How to Survive as the Second Son of a Mage Family - Chapter 444

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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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Ainsiedel didn’t react. He just looked down at me with a smile.

“How overly conclusive.”

He’s probably thinking whether I judged that he joined hands with the French Imperial heretics based on just a sleeping pill.

‘Huh…’

Every time I blinked with my crushed right side of face, it felt like whiskey was being drawn in. My eyes stung. I squeezed my right eye shut and twisted my expression while curling the corner of my mouth.

“…Just look at the dozens and hundreds of painkillers produced by countless pharmaceutical companies in this world, but sleeping pills don’t come in just one type of drug.”

“So?”

“No matter how pathetically you think of the Empire, the Investigation Bureau basically has records of all the drugs that Pleroma has used while committing crimes on Imperial soil.”

The possibility that each diocese wouldn’t develop independent technology in Pleroma, where inter-diocesan competition is fierce, is extremely low—because if they don’t, their performance drops and they fall behind in competition. Didn’t I see it with my own eyes? The mansion where the Archbishop of Freiburg took me had a laboratory, where he developed drugs for use in his diocese.

“Coincidentally, after news spread that France stole Peruer, His Highness Emanuel Wittelsbach was attacked. Then about 200 magical scholars disappeared. So what should one think after encountering these facts? Ah, it’s all Pleroma’s doing. But now, exactly who among them?”

I felt the strength draining from the hand pressing my throat and continued speaking.

“Why speak at length? The key point is that the sleeping pill used in Emanuel Wittelsbach’s rampage incident was identical to the sleeping pill used in the Grand Hotel terror incident, and the entity that carried out the Grand Hotel terror incident was ostensibly the Diocese of Osnabrück. Doesn’t that give you an estimate?”

“…”

Ainsiedel just looked down at me with a gently smiling face. Every time I saw his face, Elias overlapped with it. Was it because of his hair and eye color? Yet he smiled like Haike, and like Haike, had a facial atmosphere that caught one’s attention at first glance.

The sentiment didn’t last long. There was no need for it to. I continued speaking.

“At that time, Pleroma made Emanuel Wittelsbach go berserk to steal the technology that the Osterreichische Mage had created in his lifetime, in response to the French heretics’ territorial expansion. Seeing that they entrusted this task to the Diocese of Osnabrück, which had grown close through the Penthalon incident—though you might have volunteered first… I can’t tell you how surprised I was. The Diocese of Osnabrück finally made a big score in Pleroma. I thought that, but…”

I let out a laugh while frowning around my eyes.

“No matter how I think about it, isn’t it ridiculous?”

“…”

“A diocese that unilaterally joined hands with the Catacombs to steal magical formulas and didn’t even share it with Pleroma headquarters, now working for Pleroma?”

“Hmm…”

Ainsiedel made a displeased sound. Was it because my words grated on his nerves? No. I could sense that he was looking, listening, and thinking beyond my words. His lips twitched.

“This isn’t it…”

He was guessing something from my words. No, he was evaluating.

“Again?”

“…”

Clatter— Bang!

Without saying anything, when I glared with my left eye, Ainsiedel sent mana flowing to my throat. Due to reflex, my shoulder hit the nightstand. Needle-like mana stabbed frantically at my blood vessels. Ainsiedel tilted his head.

“So I joined hands with France? This isn’t all there is.”

“…Hah.”

“You couldn’t have been certain I joined hands with France based on just a sleeping pill. Don’t try to fool someone who can’t be fooled…”

Ainsiedel’s face came right up to mine. I raised the corner of my mouth at those words. He slowly blinked, meaning for me to continue speaking. I slowly opened my mouth while staring at the patterns in his bright blue irises.

“…It’s natural that the Diocese of Osnabrück would become a target of surveillance due to the Penthalon incident. Ugh! If they succeed in investigating their background… They’d inevitably discover that the Archbishop of Freiburg stole Osnabrück’s advanced ideas, and eventually… You who have been accumulating technology behind Pleroma leadership’s back… might find yourselves in danger of falling into the same situation as the second Archbishop of Freiburg.”

Getting attacked every time I say something, really… His lack of patience is pathetic and absurd, making me laugh. I caught my breath and finished speaking. Ainsiedel also smiled like me and shook his head.

“No.”

“Now, continuing. Previously, you even refused the leadership’s offer to promote you to archbishop.”

After saying that much, I gritted my teeth in pain. Then I spoke again.

“The juniors currently in leadership must feel quite comfortable looking at you. How could other dioceses not know that you don’t blindly rush toward Pleroma’s growth and profit?”

“…”

“You never wished for Pleroma’s success from the beginning. You never did.”

You only entered Pleroma looking at Werner Strauch, with no other intentions.

