Margrave’s Bastard Son was The Emperor - Chapter 125

Chapter 125

The ladies of the royal family, including Dilaina, simultaneously took out their opera glasses. Although the magic confirmation ceremony was a rare event, they were always the ones who kept the Ministry of Magic close. They were the ones who had always seen the sights of great magicians like Wesleigh at important events…

“Look at that.”

“It’s ridiculous. My goodness, it’s so beautiful.”

“That’s the real light of the oracle!”

Everyone, forgetting their manners, stared at Ian’s gestures with their mouths half open. Every time his right hand traced a path, light filled the surroundings as if blessings were descending.

“…It’s truly sacred.”

Dilaina muttered unknowingly. Everyone there could feel it. That it was a fantasy that would never happen twice in a lifetime. And so they knew they had met a true fantasy.

Swoosh!

Ian calmly continued to create the light of the oracle. From the podium, it overflowed and reached the ground where the nobles stood, and then it seemed to engulf the palace.

Boom! Bang!

“Recoretio!”

At that moment, the surprised conductor of the palace orchestra, who had stopped, snapped his baton and gave the signal to come to his senses. The pianist reflexively pressed the keys and resumed playing, and the cellist and violinist immediately focused on the ensemble.

It was unclear whether the music followed Ian’s waves or whether the magic came to life in response to the music.

Whoosh!

Cuckoong! Boom!

“Recore-ti-o!”

The conductor led the music more passionately than usual due to the visual stimulation, and the musicians were also feeling ecstatic for the first time in a long time. The banquet hall seemed to be showing exactly what a ‘perfectly beautiful moment’ was.

“Oh ho!”

“…This is ridiculous.”

“This is magic! It’s amazing, amazing!”

The nobles reacted to the magic permeating their midst in various ways. Some reached out their hands to touch it, others moved lightly to avoid it, and still others turned their heads around in wonder. As the music from the orchestra swelled, a deep flush appeared on people’s faces.

“Your Majesty, can you see well?”

“Hmm…….”

Dilaina suddenly came to her senses and handed the opera glasses to the emperor. The emperor didn’t seem to be able to see well, and he kept mumbling without responding. Dilaina took back the glasses and glanced at the princes next to her.

“

Sigh

.”

Mariv’s reaction was no different from that of the nobles below. He had his hands on the railing and couldn’t take his eyes off the light of the oracle and its beauty. On the other hand, Gale…….

‘…Wesleigh.’

His gaze was fixed on Wesleigh, who was standing next to Ian, looking embarrassed. Dilaina just covered her face with a fan and kept glancing at Gale.

‘How can that be the look of a man looking at his lover?’

Although it was not her place to say so, as she was the wife of the emperor, Dilaina always found herself tongue-tied at Gale’s ruthlessness. Sometimes, she was even overwhelmed by the anxiety that his sharp aura might harm her own sons.

“Mother.”

“Yes?”

Just then, the fifth prince, Jin, who was sitting on the opposite side, tugged lightly on his mother’s arm. His silver hair sparkled white in the light of the magic in the banquet hall.

“Arsen’s opera glasses don’t work well.”

Dilaina turned around briefly. The fourth prince, Arsen, was using Jin’s glasses to get a good view of the first floor. She smiled as she gently stroked Jin’s hair.

“I see. You gave it to Arsen. That’s very kind of you.”

And then he turned back to focus on supporting the emperor.

That was not what he meant to say, but his mother ended the conversation by praising his younger brother Jin’s sacrifice, as always.

“This Ian fellow is really amazing.”

While Arsen kept muttering admiring exclamations, Jin stared blankly into space. He felt like he was in a different world all by himself.

***

Meanwhile, Ian felt a slight sweat running down his back. Opening his magic was like opening up all the energy in his body. He slowly closed his magic and glanced at Wesleigh.

“This…….”

The look on her face that said she didn’t know what was going on was really good to see. Her bewildered and confused expression was truly raw. Ian smiled as he pushed his slightly sweaty hair back. As if to say, this should be enough.

Swoosh

.

Ian took his hand off the surface of the light and straightened out the light of the oracle. The magic lost its power, but it left traces behind like a slowly disappearing fog. Seeing this, the conductor slowed down the music to match the beat.

Boom!

The moment the excited pianist struck the keys, Ian began to sing.

“For the glory of Bariel.”

“For the glory of Bariel!”

As Ian raised his hand to his chest in salute, the nobles cheered and applauded without waiting for anyone else. The hospitality was warm, even for the nobles. It was praise that was filled with soul, incomparable to what Wesleigh had led earlier.

Clap, clap, clap!

Ian approached Wesleigh and held out his hand. She pressed her lips tightly together and barely suppressed the urge to grab Ian by the collar right then and there. She wanted to scream and ask him how he was able to break the magic circle’s spell, but……

“…Baron, Ian Hielo. It was truly a magnificent magic.”

What could she do? Everyone in the banquet hall, including the emperor, was watching them. She held out the back of her hand to Ian.

“I will be waiting for your application to join the Ministry of Magic.”

Ian kissed her hand and descended from the podium without hesitation. As soon as he came down, the young nobles surrounded Ian and could not hide their excitement.

“Baron Hielo. That was a truly amazing illusion!”

“Let’s shake hands first, okay? You’re not a magician yet, are you?”

