Margrave’s Bastard Son was The Emperor [EN]: Chapter 69

The outside was bustling.

“Lord Ian is becoming the new lord!”

“Congratulations, Lord Ian!”

“Congrats, man! You, the Cheonryeo [referring to the nomadic tribe], don’t just stand there, let’s have a drink.”

“From now on, we’ll have to call him Baron. Haha!”

The news of Ian’s appointment as lord spread quickly, and the territory residents rushed over in droves. The atmosphere was like a festival, and the night grew long. Ian watched the scene from the window, a faint smile on his face.

Cielonia had to leave without having a deep conversation with Molin. They only exchanged glances that could be interpreted through the years they had spent together.

“Oh, for goodness sake!”

While everyone, including Ian, was rejoicing, Romandro couldn’t bring himself to smile and opened a bottle of wine. With a ‘pop,’ Romandro shook the bottle.

“I understand him becoming a Baron. Considering the size of the territory, a Baron is probably not enough, but giving him a Count title would be a bit too much.”

In fact, most border regions, regardless of their title, were granted the authority of a Count. It was the minimum cut-off for recognizing autonomy, just below the Duke and Marquis, who were members of the Imperial family.

“A border Baron, that’s a very unfamiliar term.”

“And on top of that, 10,000 gold coins within a year? If they had even glanced at the tax reports from Bratz, they would never have come up with that calculation.”

They did it knowing full well.

He didn’t know the Emperor’s intentions in allowing it, but whoever proposed it probably did so assuming a failure to repay.

And that was likely… Gail.

“Isn’t the annual tax collected from Bratz 10,000? And another 10,000 on top of that! How can they demand double the tax when the situation is like this? His Majesty the Emperor is so heartless. Doesn’t he know that there are people living in the Bratz territory before any power struggles?”

Romandro was furious. And at the same time, he looked at Ian with pity. The residents outside might not know, but this was like being destined to become a slave after enjoying only a year of sweetness.

It would be better to live as a lord with all the pomp and circumstance!

Moreover, when he went up for the appointment ceremony, his registration as a mana user and his management as a mage would also proceed.

“Will it be about three or four months? The time he can live comfortably in the territory.”

“It’s about that much until the New Year.”

“No! What do you mean three or four months? He’s working his butt off to rebuild the territory right now! I don’t know if he’ll even be able to rest for a month after the snow falls!”

“Why are you getting so worked up, Romandro?”

Ian refilled his wine as a way of telling him to calm down.

“Anyway, I have achieved my goal of becoming the lord of this place. We should enjoy ourselves when we can.”

Bang!

“Ian!”

At that moment, Beric burst through the door, shouting. It was hard to tell if his flushed face was from joy or from alcohol. Beric pushed his way inside, bumping into a few Cheonryeo.

“Pigs! Let’s catch pigs!”

“I told you, they won’t allow it, Beric!”

“Oh, come on! We’re just asking!”

“Alright. It’s a celebration. Go catch them.”

“Yay! See! It’s a special day!”

Thump! Thump!

As Beric ran out shouting, Kakantir and Nersarn appeared. They approached Ian with bright smiles.

“Congratulations, Lord Ian.”

“Thank you. It’s all thanks to the help of the Cheonryeo.”

“Ah, it turned out really well.”

“More than expected?”

“Yes. If I had to say, it is. Hahaha!”

It was the day they confirmed that pushing Derga aside and supporting Ian was the perfect choice. Now, they would be treated as an allied nation, not as barbarians from the borderlands, and they would achieve economic and cultural growth to match. This place was like a welcoming gate to Bariel.

“May I see the Emperor’s letter?”

“Of course.”

Ian unfolded the scroll that Cielonia had given him. At the bottom, the name of the current Emperor, Clay Verosian, was neatly written.

‘I don’t really know.’

Ian had pondered the names of the previous emperors several times, but he couldn’t recall any particularly special information. It was an era of chaos. So many emperors had come and gone in a century, so it was only natural. Even Ian himself had only lasted three years before stepping down.

“Hmm?”

“What’s wrong?”

“…It’s nothing.”

What caught Ian’s attention was the Emperor’s seal. It was subtly different in size from the one he usually used. He wondered if it was a mistake, so he touched it with his fingertips, but the more he did, the clearer the sensation became.

It was a seal he had stamped every single day.

Ian could vividly recall it even with his eyes closed, so this subtle difference was very unsettling.

‘Is the seal different?’

But that couldn’t be. The Emperor’s seal had been passed down for over 1,000 years since the founding of the nation. He had never heard of it being lost in the middle, and even if it had…

‘There’s no way I wouldn’t know.’

Ian couldn’t shake off his doubts and continued to examine the seal. The more he did, the more his certainty and suspicion surged like crazy.

The conclusion was one.

The seal was changed in the middle.

But why? For what reason?

Romandro, who had been watching from the side, chimed in.

“It’s going to wear out.”

“Are you feeling unwell?”

“Well, um. Now that you’re appointed as a Baron, I have to, um, address you as…”

Romandro mumbled, glancing at Kakantir. He hadn’t realized it when it was just the two of them, but seeing an outsider made the reality hit him. Baron Ian was, by all accounts, above Romandro.

“It’s not official yet, so please be comfortable.”

“R-really?”

