Margrave's Bastard Son was The Emperor-Chapter 327

While Ian and his group were confronting the Clifford carriages.

Otrik descended before the border checkpoint supporting Felix. The atmosphere was quiet with few people waiting. Being the checkpoint closest to the Clifford Kingdom, the inspection and procedures here were more stringent than elsewhere.

The border guards who had been waiting inside rushed out in surprise.

“A-A mage?”

“Hello. What brings you here? We’d only heard that the Clifford delegation would be arriving soon.”

“Are you alright? This person’s complexion looks quite…”

BOOM!

As Otrik showed his identification, a thunderous sound echoed from afar. The guards ducked in surprise and raised their telescopes to investigate the source.

While the carriage formation charged forward, an object swiftly glided through the air above them. Looking closely, it was a person. A beam of light too intense to discern with the naked eye flashed, and tremors like an earthquake traveled up through their feet.

Otrik shouted as he entered the guard post.

“Temporarily close the border! The Clifford carriages must not pass through. Raise the signal to stop them.”

“What? But they already have all the necessary permits…”

“There’s no time, just do it!”

“Ah, yes, yes! Understood! Hey! Block the gates first!”

“Sound the buffalo horn! Raise the flag!”

They had been planning to just cheerfully wave goodbye from beside the wide-open border, but this was an unexpected bolt from the blue.

The guards scrambled to raise the iron chains while climbing up to the watchtower to wave red flags. They also took turns blowing the buffalo horn.

“Blow it louder! Haven’t you eaten?”

“I-I was in the middle of eating when I came out.”

“But they’re not slowing down at all. What do we do if they don’t stop?”

Their charge seemed unusual. While they were blowing the horns as hard as they could to signal trouble, what if there was a collision? The guards might need to evacuate, even if the mages could handle it.

As the guards muttered worriedly, Otrik snapped at them in irritation.

“What do you mean ‘what do we do?’ We stop them. Go set up some barriers in front. I’ll also-“

WhiiineWhiiiine

As Otrik released his magical power, the guards froze with wide eyes. They may be called border guards, but they were just locals who had lived their whole lives in the frontier. As Otrik gathered his power, Felix, who had been lying still beside him, suddenly grabbed his arm.

“Otrik. Let me have some magical power.”

“Huh?”

“You saw earlier. I can’t help at all in my current state. Just a little bit is fine. Hurry.”

It was a perfectly natural request. Sharing power between mages wasn’t unusual, and especially in situations like this, it was more efficient to have two people create a barrier with slightly less power than to have one person use all their strength.

Felix held out his hand, but Otrik awkwardly looked at distant mountains.

“I’m sorry, but it’s fine. I’ll handle this alone.”

“…Do you realize what you just said?”

Not just one or two carriages, but dozens were charging at full speed, and he was going to try to stop them alone? As Felix stared in disbelief, Otrik’s face reddened to his ears as he shook his head.

“I know, I know. I’m sorry. You help the guards from behind. That would be better.”

“M-Mage sir! The ground is suddenly rising over there!”

“Waaagh! I-Is that going to be alright?”

“Who said to stop blowing the buffalo horn? Keep going!”

“…”

Otrik turned his head at the guard’s warning.

Taking advantage of that moment, Felix stumbled backward. Everything was clear now. From Ian testing him and draining all his magical power before departure, to his colleague now refusing to share power.

While Otrik seemed unaware of the details, Ian’s firm orders clearly stood behind it all. Felix continued backing away while deliberately ignoring his pounding heart.

The mages have stepped in, so the Clifford carriages will stop. Then-

Then everything would be revealed. In that case, it would be better to leave Bariel first. With everyone focused on the carriages right now, there wouldn’t be a better opportunity than this.

Felix sprinted towards the border.

Clatter clatter!

If I can just get past that, immediate escape is possible.

“Huh? Mage sir? Why are you-“

“Move!”

“Mage-nim!”

“Felix!”

Felix ran with all his might as if about to fall forward. He roughly shoved past the bewildered guard’s shoulder and charged through. They never imagined a mage would attempt illegal border crossing, especially in front of everyone.

Hearing the small commotion, Otrik turned around and instinctively released a magical sphere.

This chapt𝒆r is updated by frёewebηovel.cѳm.

Otrik, if-

It was an almost reflexive response. A reaction created by Ian’s secretly conveyed order.

If Felix causes trouble, such as taking hostages or trying to escape, subdue him decisively.

BOOM! BANG!

Felix went tumbling forward. The guards who grasped the situation rushed to his back to restrain him, and others quickly joined to help.

Felix clenched his teeth. He desperately squeezed out every ounce of strength in his body to release magical power. He was about to blow away those clinging to his limbs.

“Felix! What are you-!”

“Let go! Let this go, damn it! Let go!”

“What have you done!”

“Aaagh! Mage-nims! W-Why are you doing this!”

Whiiine!Whiiine!

BOOM! CRASH!

A thunderous explosion from the collision of various magical powers erased all the groans, screams, and shouts in an instant.

***

“Hmm. They really did a number on him. Really did.”

Beric muttered while looking down at Felix, who was tied up tightly with rope. He was covered in blood and unconscious. Beric lifted his lips, opened his eyelids, and played with his limp arms like a toy.

