How to Survive as the Second Son of a Mage Family - Chapter 189

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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 (189)

I slowly rubbed my face.

Rough, thick skin was felt at my fingertips.

Unlike Marco ten years later, Marco of this time had darker hair.

I calculated the balance of my new body and stood up from my seat.

[…Our German Second Empire solemnly swears to protect our territory and citizens against the shameless French Third Empire that refuses to honor treaties and acts with brazen misconduct. Citizens, Emperor Friedrich and the Empire will triumph as they always have.]

The voice of a former Minister of Magic, who had retired at some unknown time, flowed from a massive artifact.

‘Ten years ago.’

I know what time period I’ve fallen into.

The incident currently being broadcast from the artifact is when France led mages to break the border’s warp magic restrictions to reclaim the Alsace-Lorraine region taken by the German Empire after the Franco-Prussian War.

As in our history, the Franco-Prussian War was a decisive event that influenced the fall of the French Second Empire.

Unlike our history, where a republic was established, the monarchy was maintained—the emperor at the time of defeat was deposed and a stronger mage became emperor—the French Third Empire more blatantly sought opportunities to reclaim Alsace-Lorraine, the symbol of defeat. It was a natural progression since only the signboard had changed while the contents remained the same as the Second Empire.

‘So then.’

What about this situation was problematic enough for Marco Schreiber to awaken from memories of ten years ago?

I have a guess.

Before coming here, I had made thorough preparations, and those preparations included an investigation into Marco Schreiber.

The scene I’m about to witness will probably be incomparably more insane than what I saw with Adelbert.

No matter what crazy scene I see, I must maintain my composure. I resolved this and moved forward. Or tried to.

[…Was habe ich….]

The moment I stopped thinking and tried to get up, Marco Schreiber’s thoughts reached me.

It was similar to what happened with Adelbert.

However, unlike then, the words weren’t translated. Even though it was clearly Imperial language, it sounded like a foreign language to me.

‘The assimilation must not be complete yet.’

It’s just a guess, but as I read Marco’s memories, I’ll probably be able to empathize with his emotions.

I stepped aside so Marco could fully replay his memories.

[…What did I just hear?]

His head turned involuntarily. The frozen Marco realized that precautions for citizens were being broadcast and grabbed that massive artifact.

But immediately after, the broadcast ended.

The Emperor didn’t disappoint me even ten years ago. What was now playing was the Empire’s national anthem. In this tense situation right before war, would they repeatedly inform about evacuation procedures and current status, or would they have the sense to sound the alarm just once and leisurely play the anthem?

I, no, Marco looked up.

The sky outside was red at this dawn when it wasn’t even time for sunset. The sonic waves sent out by the government’s amplification magic were penetrating his body. His ears felt like they would tear. His heart began beating violently.

[No. Exactly where was invaded?]

The Alsace-Lorraine region is divided into three areas.

Lorraine is at the top, then Northern Alsace and Southern Alsace come down in order.

[They said the south. Lorraine is at the very top so it can’t be that. It won’t be. Are they talking about Southern Alsace?]

Crash—!

Marco kicked his chair and stood up, crossing the empty hallway and coming outside the building. When he ran like a madman and escaped the manor grounds, leaflets were being scattered in the air. Marco caught one of the flyers flying from the sky.

[French Army Alsace-Lorraine Air Raid Status]

His eyes immediately went to the civilian casualty status section.

[Injured 1 / Missing 0 / Dead 0]

His heart sank.

‘…0 dead.’

[Dear God.]

No one had died yet.

He looked up and gazed at the street.

Post office. He needed to find the post office.

He had to immediately inquire about the safety of my daughter and son living in northernmost Lorraine and let them know he would get them out of there.

Prussia would block civilian entry, but since he had connections in the military, if he asked nicely he could bring his children out first. If that didn’t work, he’d even bribe the French army.

Then, in half a day, they could be here together. Nothing would happen.

His wildly beating heart calmed down a little. An inexplicable hope welled up.

If so, he couldn’t be late now. Since the French army might cut communications at any time, every minute mattered.

Usually he left all matters regarding letters or telegrams to the servants, but having lived in this neighborhood for decades, he knew well where the post office was.

‘The capital’s largest post office is around here.’

There, he could process warp mail quickly.

However, the moment he arrived in front of the post office after running without rest, despair covered his entire body.

‘No.’

Had there ever been this many people in this neighborhood? Since when?

Where all these people came from, the area in front of the post office was packed with crowds. Someone had brought a saw to try to tear apart the closed iron bars and was hacking away.

