Chapter 246
Chapter 246
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 246
Chapter Title: A Secret for Ruswena
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Elderet, the representative of the Ruswena envoy delegation, glanced at his subordinates who had been reduced to a pitiful state, then quickly moved close to the window to peer outside.
He could see a few attendants hurriedly gathering and rushing off. And that was not all? The doctors were coming and going so frequently with their medical bags that the thresholds were wearing thin.
No matter how he thought about it, this did not seem like the usual sight of the imperial palace, but since everyone was keeping it tightly under wraps, he could not even guess what was going on.
“Ugh, I’m really going to die. This stuff.”
“I chewed the powder. Chewed it. Argh, I’m losing my mind.”
“Everyone, be quiet.”
By taking medicine that induced abdominal pain, they had managed to move their quarters from the palace guest lodgings to an annex near the infirmary instead of being sent back home.
Elderet checked the firmly shut door as he reined in his subordinates. Cold sweat, pale faces, trembling bodies. At a glance, their conditions looked serious.
“You won’t die. It’s just pain.”
“That’s why I feel like I’m dying. You’d better give us plenty of paid leave when we get back to Ruswena. What kind of nonsense hardship is this? Argh, making a living is so damn tough.”
“We’re stuck here forever, do you even get it?”
“We should’ve just picked one person to take it.”
Instead of answering, Elderet sipped his tea and shook his head. Would they have been allowed to stay in the palace over one person’s issue? It would surely have been dismissed as a personal matter. Since they had not made a big fuss with formal protests, the imperial palace had not escalated things and simply accommodated their request.
‘Still, it’s really strange.’
Elderet peered at the imperial palace garden visible in the distance outside the window. Amid the long-stretching branches and lush green leaves, a long bench came into view.
Since arriving here, he had never once seen people gathered there to rest. Not only was no one sitting to relax, but no one even entered the garden for that purpose at all.
“The number of doctors is insufficient, the attendants and guards seem unusually busy, and the prime minister and officials even more so.”
They were a diplomatic envoy. Even with a problem arising, no doctor had been assigned to stay with them around the clock. Instead, as he had seen, there were only sights of people rushing back and forth.
“The Duke of Haiman is under detention, so isn’t this the aftermath? Haiman. Haiman.”
“Then that could be classified as treason as well.”
“Two consecutive incidents of treason in the imperial palace. Ominous signs for the empire. Ha! Ow, my stomach hurts.”
“The messenger said Arsen is a mana user. Just based on that, there’s no way the duke would be detained like this. Something seems off, right? Since the true prince’s faction is the Magic Department...”
Knock knock.
“Envoy Representative Elderet. His Highness the True Prince and Minister Ian Hielo have arrived. Please move to the adjacent reception room.”
It was perfectly timed, as if they had overheard the conversation and barged in. Elderet signaled his subordinates with a finger to stay alert, then opened the door and stepped out. There was no way he could meet them in the room where his men were lying down.
Creak.
“Oh, come in. Envoy Representative Elderet.”
“Greetings, Your Highness. It is an honor to meet you.”
“I am Ian Hielo, the minister.”
“Pleased to meet you.”
Elderet paused upon seeing the scar cutting across the boy’s face. The young prince could not possibly have gone into battle, so it must be a remnant of the rebellion. He could infer that the turmoil had been more intense than expected.
“So. You drank the palace tea wrong?”
The true prince’s eyebrows furrowed deeply. His eyes were filled with genuine concern without any ulterior motives, but Ian beside him scanned Elderet with a cold, unchanging expression.
Caught between two gazes of extreme temperatures, Elderet cleared his throat awkwardly and collected himself.
“No, the tea was excellent, but our schedule was tight, so our bodies must not have handled it well. We are all grateful for Your Highness’s hospitality.”
“Oh dear, is that so. I see.”
“Envoy Representative Elderet.”
Tap.
Ian lifted his teacup and softly called his name.
How old was he? He seemed not yet of age for his coming-of-age ceremony, yet his voice modulation and the graceful way he held the teacup exuded refined poise.
‘He’s from a border noble house, that’s all I heard.’
“Yes. Minister Hielo.”
“I heard from the prime minister. You were a professor at the national university at a young age, and now you serve as an advisor to King Eriponi. Most impressive.”
“No, you flatter me.”
Was he joking? That was hardly something for a Magic Department minister at his age to say.
Ian continued to size him up, slowly raising and lowering his gaze.
“So. Does your professor experience help with your advisory role?”
“With my limited knowledge, I assist in urban planning, reorganization, palace construction, and building projects.”
“Hmm. Indeed. The architecture of the Ruswena palace is famous for its beauty. By the way, we did not come at Haiman’s behest; we merely came to check on His Majesty the Emperor’s distress over the rebellion.”
“That is correct.”
A lie that both the speaker and listener knew well. Though the topic shifted abruptly, Elderet gave a succinct reply without excess.
At that moment.
‘Hold on.’
Elderet suddenly sensed something odd in Ian’s words.
‘Haiman’? Why was the ‘duke’ title omitted after his name? No matter that he was the Magic Department minister, the difference in status was clear, was it not?
As Elderet tried to follow that thought, Ian added,
“That’s fortunate. Haiman is currently detained on charges of blasphemy and disturbance. His title has also been temporarily revoked, so he is no longer nobility. He likely won’t leave the palace until the trial for the rebellion.”
He had known about the detention.
But title revocation? For Duke Haiman?
The combination of words felt so unrealistic that it was hard to process. What had the other nobles been doing while this happened to him?
Elderet naturally arrived at the conclusion.
‘The central nobility as well—’
They had all been crushed.
