Chapter 254

Margrave’s Bastard Son was the Emperor

So this is what it means to be at a loss for words.

Sereau looked at the butler with a distorted face. His eyes were fierce, as if asking to repeat what he had just heard, sure that he must have misheard.

The butler glanced towards the reception room at the end of the corridor where the guests were gathered, and lowered his voice again.

“It’s not true, is it, young master?”

“How can you call that a rumor?”

Even rumors have their limits! Just as their fortunes were on the rise, to say they’re connected with Hayman?

Sereau was about to rush to the reception room but quickly turned and went upstairs instead. He instructed the butler, who was hurriedly following, to bring his sister Alenara.

Tap tap tap!

Bang!

The office doors were roughly flung open to both sides.

He strode in with large steps. Bookshelves covered in white dust lined the walls. Every time he ran his fingers over the filed documents, clear traces were left. Chetur, Chetur, Chetur…

“Ah. Found it.”

Sereau confirmed the rental business certificate related to the Chetur district and flipped through the papers. They were yellowed, edges frayed, and reeked of age. Judging by the deep traces of time, it was clearly a matter his father had handled when he was still in good health.

‘Still, I’ve managed all the recent income. If any money had come in under Hayman’s name, I would surely have known. What could it be? It’s too specific for a baseless rumor, which is ominous.’

Sereau frowned as he read through the text as if speed-reading.

Currently, the family owned just one building in the Chetur district. A small to medium-sized trading company was occupying it.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

But they had been under contract for ten years already, with three more years to go. It was a place he had known for a long time. He was confident it had nothing to do with Hayman.

Rustle.

As he hastily flipped through the pages, one paper fell out. Sereau paused as he was about to pick it up. It wasn’t a rental certificate, but a sales deed. He slowly unfolded the document.

“Ah, damn it.”

A building in Chetur District 3.

His father had sold that building to someone named Koaru Kobil a few years ago. He was from a famous blacksmith family in the capital and also a cousin of the ‘Ko&Ko’ leader. The same ‘Ko&Ko’ whose black armor materials were confiscated by the Imperial Guards.

As Sereau let out an irritated groan, there was a commotion behind him.

“I’m really telling you, it’s not true!”

“Lady Alenara. Please calm down.”

“Alenara!”

“Brother!”

Sereau’s sister, Alenara, was stomping her feet in anger. Judging by her reddened bare shoulders, she was quite heated. The fact that the subject of the rumor had heard it meant that everyone had already encountered the rumor.

“You, did you meet the second son of Hayman?”

“This is driving me crazy! No!”

She showed both her palms, insisting on her innocence. Sereau stood up, carefully folding the sales deed and putting it away.

“Not even acquainted?”

“How could I not be acquainted! I’m eighteen years old.”

“Tell me everything without hiding anything. I trust you understand how sensitive it is to be associated with Hayman right now.”

“I danced with him twice. We had a glass of wine afterwards. But you know, right? Everyone does that much at parties unless their nostrils are attached to their ears.”

It was common for dance partners to change during line dances, and drinks and food were inseparable from parties. Alenara muttered in disbelief, holding her forehead.

“I wouldn’t even feel wronged if something had actually happened.”

“Alenara!”

“What! Why! Honestly, if we’re being frank, there are far worse girls than me! Want me to name names?”

Honestly, and certainly, that was true. The truth supporting the rumor was far too weak for it to have spread.

Among the central nobility, who hadn’t dealt with the Hayman family at least once? Who hadn’t shown their face at a social gathering? Without a doubt, no one.

“I’m really annoyed. From my perspective, this is clearly a test. It’s obvious what will happen to the Sereau family once the situation calms down. They’re trying to smear us with baseless rumors.”

Alenara gritted her teeth, her face flushed with anger. She didn’t forget to add that whoever was behind this wouldn’t get away with it if she caught them.