“Of course. You don’t have a surname.”

“Ha, haha! I hope winter comes quickly. I never thought I’d be able to go to the capital before the New Year’s party. I need to write a letter to my wife.”

Romandro’s voice was filled with excitement just thinking about it. He had thought he would only be able to go after the new year, but he was naturally happy that his mission would end before then. Kakantir also expressed his intention to return.

“We are also trying to gradually reduce the number of Cheonryeo warriors. It’s getting colder, and the warriors miss the Great Desert.”

“Ah, you mean you’re going back.”

“I will do so soon, and Nersarn will stay here and then come back.”

But it seemed like it wasn’t a pre-agreed plan. Nersarn, who was standing behind him, looked like he was about to faint from shock. They were so weak to the cold that one could only imagine what the seasonal phenomenon of ‘snow’ meant to them.

“By the way, I heard the capital demanded 10,000 gold coins.”

“That’s correct.”

“Can you manage it? I want to help, but that’s beyond our capabilities. I’d rather have 10,000 heads of enemy soldiers.”

It was a joke, but it didn’t sound like one. It didn’t seem impossible for them. Ian raised his wine glass as if to say not to worry.

“It’s not a problem. It’s not like they’re asking for it at the appointment ceremony, and they gave me a year. It only took me a couple of months to go from the Great Desert to becoming a lord.”

Life could change in a day, so 10,000 gold coins was nothing. A year was more than enough. Above all, Ian’s goal was to go to the Imperial Palace. He didn’t know what would happen after that. That meant there was no reason to worry.

“Indeed, the gods don’t give unsolvable problems. If you go to the capital, you’ll be able to seize another opportunity there.”

“I think so too.”

Ian emptied his wine glass and glanced out the window. The territory residents’ celebration was still going on. It was late at night, but they didn’t seem tired. It seemed like they needed an event to bring some life back to the devastated territory. They were all having so much fun…

“Oh, right, Ian. Now that you’ve received your lord appointment, shouldn’t you announce the good news to the nearby areas?”

Nearby areas. At Romandro’s words, Ian looked at Kakantir. The closest one was here.

And the next one was…

“Ah. That’s right.”

The remaining one was Mereloff. He had sent a letter of protest about the assassination attempt, but there had been no reply. It was such a complete lack of response that it was almost insulting.

“I need to write a letter to Mereloff. Now that the official lord appointment has arrived, I can expect a reply this time.”

* * *

“What? That guy received a title?”

“A letter just arrived.”

Mereloff snatched the letter from the butler’s hand. He read the handwritten letter stating that he would be formally appointed at the end of the year and that he would be made a Baron. At the bottom, there was even a thank you note that he didn’t mean, saying, ‘Thanks to the esteemed Count Mereloff.’

“Goodness. The world is coming to an end. A lowlife from a brothel is pretending to be a noble.”

“We need to send a congratulatory reply, but the replies to the letters we received earlier are backed up… What should we do?”

He was referring to the news of Ian’s attack that had come in Romandro’s name. Mereloff had just snorted at the time. If Ian had sent it directly, he would have immediately turned things upside down, asking how he dared to kill Mereloff’s territory residents, but since the sender was Romandro, he couldn’t do that and responded with silence.

“Is there a need? Just tell a servant to deliver the message. It’s a waste of paper and ink.”

“Yes, Master.”

He was completely arrogant. Even if he had been officially appointed as a noble, he should have treated the neighboring territory with respect. They were also in a relationship of mutual checks and balances, but when something happened in the borderlands, they were the only two to rely on.

The butler thought that he would have to write and send it himself. Count Mereloff threw the letter aside and continued to read the documents. It was about organizing the territory’s revenue before winter.

“But, Butler.”

Count Mereloff suddenly asked, as if he was puzzled.

“Has there been no word from Bratz regarding food supplies?”

“No. We have not received any letters related to that.”

That was strange. Because of the poor harvest this year, even Mereloff, who had prepared for it, was facing a red light. It was fortunate that foreign merchants would stay for quite a long time when it got colder, but he didn’t know what Ian was going to do without any response.

“Is he planning to eat corpses? Tsk, tsk.”

Count Mereloff chuckled and flipped through the documents. As the butler bowed and went out into the hallway, his wife was waving a fan at the end. It was a signal for him to come over.

“Madam. What is it?”

“I heard a letter came from Bratz?”

“Yes. It was news that Lord Ian had been officially appointed as a Baron.”

“Oh ho.”

The wife let out a small exclamation as if she was surprised.

“What did the Count say?”

“About…”

“The reply.”

The butler was at a loss and couldn’t answer properly. He was planning to write and send it himself. The Count’s wife understood his intentions and nodded with a smile.

“Please take care of it. And separately from that, I think we should send a gift. Open the heirloom storage.”

“The Count’s permission…”

At the butler’s words, Mereloff’s wife quickly folded her fan. The meaningless smile that had been fluttering in the air instantly hardened.

“I’m on my way to get permission now.”

“You don’t have to go that far, Madam.”

The butler quickly stopped her. After all, the Count had given up on writing a reply to the other party. He couldn’t let her suffer for a gift for him. But the wife firmly pushed the butler away.

Tap!

“I have to.”

Leaving those meaningful words behind, the wife entered the office.