Title revocation was something any noble would react sensitively to, regardless of Haiman’s faction. Yet, those who could bring down Haiman had let it happen? It meant the main pillars had all been broken.
‘How on earth? Is it the power of the Magic Department?’
With the frail emperor and the two grown princes having failed, what difference was there from a toothless beast? If the nobles united, even changing the imperial lineage would not be impossible.
He realized the imperial situation was unfolding in a more peculiar way than expected. Unless one uncovered the absolute evil known as the ‘mana beast,’ it would remain an eternal mystery.
“So, the envoy should refrain from mentioning Haiman’s name. I heard Queen Ruswena has a letter to deliver to his wife. You understand it cannot be delivered directly. Will you hand it over? Or take it back?”
“...I will take it back.”
Elderet refused Ian’s offer, sweating coldly. There was no boarding a sinking ship. Continuing to tangle with Haiman here would give them diplomatic leverage against his group.
‘My suspicions were correct.’
The reason for the palace’s disarray. It was because they had subdued the central nobility and were now in a lull. They must be overwhelmed just handling the aftermath.
Mentioning Haiman like this was meant to minimize friction between them. In crude terms, it was a “let’s keep things smooth and amicable” message. No need for anyone to get exhausted.
“Once Haiman’s trial concludes, the true prince’s heir designation ceremony will proceed for the stability of the imperial family. We will send envoys to Ruswena as well, so please grace us with your presence again.”
“It would be our honor, of course. True Prince, our congratulations in advance.”
“...Thank you.”
As Elderet bowed politely, Jin smiled bashfully.
He wanted to ask where the Fourth Prince Arsen had gone, but he knew it was not the right timing. Above all, if Jin was ascending to heir designation, did that not mean the palace’s victor was clearly decided?
To be precise, the one seated beside Jin, this man named Ian, was no ordinary figure...
“By any chance, is there a gift you desire? Your Highness. I will select it with utmost sincerity on behalf of the queen.”
As the next emperor, Ruswena needed to pay special attention. Jin smiled broadly as if he had been waiting and replied.
“Nothing else, but I wish the queen would come in person to enjoy it.”
It was not even the emperor’s coronation, just the heir designation ceremony. Yet asking a monarch to attend personally.
Elderet flinched in surprise momentarily. This must be to widely proclaim solid external support amid the internal chaos from purging the central nobility. Or perhaps a stepping stone to exert influence over Ruswena later.
Elderet managed his expression and bowed once more.
“I will surely relay Your Highness’s words.”
“Good. You’ve worked hard. Let the attendants know if there’s any inconvenience.”
“Yes, Your Highness. Thank you.”
But contrary to his words, Elderet resolved to return to Ruswena immediately. Haiman’s downfall was more serious than anticipated. He realized this was no longer an issue for the envoy level to handle.
“Ah, and one more thing.”
Ian gestured as if something had just occurred to him.
“Among Haiman’s trial charges is one involving dragon scales. It seems one of his hometowns has an illegal supply source. Does Ruswena know nothing of it?”
“Dragons? Ruswena operates them from only one certified supply site. We know nothing if it’s tied to anything illegal.”
“I see. Understood. We’ll take our leave first. It was a pleasure meeting you.”
“It was a pleasure!”
“It was an honor. Your Highness, and Minister Hielo.”
Ian and Jin briefly shook hands with Elderet before leaving the reception room.
Elderet returned to the room where his subordinates lay, hurriedly rummaging in his inner pocket. It was medicine to relieve the abdominal pain.
‘If Fifth Prince Jin and the Magic Department minister are the real powers, pressure will come one way or another on Ruswena due to its ties to Haiman. We need to hurry back.’
Creak.
Meanwhile, Jin, stepping into the corridor, glanced back. Seeing the door fully close, he tightly gripped Ian’s hand.
“They didn’t bring up Arsen.”
“Indeed. The Ruswena queen chose her envoy representative well.”
In uncertain circumstances, the best course was to keep ears open and mouths shut. Ruswena was already in a slightly precarious position due to its link to Haiman’s wife. If it came out that they had rushed here at the duke’s call, they would be directly implicated in the rebellion and face major disadvantages.
“But it will surely come up while sharing the situation upon returning home.”
Arsen’s mana confirmation ritual was a closely guarded secret of the palace. And they knew of it? Suspicion would fall on collusion with someone on-site, highly likely pointing to Haiman, who was connected to Ruswena.
“That’s why the secret weighs so heavily. So heavy that the more you know, the more it chokes you.”
Bariel’s history might bury Arsen, but there was no helping facts known in the neighboring country. The consolation was that as an achievement-less young prince, awareness of him was faint.
Ruswena, on the other hand? They must have heard through Haiman’s side that Arsen was a ‘mana user.’ That was precisely the problem.
“If Arsen is mentioned, they could tie it to Haiman’s treason charges as a pretext? And use it to pressure their royal family?”
“Yes. And though family asset confiscations will keep things quiet for a while, seven noble houses will fall. Until other nobles fill those spots, a tax revenue shortfall will come. Best to lay it all out for the kingdom.”
They had masked the chaos from the Arsen incident by framing it around noble title revocations. At the same time, they had cast bait. Now just waiting for Ruswena to bite.
“Hmm. I see.”
Jin fiddled with the fingers of his free hand, meticulously organizing it all. At that moment, an attendant following behind received a message and approached Ian.
“Ian.”
“What is it?”
“Lady Haiman and her retainers have entered the palace.”
“Is that so? Got it.”
“But...”
The attendant glanced at Jin and trailed off. As Jin furrowed his brow slightly, he cautiously relayed.
“Lady Melania insists on seeing you, Ian. She says it’s regarding Bratz.”
Bratz?
Ian’s eyebrow twitched at Melania’s choice of words.