Margrave’s Bastard Son was The Emperor [EN]: Chapter 637

Chloe watched the men who had once courted her, their figures blurring before her eyes. They had all sought her eternal love, but to Chloe, it had been nothing more than a delightful social game.

The men waved as they departed into the distance. Chloe suddenly felt a pang of regret, ashamed of how coldly she had treated them. What was she, to hurt them so?

‘I’m sorry!’

Next, her friends appeared and disappeared in a haze. She had pretended to share deep friendships, laughing and joking on the surface, but behind their backs, she had judged and ranked them. Her audacious behavior was now clear in her mind.

And that wasn’t all. She had tormented her servants, treating them cruelly, and looked down on everyone who worked for Davion, indulging in her own whims. She was truly ashamed of herself.

‘Why did I do that?’

And why was she feeling these emotions now? As she pondered, Chloe suddenly realized that she was surrounded by darkness. …Ah!

‘Am I dead?!’

“Nooooo!”

Chloe screamed and sat bolt upright, startling the medic, who recoiled in surprise. Just moments ago, the patient had been completely unconscious, and now she was reacting like this. The nurses who were with him also froze, staring at Chloe.

“L, Lady Chloe?”

“…Yes?”

“A, are you alright?”

“Am, am I dead?”

“No. As you can see, you’re perfectly fine.”

Chloe looked down at her hands. They were wrapped in bandages, but they were intact, not broken or crushed. What about her face? She reached up, her fingertips feeling the rough texture of gauze.

How did this happen? Her last memory was of struggling to avoid being crushed by a rock…

“The wizard used magic to shatter the rock you were holding, Lady. His aim was so precise that the rock was completely destroyed, but you fainted from the impact. Fortunately, your injuries from the debris aren’t serious. Just scratches… they’ll scab over in a few days.”

“Ma, magic?”

“Yes, they’ve gone to fetch Commander Acorella, so he should be here soon. Please rest a little longer. The commotion has halted the work.”

The medic said as he roughly organized the first aid supplies. Chloe could only blink. It seemed she had survived thanks to a wizard, but she had been in a truly dangerous situation.

“What about the others? There were many people around me.”

“Everyone is safe. It was fortunate. In many ways.”

That was a relief. She would have been heartbroken if the people who had been worried about her had been seriously injured. Chloe wiggled her fingers, then suddenly sat up as if something had occurred to her.

“Hhh!”

“…What are you doing?”

She grabbed the bed frame and tried to lift it with all her might. The medic asked with a dumbfounded expression, but Chloe had no energy to answer. She was using every ounce of strength she had.

“Ughhh!”

“Lady, are you alright?”

Was she crazy? He shouldn’t have been so relieved that she had no external injuries. Just as the medic was about to look for a sedative, Acorella burst in.

“Lady Chloe! Eh? What are you doing?”

“Ah, Commander Acorella…!”

“Why the bed?”

Chloe’s eyes welled up with tears, and she slumped down, muttering.

“…It seems the side effect is gone.”

“Yes, I heard. I’m glad you weren’t badly hurt.”

“Oh, what should I do? Why now…?”

Acorella sighed softly and patted her shoulder. For someone who had just come back from the brink of death, she had a lot of worries.

“It’s alright. Unless you want to, His Majesty won’t send you to Bariel.”

“That’s not it!”

“Then what is it?”

“If I can’t work, everyone will have a hard time.”

Chloe had been doing the work of more than a dozen people by herself. Now that the side effect was gone, the burden on the other workers would naturally increase.

Chloe said this with genuine concern, and Acorella raised an eyebrow in surprise. What was this? Had the change in her emotions led to a change in her personality?

“Don’t worry. I’ll move as much as I can. First, you should focus on getting treatment-”

Bang!

Before Acorella could finish speaking, the door was thrown open, and the wizard and Siao Shi rushed in. Both of them looked like they had come in a hurry.

“What’s this? You brought the luggage? That was fast?”

“Yes? Ah, yes. I asked Sir Siao Shi for a little help.”

What was he talking about? Acorella turned to Siao Shi, then slowly opened his mouth. A hot, intense gaze moved between Chloe and Siao Shi.

Acorella, the wizard, and the medic stepped back, watching the two of them.

“Lady, are you alright?”

“Yes? Ah, yes…”

Chloe unconsciously placed her hand on her chest. Her heart was pounding like crazy. The side effect was definitely gone, but why was the resonance in her heart even stronger than before?

She had thought that the emotions would have faded as they grew apart, but she was wrong. An indescribable emotion washed over her like a wave.

“Ah, Commander Acorella.”

Chloe muttered, her gaze fixed on Siao Shi.

“I, it seems the side effect hasn’t completely disappeared. My heart still beats when I see Sir Siao Shi.”

“Eh? Is that so?”

Acorella tilted his head at her words. It wasn’t impossible for only one of the side effects to disappear, but it was unexpected. If it was the potion Chloe had drunk, both should have disappeared?

While Acorella was pondering, scratching his chin, Chloe suddenly grabbed Siao Shi’s hand.

“Yes, it’s beating! My heart! What, what should I do?”

Her head was spinning, and she felt dizzy. Chloe said this in a panic, and Siao Shi replied with a single word.

“…Is there any need to do anything?”

He was saying that there was no problem with letting the emotions she was feeling remain as they were.

