Margrave’s Bastard Son was The Emperor [EN]: Chapter 696

“Huh?”

The guard on duty rubbed his sleepy eyes, looking puzzled. Usually, everyone was eager to finish their shift and go inside, half-dead from sleep, but they were all huddled together, whispering about something. They were so engrossed that they didn’t even notice the relief guard arriving.

As he approached and peeked in, they all jumped back in surprise.

“Hey.”

“U, uaaah!”

“What are you all doing? Aren’t you going in?”

“I, it’s already time for the shift change.”

“What’s wrong? Why are your faces so pale?”

The soldiers, still squatting, grabbed his arm, as if urging him to join them and listen. They whispered with haggard looks.

“Something happened in the palace last night.”

“What? I slept just fine.”

If there had been an emergency, how could he have slept soundly through the night? At this, the soldiers shushed him, lowering their voices even more.

“Well, it was probably around 4 AM.”

4 AM, a cruel time for any guard. There are moments when the urge to sleep cannot be overcome by willpower. One soldier rubbed his head, trying to recall the memory of the previous dawn.

“I think I dozed off. Suddenly, I felt something in my ear….”

“Felt something?”

“Someone whispered.”

“What did they say?”

The soldier’s face turned pale. That eerie voice, the cold anger that flowed, still vividly echoed in his mind.

“Those who cannot keep their posts-”

Gulp. The soldiers unconsciously hunched their shoulders.

“Death!”

“What?”

The relief guard laughed in disbelief, but the soldiers who had been on watch all night shuddered in disgust.

It was because all those who had been dozing off at that time had heard that voice.

“Are you all crazy?”

“It’s true! I woke up startled, but no one was there.”

“The soldiers at the north and south gates heard it too, you know?”

“Come on, why are you all like this? Really.”

“It doesn’t end there.”

The real story was just beginning. The soldiers turned their heads upwards, cautiously looking at the railing where the temporary magic department was located.

“…The magic department.”

Kugugung!

At that moment, a loud noise suddenly came from the magic department. It was a tremendous vibration that shook the entire Kalamat Castle.

The soldiers hugged each other in surprise, and the relief guard retorted irritably.

“It’s just the usual vibration, why are you so surprised? That magician, Acorella or Accordion or whatever, is doing some kind of experiment.”

“Hey! Has he ever done it this early in the morning?!”

“Well, well, well, yesterday the soldiers heard that strange sound at the same time and there was a small commotion, right? Of course, we went to report it to the magic department!”

“And?”

“No way. All the magicians were sprawled out and couldn’t even get up!”

“Well, they could be tired. It was 4 AM, you said.”

“That’s not it! It’s so frustrating, really!”

How could they not distinguish between being knocked out from exhaustion and being knocked out for some other reason? The soldier covered his nose, as if recalling the scene from dawn.

“There was a terrible stench coming from somewhere too.”

“A stench….”

“I thought they might have been poisoned. So I ran straight to the minister’s office!”

Tap tap tap!

The soldier’s fear was at its peak as he ran down the empty hallway. He might have knocked on the minister’s door a bit roughly because of it.

But there was no response from inside. The soldiers were seriously worried. They had heard rumors that even if everyone else fell asleep, the Minister of Magic was the only one who never did. Some said it was the power of magic, while others said it was because he was young and had good stamina.

Whatever the reason, wasn’t it a serious problem that even the Minister of Magic couldn’t be reached?

“Excuse me, Minister Ian. I’m a guard from the south gate, and all the magicians in the magic department aren’t getting up.”

Squeak.

“There was also an incident where soldiers simultaneously heard an unidentified voice, so I thought it would be good to check it out….”

Rustle, rustle, rustle.

Inside the dark room where not a single light entered. The chilling sound of a pen nib….

The soldiers screamed internally in terror. Minister Ian was frantically writing something with a vacant look in his eyes. The sight was so strange that the soldiers swallowed hard.

“Um, Minister Ian?”

“…You said you were guards from the south gate.”

“Ah, yes, yes. That’s right.”

“The north gate is the closest here, so why are you reporting it?”

“Ah, th, that is….”

Pause. Ian’s pen nib, which had been moving quickly, stopped. And slowly, his head lifted. Fiery golden eyes, gleaming like those of some beast.

Appearing suddenly in the darkness, the soldiers couldn’t help but step back.

And at that moment.

Roll, roll, roll.

Something rolled in front of them. It was something vaguely visible in the darkness-

“U, uaaah! Ugh!”

“G, guh….”

It was an eyeball.

The soldiers fainted on the spot and were left there until they were discovered by passing servants after sunrise.

The relief guard, who had been listening to the story, shuddered as if he finally understood.

“Fainted in the minister’s office? It’s a scary incident indeed.”

“No! That’s not it!”

The soldiers immediately retorted and added.

“Minister Ian went out last night and hasn’t returned. So we were unconscious in the minister’s office until sunrise.”

“…Huh.”

“Think about it. If it had been the minister, would he have left us lying there? He would have called for help, of course.”

That’s right! The relief guard finally opened his mouth slightly, looking flustered.

Then who was the Minister Ian they saw yesterday? Why were the magicians sprawled out like that? And above all, what was the voice that the soldiers had heard simultaneously?

The atmosphere became somber. The morning sun was warm, but a chilling aura seemed to linger.

“Hey.”

“Uaaah!”

It was Siao Shi.

