Margrave’s Bastard Son was The Emperor [EN]: Chapter 729

Clatter, clatter.

In time with the sound of hooves, the light filtering through the iron bars grew stronger and then faded. They must be passing through a forest somewhere. The smell of earth was noticeably stronger.

Ivia glanced at Meria, who was curled up in a ball, unconscious. Seven suns had risen since they were dragged away from their home by strangers. They hadn’t eaten anything during that time.

‘Where are they taking us?’

Is Beric alive? What about Mom?

…Dad?

‘…I hope he’s dead.’

What do these people want from me and my sister that they’re dragging us like this? If they’re heading north or east, we’ll be crossing the border soon. There will definitely be border guards there, right? I have to beg them to save us. Please save us…

“Is she dead?”

Ivia was lost in thought when a man suddenly appeared, peering into the iron cage and muttering. Ivia flinched in surprise, but her sister, Meria, didn’t move.

“Is she dead?”

“I don’t know. She’s not responding.”

“Let’s just cross the border and see. If she’s dead, it’ll be easier to just dump her.”

Border. That meant they were moving north, east, or somewhere in between. The cart started to shake violently as the road became more uneven.

Hee-heeing!

“Hey, you there. Stop. It’s a checkpoint.”

And after a while, Ivia encountered a miracle. A border guard had stopped them. She could faintly hear the men talking, and Ivia wiggled her fingers, reaching her arm out through the bars. It was a gesture, begging them to save her, that there was someone here.

“Tch, saying that won’t do you any good.”

“I know. That’s why I’m asking like this. The losses are immense.”

Swish!

The cloth that had been carelessly draped over the cage was pulled back. Ivia’s eyes widened, and tears welled up. A man with curly hair and a thick beard. It was really a border guard.

The child instinctively knew that she would never forget this moment. Thank goodness. Truly, thank goodness. Now she was safe…

“Is that all?”

“Yeah.”

But the border guard turned away decisively. The cloth fell back down with a rustle, and Ivia’s heart pounded.

“Be careful next time. Got it?”

“I got it. Thanks.”

“Wait, just a minute! I, I’m from Bariel! I live on the hill in Bentolf Village, and these people killed my parents and kidnapped me and my sister! Please save us! Please save us!”

“Huh. She’s got some energy, unlike what I thought.”

“Yeah. She looked like she was dying just a moment ago.”

“Farewell.”

“Yeah, you too.”

“Wait, just a minute! Just a minute!”

They acted as if they couldn’t hear Ivia’s screams. Despite her desperate pleas, the border guards only banged on the cart door, signaling it to start.

Ivia shook the cage with all her might. Please, someone help her! She hadn’t done anything wrong.

“Shut up-!”

Thud!

But when the cloth was pulled back again, they were in the middle of a desolate desert. The men, annoyed by Ivia’s crying, mercilessly trampled on her, and she learned for the first time how easily human teeth could break.

“Look at your sister! If you just stay still, you wouldn’t get beaten! You’re so stupid!”

…Was she dead? Meria was eerily still. If the men were to be believed, she was still breathing, but why was she so corpse-like?

Crack!

A man roughly twisted Ivia’s wrist. It left her unable to properly use her left wrist for years, but she didn’t regret it. It had created a gap in her shackles.

One early morning, when the men’s snores were echoing loudly, Ivia freed herself from her shackles and escaped. Leaving her sister, who seemed as still as death, behind.

Tap tap!

Tap!

The endless desert was both awe-inspiring and resentful. The fear that the men might come after her at any moment was as endless as the desert itself.

Days of eating bugs and eventually even scooping up sand, causing stomachaches. The child finally returned to Bariel.

“Ah!”

In the forest, she saw a man carrying wood in the distance. She asked for help, and the man, looking surprised, shared a piece of dry bread with her. Thank goodness, truly thank goodness.

“So, your parents are dead, and you were running away from loan sharks? Then you have nowhere to go?”

Smirk— Could someone’s smile be this chilling? The bread she had just swallowed was stuck in her chest, refusing to go down.

As the man’s shadow crept closer, Ivia backed away, groping the ground. Her hand found a heavy dagger used for cutting branches.

Swoosh!

The moment she tore into someone’s flesh, Ivia realized that her life had been completely torn apart as well.

The child frantically gathered the bread scraps and ran away. The sun and moon took turns rising. She didn’t know how long she had been running. Yet, the dark shadows chasing her continued to grow. The more she shrank, the more she guarded against them, the more the dark shackles grew endlessly.

‘I have to leave.’

Ivia finally made up her mind. To kill herself. There was no other way but to kill the name ‘Ivia’.

The child took on a new name and crossed the northern region of Bariel, starting anew. Her life as ‘Helna’.

* * *

“Beric.”

Helna’s voice, calling out to Beric, trembled slightly. This was an opportunity. Like that day in the desert, this was an opportunity given to Helna.

Her younger sister, whom she had been separated from as a child, was a member of the Imperial Guard, no less! And judging by his actions, he was clearly a skilled one.

“Beric, Senior!”

This time, it was Cedric’s shout.

Clang!