Do your best to bring down Pleroma before the next century arrives.

How many people in Pleroma could say such words? I think this person is both the first and the last. He’s Pleroma yet also Pleroma’s spy. He belongs to the Werner Strauch sect, and for that primary goal, he can join hands with anyone other than Pleroma. Just like when he secretly joined hands with the Catacombs.

Therefore, I was considering the possibility. The possibility that he might be crossing lines between pretending loyalty to Pleroma while simultaneously moving between French heretics, another group from which he could gain benefits.

“Haah…”

Ainsiedel closed his eyes and sighed. When he opened his eyes, blue irises appeared on his pale white face. I remained silent, looking at his shadowed pupils and the faint smile he kept on his face like a deranged person. White hair fell across his profile. His breathing brushed past my ear. He spoke each word separately.

“Don’t you have anything you desperately want?”

“I’d like to ask you the same thing.”

Grip—

Ainsiedel grabbed the hair at the back of my head and pulled me up. I looked straight at his face without expression. He too had no particular expression. I shook my head and spoke.

“Conveniently, you have another motive. Pleroma claims they can revive the dead, but they apparently don’t know how to resurrect someone who’s already become Pleroma. In other words, while they know how to revive a person as Pleroma, they don’t know how to revive Pleroma as Pleroma.”

“…”

“Werner Strauch, who was already baptized, cannot be resurrected…”

Crash—!

The world shook violently. Having hit the wall behind the bed’s headboard, I grabbed his arm and grimaced. Divine power sparked and crackled along his hand. He reacts this way to even this level of words? Yes, I understand. If asked whether I have any regret about ending Werner Strauch’s life, I cannot answer that I gladly killed a person regardless of what they were and would gladly kill them again if time rewound, but nevertheless, there’s no reason to compromise now. If Werner Strauch hadn’t died, I would have died by his hand, so what would the justice Ainsiedel speaks of become? No, he never spoke of justice and only lamented.

However, I still truly understand why he reacts so violently to talk of Werner Strauch. I too have such people, I must say… As the thought reached me, my gaze almost turned toward Elias. I’m only looking at Ainsiedel. He continues to lose his composure. I tried to answer with a clear voice while blood rushed to my head.

“…Since there isn’t, you had to find another method.”

The force in the hand crushing my throat gradually increases. I continued speaking without any trace of humor.

“Did the French heretics tempt you, saying they could make it possible? That they’d revive Werner Strauch, keuk…”

“How strange it feels to hear that name from your mouth. Do you have any shame?”

I naturally gathered mana in my hand. Just before the crackling sound exploded with a bang, he released his hand, and I collapsed below the headboard. The mana pathway connecting my head and heart finally reopened. Ainsiedel’s hair fell toward me.

“Our Saint Nicolaus may perform relief for all people, but he cannot become my savior.”

“…”

“Please look down with mercy upon this humble citizen…”

I couldn’t make out his expression. His hair flowing forward covered his face, and before that, my eyes were blurry from the whiskey. But I could tell that his sarcastic words lacked the mocking tone that should have accompanied them. A feeling as if despair was transferring to me began from my toes and consumed my entire body.

“…”

“I asked if you were desperate.”

An emotionless voice flowed without any intonation.

“I am desperate. Isn’t that why I’m in this position?”

“…”

“I value honesty as my greatest virtue, so I’ll treat you without deception. No need to twist my words. But… separate from that, I need to hear how you led this matter to this point.”

His face came closer. No, I was being pulled toward his face. I remained silent while meeting his slightly grayish, low-saturation eyes.

“Only then can I decide how to accept you. Do you plan to keep avoiding the core issue? How long do you plan to spout nonsense? How far do you intend to disappoint me?”

“Look who’s talking.”

I looked straight at him without closing my eyes and moved my lips.

“I’d like to ask how far you plan to disappoint me.”

“…”

“Why do you think I’m putting up with you? Don’t you think that while you’re testing me, I might be testing you? How pathetic…”

“…”

“You haven’t thought of anything while listening to my words so far, you haven’t thought of evidence you reasonably should have thought of and are pressuring me, yet do you have confidence you’ll properly understand if I tell you something?”

Yes, Ainsiedel is right. He’s right, but he still hasn’t grasped it. Either he can’t, or he wants to hear it directly from me.

I didn’t think he joined hands with the French Imperial heretics based on just one sleeping pill. That contributed about 50% to my hypothesis formation, but it couldn’t provide grounds for certainty. The remaining 40% depended on this.

What magic had the French Imperial family cast on Charles Orleans, who stole Peruer?

‘Magic that erases memories of specific keywords when divine power enters.’

Which organization originally used this magic?

The Catacombs. So at that time, I met Marian Baum of the Catacombs and asked if the technology had leaked somewhere.

