Margrave’s Bastard Son was The Emperor [EN]: Chapter 795

The palace, where the midday heat had subsided, was once again lit up. Officials who had left the palace were returning one after another, rushing to their respective departments, and the staff were running around in a daze. The entire palace was noisy, but the loudest place of all was-

“Aaaah! It hurts! Gently!”

“Damn it, stop exaggerating.”

“It’s true! Didn’t you see? When that Eastern mage tried to slice me with his hand, I blocked it for you.”

“I didn’t see it? Did anyone see it?”

“I didn’t see it either. That bastard is definitely exaggerating.”

“I’m so wronged!”

“Romandro-nim, please apply some pain reliever here.”

“It’s been a while since I’ve stretched my body properly. Kkhuk.”

“It’s always the ones who get beaten who act tough like that.”

It was the Magic Department. It was as noisy as a marketplace, a stark contrast to the silence that had lasted for over a full day.

They were sitting in the lobby, focusing on treating themselves by applying bandages or pain relievers.

Hee-ing!

Tadak tadak!

At that moment, the sound of carriages rushing towards the Magic Department was heard, followed by the sound of people running up the stairs.

The mages casually turned their heads to greet the visitors. The first to arrive was the Prime Minister.

“My, my, you all.”

“Greetings, Prime Minister. Your joints are in good shape. You ran all the way up the stairs.”

“What, what on earth happened here?”

The Prime Minister looked around in bewilderment. The urgent message he had received in the middle of the night was truly shocking. Not only had the Eastern mages and the palace mages engaged in a fierce battle, but the aftermath had also completely destroyed the Foreign Minister’s mansion?

It wasn’t just the palace that was lit up. Due to the commotion, all the central guards had been dispatched to handle the situation, and the entire capital was in a state of emergency.

“Prime Minister, you’re lucky.”

“Wh, what do you mean?”

“You could have been the main character tonight.”

If the Eastern mages had gone to the Prime Minister instead of the Foreign Minister in the middle of the night, his mansion would have been destroyed.

Acorella roughly wiped the soot from her face and asked,

“Did those Eastern mages do anything to you, Prime Minister?”

They were so talkative with the Foreign Minister.

At her muttering, the Prime Minister paused for a moment. Just in case, he had the letter and the white tiger’s fur that the Eastern mages had given him in his possession.

He wondered what would be the best way to respond when-

“Prime Minister, hngh, you’ve, come.”

The Foreign Minister, Rayburn, appeared, sobbing and looking like a beggar.

The Prime Minister couldn’t even offer a word of comfort and just froze. Soon after, carriages arrived one after another, and the Emperor also entered the lobby in light clothing.

“Everyone!”

“Your Majesty.”

“Are you all alright? What is the meaning of all this?”

“I apologize for causing you concern. It seems everyone is here, so I will briefly explain the situation. Please come this way.”

Acorella gestured for them to follow. They thought she was going to the Minister’s office, but she wasn’t. When she went down to the basement of the Magic Department, the Prime Minister asked in bewilderment.

“Is Minister Ian down there?”

“No, he’s in the Minister’s office.”

“Then, why-”

“He’s unconscious.”

“What?”

Jin, the Prime Minister, and the officials who were following down the stairs all stopped in their tracks. It was completely unexpected. He had seemed fine when they had last seen him.

Jin immediately turned around, remembering the explosion he had heard at Eirin’s bar.

“Your Majesty.”

But Acorella’s firm voice stopped him.

“Let’s go see the basement first.”

“But Acorella-”

“The mages are guarding Ian-nim.”

In other words, there was nothing that would change even if they went right now. Acorella signaled with her eyes.

There was no other choice. If they revealed the whole story, Melanie’s existence would also be revealed. It would be difficult if the Emperor didn’t cooperate.

“Back to the main point, we found out that the ones who made Ian-nim like that were the Eastern mages. So, we immediately started the pursuit, and in the process, we learned that those guys had approached the Prime Minister and other ministers.”

The Foreign Minister, Rayburn, sniffled and looked back at the Prime Minister. So, it wasn’t just him?

The Prime Minister pretended not to see his gaze and fidgeted with his sleeve. He was constantly bothered by the white tiger’s fur he had tucked away.

“Wait a minute, Commander Acorella. Does that mean Ian-kyung fought with the Eastern mages? Why?”

“Ian-nim will report the details.”

“Prime Minister, did you meet with the mages?”

“…No. I didn’t meet them.”

He had only received a letter. The Prime Minister hid the rest of his words and coughed dryly.

“The fact that the Eastern mages attacked Ian-kyung and then targeted Minister Rayburn means they were openly showing hostility, doesn’t it? Why would they do that? There’s no reason for you to be involved with them.”

He couldn’t fathom it. Bariel had proposed diplomatic relations with the East, and that hadn’t changed regardless of the destruction of Hwan’s rebels. There was no reason for them to be hostile, so why?

“That’s what I’m saying. Why would they do that?”

It would have made sense if they had only targeted Ian-kyung, or only the Prime Minister and Rayburn. The two factions were completely opposed to each other. But they targeted both sides, so there was no way to guess.

“Commander Acorella. Where are the Eastern mages?”

“Over there.”

Acorella pointed to the end room. Eunrang, who had a deep cut on her shoulder, was being treated while wearing magic-sealing shackles. She glared at Acorella as if she would tear her apart and bit her lower lip.