Beric stopped, having blocked his comrade’s sword. He had almost counterattacked without realizing it. In his mind, the sword had menacingly pierced his comrades’ hearts, then vanished like a phantom. If he didn’t regain his senses, he would make an irreversible mistake.

“Senior, damn it. Are you crazy? I may be a pushover, but I know this isn’t right!”

“Yeah, Beric, you crazy bastard!”

“If you can’t cut them down, step back! Don’t interfere!”

Swish!

So what if the opponent was Beric’s sister? It was regrettable, and one could blame the cruel hand of fate, but that wasn’t the issue right now.

They had received an order. To save the people. And to cut down that thing that had insulted the Empire. No matter how precious the opponent was, they had to follow the order. That was the basic qualification and virtue that all Imperial Guards should possess.

Clang! Clang!

Each time the blades clashed, small sparks flew. It meant they were both serious.

“Beric, you can’t kill them right now, can you? Then you’ll die!”

“Why would I, you idiot!”

“You’re asking because you don’t know?”

A person who doesn’t follow orders has no value. It doesn’t matter how strong he is. All the Imperial Guards would try to kill Beric.

Just like the mages who had left the Magic Division had magic control devices implanted in them, they had to cut off Beric’s limbs so that he could never wield a sword again.

“Oh, there’s a misunderstanding! My sister is also from Bariel!”

“A Bariel native? But how can she treat her fellow countrymen so mercilessly? Beric, get a grip. This is Toolun. Think again if you’ve made a mistake by falling for a possible trick-”

Helna, who had been blankly watching their fight, chuckled. She threw her head back, laughing uncontrollably as if she couldn’t hold it in.

At her sudden action, the Imperial Guards stopped and turned to look at her.

“Hahahaha!”

“Crazy…”

“How can you treat your fellow countrymen so mercilessly? You’re so young and pathetic! What would you know, having grown up so sheltered under the blessings of the Imperial Palace?”

Most of the things that had threatened her life had started from Bariel. Starting with the man who called himself her father. Why, why was needing help a weakness?

It was the moment Ivia was about to shout something.

Rustle!

Tap!

Startled by the sudden appearance of a figure, she flinched, but soon a long sword was pressed close to her neck.

It was Jerritt, who had rushed over to resolve the situation.

“To cause such concern to His Majesty with something like this. Everyone will be held accountable when we return.”

“C, Commander!”

“Beric! Get a grip! If you act like that in front of the Commander-”

“Damn it, shut up! Commander, that woman is my sister!”

“What?”

Jerritt, who heard Beric’s shout, also looked bewildered and asked again. Right. He had thought he had seen her somewhere before, so that was it. She resembled Beric.

Jerritt looked down at Helna, and she also looked up at Jerritt, smiling faintly. A thin line of blood trickled down her neck, where the blade was pressed tightly.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Helna. My former name is Ivia. I guess you’re the one my Beric is indebted to?”

“…”

Jerritt pressed his lips together and tightened his grip on his sword. With just one short conversation with Helna, he had grasped her nature.

Jerritt nodded to Beric.

“Beric. Don’t dwell on it.”

“Wh, what.”

“She’s not the sister you remember from the past. Look at her eyes. They’re bloodshot, having devoured herself to survive. Do you understand what I mean?”

Helna was more pleased to have found a way to overcome the crisis through Beric than to have met Beric himself.

At that moment, Helna, as if showing off, teared up and called out Beric’s name.

“Beric! Have you changed? Have you changed a lot from the you of when we were young? No, you’re the same. Just like you, I’m the same.”

“Ha, Commander. Look, I’m really asking you this. Can we just have some time? Let’s take her to the barracks. Let’s go and-”

“…Was that His Majesty’s order?”

“Then go and tell His Majesty, damn it!”

When Jerritt didn’t budge, Beric shouted in frustration. Flames rose from his entire body. Cedric and his comrades stepped back, and Jerritt watched the scene calmly.

‘…Poor thing.’

What if he had revealed that she was his sister and brought her before the Emperor? What would have happened?

His Majesty would have reconsidered his decision, and his comrades would have sighed in pity. Some, moved by emotion, might have pleaded with the Emperor on your behalf. And I, too, would not have stood idly by. But.

“It’s too late, Beric. You’ve already swung your sword at your comrades. If you wanted to save your sister, you should have done your duty.”

He was being tested. Whether Beric had the qualities of an Imperial Guard, and furthermore, whether he could take on the position of the next commander.

Beric charged at Jerritt as if he was wronged.

“I clearly! Told you to stop!”

“How can you treat an enemy so cautiously! You should have dragged her down by the hair. You should have acted as if nothing was more important to you than the Emperor’s order!”

“Shut up! I said shut up!”

“Beric! This is a crossroads. This is really important for you!”

Whoosh!

Crack!

Beric’s energy and Jerritt’s energy collided and exploded. A fierce and sharp wind ruffled their hair relentlessly.

“What’s important! This kind of position-!”

“Sir Ian!”

When Jerritt mentioned Ian’s name, Beric felt something snap in his head.

“You are a vital resource for the Bariel Empire. If we all fulfill our duties and protect Bariel, we can protect Sir Ian’s Bariel in the future. Do you not understand what this means?”