Margrave’s Bastard Son was The Emperor [EN]: Chapter 912

“A reply has arrived!” the mages maintaining the portal shouted. A mage who had been waiting eagerly snatched the letter that had rolled out, and the portal closed immediately. The mages wiped away their sweat, continuously complaining to the empty air as if Crony’s face were right there.

“Ugh, seriously. What’s taking him so long?”

“Right? I thought I was going to die from exhaustion.”

“Seriously. He acts like magic is something you can just get for free. There’s not a single thing I like about him.”

“No, but we have to do this again tomorrow, right?”

“Minister Arena! The reply!”

The mages handed over the letter, and Arena took off her glasses to examine the contents. Ian sat politely in front of her, waiting for her to pass him the paper.

After a moment, she sighed and handed the letter to Ian.

“He’s not making this easy.”

“Minister, what does it say?”

“Ian, he says he’d like you to come to the North.”

He offered the secret about his parents and the acceptance of the guardianship application if he came. Just as they had offered a well-prepared bait, the other side had sent a well-prepared trap, fully laid out.

Ian pondered for a moment, then glanced at Arena.

“Absolutely not.”

No way. He wasn’t going to the North.

They didn’t know what the situation was like there, but it was a war zone, and no one knew what Crony would do to Ian. They had accepted the joint guardianship, but they couldn’t allow him to go to the North.

“But, Minister Arena.”

Aide, who had been listening quietly, offered his opinion.

“Even if it’s not Ian, the Magic Department needs to go to the North on a business trip. Even if it’s just to find the Idgal burial site.”

Arena pressed her temples and looked around at the old papers scattered throughout the office. They had turned the Imperial Central Archives and the entire Magic Department upside down to find information about Idgal, but nothing had turned up.

Crony hadn’t gotten a clue about Idgal from the Imperial Palace either. Paradoxically, the center of the world, the Imperial Palace, had completely erased anything about Idgal, and traces were revealed as they went outside. The story of the Thousand Li [a traditional Chinese unit of distance, roughly equivalent to 500 meters] in the Great Desert was proof of that.

“Isn’t it possible that one of the reasons Crony went to the North was to investigate the Idgal burial site there?”

“…At this point, it’s almost certain, isn’t it?”

Just the fact that a piece of Idgal had been found in the drawer made it clear that he was looking for it. Didn’t Ako also testify that there was a burial site somewhere in the North? In this situation, it didn’t make sense that Crony didn’t know.

“I think we should send mages now to investigate and monitor Crony and extract clues about Idgal.”

“How?”

“Crony requested Ian, didn’t he? To be honest, we can use that as a very plausible justification.”

They had already rejected the Imperial Defense Department’s request for support, so it wouldn’t look good if they just jumped through the portal. There was no justification for suddenly accepting.

But if you thought about it differently, that was then, and this is now, right? Besides, this time, the other side called for Ian first.

“How about pretending to accept it and forming an escort and investigation team?”

Arena frowned and turned to the aide, as if he was saying something ridiculous. But the aide didn’t back down, and Arena didn’t nag either. From a political point of view, it was an excellent move.

‘But Ian…’

Arena pondered for a moment, then asked when she noticed Ian was deep in thought.

“What are you thinking so hard about?”

“Ah. Something feels strange.”

“What is it?”

“The Imperial Defense Department and Idgal.”

When Arena looked at him as if urging him on, Ian elaborated.

“Before the expedition, you said the Imperial Defense Department requested support from the Magic Department. Why did they do that? If they knew about Idgal?”

“…So, they didn’t know about Idgal back then?”

Ian nodded, and Arena’s eyebrows furrowed. It was a reasonable deduction.

“Well, even if they expected us not to respond, it’s not an easy proposal. If we accepted, it would interfere with the Idgal investigation.”

“It’s highly likely that the Minister and Vice-Minister of the Imperial Defense Department didn’t know.”

The commander of the Northern Expeditionary Force was Crony, but the important decision-making power for the war was with the Minister of the Imperial Defense Department. As Ian said, perhaps Crony alone, or his subordinates, were the only ones in the current Imperial Defense Department who knew about Idgal.

‘It would be a problem if it expanded to his subordinates.’

With the Minister and Vice-Minister removed, all that remained in the Imperial Defense Department was Crony’s faction. If it became known that they had the power to keep the Magic Department in check, it would be easier for them to gain support from other departments.

“This is a headache, really. Who is the guy who made Idgal? I’d give him a hundred head-flicks.”

At Arena’s annoyed muttering, Ian slurped his milk. That’s right. Who on earth, and why, made it and messed up the situation like this? Sigh.

“Minister Arena.”

The aide called her name tentatively.

Originally, they should have delivered the news of Crony’s death today, but the Magic Department had postponed it for a while. But this was only a temporary measure. The matter of informing him of his death was an issue for the Imperial Palace itself, so it couldn’t be delayed for long. In other words, they had to quickly decide whether to send a mage to the North with him or not.

“Haaah. Where am I supposed to send this little kid!”

Arena hugged Ian tightly and whined, and Ian wriggled away. Then, he straightened his collar again and sat on the sofa with a dignified look.

“Minister, please don’t worry too much.”

“How can I not worry?! Look in the mirror, look in the mirror!”

“If anything happens, I’ll open a portal and come back on my own.”

“…?”

Arena, who had been holding a hand mirror up to Ian, stopped in surprise. The aide also raised his eyebrows, wondering if he had misheard. A moment of silence passed.

“Ian. Arrogance is poison.”

“I think I can do it. If you don’t believe me, I’ll open the portal by myself tomorrow.”

