Margrave’s Bastard Son was The Emperor [EN]: Chapter 628

“Fire! Fire!”

“There’s a fire at the Janai Market! Fetch water!”

“What in the world is happening in the middle of the night?”

“I don’t know! Bring all the spare sand you can find!”

As soon as the sun sets, the merchants all leave, and the Janai Market falls into silence. In the middle of it, an old building was engulfed in a raging fire. The pitch-black night had suddenly turned bright.

Residents from the neighborhood all rushed out, carrying buckets of water and sandbags, and firefighters also dragged long hoses, crossing the Janai Market.

“Hurry! Faster!”

“The fire can’t spread!”

“Make way! Everyone, make way!”

Hee-ing!

A carriage squeezed through the crowd of people moving haphazardly. It was a royal carriage bearing the Tollen flag. A woman stepped out of it and stared up at the three-story building engulfed in flames.

“It’s the spirit mage!”

“That’s it! Everyone, step back!”

The woman, wearing an ochre uniform and her hair neatly tied back, brought her hands together, and from the gap, small, round blue particles were created.

Tok.

A drop of cold water flowed from her fingertips. From there, a giant mermaid-shaped spirit appeared and wrapped itself around the building. Thick smoke rose wherever the raging flames met the mermaid’s touch.

Chwaaak!

The spirit mage gritted her teeth, and the mermaid, sensing her will, sacrificed its body to completely cover the building. The flames subsided in an instant. There were only charred marks, a wet floor, and a pungent smell filling the air.

“Wow, thank you! You’re truly a spirit mage.”

“Amazing, yes. Truly amazing!”

People cheered and applauded, but she only frowned and turned around. She had sensed a subtle magical energy from the fire.

“Fire chief.”

“Yes, Lady Banusa. We will take care of the remaining embers.”

“No, before that-”

“Lady Banusa!”

She was about to instruct the fire chief to clean up when the temporary guard captain called her name from afar and approached. He looked extremely haggard and disoriented. He had been born and raised in Tollen and had experienced all sorts of things, but tonight was too chaotic and exhausting for them.

“Are you the temporary guard captain?”

“Yes, we just received a report. It seems to be related to the building fire, and we request confirmation. Hey!”

At the temporary guard captain’s gesture, his subordinates dragged a boy forward. He looked like an ordinary child, but what he said was a series of shocking revelations.

“So, the basement of the building was a hideout for the Cleavers [a criminal organization]?”

“Yes, if you dig through the debris, you will surely find bodies. And it was Philia’s son who dealt with them and then started the fire.”

“Philia?”

Banusa frowned at the unfamiliar name. Then, the temporary guard captain whispered.

“It’s a matter related to the royal palace, Lady Banusa. It’s the woman we were bringing from Bariel, but things got complicated when she got involved with those Cleavers.”

“Was her son with her?”

“No. Well, I don’t know the details, but I heard that the woman’s son is the Minister of Magic of the Bariel Empire.”

Minister of Magic? Banusa’s eyes widened slightly, and she looked down at the young boy. The royal palace must have been up to something. If the Minister of Magic was involved in the process, the magical energy she felt from the fire could be explained.

‘Unfortunately, you’ve learned too much.’

The royal palace tried to kidnap the Minister of Magic’s mother, and the Bariel mage is here in Tollen, and so on.

Banusa gently stroked the boy’s head, then gave the guard captain a sharp look, a silent command to gather information and handle the situation discreetly. The guard captain hesitated for a moment, then nodded, offering a quick salute to show he understood.

Things were clearly spiraling out of control. The previous person in charge was dead, and a massive fire had erupted. It was obvious that the royal palace was in complete disarray.

“…Take him away now,” Banusa instructed, her voice firm.

As the guard captain led the boy away, Banusa wiped her damp hands with a handkerchief and addressed the remaining personnel. “Summon the necromancers. We will hold an emergency meeting. The guard captain and the fire chief will be informed of the meeting’s results, so until then, they should wait at the scene.”

“E-emergency meeting, you say?” the guard stammered, surprised.

“This is no ordinary fire. There’s a distinct magical energy present, suggesting a mage was sent from Bariel to rescue the woman. I don’t know if they are still in Tollen, but if they are—” Banusa’s eyes reflected the charred remains of the fire, her expression grim.

“The defense captain’s side must prepare thoroughly.”

“Y-yes! Understood!” the guard replied, his voice filled with urgency.

“Then, I’ll go in first,” Banusa declared, her tone decisive.

Clack!

The two captains saluted Banusa from behind. Ever since hearing the news of the war between Bariel and Vergos, she had been worried that Tollen’s peaceful existence might be disrupted someday…

‘It already has been,’ she thought, a sense of dread washing over her.

A Bariel mage in Tollen. If that was the case, there was a strong possibility that the death of the previous guard captain was also connected. Banusa settled into the carriage and extended her palm, calling forth her small spirit.

Swish!

The mermaid, which had been so large that it could wrap around a building, vanished, replaced by a tiny creature small enough to swim in her palm, its tail wagging weakly. Its power had been diminished from facing the intense flames directly.

To a spiritist, a spirit is more than just a companion; it’s a family member, a close friend who shares their life force. If it were to die, her abilities would also disappear.

“I’m sorry. You’ve worked hard,” Banusa murmured, carefully stroking the mermaid. She then looked out the window, her mind racing. What on earth was the royal palace thinking?

If it was revealed that they had kidnapped the mother of the Minister of Magic, no less, and brought her to Tollen, it would be an act of war. Moreover, they would be handing over the justification for it, and they would not be able to gain any support from neighboring countries, making it a lonely and desperate conflict.

