Margrave’s Bastard Son was The Emperor [EN]: Chapter 646

“Your Majesty!” A desperate cry echoed. Elderte, lowering his glasses in puzzlement, paused as he felt the ground tremble. Something was amiss. The attendant stammered, his face pale. “O-one of the mages who went to the Great Desert behind the palace has returned, but, th-their condition is strange. You should go quickly.”

“One? Strange condition? And why return to the palace’s backyard? Why not the Magic Department building?”

“I don’t know. It’s very strange… The palace mages are gathering, so you should hurry…”

Elderte frowned and immediately stood up.

The mage’s sudden return caused a stir within the palace. Attendants rushed about, bowing low when they saw Elderte. At the entrance to the backyard, mages muttered, covering their mouths in shock.

“What in the world is going on?”

“Your Majesty, it’s…”

“… !”

In the middle of the backyard, a mage whose entire body had turned black was panting, his hands on the ground. His skin was melting and sagging, making his form grotesque. The whites of his eyes were bloodshot, and his pupils were so deep they seemed bottomless. He looked more like a monster than a mage.

“…Your Majesty.”

“Victor? Where are the other two?”

“They’re dead. Probably.”

“Probably? And what is that condition?”

Victor chuckled, and dark red blood splattered out. The backyard grass corroded instantly, accompanied by a terrible stench.

The Ruswenna mages whispered to Elderte.

“…It seems he used forbidden magic.”

“Yes! That’s right! What bad luck, to run into a storm there, ugh.”

Forbidden magic.

The last image of Grandma Zaira flashed through Elderte’s mind.

But she died in that battle, didn’t she? Her soul was supposed to have been eroded and disappeared due to the blood-mixed magic. So how is this guy still alive?

“Damn it!” He convulsed as if annoyed, then barely raised his upper body.

“Your Majesty Elderte. As you ordered, I annihilated the Cheonryeo, and in the process, I burned down Hielo before returning. I’ve accomplished everything you wanted, so please give me more compensation. Including the shares of my dead comrades.”

“Y-Your Majesty.”

The ministers called out to Elderte, looking bewildered. Annihilating Cheonryeo, yes, that was a clear order. But burning down Hielo too? That was completely unexpected!

Elderte gestured for everyone to calm down, then approached him.

“Is it true that you burned down Hielo?”

“I’m exhausted, so don’t make me repeat myself. While wiping out Cheonryeo, there was a guy who escaped, so I went to the border of Hielo. And somehow they knew… Hielo sent out a scouting party. I decided that just quietly annihilating Cheonryeo was meaningless, so I took care of Hielo as well.”

It was also to honor the deaths of the two mages who had gone with him. How dare those beast-kin [a derogatory term for non-humans], those lowly humans, mar a mage’s body and take their lives. If it hadn’t been for the sandstorm, it would have been unimaginable.

“What do you mean by ‘took care of’?”

“…Haa. I burned everything alive and knocked down everything standing. You can put up the stakes yourself. Anyway, I’m a bit tired, so I’d like to finish this quickly. Things got more complicated than I thought. You’ll have to give me at least 3,000 gold coins per person.”

That would mean the mage was demanding at least 10,000 gold coins. It was an unacceptable amount. Even if they agreed, whether they could pay it all at once was another matter.

As the ministers protested, Elderte stopped them with a gesture.

“Of course.”

“Your Majesty!” Everyone was aghast, sending him looks that said absolutely not, but Elderte turned his head so the mage couldn’t see and winked. It meant he understood.

“Is it true that you used forbidden magic? But how are you still alive?”

“Because what I wanted was ‘not to die.’ Damn those beast bastards. If you give me the gold, I’ll leave the palace right away.”

Not to die. Elderte’s eyes changed subtly.

Grandma Zaira wanted power strong enough to defeat ‘Ian Hielo.’ But in the end, she was defeated and fell into the abyss. This guy might have avoided death for a moment, but he would eventually meet his end.

“…Where will you go?”

“To the Mage’s Forest. I need to undo this forbidden magic. Shit, it hurts so much. Really.”

Undo the forbidden magic? Nonsense. The mages laughed at Victor as he groaned and collapsed. To be so greedy for gold even in that state. They watched him from a distance, as if disgusted.

Victor groaned and sweated profusely.

“You heartless bastards. Come and give me some magic power.”

“…If you used forbidden magic, your magic depth must be considerable. Is there any need for that? Just stay still and take care of yourself.”

“Such sass. Fine. It’s not your problem, is it? Look here, Your Majesty. What are you all standing around for? Go and get the gold!”

His will to get the gold was considerable, given his condition. If he could undo the forbidden magic here, or at least not die, it wouldn’t be a loss. It was a sum of 10,000 gold coins.

As Victor shouted, one of the ministers stammered a suggestion.

“Um, sorry, but we can’t give you 10,000 gold coins right away. It’s such a large sum that it will take at least a week…”

“Shit, what are you saying! Can’t you see my condition?”

The mage’s outburst was full of venom. The minister recoiled, frightened by the rising nausea. It was a warning that he would blow up the palace if his demands weren’t met.

