Margrave’s Bastard Son was The Emperor

At the same time Ian was receiving the report from the mage, Dilaina’s servant was also running through the dark corridor. Since it became known that Arsen was a magic user, guests had been coming to her palace day and night.

It was no different now. At the entrance to the reception room, besides Dilaina’s servants, unfamiliar people were lined up waiting for their masters.

“What’s all this commotion at this hour of night?”

As he arrived hurriedly and panted, the head servant scolded him with dignity. But the servant paid no heed and quietly reported so that no one else could hear.

“It’s urgent. Please announce it. They say the priest from the Carbo Temple has just entered the palace.”

The priest entered the palace? At this hour? The head servant, flustered, let him in. As they opened the middle door and approached, the lamentations of the high-ranking people could be heard.

“In the end, Eric stamped the indictment.”

“If we had known it would come to this, we should have killed him. Tsk tsk.”

“That’s a dangerous thing to say. Everyone knows, more or less. From the Minister of Justice down, none of them could come to work, so it’s clear something unusual is going on. If someone had died, how would you handle the aftermath?”

“That’s right. If Lord Ian digs into that and raises an issue, it’ll become uncontrollable. We’ve done all we could within our means.”

“I heard there was even a brawl at the judiciary?”

“If we had pretended not to know and just broken the mages’ arms, it would have been satisfying.”

“Hmm. Since it was filed today, if they process it quickly, the general assembly will be held before the magic confirmation ceremony. How many are on our side now? Let’s try to adjust the date to be pushed back by sending as many ‘unable to attend’ responses as possible. That’s the only way.”

Knock knock.

Creak.

As the servant made his presence known and opened the door simultaneously, the high-ranking people looked at him curiously, but he quickly approached Dilaina and whispered.

“The priest from the Carbo Temple has urgently entered the palace. It seems there was a problem while moving the light of the oracle, and they seem to be requesting help.”

“What?”

Dilaina’s eyes widened instantly. Wasn’t this unexpected good news? With a few days left, if the priest personally entered the palace to request help, it meant they had come quite close. For them, who needed to hold the magic confirmation ceremony before the general assembly, this was a very welcome message.

“Lady Dilaina? What’s the matter?”

“I hear the priest from the Carbo Temple has entered the palace. It seems there was a problem on the way, which means they’re close to the center.”

The lamentations of distress had suddenly changed to exclamations of joy. The ministers reflexively clapped their hands in delight.

“Oh! Is that so? That’s fortunate.”

“To come from Carbo to the center, they need to cross the eastern mountains. If there was a problem, it’s likely to have happened there. It’s such a steep and treacherous mountain that the path was only recently opened. If they hadn’t known, the carriage might have broken down.”

They had been expressing worried laments about Eric accepting the indictment, but now the situation would change again. Didn’t Ian himself say he would hold the magic confirmation ceremony as soon as the light of the oracle arrived? So they just needed to bring that in first, right?

“They must have gone to the Ministry of Magic, right?”

“The magic confirmation ceremony is under the Ministry of Magic’s jurisdiction, after all.”

“Lady Dilaina. Send someone. The Ministry of Magic wants to hold the general assembly first, so they’ll just waste time pretending to help. Use your connection to the Carbo family and offer to help directly. Let’s bring in the light of the oracle as quickly as possible.”

Dilaina nodded at the ministers’ urging. There’s no law saying you have to die, and such an opportunity came right after the indictment was filed. She stood up as if to go herself.

“I’ll go see the priest in person. If it’s someone who helped with the postpartum care, they’ll understand our position even more. You all wait here. I’ll take care of this and return.”

At Dilaina’s declaration of going out, the servants moved busily. They prepared her outer clothes, called for a carriage, and sent word to the Ministry of Magic.

As she left the reception room, the ministers tilted their wine glasses and added a few words each.

“By the way, the situation is strange. At first, Lord Ian wanted to hurry and hold the magic confirmation ceremony, but now it’s completely reversed, hasn’t it?”

“It’s because Duke Hayman got in the middle.”

“Ah, speaking of Hayman, I heard a rumor that the Duke requested help from Ruswena.”

“Ah yes. I heard that too. Isn’t it a fait accompli?”

“Then, what about the rumor that His Highness Gale is trying to seek asylum in Ruswena?”

“Pardon? What’s that about?”

It was the moment the rumor took its first step. The one who opened his mouth raised an eyebrow and whispered as quietly as possible.

“To be precise, it’s asylum based on an engagement.”

“Hahaha! An engagement? His Highness Gale is really something.”

“Hmm, but the move is exquisite. If he goes to Ruswena, he can not only save his life but also check both the Ministry of Magic and Hayman at the same time, can’t he?”

“From Ruswena’s standpoint, it’s welcome. By securing Prince Gale, they can exert influence on Bariel. In whatever way. As long as His Highness Gale is alive, it’s a burden to Their Highnesses Arsen and Jin.”

“But is it true?”

“I’m checking, but it doesn’t seem to be a completely baseless rumor. I got information that Lord Ian entered His Highness Gale’s palace earlier. Probably to warn him about the asylum.”

The ministers sipped their wine and calculated what kind of wind Gale’s asylum would bring. Would that wind bring the smell of blood, or would it bring sweetness? Since the smell they would encounter would differ depending on which side they were on, the ministers unknowingly fell silent.

“For now, it’s best to watch and see.”

Clink-

They lightly clinked their wine glasses and could only wait for Dilaina to return soon.

***

Neigh!

Screech!

A carriage that stopped abruptly in front of the Ministry of Magic. Ian climbed the stairs with the mages. The Ministry of Magic was in a chaotic atmosphere due to the visit of unfamiliar guests. A servant who saw Ian approaching opened the office door wide.

“I see. You must have been in great pain.”

