Margrave’s Bastard Son was The Emperor [EN]: Chapter 687

Ian remained silent for a long time.

From the moment they retrieved Philia’s body and carried the unconscious Roel back to the Lord’s manor, he hadn’t uttered a single word. He simply sat upright, his gaze fixed on the sunset outside.

Hale and Tommy exchanged worried glances, but there was nothing they could do at the moment.

“…Hale, Tommy.”

Ian’s voice, after a long while, was parched and strained. Though he hadn’t shed a single tear, it was as if all the moisture in his body had evaporated, leaving him looking fragile.

Hale immediately turned towards Ian.

“Yes, Lord Ian.”

“We’re returning to Kalamat.”

“Are you speaking only of yourself?”

“No, all of us.”

Hale and Tommy’s mission was over.

Ian had no reason to stay in Karenna any longer. The main support forces would arrive soon to manage the situation in Ruswena, so it was right for them to return to Kalamat and support the main force’s movements. That was the original plan, wasn’t it?

“But, Lord Ian—”

Tommy added with a concerned tone.

“You could stay a little longer.”

Ian’s identity as the future emperor had been revealed. But nothing had changed. They were still Ian’s magic unit members, and Philia was still Ian’s mother.

That was the undeniable truth. How could any child easily recover their composure after losing their mother and father?

“You’ll be overwhelmed when you return to Kalamat. It would be better to prepare yourself here a little longer—”

“You said that when the carriage door opened, my mother and the doll were tangled together. And Tommy, you were the one who burst the doll first, killing it.”

“Yes? Ah, yes, yes. That’s correct.”

Tommy answered a beat late to the sudden question. Ian asked again, as if muttering to himself, in a monotone voice.

“Do you know what this means?”

“No. I don’t know.”

“In Toolun, they needed my mother’s body or her death. Perhaps the body was more crucial. That’s why they used kidnapping as their first method.”

But when that didn’t work, they chose to eliminate her instead. This explained why they hadn’t moved during the gap when Ian and the magic unit were moving from Ruswena to Kalamat.

“They tried to harm my mother, or Roel, with the doll. But before they could confirm whether they had completely cut off her breath, the connection was severed.”

“…That means they wouldn’t know if Philia was alive or not.”

Ian nodded.

“So, they would have had to judge by my movements. If my mother had died, I, who was in Kalamat, would have moved back here, and if she hadn’t died, I would have shown a different kind of movement. Toolun didn’t show any reaction because they were trying to confirm this.”

If Ian had gone to see Philia, there would have been a gap in Kalamat again. It seemed that the side effects of the Toolun king and other issues had prevented them from moving easily.

Why was that? It was related to his mother. Truly an unpredictable variable.

“So, that’s enough. We have to inform Kalamat and the central forces and make the next decision.”

“Just a moment, Lord Ian.”

Hale carefully grabbed Ian’s arm. Aside from that, regardless of what Kalamat and Toolun were doing, the most concerning thing right now was Ian in front of them.

He didn’t seem to realize it, but he looked really unwell. Both externally and internally.

Clang!

“Aaaah!”

It was then. A scream was heard from the hallway outside. Before Hale and Tommy could turn around in surprise, Ian had already passed them and was walking quickly.

The commotion was coming from Roel’s chamber.

Bang!

“……!”

Ian, who had flung the door open, froze. The white bedsheets were completely stained with blood.

Roel was shaking, covering his eyes with both hands, and a kettle and dishes were broken on the floor. It seemed a startled servant had dropped them.

“Roel.”

Ian rushed to the child. Tears of blood were dripping down Roel’s chin. …Surely not, it couldn’t be? It shouldn’t be, child.

Ian seemed to be at a loss for words. He wanted to tell him not to worry, that everything was okay, but all he could hear was Roel’s sobbing.

“Roel. Look at me. Tommy, call a healing mage and a doctor.”

“Ah, yes, yes!”

But Roel didn’t remove his hands, holding them tightly. As if he didn’t want to show his face, feeling wronged, resentful, and too sorrowful.

“I don’t want to see anything.”

“Oh, Roel.”

“If I didn’t have these eyes, my mother wouldn’t have died. They deserve to be gone. These eyes that kill parents.”

It was the beginning of everything.

She had left simply because she was seen, and his mother had died. When he saw his father’s death, he could only cry helplessly. Eyes that were of no help at all, only showing what he didn’t want to see…

“It’s a seed of curse. The source of misfortune.”

“That’s not true, Roel.”

Ian sighed deeply and hugged the child. His clothes were stained with blood again. After Philia’s blood, now Roel’s blood as well.

Ian felt like he wanted to beg this disgusting stench. Please stop leaving now, and if you must flow, let it be just enough to be washed away by tears.

“Your mother chose that for you and me. It has nothing to do with your eyes, so don’t blame yourself.”

Ian stared blankly into the air, then hugged Roel tightly.

“…Please.”

It was a pain that felt like everything would burst and collapse if he couldn’t hold on, or if he showed even the slightest gap.

Tears welled up in Ian’s eyes. An unbearable resentment churned hotly in his throat, tearing his heart to shreds.