“Damn it,” she muttered under her breath.

There were families in Tollen that specialized in the four elements [earth, water, fire, and air]. There were many sorcerers in total, but among them, Banusa’s family was the foundation. Whenever problems arose in Tollen, they were always the first to step up and resolve them, just like now.

But now that a puppeteer [a person who manipulates others for their own gain] who was of no help to the country had seized power, the situation was a complete mess.

‘The royal palace will soon realize it too,’ she thought, a glimmer of hope flickering within her.

Based on Marni’s testimony and the guard captain’s report, they would recognize the presence of the Bariel mages. If that happened, the necromancers would be summoned immediately.

In the end, they had no choice but to gather among themselves first, grasp the situation, and then come up with a solution.

“Hurry. Before the night ends,” she urged, her voice laced with urgency.

“Yes, understood,” the coachman replied.

At Banusa’s urging, the coachman cracked the whip loudly. The further they got from the center of Tollen, the deeper the quiet night became.

* * *

Creak!

Hale closed the window and looked left and right. There was no one on the street, and the streetlights were off on the road they were facing.

After confirming that there were no problems, Hale closed the curtains and lit a candle.

Flick.

“My goodness, is that you, Sir Barsabe?” Philia asked, her voice filled with surprise.

“Philia, it’s a relief to see you are safe,” Barsabe replied, his voice low.

“Oh, what happened? Why are your eyes like that?” Philia asked, concern evident in her tone.

“It’s alright. I had to cover them for a reason. Please, sit over here. Are you perhaps hungry?” Barsabe asked, his voice gentle.

Philia’s clothes carried an unpleasant odor. Despite having received the best possible care, the environment she’d been in must have been far worse than her usual life. Hale sliced some of the fruit and bread that the hotel had prepared in advance and offered it to her.

“Are you hurt anywhere?”

“No, I’m fine, thanks to you. Ian arrived at just the right moment.”

“Sir Ian, I’m honestly a little surprised. I didn’t expect you to find her so quickly.”

Ian casually removed his blood-stained leather gloves and placed them on the table. Beric seemed to be eyeing Philia’s food, but he patiently sat beside her, merely ‘watching’.

“Well, I went to the location, and I didn’t see any light blue cloth. But I did see a man rushing by in the dark. When I chased him, it turned out he was a member of the thieves who had heard about the arena. I was lucky.”

Philia took a small piece of bread and handed it to Beric, who flopped onto the sofa and munched on it. A meal after finishing work! It was delicious.

“So, can we go back now? The magic department people will be so relieved. They were making such a fuss worrying about you, Ian.”

They had achieved their primary goal. They had rescued Philia.

More than anything, she needed to return to Bariel quickly and contact Nersarn. If she didn’t, or if she was even a little late, Cheonryeo [a key military figure or position] could be absent during the war with Hawan, Ruthwena, and Clifford.

“It would be best to move to Burgos together and then send Philia to Bariel.”

Hale glanced at Barsabe as he spoke. If they withdrew now, they wouldn’t gain any information about the royal palace. Furthermore, there was also the clue about Barsabe’s vision.

Of course, if they ever officially went to war with Tollun, she would regain her world, but there was no guarantee of that, was there?

“Yes, I agree. Philia’s safety is the priority, so let’s withdraw.”

However, Barsabe agreed with Hale’s opinion without any hesitation. He had realized that not being able to see was not a problem when it came to swordsmanship. It was a shame, but he believed that an opportunity would come someday. Her homeland was Bariel.

“I’m fine with that. But do we really need to go to Burgos? We’re fast, so it would be better to go to Bariel, drop Philia off, and then go back to Burgos. And let’s feed people properly before we go, for goodness’ sake.”

Beric offered a reasonable opinion for the first time in a while. Philia covered her mouth, which was still chewing, with an awkward gesture, and Hale poured her some milk.

“Please, take your time. We can move whenever you’re ready. Please, relax.”

“Thank you, Commander Hale.”

Philia lowered her head as she drank.

“How much do you all know? It seems like the Tollun royal palace was the one who had me kidnapped in the first place. I don’t know who in the palace it was, but judging from what the thieves were saying, it seems like they were quite high up.”

“Wait a minute, Mother.”

Ian gently stopped Philia as she was speaking.

“What do you mean by what the thieves were saying? Mother, can you speak Tollun?”

It was unlikely that the thieves were fluent in Bariel. If they were, they wouldn’t have come to Tollun; they would have gone back to Bariel and collected her ransom.

“No. There really aren’t many people in Tollun who speak Bariel. I shouted in a big market, and only one person understood me. The thieves brought a boy to translate earlier, you know? He was clumsy, but he could communicate well enough for me to understand.”

“A boy?”

Ian asked, puzzled. There were no boys among the bodies lying around. Perhaps he had heard Ian’s warning to lie down and had hidden under the desk.

“What’s wrong, Sir Ian?”

“Is there a problem…?”

“It’s not a problem, but I missed something.”

If the child was alive, information would surely have been sent to the royal palace through the guards. That a ‘magician’ who had rescued Philia was now in Tollun.

“What? You missed something, Ian? Crazy! Awesome!”

“Beric, you seem excited. Calm down.”

“Commander Hale also looks curious. What is it?”

“By now… the King of Tollun might know that we’re here.”

Then isn’t that a big problem? It would be better to run away quickly. The others, except for Beric, looked worried, but Ian just smiled as if he had thought of something good.

“It seems like we have a little more to do before we leave Tollun.”