“Ha.”

Look at this cute, fearless genius baby?

However, Ian kept clenching his small fists as if he could do it, persuading Arena.

“I also make the strongest shields among the mages.”

“Yeah. I’ve heard that.”

“I can attack if I want to.”

“You can, but you shouldn’t. If you grow up like that from a young age, you’ll become a psycho- no, like Ako later.”

It’s our Magic Department’s destiny to raise you correctly, kindly, and upright, you little thing.

Ian pondered for a moment at the words ‘become like Ako,’ but he didn’t back down.

“But as I said before, no one knows when we’ll be able to find Crony’s weakness again if not now.”

Ian stared intently.

“And it might be a lie, but… I also want to know what the secret about my parents is. There might be something I don’t know.”

There it was. The secret of his parents.

Arena repeatedly rubbed her face and rolled her eyes. Except for the fact that Ian was young, there was no reason to oppose anything from head to toe, and it was driving her crazy.

“Okay. Then let’s first get support from the mages who will go to the North, excluding Ian.”

They would get support, and Ian’s participation would be decided later.

When Ian reluctantly nodded, Arena went out to the garden where the mages were gathered and snapped her fingers.

“Focus!”

The mages, who had just exerted themselves, were sprawled on the grass as if they were exhausted, only turning their heads slightly.

“Who wants to go to the North for support?”

What was that supposed to mean? They had to say something that made sense. The mages turned their heads away listlessly, as if they had heard a dog barking.

When there was no response, Arena raised her voice again and added conditions.

“Five times the salary! One week of paid vacation when you come back!”

“The salary isn’t that appealing, but the paid vacation is tempting.”

“Do you believe that? When you come back, it’ll be a week’s worth of bombs [meaning a lot of work].”

“Is no one going?!”

“Shouldn’t the Minister go?”

“Oh, that’s right. The Minister should go!”

The mages’ eyes sparkled as they jumped up, as if they had found the perfect solution. Arena waved her hand, saying, ‘Never mind.’

“Naaa-!”

At that moment, a desperate cry came from behind. It was Ako, running with his white gown fluttering. His momentum was so fierce that even Arena flinched.

“Me! Me! I’ll go! I’ll go to the North!”

“C-calm down.”

“Hehehe. You’re going because of Idgal, right? I’m definitely going. Anyone who thinks about taking my place, be prepared!”

…?

No one. Not at all.

“Who’s taking it? I wouldn’t take it even if you gave it to me.”

“Tsk tsk. You blockheads. Can’t you calculate? This is a golden opportunity!”

The mages just stared blankly at Ako’s commotion.

On the other hand, Arena’s worries deepened. She needed a ‘reliable’ mage to take care of and protect Ian, but since Ako was the only applicant, she had no choice. It would be more natural for Ian to take care of Ako.

“Hmm.”

Arena groaned. It wasn’t that she hadn’t considered the candidates before. There were many mages who could be assigned to Ian. It was just that none of them met the conditions.

‘A strong mage who is not affiliated with the Magic Department and is trustworthy.’

A mage who could fight if necessary, who could handle the situation politically even if he harmed Crony, the likely next Minister of the Imperial Defense Department, and who was one step removed from politics.

Someone who was capable and free from responsibility…

‘Is there anyone like that?’

It was then.

“Excuse me.”

“Huh?”

At the unfamiliar voice, Arena turned around and saw a man with brown hair peeking out and looking around the garden. Everyone wondered who he was, but then Ian recognized him and greeted him.

“Professor!”

“Ian.”

“What brings you here?”

“You haven’t been coming to school.”

There was only one student taking the class, and that child was absent. If it was Ian, he was not the type to skip class without a reason, so he guessed that something had happened. It seemed like nothing was wrong, rather than being worried.

“Ah! Hale! You’re Hale, right?”

“Do you know me?”

“Of course. You’re famous. I’m Arena.”

“Ah, you’re the Minister.”

“You know me?”

“Yes. You’re also famous…”

The two exchanged awkward smiles and shook hands, and the mages lay sideways, watching Hale. Was that the famous mercenary mage? Ian’s professor? They were looking at him as if to see what he was like.

“Ah.”

Then, Ian, who had been looking up at Hale, grabbed his sleeve as if he had realized something.

“Ian?”

“Professor. Do you have any thoughts about doing a field trip?”

“A field trip?”

Then, suddenly, Arena’s eyes lit up.

‘Trustworthy, familiar with the northern region from his mercenary life, skilled, and above all, not affiliated with the Magic Department?!’

It was perfect. Arena slapped her palm with her fist. As if she had found the right person.

But then she shook her head roughly.

“No, no! Ian, we haven’t decided yet whether you’ll join or not. So, calm down-”

“Professor. There’s work in the North, and I think you can learn a lot if you go. Can you please go with me? Please?”

As Ian clung to Hale’s waist and kept asking, Hale glanced at Arena, wondering what was going on.

Arena felt a sense of crisis. If Ian said he would go to the North as part of the Energes class, not the Magic Department, it would be a real headache. She had to stop it here!

“Ian, wait a minute. Calm down first-”

“If you go on a field trip to the North, the Magic Department said they’ll give you a lecture fee. Five times the mage’s salary!”

Oh, my god. Arena smacked her forehead. She should have realized it sooner. Sure enough, Hale was interested in the high pay and interesting work.

“Is this true?”

Arena reluctantly nodded as if she couldn’t live anymore, and then, with a formal smile, she guided Hale.

“Wait, would you like to come into the Minister’s office? There’s something we need to talk about.”