Margrave’s Bastard Son was The Emperor [EN]: Chapter 623

“Ian! Where are we going?”

Bang!

Beric suddenly threw the door open, causing the mages to stop and turn to look at him. It had been quiet for a few days, but seeing his good complexion, it was clear he had been hiding somewhere, eating and resting.

Ian nodded, packing some clothes and other items into a small travel bag.

“Tolun.”

“Whoa, why there all of a sudden? What’s going on?”

“We’re going to find out what’s going on. Beric, pack your things too. By the way, there’s no need to bring food. Tolun is a prosperous country.”

At that moment, Hale, with a cigarette in his mouth, appeared, also dragging a travel bag. It was a bit bigger than Ian’s, and the mages knew what was inside without even looking. It would be cigarettes and the amplifiers that Acorella had left behind.

“I heard Commander Hale is going too? It’s true.”

“Yeah, yeah. Take care of me, Beric.”

“Does that mean don’t cause trouble?”

“Ian, sir. Beric’s been listening to instructions very well lately. They say even dogs understand when they live with people for a long time. It’s amazing to see it in person.”

“Damn it! Who are you calling a dog?”

“Speaking of which, sit down. I’ll tell you the purpose and schedule before we leave.”

Beric sprawled on the sofa, crossing his legs, and Hale unfolded a small map. It was a map of Tolun.

“We will open a portal near the capital of Tolun, in a place where there are few people, and move from there. We must move quickly late at night to minimize exposure, as it shouldn’t be known that Bariel’s mage has come to Tolun. According to the map, it’s here. It’s suitable because it’s away from residential areas and connected to the road leading to the capital, but-”

“But?”

“The map is so old that I can’t be sure. If there are any witnesses during the move, we have to deal with them.”

“Hmm. Okay. I understand.”

While Hale was explaining things to Beric, Ian was busy looking in the mirror and tidying his clothes. Just as he was about to touch his hair, the mages waved their hands, turning Ian’s attention to them. They knew that if Ian styled his hair alone, it would look like a cow had licked it.

“It will take about half a day to get from the portal to the capital. The time it takes to return to Kalamat is undecided. It could be done in the capital, or we could return to the starting point and open the portal again. Everything is flexible, and we’ll decide according to the situation.”

“How long will we be there?”

“At most a month. We have to return within that time. If we think the purpose has been achieved to some extent, we’ll return midway.”

“So, what is that purpose? Is it to cut off the head of the King of Tolun?”

“The capital is in the palm of the King of Tolun’s hand. It’s like a huge stage he created. Beric, if you act recklessly, you’ll get a hole in your head first. So, keep that in mind. There are only three things we want to know-”

Hale counted on his fingers as he spoke.

“The Western Temple. The situation in the Tolun Royal Palace. And the whereabouts of Philia.”

“Philia? Is Philia there?”

“We don’t know. We only assume that there was a problem during the transfer of the puppeteers. The purpose of this infiltration is to confirm this in detail.”

“Question!”

Beric thought for a moment and then raised his hand.

“Does Tolun not have a central defense force like Bariel? We need an ID to enter the capital. What will we use?”

“That’s a good question, Beric. Therefore, we will do something called disguise. We’ve set the situation as a fallen noble from Bariel, who is returning to their home country after managing and closing a trading company.”

“Oh, a fallen noble. Then am I a young master?”

Beric’s eyes sparkled as if he was slightly dreaming, looking around. Look at this! I’m a noble now!

“Wake up. You’re a bodyguard.”

“Huh? Then what about Commander Hale?”

“The head of the family. With two children.”

Two children? Beric looked at Ian, puzzled, and he nodded towards the door. His sister was coming.

“Excuse me.”

“…Tooth?”

It was Barsabe, wearing a long dress. She was still covering her eyes with an eye patch, and she looked very uncomfortable. I can say for sure that she has worn a dress only a handful of times in her life.

“Huh? Why are you taking her?”

“If there was a problem during the transfer of the puppeteers, we can guess several situations. Internal division, betrayal, natural disasters, and attacks by bandits, etc. Currently, the security in the northern region is unstable due to the aftermath of the war, so we are focusing on the connection with bandits. If that’s the case, there’s a high possibility that Philia has been swept into the slave market.”

So, if we go with Barsabe, we can search the slave market thoroughly without being suspected.

There wouldn’t be many ‘women of suitable age’ who could assist a noble young lady with impaired vision and who are ‘fluent in Bariel’ in the entire slave market.

Beric clicked his tongue and scanned Barsabe up and down.

“She doesn’t suit it at all. Take someone else. What can she do with her eyes like that?”

“That’s why she’s going with us.”

“Beric, give me your hand.”

Barsabe groped her way forward and reached out her hand to Beric. When Beric took her hand, not knowing what was going on, she followed his hand up to see where his head was. Then, she gently cupped his cheek and held it firmly-

Bang!

She headbutted him with all her might.

“Aaaah! Crazy Tooth!”

“If we go near the royal palace, there will be much more information about the puppeteers. If we’re lucky, we can break the spell before we return.”

Barsabe’s vision was currently connected to the Tolun Royal Palace. It was dangerous, but if she covered her eyes as usual, there would be no problem.

Besides, Barsabe had a ‘special’ ability. She was exceptionally skilled among the magic swordsmen, so if used well, she could be of great use to the King of Tolun.

Beric scratched his ear and asked indifferently.

“What, does she have something like that? I know.”

“Yes, you know. Because you saw it. In front of Mayli Daily.”

