Margrave’s Bastard Son was The Emperor [EN]: Chapter 874

“Woah, woah, woah.”

At the guard’s signal, the horse slowed to a stop, snorting. Ian looked around the village with curious eyes and soon spotted a small sign.

‘Onlihol Village.’

A small village located near Onlihol, one of the rivers flowing through the center. It seemed to have everything, with inn flyers and various advertisements posted everywhere.

The guard pointed across the street to Romandro.

“Go to the inn over there. It’s the biggest one in the village. Get your luggage sorted out, and, uh… you said you wanted to investigate, right?”

“That’s right.”

“Come around four o’clock. I’ll have the boys ready by then.”

“Thanks a bunch.”

Romandro winked and playfully nudged the guard’s side. The guard chuckled at his easygoing manner.

Philia and the other doctors, with the help of the residents, moved the patients, while Romandro moved the luggage to the inn.

“Young Master, stay here with me until things are settled.”

“Hana, don’t you need treatment?”

“All I have is a slight scratch on my palm. It’ll heal if I just spit on it.”

Ian, sitting on Hana’s lap, basked in the sunlight. Just a moment ago, they were in a life-or-death situation with bandits attacking, but now it was as peaceful as if it had all been a dream.

Hana, too, seemed to relax, closing her eyes and savoring the warmth.

“Were you very surprised?”

“A little. But I’m okay.”

Because they survived.

Ian wiggled his toes and looked back at Nersarn. He was helping people carry luggage from the carriage into the inn.

‘It’s really amazing.’

To think that a stranger from the distant Great Desert just happened to be nearby and helped him. Nersarn didn’t know what the tribal chief’s last words meant, but since he had already saved him, that in itself must have some meaning.

Hana was about to dab the blood on Ian’s cheek with a handkerchief when-

Clatter, clatter!

Neigh!

Another commotion was heard from the village entrance. Was it the guard? The two of them simultaneously peeked out, then frowned.

“Hyah!”

It was Crony and his group.

They rushed into the village, leading their people, and then, upon finding Ian, they wore an unreadable expression.

“Uncle!”

Thud!

Crony jumped off his horse and ran to Ian. The villagers smiled with sympathy at his worried voice, not knowing the full story.

“Uncle, I heard the news. You encountered bandits? Are you hurt anywhere?”

“…Yes, Lord Crony. Thanks to everyone’s help, I’m safe. Is that why you came all this way?”

“Why do you say ‘is that why’? Of course, I had to come! Aren’t I your only protector right now?”

Since he hadn’t joined the Magic Department yet, Ian couldn’t argue and pursed his lips. Crony grabbed the child’s hand, as if to say, ‘See?’ and whispered.

“That’s why I told you. It’s dangerous outside the territory. The closer you get to the center, the more insidious people will be targeting you.”

It’s not too late. Shall we go back to the Hadel territory? If you stay hidden in the mansion, no one will harm you. That ‘no one’ includes me. Look, how many people died because of your little ambition? This is practically your last chance-

That’s what Crony seemed to be saying.

“You are too young, Uncle, and you have too much, and at the same time, there’s no one around to protect you. You can go to the center when you’re a little older. I’ll talk to the Magic Department separately. It’s okay, Ian, Uncle.”

Hana couldn’t even interject; Crony’s persuasion was thorough and calm. Ian looked up at him quietly and smiled.

“Thank you for your concern, Lord Crony.”

Smile? See this? Crony was slightly taken aback by Ian’s unexpected reaction.

“But I’ve already contacted the Imperial Palace that I’m going, so it wouldn’t be polite to change my mind. The bandit incident was ‘accidental,’ wasn’t it? I’m not going to dwell on it.”

“…What if it wasn’t an accident, but a sign?”

“Do you think these kinds of things will happen to me often, Lord Crony?”

“I hope not.”

“Then that’s settled.”

Ian, seeing Crony’s reluctance towards the Magic Department, came up with a clever plan.

‘If I say the bandits were targeting me here, the investigation might not be thorough. I’m too young to be linked to bandits, as Romandro said.’

But what if he hinted that the Magic Department was the target?

If he slightly twisted the story to suggest that there was an intention to harm Romandro and the Magic Department staff, the investigators wouldn’t easily dismiss it. The Magic Department wouldn’t ignore this either.

‘They’ll consider it an attack on the Magic Department and will thoroughly investigate, intending to use it to their advantage.’

Ian bowed to Crony and then scurried towards the inn.

It was truly a strange thing. Just a while ago, he thought he had no one by his side, but now it wasn’t true.

Hana following him, Romandro greeting him while carrying luggage, Nersarn looking at Crony with a puzzled expression, Philia making eye contact even in the chaos… Maybe it was because they were by his side, but he wasn’t as afraid as before.

‘As before?’

Ian’s thoughts stopped at the word that suddenly came to mind.

‘As before, huh.’

Could he call the days when his parents died ‘before’? It had only been about two weeks. ‘Before’ should refer to a day in the more distant past, shouldn’t it?

“Ian?”

“Ah, Romandro.”

“We’ll be going to work around four o’clock, so please wait a little longer. Are you hungry?”

“…I am.”

“Hana, take him to the dining hall for a meal.”

