How to Survive as the Second Son of a Mage Family - Chapter 452

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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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“…Actually, this worked out well.”

Ulrike had the same thought I’d had earlier, and unlike me, she voiced it directly. Then she quickly rushed forward to the caretaker.

“Lord Walter!”

“What on earth is this…. Young master, I contacted the Bavaria medical center and they said you’d already gone to Prussia…!”

The caretaker looked at Ulrike with furrowed brows. When she returned after the accident, the Bavarian government had contacted all the families. Having returned from the brink of death, the Kleist side would have been worried too. Ulrike shook her head quickly and spoke rapidly.

“I’m safe. You can see everyone’s here, right? But what about mother?!”

“I’m so relieved you’ve returned safely. But why didn’t you tell us you were coming, master? You should let us know so we can prepare meals for the right number of people.”

At those words, Leo and I made eye contact. From mine or Leo’s household perspective, this was an unfamiliar scene.

‘His way of speaking… feels more like a relative than a servant.’

Or a tutor. Ulrike shook her head vigorously and said firmly.

“It’s fine. They’re all full from eating sugar.”

“That’s not the point. Come to think of it, I came in because I smelled sugar from the building – what are you doing this time? You should tell us about these things beforehand too!”

“What? You can smell it?!”

‘That would be me, obviously….’

While I was thinking skeptically, Narke carefully moved behind the caretaker and changed his wand to a staff.

“Excuse me for a moment.”

White light spread from the tip of the staff. Narke poured divine power into the corridor and returned to his position. Only then did the caretaker properly greet us.

“My apologies for the late greeting. I am Jochen Walter. I’m sorry for not showing proper courtesy in meeting you so suddenly. I’ll prepare rooms for you right away….”

“No, Lord Walter!”

Ulrike waved her arms and gestured to the caretaker. She grabbed both of the caretaker’s hands and said.

“We need you right now. Please help us.”

* * *

We gave ‘Lord Walter’ some freshly made dalgona, thinking to discuss our future plans, and Lord Walter took one bite then grabbed his teeth. None of us had been conscious that Lord Walter was human—despite hearing his surname—so we belatedly realized that given his age, his teeth weren’t in good condition. To make excuses, normally one would be conscious of status first rather than living with awareness of whether someone was human or esper. Though it was a similar issue, there was certainly an important difference in terms of respecting the elderly. Ulrike, who had thoughtlessly put dalgona in Lord Walter’s mouth, seriously apologized to him as he massaged his jaw.

“I’m sorry. You can throw it away.”

“Not at all. You were making candy.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

I pulled Ulrike’s shoulder toward me after she finished answering and whispered.

“What exactly did you give him? Did you give him something still in caramel state?”

“Yeah. I deliberately gave him something not fully hardened yet. That’s the tasty part.”

I sighed at this youth-centered thinking. Fortunately, Lord Walter became lost in memories and changed the subject.

“Seeing this reminds me of childhood memories of picking grass with friends to make gum.”

I responded to his words.

“Is that so?”

“Yes, commoner children often do such things.”

When talk of playing came up, Ulrike suddenly interjected.

“I was the one who spread it to the neighborhood kids instead.”

“Haha! That’s because I taught you from when you were little. I’m glad the young master seems to be building good memories. But please give us a heads up in the future.”

“Yes…. I just wanted to surprise you with a pleasant gift.”

Ulrike was dejected for a moment, then quickly revived and spoke enthusiastically.

“So I’m going to give this to mother and the other servants too! How about putting it on the lunch table?!”

“This?”

“Is that not okay?”

Ulrike widened her eyes and leaned forward. It was a posture that looked like she’d bounce somewhere even though there was nowhere to go. Lord Walter, as if he’d heard such requests from Ulrike more than once or twice, calmly shook his head and gave a positive answer.

“No, we can do that. Shall I take it now?”

“…! Then Lord Walter, we’re in the same boat from now on. You must do it secretly from mother. You understand, right?!”

“I understand. I’ll make good excuses to the other servants too, so don’t worry.”

‘You have it tough….’

Considering her age, Ulrike’s mother probably wouldn’t like candy that much either. Everyone probably had the same thought, but no one stopped her. Ulrike was that excited. She gathered the completed candy into a basket and shouted.

“Would you like more?!”

“Thank you, but I’ll decline.”

‘As expected….’

My throat was starting to sting just from the dalgona I’d been nibbling on. I’d eaten too much sugar and was craving water. Lord Walter stood up from his seat and looked at us, asking.

“Then, will you continue experimenting… I mean, cooking? If you’re thinking of resting, I’ll provide rooms now.”

Ulrike quickly waved her hands and stood up as well.

“Oh, that won’t do. When will mother arrive?”

“She should arrive in Frankfurt in about an hour.”

“Then we’ll keep making this for the whole hour. If we go outside, the others will know we’ve come, won’t they!”

“….”

“….”

Silence flows. Elias gave Cheringen a look with a sour face. It seemed to mean ‘try to stop her.’ Cheringen just shrugged and smiled.

* * *

“How do you do, General Kleist.”

Leo was shaking hands and greeting Ulrike’s mother.

