Margrave’s Bastard Son was The Emperor [EN]: Chapter 81

The Taste of Gula

The Count of Mereloff frowned, staring at the table. The old, small pouch was wide open, revealing large Gula seeds. There were maybe fifty of them, give or take.

“These things are worth fifteen gold coins each?”

The Count, as was his habit, started calculating in his head.

Clark, like Rien, was a slave bought when a slave caravan passed through the territory. Young and strong slaves were hard to come by, so he had paid fifteen gold coins for him back then.

However, the value of a slave would only decrease over time, so from a long-term perspective, trading him for Gula was absolutely beneficial. Especially during times of famine like now.

“They said they would never trade a bag for less than fifty coins. But, for humanitarian reasons, they gave us these to put out the immediate fire.”

“Tch, that’s absurd.”

Absurd? Did he mean the quantity was small, or did he mean the fact that he bought Gula at all? The butler, unable to grasp his master’s intentions, only bowed his head. Whatever it was, he was a man with money flowing in his veins. He wouldn’t be pleased.

The Countess of Mereloff lifted the edge of the pouch with her cigarette holder.

“Did you write up the slave transfer papers?”

“I just signed them briefly. Since it was urgent, we decided to notarize them later when we have time.”

“Hmph. Being young, he’s foolish. Who postpones the transfer of documents? Who knows what might happen.”

“But we got Gula this way, so it’s good for us.”

The Count didn’t reply, just looked around at the Gula seeds. He had only been aware of their existence before, so this was the first time he was seeing them in detail. Even after living for decades.

“So, how do you eat these?”

“You can eat them raw, boiled, baked, steamed, stir-fried. It’s endless, they say. Shall I send them to the kitchen?”

They were worth fifteen gold coins each. Even if they were just trash weeds, now that he had paid for them, he couldn’t let them go to the mouths of the servants.

“Cook two, and plant the rest in the garden.”

“Yes, Master.”

Two would be for the Count and Countess. The butler bowed and took the pouch, and the Countess of Mereloff exhaled smoke, moving closer to her husband.

“But I heard that they eat a lot of Gula in the central region?”

“That’s all nonsense. Ian is just spreading rumors to feed his people.”

“Is that really so? Romandro didn’t seem to have much of a problem with it either.”

There were already many rumors in the territory. But what was certain was that it tasted very good. Otherwise, the people of Bratz wouldn’t be so crazy about farming it and eating Gula for every meal.

Knock knock.

“We’ve brought a simple Gula dish.”

“Come in. Hmm, what’s that smell?”

“I used a recipe I picked up in Bratz, but I don’t know if it will suit your taste.”

“If it doesn’t, you’ll be the one who suffers.”

Even with the servant’s polite words, the Count’s reply was cold. The servant, stepping back, swallowed hard, feeling nervous.

“It looks quite good.”

“Indeed. If you didn’t say it was a weed, you wouldn’t know.”

The one that was grilled with sugar sauce had a sweet aroma, and the edges were golden and crispy.

And what about the boiled one? It looked like a pudding, bouncy and ready to melt in your mouth.

The servant cut them into small pieces and placed them in front of the Count and Countess. In fact, they were smaller than eggs, so cutting them was meaningless.

“Honey, try it.”

The Count was reluctant, but he carefully brought a piece to his mouth. Because of his preconceived image of Gula, he felt nauseous, but what could he do? It was worth fifteen gold coins! He had paid for it, so he had to at least taste it.

“Hmm?”

The Count, who had been frowning and chewing, paused. A new taste, sliding down his tongue. The Countess smiled, her eyes curving as if she knew it would happen.

“It’s quite good, isn’t it?”

“…Better than I thought.”

“At this point, it seems that the rumors of it being popular in the central region aren’t just hot air. I can’t wait for a month to pass so we can taste a proper dish.”

