enter.”

At Jin’s permission, the door slowly opened. Minister Tweller, who had arrived earlier, nodded in greeting, and Ian placed the report down, naturally sitting across from him.

In front of them was the reply from Tolun that had been sent earlier.

“I have read the letter. And I was just discussing it with Minister Tweller.”

“The Prime Minister of Tolun will have the soldiers bypass the area and advance, but the mages will enter directly.”

“That means the area is under the king’s influence, so there is a high possibility that there is a temple.”

“However, Minister Ian, with the situation in Hawan and Luswena being so unstable, wouldn’t it be unreasonable to send the entire Bariel army in Vergos to Tolun right away? Of course, I understand the situation with Lady Philia is unfortunate.”

Unlike the mages, the soldiers were unable to retaliate against the puppeteer’s attacks. It was better to move slowly, assessing the overall situation, rather than approaching with the expectation of a meaningless death.

This was a natural course of action, and Ian agreed.

“Of course. And no matter what happens in the future, any entry of Bariel soldiers or mages into Tolun needs to be done unofficially.”

If the Imperial Palace found out about Bariel’s movements, they wouldn’t know when or how the puppeteer’s influence would take hold. Even if they roamed inside the Imperial Palace, as long as the puppeteers didn’t know, there would be no problem or threat.

“Then, for the time being, we will reorganize our forces and observe the situation. We have given the Holin family a month’s grace period, so things should be settled within that time.”

“Yes, and that’s why I would like to make a proposal.”

“A proposal?”

Jin, who had been listening quietly, asked with a puzzled expression.

“Since Bariel has captured Vergos, they will assume that the Ministry of Magic is also stationed here, as His Majesty the Emperor is here. In fact, we have no plans to leave Kalamat for a month, and the Bariel soldiers are strong, so I was wondering if the Ministry of Magic could secretly scout Tolun.”

“Scout?”

“The area near the temple and the capital.”

The area near the temple was the responsibility of the mages anyway. But why the capital?

“There is a limit to gathering information by distributing wanted posters in Vergos. I think it would be better to go to the capital of Tolun, assess the overall situation, and directly spread the information that the Minister of Magic’s mother is being sought.”

“But isn’t that too dangerous?”

“We will move with a small elite group. We aim to return within a month, without even taking that long.”

Even if something happened, there was a portal, so there was no danger in going back and forth. The worst-case scenario was being discovered near the Imperial Palace. That area would definitely be the puppeteer’s stage.

“Ian, are you going yourself?”

“…Who else would I entrust my family’s affairs to?”

At Ian’s answer, Jin sighed inwardly. The Vergos side had already been taken care of. There were no urgent matters to deal with right away. If that was the case, as Ian said, everyone would assume they were all stationed in Kalamat, so it was the right time to infiltrate Tolun.

Jin rested his chin on his hand, frowning.

“Who will accompany you?”

“Commander Hale. And-”

“And?”

“If you allow it, I would like to take Beric as well.”

“He’s too reckless for infiltration, isn’t he?”

“But, he has a knack for finding people, doesn’t he?”

“Hmm. That’s true.”

He had to admit that he was better at finding people than a dog. Jin thought for a moment and added,

“Moving secretly will limit information gathering. It would be better to disguise your identities. How about taking Barsabe as well?”