How to Survive as the Second Son of a Mage Family - Chapter 423
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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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“You’ve given me a magic formula used for heretical interrogation.”
The Archbishop of Stefan seemed momentarily surprised but soon calmly looked at his hand caught by the blue magic power and spoke. The chamberlain couldn’t understand this situation. His head was completely blank. The young man was actually a Vatican mage, and he had just attacked the Archbishop of Stefan. His Majesty the Emperor, where was His Majesty? The chamberlain’s eyes hurriedly turned back to the front of the archbishop.
Then the Archbishop of Stefan spoke calmly.
“But what are you saying? I am neither a heretic nor an apostate. Even if you are a mage of the Holy See, to intrude upon an imperial ceremony and speak based on speculation—you have gone too far.”
“…”
“Also, why do you not use divine power? Father, you must be misunderstanding something. It must be so. If there is no misunderstanding, it would mean that you only intend to frame me without any thought of proving my innocence.”
Archbishop Stefan spoke gently without losing the slightest composure even in this chaos. It was surely born from experience, but for the chamberlain watching, he was so calm that he couldn’t grasp anything at all. The young man is a Vatican mage. Could he possibly be fake? Why did he attack the innocent archbishop? No, is the archbishop really innocent? If David Graf is truly a Vatican mage? Then does that really mean the archbishop is a heretic? That can’t be possible! His head was filled with complete confusion.
The Vatican mage didn’t spare even a glance at the dozens of wands pointed at him and only stared at the archbishop. Blue magic power sparked like flames from the staff he held up. If he had been an ordinary mage, he would have been subdued long ago, but since neither His Majesty nor anyone else gave orders, the guards and Stefan clergy’s wands floated meaninglessly in the air, thinking they couldn’t lay hands on the Vatican mage. The Oberhofmarschall, unable to bear it any longer, drew his wand and aimed it while shouting.
“If you don’t lower your staff immediately…!”
“Your Majesty, please step back. The water on the palm branches is the very poison that killed Prime Minister Traf.”
The Vatican mage’s voice resonated quietly.
The air froze completely. Time seemed to stop. In a different sense from before.
“…”
That person, that mage now says that the poison that killed the Prime Minister is here and is even the holy water made to bless His Majesty the Emperor. He says the water droplets hanging from the tips of the palm branches shining in the sunlight are the very tools used for murder. The chamberlain’s head became dizzy and he could no longer think any thoughts. At the declaration that was tantamount to being made in the name of the Vatican, everyone’s widened eyes turned to the archbishop. Bewilderment and shock flowed through the chapel. His Majesty the Emperor opened his eyes wide and parted his lips as if he had heard unbelievable words, and unlike the others, looked at the Vatican mage.
Then, the archbishop whose arm was held, unlike before, showed shock and deep disappointment on his face and asked solemnly.
“How dare you speak such words? Are you saying that holy water was used to kill His Excellency the Prime Minister? Not content with that, you now say that the holy water just made for the Empire and His Majesty is poison?”
The Vatican mage didn’t even pretend to hear those words. When His Majesty the Emperor’s terrifying gaze reached him, the Vatican mage didn’t even think of withdrawing the papal staff aimed at the archbishop and only looked at the archbishop while introducing who he was.
“My introduction is late, Your Majesty. I am Father Lucio Armelini of the Vatican. I came to this place at Your Majesty’s request.”
Still dozens of wands were pointed at Lucio Armelini. His Majesty the Emperor extended his hand toward Archbishop Stefan, signaling him to wait a moment, then drew his wand from his waist and slowly raised it. The tip of the wand was aimed from Armelini’s feet, past his legs and heart, to the center of his face. The chamberlain held his breath. His Majesty the Emperor’s solemn voice resonated.
“Father Armelini. I must know whether you are truly a mage sent from the Holy See.”
“My staff is the very proof of that.”
“The Vatican said they would open a portal at 9 o’clock. How has this come to pass?”
“I apologize, Your Majesty. Our Vatican could not inform anyone in Austria that the schedule had been moved up.”
Lucio Armelini spoke with a completely unconcerned expression despite the silver wand tip of the Emperor pointing at the center of his face. With that calm voice that the chamberlain himself had admired. He continued speaking gently with a resolute voice.
