Margrave’s Bastard Son was The Emperor [EN]: Chapter 714

‘It has collapsed, completely.’

Naum, having entered the Imperial Palace, suppressed the ache in his heart and hid himself in the shadows. Cries and screams echoed from all directions. They were the remnants of those who trusted the Emperor, struggling to the very end.

“Spare me! Aaaah!”

“Shut up!”

“Don’t beg for your life! His Majesty the Emperor is listening!”

“This one still hasn’t come to his senses.”

“Let’s kill him. It’s better to deal with the noisy ones early on. Move all the corpses over there.”

“Aren’t you afraid of divine judgment? How can you do such a thing in the Imperial Palace?”

“Even with the gods watching, we stand here. At this point, can’t you tell who has been chosen by the gods?”

Swish!

Naum paused in the darkness. If he stepped forward now, he could save them, but if the mages on Cronie’s side were to swarm in, everything would be for naught. He could save them, but he wouldn’t.

Swoosh.

‘If your death is unjust, do not resent His Majesty the Emperor, but resent me. Here is a selfish mage who passed you by, even as he witnessed your deaths….’ Naum swallowed his tears and prayed, moving under the cover of darkness.

Soon, the underground prison where the Emperor was held came into view.

Thud! Bang!

At that moment, an unexpected rumble was felt not far away.

Naum realized it was a battle between mages and hesitated. In this situation, was there someone who had stepped forward for the Emperor? Most of the Magic Department would be watching, trying to ride the tide, so who could it be?

“Try spouting that nonsense again-!”

“Kuh!”

“If you’re still alive!”

Boom! Bang!

It was a one-sided battle. Defeat was certain. The difference in magical power was overwhelming, but the three who faced them were perfectly in sync, as if they were one body.

‘Who are they?’ Just as Naum frowned, the moonlight appeared from behind the clouds, and the magical light brightened, revealing the faces of the three.

‘Ah.’

It was the three people he had seen in the annex.

Naum suddenly recalled the divine voice that had spoken to him. He had been told that if the Emperor went to the Magic Department annex, there would be an opportunity. Not just for him, but for himself as well.

Naum took a step back, keeping them in his sight as he dashed towards the underground prison. He did not know why they were opposing Cronie, but it was a fortunate thing.

‘Thank you for buying me time and creating an opening.’

He had expected that the transformed mages would be guarding the vicinity of the underground prison. Wasn’t the Emperor a being so powerful that he was called close to a god? Even if he was suppressed with a magic seal stone, the traitors would surely not be at ease.

But thanks to the mages from the annex drawing their attention, it became easier to approach that side.

‘Fools.’

The Emperor was a strong man. Even setting aside Naum’s personal affection, the Emperor was truly like a divine blessing bestowed upon Bariel.

In the history of Bariel, had there ever been an Emperor who wielded magic? This was a gift from the gods for the future of Bariel, yet how could these foolish people not recognize it and try to destroy it?

It wasn’t just Cronie. Everyone seemed to have gone blind and deaf.

Tap tap!

On his way to the entrance of the underground prison, Naum stopped. He heard hurried footsteps nearby. He listened carefully.

“Duke Hilon. What brings you here?”

“No, Lord Cronie. Did things go well with the mages? There’s been a problem.”

“What do you mean?”

“I want to ask you that. Some vulgar people suddenly appeared and are demanding the Emperor. Hey! There’s Luigi coming. Hey! What happened?”

It was Cronie and Duke Hilon in a meeting. Luigi was approaching, so Naum had to erase his presence even more. Soon, even his breathing became as thin as a thread.

“I sent the mages. If persuasion doesn’t work, we’ll have to take care of them. If things go wrong, it’ll be troublesome for everyone.”

Luigi. A despicable man who had thrown himself into his desires, blinded by the offer of the next Magic Department Minister position.

Naum trembled with anger and forced his eyes shut. Now was not the time for this. He carefully moved through the shadows and descended below the underground prison.

“Take care of them…. Hmm?”

Cronie stared intently at the door leading into the underground prison, muttering to himself. There was nothing there, but he felt a presence.

“Lord Cronie?”

“…Yes, yes. I understand. It’s a shame, but what can we do? Those who can’t tell the difference between right and wrong, whether they are mages or beasts, must be dealt with.”

“Yes, do that. What about the Emperor?”

“Ah. He is safe. He put up more resistance than I expected, but we managed.”

Cronie chuckled and took off his gloves. The leather gloves were stiff, soaked with the Emperor’s sacred blood.

‘Ian, you foolish and pitiful child.’

‘I told you, didn’t I? That position was too much for you. If you had listened to me, this tragedy wouldn’t have happened, but you were stubborn and ended up like this. How could you not recognize me, who raised you with the heart of a parent?’ Cronie shook his head and put the stiff gloves in his pocket.

“Lord Cronie.”

“Yes. Speak.”

“Don’t forget the execution.”

Duke Hilon warned him, fearing that he might kill the Emperor in a sudden fit of rage.

This was a divided opinion even among the conspirators. The hardliners wanted to kill him immediately upon capture, due to his strong magical power, to prevent future problems. The moderates, who valued justification, insisted that he must be executed in front of the people.

Cronie was a hardliner, but since he needed the cooperation of the nobles for the time being, he had to compromise at a reasonable point.

“Of course.”

Cronie grinned, and Duke Hilon stopped, unable to say anything more. He said he understood, but how could he trust him?

Cronie gestured for Luigi to follow him.