Dozens of postal office employees who had woken up and come to work after receiving the government’s emergency request were horrified to see the mob of citizens rushing at them.

“No, we can’t open if you do this! If you want to send quickly, please line up. Don’t push!”

Ironically, people swarmed even more like bees. He felt someone pressing against his back with their shoulder from behind. Everyone was pushing each other.

Crash—!

“Ah!”

Someone was pushed and fell to the ground. From one side, some young man shouted until his neck bled.

“Please let me go in first. Please. My mother lives in Baden, no, 3 minutes from Southern Alsace!”

I.

I have children in Alsace-Lorraine, not Baden. Family in the Grand Duchy of Baden that hasn’t even been invaded yet?

“You think you’re the only one! I have my family in Rhine too!”

“Who here doesn’t?!”

Then couldn’t they wait a bit longer? It’s not like the French army had the ability to rapidly disable Baden’s barriers and magic. The Cheringen family, being located on the border, was stronger than most families, and Bavaria next to it was also a nation strong enough to rival Prussia. In the end, so, so the people here….

Had no right to enter before me. It had to be that way. They weren’t desperate.

But I had neither the strength nor the will to argue about how desperate they were. Those who weren’t desperate had energy for arguments, but I had no energy to waste on such things.

In an instant, this place turned into chaos.

My ears went numb.

The shouting died down, and ironically, now people’s whispers could be heard loudly.

“How far have they occupied?”

“Southern Alsace.”

“…I knew this would happen. It had been French territory for 300 years already, so those people couldn’t become German with just one treaty.”

“Those crazy Prosphresser bastards definitely colluded with the mainland to bring down the barriers our Imperial Court established. And to do such a thing on December 31st. Do you also have family there?”

“My younger brother is in Baden….”

After that, there are no memories.

When I came to my senses, I was holding a cheap fountain pen from the post office. The nib was broken and all the ink had leaked, staining my hands black. I didn’t care and wiped the ink pooling on the nib with my hand while scribbling letters.

I’m sending all the cash I have on hand for now. If you need more, I’ll send as much as needed, so if you can escape by paying the French army, escape through them.

I wrote up to there and tore up the letter.

If such content were discovered, I’d be executed by Prussia. I wrote the letter as euphemistically as possible using words the children could understand.

I don’t know if I wrote properly or not. When I came to my senses again, I was at the military headquarters.

“It’s not possible.”

“If you say Marco Schreiber, they’ll let me in.”

“We’re performing official duties and cannot contact civilians carelessly. Please go back.”

“Don’t you know who I am? 10 minutes, no, 5 minutes… no, really even just 1 minute is fine, just once….”

“We know. You’re the former Deputy Minister of Magic. We know your children are in Alsace-Lorraine.”

“They’re not just there. It was because of the Prussian Government’s conscription order, wasn’t it? To that underdeveloped land where no mainland Germans immigrated, because of that damn Alsace-Lorraine assimilation plan! My children were dragged there just because they’re politician’s children!”

When he raised his voice, the aide waved his hand.

“We know you’re serving for the nation and Emperor. I’ll convey this well, so please calm your excitement. Berlin is still safe, so until the next status report comes out, meet with people you know and calm down.”

“You’ll tell them?”

“Yes.”

“You must tell them.”

The aide nodded indifferently. I staggered out of the headquarters like someone who didn’t know if they were alive or dead. My eyes reflected in the door were bloodshot red.

Thud—

I caught a flyer flying in the sky.

The update time is just moments ago.

[Injured 2 / Missing 0 / Dead 0]

The number of injured increased by one, but there are no missing or dead. Could this be why those with no ties to that region—for example, that aide from earlier. He would have no connections to the southwestern part of the Empire—react so peacefully?

My tension eased slightly and I couldn’t help but smile.

After that, I continued going in and out of the Post Office, standing in lines, waiting for letters, standing in lines again… having servants check the mailboxes and checking the special editions.

Four hours passed and the statistics were updated twice, but the casualty count remained almost the same.

[Injured 4 / Missing 0 / Dead 0]

No one had died.

The main text stated that the Imperial Army had half-defeated the French Army in the South Alsace region.

[Under the concentrated offensive of the enemy forces, our Imperial Army counterattacked with resolute will, reducing the French Army’s forces by half. In this battle, our Imperial Army’s excellent strategy and combat power were demonstrated, and the enemy is retreating miserably before the Empire’s might. The French Army’s defensive line continues to move southward even at this very moment.]

They had repaired the damaged warp control magic and were gradually expanding the Barrier. The passage for advancing to North Alsace and Lorraine was blocked.

The Empire’s defensive capability seemed trustworthy.