“Even Your Majesty. If Your Majesty had prepared protocol to match my visit, the Archbishop of Stefan would have immediately noticed it.”
“The portal has not opened. Then how were you able to enter the Austrian-Hungarian Empire so quickly?”
“Your Majesty, that is because I was already inside Austria. Just as the archbishop is also in Austria while having connections to the Vatican. I will faithfully answer about this in the name of the Vatican after the case is concluded. Right now you must clearly know that there is poison before your eyes.”
As soon as those words ended, the archbishop spoke calmly yet quietly.
“Your Majesty, I know you must be very confused hearing Father Armelini’s words, but that is not true. How could such a plot be carried out in a sacred chapel? Please allow me to dispel the magic binding my hands.”
His Majesty the Emperor, who had been looking at Armelini, only nodded slightly. Then tendons stood out in Archbishop Stefan’s hands and green magic power burst from his hands.
Crash—!
The blue magic power binding Archbishop Stefan’s hands shattered.
Meanwhile, His Majesty the Emperor withdrew the wand he had aimed at Father Armelini and looked at the archbishop. That was a signal. Half of the dozens of wands that had been pointed at Armelini, the rest excluding the clergy brought by the archbishop, the wands of the imperial guards all turned toward the archbishop at once. Archbishop Stefan was not hurt by His Majesty’s decision. Instead of acting emotionally, he spoke of his innocence without caring that the guards were targeting him.
“For the Vatican mage to call it poison while clearly observing a ceremony performed in the name of Roman Catholicism—this is an insult to the Austrian Catholic Church. Prime Minister Traf’s death is not something that can be spoken of so easily, and even being a Vatican clergyman does not mean that claims based on speculation do not become insults to us.”
The archbishop tilted his eyebrows with the face of someone watching a regrettable situation.
“To erase this insult, I want to prove that the Austrian Catholic Church is without blemish. Your Majesty, could you please give me a chance to prove my innocence?”
His Majesty the Emperor slowly looked back and forth between Archbishop Stefan and the holy water basin. Then he answered briefly.
“Do so.”
The archbishop bowed his head in gratitude and dipped the palm branch into the holy water basin.
Splash—
Sounds of held breath could be heard from various places.
That the poison that killed the Prime Minister was that very holy water—it was absurd. Did the Prime Minister die because of holy water? Did the archbishop dare manufacture poison in front of His Majesty the Emperor? Impossible!
However, Armelini standing beside him was clearly holding a Vatican staff, and though he had not yet used divine power, the sanctity and resolve emanating from his voice could only belong to a clergyman. The chamberlain fully understood the source of the righteous soul that had been dissolved in the young man’s eyes. He was indeed handsome enough to earn many people’s admiration, but that was merely the shell. A person’s impression carries value beyond appearance. Beyond simple excellence of form, the impression emanating from Armelini’s face inevitably reflected his past life, values, and inner self, and that uprightness and composure were assets that the chamberlain himself thought could draw anyone’s heart to him. Knowing that he was close to God and was someone who refined himself, it felt like all the puzzles were fitting together. Lucio Armelini was someone who could not be far from holiness, and now it was difficult to think he was not a clergyman. That Vatican staff, known to be impossible to forge, also served as support for that belief.
But if Lucio Armelini was truly a mage of the Holy See.
That would mean it was true that the archbishop had tried to poison His Majesty the Emperor. It would mean that what was contained in that huge holy water basin was poison. It would mean that those present here would find it difficult to escape death. The chamberlain looked at the palm branch submerged in the holy water basin with greatly shaking eyes. His whole body swayed from his heartbeat. He didn’t know what to believe or whether he could survive here.
Drip—
When the palm branch was lifted, the sound of water droplets falling echoed in the chapel. The archbishop solemnly shook the palm branch over his head. Holy water dripped down onto his face and neck.
“…”
The chamberlain held his breath.
One second.
Two seconds.
Three seconds.
Even after ten seconds passed, nothing happened. The archbishop, who had been reciting prayers with downcast eyes, even made the sign of the cross with holy water on his right hand.
“…In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, Amen.”
“…”
Silence flowed. The Oberhofmarschall, who had stopped breathing and then exhaled sharply, looked at Lucio Armelini and asked fiercely.
“Even after this, do you still say this is poison?!”
