Margrave’s Bastard Son was The Emperor [EN]: Chapter 890

The Imperial Palace Magic Department.

Arena, her hair hastily tied up, was frantically flipping through documents. She had clearly finished everything and left work in the early hours of yesterday, but when she arrived at work, it was all back to square one.

‘This is a curse, damn it. Am I so dense that I can’t understand that I’m supposed to die from overwork and step down? Huh?’

‘Minister, what are you muttering to yourself? It’s scary.’

‘You try being the minister! Wouldn’t you get angry! I clearly organized everything a few hours ago, but where did all this stuff come from!’

‘If you ask where it came from, well, these five bundles are from the administration department, these two bundles are internal reports from the magic department, and this side is—’

‘Shut up!’

Kaaak! If she was provoked any more, it felt like flames would burst from her mouth. The magician pursed his lips and quietly focused on sorting the documents.

At that moment, footsteps echoed from the end of the hallway. Arena and the magician simultaneously looked towards the door.

‘…Ah, this feels ominous. Right?’

‘Yes, nothing good ever comes from someone running like that.’

Bang!

‘Minister, something terrible has happened!’

‘Did you forget how to knock?’

‘We received a call from Energes [the school].’

‘Energes?’

Arena put down her pen and checked the desk calendar. Come to think of it, today was Ian Hadel’s first day of school? But why are they calling? And with something that can be called ‘terrible’ at that?

‘Why?! Did something happen to Ian Hadel?’

‘No, it’s not that, but, well, he blew up the garden.’

‘What? Who?’

‘Ian Hadel did.’

Arena blinked, wondering if she had misheard. Was the garden something that could be blown up? As Arena just gaped, the magician standing next to her asked back.

‘Are you sure it was Ian Hadel?’

‘Yes, there are many witnesses. The school is currently trying to handle it, but they urgently contacted us saying they need help from the magic department. I think Lord Romandro has already gone ahead…….’

‘…Why?’

She was asking about the reason why Ian Hadel had blown up the garden.

She had only met him once, but Ian Hadel was a child who had the bearing of a noble. He was calm, polite, and incredibly intelligent. There was no way such a child would cause an accident for no reason, especially on his first day of school.

‘I’m not sure about that…. You should probably go and hear it yourself.’

‘I’m going crazy. Prepare for an outing.’

‘Yes, I understand.’

Arena got up, grabbing her coat. What was the magic department’s direction for raising Ian Hadel? It was ‘correctly’. To raise him as a strong vessel that could fully contain his destructive power.

‘Is this, is this correct?’

First, it would be best to hurry and find out what happened. If there was a valid reason, she would take appropriate action, and if not…….

‘Hah, can I even scold him?’

Arena pressed her forehead, troubled. She still didn’t know what it meant to ‘scold well’ without mixing in emotions. And more than anything—

‘What if Ian Hadel, like, attacks me?’

‘It’s still okay. Minister, you’ll win.’

‘Really? If I lose, it’s your fault.’

‘…Um, Minister?’

The magician who was reporting smiled awkwardly, as if there was still something left to say. Arena stopped, halfway through putting her arm in her sleeve.

‘Why?’

‘The annex was also destroyed.’

Arena’s mouth slowly opened.

‘Fortunately, no one was hurt. You can bring the seal to stamp on the repair bill.’

‘I’m going crazy, really!’

‘This wasn’t Ian Hadel, it was Kyu [a dragon].’

‘What?!’

Kyu? She thought he had become more mature after growing up a bit, but where did he go and break someone else’s building?

The magician smiled subtly, as if he didn’t know either. It was an expression of almost giving up and reaching enlightenment.

‘Let’s go!’

‘Yes, let’s go.’

Damn it, damn it! As Arena stormed out of the minister’s office, the magicians who were coming to deliver reports to her looked at her with puzzled expressions. Judging by her running, something must have happened. It was unfortunate, but it was a relief that it wasn’t their problem.

‘Okay. Let’s come back later.’

‘But today is Ian Hadel’s first day of work, right?’

‘I think so?’

‘…We should prepare some snacks.’

The magicians leisurely flipped through their reports and turned around, watching the magic department minister flying away in the distance.

* * *

Thud!

As Arena roughly threw open the door to the faculty office, the people inside turned around in surprise.

Ian, who was sitting on the sofa drinking warm tea, also recognized her. Arena, who was panting with tension and excitement, paused when she saw Ian’s condition.

‘Ian Hadel?’

‘Ah, Minister.’

‘Why do you look like that, no, what’s your condition?’

His hair was disheveled, and although he had roughly wiped it off, the dust wasn’t completely gone, and his uniform was stained and messy. It looked like he had rolled around somewhere.

The headmaster, Dashua, approached, sniffing his nose.

‘Minister Arena?’

‘Ah, Headmaster Dashua? You’ve been here a long time.’

It was a simple greeting without much meaning, but the last words pierced Dashua’s heart. It sounded like, ‘You were an unpopular professor back then, and you still are?’ Dashua stammered, clearing his throat before answering.

‘Yes, well, this position has its own difficulties. There’s more work than I thought, and if you don’t have a sense of duty…….’

‘Anyway, what happened?’

She was asking why the park had exploded and why Ian Hadel looked like that. At Arena’s sharp tone, Ian glanced up at her.

‘It’s just that Ian Hadel went into the garden called the ‘incinerator’. It’s a place where students are usually prohibited from entering, but I guess we weren’t careful enough.’

At the headmaster’s words, Ian remained silent without any response. Arena sensed something was wrong and sat down on the sofa. Not across from Ian, but next to him.

‘Incinerator?’

