How to Survive as the Second Son of a Mage Family - Chapter 119

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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How to Survive as the Second Son of a Magic Family (119)

This bastard called me all the way here.

My heart pounded like crazy as if I was facing a murderer.

He was supposed to stay in the Papal States for eight more months. It was still a time when only a third of his work was finished.

I smiled as I looked at him, then shifted my gaze to his clothes.

Hyung, wearing a patient gown, pushed aside the blanket and approached me.

‘A patient gown.’

How surprising.

Did he put on some self-harm show to come here?

Those words rose to the tip of my throat, but I forced a smile to hold back the sarcasm.

“You seem to have grown a bit since I last saw you, Luca. Your complexion looks much better too.”

“…”

“Your Highness, how could you come here in that condition? I was going to escort the young master directly to his room, but to think you’d come all the way out here…”

The head servant looked at Adrian with a worried expression.

“Not at all. When I heard my younger brother was coming, I wanted to see him as soon as possible.”

He had to see ‘what kind of mischief his thick-headed younger brother had been up to’ as soon as possible.

Adrian stared at him intently, then looked at me with worried eyes and placed a hand on my shoulder.

“Luca, are you alright?”

“There’s no reason I wouldn’t be alright, hyung.”

Adrian’s eyes widened slightly while maintaining his smiling expression.

The head servant wouldn’t notice the difference since he’d grown accustomed to it, but Adrian Ascanien, who last met me in September of last year, would naturally feel a distinct difference.

Of course, that didn’t mean I planned to act with a cowering voice and deeply bowed head.

I already knew well how a person like hyung thinks.

In a situation where he noticed the change, continuing with a submissive attitude would convey to hyung that I wouldn’t complain even if he killed me.

After a long silence, Adrian Ascanien smiled with narrowed eyes.

“Your voice has changed quite a lot. If I met you outside, I might not even recognize you as my younger brother.”

“I see.”

What more could I say in front of this murderer?

I smiled once out of courtesy and said.

“I’ll go to my room now. I’ll see you later.”

As I turned to leave, hyung called my name quietly.

“Luca.”

“…”

“See you later.”

When I turned to check, Adrian’s face was brighter than ever.

He didn’t seem to care at all about whatever attitude I showed.

My stomach twisted.

It wasn’t because I was frustrated that he wasn’t shaken.

I hadn’t shown him any of what I’d prepared so far, so it was natural that hyung wasn’t shaken.

My stomach twisted because I could clearly see what would follow after that smile.

I just smiled and left the hall.

The head servant followed me with quick steps and guided me to my room.

It wasn’t necessary. Luca had also lived here when he was young.

“You’re remarkably composed, young master.”

I heard the head servant’s voice.

When I raised one eyebrow as if demanding an explanation, he spoke with a face lost in memories.

“Surely just six months ago, you couldn’t say anything in front of the eldest young master. To think the day would come when you’d grown so much and could converse leisurely with young master Adrian…”

I cut off his words.

“I don’t even remember.”

“That’s understandable. Looking at you now, young master, you remind me exactly of Duke Georg’s childhood. Since this must be your true self with your potential unleashed, it’s natural you’d find the past unfamiliar.”

“…”

‘True self.’

What ridiculous words.

Of course, I didn’t laugh.

“Then, I’ll let you know when dinner is ready. You’ll see your father then.”

“Understood.”

At my answer, the head servant bowed respectfully and stepped aside. I confirmed the door was closed and took a step.

“…!”

At that moment, strength left my legs.

I braced myself against the floor and sat up straight.

Though I hadn’t realized it, I must have been tense.

The fear imprinted on Luca was difficult for me to overcome easily as well.

‘Composed…’

I suppose that’s how it looked to others.

I let out a light laugh.

It’s hard to maintain composure in front of a future murderer with brain problems. It was an unavoidable reaction. Getting more flustered about being flustered would only waste time.

I quickly ended the situation and opened my bag.

When I was packing at the dormitory, Leo had come to me under the pretense of delivering handouts, and I had the sedative he gave me then.

I unwrapped one, put it in my mouth, and lay down on the bed.

The sedative’s magic seeped into my wildly pounding heart, gradually slowing my pulse.

‘As expected of Wittelsbach medicine.’

I’m not well-versed in history, but I’d never heard that Bavaria’s royal family was excellent in medicine in actual history—that was the case in this world before magic too—so it still feels a bit strange whenever I think like this.

Thinking about other things made me feel a bit more at ease, so I sat up.

My gaze immediately fell on the mahogany door.

‘…I want to lock it.’

There’s still plenty of time until dinner, so there’s no telling when hyung might come looking for me here.

‘He’ll probably want to have some pointless conversation.’

Could I hit his head while he’s talking?

Even as I thought that, my pulse began to quicken.

Even though this wasn’t the basement from that day, all the sensations I felt there came vividly back to life.

‘My target is here.’

The murderer who will soon kill me, the enemy I must execute, is less than 500 meters from where I stand.

The fortunate thing is that Nicolaus is now well-prepared.

At the same time, the unfortunate thing is that if that bastard had returned ‘normally’ in August this year without putting on a self-harm show, I could have prepared more perfectly.

By then, I would have been actively building my career as a cardinal, with time to spare to raise Nicolaus’s impression score to 8 points, or even higher.

It would have become a foundation to easily block even the imperial family’s schemes.

I was lost in thought for a while, then raised the corners of my mouth. It was a leisure possible because it wasn’t the worst situation.

‘How amusing.’

He failed to monitor and test me.