However, Lucio Armelini’s expression was calm. He spoke in a transparent voice without the slightest agitation.
“When someone who necessarily must touch water plans a crime, isn’t there a possibility he would use tricks so it doesn’t work on him? No, wouldn’t it be strange not to do so?”
“There is no poison in this world that doesn’t work only on oneself!”
“That is because this poison is currently a drug that only involves mental manipulation.”
At those words, the chapel froze with bewilderment. The poison is a mental manipulation drug?
The story that Pleroma had counterfeit drugs that could replace about half of mental manipulation magic was heard from the German government. Lucio Armelini had been telling unbelievable stories from the beginning yet showed no wavering.
But even understanding it with his head, it was difficult to accept with his heart.
“When this combines with artificial magic power from magic lamps or artificial magic power processed by the treasury, it becomes the poison that killed His Excellency Prime Minister Traf. However, when it combines with the magic power of our human body, it becomes a mental manipulation drug. If it doesn’t combine with magic power, this water never becomes any kind of drug and merely remains holy water. How far must I explain before you will dismiss this gathering?”
The Oberhofmarschall twisted his face and forced a sneer.
“It’s speculation. To cast a transformation formula—how could that be reasonable? How far must the bishop verify to satisfy you? Why are you ruining our Empire’s solemn blessing ceremony as a foreigner?”
“I seem to have used too difficult terminology. Is iron oxidizing when left in air also an unreasonable matter to Your Excellency the Oberhofmarschall?”
“…”
“Just as the atoms of the world exchange places with other atoms, combine and decompose, magic power is the same. Magic power being influenced by other magic power and transforming into magic power of new properties is the most basic of basics.”
Lucio Armelini flicked the tip of his staff toward the archbishop as if pointing.
“Until someone touches His Excellency the Archbishop’s mind, it won’t seem like the drug has taken effect. To give a somewhat different answer, the caster of the mental manipulation magic is His Excellency Archbishop Stefan himself, or…”
Lucio Armelini lifted his chin and said.
“It seems Your Excellency has already been under mental manipulation magic for quite some time.”
“Your Majesty, I am only sorry that the blessing ceremony cannot be completed.”
A dejected voice. The gaze of His Majesty the Emperor and everyone turned to Archbishop Stefan. Archbishop Stefan looked at everyone with a solemn face and spoke.
“I will undergo investigation. However, I would like Father Lucio Armelini to interrogate me directly. If I can be cleared of suspicion in such a way, I definitely want to do so.”
The archbishop protested in a sorrowful voice as if leaving last words on the execution ground, yet with emotions that were not excessive.
“Father Armelini said he cannot be satisfied even though I proved this is not poison. So there is nothing more I can do beyond this. Your Majesty, please help me so that I may be investigated by Father Armelini with divine power.”
“‘Even though you proved’? Your Excellency has never proven anything. If we pour medicine on someone who won’t be newly affected by the medicine, we cannot feel any before and after difference.”
“Father Armelini. Are you saying this because you cannot use divine power?”
Along with the archbishop’s stern voice, the Oberhofmarschall shouted angrily.
“Father! Then who should that water be used on! If that is truly poison…!”
“Even while shouting at me, you are depending on my words to preserve your life.”
Armelini scolded the Oberhofmarschall with a resolute voice. He spread his arms like the ancient Greek scholars who stood in the agora and spoke loudly.
“All of you can neither do this nor that. You don’t know whether to capture me or capture His Excellency the Archbishop and his clergy, and you cannot even decide to leave here and investigate! You are all only hastening death for the reason that no one is deciding the next action. How long will you inhale the evaporating holy water in this chapel where not even a window opens?”
“That’s because Father Armelini is pressuring everyone by revealing that he came from the Vatican. Calmly…”
The archbishop rebutted with a serious face. However, the Emperor extended his hand in that direction to stop the words and looked at Armelini.
“Father Armelini. Where are the other Vatican people?”
“Your Majesty, have you forgotten what I said earlier?”
What he said earlier.
The chamberlain immediately understood. Lucio Armelini had said he couldn’t inform even His Majesty of the operation schedule. Because the culprit would notice and flee. That’s right. Even the chamberlain himself thought His Majesty had asked the wrong question. Lucio Armelini looked with eyes that held no expectations and crafted an answer to match the level of the question. Presumably it would be so.
