Margrave’s Bastard Son was The Emperor [EN]: Chapter 915

“Uncle Ian, would you like another cup of tea?”

As Crony began to rise from his seat, Ian lightly shook his head, declining the offer.

Ian hadn’t even taken a sip because Ako had gulped it all down instead. It was actually for the best. Here, one shouldn’t carelessly consume anything, not even a single drop of water.

“I’m fine.”

“Is that so?”

Crony asked, his attention focused on the presence outside the tent. Two feet flickered beneath the tent. Although he had requested a private meeting with Ian and sent Ako outside, she was still lingering around.

‘She’s on guard.’

A mage could hear the sound of an ant crawling from dozens of steps away if they wanted to. It was clear that she intended to stop any foolish actions immediately.

‘But it doesn’t matter.’

Crony smiled lightly and straightened his posture. Then, he slowly placed the teacup down.

Clink.

Thanks to the brief pause, Ian glanced at Crony’s desk. It was spotless. There were no traces of ink or seals. There were no documents such as orders or reports either.

It was strange. Wasn’t this a conflict zone where local battles broke out all the time? Dozens of reports and orders should be exchanged daily, but the military commander’s desk was too clean. Ian, keeping this in mind, changed his expression and spoke.

“Lord Crony, I am curious about the secret of my parents that you mentioned in your letter.”

“You’re too hasty, Uncle. You’ve lived without knowing until now.”

It was a sharp tone, as if saying, ‘Are you going to die if you don’t hear it right away?’ It was more blatant than before.

Ian met Crony’s gaze with clear eyes and answered firmly.

“Things are different now than they were then, wouldn’t you say?”

“Haha! That’s right. But even if you continue not knowing, nothing will change in Uncle Ian’s life.”

Ian frowned slightly. If Ako were here, she would have definitely said this:

“He’s selling snake oil [a deceptive or fraudulent scheme].”

Why was he beating around the bush like that? Was it just a lie to lure him to the north?

If that was the case, it would be a relief, but that in itself was infuriating. How dare he bring up his father and mother? Who was it because of?

Clench.

Ian’s grip on his sleeve tightened. Then, Crony casually dropped a remark.

“Do you know that your mother, Lady Zeria, was actually an adopted daughter?”

Ian’s eyes widened slightly. Crony then wrinkled his nose as if it was quite an amusing sight.

“Judging by your reaction, you didn’t know.”

“That’s a lie. My mother was definitely-”

“There’s a saying, ‘When a child doesn’t come, bring one from outside.’ Lady Zeria was quite lucky.”

A woman who was chosen and lived the life of a noble, despite not knowing her origins.

Crony’s intention in saying this was clear.

‘You’re only half.’

A noble mage that people praise and revere? Don’t make me laugh. Not even knowing what flows in your blood. Crony suppressed a smile and observed the child’s complexion. Would he be flustered? It would be quite a sight if his glass-like blue eyes wavered.

However, Ian’s gaze, when he looked up, was so cold that it was hard to believe it belonged to a child.

“Do you have proof?”

Crony paused at the unexpected reaction.

“What did you say?”

“Proof, I mean. Proof to prove my mother’s origins. I’m asking if you have grounds to tell everyone, not just me.”

“Of course, I do. If Lady Zeria wasn’t an adopted daughter, how could she have married your uncle, who was so much older than her?”

Because she was adopted. There was no reason for her family to oppose it. Poor Lady Zeria, who was used and abandoned from beginning to end!

Ian’s eyebrows furrowed at Crony’s claim. It was all nonsense. Of course, his father and mother were not affectionate with each other. It was partly due to his father’s illness, and largely because both of them were naturally stoic. That’s what Ian knew.

But, instead of clear evidence, he was just bringing up such ridiculous reasons?

“So, you don’t have any.”

Swoosh. Ian rose from his seat, not hiding his anger. Sharply and blatantly, just like Crony had done.

“I am displeased, Lord Crony. The manners of the Alpat family seem to be different from the manners of the nobles I know.”

How could a noble utter such speculations so carelessly? Even if he was young, this was nothing more than the trickery of a common street vendor.

“If the mages find out that I came all this way to hear such nonsense, they will be greatly disappointed, so please keep your mouth shut.”

“Nonsense?”

Crony rose and approached him. His lips were trembling slightly. He whispered, meeting Ian’s gaze.

“I am warning you for your own good, Uncle Ian. If you rely too much on the fence of being a noble-born mage, you will fall someday.”

“I have no intention of relying on it, so I won’t fall. Lord Crony, you seem to have a lot of worries as well. Your mission is quite important.”

“Ha!”

It had only been a short while since they last met, but look at how the brat was talking. It was almost like he was imitating the head of the Hadel family.

Crony slowly rose, looking down at Ian with a mocking expression, and Ian looked up at Crony. A small neck that he could twist at any moment. He had a strong urge to kill him, but everything had its procedure. And that procedure also required the right intention. Crony smiled brightly.

“Let’s end our conversation here, Uncle Ian. It would be good to clear up any misunderstandings. Aren’t we going to be ‘family’ now?”

“…The closer the relationship, the more precious it should be.”

“Of course. That’s right. You should cherish me, and I should cherish you. Well, let’s have deep conversations later. You’re already busy, and I don’t want to keep the mage waiting too long.”

At Crony’s words, Ako’s footsteps stopped abruptly. Ian made eye contact with her and then walked out of the tent, immediately facing Ako, who was standing awkwardly.

“Is the talk over?”

