Margrave's Bastard Son was The Emperor-Chapter 328

“Urgh.”

“Lord Romandro. Are you alright?”

“How can I be alright? Who calls that a proper…”

Romandro kept dry heaving while leaning against the wall as Tommy patted his back.

Nakina surveyed the surroundings with a cigarette between her lips. The residential area was unusually deserted for how densely packed it was. She exhaled smoke while facing the small building ahead.

“At least we arrived before sunset since we didn’t take a carriage. You should get used to it, Lord Romandro. For efficient work.”

“I’ll die from your efficiency before anything else, for heaven’s sake!”

“Which floor was it again, Tommy?”

Visit fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm for the best novel reading experi𝒆nce.

“Fifth floor.”

Things had gone more smoothly than expected. Thanks to Felix’s unique status as a mage, the landlord remembered him clearly. Through this, they got introduced to the cart driver who helped with the move and traced the detailed address through inquiries.

It seemed Felix hadn’t really tried to hide either. Otherwise, even neighborhood kids wouldn’t have known to tell them that a mage lived there.

“Are mages usually that unwell?”

“I’m not a mage, just a normal person.”

“Hmm. I see.”

A child crouched next to Romandro, tilting their head curiously. Hale pulled out a copper coin from his pocket and handed it to the child.

“Payment for the introduction. Now run along.”

“Eww, so stingy!”

“…”

“Just kidding. You’re silly, mister. Hahaha!”

The child snatched the coin and ran away, mocking the flustered Hale. Though fragmentary, it was a clear indicator of the neighborhood’s atmosphere. Old and shabby, filled with the helplessness of those living day to day on a knife’s edge. Everything about this place spoke of struggle.

“Seriously, did that bastard Felix blow all his money? Why’d he set up in a place like this?”

It was an objective fact that mages’ salaries were substantial. A significant portion of the imperial palace’s massive budget was allocated to the Ministry of Magic, and there weren’t many sharing it. Even if he started with nothing as a commoner, acquiring a decent house should have been easy.

“Since he can’t go home, maybe he’s just using it to store stuff?”

“Let’s go up. Lord Romandro, will you be alright?”

“Yeah. Got it all out. Oh my, my head hurts.”

“Should we request guard control?”

“Why bother when there’s no one around? Having guards would draw more attention, so let’s go straight in.”

“Agreed. It’s quiet, perfect for our work.”

As Romandro wiped his mouth with a handkerchief, the three mages put on their gloves and approached the building. Each floor housed one household. The moldy wooden doors were firmly shut, and the stairs creaked with every step.

Click

“It’s locked, but I sense faint magical power. What should we do?”

“Move aside.”

Nakina pulled Tommy back and examined the door. As he said, protective measures were in place. She gradually infused magical power to gauge what kind of barrier it was.

“It’d be troublesome if it’s something nasty.”

“Why, why?”

“If security was the priority, the building might explode when the barrier breaks. But that’s unlikely. There’s also ways to kill intruders…”

“That would leave a corpse while he’s away. The cleanup would get messy, so they rarely use those in these cases.”

Romandro pressed himself against the wall, clutching his cheeks. What kind of brutal things were they discussing? The building exploding? Corpses? Just as Romandro was about to stop the mages.

WhiiineWhiiine

“Ah. Lord Romandro. Please step back.”

“Aaaah! Aah! Wait! I-I’ll wait outside!”

“Here we go!”

“Kyaaaah!”

BOOM! CRASH!

After finishing her assessment, Nakina wrapped magical power around her fist and thrust it forward with all her might. One strike. The wood crumpled and fell away, and simultaneously something transparent shattered and burst outward.

Unlike the terrified Romandro, Hale and Tommy waved their hands as if merely dusting something away.

“Excuse us.”

“Yes, pardon the intrusion.”

“Wait for me!”

Romandro quickly followed the mages inside while checking the lower floor.

A musty smell wafted up. It was one open space without walls. Apart from a lone desk, chair, and bed, the place was packed tight with wooden boxes.

“Wow, impressive state for a home, really.”

“Think there are protective measures inside? Nakina?”

“No, probably not. It would’ve been too much to extend the barrier inside. Just looking at what was on the front tells me the cost. He’s broke.”

Nakina muttered while kicking the boxes lightly with her toe. The thought of investigating all this made her breath catch. Or was it the dust?

Hale gestured to the desk area, asking Romandro:

“Lord Romandro, please handle the documents. You’re likely the fastest reader among us.”

“Ah, right.”

“Let us know if you find anything concerning. Tommy, start from the back. Nakina, begin over there.”

“Yes sir~”

The two took their positions according to Hale’s instructions. There wasn’t even room to step, and the boxes reached the ceiling. Romandro carefully approached the desk to examine the papers.

Rustle

He must have often brought work from the Ministry of Magic home, as most items were familiar to Romandro. There should be some clue…

“Hmm.”

While Romandro searched through every drawer corner, the mages broke open boxes and examined their contents. It seemed he hadn’t even unpacked after moving. No, perhaps it had been like this at his previous residence too.

“Nothing here. Tommy, how about your side?”

“Ah, wait a moment! Captain!”

“Found something?”

