Margrave’s Bastard Son was The Emperor [EN]: Chapter 711

Cronie had a habit of pausing in front of the Emperor’s office. Naive attendants might have thought he was just taking a breath due to tension or perhaps adjusting his attire with reverence, but that wasn’t the case.

Cronie was always fiddling with a specially crafted magic sealing stone in his pocket. It was shaped like a pen, with a sharp magic sealing stone at the tip.

“Your Majesty, Deputy Minister Cronie of the Imperial Defense Department is here to see you.”

“Let him in.”

Whether it was to assassinate the Emperor or to protect himself from the Emperor, it was unknown. Or perhaps, it could be both.

Cronie noticed through the slowly opening door that Ian was staring directly at him.

“Did you summon me, Your Majesty?”

“Welcome, Minister Cronie. You came even though I called you so urgently. I heard you’ve been busy lately.”

He was on edge. Cronie could tell instinctively, and from his years of observing Ian. He bowed his head with a gentle smile. It was best not to show his face too much in times like these.

“What are you saying, Your Majesty? What could be more important than your call? I would be disappointed if you said such a thing.”

Ian looked at Cronie for a moment, then sighed softly and turned his gaze away.

“…There are disrespectful rumors circulating in the Imperial Palace.”

In truth, he had probably known for quite some time. Ever since the previous Minister of Magic transferred the authority of the magic sealing stone to another department to protect his position, ever since the central nobles had been visiting Cronie’s mansion almost daily, and ever since the ministers in the council hall had been paying more attention to Cronie’s words than Ian’s.

But now that it had reached Ian’s ears directly, he could no longer ignore it.

“Minister Cronie, be careful. In the Imperial Palace, even the smallest thing can become a sharp sword that cuts down an opponent. You know this better than anyone, don’t you?”

“Yes, of course. I will be cautious. Therefore, I will immediately investigate these disrespectful rumors and-”

“Go north.”

Ian cut off Cronie’s words, slamming the documents down. As if there was nothing more to hear.

“You said that the northern region urgently needs reinforcement. It’s perfect timing. Minister Cronie, go and inspect the border and submit a report. I cannot trust anyone else, so I am making this special request.”

“…Your Majesty.”

“If you leave your position for a while, those vain and wicked rumors will naturally subside. It might be a bit cold, but think of it as a trip. I’ve been there, and the scenery is magnificent.”

Since becoming Emperor, Ian had spent most of his days on the battlefield due to Cronie’s pressure. So now, it was his turn to go. Ian looked directly into Cronie’s eyes, as if he had made up his mind.

“Ha……”

The first thing that escaped was his sigh. Cronie stood there for a long time without saying a word. But who would dare to question the Emperor’s command? Cronie slowly bowed his head respectfully and then replied.

“Understood, Your Majesty.”

*I understand very well, Ian. I understand very well your intention in sending me north. It’s to take away my position, to cut away my flesh and completely erase me. How could you, when I raised you, when the eyes of that child who knew nothing are still so clear? How could you…….*

“Then, I will take my leave.”

Cronie suppressed the resentment that was boiling inside him and left the office. As soon as he stepped outside the door, he endlessly rubbed the magic sealing stone in his pocket. It was both to calm himself and a gesture of desperately wanting the stone’s power.

He went down the stairs and whispered to his subordinate.

“Send word to the central nobles immediately. Tell them to gather at my mansion.”

“Yes, Lord Cronie.”

“And-”

Cronie stroked his chin, pondering, but it didn’t take long for him to make a decision. If he went north like this, there would only be death.

“Gather the soldiers.”

“……!”

“Contact the former Minister of Magic as well.”

“…Understood.”

*This is not good.* The subordinate’s mouth tightened as he saluted and hurriedly disappeared.

Cronie got into the carriage. He quickly left the Imperial Palace, just as quickly as he had arrived. The wind he had brought with him still lingered in the Imperial Palace, swirling around.

* * *

“Are they really the Imperial Guard?”

“Yeah, but they’re on suspension, so they’re banned from entering the main building.”

“Why? What did they do?”

“How would I know?”

The four people who had sneaked into the Imperial Central Archives were huddled in a corner, whispering.

The three mages were holding documents related to the abyss, and Beric was holding a piece of jerky, which he had no idea where he got from.

“Seriously, you’re still the same even when you’re here.”

“Is it my fault? Ian is the darkness, right? Then it’s Ian’s fault.”

“Shut up. Who are you to speak the Emperor’s name so carelessly!”

Nakina said, looking around cautiously, and Beric scoffed, saying ‘yes, yes’ and shoved the whole piece of jerky into his mouth. *Who called him? I called him!* [referring to the Emperor]

“But why did you stop me earlier? Cronie is Ian’s darkness, so wouldn’t it be over if we just killed him? Ugh, his face is so disgusting.”

“Yeah. If you find him disgusting, that says it all. But still, we can’t. We don’t know what might happen if we rashly touch or interfere. Securing information about ‘here’ is our priority.”

“So you should look for some information too. You can read now, right?”

“I can read, but I can’t read documents.”

“What does that…….”

*Are you seriously talking nonsense?* Nakina narrowed her eyes and glared at him, but then Tommy raised his hand as if he had found something.