Sereau completely agreed. The problem was, who could it be? If they traced back the rumor, they might find its source, but whether they had the time to do so was another matter.

“Haah.”

Sereau tilted his head back and sighed. Suddenly, Melania’s departure from the palace came to mind. While the truth was trivial, the rumor had spread vastly and quickly.

This was proof that those spreading the rumor held some implicit confidence. Confidence? There was no evidence, so it meant that the person involved had testified directly…

‘Melania?’

Why would a soon-to-be-extinct family want to check Sereau?

‘Ah. Perhaps because we’re the family to replace Hayman, they want to create a rift by tarnishing our reputation?’

Sereau was daringly mentioned as Hayman’s successor, directly confronting them. He had even gathered signatures to finalize the trial date, so the justification was plausible.

Is this the shield that Ian spoke of?

He reached into his inner pocket and pulled out a cigarette. Still, it’s manageable, isn’t it? Formless rumors are no different from cigarette smoke. Even if Hayman, deeply mired in the mud, tries to grab his trouser leg, he can just shake them off.

“Alenara. You look into it too.”

“What? The rumor?”

“Yes. You have more presence in social circles than I do.”

“That’s true. I’m more popular than you, brother. Alright. Wait. I’ll go see the girls. But in return-!”

Alenara told the butler to prepare a carriage as she turned her head sharply.

“Next time, make sure I get to meet Lord Ian.”

“Meeting him isn’t the problem, right now-“

“I know! I get it! I understand what it means to be associated with a family facing extinction. Do you think I’m stupid? I’ll be back. Whoever it is, if I catch them, I’ll deal with them first.”

Alenara muttered that she’d tear out all their hair. Including Hayman’s second son. What’s there to fear from someone who’s going to die from loss of honor anyway? Alenara clicked her tongue and left the office.

“What should we do, young master?”

The butler asked, glancing towards where Alenara had disappeared. Since Alenara would handle the outside matters, shouldn’t he take care of the inside? Sereau stood in front of the mirror, straightening his collar.

“I’m going to the reception room.”

He would jump into the center of the rumors and scatter all the impurities. If there was a problem with Sereau, other nobles wouldn’t be free from it either.

But if they’re going to corner him just because he gained Ian’s favor, he couldn’t sit still.

His trouser legs were already stained with mud. Who could blame him for smearing a bit on others?

Creeak.

Sereau stood in front of the corridor leading to the reception room. White smoke was seeping out from inside. It was a mixture of alcohol, music, hope, and gossip.

“Really? Dragon Scales? I’m hearing this for the first time.”

“I haven’t seen it myself, but I heard they make the armor for Hayman Bank’s guards with it. They say a large quantity was confiscated in the Chetur district recently. It was on a very rainy day. The bridge was flooded and impassable, and the servants were in an uproar since morning.”

“Ah. I remember that day. But that building belonged to Sereau? Then did Sereau not know about the Dragon Scales?”

“Wouldn’t he have known? He doesn’t do much besides the rental business. Haha. Since it’s material for black armor, he probably pretended not to know even if he did. It’s the armor used in the civil war, after all.”

“I’m not sure if Lord Ian knows or not.”

“Surely he must have known and let it slide, right?”

“For that, there are too many questions. Why Sereau specifically? Why push so hard for an unremarkable family, even turning a blind eye? I think Lord Eijein here would be more suitable.”

“I vote that he doesn’t know. If he knows, the rope breaks.”

“If he knows? Wouldn’t that mean he trusts Sereau that much?”

Various speculations about the current situation rode on the music. Sereau clenched his molars. There’s a limit to how much they can disrespect a family. To have such conversations in the reception room… If he had known it would be like this, he should have given Ian more noble names without hesitation.

Yes. That would have been better.

Click.

“Oh my. Everyone’s gathered here.”

“Lord Sereau. You’re back.”

“We’ve been waiting for a while. Did you see Lord Ian?”