“Yes, I understand. Young Master, this way.”

Hana picked up Ian and went inside the inn.

Meanwhile, Romandro put down the luggage bag and looked at Crony, who was talking to the captain of the guard in the distance.

“It seems they were targeting me.”

He was thinking it wasn’t true, but Ian’s words kept bothering him. Wouldn’t there be some reason why the child would think that?

And if it was true, the most suspicious person right now was Crony.

‘What happens to the inheritance rights?’

It was important to know who would get the right to dispose of the Hadel territory if Ian was gone.

Romandro decided he would check that when he went to the center and watched Crony and the captain of the guard’s conversation closely.

“The bandits?”

“None of them have regained consciousness yet.”

They were all half-dead and delirious from the terrifying stranger’s punches.

Crony took out a cigarette and frowned.

“Tsk. Those damned bastards. Ian, my uncle, is the sole heir of the former Lord Hadel. He’s also the only inheritor of the territory. And recently, he even suffered the misfortune of losing both his parents. Yet, such an accident happened again on his way to the center. It breaks my heart.”

“Yes, yes, I understand. I apologize for not managing the security properly.”

The captain of the guard bowed his head deeply. At the same time, they exchanged a signal that they both knew.

There were several people who would be in trouble if the bandits were investigated here. The captain of the guard seemed to understand Crony’s intention and added, bowing his head.

“I swear on the honor of the captain of the guard, I will make them pay dearly. I will take measures to ensure they take full responsibility for this damage.”

“Good. Do a good job. Just thinking about those bastards makes my blood boil. How long are you going to be a captain in this backwater? You should come to the Imperial Palace.”

He meant that he could arrange a position in the Imperial Defense Department, so he should do his best to show his abilities.

The captain of the guard saluted sharply and went into the building.

* * *

“No, look at this.”

Romandro paused, looking bewildered. The blood on the guard’s sleeve was unusual.

They checked the time and grumbled that it was already four o’clock.

“You’ve arrived.”

“What’s going on?”

“What do you mean, what’s going on? We’re just doing our job. The bandits were rude and arrogant, so we taught them a lesson. But I don’t know what you’re trying to investigate, but it doesn’t seem like there’s anything special.”

Ian, who was hiding behind Romandro, poked his head out.

Regardless, the guard handed Romandro the statements they had obtained in advance and wiped the sweat and blood from his messy neck.

“The background checks are done, and they’re all wanted criminals. They’ve been appearing occasionally in the vicinity for a few months. There were two reported cases of damage to merchant groups and three cases of damage to travelers, all done by them.”

It was just a routine matter. The bandits attacked a passing carriage as usual, and it just happened to be the Hadel family’s procession. That was the conclusion the guards had reached.

“Hmm.”

Romandro carefully examined the contents. He used all his experience from working on documents in the Magic Department to see if there was anything suspicious, but there were no loopholes.

Having been engrossed in the work for quite some time, the guards sat down on their chairs, smoking cigarettes.

“If you still want to investigate, go inside.”

“Well, I’ve come this far, so I can’t just not do it, can I?”

“Ah, but-”

As Ian was about to follow Romandro in, the guard stopped him. He looked the child up and down, tilting his head with concern.

“It’s better if the child doesn’t go in.”

“Why?”

“There’s a lot of blood, and it’s… not a pretty sight.”

Romandro looked back at Ian. What should he do? Should he go in alone?

But Ian stuck close to Romandro and glared at the guard.

“I’m fine. And I am Ian Hadel.”

It was a rebuke for daring to call him a child.

The guard raised his hands slightly, admitting his mistake.

“I apologize. I’m tired, and my mind is half gone.”

“Be careful next time. Romandro, let’s go in.”

“Ah, yes, yes.”

Romandro grabbed the doorknob of the interrogation room and turned it. Then, a stench of blood wafted up. Romandro looked back at the guards after finding the bandits tied to chairs, half-dead.

“Hey, you!”

Wasn’t their condition too terrible?

They were covered in wounds from all sorts of torture and beatings. And more than anything, they were not in a state to be questioned.

“How can you do this to the suspects?”

“They wouldn’t open their mouths properly, so we did it the guard’s way. That’s why I told you it was shocking to see and to turn away.”

“That’s not what I meant. If you said you’d do the investigation at four o’clock, you should have at least… !”

At least they should have been left in a state where they could talk!

Romandro was about to shout that but stopped. He suddenly remembered Crony and the captain of the guard talking.

‘Could it be?’

…Could they have deliberately made them half-dead to silence them?

Romandro thought it was possible. He bit his lip, looking at the guards who were sneering as if it was nothing.

“Romandro.”

What should he do now?

Ian asked quietly, and Romandro sighed and rummaged through his pockets. He had no choice but to take out his secret weapon.

“There’s still a way.”

“A way?”

“There’s a crazy magician who has been a legend in the Magic Department since a long time ago. He even became the head of the Magic Department, but his achievements are underestimated because of his eccentric behavior.”

Poong!

Ian blinked at the pink vial Romandro took out. The sound of the lid popping open was quite cheerful.

“It’s a special Magic Department healing potion. There’s only one left because we used it on the injured, but it’s a shame, we have to use it on this guy. There’s something fishy going on, so I can’t just back down!”