Margrave’s Bastard Son was The Emperor [EN]: Chapter 726

“The Emperor-”

Banusa carefully began to speak.

At her first words, Ian’s brow furrowed, and the mages, who had been lying around like waterlogged cotton, also tilted their heads to look at her.

“The Emperor has arrived in the village of Landarin.”

How could she, who had been confined to the temple, know that? The answer was clear. It must be information that had come from the To’olun Royal Palace, to which she was connected.

The fact that the Royal Palace knew this suggested two things: either a request for support had been sent from Landarin Village to the capital, or there was another informant.

Whatever the case, the fact that To’olun accurately knew the Emperor’s current location was not a welcome development.

Ian roughly shook his soaked hair and asked,

“So?”

It was a question that disregarded the Emperor’s title and asked what the conclusion was. More precisely, it meant, ‘So, what is To’olun’s next move?’

Banusa lightly pressed her temples and replied,

“The capital will naturally send reinforcements for defense. The commander is a fire elementalist who was in charge of security with me. His name is Ardo.”

Ardo. The head of the fire elementalist family and her colleague.

Beric rummaged through his memories, then scratched his chin as if he understood.

“Ardo? I remember seeing him back then. In front of the To’olun Royal Palace, right? He didn’t seem like much.”

“This time, all the warriors of the family will be with him. If you underestimate them, you will disappear without a trace. Remember, spirits are living beings.”

It was on a different level from the natural phenomena caused by mages or magic swordsmen. Spirits were entities with personalities, and unless they were pushed to the extreme, their vitality was infinite. Their recovery power was also unbelievably great.

If they encountered their own kind in nature, such as water, fire, or wind, any place was a resting place for spirits. Therefore, it was important not to give them any room to rest.

‘Especially Beric, that guy.’

He was a magic swordsman who mainly used flames. The spirits would recognize that as part of nature and use it to increase their own power.

Banusa hesitated whether to warn him, then went straight to the point.

“But as you know, the atmosphere in the To’olun elementalist family is chaotic. It seems clear that there are problems within the Royal Palace as well.”

“Specifically, what?”

“I suspect that the King’s health is failing. And more than anything…”

Banusa looked around as if to show them. The Masantar Temple, which had completely collapsed. Considering that most of the Royal Palace officials were from this place, it was easy to imagine how much confusion the fall of the temple had caused them.

“Wait.”

At that moment, Ian lightly raised his hand to stop Banusa’s words.

“Did the Royal Palace learn about the situation of the temple purely through your eyes? Judging from the nuance of your message, it seems like the Royal Palace already knew about the temple’s situation.”

How perceptive. Banusa briefly averted her gaze as if she was tired of it, then readily agreed.

“That’s right. The King’s health problems seem to have started from the battle with you, and the Masantar Temple also seemed to have roughly noticed it. I don’t know exactly. I thought my eyes were their only window, but it seems they already knew.”

Ian thought of the shadow. The shadow that was laughing with its whole body charred in the basement. Perhaps it had directly given revelations to the Royal Palace.

“The King has ordered me to return. I will go to the capital through a different route than Landarin Village. If you wish, you can come with me.”

After all, wasn’t the goal to capture the capital? If they went with Banusa, they would be able to reach a certain point easily.

“Ian, can we trust her?”

“Yes, it seems a bit strange that she’s helping us so easily.”

“It could be a trick by the King of To’olun, so we should be careful…”

The mages slowly approached Ian, stuck close to him, and whispered. Then, water droplets rose from Banusa’s mouth, which was submerged in the water. She had noticed that they were exchanging their inner thoughts among themselves.

At this, Ian stated firmly,

“It’s okay. You don’t have to be on guard.”

“But-”

“It’s clear that Banusa is connected to the King of To’olun, but if she had intended to use that, she wouldn’t have avoided the spot when we went down to the temple basement. We don’t know if she shares her vision with the King, do we?”

Even though she didn’t know, Banusa had guarded herself and blocked her vision, and only passed on selective information to the King.

“And if Banusa is sincere about her country, we can trust her even more. From Banusa’s point of view, it’s best to minimize the damage to To’olun and only have the Royal Palace collapse. It’s rational for everyone.”

“W-Well, that’s true, but…”

“Still, how can we trust those To’olun people?”

The mages seemed to acknowledge it on one hand, but they didn’t let their guard down.

Then, Acorella jumped up from her seat. She opened her jacket wide, showed the inside pocket, and shouted,

“What we need in a situation like this is right here!”

Thud! Where did she have space to carry so many potions in her inside pocket?

The mages’ eyes narrowed.

“It’s called- Truth. Telling. Potion.”

That was the real magic!

Acorella shook a small vial, about the size of a finger joint, and squatted in front of Banusa.

“W-What is this-”

“Ian, this much is okay, right? For each other’s safety.”

“It’s not just safety. It will also build trust.”

“Yes, yes, that’s exactly it. Banusa, put this in your mouth. It’s to let us know if you’re lying or telling the truth.”

Come on, it’s okay.

Banusa looked at Acorella with suspicious eyes. But she had no choice. She needed the help of Bariel, or rather, the magic department, and wanted to bring down the Royal Palace before any more damage was done.

Tap!

As Banusa tossed the potion into her mouth, Acorella’s eyes sparkled. Oh yeah, I’ve never given it to an elementalist before!

