Margrave’s Bastard Son was The Emperor - Chapter 161

‘There is a way to break the curse.’

There was no need to shout loudly or gesture to ask for attention. With just a single quiet statement from Ian, everyone inside focused on him.

For the first time in her life, Nakina felt the atmosphere come alive. It was as if a single, massive energy was swimming here and there according to Ian’s intentions.

“Minister Ian Hielo. You say you can break the curse – is that true? The curse was created by two mages burning their souls, so is that even possible?”

At a noble’s outcry, Ian calmly looked in their direction. As if to say, why are you so surprised?

“There are no other options. If there’s a possibility, then we must make it so. We cannot leave His Highness Gale like this, can we? As this is a matter of life and death for Bariel and the Imperial family, the Ministry of Magic will do its utmost to resolve this.”

His resolute answer was filled with strength. An unshakable conviction that only the curse’s resolution existed, unconditionally.

Gale unknowingly smiled and brushed his hair back. He didn’t even know what his real curse was, yet he was making quite an interesting move.

“Those are some reassuring words indeed.”

“Your Highness Gale. It is my duty.”

Ian placed his hand on his chest and saluted. It seemed he had achieved everything he wanted today, so he was at ease despite the sudden situation. He had successfully changed the curse into a protective barrier and had not announced the support of the Hayman family. He had successfully pulled his lifeline out of Mariv’s grasp.

“Sir Ian Hielo. Then report to us. Why do you say you can break His Highness Gale’s curse?”

The Prime Minister lightly gestured and urged him. The Emperor and Dilaina were also watching Ian. Though it didn’t feel real that the future of Bariel depended on that small, beautiful boy.

“First, I would like to inform you that the curse placed on His Highness Gale is forbidden magic. There will be many trials and errors.”

Ian snapped his fingers and created a small mana sphere. As the surroundings brightened, deep shadows fell on Ian’s features.

“This shadow is the curse itself. Like the inseparable two sides of a coin, magic’s yang and yin operate with the same mechanism.”

The caster’s mana, technique, target, and the results it will bring about. Even if it’s called a curse, it’s ultimately a subset of magic.

“Then how will you get rid of the shadow?”

“To eliminate the shadow? Either shine a brighter light or-“

“Correct. Using a force stronger than the forbidden magic cast by Wesleigh and her aide to neutralize the curse.”

Even the usual Wesleigh couldn’t handle it, so how could they handle the amount from two mages who used forbidden magic? It’s unreasonable even for Ian. No, to be precise, even if the entire Ministry of Magic were to pounce on it, they couldn’t be certain. As the mages stirred, the audience also whispered anxiously.

“Or there is also the method of covering shadow with shadow. But leaving that aside… I will ask, Your Highness Gale.”

“Anything.”

“Did Wesleigh attach any conditions? If it’s a conditional curse, there’s also a way to resolve it by fulfilling that condition.”

‘Gale, if you ― then ―, you will ― forever.’

Gale suddenly recalled her last words. Even as day and night flowed by relentlessly, somehow each memory was vivid. He shook his head indifferently.

“…There are none.”

“I understand. It may be presumptuous of me, but I’m quite relieved that Wesleigh was a mage. If she were a shaman, we wouldn’t dare attempt this.”

Ian stepped forward in front of the Emperor and once again assumed proper etiquette. He humbly implored the Emperor to hear his opinion.

“Your Imperial Majesty. Please command that the current matter be kept as an absolute secret within the palace and not leak to the outside. The citizens of the Bariel Empire, of course, and neighboring countries must not know of this.”

There are swarms of people just waiting for Bariel to decline. If rumors spread that Gale’s life was tied to that in this situation, it would lead to chaos. From assassination at the smallest to war at the largest. The Emperor nodded deeply to show he strongly agreed.

“Additionally, the Ministry of Magic will apply and adapt conventional curse resolution methods to find a way. For smooth investigation, please entrust full control and command authority over the matter to the Ministry of Magic.”

As he had taken office in the middle of dealing with the situation, authority was dispersed. The Imperial Guards who were at the scene at the time, the administrative department that was signing documents on behalf of the previous Ministry of Magic head, and so on.

Dilaina hid her extremely flustered expression behind her fan.

‘He’s definitely not ordinary. Are all mages like that? Wesleigh too, how are they like beasts.’

It was a moment when the diminished prestige of the Ministry of Magic was revived as is. Making them realize what everyone tacitly acknowledged and forgot – that without them, there would be no Bariel. The Emperor had no grounds to refuse. There was no reason to either.

“Your opinion is correct. As of now, I entrust all command authority over the Wesleigh incident to the Minister of Magic, Ian Hielo. All who hear my command shall cooperate with and follow the instructions of the Ministry of Magic to swiftly conclude the matter.”

At the Emperor’s order, all those seated stood up and placed their hands on their chests. At the same time, the Emperor bent forward, coughing violently. Dilaina supported the Emperor’s arm in alarm.

“Your Majesty!”

“…Let’s call it a day.”

“That would be best. Prime Minister!”

At Dilaina’s call, the Prime Minister struck his staff hard. It meant the end of all meetings. The Emperor left with the support of his retainers, and the conference room instantly became chaotic.

“Your Highness Gale!”

Just then, Melania grabbed the hem of her voluminous dress and ran to Gale. For a moment, her tear-filled eyes seemed deeply pure.

Clatter! Clang!

“Oh my, heavens.”

Melania staggered as if she had stepped on her dress hem and shattered the truth serum on the table. Mariv made a flabbergasted expression with a stiff mouth.

