WeTried Translations

Translator: Coughing Baby

Editor: Coughing Baby

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◈ The Reluctant Imperialist

Chapter 158

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Gift (4)

Visitation room. In that place enclosed by gray concrete walls, I looked at the man sitting across from me.

Oliver Muller. Beside his wretched figure, worn down by every kind of suffering, sat Imperial Guard Captain Hans.

"Oliver Muller."

I murmured his name.

"Is that correct?"

"Y-yes. Yes, it is."

Hans of the Imperial Guard answered. I frowned and asked him,

"Are you Oliver?"

"...My apologies."

Hans lowered his head. I looked back at Oliver and thought of his mother. I remembered how she had cried tears of joy at my testimony.

"Oliver Muller, son of Sarah Muller."

Did raising a person really need some grand reason?

Maybe, sometimes, it needed no reason at all.

Just as a child needs a mother, there are surely times when a mother needs a child.

"...Yes."

Oliver's voice came through clenched teeth, rough as if his vocal cords had been torn.

"I am Oliver Muller."

As I watched him, a smile rose to my lips before I even noticed it.

...

"We found records from a hospital in Sarah Muller's hometown. The hospital has shut down, but the original treatment records remained at the local government office."

Sentinel Order office. I accepted the documents I had expected.

This time, they were old medical records on Sarah Muller.

"...Miscarriage."

Izenheim. They dig into the weakest parts of people.

So they approached a woman in pain after losing the life she had cherished most. A person desperately praying to fill that empty cradle somehow.

Maybe it was on an autumn day of heavy rain, or a winter day of biting blizzards.

Under a dark bridge, or on the cold ground.

They waited there, in the shape of a newborn, for that wounded woman.

If Sarah Muller had any sin, it was only this: that weak yet strong heart that could not walk past an abandoned baby, but took it in and raised it with love.

"I see."

I organized the papers. The family tree was genuine, but there was a fact more important than that. I had seen Izenheim's cunning.

Now, Oliver Muller could never be left alive. At the very least, he could not be allowed to become the center of this crisis.

* * *

Meanwhile, this was an ancient magic passage.

At the place where Arcane had been discovered, House Ebenholtz analysts and researchers crossed the passage and arrived.

"We can sense residual mana. This will require study."

A vast cavern. No traces of anything, not even signs of human presence.

They installed state of the art mana detection equipment and set up a base camp. Sebestian Ebenholtz, Supreme Commander of the Imperial Army, sat in the barracks handling imperial business.

"A letter from His Majesty."

Messengers moved through the passage, delivering letters to Sebestian.

Since the Emperor had said he was looking forward to this, Sebestian was quite pleased with this gift from his son.

"Commander!"

Then the chief researcher shouted.

"We found a passage."

Sebestian walked out. The researcher's detector flickered blue at one point on the rock wall. Irregularly swirling mana.

The mages quickly reverse-calculated the condensation pattern and injected magic into the vortex.

Srrrrk.

The stone wall melted away, revealing a spiral staircase.

"This appears to be it."

Normally, they would first investigate what was inside. Sebestian did not hesitate.

Step. Step.

He simply walked down.

Researchers and adjutants tried to follow, but Sebestian raised a hand to stop them.

"Keep watch above."

He was enough for below. They were to guard against intruders from above.

His adjutants took his meaning as if by habit. In the first place, there was no man in this Empire stronger than Sebestian.

Sebestian descended alone.

Fssssss...

He soon reached flat ground where dry air lingered. The inside was similarly empty, but someone had already arrived before him. They seemed unaware of Sebestian's presence.

His mana was calm and pure as breathing, constantly active, constantly erasing his presence.

So Sebestian had to reveal himself on purpose. A surprise attack was not very noble.

"...Huh? What is this."

The moment Sebestian lowered his mana veil, they noticed him belatedly.

"Someone else came?"

The voice was blunt, annoyed.

Sebestian watched them with quiet golden eyes.

"..."

There were four men in gray robes. They glared at Sebestian and smirked.

"So a few flies got here first."

Sebestian muttered. One of the men bristled at the arrogance and released mana first. Red mana surged in waves and rushed at him.

Sebestian did not dodge. As if swatting an insect, he reached out and grabbed the incoming flame. Fssht. He crushed it in midair.

"...What?"

He had erased high-density mana with his bare hand.

Was that even possible?