As Sereau opened the door and entered, the vipers examined him with cunning eyes. They were curious if he had heard the rumors. Sereau took off his coat as if he had just arrived, smiling brightly for all to see.

“Yes, I did. He seemed to be in good health. I also had an audience with His Highness Jin.”

“His Highness Jin as well?”

The current sole heir and likely next emperor. At the casual mention of seeing Jin, the nobles exchanged meaningful glances.

“He also appeared to be in good health.”

“Oh, that’s a relief. As expected of Lord Sereau. If it weren’t for you, how could we hear news from the palace?”

“Haha. It’s nothing. I heard that the trial date for the seven families, including the Hayman family, has been set. Lord Ian is concerned about disloyal forces, so he plans to conduct more detailed investigations for the time being.”

It meant that if there were any who opposed the palace besides the seven families, they would be filtered out. Sereau, without blinking an eye, advised Eijein sitting across from him.

“Lord Eijein. Come to think of it, didn’t you receive ship investment support from Hayman Bank before? I heard Hayman conducted overseas business with the ships traded at that time. Is that correct?”

“…That’s true, but.”

It was a look that wondered why he was bringing up such an old story now. Although his brow was deeply furrowed, Sereau continued shamelessly, disregarding it.

“Oh, so it’s true. I thought I might have misunderstood.”

“Why do you ask?”

“Just curious.”

As Sereau smiled slightly, the nobles inwardly let out small exclamations. This guy has heard. It was a warning not to spread false rumors specifically about Sereau, since everyone here was connected to Hayman. But this ultimately gave a clue to the skillful nobles.

‘Lord Ian doesn’t know? About the current rumors.’

Isn’t he acting like this because Lord Ian doesn’t know? They rolled their heads, sipping wine. If Ian doesn’t choose Sereau, don’t they have a chance too? If ‘that’ Sereau can strut about saying he’ll replace Hayman, there’s nothing they can’t do.

Sereau, who pushed out Hayman, and another family who pushed out such a Sereau.

Rustle.

Yes. Why bother following Sereau so closely? A subject who barely maintained his lineage through the rental business.

The nobles smiled unnecessarily and averted their gazes from each other. The more they did so, the more passionately the pianist’s keystrokes escalated. It was the sound of another branch sprouting within the opposition party.

***

“Lord Ian.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“I have a question.”

“Please ask.”

Ian was still sitting at his desk, reviewing approval documents. Jin, who had pulled up a chair in front of him and was resting his chin on his hand, looked at the documents Ian was reviewing and asked.

“I’m concerned that dividing the nobles might make the palace more chaotic. It’s a time when everyone should unite and move forward. Aren’t the nobles the pillars supporting Bariel?”

His round eyes were particularly clear and sparkling. When reading books with Ian, drawing pictures, and learning like this, he was no different from a child his age.

Ian smiled, gently putting down his pen.

“You just spoke the answer, Your Highness.”

“What answer?”

“The more pillars there are, and the more appropriately spaced they are, the more stable and solid they become. What we’re doing now is exactly that kind of work. There’s no need for them all to be gathered in one place.”

“Hmm. That’s true.”

“The number of pillars doesn’t decrease. If one falls, surely another will be erected in its place. You are the one who decides and permits that, Your Highness.”

Jin pressed his lips together and smiled. As always, Ian’s warm words were truly pleasant to hear.

“When the pillars are strong, the roof doesn’t collapse. When Your Highness doesn’t fall, ultimately the people living below will be at peace. And besides all that, since the amount of pain everyone can endure is fixed, the more the nobles and officials suffer, the better it will be for the people.”

“Is that why Lord Ian works late into the night like this?”

“Yes, that’s right. I too am one of Your Highness’s pillars.”

Ian smiled faintly and picked up his pen again. Then, with a crisp signature, he expressed his intention to participate in the trial of the Hayman family to be held in the Department of Justice.