The Countess neatly scraped up a piece with her fork, and the Count stroked his mustache. He didn’t want to admit it, but he had to. It was definitely a delicacy he had never tasted before. He cleared his throat a few times and looked at the butler.

“Make sure the rumors don’t spread. And it would be good to have guards on rotation in the garden.”

“Yes, Count.”

There would definitely be those who had their eyes on it. Even the Countess, who was supposed to be the mistress of the house, believed the rumors, so it was obvious what the uneducated fools would think of Gula. It was a crop worth fifteen gold coins, so it was right to manage it thoroughly.

“And butler.”

“Yes, Master.”

The Count wiped his mouth and gave instructions.

“Bring two more for dinner.”

“What do you mean?”

“The Gula, of course.”

“Ah. Yes, I understand.”

At the Count’s words to try a different recipe this time, the butler turned pale. There wasn’t much left in the bag, and at this rate, he was worried it would be gone in an instant, but more than that, he was afraid of being beaten for not meeting his taste.

Squeak.

The butler sighed and went out into the hallway, and the servants also retreated to the end. A suffocating silence filled the space between the Count and Countess.

“Shall I pour you some wine?”

“What did you talk about?”

“As you can see, a very beneficial conversation.”

The Countess got up from her seat and took her husband’s empty glass. When she opened the wine cork, a servant approached, but she refused with a look. She poured the wine herself and shared the details of what happened in Bratz.

“…So, I checked Mary’s room too. She wasn’t there. It’s natural that she disappeared in that chaos.”

“What are you going to do with the belongings of a dead traitor?”

“Still, they were originally mine.”

The Count was bothered by her smile, which was brighter than usual, but it seemed that bringing the Gula was a bigger deal than he thought. Before the Countess returned, he had only felt the urge to twist her neck, but now he was calmly sipping wine.

Clink.

“Ah, excuse me.”

“Tsk.”

At the close distance between the two, the servant who came in to clear the dishes apologized and stepped back outside. The moment the Count of Mereloff’s gaze turned towards the door, the Countess quickly sprinkled powder into her husband’s wine.

“Rien.”

“Yes, what is it?”

“But there won’t be a second time. If you come home after dark again, I’ll break your ankles.”

“…Is there going to be a next time? Now that I don’t have to go to Bratz. Even if I do, it will be with you.”

‘And you’ll be a corpse.’

“Answer.”

“I understand.”

The Count nodded in satisfaction and picked up his wine glass. The Countess did the same. They lightly clinked their glasses and smiled.

* * *

“Hmm…”

“How is his condition?”

Ian had called a doctor to examine Beric’s condition. He was mumbling in his sleep from time to time, but strangely, he showed no signs of waking up. He wouldn’t come to his senses even when shaken.

The doctor examined Beric and replied.

“He is indeed sleeping. He’s so exhausted that he might not be able to wake up easily. What did you say the drug was?”

“It’s a new drug circulating in Hawan, so I don’t know the exact ingredients. But it seems to be a hallucinogenic sleep aid. They say that overdosing for about a month can cause death by apnea, but Beric fainted just from smelling the powder.”

“There are some people who are constitutionally incompatible with drugs. It’s a bit severe, but since he didn’t ingest it, you don’t have to worry. However, since it’s a hallucinogenic sleep aid, you should be a little careful…”

The doctor muttered, placing an IV drip on Beric’s hand.

“You should keep in mind that it has an anesthetic effect.”

“What exactly does that mean?”

“It means that until he fully regains consciousness, he may talk in his sleep, have sleepwalking habits, or even act like a sleepwalker.”

Romandro, who had been listening quietly, jumped up in surprise. If it were anyone else, it wouldn’t matter, but if Beric showed signs of sleepwalking, it would be a real problem. Wasn’t he a person who was hard to handle in terms of both personality and physical strength?

“Ian, shouldn’t we bring a chain or something and tie him up?”

“That’s a good idea, but I don’t know if it will be effective.”