“Let’s go down. To see if the Emperor has woken up.”

‘To see?’ Was there something else? Luigi was puzzled, but Cronie had already started down the stairs, so he couldn’t ask. He nodded to Duke Hilon and entered the underground.

Swoosh.

Meanwhile, the Emperor lay collapsed, his skin torn in several places. His long hair, once as smooth as silk, was a mess, soaked in blood, and his always elegant attire was ruined. The soldiers guarding the prison kept glancing at the Emperor. To see the Emperor’s face, which was usually so hard to see, in this state was surprising, strange, and somewhat pitiful….

‘Is he dead?’

‘I don’t know. He’s still breathing?’

“Cough!”

The Emperor coughed up blood and slightly turned his head. He saw a window that was a hand’s breadth wide. The tears that had welled up in his eyes flowed down his nose, and the Emperor closed his eyes again.

At that moment-

Ian became Emperor at a young age.

And before he reached adulthood, his head was cut off.

A voice passed by from somewhere.

He wanted to respond, but he couldn’t. Magic was a power that resided throughout a mage’s body. Having been suppressed by the magic seal stone, it was natural that his energy was fading.

‘This won’t do.’

The Emperor frowned, muttering softly.

Where did it all go wrong? When he decided to become Emperor? Or when rumors of his relationship with Cronie spread throughout the Imperial Palace? Or was it when he first saw Naum on the street? The moment he realized his identity as a mage?

No. It was further back, further back than that.

Before he met Cronie, so….

‘It’s a sin to be born. It’s a sin to exist.’

The Emperor tried to deny the sentence echoing in his head, but the more he did, the clearer it became. ‘Who is there? Who is whispering to me?’

“Ian, please, please, come to your senses.”

When the Emperor opened his eyes, the soldiers were gone. And Naum was kneeling in front of him, unlocking his shackles.

‘Ah. This déjà vu, it’s like I’ve seen this somewhere before….’

“…Naum.”

“This is not the time for this. Hurry-”

“Naum. Something’s wrong. It’s like I’ve seen this somewhere before.”

“Do you have the strength to joke? That’s a relief.”

Naum wiped away tears with the back of his hand. The tips of his fingers were all cracked. They were wounds from unlocking the shackles with his bare hands.

“Stop. It’s okay.”

“Ian?”

“I feel like it’s okay to stop.”

“Wh-what are you saying?”

Ian gently covered Naum’s hand and shed tears. He didn’t know what he was saying either.

But he knew one thing for sure. He had fallen, and those by his side would all be hurt. And Naum, you too, will undoubtedly suffer.

“Ian. Come to your senses. Can you hear me?”

“…Ian?”

“Yes. Ian.”

The Emperor paused as soon as he heard that name. His heart, which had been waiting for death until just now, began to beat again. Thump thump. As if strongly declaring that he was alive.

It was truly inexplicable.

What was it about that name, Ian?

“I feel like I’m forgetting something.”

“Yes?”

“My name. It’s like I forgot it and then remembered it again.”

“Ian Verosian. That is your name. How can you forget it? It pains my heart.”

“No, it’s not that-”

Naum shook his head, wiping away his tears. There was no more time. Cronie and Luigi, who were outside, would be here soon.

“There is the Magic Department annex. Do you know it?”

Thump thump. Ian’s heart beat grew louder.

“Go there. If you go there, you will find a breakthrough. They said that if you go there, an opportunity will open up. I don’t know why it’s that place. It’s partly due to my lack of ability, but anyway-”

Creak.

“I knew it.”

Just as Naum was about to quickly add something, Cronie appeared. The déjà vu that still wouldn’t disappear. Ian blinked. Tears flowed down his cheeks.

Buzz! Buzz!

“Naum, just a moment!”

“Ian, it’s okay. There is always, always an opportunity. The gods do not give problems without answers.”

‘Ah. This-‘

The surroundings shimmering in gold.

The heat burning fiercely.

In Ian’s eyes, Naum smiled.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Flames rose from Naum’s palm. Cronie drew his sword, and Ian could only stare blankly at it. Time seemed to slow down.

‘Ah. This-‘

“Naum-!”

“Iaaaaan!”

Thud! Bang!

“Ian!”

“We’ve come to get you!”

At that moment, a faint call was heard from somewhere. This was not a hallucination in his head. Someone was calling him from outside, outside the prison.

The moment Luigi turned around, Cronie swung his sword at Ian’s neck. Before something went wrong with some unknown magic, he had to take his life now-!

“I am Beric!”

“It’s Nakina!”

“Tommy is here! And Captain Hale too!”

Ian’s eyes widened.

‘Ah, this.’

‘…It’s darkness.’

Clang!

Swish!

Ian reflexively raised his hand and blocked Cronie’s sword. The deflected sword struck the shackles, shattering them into pieces.

“Y-!”

The darkness he had faced in the abyss. The cycle he had realized only at the moment of death, after facing the same death every time, the hell, the eons…. Ian’s blue eyes instantly turned gold.

Buzz! Buzz!

At the same time, he grabbed Naum’s wrist, which was being consumed by flames, and with his other hand, he created the Idgal sword.

Luigi hastily deployed a shield to protect Cronie. Even in the midst of this, he was staring blankly at his shattered sword.

“Cronie-!”

“No, what is this-”

‘My darkness.’

“Who am I!”

‘My name is Ian Verosian. And Ian Hielo.’

The moment he became aware of everything, a deep rage erupted.