Margrave’s Bastard Son was The Emperor [EN]: Chapter 661

Elderth stared at the glass bottle on the table, his face contorted in disgust. The pupils of the two eyeballs submerged in the viscous liquid kept dilating and contracting.

He touched his forehead and turned to Minister Martin.

“Is this Madam Darcy?”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“This is insane. She’s still alive in this state?”

“Judging by the consistent pupillary response, yes. It’s safe to say she’s alive. More importantly, the Luswenan mages haven’t broken free from the puppetry.”

“How bizarre, truly bizarre.”

It was said that Madam Darcy’s body had melted away as the mages were forced to use forbidden magic. There were even accounts that she seemed to be calling out for the King of Toloon at the end, but since Madam Darcy had no mouth, no explanation could be heard.

It was a truly absurd and bewildering situation. As Elderth paced back and forth in the conference room, Madam Darcy’s pupils contracted in response.

“So, almost all of the Bariel mages have crossed over?”

“Yes, it appears so, based on the numbers. Minister of Magic Ian Hiel and a magic swordsman entered first and hid in the mages’ forest, and reinforcements arrived after the battle began.”

“He was in Kalamat, how did he know?!”

Elderth slammed his fist on the desk and jumped up. The sudden movement caused Madam Darcy in the glass bottle to shake violently.

“I apologize, Your Highness. I suspect there might be some device in the Hiel territory. Since it’s the Minister of Magic’s land, wouldn’t there be something to deliver news immediately?”

Martin cautiously speculated, but his words lacked conviction. The mages who should have been adding their opinions to the claim were all standing blankly, their minds gone.

Elderth clutched his head as if it were throbbing.

“What’s the damage?”

“Apart from the black armor and the dragon that went to scout the mages’ forest, it’s not that significant. The real problem is the mages. Two mages who used forbidden magic were defeated by Ian Hiel, and the other one-”

“Is he still standing there?”

“Yes. He’s not moving.”

After the sun had completely set, Luswena circled the mages’ forest with a dragon to assess Bariel’s movements. That’s when they found the mage caught in the Idgal [a magical trap or barrier].

Soldiers had broken it with hammers, but he remained still, standing in the same spot.

“I don’t understand what’s going on.”

Elderth pondered and examined the glass bottle, then noticed something strange. The faint threads he had thought were hair were unusually long. They were far too long to be Madam Darcy’s.

‘…Threads?’

‘Are they the puppeteer’s threads? Why are they visible on Madam Darcy?’ Elderth frowned.

‘Was Madam Darcy also controlled by threads? If so, the sorcerer must be the King of Toloon. It matches the accounts that she was calling out for the king before her body melted.’

Madam Darcy was also just a puppet, and since the original being was still intact, the Luswenan mages couldn’t break free from the puppetry.

Elderth glared at one of the mages standing still and asked.

“…King of Toloon, are you there?”

“Your Highness?”

“Answer if you’re listening. Don’t hide and eavesdrop.”

Martin was flustered and watched Elderth and the mage.

The mage seemed unchanged, then slowly turned his eyes and smiled. His body was that of a middle-aged man, but his tone was that of a young girl.

“I didn’t want to make a first impression like this.”

“I find it hard to accept the current situation. Since Madam Darcy has become like this, what will happen to the Luswenan mages in the future?”

“The King of Luswena should proceed with his plans without worry. Your goal is to deal with the Bariel mages. I will help you achieve that goal. However-”

The mage’s eyes spun around.

“It seems that forbidden magic is a bit too much for a puppeteer to handle, so it would be better to use the one remaining to fight for the time being.”

“Are you talking about the one standing near the mages’ forest? If it’s so burdensome that even moving is a problem, then Luswena can’t expect help from Toloon. And above all….”

Elderth narrowed his eyes and trailed off. It was suspicious that he hadn’t shown any sign of having eavesdropped on all the conversations that had taken place in their palace.

“Why didn’t you show any sign of your presence earlier? If I hadn’t noticed, were you planning to stay hidden?”

“It’s not that, I was just a little sorry.”

“Sorry?”

The mage chuckled. His empty eyes stared into the air, but the corners of his mouth stretched wide as if they would tear.

“I didn’t think the mages would divert the water that way.”

“Divert the water? What do you mean?”

“Hmm, didn’t you know? The poisonous water sent from Toloon went to Luswena with the mages through the portal. It wasn’t intentional. It happened during an attempt to keep the mages in Kalamat, so please understand.”

Elderth turned to Martin. What was this poisonous water the man was talking about? But the minister also looked clueless, so the mage straightened up, chuckling.

“The forbidden mage will remain standing there. If Bariel invades Luswena again, they will be the first line of defense. I will also send a signal to the ‘puppets’ on the Hawan side, so please hold on a little longer.”

“Wait a minute. If they push in from Hawan, it will be difficult to respond when the central army arrives in Hiel. I’d like Hawan to wait near Mereloff.”

“I’ll decide that myself.”

Elderth’s neck veins bulged at the mage’s retort. What a presumptuous bastard, just pulling puppet strings from afar.

The mage nodded his head at a bizarre angle and greeted them.

“Anyway, thanks to you, I found out that Kalamat is completely empty. Thank you.”