As long as the French Army doesn’t reach Lorraine.

Only Lorraine.

Clank—

Someone set down a plate of soup in front of me.

“Master. Please stop looking at the statistics now. We will watch and report to you. More importantly, you must eat something light, especially at times like this.”

“…”

“Think about what conversations you’ll have when the young masters return. Looking at how the casualties haven’t increased much, everyone should be able to return safely. Especially the young masters—they’re Nobility, aren’t they? They’ll be the safest.”

The Caretaker, unable to watch any longer, comforted me by my side.

‘…Right.’

Worrying won’t change anything, so I should change my thinking.

Since we’ll see each other after a long time, we can share trivial stories about how we’ve been living. The children have lived there for five years, so they might be able to tell me ways to help the poor Humans of Alsace-Lorraine.

They’ve probably grown attached after being there for so long, but they shouldn’t go live in such a crazy land again. If the Imperial Government prevents them from moving to Berlin, let’s all seek asylum in Austria together. That’s what I’ll tell them. I’ve long since stepped down from the vice-minister position and have more money than I know what to do with. If I can avoid putting the children in danger of war, I’m confident I could leave for the United States immediately.

Yes. The United States would be better. It’s more free there, and as long as the British Empire stays quiet, there aren’t really any Surrounding Countries to wage war with.

“Tomorrow is the new year.”

“Yes.”

“I’ll be able to greet the new year morning with the children after a long time.”

“…”

Perhaps knowing that my words were like a spell I was casting on myself, no one answered.

After a while, someone broke the silence and spoke.

“Yes. You should be able to.”

Those casualty numbers are telling us. The French are still insufficient to avenge the Franco-Prussian War.

Apart from the relief, perhaps because I had worried for so long at my already old age, my head was throbbing.

I had to take a brief nap and wake up, following my doctor’s recommendation.

When I woke up, it was already almost 10 AM. I called a Servant and asked.

“What’s the casualty status? It was being updated every two hours, so there must have been one at 9 o’clock. And have any letters come from the children?”

“…”

I removed the forearm that was pressing on my eyes and slowly raised my head.

“Hey.”

“Nothing has come out yet. But…”

I bolted upright from my seat.

Only now did I notice the gray paper in his hands.

As soon as I snatched it, what I saw was French. Everything except the numbers was written in French. I carefully interpreted those letters, afraid of misreading even a single character.

The French Third Empire’s…

“…”

[French Third Empire’s Overwhelming Victory: Following the Recapture of Southern Alsace-Northern Alsace, Advance into Lorraine Region]

“…Lorraine?”

Had I read it wrong?

Lorraine. Lorraine. Lorraine? As I muttered like a madman, the Servant reluctantly opened his mouth.

“This is a newspaper published by the French Imperial Newspaper 30 minutes ago. A Friend urgently came and delivered it…”

The Servant couldn’t continue and trailed off.

‘What is this?’

Clearly Prussia had dealt with half the French Army in South Alsace and blocked their path. But when did they reach Lorraine through North Alsace?

I tried to read the main text with frantically trembling eyes. It didn’t work as intended. I resented my French skills that had stopped at gymnasium level.

In desperation, I obsessively stared at the parts with numbers. I could stumble through reading them.

[French Army casualties total 10, all minor injuries…]

“…”

“Master.”

“Clearly…”

Clearly, earlier it said the Imperial Army had dealt with half the French Army…

I slowly leaned my body against the bed. My vision spun.

“…”

No, this must be fake propaganda from those Prosphresser bastards. It’s probably a strategy to demoralize our troops. Of course it must be.

But why hasn’t even a single reply come from my children? Why are no more statistics coming from our military?

‘The Empire.’

I opened my eyes before a conclusion I had never once thought of—no, didn’t want to imagine.

What if the Empire had made false reports?

“…”

Our proud German Empire and Prussia and the Hohenzollern Imperial Court had boldly lied to their subjects.

Why didn’t I suspect it? The barely increasing number of injured, the fantastic “0 deaths”—why had I never once doubted it? It was obvious that such absurd figures couldn’t be possible.

I had been stupid. My hope had destroyed perfectly natural suspicion.

A deafening roar that seemed to tear my ears reached me.

When I opened my eyes again, my Friend was sitting beside me.

“Are you alright?”

“…”

“That was a stupid question.”

My Friend sighed deeply and opened his mouth.

“Listen carefully, Marco. This absolutely doesn’t mean something has already happened to your children. Understand? What I’m about to tell you is merely numbers, and it’s not information approved by Emperor.”

The Emperor’s approval?

At this point, such things couldn’t possibly have credibility.