Barsabe knocked his shoulder with her knee.

“Stop playing around and hurry up with the magic sealing stone.”

“Yes, yes. I got it. But I wonder if he lost his molars too?”

“…You’re dead.”

Unlike Beric who was giggling, Otrik sat in a corner of the checkpoint, tears streaming down his face. The feeling of betrayal by a colleague and the guilt of harming someone with magic were overwhelming. Though other mages patted his shoulder in comfort, it only made Otrik wail harder.

“Sob, no, I thought Felix…”

“I know, I know. That bastard is a real piece of shit.”

“Since I’m not in field service, sob, I’ve never used magic on people before, so this… I’m sorry. The guards too…”

“Oh no, we’re fine. We may not look it, but we’re soldiers. Small injuries are everyday occurrences.”

Though the usually quiet checkpoint being this chaotic was certainly not an everyday occurrence.

The injured from the Clifford delegation were waiting for the village doctor, while those who could move were salvaging the damaged carriages. Ian surveyed the scene before calling out to a dazed young man.

“Now then, Prince Noah.”

There was no response.

May stood right next to Noah. She was deliberately avoiding looking at Felix, but that very behavior confirmed it. She clearly recognized him.

“The mages are bringing a doctor from the village. Once things are settled here, we’ll inform the Clifford side of the situation. But before that, it seems we have things to discuss.”

They couldn’t leave Bariel territory without revealing everything. This meant they couldn’t request any help from Clifford, leaving them stranded in the wasteland.

“Fine, fine. Sigh.“

Noah gestured to May to bring something. She reluctantly nodded, and only Ian and Noah moved away from the commotion to sit face to face.

“It was a few days ago. To be honest, I’m not sure exactly when.”

“Three days ago, estimated between night and dawn.”

“Right. Three days ago. It was an unremarkable day. While passing through the forest, night fell, so we made camp there. And as you suspected, we were attacked.”

Creeak

May carefully entered and set down a heavy pouch. Clink, it seemed full of something.

“At first I thought they were just ordinary bandits, but things kept getting stranger. Eventually, I drew my sword.”

Noah showed his sword while shrugging. Though it seemed decorative with jewels embedded in the scabbard, apparently that wasn’t the case. The blade was a dull black. It had been coated with melted magic sealing stone.

“But Felix had no stab wounds.”

“Yes. Right. The one who faced my sword was someone else.”

“…So there were other accomplices.”

“Didn’t you expect that? Maybe not you, but that fellow seems no different from other mages. How could he alone target Clifford’s official delegation?”

Though he had suffered many indignities due to the curse, he was still a nation’s heir. Of course they would have prepared for dangers when entering central Bariel, and the guards protecting him would be knights or their equals in skill. When Ian nodded curiously, the guards drew their swords to demonstrate.

Shing

“Does Clifford use precious magic sealing stones like this? Melting them into mere swords?”

“The mages the kingdom needs to check are only outside, so this is our best option.”

It wasn’t wrong. While the imperial palace aimed to unite the Ministry of Magic, other countries prioritized eliminating them.

“So do you know who was with Felix?”

“Don’t you know better than I do?”

Noah gestured to the pouch. When opened, it was full of jewels that Ian knew very well.

Idgal. Amber-colored sparkling stones, the Achilles’ heel of mages.

“…Indeed. I do know better.”

That person was the one who told Felix about Melania’s survival. Contact with Melania meant a connection to the Rutherford merchant group. The Idgal was evidence that confirmed everything.

“They wanted the jewels bestowed by His Majesty. Their intentions seemed clear, but we had no choice.”

It was night, they were ambushed, and they were in foreign territory. Noah’s side had no choice but to accept their proposal. However, they made a different choice at this juncture…

“You made an unfortunate choice.”

“It was the best option. Until you started pursuing us.”

Receiving Idgal in exchange.

If they had just let the jewels be stolen, they could have used it to gain an advantage in the upcoming alliance. Well, they would have suffered the humiliation of an official royal delegation being overcome by just two people.

“It was a mage. We couldn’t protect the jewels bestowed by His Majesty, so we couldn’t predict how that might be used as leverage!”

“Still, you should have revealed it. If you had-“

While his position as head of the Ministry of Magic would have become difficult, tension would have arisen in the diplomacy between the three nations.

Noah chose to cover everything up and instead secure a “compensation.” A compensation far more valuable than the fertilizer they would gain through alliance – the power to check mages.

“Is this all the Idgal?”

“…”

They were returning after clearly witnessing the abilities of mages in Bariel. Making flowers rain from the sky, creating universes, directly supporting a great nation’s prestige.

If they could secure Idgal comparable to magic sealing stones, Clifford too could build up a response capability on par with Bariel.

“Your Highness. From now on, I won’t ask twice. And if anything differs from what you tell me in our conversation, I won’t show mercy either.”

Noah raised his eyes but couldn’t particularly retort. He understood the situation very accurately.

“…We made a direct contract with Clifford for a hundred times this amount. We handed over the jewels instead of money.”

Ian silently rubbed his forehead. This alone was quite substantial, but a contract for a hundred times more? It was clear that Idgal production was progressing more actively than expected.

Story Arcs

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