Margrave’s Bastard Son was The Emperor [EN]: Chapter 672

“Lord Cronie, please reconsider. This is truly an amazing item. Hawan has already proven its power.”

“Oh dear, please calm down. Even so, isn’t this too dangerous?”

Ian paused, hearing the conversation from inside the office. He had been summoned by Cronie, but it seemed he wasn’t alone. Would it be better to wait a bit?

It was awkward to be seen with Cronie by other department members. He knew well what the Magic Department thought of him.

The uncle of the Deputy Minister of the Imperial Defense Department, a mage who didn’t side with the Magic Department, a potential traitor… Naum was helping in many ways, but it was still difficult to overcome that prejudice.

“I’ll come back later.”

“Lord Cronie instructed that you be brought in as soon as you arrived, Ian. You may enter.”

As he tried to step back, the attendants calmly guided him forward. There was a sense of pressure in their monotonous voices, as if they were merely repeating Cronie’s orders.

Creak.

“Excuse me.”

“Oh, Uncle Ian! You’ve come at just the right time!”

Cronie greeted him with feigned delight. He had clearly come after receiving a message to come to the Imperial Defense Department office.

He approached Ian and gripped his shoulder, a little more firmly than usual. Ian glanced at the officials sitting around the office.

On the large table, a wooden box caught his eye. He couldn’t see what was inside from this angle.

“…Should I come back later?”

At Ian’s question, Cronie chuckled and pulled Ian closer.

“No. It’s perfect timing. There’s something to discuss, so take a look.”

With each step Ian took, the contents of the box were revealed little by little. It was something he had never seen before. Ian looked at Cronie with a puzzled expression, and Cronie gestured for him to sit down.

“It’s a fire cannon [a primitive gun] brought from Hawan.”

“A fire cannon?”

Cronie lowered his voice, saying it was a very dangerous item.

“It is said that it allows even non-mages to exert great power and can annihilate numerous enemies at once. Moreover, with explosives called ammunition, it can attack dozens, even hundreds of times without tiring.”

“Ah.”

It was astonishing. As Ian unconsciously reached out his hand, Cronie roughly grabbed his wrist.

“No, Uncle Ian. It’s dangerous.”

Then, looking at the officials sitting across from him, he added,

“It is said that it could threaten the life of the user because it is not known when or how it will explode. It is truly a foolish and frightening weapon.”

“Oh dear, Lord Cronie.”

“That is through research-”

As the officials tried to voice their objections, Cronie ignored them and asked Ian.

“Uncle Ian, what do you think as a mage? In other countries, this weapon is called ‘the power to oppose magic,’ but do you think that’s true?”

“Ah……”

His intuition was right. He should have turned back at the door earlier. As a mage, acknowledging a foreign weapon as ‘the power to oppose magic’ was an insult to their divine power. He was already facing criticism within the Magic Department, and if he answered wrong, things would escalate.

“…The source of a mage is the power of God.”

“Yes, that’s right! That’s right!”

As Ian answered carefully, Cronie clapped his hands in agreement. It was the answer he wanted.

“Did you all hear that clearly? The mage says so? Such a weapon cannot dare threaten Bariel. With mages in Bariel, what is there to fear? But! You insist on bringing in such a weapon, so I am truly curious about your intentions.”

“Lord Cronie, listen. It is a weapon that has already spread from the East to Hawan. Soon it will spread widely to neighboring countries, and then Bariel will be relatively-”

“Doesn’t Bariel have mages!”

Clang!

Cronie slammed the desk roughly and shouted.

A powerful weapon was clearly beneficial for national defense. But this principle was only valid when it was controlled by the Imperial Defense Department. If such lethality was given to a mere farmer, what would happen? Could anyone even imagine?

Swoosh.

Cronie calmed down for a moment and then handed over a document.

“It’s a petition of opposition from the central nobles.”

Power was synonymous with authority. And authority was so vast and complex that if even one variable changed, it would cause a rift. Cronie knew this well. If fire cannons were officially imported, the existing power structure would surely be disrupted.

Moreover, humans were equal in the face of death. Unless they were mages, even if they were emperors, once their breath was cut off, it was over. But what if this thing, which was said to be comparable to the power of God, fell into the hands of common people? The class system, the social structure, and even the history of the empire could change.

And yet, they wanted to bring it in? It was obvious that the empire would be doomed. It would also take away all the power of the existing vested interests.

“Bariel will prohibit the import of fire cannons. This is to protect the foundation of the empire, and the Imperial Defense Department will ensure it.”

“Haa, it’s frustrating, Lord Cronie. If you are so afraid of the lower classes, then manage it thoroughly and at least keep it in the imperial palace-”

“Do you think that’s possible? We share a border with Hawan.”

“That’s an excuse! Be honest!”

Were they worried that the emperor might create a separate military organization armed with fire cannons? If that were the case, the Imperial Defense Department would not stand idly by. The military power of the imperial palace was theirs alone.

“You be honest. Besides gaining enormous military benefits, what other advantages are there to bringing in fire cannons?”

“It’s not about benefits, it’s about considering the losses! Bariel will fall behind the times! While neighboring countries grow, Bariel will be standing still!”

“Let them follow us as much as they want! In Bariel, there are those who fly in the sky, split the earth, and control the wind!”

Cronie was a representative of the nobles, and they already considered themselves the center of Gaia [the world]. Rather than experiencing chaos by bringing in new weapons, they had decided to reject them.