“No. It’s healed as much as it can now, so it’s fine.”

“I will sincerely pray for God’s protection to be with you.”

A woman wrapped in a robe was kneeling and conversing with Jin. Xiaoshi noticed Ian’s arrival and stepped back.

“Oh, Lord Ian!”

“Your Highness Jin.”

Jin approached at Ian’s call.

“It’s a priest from the Carbo Temple. She says she saw me when I was young, so I was exchanging pleasant greetings with her.”

“I see.”

The priests bowed to show respect. Due to the semi-transparent veil covering their eyes and mouths under the white robes, their faces were not visible. Not a single finger was exposed outside their clothes, so one could only tell they were women by their voices.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you. I am Abidel, a priest from the Carbo Temple. I apologize for visiting at such a late hour.”

“I am Makael.”

“I am Ian Hiello, Minister of the Ministry of Magic. What brings you here? I heard there was a problem with transporting the light of the oracle.”

“Yes. As you know, the Carbo Temple doesn’t have much experience in extracting the light of the oracle. So, it seems our preparations were insufficient as we hurriedly departed due to the sudden request.”

While the magic confirmation ceremony itself was rarely held, the Carbo Temple was also not relatively close to the center. Except for when Dilaina visited for childbirth, and occasionally to deliver oracles, it was a place with almost no interaction.

Presumably, it must be quite a rare outing for the priests as well.

“Was there a problem with the carriage?”

“All the wheels were damaged while crossing the rocky mountains. There’s no problem with the light of the oracle, but we couldn’t move, so we came to request help like this.”

It was a heavy and massive harp that would require three or four people to push even with wheels attached. It would be problematic for priests, who aren’t specialized personnel, to move it.

Ian brought out a map and spread it on the desk.

“Where are you located?”

“We crossed two large rivers, so it should be around here. It took half a day on horseback from our current stopped position to here.”

Ian hesitated as he gauged the route with his fingertip. They had come closer than expected. If support was sent like this, they could arrive at the imperial palace earlier than anticipated. This means they could hold Arsen’s magic confirmation ceremony before the general assembly.

Jin paced beside him, looking worried.

“Lord Ian?”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

What should be done? Romandro and the mages had gotten nosebleeds to push through the filing of the indictment, but wouldn’t this make it all for nothing?

Reading his anxious thoughts, Ian smiled gently.

“Let’s send support.”

Outwardly, they needed to send it first. But it would be better to choose what to do once there after observing the situation. Ian instructed the person standing behind him.

“Check what carriages are available to send as support now. The light of the oracle is very heavy. It won’t work with a regular carriage, so consider that.”

“Yes. Understood.”

The priest put her hand on her chest and bowed in gratitude. Abidel’s head tilted slightly towards Jin. Although her gaze couldn’t be seen, she was clearly looking at the wound.

“If I may be so bold, what happened to Your Highness Jin’s wound?”

“There has been much commotion in the imperial palace. It would be too long to explain everything.”

It was an answer indicating no particular willingness to tell.

The Carbo Temple was, after all, deeply connected to Dilaina’s family. In Ian’s judgment, they had delivered an absurd oracle, and it was the place where Jin’s misfortunes had all begun. He couldn’t trust them, so he couldn’t give them information either.

“The Ministry of Magic requested that the person who was in charge of the oracles for Their Highnesses Jin and Arsen, besides the light of the oracle, accompany us. Is there any problem with that?”

Although it was phrased as a request, it was in fact an order with a seal.

At this, Abidel lifted her veil. Below light brown eyes, her face was full of freckles.

“Yes. You called for me, didn’t you?”

“Priest Abidel, it’s you?”

“Yes. And Makael is the priest in charge of the oracle that came down this time.”

It matched the testimony of the doctor who performed the surgery at the time. He hadn’t known the name, but hadn’t he said it was a priest full of freckles?

“I’ve always felt sorry for Your Highness Jin. Although it was God’s message, I was the one who delivered it. Since it was almost like a curse, I can’t even imagine how much it must have weighed on Your Highness.”

Jin opened and closed his mouth in surprise. But soon, he shook his head while holding the priest’s hand. If there was no disrespectful intention, she had simply done her part.

“It, it’s not your fault.”

“Your Highness.”

But Ian was different. Knowing there was a problem with the oracle itself, hadn’t Abidel clearly made a mistake or intentionally caused a problem in between?

“Abidel. When you received the oracle, how many years had you been a priest?”

“It was my third year.”

While there’s no high or low in the position of priest, among those who live their entire lives in the temple until death, three years is…

“Hmm.”

“Why do you ask?”

“I’d like you to tell me the situation at that time again, in detail.”

“Isn’t it recorded?”

“Even so. There’s something I want to confirm from your own words.”

Abidel bowed her head and recalled that day ten years ago. Starting with ‘It was a rainy day’ was the same as what the doctor had said.

“At that time, I was praying with the other priests for a safe delivery. With only the hope that our intentions would reach God, we simply prostrated ourselves and prayed for hours.”

She testified calmly. Then she recited that curse.

“I heard a voice saying that the later-born would harm the firstborn. And if the one closest to the throne among the brothers dies, the imperial line would be completely cut off.”

“Voice. Yes. What was God’s voice like?”

“Pardon?”

She asked back, surprised by the sudden question. How could one remember a voice heard once ten years ago? But soon she carefully offered her words.

“There was no particular characteristic. Just, clear and thin…”

As Abidel explained thus, Makael, who had been listening quietly beside her, raised her head. There was a hint of doubt in her eyes.

“What’s the matter, Makael?”

“No, it’s nothing.”

“It’s not nothing.”

“Well…”

She mumbled softly in confusion.

“In the oracle I heard, I thought God’s voice was low and heavy.”

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