‘Yes, it was created by spatial mages’ experiments a few years ago—’

‘Ah, yes, I remember. You were going to close it, but then you said you would operate it because it was surprisingly useful. But Ian went in there? Alone?’

The last question was directed at Ian.

The boy looked at Arena and answered clearly.

‘Yes. I think I went in the wrong way because I’m not familiar with the area. I tried to get out right away, but it wasn’t easy, so I had no choice but to break through with magic.’

Ian didn’t mention the students who had taken him to the garden.

It wasn’t that he had any noble intentions of forgiving them. If he was called here and questioned, they would just give a hollow reason like ‘I just wanted to bully him,’ and that would be the end of it. To grasp a more concrete and certain truth, it seemed better to move directly.

‘Broke through with magic? That garden?’

‘Yes. They said it can’t be restored.’

‘Ah.’

A short exclamation. What was it about? Dashua kept twitching as if trying to sense the atmosphere with his nose. Arena, who had been thinking quietly, realized something and her eyes flashed.

‘Headmaster—!’

‘Eek!’

‘So, you’re saying that Ian Hadel went into a dangerous area and this happened? Am I understanding correctly?’

‘W-w-well, depending on each person’s perspective, you could see it that way, but, um— I mean, it’s not like there’s only one way to interpret it—’

‘Please state your opinion clearly. Wait, no!’

‘W-wait!’

‘This is a matter that I, as Ian Hadel’s guardian, cannot overlook. So, not only did you leave a dangerous area in the school, but you were also careless about access control?’

‘We originally put up a barrier and warning signs in front of it…….’

‘In the cutting-edge academy that leads the future of the empire, what kind of shabby excuse is that?’

Arena’s voice continued to rise. This was partly to defend Ian Hadel, but also to gain the upper hand in the ‘Kyu’ incident that would be discussed next.

Ian, who had been glancing at Arena shouting with all her might, suddenly interjected.

‘Minister.’

‘I hold the academy entirely responsible— Huh? Why?’

At Ian’s call, Arena’s voice broke off at once.

‘I’m sorry. It was my fault. I’ll be careful next time, so if you need compensation, please let me know, and I would be grateful if you would forgive me. Class is starting.’

‘Oh my? Ian Hadel, there’s nothing to charge you for. If there’s any danger in the future, protect yourself by any means. You are a precious resource of the magic department and the imperial palace.’

Got it?

As Arena raised her eyebrows, Ian smiled faintly and nodded. She gestured gracefully towards the faculty office door, as if telling him to go first.

‘Go on. You’ll be late for class.’

‘Then, I’ll see you later at the magic department.’

At his polite bow, Arena sighed in relief. She had been worried that Ian might have caused an accident, but this was acceptable.

Squeak!

As Ian left, Arena also slowly got up, watching Dashua’s reaction.

‘Anyway, Headmaster, let’s discuss this matter separately. I won’t let the safety situation at Energes go unnoticed! Well, then.’

‘Wait a minute.’

‘…Yes?’

Arena, who was trying to sneak out, was caught by the back of her neck. Dashua changed his expression, twitching his black nose.

‘You need to discuss compensation for property damage related to the magic department’s dragon.’

‘…….’

Ha, seriously. He’s not letting it go. Even if he’s a mole, a professor is a professor, huh? Arena slumped back onto the sofa as if giving up.

‘…I’m sorry.’

Then, she changed her attitude and apologized in a subdued voice.

Hmm, hmm, Dashua, who had been waiting for this moment, kept patting his face fur and grumbling.

‘No, no— it’s not a lizard. It’s a dragon, a dragon! The magic department should have managed it carefully. Not only did it suddenly enter the school, but it also caused property damage… this is a problem, isn’t it?’

The situation had reversed in an instant. Arena tried to look away and asked.

‘Why did Kyu do that? He’s usually so gentle. He’s never caused an accident before…….’

‘Well? The magic department is the one that can communicate with dragons, so wouldn’t the magicians know? First of all, the estimated damage is about this much.’

Swoosh.

Arena suspiciously flipped over the paper that Dashua had handed her. One, two, three, four zeros…….

‘Is this correct?!’

‘You can check it separately at the magic department.’

‘No, this, this guy who only eats expensive things, what did he do, ha! Where is Kyu right now?’

She had to ask about the details, or else her blood pressure would rise and she wouldn’t be able to live. How much would the budget department scold her?

-Kyu?

Kyu was hanging upside down from the faculty office window. Arena beckoned with her finger, looking like she had caught him.

Meanwhile, Ian went up to Building 2 alone.

Ian paused for a moment in front of the classroom door.

‘As if nothing happened.’

If he showed his emotions, he would show his weakness to the other party. They tried to put him in danger, but he wanted to show that he was fine— that’s how he wanted to appear.

Squeeze.

Ian pressed his cheeks with all his might and calmed himself. After class, he would observe their reactions, find out why they did that, and whether Chrony had ordered them to do it.

Squeak!

The gazes of the professor, who was engrossed in the lesson, and the students, who were half-asleep, poured in. Ian’s eyes widened as he saw the sparsely empty seats.

‘Ian Hadel? Come in quickly.’

‘Ah, yes.’

What happened? All the kids who took Ian to the garden…….

‘They’re gone?’

Ian carefully sat down in his seat. Then, he glanced at Hans, who was bandaged all over his head and taking notes.

‘Hey, why are you so hurt?’

‘…….’

‘Do you know where the others went?’

Hans glared at Ian as if to say that class was more important, even though he had a lot to say. Ian smiled awkwardly and opened his book, wondering where the missing children had gone, and blinked.

-Kyoooooo!

It sounded like he could hear a dragon’s roar from somewhere.