Ian nodded silently. Ako lightly wrapped her arm around Ian’s shoulder and pretended to spit towards the tent. The soldiers were startled, but since it was just a gesture, they had no choice but to awkwardly let Ako pass.

“Did you hear?”

“Well, there wasn’t much to hear.”

“…What could he be up to?”

Ian believed that Crony’s words were false. And even if they were true, it wouldn’t have any impact on his future…

“!”

In an instant, a thought flashed through Ian’s mind, and he turned sharply towards the tent. He instinctively felt why Crony was clinging to his mother’s origins.

The clue was the Emperor.

“If I were to pass away, your position would probably be yours.”

“……!”

“Ian Hadel. Although you are from a collateral line, you have the blood of the Imperial family, and you are the first noble mage. If it weren’t for your young age, everyone would follow you without objection.”

The words he had secretly called him to the bedroom to discuss. Based on this, since half of his blood was from a collateral line of the Imperial family, there was nothing they could do about it, so wouldn’t they try to question the legitimacy of the other half?

And if all of this was true…

‘Something might happen to His Majesty soon.’

Ian froze, facing the tent.

Ako also looked towards the tent. The neatly closed entrance of the tent swayed slightly in the wind. Through the gap, Crony and his subordinates could be seen talking about something.

“Ian?”

“Ako, let’s finish our work and go back quickly.”

“Suddenly? Why?”

Instead of answering, Ian just turned to face forward as if nothing was wrong. He couldn’t reveal his secret conversation with the Emperor to anyone.

The good thing was that there was still time. No matter how much Crony was, it hadn’t been long since the Minister and Vice-Minister had died. He hadn’t even properly taken control of the Imperial Defense Department yet, so how could he touch the Emperor? It’s okay. It couldn’t be that bad yet.

“It’s just that there’s no point in staying here for too long.”

“Yeah, you’re right. It’s just a barren land anyway, it doesn’t seem like there’s anything here. Hey, Hale!”

At Ako’s call, Hale, who had a cigarette in his mouth, nodded.

“The conversation was long.”

“I made it as short as possible? What about Kyu?”

“Taking a walk.”

It meant that he was looking for the Idgal burial site. Rumor had it that it was still filling a huge crack, so it should be easy to find from the sky if it was nearby.

“What about you? Were you just smoking?”

“Well, I was looking around.”

“Was there anything worth seeing?”

Ako was about to ask for one too, but then she made eye contact with Ian, who was standing next to them with his bright eyes. Ah, this is just great. The air is nice, and it would be perfect to smoke one cigarette to calm my nerves…

As Ako withdrew her regretful hand, Hale pointed towards the minor tribe’s camp.

“That side is suspicious. All the messengers went in that direction.”

“Astana? It’s the only kingdom, right? Maybe that’s why?”

“I have a bad feeling.”

Ian gently tugged on Ako’s sleeve.

“Ako, is there a kingdom in the north? I’ve only heard of Toolun.”

“Uh-huh. It’s more like a tribal alliance than a kingdom, so it doesn’t really have a big presence. Other than the fact that the royal family is famous for necromancy [the practice of communicating with the dead].”

“Necromancy…”

They have quite a spooky ability. When Ian made a nervous expression, Ako chuckled. He was the one who broke the Imperial Palace’s barrier by himself, what was he so scared of?

At that moment, Hale gestured for the two of them to come closer.

“Why?”

“Just come here. Ian, you too.”

“Yes.”

The three of them huddled together, heads close.

It looked so ridiculous that the soldiers passing by glanced at them. The eccentricities of mages were well-known, but seeing even a child acting like that, it seemed that the quirky nature was innate. It was like God had given them one thing and taken away another.

“There’s no tension between the two camps. They’re only confronting each other in words, I don’t feel any hostility.”

Hale shared what he had witnessed with the two of them. Ian had also seen and felt something in Crony’s tent, so he could easily agree.

Only Ako was resting her chin on her hand, lost in thought, but only for a moment-

“Then, should we just attack first?”

A strange light flickered in Ako’s eyes. Not brilliance, but a spark of madness.

“What?”

“Huh?”

Hale and Ian were startled and asked at the same time, and Ako shrugged.

“It’s like, things are too quiet after coming here, so if we just help them out and stir things up, wouldn’t that work out somehow? No matter what they were plotting behind the scenes.”

The minor tribe alliance would distrust Crony’s side for not stopping the mages, and Crony wouldn’t even have a chance to explain himself as long as the mages were there, so the emotional rift would deepen.

They didn’t know what kind of scheme they had been up to, but their relationship couldn’t continue to be all smiles after being hit hard. And there was no one better than the Magic Department to deliver a hard blow.

“Ako, calm down. Crony has the command of the war. If we interfere without reporting, it will harm not only us but the entire Magic Department. Arena might be reprimanded.”

“Wow, that’s awesome.”

When Ako gave a thumbs up, saying that it was tempting, Ian carefully folded it back down. Hale rubbed his eyebrows and then answered as if there was no other choice.

“I guess my job here is decided.”

Not a member of the Magic Department, but an outsider. There was no one more suitable than him. Hale muttered with an unlit cigarette in his mouth.

“Well, I guess I’ll just go get hit.”

“Oh. Are you sure?”

“Being a mercenary is all about using your body.”

“Good work ethic, and full of fighting spirit-!”

Unlike Ako, who was delighted, Ian looked worried. Then, Hale smiled and ruffled Ian’s hair.

“Don’t worry. I was just curious. Why did all the tribes gather towards Astana? I can’t stand not knowing when I’m curious.”