“What should we do about this?”

“It’s fine. You’re not hurt, are you?”

“I’m alright. Minister Ian, I apologize.”

“…No, it’s fine. Lady Melania. As long as you’re unharmed, that will do.”

The bright smile was eerie. She had clearly shattered it on purpose so that there wouldn’t be any trouble with the remaining truth serum. It was truly aristocratic conduct. Ian clicked his tongue inwardly but outwardly just smiled brightly along with Melania.

“Sir Ian.”

“Yes. Your Highness Mariv.”

Mariv frowned as if he couldn’t stand the sight and called Ian. His gaze had softened a bit. Because he recognized his own emotional mistake earlier.

“Come to the palace later.”

“Understood, Your Highness.”

Currently, what Mariv lacked was the Emperor’s trust. But now that Ian, the Minister of Magic, had even gained the Emperor’s support, he couldn’t lose him over formless suspicion.

“Your Highness Mariv. I’ll see you again.”

“…I suppose so. Lady Melania.”

Melania ostentatiously bowed to him, and Mariv had no choice but to nod. The revulsion felt in his actions. As soon as Mariv disappeared, she erased her smile and grabbed her dress hem.

“Your Highness Gale. I’ll go wait in the carriage first.”

“I’ll follow shortly.”

In the back, Gale’s followers were fervently discussing their opinions on the current situation. As Melania disappeared, Ian asked while organizing documents.

“Do you have something to say?”

At that question, Gale lowered his voice and laughed. And he whispered so that no one could hear over the commotion.

“Saying you’ll break my curse. It was truly amusing that you’d find an answer without even knowing the problem.”

He was truly skilled at exploiting weaknesses. Since he knew the curse was false, there was no way to prove it even if he just verbally said it was lifted. Then the Ministry of Magic’s authority would rise greatly with the achievement of saving Bariel. Without any price or sacrifice.

“I’m glad I could provide you even a small laugh, Your Highness. Since you said it’s a curse limited to an individual, does it matter if I don’t know the problem?”

On top of that, he could solve Mariv’s concerns, so it would be easy to gain trust. It was just a matter of lifting the curse with appropriate timing and acting at the right moment.

“Please keep your promise. The information on drugs and merchant groups related to His Highness Mariv. If you hand it over, I’ll accommodate your convenience to the fullest.”

Gale took out a cigarette and raised an eyebrow. He seemed somehow amused.

“Of course. I’ll hand it over shortly.”

“Thank you.”

“But I don’t know how much it will actually help you.”

Gale exhaled smoke with a low laugh. As his followers couldn’t hold back and called for him, Gale turned around, throwing a glance that said “see you later”. He disappeared along with his subordinates who were pondering how to conduct themselves going forward.

“Minister Ian. Let’s go too.”

“Yeah. Good work today.”

“Not at all. We were just sitting.”

Nakina muttered while gently sweeping away the shattered glass shards with her foot. Ian walked out with them, mulling over Gale’s words.

‘He doesn’t know how helpful the information will be?’

Ian frowned. Because an increasingly troublesome hypothesis kept coming to mind.

‘Though it was covered up, the situation is still precarious. The proof is that Gale mentioned the merchant groups to Mariv. I thought that was almost our last card, but since he revealed it…….’

It meant they were entering an all-out war. The interlocking checks and balances had tangled to the point of near explosion. Now was both an opportunity and a crisis for Mariv and Gale to deal with each other.

The beginning of an irrevocable clash was palpable.

‘We could also expose Mariv’s information.’

Then Ian wouldn’t be the only one who knows, so Gale’s words that it wouldn’t be of much help would make sense. Mariv was also sharpening his blade behind the scenes. If Gale was acting like this, wasn’t it obvious what would happen?

Swish.

“Minister Ian. What’s the matter?”

“We’ll need to rearrange the Ministry of Magic’s entire schedule.”

“What? Why?”

Offensive magic or defensive magic. When the storm rages, it would be good to build strength to firmly grasp the center. Even if there aren’t significant results right away, it’s better than not doing it.

As Ian continued walking without answering,

Pit-a-pat!

Footsteps running quickly toward Ian. Nakina and Tommy were startled and tried to block him but faltered. Because the face of the man running with fluttering red hair was familiar.

Zzing! Thud!

“Ack!”

“Why did you stop constructing the barrier halfway?”

“Because it’s Beric. Beric, is your nose okay?”

“Oww, oww! Damn it! XX!”

He had smashed his head properly into the barrier Hale created. Beric tumbled forward, clutching his nose, and Ian noticed a letter in his hand.

“Beric. I told you that if you rushed in like that at the palace, you’d suffer.”

“Dunno, don’t care. Just read this quickly. It’s a letter from Hielo territory, but the messenger pigeon was Viviana’s so it was opened by mistake.”

The reply was quite fast. Ian recognized the neat handwriting on the envelope as Hanna’s. It seemed she hadn’t neglected her writing studies.

Beric rubbed his reddened nose and added,

“And she says she wants to get married.”

“Married? Who?”

“Oww, dammit. My nose hurts so I can’t talk well. That, with the Cheonrye tribe.”

Marriage with the Cheonrye tribe?

Ian recalled the image of Hanna crying sadly when the Cheonrye tribe left the border. She definitely seemed to have someone in her heart.

“Isn’t Hanna too young to marry?”

He wasn’t her parent, and if she wanted to, he wouldn’t stop her, but still. At Ian’s muttering, Beric just sniffled.

“Not Hanna.”

“……?”