Confining me at home during vacation, triggering conditioned fear in Luca through newspaper interviews, obtaining meaningful information from Professor Traut.

So he decided to come see me directly.

The transfer scheduled until August probably wasn’t much of an obstacle for him.

‘If he gets seriously injured without blocking an enemy attack, he can be repatriated for treatment.’

It’s quite an honor.

To think I made that Adrian Ascanien sacrifice his own safety to achieve his goal.

That bastard came here to directly observe and test my changes.

There’s one hypothesis with the highest probability for what Adrian Ascanien will do.

He will put me in the basement again and interrogate me.

And the moment he discovers signs of magic, he’ll cut off all my paths back to society.

I took off the school uniform I was wearing and changed into clothes from this place.

The servant had already measured my height and had new clothes tailored, as the outfit fit my body properly.

‘I won’t need to worry about this part.’

Seeing the servant’s preparedness, it seemed there would be no loss of face due to such incidental factors. While I’m here, I can focus entirely on Adrian Ascanien’s plan without worrying about trivial matters.

I sat back on the bed and thought about Hyung’s movements.

The Professor told me “one week,” but would I be able to return to school?

Probably not.

‘Certainly in the novel, Luca couldn’t advance to the First Education Institute. He couldn’t even go to the 3rd Education Institute.’

To the Antagonists here, ‘Luca’ is someone they can confine to the house at any time.

The beginning is difficult, but those who have already ignored compulsory education wouldn’t hesitate to expel me.

‘If I end up stuck at home forever… in that case, how should I buy time to integrate Nicolaus under me?’

Let me find a notebook.

Even if I burn it later or drop it in water to destroy the evidence, I need to write things down and organize them for now.

I pulled my briefcase toward me and put my hand inside.

A warm furry mass touched my fingertips.

‘Hm?’

Fur…?

“…!”

At that moment, I unconsciously had a fit and pulled my arm back.

Then a familiar mass poked its head up above the bag.

“Lucas!”

―”How did you…!”

I couldn’t continue speaking and grabbed the back of my neck, but Fai didn’t care at all and jumped toward the window.

“Wow~ Luca’s House looks like Narke’s House!”

―”What were you thinking coming all the way here if we get caught?!”

“Narke told me to go! And I like being with Lucas too~”

“…”

Setting aside whether this was an okay situation, the breath that had been completely blocked finally escaped.

For some reason, it felt like the tension in my shoulders was also releasing.

―”…Fai.”

“Yeah?”

When I reached out my hand, Fai, who had been on the windowsill, naturally jumped into my hand.

Fortunately, given its size, Fai’s magic power was barely perceptible.

For some unknown reason, there was a white ribbon tied around one of its front paws, and whether that was an artifact or not, its magic power was even less noticeable than usual.

‘…At this level, there shouldn’t be a problem with it being here.’

If Fai being here would be a problem, Narke wouldn’t have sent it. I smiled faintly and set Fai down on the bed.

―”Thank you.”

“For what?!”

―”Just something.”

I took out my notebook, lay down on the bed, and wrote notes while holding Fai with one hand. It felt like my stiff muscles were relaxing as much as from the sedative Leo had given me.

Stability aside, there was one more effect. Thanks to Narke sending Fai, it became much easier to plan strategically for the future.

Outside the window, it gradually grew darker.

After organizing action plans for various scenarios, I looked at the clock.

‘It’s almost six o’clock.’

Since I’d already memorized it while writing, there’s no need to leave evidence.

I threw the paper into the room’s fireplace and waited until the paper turned to ash. Then I stirred the fire with a poker, mixing it until it was indistinguishable from the wood ash. When I briefly fanned the diminished fire, it quickly returned to its previous size.

Dong―

The moment I finished and stood up, the bell announcing six o’clock rang. The Servant knocked on the door with perfect timing.

“Please come in.”

“Young Master, please go to dinner now. Duke Georg will also be arriving soon.”

“Understood.”

I nodded and followed behind him.

The conclusion was reached.

Whether He tortures me or cuts me from school, from now on there’s only one thing I need to do.

If I act like the previous Luca, I’ll approach death more quickly.

Just seeing that ‘previous Luca’ died as soon as he became an adult, it’s clear that maintaining a weak attitude in front of Hyung doesn’t help survival at all.

‘So, I have no choice but to move in the opposite direction.’

Even though I don’t know how Adrian Ascanien will react to my change, I can’t move down a path where death is certain.

* * *

From the moment Lucas arrived at the banquet hall, the Servants’ gazes never left him for a moment.

Servants who had no assigned tasks but came anyway, claiming to help with setting and cleaning, glanced at Lucas, then went out to talk about him with their colleagues. Already, stories about Ascanien’s second son were spreading like wildfire throughout this Castle.

Since it wasn’t fundamentally different from the gazes he’d felt the day he cut his hair and went to School, Lucas sat calmly waiting for those who hadn’t arrived yet.

“His Highness Prince Adrian Ascanien has arrived.”

When the Servant’s calm voice was heard, Lucas’s eyes turned toward the doorway.

Adrian, who had changed from his patient clothes into formal wear, smiled brightly when he spotted Lucas.

It was Lucas who spoke first.

“Have you arrived, Hyung?”

“…”

It was a voice that was neither hurried nor nervous.

At the casual tone, as if he had spoken it thousands of times since childhood, the Servants’ movements froze.

It would be one thing if he was just bowing his head deeply, but the second son of Ascanien they knew was absolutely not someone who could utter such a casual greeting.

Adrian looked down at him silently, then smiled gently.

“I never imagined I’d hear such words from Luca.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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