“They haven’t come yet. Because I alone was in Austria. Do you have time to ask such things?”
“How dare you to His Majesty!”
“Verification by someone other than His Excellency the Bishop is needed, but no one believes my words so time is wasted, yet at the same time everyone believes my words so they won’t try sprinkling holy water on their own bodies. It’s an interesting matter. Why don’t you leave this place? Are you afraid evidence might be destroyed if it happens to be poison? Or do you think I might attack you while you stamp your feet or show your backs to leave? Or perhaps, do you think you have plenty of time since only 5 minutes have passed since the problem was raised?”
There was no sarcasm or anything in Armelini’s voice. He was simply calm as if accepting the phenomenon.
That’s right, they were all just cowards. The chamberlain himself thought so, and he was the same. He couldn’t fully believe Lucio Armelini yet couldn’t help but believe his claims, and on one hand he fully believed Lucio Armelini himself, so his neck stiffened with fear of the unknown events to come. He couldn’t leave this place without His Majesty’s command, and His Majesty was indecisive as always. He stood with a careful face without saying anything, but in this situation that wasn’t carefulness but indecisiveness. Lucio Armelini struck his staff down on the floor with a thud and slowly moved his feet. He stood in front of the holy water basin, quietly staring at the archbishop and said.
“I will have it sprinkled on me. After that, everyone leave the chapel.”
“…!”
“Wait…!”
Splash—
Chairs creaked here and there. Before anyone could stop him, Lucio Armelini dipped a palm branch into the holy water, then raised his head to the sky and sprinkled the holy water on his face. The dazzling sunlight reflected in each droplet now looked like a blade ready to take his life. Then he dipped his right hand in the holy water and made the sign of the cross from his forehead to his chest, from his left shoulder to his right shoulder.
“In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”
His voice was still steady. Lucio Armelini stood firmly in place with an upright posture, gripping his staff.
He didn’t die. There was no reaction at all. The chamberlain felt his shock gradually transform into unstable relief.
“Amen…”
Crash—
“…!”
The chamberlain’s mouth fell open. Armelini, who had lost his balance and was swaying, collapsed to the floor. He curled up his body and began clawing at his face while breathing heavily. His Majesty the Emperor’s brow furrowed deeply. While the chamberlain and everyone else fell into panic listening to the rapid breathing that sounded like someone about to cross the River Styx, the Oberhofmarschall shouted loudly.
“Mind control drugs couldn’t cause this kind of reaction! Your Majesty, you know this too. Even when mind control magic is cast, people don’t have breathing difficulties. This is just an act staged to show severity!”
The Oberhofmarschall’s voice rang loudly in his eardrums. Listening to it was overwhelming. In an already chaotic situation, his attention was further scattered, his eyes shook beyond his control, and his heart raced.
The Oberhofmarschall’s words bounced off his head. To say this was merely an act and false, Armelini was unable to breathe and his agonized groans were clearly those of a sick person. It was deadly poison. It was the truth. Father Armelini’s words were correct—the Archbishop had tried to sprinkle poison on His Majesty the Emperor! But now we have no Vatican mage to detoxify the magical poison with divine power. What about the other Vatican mages standing by? No, are they certain to be standing by? His entire body felt as cold as standing on a snowy field in midwinter. There was no one left to save us. These fools, including the chamberlain himself, had caused this disaster by being overly cautious in trying to determine who was ally and who was enemy. They had brought death upon themselves. A Vatican mage had collapsed from droplets that couldn’t have been more than 10ml. If that was the case, then the water in that enormous holy water basin… The mere thought made his breath catch. They had to leave this place, even without His Majesty’s orders, even if it meant never being able to set foot in the Imperial Palace again! The moment he finished that thought, the voices of the Oberhofmarschall and someone else echoed as if he were underwater.
[You must arrest that fake priest immediately. He’s probably not even from the Vatican!]
[If there are spirits that roam the atmosphere between heaven and earth—]
Crash—!
The chamberlain doubted his own eyes. Even before he could turn his head at the loud noise, he saw the water in the holy water basin rapidly decreasing. It hadn’t spilled on the floor. No one had knocked it over. It was…
“Ahhh!”
“Your Majesty! You must leave!”
[Spread your rose-colored wings and descend from the golden atmosphere to lead me to new and diverse existence!]