Hale approached at Tommy’s call. There was an unidentifiable powder packed densely. When Tommy tried to smell it, Hale blocked him with his hand.

“Don’t smell it carelessly, seal it back up. We’ll have someone move it to the Ministry of Magic.”

“Captain! There’s something strange here too! Looks like seeds!”

Red diamond-shaped seeds. Hale couldn’t fathom what Felix had been up to. He continued the search while sorting out what needed to be taken to the Ministry of Magic.

How much time had passed? The sun was starting to set through the unopening window.

“Hah. That dog Felix. This is killing me.”

“Captain, we’ve finished the back area. Nothing special except the powder.”

“This side’s mostly done too. Let’s move things to the Ministry of Magic first, then request support and come back tomorrow. How about it, Captain?”

“That sounds good. Lord Ian might have returned by now. Lord Romandro?”

Hale looked toward Romandro. He was hunched over with his back turned, head deeply bowed. He seemed absorbed in reading something.

“Lord Romandro?”

“Huh? Oh?”

“Did you find something?”

When Hale asked curiously, he quickly raised his head. A moment of silence. Then Romandro laughed awkwardly while waving the paper.

“Sorry. I was concentrating and didn’t hear. Most seems related to Ministry of Magic work, but nothing special.”

“I see. Then let’s call it a day.”

“…Do we fly back too?”

“Of course not. We’ll call a carriage since we have cargo.”

“Oh thank goodness.”

As Hale turned away, Romandro read through the paper in his hand again. Though unfamiliar characters were scattered throughout, there were definitely identifiable sentences among them.

Why…

Why was Ian’s name mentioned here? Though it’s a common name, from the context it was clearly the Ian he knew. The Ian who grew up in the borderlands and could use magic.

“Hah.”

Romandro closed his eyes while holding his throbbing head. Though he tried to make sense of it, the limited information made that impossible. As far as he knew…

Ian let Melania escape alive to track down the Rutherford merchant group, which had Idgal. But why does it say they’ll meet soon? Why? No, did I read it right? Shit, I did.

Romandro rolled his eyes while going over the letters again and again. He hoped he had misread something, but the more he looked, the clearer the ink seemed to become.

Just then, Nakina grabbed Romandro’s shoulder.

“Lord Romandro.”

“Heuk!”

“Oh my, you’ll faint. What’s wrong?”

As she narrowed her eyes, Romandro unconsciously hid the note in his back pocket. Thump thump, his heart was pounding madly. Cold sweat. And a complexion rarely seen.

Nakina clicked her tongue while patting his shoulder.

“Feeling queasy again? Really, you need to take better care of your health.”

“Huh? Yeah. Well, you try getting to my age.”

“Go wait outside. The smell must be making it worse.”

“Ah, right. I’ve finished here. Um, just in case, please move these too when you transport everything. As is, without damage.”

Romandro backed away slowly before heading outside.

Nakina watched him with concern. She briefly glanced at the desk area but saw no need to check since Romandro had already examined it. She turned away without hesitation.

***

Tap tap

Ian was lost in thought, just tapping the table with his fingertips. As the silence lengthened, Prince Noah’s tension mounted.

Taking Idgal in bulk clearly showed an attitude of wanting to check mages. This meant building up their country’s power to oppose Bariel, indicating an alliance would be impossible.

Noah looked at the unconscious Felix while trying to clear his complicated thoughts. If only that fellow had done his job properly! They could have just taken the Idgal and returned home without any suspicion. The more he thought about it, the more amazingly tangled things had become.

“Please tell me the exact terms of the deal. Did you use magic contract?”

“No. Though they recommended it, I refused as I couldn’t trust them. Instead, I wrote a letter allowing easy entry to the kingdom. In exchange, we would receive a hundred times that amount over five years.”

“The price?”

“I told you already.”

Noah gestured with his head.

“We gave them the golden diamond.”

“…Is that all?”

“Consider it half payment in advance.”

Though it was a jewel bestowed by the Crown Prince, that alone could be exchanged for masses of something comparable to magic sealing stones.

The jewel would be returned in ten years, when Crown Prince Jin came of age. Ten years was by no means a short time. The downfall of Marive and Geil, who had been powerful imperial candidates, had happened in just one day.

If they hadn’t been discovered, if that brief commotion hadn’t reached the guards, it would have been a perfectly sound decision.

No payment?

After pondering deeply, Ian called for the mages outside. This was a serious matter. It was clear that the political situation between the three nations was becoming more sharply defined than expected.

“We’re returning to the imperial palace immediately.”

“What? Now?”

“Yes. Right now.”

If they had handed over Idgal to Clifford under the pretense of a dramatic settlement after the attack? In other words, if Rutherford was distributing Idgal to the three nations almost free of charge?

“Only two people stay to handle the Clifford carriages. I’ll return to the imperial palace and come back.”

“Ah. But Lord Ian, we have a problem.”

Problem? As Ian furrowed his brow, the mage approached with a troubled expression and whispered very quietly.

To stop the carriages, then to restrain Felix, and finally to deal with the damaged carriages—

“We’ve used up all our magical power, so we can’t open a portal right away. I-I’m sorry. Sob“

Story Arcs

Enhance your reading experience by removing ads for as low as $1!