“Oh! My goodness.”

“So that’s what an Easterner looks like.”

The officials whispered, looking at her exotic features and clothing.

Acorella leaned against the bars and nodded, as if telling her to speak now. Even though she was a prisoner, she wouldn’t open her mouth unless she looked at the other officials, and her audacity had made her furious all this time.

“What’s your name?”

Eunrang immediately recognized who the Emperor was. So, she lowered her upper body slightly and answered politely. It wasn’t out of respect, but a posture she had to take to get out of the situation.

“…Eunrang.”

“I heard that you attacked Ian-kyung and other officials of the palace. Is that true?”

“Yes, it is.”

“Why?”

Jin’s voice lowered an octave. It was a clear indication that he was disturbed.

Acorella crossed her arms and waited for Eunrang’s answer, then snorted as if she was dumbfounded. The answer was ridiculous.

“It’s because Minister Ian Hielro blocked our approach with impure intentions.”

“What does that mean?”

“He told us to take the fire cannon and return to our country. His fierce opposition to the fire cannon made us suspicious, so we carefully examined his identity, and he attacked us out of fear that his secret would be revealed.”

“Identity?”

Jin and the officials frowned as if they were puzzled. Acorella also focused her gaze, wondering what she was going to say.

“A monster.”

“What?”

“He’s a monster. Ian Hielro.”

“……”

A long silence followed. The atmosphere froze instantly. And then, it was broken by Acorella’s breathless laughter.

“Ah! Ahahaha! Hahaha!”

She was laughing so hard that her back was completely bent. She staggered and kept giggling, and the ministers also looked at each other in disbelief. Anything else would have been believable, but Ian-kyung being a monster?

“Why, why are you laughing like that?”

“Oh, seriously, I should have torn out more of her hair. She looks so smart, but why is she so foolish? Ian-nim, a monster? That’s like hearing the underground god dancing in his coffin.”

The ministers also seemed to agree with Acorella. Anything else would have been believable, but not that.

Ian was the one who had taken the lead in sealing the underground god not long ago, and he had also personally driven out a monster named Arsen from the imperial family long ago. Even those who were wary of Ian couldn’t deny that.

“We clearly saw it. He is not a being of this world and has a different essence. He didn’t even deny it himself, did he?”

The ministers, who were about to dismiss it as nonsense, fell silent for a moment. The fact that he hadn’t denied it was bothering them. But Acorella immediately retorted.

“He probably didn’t respond because it was worthless nonsense.”

The Prime Minister and Eunrang’s eyes met briefly. It was fleeting, but they recognized each other. Eunrang recognized the Prime Minister, and the Prime Minister also realized that the item they had used was white fur.

Eunrang pretended not to notice and turned her head, glaring at Acorella again.

“It was Ian Hielro who threatened us to disappear with the fire cannon and attacked us first. That is the unchanging truth.”

“So, why did you attack the Foreign Minister?”

“Because we wanted to put Ian Hielro in a difficult situation.”

“Ah?”

How absurd. Jin turned his head to look at the officials. He seemed to be contemplating how to resolve the current situation.

Then, Eunrang also quickly looked around and racked her brain.

‘Ian Hielro is not here.’

Even though they had been captured like this, Ian Hielro had not shown up. Moreover, when they had fought at the mansion, the mages had acted as if something terrible had happened to Ian Hielro, hadn’t they? And if you add the fact that they are asking about the whole story like this…

‘It’s clear that something is wrong with Ian Hielro.’

“…I apologize for acting rashly. But I emphasize that it was Ian Hielro who was rude first. As a sign of apology, I promise to offer the fire cannon.”

Eunrang cautiously suggested, watching the situation. The Emperor was looking down at Eunrang without showing any emotion.

“Is it also your doing that the leaders of the rebels in Hwan were annihilated?”

Eunrang bit her lip sulkily. It was practically an affirmation. Then, Jin let out a small sigh as if he was relieved.

‘That’s a relief.’

That incident had caused extreme conflict between the Magic Department and other departments. But now that the whole story had been revealed, things would calm down to some extent.

In particular, the Foreign Minister had been saved by the Magic Department, so peace would return to the palace, Jin thought with relief and swallowed dryly.

“Your Majesty, they are beings of confusion. Since their crimes are clear, it would be best to punish them immediately.”

“Yes, I agree.”

“Trying to sow discord in the palace and harming a minister is a serious matter that must be dealt with severely.”

Some ministers turned their heads and expressed their opinions inaudibly. Others cautiously opposed.

“Still, we shouldn’t be too hasty. Let’s wait for Minister Ian to wake up before dealing with them.”

“Yes, and they said they would give us the fire cannon, so isn’t it a bit much to kill them?”

But, if they were to bring in the fire cannon, now would be the perfect time while the Minister of the Magic Department was away? When Acorella, who heard someone arguing that, was about to retort in anger, Romandro came down to the basement and shouted.

“Your Majesty!”

Tadak tadak!

Romandro held up a letter with a flushed face. A crumpled, wrinkled note. It was the one Vivianna had sent through Hans.

“There’s something you need to confirm about their identities.”

And in addition, about the fire cannon!

Jin looked puzzled and received the note from Romandro.

……. (To be continued)

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