A magical formula, not a biblical verse. The chamberlain instinctively covered his nose and mouth. The door might open, but just as he turned to run out.
—Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.
Crash—!
—For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me!
With a stranger’s cry, white light covered the world. The chamberlain strangely felt his mind clear by a layer as he blocked his vision with both arms. The moment he opened his eyes, he doubted himself once again.
“…!”
In the middle of the whirlwind, one palace priest’s hair had turned white. The mage with gentle features struck down with his staff once more. Somehow his wand was not from the Papal States, but divine power spread from it. There was a Vatican mage among the priests of this Imperial Palace too—no, the Vatican mages had disguised themselves not only as lackeys but also as palace priests. At that moment, the chamberlain perfectly understood what the Vatican’s strategy had been.
The palace priest, who continued to purify the air with his staff struck down, spoke in a firm yet warm voice as he placed his hand on Lucio Armelini’s forehead.
“Father Armelini. It’s alright now.”
When they thought there was only one Vatican mage, the culprit would have caused this chaos to immediately achieve their goal and disappear the moment Priest Armelini voluntarily entered the mind control magic.
In other words.
Priest Armelini had given the terrorist at the scene an opportunity. An opportunity for the culprit to dig their own grave.
Knowing that the terrorist, already cornered while he couldn’t use his power, would hastily try to achieve their goal, he had sprinkled the holy water on himself. The fellow Vatican mage standing by next to the Archbishop would have caught the moment the criminal revealed their true nature, which meant…
Crash—!! Clang—
“…!”
From one of the priests of Stefan brought by the Archbishop, the monsignor sitting in the right chair, vitriol erupted from his hands. A black, massive stream fiercely cut through the air. The magical power of the three guards blocking His Majesty the Emperor crumbled helplessly and shattered. Before the Oberhofmarschall could hastily deflect the magical power flying toward His Majesty, the minister’s neck was strangled by vitriol. The white-haired palace priest struck down with his staff and rushed toward His Majesty the Emperor. The moment the priest grabbed the Emperor’s arm, both disappeared. Even while ducking to avoid the attack, the vitriol streams bent into dozens of branches and swept through the chapel. The chandelier fell to the floor and shattered.
For some reason, warp wasn’t working. The chamberlain covered his head and turned. To get out, they had to break through the door, and the door was already riddled with vitriol.
If that holy water had truly achieved mind control magic in a human body, that monsignor of Stefan would have been manipulating the mind of his diocesan archbishop. When had Pleroma’s mind control magical drug technology evolved to such an advanced level? The culprit present here would certainly not be the creator of this Pleroma operation, but would be one of many cogs. Even if he could escape from this place, even if he luckily got out, the real problem would still remain in the Empire.
However, even if the chamberlain himself died in this place…
[Behold.]
The Pleroma at this scene was already finished.
The moment Priest Armelini collapsed was the last opportunity given to the culprit. From the moment they used their last opportunity but still failed to brainwash His Majesty the Emperor, the game was over. No, even that ‘last opportunity’ had belonged to the Vatican from the moment the Holy See’s mage infiltrated as a palace priest. Everything was in the palms of the two Vatican mages. There was no king on this chessboard that Pleroma could topple from the beginning.
[They are like stubble before the fire, and like a flame that the wind drives away!]
Crash—…
A firm and calm voice rang between the explosive sounds of vitriol. The moment tinnitus crossed his head, the chamberlain realized his hearing wasn’t functioning properly. Everything in the world moved only slowly. Light that burst from the front of the dais decomposed and pushed away the vitriol. The chamberlain felt chills at the blue-green light that covered his vision with a single casting. Someone made a choking sound. Even as thick liquid flowed from his ears and the sounds of the world became muffled, a quiet voice seemed to pierce into his head.
“Father Tobias Huber.”
Lucio Armelini, standing while gripping the dais, was pointing the tip of his Papal States staff at the Pleroma monsignor. Even though no one had told him the monsignor’s name, he spoke the name.
The chapel doors opened with a roar and Vatican clergy rushed in. Behind the staff’s magical power bursting fiercely like blue flames, Lucio Armelini smiled with bloodshot eyes, looking at the monsignor who was struggling while grasping the blue magical power wrapped around his neck.
“It’s time to admit defeat.”
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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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