At this confession-like statement, Acorella, the wizard, and the medic exchanged glances and muttered things like ‘Oh my goodness.’ It was clear that they were witnessing something extraordinary.

Inevitably, blood flowed from Chloe’s nose, and she collapsed back onto the bed, sinking into darkness once more.

‘I’m dying…’

This time, she would definitely dream of Siao Shi. Definitely.

* * *

“There are no problems?”

“Yes, there were no major injuries except for a slight delay in work. It could have been a disaster, but it seems to have been handled well.”

Ian nodded, listening to the report from the mine. There seemed to have been a small commotion, but it was a relief that no one, including Chloe, had been hurt.

“Oh, and what should we do with the portrait of Philia?”

A sketch of Philia’s bust was on an old brown piece of paper. It was the portrait that had been sent throughout Burgos to find her. Although she had already safely returned to Bariel, it was good to continue to show that they were still looking for her to put pressure on Toolun.

“Reduce the quantity, but don’t stop the distribution. It’s enough if Toolun thinks we’re still searching.”

“Yes, I understand. If we put them up as posters, some people keep tearing them down, which is very annoying. It would be more economical to station a soldier there. The artists are complaining about their wrists.”

“Oh, and Ian, there’s a strange rumor going around these days.”

“A rumor?”

Ian put down the report and asked, looking puzzled. During the civil war, there were all sorts of rumors because the security was so poor, but now they were recovering from daily life under the rule of the Bariel army, weren’t they?

“The river that flows through Kalamat is said to be drying up.”

It was a river that the natives called ‘the breast of Burgos.’ It flowed from the north of Gaia and ran through the entire Burgos, literally the lifeline of the country. But the water level was getting shallower.

Ian unfolded a map.

“Where is the source?”

“It’s further up in the northern region.”

Ian’s fingertip naturally slid up along the river. Finally, his finger stopped at the southern region of Toolun. Ian tapped his finger, looking suspicious.

“It’s a river that reaches Clifford after passing through Burgos. Of course, there won’t be much damage there.”

“Is the shallowing of the water level an objective fact?”

“It hasn’t been verified yet, but it doesn’t seem to be just one or two people talking about it. The whole community seems to agree. Is it a problem with Toolun?”

It was certainly possible as a means of putting pressure on Burgos. But it wasn’t polluting the river, but restricting it. He didn’t know what their intentions or circumstances were.

“If the river dries up, not only will production decrease, but life itself will become impossible. It seems that the Holin family is aware of this, but they don’t seem to be taking any immediate action.”

“They can’t, probably. They’re probably too busy trying to get the nobles involved. Bring me some paper. I’ll report it to His Majesty.”

“Yes, I understand.”

“It’s the southern end of Toolun, so we can include it in the route without overdoing it. I’ll ask for his opinion.”

It was impossible to know whether it was something that happened in the center of Toolun or an independent action in the south. In the first place, it was uncertain whether Toolun was even involved.

Swoosh.

It was the moment Ian picked up his quill to write the report. The ink flowed down, smearing the paper.

It was something Ian would never normally allow. The wizard was surprised and handed him a handkerchief.

“Are you alright? Why is it doing that? It’s the quill you usually use. Did you get any on your clothes?”

Ian raised his hand to show that he was fine. Strangely, there was nothing wrong with the quill.

“That’s strange. It’s ominous.”

“Ominous? What nonsense.”

“Why, don’t you have that? When the pen ink suddenly smudges or a decoration on the wall falls, it feels like it’s foreshadowing an event.”

“Not at all.”

As Ian stated this, a ‘thud’ sound was heard. Then, the frame that was hanging behind him fell.

The wizard’s eyes widened, and Ian frowned and turned around.

“Oh, uh…”

“The palace management is lacking.”

No sooner had he finished speaking than a bolt of lightning struck from the clear sky! The weather, which had been clear and sunny, suddenly began to pour down rain.

Ian looked for a candle without any particular reaction, but the wizard was frozen, trembling. As a transcendent being, he was afraid of transcendent phenomena.

“I, Ian. I’m scared.”

“I’m more scared of you. Go back to work.”

Taptap!

At that moment, another wizard rushed in without any notice. He was holding a letter that was wet with rain, and Ian recognized that the seal at the bottom was from Clifford.

“Ian! It’s urgent! It’s a disaster!”

“What is it that makes you so agitated?”

“Prime Minister Shatima has been murdered. It seems certain that he was assassinated…”

“…What?”

Ian stood up from his seat without realizing it. The leader of the Hawan rebels, who had just been reported to have taken control, had been assassinated?

With the battle against Luswena just around the corner, something impossible had happened. As Ian frowned, thunder rumbled loudly in the sky again.

Kuururung! Kwaang!

“By whom?”

“Clifford seems to be investigating, and they should have contacted Bariel by now. It seems to be Shatima’s close aides. The last contact was that they had successfully taken power in Hawan, so it must be that…”

Ian paused, leaning on the desk. He was thinking about what kind of chaos Shatima’s death would bring to the eastern political situation of Bariel.

What if it wasn’t a simple internal division, but something the enemy had intended?

Which country would benefit from this?

‘Luswena. And…’

If the main force of Clifford was dispersed due to this incident, Toolun would also benefit.

Ian carefully examined the rain-soaked letter and frowned. Toolun was showing more serious movements than he had expected. As things stood, Bariel could not stand idly by.

O