Because they were all huddled together and talking, they grabbed each other’s shoulders and tumbled over. Siao Shi frowned, looking at them with a look that said he didn’t know what they were doing.

“It’s past time for the shift change.”

“Ah, s, sorry!”

“It would be better to go and rest instead of wasting your energy.”

Siao Shi said that and turned around.

Because of the commotion last night, many unsettling rumors were circulating. Some said it was the work of a ghost, others said it was the resentment of Kalamat [a city or region], and so on. It was the moment Siao Shi sighed softly and reached the stairs of the magic department.

“Aaaah! Aah!”

A piercing scream was heard, both by the person screaming and the person listening.

Slam! Siao Shi nonchalantly opened the door, and immediately covered his nose at the stench that wafted up.

“Have you woken up?”

“Aaaah! Aaaah! My head feels like it’s going to break!”

“U, ueeck. Ueck. S, someone, please pat my back….”

“No, you crazy bastard, don’t throw up here… Ugh!”

“Ha. Seriously. Just kill me.”

“Ugh, magic, magic! Isn’t there anything useful for times like this?”

“…How about we just strangle each other?”

The magicians, hungover and babbling nonsense, were groaning. What kind of alcohol did they drink outside to be in such a mess? And these were supposed to be magicians, forgetting their status and acting so disgracefully.

Siao Shi closed his eyes tightly, then opened all the windows, as if he couldn’t take it anymore.

“The smell is terrible. It’s so bad that others might mistake it for poison.”

“Come on, no way. It can’t be that bad, right?”

“Everyone already thinks it is.”

“You’re joking. Hey, you know what? I don’t remember anything from yesterday.”

“Me neither. All I remember is meeting Taoma at the bar.”

Siao Shi looked down at the magicians. If this was the magic department in the palace, they were in this state, but if they were on the street, they would look no different from beggars.

The dazed magicians noticed Siao Shi’s gaze and met his eyes.

“What happened to us yesterday?”

“Minister Ian contacted me, and my subordinates brought you here.”

For the sake of the magicians’ dignity and honor, very discreetly.

The magicians, smacking their dry lips, asked in surprise.

“What about Minister Ian? Did he settle things with Taoma, that guy?”

“I don’t know about that, but there’s nothing to worry about.”

Siao Shi recalled Ian’s appearance the night before. When he asked for his subordinates to be brought, he looked perfectly fine on the surface. Except for a slight blush and a bit of slurred speech.

“But just in case, I’ll ask.”

“What?”

“Did anyone split my skull open while I was sleeping?”

“Didn’t you just fall yesterday?”

“It could have been Berrick.”

At the words that there was nothing to worry about Ian, the magicians lay back down again, groaning. Then, the door burst open and Acorella stormed in.

“Hey, you troublemaking bastards! You having fun sleeping after getting drunk?”

“Ah, Captain.”

“This body has made a special hangover cure just for you, so open your mouths.”

“U, ugh! No, thank you! I’m really okay!”

“I’m okay too. Oh, you’re so good.”

It was difficult for the hungover magicians to escape Acorella’s grasp. One magician, who was eventually caught after rolling around, flailed his limbs in protest.

“I, I’ll eat it if you can give some to Minister Ian too!”

“Minister Ian doesn’t need to eat it.”

“Huh?”

“He looked fine?”

He was still sleeping, but he wasn’t a mess like you guys! He was lying neatly, well-covered with a blanket, with smooth skin and a mysterious fragrance.

Siao Shi couldn’t watch anymore and walked out the door.

“Well, please clean up the mess. There’s no way to cover up the use of the magic tool, so I said that Minister Ian wasn’t in the castle at all. Just make up a story.”

“Huh? What do you mean? Siao Shi! Don’t just leave, please save us!”

“Aaaah! Ack! Waaaraaaak!”

“Oh, so cute! You’re eating well!”

Squeak! Thud!

Leaving behind the screams of the wailing magicians, Siao Shi shook his head. Then, he glanced at Ian’s bedroom. Beyond the neatly closed door, there was no sound, only silence.

Swoosh.

Meanwhile, at that time.

Ian woke up from his sleep, feeling the pleasant breeze. The bright sunlight, the swaying chiffon curtains, and the clean bedding. It was a perfect morning.

Except for a slight throbbing headache.

“…….”

Ian stared at the ceiling, then glanced at the side table. There was a voice-activated magic tool and a piece of paper. It was the contract with Taoma, dirty and clearly showing signs of being soaked in alcohol.

“……?”

It contained information about silask [a rare material], Laromedia [a place or region], and the magic stone painting. So far, so good, but-

‘Death?’

…What was this? Ian frowned and tried to recall his memories, but they were patchy, as if stained in places.

What stood out vividly was the sight of the soldiers falling over in surprise in the minister’s office. He wanted to help them, but his body was too tired, so he just picked up Mrs. Darci’s eyeball. After that, he woke up here, in bed.

Swoosh.

Ian blinked as he looked at the documents on the desk. All the pending approvals that had been pushed back were processed. He checked to see if there were any problems, but they were surprisingly perfect.

Ian was puzzled, but he decided not to deny it. He must have received help from his drunk self last night.

“…Well.”

One gold coin for one strand of silask. Not bad. The content itself wasn’t perfect, but it was definitely helpful for something written while not in his right mind.

Ian neatly folded the contract and put it aside, then closed his eyes again. There was some commotion downstairs, but he decided to ignore it. Either way, it was proof that everyone had returned to the castle safely.

O