He answered like this: ‘It couldn’t have been leaked. Even Catacombs people don’t know this formula unless they’re authorized.’ He said it might have leaked if there was a traitor like before, but quite some time has passed since then, yet Marian Baum hasn’t sent me any letters saying he discovered a traitor who collaborated with France or that some people’s behavior seemed suspicious. Since there’s nothing more to verify, I now exclude the traitor hypothesis. The problem remains. The Catacombs shared nothing with the Diocese of Osnabrück except spatial magic technology during their exchanges. They also didn’t share the magic that automatically erases memories when divine power enters the body with anyone.

Since there’s no path for leakage, there’s no reason this technology should be in the hands of French heretics.

Yet the French heretics know this technology. How?

I spoke quietly to Ainsiedel, who was waiting for my words.

“There’s one thing I can tell you. ‘Lu Bar’ certainly did various things.”

“…”

Ainsiedel exhaled. He began laughing like a madman. Soon satisfied, he looked down at me with a bright smile.

The Archbishop of Freiburg, who had built his reputation in Osnabrück, his existence is the wild card. His transformation ability and very existence, which allowed him to secretly infiltrate Penthalon’s main stadium yet disappear in the blink of an eye, making it seem like no one was there while throwing a single note in front of his target.

Lu Bar is a Pleroma sitting in a position high enough to steal classified information, presumably accompanying the Catacombs-Diocese of Osnabrück negotiation meetings. And he secretly disappeared, ransacked the Catacombs’ archives, and returned. Just like usual, stealing Osnabrück’s classified documents one by one and smuggling them to his own diocese.

Now the answer has emerged.

The ‘technology that forgets memories of specific keywords the moment divine power enters the body’ exists in Freiburg or both Osnabrück and Freiburg. And the Freiburg Archdiocese has suspended activities since the archbishop’s disappearance, and even if believers still exist, they’re under strict surveillance and control by leadership. Internal materials have also been moved to places unknown to leadership, so no development or next actions can take place there.

Now only Osnabrück remains as having that technology.

Either only Freiburg had monopolized it and Osnabrück stole it back after the archbishop’s disappearance, or Lu Bar had stored it in Osnabrück as well—there are various possible routes, and since I’ve obtained the answer to the desired question, I won’t think about narrowing down the possible routes now.

Ainsiedel exhaled deeply and smiled.

“Satisfactory. There’s a heretical organization in France… Yes, that’s right. I joined hands with France’s Terminus Yukairya, we’ve talked this far. What comes next?”

Finally, I learned the name. The heretics who had seized control of the French imperial family were called by that long name. Is it Greek?

What’s important is that in his mind, I passed the first test, and I’m still ambiguous. He hasn’t passed my test yet. Either way, we all have business with each other, but if the other party doesn’t want to cooperate obediently, I need to respond accordingly. I slowly raised my body and leaned against the headboard.

Now he will test me a second time, and I will also verify him. Whatever final answer he gives, I will record his non-verbal expressions in my memory from now on.

“Now, first. Let’s address this. It may be bland, but immediately after I grasped that Heike Einsiedel and Mikhail Ismailov were attacked simultaneously, I knew you were the perpetrator of this incident. Remember that fact and move on.”

“…”

“France seems to want other artifacts besides Peruer. I don’t know where they heard that Arma Christi was a precious artifact. Terminus Yukairya used their collaborator stationed in Germany, namely you and the Diocese of Osnabrück, to steal the Holy Robe of Trier.”

Einsiedel is looking at me with no expression. I touched my temple and continued speaking.

“But Arma Christi isn’t only here. Actually, there are more relics in the Papal States. Therefore, Terminus Yukairya has sufficient motive to create spies in the Papal States as well, and indeed the Holy Robe of Trier and the Holy Cross that came from Spain to the Vatican disappeared at the same time. What does this mean?”

“…”

“It means there are collaborators not only in Germany but also in the Vatican. So I decided to conduct an experiment.”

Experiment. When that word came out, Einsiedel raised an eyebrow while maintaining his leisurely smile.

“I had a warning letter sent that could easily be interpreted as ‘there’s a perpetrator in the Vatican.’ It’s a kind of leading interrogation. If an immediate reaction comes to this provocation, it would prove there’s a perpetrator in the Vatican.”

“Hahahaha!”

Einsiedel burst into unpredictable laughter. Was that satisfaction? It doesn’t matter. His non-verbal behavior was accumulating in my memory.

“So what form should the reaction take? A collaborator who’s prematurely stabbed by the provocation has no choice but to contact the original client who gave them orders. If it’s discovered that they’re the perpetrator, it means whoever instigated the crime will also be revealed. So the frightened French Imperial Family sent word to their collaborator in Germany. ‘Go stop the two cardinals.'”