That the mages of Kalamat were all in Luswena meant that the emperor was alone. Magic swordsmen might be guarding him, but could they compare to mages?

“I’ll let you know if there’s good news. Then, good luck.”

“Hey!”

Elderth called out urgently, but the King of Toloon had already cut off the connection with the mage.

“…”

After a moment of hesitation, clutching the end of his sleeve, Elderth turned to Martin.

“What is the poisonous water the King of Toloon was talking about?”

“…I don’t know. I haven’t grasped it.”

They were out of their minds during the battle, and when they circled the front with the dragon, it was too dark to identify anything. It was not a situation where they could see how far the poisonous water flowing from the desert had spread, or the state of the soil and plants.

“Send the dragon again to check. If contaminated water is flowing in, dig the ground towards the border to block it! If the mages’ forest is damaged, all plans will lose their meaning.”

“Ah, I understand. Your Highness!”

“Damn it.”

Thud!

As Martin hurriedly disappeared, Elderth slammed the desk again in frustration.

While Luswena was fighting the Bariel mages, Toloon seemed to be aiming for the emperor who was left alone in Kalamat. He doubted they could stand against the Bariel army, but they must have a plan if they were doing that.

“Haa.”

Elderth looked down at Madam Darcy’s eyeballs, which were fixed on him. Could the King of Toloon see the situation with that?

Suddenly feeling unpleasant, he shoved the glass bottle into a drawer and left the office, passing by the dazed mages.

“What about the emergency assembly?”

“It’s in progress, Your Highness.”

The Bariel mages had retreated. This meant that they had also suffered considerable damage. Elderth recognized that this was both a crisis and an opportunity.

“Bring the palace bow. I will also participate in the next battle.”

* * *

“Aish, damn it.”

Berik sniffed irritably.

He was screwed. He had boldly crossed the desert and successfully re-entered the Luswenan border, but that was it. As soon as he entered the mages’ forest, he had lost his way like a ghost.

‘There are no buildings, no roads, and no one to ask.’

Moreover, it was the middle of the night. The trees all looked the same, so he couldn’t even tell if he was walking straight.

Berik stopped for a moment and crossed his arms. He thought he smelled something dirty and musty, but it was mixed with the wind, so he couldn’t tell.

“Berik. Can you go alone?”

“That’s right. You can’t even tell right from left. It’ll be even harder in the dark, right?”

“What do you take me for? I can tell the difference now, okay? And there’s still the smell of dragon and black armor knights’ blood there, so I’ll find it quickly.”

“I’m worried. Should I go with you?”

“Funny. You guys have never been there. Who else is there besides me and Ian?”

“Even if we haven’t been there, we’d probably find it better than you.”

“Is there a Luswenan mage here?”

“Yes, me. But, ugh-”

“Your face is pale, you look like you’re about to die. It’s okay! It’s fine! The Luswenan guys might be patrolling, and if something happens, you’ll just be a burden.”

“Ian, is it okay? To send Berik alone?”

“…Shhh. Ian just fell asleep for a moment.”

“That’s it. I’ll be back before Ian wakes up. Or I’m your younger brother.”

“You’re already our younger brother, you idiot.”

Berik grumbled, recalling the conversation at the mansion. If he had known this would happen, he would have brought that Luswenan mage. He chewed on the jerky he had brought and unfolded the map the mage had drawn.

Berik barely managed to identify the map by the faint moonlight. The mage had drawn it as simply and clearly as possible, considering his characteristics, but-

“This is a map, tsk tsk. That smartass is even worse, really.”

Berik clicked his tongue, holding the map upside down. It was best to follow the smell, but it wasn’t easy because of the wind and the musty water smell.

He roughly pushed through the bushes with his dagger. If he kept walking, he would see something, right?

Whoosh-!

At that moment, a dragon flew into the sky. Berik, startled, crouched down, and the dragon continued to circle as if patrolling the area. It seemed that the Luswena side was checking the vicinity of the mages’ forest.

‘Ah, this is really annoying.’

He was already busy finding his way, and now he had to hide, which was annoying and frustrating. Should he just grab one of them?

Zhiing! Zhiing!

Berik hesitated, releasing his magic power, but then stopped.

“I’ll let you off, you lizard bastard.”

Then, he lowered his presence and started walking again.

How long had he walked? As he went deeper into the forest, the smell of contaminated water gradually faded, and the smell of blood became stronger.

“Oh!”

Soon, Berik found a village of huts. The trees that were broken and scattered, the dragon corpses, and the remains of black armor were all there.

Berik cautiously entered what looked like the village hall and opened the drawers.

“I think it was somewhere around here….”

Box, box, triangular box…. Berik was rummaging around, trying to remember, when a shadow entered through the window.

A chilling and unpleasant aura swept over his back, and Berik paused and turned around, freezing in place.

“……!”

He had made eye contact with a person smiling with a hazy gaze.

The person with his face pressed against the window was none other than the ‘third forbidden mage’ who had been waiting nearby. He had naturally been drawn to Berik’s magic power.

“Y, you-!”

Zhiing, Zhiing!

Whoosh!

Startled, Berik reflexively unleashed a red magic sword, and the hut window shattered into pieces.