“Here, there’s something noteworthy. It says that to ‘submerge’ in the sea of the abyss, ‘forbidden magic’ is a prerequisite.”

“Isn’t that basic? I know that much.”

“There were cases that weren’t, like Melania and Clark. Anyway, what I found important is the definition of ‘submerge.’ What does ‘submerge’ mean here? Literally submerging in water? If so, what about us? Is that possible without forbidden magic?”

“What are you trying to say?”

“Submerging is the same as darkness. If we assume that, it fits. As to why we came into Ian’s darkness.”

Beric frowned, resting his chin on his hand. He clearly didn’t understand.

“Among us, the only one directly involved with forbidden magic is Ian. That’s why only Ian has darkness.”

“Hmm. I think I kind of get it.”

“Did Melania and Clark ever say they saw darkness?”

No, they didn’t. They just said they witnessed Ian and barely returned with the help of the secret-eating gypsy.

Rutherford said that the mages who fell into the abyss with him experienced endless deaths, but that was the scheme of the underground god.

That’s right. Melania and Clark, who were not involved with forbidden magic, returned completely.

“So, how do we get out?”

“I don’t know. How did Ian get out before?”

“Before?”

It was unknown. He hadn’t told them that he had met a god in the abyss and was able to find his way back.

They were silent for a moment, just staring at the documents.

“Will staring at it give us an answer? It would be easy if we just cut Cronie’s throat. Let’s do that, okay? I got it-”

“Hmm?”

Tommy ignored Beric’s words and focused on a certain sentence in the document.

One was a record from Bandor, ‘There is no space-time in the abyss,’ and the other was a record that Zaira had brought from the mage’s forest.

“Below the rift, their own world also moves. If they call each other unknown worlds, then their star must be us.”

Tommy murmured, as if savoring each syllable.

“…This is darkness, and also a world.”

“Tommy?”

“I think you’re right. Beric might be right.”

“Huh? Suddenly? What? Why?”

He was happy that his words were right, but what sentence did he see to think that?

Tommy twirled his pen and asked everyone.

“Okay. Here’s a pen that keeps spinning. It doesn’t stop and keeps spinning in place. What do we need to do to stop it?”

“What do you mean? Just grab it with your hand.”

“Yes. We need to use ‘external intervention.’ When Ian first entered the abyss, he must have received help due to external intervention. If he had made it out on his own, he would have told us the solution when the abyss water pushed in.”

That was true.

Hale, Nakina, and Beric moved closer, narrowing the distance. It seemed like an answer was about to come out.

“So, we need external intervention now too. If your assumption is correct.”

“That’s right!”

“Then that external intervention is perhaps…….”

“It’s us.”

Beings who were not related to forbidden magic but could exert influence in this world, that was them.

“Okay. Let’s go right now.”

“Wait! Can you handle it?”

Nakina grabbed Beric’s collar as he jumped up, ready to cut down Cronie right away.

“Even if it’s darkness, this is still reality. Think carefully about whether you can handle all the Imperial mages and Imperial Guards here. A rebellion means that everyone has turned their backs on Ian, right?”

“I’ll go to his mansion and smash his head-”

“No. We can’t be sure that killing Cronie is the fundamental, ultimate solution. What if someone who carries on his will takes his place after Cronie dies?”

“I’ll smash that guy’s head too-”

“There will definitely be a right time and place. I think it will be the moment Naum uses forbidden magic.”

“What’s the basis?”

At Hale’s question, Nakina folded her fingers one by one as she explained.

“Ian’s darkness will definitely have guilt about Naum, and since Ian doesn’t know the timeline after that, that will be the moment this damn darkness breaks. And above all, isn’t overcoming the rebellion Ian’s task?”

Hale crossed his arms and nodded. As if he agreed.

“Okay. Let’s move. Judging by the atmosphere in the Imperial Palace, the rebellion won’t be long.”

“Where should we start?”

“Take a look at the list of central nobles that has been going on for 100 years.”

“Let’s memorize it and deal with them when we get back.”

“…What will change if we deal with ancestors from 100 years ago?”

Hale lit a cigarette. With three mages and a mad dog gathered, they could do anything. No, they had to do it.

Beric tapped the table with his fingertips and asked in a puzzled tone.

“So, we have an answer now?”

“What answer?”

“About ‘how to save someone who has fallen into the abyss.’”

A person who is not related to forbidden magic, who melts into the darkness, intervenes, and twists the events.

*What, is it simpler than I thought?* If Zaira knew, she would jump into the rift right away.

“Simple?”

Nakina chuckled and shared Hale’s cigarette.

“Do you really think it’s easy for someone who has nothing to do with forbidden magic to jump into the abyss to save someone?”

They had ended up here by being submerged in the water, but think about it. In the past 10 years, no one had jumped into the abyss to save Ian.

Even Zaira didn’t rush in to save her grandmother. The child continued her research on the ground in her own way, but anyway.

“Naum used forbidden magic to save Ian. To throw yourself away again for someone who sacrificed themselves for you… I think it’s somewhat possible. But what about in situations where that’s not the case?”

Unconditional sacrifice. The courage to throw oneself into an unknown world, filled only with the heart to care for the other person, without wanting anything in return.

How can this be called an easy thing?

“I think it’s like God’s mercy. The only mercy that a human being can hold onto when sacrificing themselves for a loved one.”