“Interesting.”

“So you, the collaborator in Germany, decided to spread false information to us to confuse the perpetrator. Very welcomingly, the Hermetic Society immediately contacted Emanuel Wittelsbach.”

“Hmm.”

“How did you know Emanuel Wittelsbach would contact Nicolaus Ernst to do such a confident thing?”

“If I had him contact you directly, wouldn’t the play become crude?”

“You know well.”

Emanuel Wittelsbach already had a history of being rescued by Nicolaus Ernst, which the Diocese of Osnabrück would know well since they had caused Emanuel Wittelsbach to rampage. Also, since Nicolaus Ernst, who is Lucas Ascanien, was the person who found the perpetrator of the French Peruer incident, at least Einsiedel had to act with confidence that Emanuel would contact me. It was a good choice. If I said I wasn’t pleased seeing his opponent, that would be a lie.

“It’s a trivial matter, but I knew then. You know that I’m a secret cardinal of the Vatican.”

“I’m curious how you handled it since the timing wouldn’t match.”

Einsiedel spoke slowly.

He was referring to the time when the gem was discovered at the Hermetic Society. The chairman and his secretary believed the gem was discovered the day before. Einsiedel probably asked to verify me again, but with that question, his evaluation didn’t rise at all in my mind.

“What are you saying when you’re the one who manipulated it not to match? Since you would have warped the rosary with targeting magic to the Hermetic Society and cast mind manipulation magic, why don’t you give thanks while you’re at it.”

I placed my hand on Einsiedel’s shoulder and let out a sneer.

“Thanks to you, I solved the Austria-Hungary Prime Minister poisoning case. I’m curious through which route you obtained Atropos first.”

Einsiedel’s face still wore a languid smile. I slowly stretched my neck and continued speaking.

“The problem is that since you worked so hard, I should have gradually bowed my head, but I stubbornly ordered the Vatican blockade. That means your attempt to confuse the perpetrator failed, and the collaborator in the Vatican who heard the blockade order would have tearfully contacted France again. France would have pressured you again.”

“…”

“So, to confuse me again, you used Atropos on Ulrike Kleist too? Making some cross drop just now and manipulating her mind to think it was discovered a few days ago… truly meticulous. The problem was that by then my patience was running thin.”

Einsiedel watched me with one arm propped on the bed. If listening with such a crooked smile was his basic attitude, it couldn’t help but be refreshing. I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and continued speaking.

“I found it hard to tolerate you hiding your body and only moving your head from invisible places. So I thought about how I could make you come out.”

The mana flowing from his body faintly concentrated toward me. The aspect of focused attention was clearly revealed. What he wanted to hear, what he wanted to know to measure my capabilities, was the real story from now on.

“In front of the Hermetic Society and Ulrike Kleist, I played tricks following exactly the same path as yours. And I told the Vatican. ‘I received notes from two locations asking to meet in Munich on Sunday, and looking at the content, I might have to withdraw the hypothesis that there’s a perpetrator in the Vatican.'”

“…”

“They were very pleased to relay it. The collaborator in the Vatican would have been too. Joyfully jumping around while delivering news to the French heretics, ‘Thanks to Count Einsiedel scattering notes in front of the cardinal this time, those who took on the case are withdrawing their suspicions!’ and having the French heretics relay news of mission success and completion to you again. And yet…”

I flicked my hand and created an illusion with divine power.

“The you receiving praise had to freeze knowing it was something you didn’t do. Isn’t this a method you’ve seen often?”

A neatly folded blue note fell in front of him. Einsiedel’s gaze with a twisted smile lingered on the note, then slowly returned to me.

Kwaang―!

Sharp mana like a blade sparked in front of him. His skin was pressed by the mana, drawing thin red lines. I smiled while pressing down his trembling body.

“Your heart must have been pounding thinking the Archbishop of Freiburg had returned.”

“Hahahaha…”

Einsiedel, grabbed by the collar and fallen to the floor, bursts into snickering laughter. However, unlike his usual seemingly insane smile, his eyes are completely fixed on me. Greed, satisfaction, flicker in those blue eyes.

The capability verification is over. He’s ready to accept me. Because he has no intention of seriously continuing exchanges with France’s Terminus Yukairya either, no intention of supporting Pleroma running wild with Atropos, and would be looking for new allies for power balance. As always, he’s just looking for someone to switch to this time. I looked into Einsiedel’s eyes and muttered.

“Weren’t you grateful that I appeared instead of him? Now that your curiosity is satisfied, let’s stop the trivial talk.”

Divine power sparked in the hand gripping his collar. I looked into his eyes with white light between us and whispered words that would sound sweet.

“Now, let’s hear the plan you’ve drawn up.”

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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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