He was crying.

Just like his mother had, silently.

“Brother.”

Roel whispered softly in his arms.

“But I can still see. I keep seeing. What should I do? It seems I can’t ignore it by closing my eyes.”

“Roel, calm down.”

“My mother is already gone, so what’s the point of showing me this!”

Fragmentary scenes flashed by in the deep darkness. What if Philia hadn’t died? And what if Roel had died instead?

“Aaaah!”

The desert warriors would be buried in the sand forever, forgotten by history, Hielo would never be the same, everything, including names, would change, Philia would be consumed by grief upon learning of Nersarn’s death, and the ownerless corpse would flow to Toolun, torn to shreds in the temple…

“Temple.”

Roel, who had been convulsing, stopped abruptly. The darkness that had been swirling like lightning calmed down. In the silence, the child spoke in a cold voice while still in Ian’s arms.

“The temple, we must fill it. Otherwise, my mother’s death will be meaningless.”

Ian easily recognized that it was the Masantar Temple. The base of the underground god and the place where the clue to the regression was located.

The arms holding each other tightened.

Tap tap!

Crash!

“This way, doctor!”

“Oh, dear, oh, dear!”

At that moment, Tommy rushed in with the medical team. A child who had harmed his own eyes. The doctor was aghast and quickly approached Roel, bending down.

As Ian stepped back, Roel’s hands also fell limply.

“Excuse me. Please put up a screen!”

Swish!

At the doctor’s words, the servants brought cloth and covered Roel. Everyone was in a hurry, but the child was calm. Roel wore a mocking smile, as if he had realized something.

‘Was this how Winchen felt?’

Winchen, the leader of the desert who couldn’t see. Had there been moments in her past when she had wanted to gouge out her eyes because of the pain?

Roel spoke to Ian, who was standing behind the cloth.

“Brother, please return to Kalamat. I will go to the Great Desert.”

“……”

“I know that it is my duty and destiny to go to the desert, collect the bodies of the warriors, and rebuild Cheonryeo [a reference to a fallen kingdom or alliance]. Everyone is waiting for me, so I cannot delay even a moment.”

Ian suddenly recalled his own childhood. That childhood when he was too young but had too much to bear. If possible, he wanted to tell him not to have it too hard, but knowing that it was not possible, Ian remained silent.

“I will carry on the bloodline of the Hielo alliance and restore everything to its original state, so please don’t worry too much, brother. I can do it.”

He could do it. He had to do it. It was what his father had tried to protect, and it was the opportunity that his mother had created through her sacrifice. He had to do it.

The doctor, who was examining Roel, paused and looked at the child’s face. The constant flow of bloody tears made treatment difficult. But the doctor only pressed the end of his chin with a cloth, unable to ask him to stop the tears.

* * *

“…Haa.”

Hale sighed, chewing on his cigarette.

If only he had arrived a little earlier, could he have saved Philia? The scene he had seen when he opened the carriage door kept flashing before his eyes, tormenting him.

But what tormented him most was—

“Where is Lord Ian?”

“He’s still sitting there.”

Ian looked lifeless.

Roel’s recovery was slow, and the child would regain consciousness only to faint again and fall into a deep sleep. Each time, Ian would sit by the nearby window, lost in silence.

What was he thinking? No, it would be a relief if he was even thinking. It would be better if he cried, shouted, or reacted with anger…

“Um, excuse me.”

Hale and Tommy turned around at the same time. It was the mayor of Karenna. He was sweating profusely and asked cautiously.

“How are Minister Ian and his, uh, younger sibling doing?”

“…Not well.”

The mayor rubbed his neck, looking perplexed with a strange expression that was neither smiling nor crying.

What was tormenting him now was not the sadness of his wife’s death, but fear. Although it was unintentional, his wife had killed the minister’s mother. It wouldn’t be strange if his own head were to fall off right now.

“I am once again, so, so sorry. It is my fault for not taking good care of my household. Please have mercy on my foolishness—”

“Enough, what’s the matter?”

Hiss. Hale roughly stubbed out his cigarette on the railing and asked. This was no time for idle chatter.

“Ah, yes, yes, about that painting in question. There were so many gifts coming in from all over that it took some time to figure it out. After looking into it, it turned out to be a gift from a merchant group that had passed through Karenna. It seems to be a few years old.”

“What’s the name of the merchant group?”

“No one remembers that far back.”

Hale waved his hand as if to say that was enough. There were actually only a few merchant groups that used magic paintings, so it was easy to identify them. If he really wanted to know, he could just interrogate Lady Darci.

Hale told him to leave, but the mayor bowed and looked for an opening.

“Is there anything else?”

“It’s not that…”

He glanced outside unnecessarily. He hadn’t noticed because the inside of the manor was so chaotic, but there was quite a loud commotion going on. The mayor was sweating profusely and clasped his hands together respectfully.

“The advance soldiers who came with Lord Roel are turning Karenna upside down. It seems they are searching for any remaining individuals, that is, remnants. But it’s a bit too aggressive, and there are complaints… uh, would you mind taking a look with me?”