Margrave’s Bastard Son Was The Emperor [EN]: Chapter 701

The priests hurried up the stairs.

This place was isolated from the outside world. Commotion was rare, except for the occasional unexpected visitor.

Taptap!

Wham!

“It’s a disaster!”

“What is it? That’s quite a racket.”

“It seems an outsider has entered.”

High Priest Raju was sitting on a large sofa, arranging flowers. He carefully trimmed each leaf, then asked with a smile,

“An outsider?”

“Yes, a suspicious trail was found down by the river. It looks like stones were piled up, as if someone was trying to block the water flow. Considering they’re going against the flow of the Osu [a sacred river], it must be the work of an outsider.”

“Foolish. As if such a thing could block the water flow.”

“We’ll begin the search immediately.”

“There’s no chance it could be a resident from a nearby village, is there?”

“No, that area was cleared long ago, and they’re not allowed within the temple’s barrier. We suspect it might be a power user from Vergos or Bariel.”

“I see. Well, it’s about time Kalamat [a religious authority] sent someone. How is the flow of the Osu?”

“It’s fine. Lady Banusa is continuously managing the river’s flow.”

“Excellent.”

Thud. High Priest Raju finished arranging the flowers and stood up. A person had intruded into the sacred temple; how could a high priest remain still? His robes rustled softly as he moved.

“I will pray. All priests, pursue the intruder. They must be captured alive. We must first find out what wicked intentions brought them here and how they breached the barrier.”

“Yes, understood.”

“Ah, and also, please inform Lady Banusa.”

High Priest Raju’s gaze deepened. His lips were smiling, but his eyes were cold.

“Tell her to come down to the basement.”

“Yes? To the basement?”

High Priest Raju nodded kindly.

“I thought we could pray together.”

The priest hesitated. He had never shown Banusa what was in the temple’s basement. He couldn’t understand the high priest’s intentions.

But what could a mere priest say? He acknowledged the order and quickly ran outside.

“Everyone, gather! It’s an intruder!”

“Search down the river! The goal is to capture them alive, but if that’s not possible, just keep them breathing.”

“This way! Hurry! They couldn’t have gone far!”

“There are traces here! They must have gotten wet while moving the stones. If we follow the flattened grass, we should find them soon.”

Shortly after, Banusa entered the main building, watching the priests rush into the thicket. She felt a subtle unease at the news that High Priest Raju was looking for her.

‘Even if I managed to avoid the king’s gaze, did I fail to avoid the high priest’s?’

Perhaps he knew or suspected that she had been in contact with the intruder.

‘Otherwise, he would have asked me to assist in the search.’

But the high priest had excluded her from the search order down the river. This was no coincidence.

Banusa frowned slightly as she entered the dark temple.

‘Still, what can I do? The main force of Bariel will arrive here soon, and whether I intended it or not, I am someone the king sent.’

The stench grew more disgusting as she descended into the basement. It was the source of the sticky, filthy Osu, as expected.

Then, priests emerged from the darkness and guided her to High Priest Raju’s room. As soon as the door opened, Banusa’s eyes widened.

“……!”

“Welcome, Lady Banusa. It’s our first time meeting here.”

Behind High Priest Raju, a dark blue wave rippled like an aquarium. Banusa knew there were no lakes nearby. It certainly wasn’t the ‘sea’ she had only seen in books.

Then, that must be….

“What are you thinking? Showing me the rift so openly.”

“I thought you might be curious. Curiosity often stimulates unnecessary imagination. I am worried about that. Our Lady Banusa is indispensable in Toolun, and if by any chance-”

Swoosh. A dark shadow fell behind him. Something huge in the water had approached the glass.

Banusa took a step back without realizing it, feeling fear for the first time in a long while. High Priest Raju took a step closer to Banusa, as if he knew everything.

“Lest you have the wrong idea.”

* * *

“Hah, hah, ha-!”

Eileen’s senses were heightened. There were no pursuers when she escaped, but strangely, her anxiety kept increasing. Was it because of the act of running away? She kept looking back, checking for any signs of pursuit.

‘If possible, I want to cut across to the east or west to avoid the pursuers…’

This was Toolun. Even the residents of the villages would be hostile to her, a soldier of Bariel, and above all, the risk of getting lost was too great. Clark had the compass, and she didn’t know the topography of Toolun.

She knew that moving along the river would easily expose her location, but she had no choice. It was the safest path she could take. She just had to pick up the pace.

‘I just need to get to Vergos.’

According to her memory, it would take about half a day. If she kept going without rest, she would reach the border area before sunset.

Her cheeks kept getting torn by the thorny bushes, but Eileen ran even faster.

“This way! The footprints lead here!”

“Huck!”

The faint shouts of her pursuers came from somewhere. Eileen’s heart seemed to drop.

She clutched the letter from Banusa in her pocket and turned to the left. If they were right behind her, she could no longer escape along the river.

‘Damn it.’

It was time to entrust her fate to the gods. Please, let me reach a safe place without any problems. If you won’t allow me, at least allow this letter to be delivered to the imperial palace!

Eileen threw herself into the bushes and rolled.

“Ugh!”

After rolling for a while, Eileen barely managed to get up. She must have rolled wrong, as the pain in her side was considerable. But she had no time to worry about such pain.

What was this? Where was she? She quickly looked around and couldn’t tell if this was luck or misfortune.

It was a village. A very small one at that.

“One, two, three….”