Only then did Ian realize that he was being used as ‘evidence’ to support Cronie’s claims.

“I can’t do this. I will submit a direct appeal to His Majesty.”

“His Majesty will not allow it either. Definitely.”

The officials’ faces hardened as they rose from their seats. Then, they gave Cronie a stern warning.

“You are making a mistake, Lord Cronie. You are making a decision for yourself, not for the empire.”

“It’s insulting to say such things to someone who receives a salary.”

“You will regret it. The Bariel of the future will record today’s choice as a mistake.”

“No. They will praise it as a very wise choice.”

Their contemptuous gaze passed over Cronie and fell on Ian, who was standing next to him. Ian had only added one word, but he was now tied to Cronie as one.

Two attendants approached, covered the fire cannon box, and carefully moved it. Ian’s gaze followed them.

‘I’m curious.’

A new weapon so powerful that the officials were worried about the military power of other countries. Its power was beyond his comprehension. Ian muttered, looking towards the closed door.

“Wouldn’t it be okay?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, that fire cannon. Other countries also have royal families and nobles. If they are accepting it, it means that its future value is considerable, so wouldn’t it be better for Bariel to quickly introduce and research it?”

“Uncle Ian.”

Thud. Cronie lightly tapped the desk and frowned. He was silently rebuking him for his presumptuous and impertinent words.

“Interests are not so easily defined. The Magic Department will not welcome the existence of fire cannons either, so you must be careful.”

It was because of the name given to it when it was brought in from a foreign country. ‘The power to oppose magic.’ Whether that was true or not.

“…I apologize. But, if we were to import it, is it only possible through Hawan?”

“It seems so for now. It is known that Clifford and Luswena are also in contact with Hawan. I don’t know what the mages of the East were doing, letting such things run rampant.”

Ah. Were they all defeated by that fire cannon? Cronie turned his body with a sneer on his face.

“Don’t worry too much. I am in this position now, but when the time comes, I will be flexible.”

He was just opposing it now because there were more reasons to do so. The support of the nobles who feared the rebellion of the lower classes, preventing the strengthening of the emperor’s power, and so on.

But who knows? Perhaps one day, when he feels that there is nothing more to fear in the imperial palace, he might welcome the existence of fire cannons.

‘The power to oppose magic.’

Interesting. But not now.

Cronie handed over the nobles’ petition and asked Ian.

“Do you have anything else to say?”

“……”

“Hurry back. It doesn’t look good for someone who has just been appointed to the Magic Department to be wandering outside of their workplace.”

* * *

“Lord Ian.”

At the mage’s call, Ian snapped back to his senses. Memories related to Cronie always consumed his thoughts.

The mages looked at Ian and the Hawan army alternately with worried eyes and asked.

“Is it okay to go?”

“No, wait a moment.”

Ian gestured for everyone to wait, then frowned. He couldn’t see it clearly, but it seemed a little different in appearance from what Ian had seen 100 years later. Perhaps that was the early form of the fire cannon.

“That is a weapon called a fire cannon brought from the East. If you shoot it like a bow, it explodes and causes great damage……”

There was something he didn’t understand. Why did it already exist in this era? The fire cannons spread from Hawan to other countries 100 years later.

Ian pondered for a moment and then came up with one possibility: the existence of ‘Shatima’.

‘Did sending Prime Minister Shatima back to Hawan change the future?’

In the original timeline, there was no civil war in Hawan. There was no situation where they would internally crave strong power.

Answers tend to appear to those who seek them, so perhaps either Prime Minister Shatima’s side or the royalist faction sought help from a foreign country while trying to find a way to subdue the other.

‘Then it must have been brought in through the royalist faction.’

Shatima returned home with the support of Bariel. The royalist faction could not request support from Bariel and, fundamentally, needed something to oppose the mages.

‘Toolun’s puppetry [a form of mind control] and the fire cannons of the East.’

It was not clear whether puppetry was intentional. But the royalist faction devised a clever plan, and it worked reasonably well.

“…Fire cannons-”

Ian muttered, recalling his memories.

“Like magic, it quickly and powerfully takes the opponent’s breath away. But it is inaccurate and unsafe, so it can actually harm allies.”

“If it’s inaccurate, isn’t it over? Can’t we just put up a shield, approach, and smash them?”

In theory, that was true. But since history had already been twisted once, there might be something that would deviate from Ian’s expectations.

Ian rolled up his sleeves and gestured.

“I, Hale, and Beric will take care of the Hawan side. You guys push into the Luswena side. If you are careful of Idgal and the dragons, there shouldn’t be any major problems.”

“Yes, I understand, Lord Ian!”

“Be careful!”

“Beric! You follow Lord Ian!”

“Where to!?”

“There! To the Hawan side!”

At the mages’ shouts, Beric turned his back. Then, he immediately stomped his feet with all his might and dashed across the field towards the Hawan side.

“Hale. Let’s go too.”

“Yes, I will escort you.”

Ian spread a shield with his magic and flew towards the Hawan army. Then, in the distance, smoke billowed from the fire cannon holes.

“……?”

Something was definitely strange. The fire cannons of 100 years later didn’t emit that much smoke?

“Everyone, aim-!”

“Aim!”

As Ian flew in with suspicion, Erica, who had confirmed this, waved her hand greatly.

“Fire!”

“Fireeee-!”