How to Survive as the Second Son of a Mage Family - Chapter 213

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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 (213)

Bring Haike’s blood.

He’s planning to turn Haike Einsiedel into someone like Marco Schreiber.

As the Crown Prince said, he has plenty of potential to become a worse villain than the future Adelbert, whether he wants it or not.

In some ways, capturing and handing over Haike Einsiedel might be the right decision.

However….

“I don’t understand.”

“Hmm.”

The Crown Prince looked at me as if he was the one who didn’t understand, then nodded as if telling me to explain.

“I understand well that Your Highness is trying to bring down Einsiedel to stop Pleroma. But I can’t comprehend why that intention should manifest in this kind of result.”

“As I said….”

“The same unique ability, fine. From what you’re saying, it seems that unique ability is highly valued by Pleroma. But why are you trying to go through me? Also, you could easily get your hands on someone from a Junker family without going through an organization like Eschede.”

“….”

“Why would someone who was using health checkups suddenly do something like this… I can’t help but be suspicious.”

Those bright yellow eyes glanced at the sound-blocking magic surrounding me, then stared directly at me.

He spoke without caring about my changed tone.

“Interesting reaction. It’s just a proposal, after all. I heard news that Einsiedel is planning something unusual.”

“Something unusual.”

“I don’t know the details either. Would it explain things if I said the central government is extremely wary of Einsiedel?”

Should I believe him?

No, I don’t need to approach it that way.

Given Abraham’s track record, there’s plenty of possibility that’s a lie. But there’s nothing to lose, so it’s worth keeping in mind.

After all, Einsiedel did try to monopolize technology by secretly making contracts with the Catacombs behind the central government’s back.

However, this can’t be a sufficient answer.

“So you’ll personally work for the greater good? That’s ridiculous.”

At my words, the Crown Prince still smiled, clasped his hands together, and looked at me.

I slowly opened my mouth.

“Let me share my speculation. Because the ten years you built up as Marco Schreiber have crumbled, you need a replacement. Especially since your plan to leave Pleroma and create a new religious order completely fell through, you’ve decided to start over from the beginning. I think you’re planning to take Haike Einsiedel’s body and insert it into Pleroma. Under the premise that there’s a bond between Bishop Einsiedel and Haike Einsiedel, you could kill two birds with one stone by gaining control over Bishop Einsiedel. You could also use that ability to secure a good position within Pleroma.”

I got that far, then shook my head at a sudden thought.

“Ah, now I see it’s also possible to drive out the Einsiedel in Osnabrück with that ability. Especially given that Bishop Einsiedel is in a position to pursue his own interests apart from the central government, the central government would welcome you as a new person with the same ability. How about it? Is my logic wrong?”

“….”

“I see it’s correct. That’s as far as I’ll go. So, what will you do if I refuse to follow your orders?”

At my words, the Crown Prince slowly raised the corners of his mouth.

There were no further words.

I stared at him and felt my insides growing cold. He’s someone who could use force in a situation like this. The Antagonist, not the Crown Prince, had done exactly that.

Of course, if he goes that far, I won’t need to be polite either.

He’s maintaining a defensive stance with his mana to prevent my mental manipulation magic from reaching him. Such thorough defense is only possible when sitting still like this; it’s easily broken when he takes action thinking he’s winning. If he attacks me, I should turn the crisis into an opportunity by casting mental manipulation magic to extract information. Then I can turn back time.

But he just smiled. He pondered my words before opening his mouth.

“I’ll bring peace by keeping Haike Einsiedel under control. Why is this such a difficult thing? Since Pleroma wants his unique ability, that student can’t be left loose in the world. You know what would happen if someone with power strong enough to be adopted as a direct heir is taken in by Pleroma.”

He leaned closer to me and said.

“I know you visited the Einsiedel family three weeks ago. Then you know there’s no proof that Bishop Einsiedel is a direct heir, but Haike Einsiedel, who is a direct heir, has the potential to become stronger than Bishop Einsiedel. Even a three-year-old could understand this much.”

Setting aside that he investigated my background….

It’s clear he doesn’t have pure intentions.

First, there’s no reason this must be accomplished through me.

Second, the reason for including Haike Einsiedel in Eschede still isn’t explained.

“Then let me explain it so even a three-year-old could understand. If you’re so worried, Your Highness can go get the blood yourself.”

“Hahaha!”

The Crown Prince laughed loudly for once and shook his head. I ignored his laughter and said.

“Tell me why you’re trying to drag me into this. And also why you, who could easily handle a Junker family, put Haike Einsiedel on the representative team to enter the Imperial Palace. Otherwise, I’ll pretend I never heard about today.”

“….”

“You might have planned to use my wariness toward Haike Einsiedel to gain my consent. It’s an efficient strategy since it kills two birds with one stone. But….”

I looked at him and narrowed my eyes.

“What are you going to do without my blood?”

At those words, the Crown Prince laughed as if he’d heard something ridiculous.

“Do you think extracting one drop of your blood would be that difficult?”

“….”

