Margrave’s Bastard Son was The Emperor - Chapter 284

Chapter 284 – The Half Moon Rises

“Ian, it’s me.”

“Come in.”

Romandro poked his head in, pulling a small handcart. It was piled high with papers, reaching up to a person’s waist.

Ian, who had been busily writing, turned his head curiously at the sound of wheels. Where did all this work keep coming from? It had been several days since the selection ceremony ended, but somehow it felt like the workload was increasing even more.

Ian glanced at the reports filling his office and nodded.

“Put them over there.”

“I feel like I did this an hour ago too. Haha.”

“Sometimes it’s surprising. I think there can’t possibly be more, but when I open the reports, I understand. Please organize them in order of approval deadlines.”

“This one can be done a bit more slowly. It’s a proposal regarding the Ministry of Magic’s movements and role assignments on the day of His Highness Jin’s appointment ceremony. We just need to decide and notify other departments.”

“I see. Understood. This one has been approved, please take it out. We’re running out of space.”

Ian fixed his gaze back on the documents, and the sound of his pen resumed rhythmically. But it was only for a moment. Ian noticed that Romandro hadn’t left and raised his head again.

“Is there something else to report?”

“Ah, well, about that.”

As Romandro looked at the chair, Ian nodded, giving permission to sit. Sensing the conversation might be lengthy, Ian rested his pen on the inkwell.

“Barsabe’s living situation is a bit ambiguous. Although Xiaoshi is still receiving treatment, he’s recovered enough to compete without issues. It seems her help is no longer needed.”

Captain Jeirutt had ‘naturally’ not ordered Barsabe’s return, and even Ian had given no indication about it, so Romandro was bringing it up directly.

Was it because he was busy? But was Ian the type to overlook such things just because he was busy? He carefully asked, with a tone of utter bewilderment.

“Ian.”

“Yes, go on.”

“I’m saying this just in case. The atmosphere in the palace seems to be a bit delicate these days.”

“In what way?”

Ian feigned ignorance and asked back.

“The day Beric and Captain Jeirutt dueled. Since that day, the Imperial Guard has been particularly on edge. They don’t seem pleased with Beric’s victory, but the problem is that the Imperial Defense Department also seems to be riding the same wave of sentiment.”

Everyone had seen Ian transfer magical power to Beric. It was as good as everyone knowing that the Minister of Magic intended to place his own right-hand man next to His Majesty the Emperor.

“Of course, it was publicly known that an internal review was included in the captain selection, but rumors trying to gauge your intentions are running rampant.”

“My intentions? What are they saying?”

Ian smiled as if genuinely curious. Seeing his harmless smile, Romandro couldn’t help but smile back. Up close, he’s such a radiant person, but those watching from afar don’t seem to realize it.

“Well, there are various opinions. Some say you knew he had no chance in the internal review, so you had him defeat the captain to make up for it. Or that it’s to show that while the Ministry of Magic’s manpower has decreased, it’s still solid in terms of combat power, and so on. When five people gather, five different opinions emerge.”

It was an event with such a huge impact, wasn’t it? Not only palace officials were watching, but even ordinary participants witnessed it. One could imagine the excitement that wouldn’t easily subside, and also understood it.

Ian shrugged.

“Interesting. One action, but countless interpretations.”

“With His Highness Jin’s appointment ceremony coming up soon, it’ll probably die down for a while due to everyone being busy. Beric’s appointment also fell through. But it might be good to exercise some restraint in the future. As you know, it’s a very sensitive matter. Hmm?”

A young prince and the Minister of Magic standing behind him. If Jin becomes the official successor at the appointment ceremony, worries and vigilance about this would intensify even more. Power is like a living thing; it grows larger as time passes.

Those who know this is the starting point will surely try to gradually turn Jin’s gaze towards themselves.

‘It might have already started.’

Anyway, it seemed better for Barsabe’s living arrangements to be newly determined. She was the direct link between the Imperial Guard and Jin.

But Ian just shook his head, indicating it was fine.

“Her skills and loyalty have been proven several times, and the more people serving His Highness, the better. Xiaoshi also has much to learn from her, so I’ll keep observing for a bit longer.”

“Ian?”

“And in fact, since it’s His Highness’s guard, it’s not for me to decide. It was entirely His Highness’s will to accept her in the first place.”

Romandro blinked in surprise. Did Ian not understand what it meant to keep Barsabe by his side? ‘That’ Ian?

That couldn’t be. Then there must be another intention that Romandro himself hadn’t grasped…

“Um, Ian-“

“Aaaah! I’m dying here!”

Bang! Crash!

Beric appeared, cutting off Romandro’s words. Romandro frowned and scolded him, but he showed no signs of listening.

“Beric. I told you to announce yourself!”

“Ugh, I’m too exhausted to do that. No, the Imperial Guard members must be crazy. Why did they run me ragged on the first day? Not even letting me drink a sip of water! Oh, really!”

Today was Beric’s first day training as an Imperial Guard member. He had certainly left in the morning neatly dressed in his uniform… But by afternoon, he looked like a beggar.

“Oh my, they didn’t even let you drink water?”

