Margrave’s Bastard Son was The Emperor [EN]: Chapter 93

Dive’s residence wasn’t far from the mansion. The butler, who had accompanied him on the Lady’s orders, stared blankly out of the carriage window, as if he were in shock. It seemed the death of his master had hit him pretty hard.

“…Sir Ian.”

Ian responded by turning his head.

“Now that it’s just the two of us, I’d like you to tell me the truth.”

“About what?”

“Are you really not involved with the Lady?”

“Ha, seriously.”

“This is important to me.”

“Is that so? It’s a pointless question to me.”

The butler was puzzled. If Ian wasn’t involved with her, why had the Lady refused to return to her bedroom in such a panic? Her panicked reaction was clearly that of someone whose secret had been exposed.

“If you two really aren’t like that, I feel like all this tragedy started with my misjudgment.”

If he had ignored the servants’ gossip, it seemed like it wouldn’t have been a tragic night for the Count, the Lady, or Clark.

Ian chuckled and muttered.

“Was it Samon?”

“Yes.”

“Samon, who said it was a tragedy?”

“…Yes?”

“Is someone’s death always a tragedy? It certainly is for the Count, but for those who wished for his death, what could be a greater blessing? I believe you know that well, butler.”

There were many servants who were beaten and crippled, and he had watched the Lady suffer as she bloomed with bruises in their place.

Samon covered his eyes and sighed in a low voice. He didn’t know what the right thing to do was.

“And even if it is a tragedy, it’s not because of your misjudgment, but because of the Count’s shitty personality.”

Ian drew a firm line. Meanwhile, the carriage gradually slowed down. They had arrived at Dive’s residence. It was quite far out of the way, and there were few houses around.

“Hmm. It’s more charming and pleasant than I thought.”

A three-story mansion with a low roof. Compared to the homes of commoners, it could be called a palace, but it was quite modest for a noble to live in. There was only one willow tree in the small garden.

“Are you Butler Samon?”

A servant who came out at the sound of voices recognized Samon and bowed. He rarely came in person, so he wondered what was going on. And he had brought a stranger with him.

“Is Dive inside?”

“Yes. He’s in prayer.”

“There’s bad news. Show me the way.”

“Ah, yes. This way…”

At the word ‘bad news,’ the servant went inside first. The inside of the mansion didn’t seem particularly special either, except for the dark paintings on the walls.

‘By the way, prayer?’

It was a bit unexpected. It was hard to find devout people in the border region. In the central region, there was the Papal State, and it was closer to magic, so there was a sense of reverence for God.

But here, the lord’s power was equal to that of the emperor. Everything revolved around the Count, so there was no place to assert power in the name of faith.

“Please wait here for a moment.”

Squeak.

The servant led Ian and Samon to the drawing room. It seemed he was the only one who served in the mansion, as there was no sign of anyone else and no noise. Ian rubbed the back of his neck, feeling awkward, and asked Samon.

“By the way, what kind of person is Dive?”

“Dive? Didn’t you know him well?”

“He’s not my brother, how would I know him?”

Samon seemed to be pondering how to describe him. While waiting for his answer, Ian looked around the drawing room more closely.

A red-painted dogwood cross, a geometric tablecloth, dried leaves, colorful beads strung together, and books piled up to the ceiling without bookshelves….

“Other than Dive’s unique aesthetic sense, I don’t know anything about him.”

Samon glanced at the tightly closed door and cleared his throat.

“Actually, I don’t know much about his childhood, but I’ve heard that Dive was very studious.”

“Studious?”

Samon wasn’t from Mereloff either, but a settler, so he didn’t know much about their childhood. He only knew fragments of rumors that had been passed down.

“The Count didn’t seem interested in anything but money, not academics.”

Samon wanted to argue, but since it wasn’t exactly wrong, he ignored it.

“The Count said he thought his studiousness was a blessing, but later he realized it was a curse. He read a forbidden book from abroad.”

“A forbidden book, like what?”

“It was about the Undergod.”

“Ah. The Undergod.”

“Do you know about it?”

Ian let out a small exclamation. It was packaged with a grand name, but the essence was simple. A new religion created among the lower classes in another country. At this time, it was considered just one of many heresies, but as time passed, its scale grew and its influence became powerful.

‘Bariel is outside its sphere of influence, but other countries have had a lot of trouble with it. Religious wars have broken out.’

Since Mereloff was in charge of the trade route for new goods coming into Bariel, they would naturally have had opportunities to come into contact with such things. Ian crossed his arms and stroked his chin.

‘Seriously, this territory is a mess…’

It was a complete disaster, he wondered how it had been running until now. The Count, who was the lord, was a mentally ill man with severe paranoia, and his only heir was a heretic. It was a total train wreck.

‘In this case, it would be better to replace the head of the family, as the Lady said.’

No one could guarantee what would happen if power was given to a heretic. In the long run, it could be a threat not only to Ian’s territory but to Bariel itself.

Squeak.

“Samon.”

“Ah, Dive.”

At that moment, the drawing room door opened and Dive entered. He was younger than Ian had expected, probably in his late thirties. His features were certainly similar to the Count’s, but his overall atmosphere was very different.