“Of course, I don’t really want to do that. I should wait until you offer it to me directly, otherwise this kind of relationship would end.”

“You’d better face reality.”

“You have to go all the way to know anything.”

He said that and leaned back against his chair again. He exhaled and muttered.

“You’re really difficult to handle. When I say one thing, you figure out ten, so I can’t say anything. But it seems you missed this.”

He smiled and stared at me before saying.

“Didn’t you think that Haike Einsiedel’s ability could be used to extract information from you and your teammates? What would you do if someone with the memories and information of six people fell into Pleroma’s hands?”

“….”

I put on a smile over my previously emotionless expression.

So that’s why.

I understand one reason why he put Haike Einsiedel on the team.

To urge me into action. To make me hand over Haike Einsiedel to him with my own hands. Since the danger level had risen sharply, he expected I would want to get rid of him as soon as possible.

Then why he really wants to go through me becomes the problem I need to figure out.

Of course, I have a hunch.

‘Is he planning to put me in his debt?’

If he rescues me from danger with his own power, he thinks his influence over me will increase?

That’s definitely a way of thinking Abraham would have.

“When you’re acting like this, why should I listen to Your Highness? In the end, it was Your Highness’s decision to put Haike Einsiedel on the team.”

“I’ve given you countless opportunities, yet I’m the one receiving this treatment. How surprising.”

I made good use of those opportunities.

But when did I ever ask for them? It was more like turning something that could have been a negative for me into a positive.

I pushed my teacup forward and said.

“Excuse me, but I’ll be leaving first. If it continues like this, we’ll just be wasting Your Highness’s time unless I stop first.”

“You’ll definitely need my proposal.”

I was getting up from my seat when I turned my head at that quiet voice.

He spoke with a subtle expression whose meaning I couldn’t understand.

“If Haike Einsiedel becomes suspicious, come to me anytime. I’m fully willing to take your side.”

“You speak as if he’ll definitely become suspicious someday.”

After a long silence, I answered.

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

* * *

It’s bait.

Bait to use Haike Einsiedel to threaten Bishop Einsiedel?

No. It’s bait to catch me.

‘It feels like he made the first move.’

My proposal will definitely become necessary?

He would think so.

He didn’t even explain to me the evidence that Haike Einsiedel could be used as a tool to threaten Bishop Einsiedel. If he wanted me to join his cause, he should have clearly explained the basis for that plan.

But why didn’t he do that?

Because he believes I’ll come to him on my own without him having to say anything.

In other words, he thinks a crisis greater than Abraham will befall me.

I walked quickly and entered the building where the banquet hall was located.

The laughter and conversation reaching my ears began to grow louder.

“Oh? Lucas is here~”

In the distance, Narke, who had been drinking wine, removed the glass from his lips and smiled brightly.

As I fully entered the banquet hall, everyone’s gaze turned toward me.

Ulrike smiled and greeted me as if she was happy to see me.

“Lucas! What have you been up to?”

“Just some things. Can I borrow Narke for a moment?”

“Huh? Oh, sure.”

A flustered Ulrike looked back and forth between Narke and me as she answered.

Narke looked at me with wide eyes, then nodded as if he understood the situation.

He whispered something to Elias and quickly approached me.

“Shall we go?”

When I nodded, he grabbed my arm and cast a warp spell.

When I opened my eyes, we had arrived in a room that Elias must have introduced. It seemed to be Elias’ room, and though it felt like it had been a long time since anyone had been in and out, I could faintly sense his magical power.

“Come, let’s talk here.”

Narke pulled out a chair and seated me.

Meanwhile, I opened his status window’s trait section.

Traits: Divine Power, Foresight (Lv.2)*, Insight (Lv.3)*

Just recently, they had been 1 and 2 respectively.

Both Foresight and Insight had increased by one level each.

I had already confirmed this last Friday.

‘On the day of the acceptance announcement ceremony, he told me “Haike doesn’t know anything either, so let’s not pressure her.”‘

Those were the words Narke said to me when I was flustered about Haike being placed in Team 1.

Clearly, when we took the second exam, Narke said he couldn’t read Haike’s thoughts well. How could he be so certain when his ability didn’t work properly on her?

The only thing that made sense was that his level had increased and the operational range of his Insight had expanded.

“Narke. It seems your Insight ability has become easier to use.”

“Ah? Oh. You noticed~”

When I smiled at his bright reaction, he seemed to understand my curiosity and spoke up.

“I used my ability too much during that exam, so it ended up like this. When you push beyond your limits and draw out power, sometimes the range of your ability expands.”

“I see. You did look like you were in a lot of pain that day.”

I gave him a worried smile and asked to confirm.

“So, Narke. Is the expansion of your unique ability’s operational range entirely due to that?”

“Are you asking if there’s another reason? Haha, that’s exactly why.”

Narke stared at me intently and laughed.

“When you use an ability for too long, the dam bursts. That really is all there is to it.”

“…”

I slowly nodded and looked into Narke’s eyes.

Those yellow eyes were also looking directly into mine.

I brought up the real question I needed to ask him.