“You’re not a magician until you’re assigned to a department. So, where are you going to go? With that kind of power, you should be able to choose. Let’s make a bet! The Magic Support Department is the best, so I’ll bet on that! Baron Ian Hielo, let’s see each other often in the future!”

“Aha! If this goes on, won’t you be the first noble magician?”

The compliments poured in like a wave. Ian just smiled and accepted their cheers. However, when the crowd continued to gather and he couldn’t even take a step, he looked around in embarrassment.

“Baron Ian Hielo. I have a message for you.”

Just then, a familiar voice came from the crowd. It was Romandro. Ian nodded, knowing that this was his chance.

“Excuse me. I’ll be right back.”

“Oh! You have to come back soon!”

Ian held up a glass of wine that a waiter was carrying and walked through the crowd. By holding the glass, he showed his intention that people should not come close. Thanks to this, the two were able to meet dramatically, and Romandro quickly led the way out. Ian sighed and took a sip of wine to quench his thirst.

“Sir Romandro. That was a timely call.”

“Ian, you!

Sob

!”

“Haha. Are you crying?”

“Wow, I’ve never seen such a magnificent sight in my life. My Vivian should have seen that too, sigh. It was truly amazing!”

Romandro shook his fist, unable to believe it. When Ian looked for a handkerchief to wipe his sweat, Romandro handed him his own instead.

“Oh, thank you.”

“Oh! And do you know that?”

“What is it?”

“You have become the first noble magician of the Bariel Empire! You will go down in history! Congratulations!”

The first noble magician. Ian didn’t find the title awkward. Because it was the same in his previous life. And it was that which eventually put Ian on the throne of the emperor.

“…I see.”

“Huh? Why are you reacting like this?”

“I can’t believe it.”

“The timing was perfect. I would have been very sorry if I had come in without the New Year’s party.”

There were many magicians who were recognized for their magical abilities and rose to the position of court mage, or minister, like Wesleigh, or received titles for their merits, but Ian was the first to be a noble from the time of admission.

‘Of course, I was the

first

even 100 years later.’

He was the first, and now he was the first again.

As Ian smiled faintly at the strange feeling, Romandro scratched his beard awkwardly.

“Was I too excited?”

“No. It’s a good thing you’re so happy for me. By the way, what about Beric?”

“Huh? Beric?”

The two men stared at each other blankly. An awkward silence filled the air. Romandro thought that Ian had taken him with him, so he would naturally be with him, and Ian thought that he would be with Romandro since he had gone down before the verification ceremony.

“I’m going crazy.”

Romandro muttered, chattering his teeth as if he were terrified. The mere fact that a madman was alone among those noble people was terrifying in itself.

“Come on, let’s find him-!”

“Ian~!”

Just as Romandro was about to run into the banquet hall. Beric came running lightly from the opposite corridor. His face was unusually red, as if he had been drinking wine.

“I’m right here!”

“Hey, where do you think you are, wandering around by yourself?”

“Eh? Did I do that because I wanted to?”

“Did you get into any trouble? And what’s with your finger?”

“This? It’s worth a week’s worth of meat side dishes.”

Romandro, not understanding the context, fidgeted anxiously, worried that it might be an injury from some trouble caused. Beric boldly extended his index finger to Ian as if to make him remember.

Snap!

“So earning one’s keep is like this? Not bad at all.”

“I won’t forget the meat side dish. Where have you been?”

“They took me through the corridor where the light of the oracle shone. I waited there until it was over. And guess what? I saw something really fun.”

“Something fun?”

It seemed that Ian, being in the back passage, had missed the illusion. At Ian’s question, Beric flipped his eyes and imitated the voice of a frustrated lady with surprising naturalness, perhaps helped by the alcohol.

“Call out all those who have inscribed the magic circle! I have no idea what they’ve done! This and that, blah blah blah! They all want to die!?”

“…Are you imitating Minister Wesleigh?”

“Ahaha. Exactly alike, right? She was catching her subordinates like mice. Even watching from hiding made my skin crawl.”

“Not alike at all.”

“Eh? Really? Should I try again?”

Romandro, just in case, looked around and covered Beric’s mouth, while Ian fell silent in thought. Judging by the style of the letters in the magic circle of the oracle’s light, it was clear that it was created by several mages working together.

‘It seems I thought Wesleigh had secretly interfered, but maybe not. It means more people than I thought are aware of the irregularities in the magic circle.’

However, the person named Nakina clearly intended to help Ian. If he had known there was a problem with the magic circle itself, he wouldn’t have acted that way.

‘This means, there are factions within the Ministry of Magic itself.’

There are those whom Wesleigh leads directly and assigns tasks, and those who, although affiliated, are merely coasting along. After all, it’s natural for any department to have political factions divided.

‘Indeed. If it weren’t for Naum, I too would have struggled to adapt when I first entered the Ministry of Magic.’

Ian’s thoughts spiraled, taking him back to the past, over 100 years ago. It was a moment when Romandro and Beric were making a fuss.

“Baron Ian Hielo.”

The emperor’s chamberlain, bowing his head deeply, called out to Ian. Ian knew what his appearance meant.

“Could you spare us a moment? I will escort you to the second floor.”

It was an honor to be able to meet the emperor and his family up close. It suggested that Ian’s magic had made a great impression on them. Ian nodded, handing the empty wine glass to Beric.