In that instant of confusion at a phenomenon beyond the boundary between physics and mana, Sebestian reached out with his other hand and lightly clenched, then opened it.

Crack, whoosh.

Part of the rock wall caught in his mana tore free into a fist-sized chunk. Sebestian threw it like a pebble.

KWAHHHHH!

The sound tearing through the air was nothing like a pebble. Its speed also far surpassed common sense. There was no time to dodge.

The man who had just released mana took the flying rock fragment directly to the face.

BOOOOM!

His skull burst like a watermelon, spraying blood and brain matter.

In less than a second, four became three. Sebestian stepped forward, glaring at the remaining three.

"...Major. That bastard's face."

One of the three spoke to the man beside him. He was no longer fully at ease under that pressure.

The major quietly said his name.

"Sebestian Ebenholtz."

The darkest darkness in the current Empire. A monster of the imperial household, praised as one of the greatest in the Empire's thousand-year history.

He had arrived.

"..."

Gentra's face hardened. Sebestian's golden eyes sank with a silver sheen.

If they waited, they would lose.

The major moved first and blasted mana at him.

KWAGAGAGAK!

Overwhelming force swept across Sebestian's position. But when the dust settled, he was already gone.

The moment the major whipped his head around,

Sebestian was suddenly right in front of him, close enough for their breath to touch.

"Separation."

The major detonated mana and forcibly widened the space itself between them. Sebestian's body was flung dozens of meters away in an instant.

"So, a Word Spirit talent. Controlling mana through speech."

Sebestian murmured and drew the longsword at his waist. This was an opponent worthy of receiving his sword.

Tap.

Sebestian stepped forward again. His body rose quietly. It floated like a feather, then vanished from sight in an instant. It was movement as if gravity had disappeared.

"Deploy."

The major hurled bundles of mana at him and retreated sharply. Some were cut by the sword, but the rest attached to Sebestian's clothes.

"Explode."

Boom. Boom. KWA-KWA-KWANG!

The mana clinging to Sebestian exploded one after another. Blue smoke and shockwaves wrapped the cavern.

The major crossed both hands and formed mana. He raised a lattice-pattern barrier.

"Protection formation."

Intent infused through words. A signal of manifestation.

SHWEEEAK!

At once, the opponent's longsword flew out of the acrid smoke. The mana barrier moved like a living thing and tried to block it, but...

CHAAANG!

The moment the longsword touched the barrier, it split in silver. Its form dissolved and sprang up in sharp fragments. One blade scattered into hundreds of pieces, spraying wildly in every direction.

Ting, ting, ting, CHAAAAANG!

The barrier he had built shattered in an instant, like moonlight breaking apart.

And beyond it, Sebestian charged with sword in hand.

"..."

Watching that dazzlingly beautiful sight, the major smiled.

It was pure admiration, or perhaps a laugh close to resignation.

!

Sebestian swung his sword.

Ebenholtz's final form, Full Moon.

The family's moonlit secret technique cut through their very space.

* * *

Visitation room, Special Imperial Guard Headquarters.

Oswin Mason sat with Sarah Muller on metal chairs.

This time, Sonnet Kandel, who had arranged the visitation, was also present.

"...Why did you pack so much?"

Oswin asked as he looked at the lunchboxes Sarah had set on the table.

"Oliver must have had a terrible time in prison, so he probably could not eat properly. I brought one for you too, Counselor. And one for Miss Sonnet too..."

Sarah patted the bundle she had unpacked. She also glanced at Sonnet with grateful eyes.

"Ahem. Well. Then let's eat when he gets here."

Oswin cleared his throat. Sonnet nodded silently.

They sat in awkward silence, waiting for someone to appear.

Keeeeak.

Right then, the iron door opened.

Was Oliver finally coming out? Oswin and Sarah stood up reflexively, and Sonnet stayed seated and watched.

Step. Step.

Bootsteps echoed through the corridor. Oswin looked over.

Sarah Muller also turned with an expectant face.

Step. Step.

But the man walking in was not Oliver Muller.

He was far colder, sharper, more immaculate, dressed in a spotless knight's uniform.

Maximilian Ebenholtz.

Step. Step.

He approached at an easy pace and naturally sat in the empty chair across from them.

"Good to see you."

With a faint smile, he took something from his coat and set it down with two crisp taps.

Thick bundles of documents.

"...Sir Maximilian. What brings you here?"

Oswin spoke first, unable to hide his unease.