“France has already planted their flag in the capital of Lorraine. I don’t know how many casualties there were in Lorraine. But Alsace… hah… I don’t know if I should tell you this…”

“Tell me!”

A cry came from my throat that even I was hearing for the first time.

My Friend said with a grief-stricken face.

“Those bastards killed all the mainland Germans as they passed through Alsace.”

“…”

I heard that the Information Department hadn’t reported it yet, but the death toll counted on our side alone exceeded 300, and that France had sharpened their blade to avenge the Franco-Prussian War.

Someone grabbed my back and neck.

‘No.’

No.

This might not be a dream, but we still don’t know what happened to Lorraine. My children in Lorraine might still be alive.

“I don’t think so either, but you should first slowly prepare yourself mentally…”

“This is French propaganda.”

“…I just heard this from the Prussian Information Department. The Emperor’s approval hasn’t come yet, but…”

“We still don’t know. My children couldn’t possibly go like that.”

“You still call mages over 30 years old children. Well, to us who are approaching 100, they’re still young.”

“Right.”

“…”

“So they can’t go like this. That would be against nature. For children to leave before their parents.”

“Everything about our lives goes against nature, Marco.”

“….”

“Your eldest daughter is in her early thirties? Even if she’s still young, at that age she should be able to accept her fate….”

“What exactly are you trying to say in front of me?!”

With a thunderous crash, the side table shattered under his fist.

Reversed mana gushed and flowed from every opening in his face. Blood vessels burst. His vision became severely distorted, repeatedly turning black then red. Strong contrasting lines were drawn and the world shattered into pieces. This couldn’t be happening. The Empire had said Alsace-Lorraine was safe from France for the past 10 years, they said it was safe… Our German Empire solemnly swears to protect our territory and subjects against ———. Meine Untertanen… My subjects, Kaiser Friedrich und? The Empire will be victorious as always.

“Marco! I know how much you cherish your children. So I am, to the very end, that, that, that, that, that?@!^%!—… [Der Zug nach Lothringen fährt jetzt ab.] De rZu gnach Lothr¡n&#&*n fährtje tztabDerZugnach%&rin%@@¿fährtjetz=tab¿ + Vater!

Screech— Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Crash—!

.batztejtrhafnegnirhtoLhcanguZreD .ba tztej trhaf negnirhtoL hcan guZ reD .ba tztej trhaf negnirhtoL hcan guZ reD….

Hissssss―

The sound of a steam locomotive strikes my ears.

I opened my eyes. Pure white light pierced my optic nerves.

“It must be hard to believe.”

I, no, Marco looked down at his feet.

It was a large coffin wrapped in the Prussian flag.

No, was this a coffin? This was a box.

[Why did you give false reports to the subjects?! All 353 who died were civilians!]

“I cannot express in words the grief you must feel at losing your children.”

[Yes… If I may say… The 300-some mainland Empire citizens were all mages, corresponding to the Empire’s reserve forces, so they were included in combat personnel statistics rather than civilian statistics. Our government has never released data on combat personnel statistics to the public, and I must point out that the casualty numbers in the statistics you subjects received were limited to civilians only.]

[I understand no reserve mobilization order was issued until the moment Lorraine was occupied. Some suspect that abandoning the Alsace-Lorraine subjects was part of the military’s strategy….]

[I could answer that, but you should know this question has strong seditious implications.]

“….”

“Count Marco Schreiber, as a subject of Emperor Friedrich, your children’s noble blood shed has protected the Alsace-Lorraine region from the wicked French Third Empire. Our Empire owes much to their sacrifice.”

[We have lost 353 proud members of our Empire and loyal subjects of Emperor Friedrich. We will not forget their sacrifice and devotion in defending Alsace-Lorraine for the Empire.]

Sounds from unknown sources continuously overlapped and echoed.

The train never returned.

“Do you regret it greatly?”

A strange voice that was neither man nor woman nor New Humanity nor child nor old man nor young man nor anything else. It seemed like multiple voices mixed together.

Marco turned his head.

Sunlight reached the depths of his brain. He turned his head but no person was at eye level.

“Mr. Marco Schreiber. Former Deputy Minister of the Magic Department and the Emperor’s loyal confidant. You sent your children to the frontier for His Majesty’s territorial expansion, only to receive such compensation—your heart must be quite troubled.”

“….”

“There’s no way to bring back the train to Lorraine that has already departed, but there is a way to make amends. How about it?”

Marco’s gaze slowly moved downward.

A small child, barely reaching his solar plexus in height, smiled while shining terrifyingly bright yellow eyes.

“With just a handful of your blood, everything can be reversed.”

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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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