“That’s what I’m saying. But the funny thing is, only the newcomers couldn’t drink. They told me if I wanted to drink, I had to run around the training ground for an hour.”

Oh. My goodness. Beric, that’s what they call hazing.

Romandro covered his mouth and looked at Beric with pity. His scolding from earlier about lack of manners had long since disappeared.

“S-so?”

“So what? I ran for an hour and emptied all the water barrels there. Kuhahaha!”

Looking closely, he was still in his training clothes under his uniform. He must have come straight here without changing. The Imperial Guard probably wasn’t pleased with Beric’s presence in many ways, so they seemed to be trying to vent like this. Even so, there’s the honor of the empire, how could they…

“But then they told me to refill all the water barrels. If they want to drink, they should fetch it themselves. I got pissed and smashed them all before coming here. They said tonight’s dinner is beef. Sir Romandro. By the way, are water barrels expensive? They were a bit bigger than me.”

“You smashed all the water barrels? On your first day? My, why on earth?!”

“Ah, because I was annoyed!”

Romandro inwardly crossed himself and mourned for the Imperial Guard. They’re praying to make a person out of this ruffian-like fellow by treating him even more roughly.

“Beric.”

“Yeah?”

“What did I tell you this morning?”

“…Not to cause trouble.”

“So you did hear. I’ll tell Captain Jeirutt to deduct the cost of the water barrels from your salary. You’ll only be able to buy one beer with your first paycheck, you know?”

It would be fortunate if he could buy even one beer. Causing such a ruckus on the first day, he might be in debt a month later.

As Beric gaped in shock, Ian suddenly remembered the day of the award ceremony. He seemed to have mentioned an ‘accident’ then too…

“Beric, about last time. When you were late on the morning of the award ceremony, you mentioned something about an accident. What happened?”

“Last time? Hm? Ah! Ah!”

Saying he had completely forgotten, Beric snapped his fingers.

“It was nothing much, I almost hit an old person while rushing there.”

“You crazy bastard!”

Smack!

“Ow! I didn’t hit them! Not even a hair touched them!”

“Why are you only telling us now? Did you handle it properly? Even a little shock can be too much for an elderly person!”

“They were completely fine and healthy! And honestly, I’m wronged too! The granny was crawling across the main road. It’s hard to notice right away.”

“So what did you do?!”

“I tried to give them money, but they wouldn’t take it. What did they say? Something about eating secrets or whatever. They did seem a bit strange. They told me to bring you, Ian.”

At Beric’s words, Romandro gasped. Even Ian, who rarely gets surprised, was the same. His eyes widened slightly, and he put down his pen.

Both of them became strange at the same time. Beric backed away behind the sofa, looking perplexed.

“W-why are you all acting like this? Nothing really happened that day.”

“No, Beric. Tell me in detail. The old person was a woman? And she said she eats secrets? Was she a gypsy?”

“Gypsy? I can’t tell the difference.”

“Ian. Judging by the fact that she was crawling on the main road, she must have been an old woman without legs.”

“Oh! That’s right. She had no legs!”

“Good heavens!”

Romandro almost convulsed, clutching his head and twisting his body. It was a gesture somewhere between joy, thrill, and shock.

As per Timothy’s request, they had issued a wanted notice throughout Bariel, but no news had come.

And Beric?

On that day when he came in late after drinking, Beric met her!

“Beric, what’s this about bringing Ian?”

“Well, she said if I wanted to compensate, I should bring someone who thinks a lot, talks little, and is strange. That’s totally Ian, right?”

“Right. It is Ian.”

“…?”

Ian tilted his head quizzically and looked at Romandro. As if saying he didn’t understand what either of them was talking about.

Romandro tried to maintain his composure and asked again.

“W-where? When?”

“On the night when the half moon rises, where the accident happened. Ah, it was near the alley with the newspaper office, just a few corners from the intersection and you’d reach the entrance of a big park.”

The night when the half moon rises! Ian and Romandro simultaneously checked the calendar on the bookshelf.

“It’s today.”

“It is today.”

As Ian and Romandro muttered at the same time, Beric grinned sheepishly. He had completely forgotten about it.

“Really? I didn’t know.”

“…We can’t even scold him for this, honestly.”

“Sir Romandro. There’s still time until nightfall, so please prepare. I’ll just finish the paperwork I was looking at. Let’s pinpoint the exact location and block all the routes leading there. It might be good to dispatch a few mages as well, just in case.”

“I’ll do that.”

“Beric, go with Sir Romandro and help him.”

Beric whined that he had just come in and was tired, but he was dragged out by Romandro pulling his ear.

Ian picked up his pen to finish what he was doing, but put it down again.

‘One who eats secrets, the gypsy the King of Burgos is desperately searching for.’

The reason why the King of Burgos is looking for her will soon be revealed. Either there’s a secret he wants to erase through her, or there’s a secret she holds that he desperately wants to know.

If it’s the latter, Ian was genuinely curious too.

And Ian truly needed to find out as well.

‘It will surely be an important key in responding to the political situation of the three countries. Moreover, to naturally lead Timothy’s naturalization, it’s good to know anything about the King of Burgos.’

Swoosh.

Ian looked out the window, gathering his thoughts.

The moon will rise soon.