“It’s better than doing nothing. And no matter how much Beric jumps around, he’s still a human. He can’t break a chain with his hands, can he?”

Romandro, as if there was nothing more to hear, quickly went outside to find the servants. The sound of him ordering a large, sturdy chain could be heard from inside the room.

“Hehe, ehehehe…”

Oblivious to his situation, Beric was smiling and smacking his lips, as if he was having a dream. The doctor put a bandage on the back of his hand where the IV needle was inserted and got up from his seat.

“This is an IV to help him regain his strength immediately. If he doesn’t wake up by noon tomorrow, call me again.”

“What about the wound on his side?”

“Ah, the wound?”

At Ian’s words, the doctor laughed in disbelief and shook his head.

“It’s healed very nicely. But the inside might not be fully healed, so you should always be careful.”

“He’s not the type to listen even if you tell him to be careful.”

“Still, please contact me.”

“Thank you for your work. You can go now.”

Squeak.

As the doctor left, Ian sat back at his desk and opened his documents. The sound of the fireplace burning and Beric’s breathing were the only sounds in the room. After concentrating for a while, Ian felt something strange and looked at Beric.

“Ah.”

What a surprise.

Beric was staring at Ian with his eyes wide open. Ian flinched and frowned.

“The IV is working well.”

“…Why am I lying here?”

“You fainted after smelling Lady Rien’s powder. I should call the doctor again. Is there anything wrong with your body?”

Beric slowly got up and walked to the window with a blank expression. And then, he let out a sigh and a curse.

“Ha, damn it.”

“Beric?”

“Am I dreaming right now?”

“No. It seems like you’re awake.”

His blinking was slow, and his eyes were dull. Could this be a type of sleepwalking? Beric seemed to be trying to wake himself up by pressing his forehead against the cold window.

“Beric. What’s wrong? Is there a problem?”

“Ah, I see something strange.”

“Something strange? It’s a drug, so you might be hallucinating. Calm down and take a deep breath.”

At that moment, Ian wondered why Romandro, who had gone to get the chain, hadn’t come back yet. Ian slowly approached and grabbed Beric’s arm, worried that he might get agitated and start rampaging.

“If it’s hard to distinguish between reality and hallucination, it would be better to sleep more. I’ll call the doctor…”

“No. I can tell the difference.”

Beric just pressed his temples irritably.

There wasn’t really a big problem. It was just that his family, who had already died and whose bones had turned to dust, were standing there blankly. Without saying a word, just as they were in his memories.

Beric sighed and muttered.

“I feel a bit dirty.”

Clink.

At that moment, Romandro came in with the servants, carrying the chain. But he immediately stepped back when he saw Beric standing there, looking fine.

“You’re awake?”

“What is it?”

It was a question asking what the thing in his hand was, but Romandro’s face turned white and he stammered.

“You, you, you don’t recognize me?”

“What?”

“Ian, Ian! Do something about that!”

“Please calm down, Lord Romandro.”

He was about to tell him that he was more normal than he thought, but then a smile spread across Beric’s face as he grasped the situation. And he playfully twisted his wrist and approached Romandro.

“A talking pig rolled in from somewhere.”

“Eek! Sir Ian! Ian!”

“I’m going to catch you! I’m hungry, so I’m going to roast you!”

“S, s, soldiers! Where are the soldiers?”

Judging by the way he was joking, he was definitely recovering quickly. Romandro threw down the chain and ran out, and Beric chased after him, almost catching him.

“Oink oink! Where are you going? Come here!”

“U, ugh! Soldiers…!”

Thud! Thump!

Crash!

“Sir Ian, is Sir Beric really okay?”

“Huh? I think so.”

He was seeing things, but he was aware that they were illusions, so there shouldn’t be a problem. His mental strength was definitely top-notch.

‘He’s not a magic swordsman for nothing.’

The servant, not knowing the situation, just kept fiddling with the chain.