The knight's uniform. He had come on official business.

"Ah, there is no need to be so tense. Nothing serious."

Maximilian replied softly as he arranged the papers.

"Before we begin the formal visitation and interview, I would like to clarify a few minor facts."

Oswin looked at Sonnet. Sonnet met his eyes with a stiff expression, then looked back at Maximilian.

Oswin replied,

"What facts do you mean?"

Maximilian laced his fingers and looked at Sarah Muller.

"...Sir, I am Mrs. Sarah Muller's attorney."

At Oswin's words, he nodded, but his gaze remained fixed on Sarah Muller.

Maximilian spoke.

"First, let me say this in advance. As I testified in court a few days ago, the Muller family tree is genuine and unaltered. You may rest easy."

The family tree was genuine. But it was too early to relax. To Oswin, the way those words linked together sounded subtly wrong.

"However, there is one point I personally need to ask and confirm with Mrs. Sarah Muller..."

Then Maximilian looked down at the neatly arranged lunchboxes on the table, still warm, and asked,

"Would you mind if I had a bite?"

Sarah Muller nodded before she realized it.

"Thank you."

Maximilian moved neatly, picked up a piece of meat, and tasted it.

"Hm. Excellent. Very good."

At the gentle praise, Sarah gave a small relieved smile. He wiped his mouth with a napkin and suddenly asked,

"According to the records I reviewed, you lost your husband twenty-seven years ago. Is that true?"

It was a sudden question about her past. Sarah flinched and answered,

"Yes... There was a terrible accident at the factory where he worked..."

"Moritz Muller. You lost your husband in that sudden accident."

Maximilian continued as if discussing ordinary life, but

slosh, slosh,

the unease kept rising, as if water were slowly filling beneath their feet.

"You were pregnant with Oliver Muller at the time, I assume."

Sarah Muller's shoulders twitched. Oswin reached out to stop her. It meant do not answer.

"Sir, why bring up something from so long ago..."

"I am only asking."

Maximilian smiled again. A bright smile spread across his face. Sonnet quietly brushed back her hair, and Oswin lowered his arm.

Sarah Muller swallowed and answered,

"...Yes. That is right. I was not alone then."

At that moment, every trace of expression vanished from Maximilian's face.

The water that had lapped at their ankles in the visitation room had already risen above their knees.

"Mrs. Sarah Muller."

His golden eyes sank like cold stone. He pushed one of the papers across the table with a finger.

"At a small hospital in your hometown village, we found a very interesting medical record."

It was a copy of a worn patient ledger. As Sarah Muller read it, her face turned white as paper. Oswin's eyes widened.

Maximilian parted his lips and spoke a cruel word.

"Miscarriage."

A sudden wave slammed into Sarah's chest. Her eyes trembled.

"I, Sir Maximilian-"

Oswin hurried to speak, but Maximilian raised a hand to stop him. He looked only into Sarah Muller's shaking eyes.

"As you can see, according to this hospital record from decades ago, a child who was clearly miscarried and never saw the light of day suddenly appeared alive, and grew up under the name Oliver Muller."

Maximilian tapped the document and drove the point home.

"From this point on, I intend to find every person from that village at that time and conduct a full investigation."

They would surely know. About the wife who lost her husband, then lost the child in her womb, and one day suddenly brought home a newborn.

"If they knew this and still ignored or condoned it, then the entire village will be punished."

He took a whole village hostage and aimed his blade at one person again.

"So now I ask you, Mrs. Sarah Muller."

That frigid voice filled the visitation room with numbing silence.

Sarah Muller's breathing grew ragged. Her limbs trembled, her head pounded. For a moment her vision blurred, and her hearing seemed to fade.

"Oliver Muller, currently imprisoned here."

Maximilian leaned forward.

"Is he the child you gave birth to?"

Sarah's throat tightened. Suffocating pain and pressure flooded her body.

Heavy tears fell from her wide eyes, one by one, but she could not force out words and only sobbed.

To her, Maximilian delivered an ultimatum.

"Remember this. There will not be a second chance."

...Silence lingered for a long time.

Neither Oswin nor Sonnet could speak in her place. Only oppressive stillness remained.

At last, Sarah Muller's hoarse, torn voice came out.

"...No."

Sonnet lowered her gaze. Oswin bit his lip and closed his eyes. Maximilian leaned back in his chair.

"Thank you for your honesty."

That was how his words ended.

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