“Narke. Let me ask you a few things. Do you think Haike could cause major problems from now on?”

Narke held his head and shook it.

“No, at least there are no signs of that within the period my foresight covers…? That’s assuming no variables arise, though.”

“What about the possibility of it happening due to others?”

“Yeah. She’ll probably just continue her activities as is.”

I was lost in thought for a moment before nodding.

“Thanks. That was helpful.”

“Don’t mention it~ By the way, His Highness spoke about Haike.”

“Right. What do you think?”

“Hmm, honestly I’m not sure without meeting His Highness directly, but…”

Narke tilted his head as he spoke.

“As you know, it doesn’t seem like he gave logically wrong advice. Especially the point about Haike potentially passing our information to the enemy if she falls to their side. Given the current situation, if variables arise, it’s certainly something that could happen.”

“…”

As I became lost in thought, Narke clapped his hands to get my attention.

“What are you going to do? Tell me and I’ll try using foresight!”

“Will you be okay? You’ve been drinking too.”

“I should use my ability when I can. Feel free to work me to the bone.”

Narke smiled as he made an uncharacteristic joke. I smiled back the same way and spoke up.

“I have no intention of listening to Abraham. As you said, Narke, there are certainly valid points in Abraham’s advice, but that doesn’t mean I should capture Haike and hand her over.”

“Mmm.”

“Create a second Marco Schreiber? Abraham is also a being with influence as great as Pleroma’s. Borrowing Abraham’s power to stop Pleroma is essentially no different in the end.”

He listed off reasons why I should bring him Haike under the guise of righteous purposes, but as I told him, for Abraham, Haike Einsiedel is also a good tool for re-entering Pleroma and establishing a foundation.

How could I kill the Antagonist only to let such a being be created again? Every time he creates a new identity, I’d have to defeat and kill him.

Whatever the case, it doesn’t change that he tried to gain advantage by stimulating my doubts and anxieties.

“Ah, good. Then we have our answer~”

Narke clapped and laughed.

“I like your opinion too, Lucas. For now, you must be very tired today, so let’s stop thinking about it.”

He stood up from his seat and gestured to me.

“We can try to fix things ourselves before Abraham’s words come to pass. Let’s go meet Haike first.”

“Alright.”

“Ah, wait a moment. Lucas.”

Just as I was about to take his hand, Narke waved his hand.

“Before we meet Haike, I’ll tell her first that you’re looking for her. Is that okay?”

“Uh… sure. Go ahead.”

“Good. It doesn’t matter what I say, right?”

What does he mean?

Though I was puzzled, I nodded roughly.

* * *

Narke thinks we can fix the future ourselves.

‘It’s nice that he’s optimistic.’

Solving Haike’s problem without Abraham’s help would be the best method.

In the end, Abraham essentially claimed he would control her body since Haike would cause problems whether willingly or unwillingly…

‘I don’t know why this bastard doesn’t understand that both options are problematic.’

Then we have no choice but to prevent Haike from causing problems, whether willingly or unwillingly. The formation of Team Eschede was fortunate in this regard. It meant there were six people who could protect Haike.

So before that, we need to determine whether we can remain safe while protecting Haike.

Whether she has any possible connections to Pleroma, whether Einsiedel has the ability to extract information from blood relatives, causing our information to be passed along in real-time through Haike even without her intention, and so on.

If necessary, I’ll even mobilize divine power. Unlike Abraham, who is wary of my divine power, this side is an opponent that’s easier to subdue magically.

‘And…’

Even though Narke’s foresight ability had improved, it seems he didn’t foresee futures beyond what I asked about.

Narke, who had brought Haike, looked at me with confused eyes, glancing around before stepping back and moving to the Eschede team members.

Since I had just arrived at the banquet hall and shown my face, students who hadn’t been able to greet me earlier were now flocking to me.

“I’m Stefan Cooper from 3rd Year Class 1. We’ve never had a chance to meet before.”

“Yes, nice to meet you.”

I shook hands with him and had a brief conversation.

‘My image has completely changed just from entering the Imperial Palace once…’

It was especially pronounced since there were only students from our school in this banquet hall.

I wonder what it would have been like if these had been Eschede members. In that case, I would have already received special rewards.

After being bombarded with greetings for 20 minutes, I encountered a welcome face.

As Adelbert approached me, the students standing nearby began to scatter.

“Senior.”

He greeted me while offering an ice cream cup he had gotten from somewhere. It seemed odd that he would give me something like this, but in any case, his presence alone was beneficial in the current situation.

“Congratulations on entering the Imperial Palace. And regarding the performance casting…”

“Don’t mention it. More importantly, you did well.”

“Huh?”

“Let’s talk next time.”

I said that with a smile and quickly left the spot.

“Haike!”

At that moment, Haike, who had been eating snacks with Narke in the distance, whipped around. Surprisingly, his expression was flushed, unlike usual.

For some reason, Narke was smiling beside him with an unreadable expression.

Both were suspicious, but what was even more unbelievable was the window that appeared before me.

Ding—!

Affection +1

“…?”

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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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