“Ugh. Why does it taste like this?”

“Okay, let’s start the questions. Banusa, you said you would guide us to the capital- but you’re not actually trying to lure us into a trap, are you? And your desire to bring down the To’olun Royal Palace is also true?”

Banusa paused for a moment, then shook her head and answered,

“There is no trap, and I truly want to save To’olun.”

At the same time, blood trickled down. At this, Banusa was startled and widened her eyes, and the mages who were watching also turned to Acorella in confusion.

“Why is this happening? Is the Truth Telling Potion old?”

“Yes! It’s a waste of money. In the battlefield, we have to mix whatever we have.”

“No…”

I’m sorry, really. I thought our captain was crazy but kind… The mages apologized to Banusa, who was constantly wiping her mouth, and tried to ease the atmosphere.

“Okay, then it’s settled, right? We can follow Banusa.”

Beric, not caring about what was going on, lay down again and said. It would be best to rest a bit before going. And if possible, to eat a piece of meat.

“Ah, wait a minute.”

At that moment, Eirin, who had been silently quiet in the back, raised her hand. Her fine hairs were damp, as if her cold sweat hadn’t stopped.

“I don’t know how you’ll take this, but something feels ominous.”

“Ominous, what do you mean?”

“…I don’t know the details. My heart has been pounding since earlier, and the back of my neck is cold, which is unpleasant and unbearable. It’s good to follow Banusa, but how about joining the Emperor’s side?”

Ian crossed his arms and pondered for a moment. If they followed Banusa, they could enter the To’olun capital directly and infiltrate the Royal Palace more quickly. Wouldn’t that also make it easier to deal with the To’olun soldiers blocking the Bariel main force advancing north?

The mages also gave their opinions.

“Ian, even if she’s an elementalist, it can be handled by a magic swordsman. And everyone is aware of the puppeteer, so they will be careful. It’s a shame to miss such an opportunity.”

“Yes. If we join the Emperor’s side, we have to push in head-on, which is a lot of work. It doesn’t seem like Banusa wants that either.”

“Isn’t war just about capturing the king? The best defense is offense, so let’s go break his neck right away. So that the Emperor can come up comfortably.”

Banusa didn’t add anything, but it seemed like she wanted Ian’s group to go with her.

‘I shouldn’t ignore Eirin’s intuition.’

A paladin reads signs [a holy warrior who can sense divine guidance]. Of course, they don’t always give the right answer, but it shouldn’t be taken lightly.

But Ian knew. Eirin was an important person to Jin in some way. Also, as a paladin who shared the will of God, her opinion should be respected.

“Eirin and Beric.”

“Yes?”

“And half of the mages, join the Emperor and report the situation and go with the main force. The other mages and I will follow Banusa.”

“No! Hey?”

“Beric, always remember that you are part of the Royal Guard.”

As important as entering the capital quickly was, it was also important to share the situation of the Masantar Temple with the main force. It was the most rational solution in a situation where neither could be given up.

Eirin nodded as if relieved, and Beric was still noisy, not understanding. He complained about how hard it was to eat a meal between Jaylut and old man Tweller.

“Ian, when should we depart?”

“When the sun rises. Until then, we will thoroughly check if there are any abnormal signals below the temple. Banusa.”

Ian pointed downwards and asked Banusa,

“If there are any documents or papers floating around somewhere in the temple, please bring them. It’s okay if they’re wet and damaged. Just in case, it’s good to check with our own eyes.”

“Understood.”

Banusa disappeared as if melting into the water.

The mages slumped back down again. Just a few hours until sunrise. They sensed that it was their last rest.

* * *

“Can you see them?”

“Yeah, I see them.”

“Seriously, those bastards. How did they get up here?”

Those who were facing the Bariel main force. They were not part of the To’olun regular army, but they all decided to fight with their backs to the capital. This was a decision made not out of a sense of duty to protect the country, but in consideration of the benefits that would be given later.

They were bandits, wandering mercenaries, human traffickers, etc., who were active on the outskirts of the capital.

“But the country’s situation must be really messed up? They’re even mobilizing us.”

“I know, right? When was the country ever doing well? If it was, I wouldn’t be doing this.”

“That’s true. Hehehe. Then who wants to go out first? You. How about you go?”

“Get lost. Why don’t the youngest go?”

Inside the tent, representatives of dozens of groups were gathered, tearing each other apart.

It was a complete mess. Without a commander, they were arguing about who was better and who should go first.

Literally, a defense line made up of useless people. Whether they blocked with their bodies or whatever, their role was to buy time until the regular army arrived.

Thud!

“What are you all doing? I’ll go.”

At that moment, a woman who was annoyed and slammed her chair stood up. She was Helna, who was famous in the To’olun human trafficking market.

“Who is she?”

“That’s the woman who used to work in the slave market. You know the Minister of Magic? He was called ‘dog feet’ because he found her in the Amil market but missed her.”

“Was she from Bariel?”

“How would I know when no one knows? Ah. I heard that she was robbed and sold into slavery when she was young, but she survived tenaciously. You know, there’s a saying. ‘I’m the mad dog of this area.'”

Ignoring the snickering men, Helna tied her hair up, her red eyes sparkling.

Fools. How could they not know that it was advantageous to step forward first in times like this?

O