“Mayli Daily? 10 years ago? I was on the verge of dying back then, so I don’t remember well.”

“Then it’s fine. Anyway, the four of us will move together, so keep that in mind. We’ll leave at five o’clock this morning. It will be three o’clock in the morning in Tolun. Pack your bags well.”

“Wait! Tell me too!”

Beric kicked his feet on the sofa and accidentally kicked Barsabe’s dress. In response, Barsabe reached out her hand again. As if asking him to hold it again.

“Hmph. Do you think I’ll fall for it twice? Ebebe.”

“Yeah. You don’t have to hold it.”

Bang!

“Aaaah!”

“Now I can get a sense of it just by hearing the sound.”

“This is crazy. Are you going to take out the other tooth too? Damn it, and where in the world is there a muscular young lady like this? A bodyguard would suit her better!”

Beric jumped around and protested, but everyone ignored him. After all, Barsabe would be veiled throughout the infiltration.

“Or let’s all go equally! Why am I always a bodyguard every time I go out?”

“Beric, you should be grateful to be a bodyguard.”

“Even if we’re fallen, we have to be nobles. That way, it’s easier to access information from the royal palace.”

Ian muttered, attaching a brooch he had prepared to his chest. It was the insignia of a fallen family that actually existed somewhere in Vergos.

He carefully looked at the map Hale had taken out and calculated the portal coordinates.

“When we get to the portal, we’ll arrive at our destination within 5 minutes. Prepare horses and carriages as well.”

“Yes. I understand, Ian, sir.”

“Be careful. Commander Hale, please buy some snacks when you come back. I heard the Tolun honey cookies are so delicious.”

“Oh? Me too.”

“I hope you can save Philia, sir.”

“Yes! If anything happens, open the portal right away! We’ll be waiting!”

Busy, busy, the mages helped Ian pack his bag, and Beric was completely distracted by the sound of honey cookies.

Amidst the noise, Ian looked back and forth between the portrait of the puppeteer and the roughly drawn picture of Philia, then carefully folded them and put them in his pocket. He hoped that God was watching over them.

* * *

“Kyaaak!”

Philia’s scream made the bandits who were talking turn their heads at once.

It was such a noisy market that normally no one would even hear someone’s scream. But this was the scream of an item worth at least thirty gold coins. They reacted instinctively and approached Philia, then flinched in surprise. There was a thin wound on Philia’s face.

“What’s wrong with this?”

“Hey! Why is her face like this?”

“What? Oh my, it’s true.”

The woman who was talking to another merchant and flipping through her notebook was also surprised and looked at Philia’s face. There was a rather long wound along her skin, which looked as soft as flour.

Philia was shedding tears and kept looking at the woman, and for the first time, she failed to understand what that gaze meant.

“Did you do this?”

When one of the bandits asked in a harsh tone, the woman put her hand on her hip, as if she was dumbfounded.

“…What nonsense are you talking about?”

“I asked if you did it. You just have to answer yes or no, but you’re talking too much.”

“Oh, come on! I can’t believe it! Why would I touch her? The face of an item like this is its value!”

“Exactly. Isn’t this a trick to lower the price by making a scratch? It’s like saying, ‘Eat this,’ because you don’t think you can take her now?”

“Damn it! I’ve been doing business here for 10 years! Do you think I don’t have any business ethics? It’s obvious that she scratched herself with her own hand. You can’t even manage your items properly, so why are you yelling at others?”

As the atmosphere between the woman and the bandits became uneasy, the nearby merchants also stopped what they were doing and watched them. After a while, in case there was a knife fight in the middle of the street, one of the merchants stepped in to mediate.

“I saw it. That item scratched her cheek with her own fingernails.”

“What? Really?”

“Oh, yes! It’s a top-quality item, so I couldn’t help but look. I’ve been watching her all the time.”

The bandits looked at Philia in disbelief, and she stared at them with her eyes wide open, as if she had never cried.

“This is a crazy bitch. If you keep acting so sly, your life will really end. Sister, if you had behaved well, you could have gone to the royal palace and lived well. Why do you do things that don’t make sense?”

When the woman whispered annoyingly, holding onto the iron bars, Philia also replied quietly.

“…I’m not going to the royal palace. Mind your own business and just pass by.”

“Hey!”

Bang!

When the woman grabbed and shook the iron bars roughly, the bandits awkwardly stopped her and blocked her way. They were upset with each other for suspecting each other without reason, so there was no way a deal could be made. Since thirty coins was a bit ambiguous anyway, they were thinking of breaking off the deal using this as an excuse.

“Stop. I’m sorry, but let’s see each other next time.”

“No, I’ll give you fifty gold coins. Give her to me.”

Seeing her so heated, the bandits cheered inwardly. Fifty coins! At least, it meant that the woman was bound to bid fifty coins when the auction opened.

“Ahem. See you at the auction. Then, goodbye.”

“Let’s go! Take out the donkey!”

“Yeah, yeah. Let’s go.”

“When will the auction be?!”

When the woman shouted in frustration, the bandits looked at Philia. The wound wasn’t deep, so it seemed like it would heal in a few days.

“We have to put her out in the best condition. Three or four days should be enough, right? Oh, and tell her. If she damages her body again, we won’t let it go.”

But Philia, sensing the situation, understood first and lightly touched her cheek. She wouldn’t cause any more problems now.

The donkey moved slowly, crossing the market, and the woman who was left alone laughed in disbelief and turned around. And Philia was watching this.

‘See you at the auction.’

She had raised the price from thirty coins to fifty coins with her own mouth, so she would definitely get the difference from that woman.

Oh