The number of houses was also small. At most, she could count them on one hand.

Eileen kept glancing back as she surveyed the village. There was not a single sign of life. It was like an abandoned village.

‘What is this?’

She limped across the village. There were bloodstains on the walls and doors, but she had no time to worry about them. If she was caught, it would be as good as death.

Eileen continued to move deeper inside, looking for a place to hide. If it was an abandoned village, it would be a blessing. After shaking off the pursuers, she would-

Neigh!

“……!”

But then, she heard the sound of a carriage. Eileen reflexively hid and assessed the situation.

It was a fancy carriage that didn’t fit in with the small, abandoned village. Were they pursuers from the temple? Eileen gripped her sword and strained her ears.

“No! Why is the village like this? Did we come to the right place?”

“Y-yes, we definitely came to the right place.”

“Hey! Is anyone there? It’s me, Taoma!”

Then, a stout man got out of the carriage, looking bewildered. The coachman also looked around in confusion, but there wasn’t even a shadow of an ant.

“What is it? Is this really the right place?”

“I-it is. It is, but…”

“Never mind. Then look for the painting first. What does it matter if there are people or not? We just need to get to the South.”

“I’m saying that because there’s a separate person managing the painting!”

“Huh? Why are you saying that now? Hey! Is anyone there!”

In that moment, the fear that had been gripping her disappeared, and she could breathe again. Eileen knew the owner of that carefree, foolish, and loud voice very well.

Wasn’t that the voice of the magic swordsman who had saved her when she encountered the great demon attack in the northern region of Bariel? He was definitely a member of the Imperial Guard serving the Bariel Emperor.

“Actually, wasn’t I holding the map correctly earlier?”

“That’s not it, Senior.”

Beside him was an unfamiliar young boy. She didn’t know what was going on, but this was definitely luck bestowed by the gods. Eileen raised her hand and stood up.

“Hey there-!”

“Ack, you startled me.”

“I, I am Eileen, a soldier belonging to the Bariel main force!”

As Eileen smiled brightly and waved her hand, the priests appeared from the bushes where she had just run out.

“There she is!”

“That’s the woman!”

What on earth was going on?

But unlike Beric, Cedric calmly assessed the situation as he saw Eileen running towards them.

“Senior, she says she’s a soldier of Bariel, shouldn’t we help her?”

“Huh? Of course. That woman is one of the Osu investigation team we met before. But where did Mereloff’s boyfriend go?”

“Who is Mereloff’s boyfriend?”

“There is one. His name is Clark.”

“Ah, I see. Then what about that woman?”

“Eileen? The woman His Majesty likes.”

“Ah, I see.”

As soon as he heard that, Cedric unleashed his magic power and rushed towards Eileen. The woman the Emperor liked? He had to protect her no matter what. The fruit of success was not just within reach, it was rolling right in front of him.

Beric clicked his tongue, looking disgusted.

“Seriously, that little brat. Look at his ambition. You’re not going to die peacefully either, you little punk.”

“Hyaaah-!”

Clang! Clang!

Whoosh!

“What is this now?!”

As Cedric swung his magic sword, the priests easily parried his attacks. The power of the magic itself was strong, but the one wielding it was still a novice. He was not yet capable of overwhelming the priests. Still, magic was magic, and a suitable balance was maintained in the one-on-many fight.

In that gap, Eileen approached the carriage, and Beric pinched his nose.

“Ugh, the smell.”

“T-this is a message from someone named Banusa inside the Masantar Temple to His Majesty the Emperor.”

“Banusa? Where have I heard that name before?”

“She introduced herself as a water spirit mage.”

“Ah, I remember. She’s the one we met at the Toolun Royal Palace.”

Beric took the letter from Eileen. It was written in Toolun language, so he didn’t understand a word, but it seemed important, so he accepted it. Beric gestured for her to step back.

Then, Taoma intervened.

“Can you briefly explain what’s going on?”

“Yes. The Masantar Temple is the source of the Osu. They were releasing the Osu from there. I was running away from them when the pursuers caught up.”

At those words, Taoma was startled and looked around again. It was obvious that the villagers had left because the nearby river was rotting. But if that was the case, they would have left a message or a trace for him. Just then, Taoma discovered bloodstains hidden by the dust.

“Th-this, this is insane…!”

The temple releasing the Osu. The massacre of the village near it. He seemed to understand what had happened based on the circumstances.

Taoma took out a long stick attached to a string from the carriage and swung it.

“What’s that now?”

“Habyoo!”

It was a nunchaku!

There were all sorts of strange weapons in the world. Beric tried to ignore Taoma and focused his gaze on Cedric. They were the perfect opponents to give that reckless kid some real combat experience. Both in terms of numbers and skill.

Whoosh!

“That’s right, kid. You did well just now. When your stance gets low like that, put your waist into it and strike upwards!”

“Aren’t you going to fight, Senior?”

“The small fries are supposed to be dealt with by the small fries.”

At the word ‘small fries,’ Cedric glared at him. Then, taking advantage of that gap, a priest’s sword flew towards the back of the boy’s head.

Just as Beric was wondering if he should help, Taoma flew his heavy body and struck the priest’s sword with his nunchaku.

Cling! Thud!

Then, he put his hands together and muttered in a low voice.

“…Added small fry.”

“Yes, added small fry.”

“Are you priests from the nearby Masantar Temple?”

The priests hesitated at the solemn question. The strange weapon was one thing, but above all, his movements were truly bizarre.