This was why Elderte had accepted the proposal without refusing at first. The actions of someone cornered were obvious.

“Look here, Victor. Raising your voice will put a strain on your body. Focus on recovering for now. Even if we give you all the gold right away, would you be able to move it?”

“You can give it to me in jewels or certificates.”

“Yes, that would work. Anyway, there’s a procedure for everything. Even with certificates, it will take some time. I’ll streamline it as much as possible to fulfill your wishes. If you can’t wait, you can go to the Mage’s Forest first.”

“Are you crazy? I won’t move an inch from the palace until my pockets are full, so keep that in mind.”

If he left the palace, the remaining mages could create a barrier to prevent him from approaching. Only now, with the palace’s safety in his grasp, could he have the upper hand in negotiations.

“Until sunset today. I’ll wait until then.”

“…That’s tight. I understand for now. Everyone, move.”

Elderte gestured for everyone to step back. Only a few mages guarded the entrance to the backyard, and the rest followed Elderte, wiping away their cold sweat.

Taptap!

Thud!

“Your Majesty, what should we do?”

“10,000 gold coins. Oh my, really.”

“He looks like he’s about to die, how about giving him a fake certificate?”

“That won’t do. If we give him a fake certificate, we’ll betray the trust of the mages currently in the Magic Department. We must not deceive them, even if we have to be mindful of them.”

“That’s right. There are still quite a few mages who are former mercenaries. Even if they are from Ruswenna, rewards like compensation are a strong motivator.”

“Oh my, really. I’m going crazy. 10,000 gold coins isn’t some back alley dog’s name. Then we’ll have to draw from the reserve fund in this year’s budget.”

“Expenditures are too high with the war ahead. And we’ve already spent a significant portion of the reserve fund for the operation of the dragons and black armor.”

They entered the conference room and immediately began arguing in agitated voices. Elderte, who had been listening to the ministers’ opinions, quietly ordered.

“…Summon the Minister of Defense. We will quickly gather the soldiers and advance into Hielo territory.”

It was an opportunity. If what the mage said was true, then Hielo, the first gateway on the path to Bariel, was wide open.

Moreover, Hielo and Mereloff were right next to each other, so if they could secure that path, they could easily induce Hawan to join the war.

And above all.

“Hielo and Mereloff are cut off from the center by the Denba Mountains. Even if the center knows this and sends reinforcements, it will take even more time for them to arrive. It’s advantageous to quickly occupy it while it’s neutralized and make it a base for Ruswenna.”

“Oh, that’s right, but it’s too risky to send soldiers based solely on the mage’s words.”

“Two mages are dead, and the remaining one had no choice but to resort to forbidden magic. We can assume that the annihilation of Cheonryeo is certain, and there’s no reason to believe that his report on Hielo is false.”

Now was the right time.

Elderte nodded, indicating that he would not retract his order. The black armor and dragons were almost ready. There was no problem with hurrying a little.

“If we cross the Mage’s Forest, we can reach Hielo in the shortest distance.”

“Understood. I will summon the Minister of Defense.”

One of the ministers reluctantly left the conference room.

Nevertheless, the commotion in the conference room did not subside. Hielo completely cleared? That’s all good. The problem was that a mage, no different from a monster, was sitting right in the center of the palace. If anything went wrong, the palace would be blown away before the war even started.

As the other ministers tried to express their concerns, Elderte stopped them with a gesture.

“The puppeteer who is coming down from Hawan, we must bring him here quickly.”

“T-the puppeteer?”

Whether it was a mage or a monster, if their will was controlled, it could be easily resolved, right?

It was actually a good thing. Since he was a survivor of forbidden magic, he could be useful against Bariel.

“However, there is no news yet. It’s unclear whether he’s even coming down to Ruswenna, so we can’t appease him today…”

“We just need to give him the certificate. We can get it back through the puppeteer, so what’s there to be stingy about?”

“Yes, yes, that’s true, but forbidden magic is an unknown area. If the method doesn’t work, it will be a disaster.”

“It doesn’t matter. Securing the safety of the palace before the war is the priority. Considering the value of Bariel, 10,000 gold coins is nothing.”

The ministers groaned and fell silent. But soon, they realized that there was no other option than the method proposed by Elderte. In the end, they bowed their heads in agreement.

“Understood, Your Majesty. We will try to prepare the payment quickly.”

“We will also inquire about the puppeteer. We will send a messenger to Hawan. And it would be good to tell the palace guards to allow unconditional priority entry to those from Toolun.”

“Good. Carry out everything.”

At Elderte’s permission, the ministers rose simultaneously and left the conference room. The moment when the war with Bariel was once again looming large.

‘I will repay the humiliation I received in Clifford.’

Elderte looked up at the bow of the late king hanging on the wall.

Perhaps Eriphony found that vow admirable. A few hours later, Elderte received very welcome news.

Taptap!

“Your Majesty. News that the puppeteer from Toolun has arrived in the capital, Elvasa. He is expected to enter the palace within a couple of hours!”