He had the aura of someone who would seclude himself and only pray.

“I have received an answer from the Undergod.”

“There, there is bad news.”

“Who has died?”

Samon was startled by his insight and nodded, but Ian just snorted in disbelief. If it was bad news, it was obviously someone’s death. It was ridiculous how he acted as if he had guessed something so great.

“The Count was, unfortunately, killed by a servant in the mansion last night. The doctor is stitching up his wounds for the funeral.”

“Haa.”

Dive only let out a meaningless sigh. He seemed to be feeling sorry, but also relieved and happy. He put his fingertips together and touched his forehead, muttering something.

‘He’s a severe case, a severe case.’

“By the way, who is this person next to you?”

“Ah, this is Sir Ian, the new lord of the neighboring territory.”

At Samon’s introduction, Ian offered a handshake.

“I’m Ian. I haven’t received my family name from the Emperor yet, so feel free to call me by my name. Currently, a royal advisor is with us, and Lady Rienne Mereloff requested my help, so I came here.”

Dive glanced at his hand, then reluctantly took it and responded. He had also heard rumors about Ian. That a bastard of common birth had overthrown his father and become the new lord.

“What kind of help?”

“Starting with informing Dive of the news like this, and various other things in the mansion. Lady Rienne is so distraught, she needs someone to look after her.”

“My sister-in-law is something else. Bringing in an outsider when she has family. I’ll get ready soon. I’ll return to the mansion.”

Ian smiled and nodded. But even in their short conversation, there were a few things that bothered him. Ian was younger and from a low background, but he had received a title, while Dive didn’t. There was an undercurrent of contempt in his attitude, as if he was looking down on him just because he was from a noble family.

‘And he says he’ll return?’

It could be an overreaction, but his attitude, as if the mansion was originally his, was particularly annoying. Dive left the drawing room to change his clothes, and Ian turned to Samon.

“Butler, do you want Dive to become the new head of the family?”

Samon hesitated for a moment. He couldn’t easily say yes to the sudden question. The Count wasn’t a good master, but he was good at business.

But what about Dive? He had never done any work since he became an adult, and he was obsessed with a cult, spending half of his day praying.

“If he comes to the mansion, you’ll probably lose your place. You’re not a family retainer, are you?”

Usually, a butler was someone the head of the family trusted to manage the mansion. Dive had a servant who served him, so if he returned to the mansion, he would naturally appoint him as the butler.

“I have no right to speak. I served the Count, so I only wish for the glory of Mereloff, following his will.”

“Hmm. Is that so?”

Really? Ian raised an eyebrow and asked again, but he couldn’t get an answer.

They returned to the mansion with Dive in the lead. On the way to the entrance of the mansion, Ian noticed a familiar carriage….

“Isn’t that Sir Ian’s carriage?”

“Yes, it seems Beric moved quickly.”

Beric, who had gone to get Romandro, had arrived. The knights frowned and openly showed their vigilance at the sight of the people arriving at the mansion.

“Sir Ian. What’s going on?”

“Let’s go inside first. This is Dive, the Count’s only blood relative.”

“You’re the advisor from the Imperial Palace?”

“That’s right. I offer my condolences.”

“Condolences? It’s fine.”

Dive straightened his back and walked ahead. He was already acting like the owner of the mansion. Ian, who watched him rush in with his servant, gestured to Romandro. It was a signal to talk for a moment.

“Ian. I don’t know what exactly happened.”

“A slave stabbed and killed his master. But the knights in the mansion seem suspicious. I think they’re planning to take over the mansion.”

“Take over the mansion? Does that mean they’re aiming for the lord’s position?”

Ian briefly explained what had happened in the morning and pointed out the situation. They would use the affair between the Lady and him as an excuse to remove Lady Rienne, and Dive would also be dealt with.

“And Dive believes in the Undergod.”

“What? What is today? It’s a total mess.”

“What’s the Undergod?”

“Beric, I’ll explain later. Just listen for now.”

“Haha. Seriously, the border region is really… it keeps exceeding my expectations.”

Romandro was annoyed and frustrated. Of all things, the Undergod! It was the religion that Bariel hated and was most troubled by. Any noble from the central region would know about it.

“So, in my opinion, it seems that Lady Rienne becoming the new head of the family is the best option. Even if we leave the future to fate, it’s better to have someone who is open to negotiation with us.”

“I agree. The knights are aggressive, so we don’t know what they’ll do later, and the Undergod is out of the question. Tell him to go trade it for candy. That guy, he looks normal… tsk tsk.”

Ian nodded in agreement with Romandro’s words.

“Then, let’s intervene.”

“What, do you have a good plan?”

“I have many plans, but I have to go to the central region soon, so I can’t drag it out for too long.”

Beric, who had been listening quietly to Ian’s words, sparkled his eyes. He had the look of a dog who had caught on to something.

“…I haven’t said anything yet.”

“You mean, we just kill them all?”

“You’re good at figuring that out.”

But they couldn’t just wipe them out openly. They didn’t have the justification, and Lady Rienne had to be the one in charge of this.

“We’ll kill them, but we’ll have to put some effort into it.”