Finally an hour had passed, and we met Ulrike’s mother in the mansion’s dining room. With short hair swept completely back against her scalp and neatly dressed, she was taller than Ulrike—well, Ulrike was still growing—and had particularly protruding brow bones that cast shadows over her eyes, giving her a unique atmosphere. She had a gentle and kind impression like Ulrike, but didn’t look as similar to Ulrike as expected. For starters, unlike her mother, Ulrike usually let her hair fall down over her forehead.

However, the mana felt during the handshake was quite similar. Just like what I’d felt when dealing with Ainsiedel and Haike respectively, the two looked different but had similar natures. I let go of the general’s hand and greeted her politely.

“I am Lucas Ascanien. Pleased to meet you.”

“You look exactly like your father.”

“….”

Why do I always hear this….

I answered with a smile. Then the general laughed heartily with a mischievous face and said.

“I heard the government has very high expectations for Adrian Ascanien. Seeing you in person makes it even clearer. That makes sense.”

“You’re too kind.”

“I have fond memories of working with Count Georg Ascanien in the government about thirty years ago, so it’s truly delightful and interesting to meet his son this way.”

Somehow I think I know where Ulrike’s personality came from. Ulrike’s mother patted my back and sat down. I followed and sat as well, picking up my spoon after she finished reciting the pre-meal prayer.

“Well, I’m truly happy to meet our Luise’s classmates and coalition colleagues. Our child isn’t giving you trouble, is she?”

That was worth questioning, but Ulrike was looking at us with shining eyes. Leo smiled and said to the general.

“Not at all. She’s an indispensable member of our team.”

“Really?”

“She has excellent ability to unite the team as one. She has such an upright character that she’s always a friend we want to emulate.”

“We’re always learning a lot from her.”

Elias added to Leo’s words with no expression. Ulrike’s eyes grew as big as lanterns, as if she hadn’t expected Elias to speak up. Cheringen was also raising his eyebrows with an interested expression.

“Hahaha! Our Luise always tells us about school in her letters, and this year your stories haven’t been missing from any week. Among them, the story about playing board games with Count Farnese and Count Ainsiedel comes up every time.”

“Luise is really good at board games.”

Narke answered with a slight smile.

“Hahaha. I’m proud. I also heard she often takes on rampage processing reports with Count Cheringen. When she spent an entire letter talking about having more conversations with Count Hohenzollern, it was so amusing – I thought she was really having fun.”

Perhaps because Elias was mentioned, Ulrike finally opened her mouth wide, then rolled her eyes and made excuses to Elias and us.

“…The thing is. I didn’t write everything, no, I just didn’t have time to contact other kids so only with you guys….”

As she flustered, Cheringen, who had been laughing like the other friends, briefly replied.

“It’s an honor.”

I answered following his words and asked the general.

“Right. Didn’t Luise tell you anything about me?”

“Plenty. What you should say to seniors….”

“Mother, stop…!”

Honestly, I was doing this because it was fun to see the reactions, but I understood Ulrike’s feelings. As Ulrike gripped the table and swayed back and forth, the general raised her eyebrows and said.

“She’s telling me to stop.”

“I understand. I’ll have to hear it directly later.”

“Good idea.”

After talking for a while, covered main dishes were brought before us. With the atmosphere having become a bit subdued from discussing the incident that happened at dawn, an opportunity came to change it. Life began to return to Elias’s eyes, who had been only picking at soup and bread. Ulrike also began to express her joy audibly, perhaps because she was at home.

“Wow~”

The chef who had reset the table opened the lid covering the silver tray.

At that moment, we were left speechless. The general pointed at the silver tray with a bewildered expression.

“What is this?”

Elias’s eyes completely lost their light. Narke was calm, but unlike him, Cheringen seemed a bit surprised, and Leo was even more flustered. Ulrike’s mouth also fell wide open.

“….”

Lord Walter really went all out, I see now. What came up as the main dish was the sloppy dalgona we had made. I felt like my stomach was turning upside down. Ulrike, thinking she couldn’t miss this opportunity, quickly regained her composure and spoke cheerfully.

“Please try it once, Mother.”

The general was still confused, but she widened her eyes, observed the atmosphere, then carefully took a small piece of dalgona, struck it with her knife, and ate a piece. She tilted her head as she let the chunk melt in her mouth, then answered cleanly.

“It’s delicious. Is it English candy?”

I could see she was trying her best to give a favorable review. The general smiled warmly and spread her hands toward us.

“So, is there anyone who can explain why this candy is here?”

Only then did I smile and quickly answer.

“Luise really wanted to give it to Mother, so she came to the manor about two hours ago and we all made it together, but we didn’t know it would come up as the main dish like this.”

“Hahaha!”

The general laughed heartily and nodded.

“So that’s what happened. Luise has been playing pranks like this since she was little.”

“We followed the recipe Lucas taught us. How is it?!”

“Lord Ascanien is well-versed in cooking too.”

“Pfft.”

Just as I was about to respond to the general’s light joke, Elias covered his mouth with his hand and mocked me. Starting with that, Cheringen and Leo also burst into laughter. Two of these three didn’t even eat the dalgona I first made, so I don’t know why they’re acting like this. Only the general, who didn’t know the situation, began to smile questioningly again. Elias glanced at me and prepared to tattle to the general.

“You see, General Kleist. Lucas….”

“It’s nothing.”

I cut him off firmly, but the general’s face was turned toward Elias. He tilted his head with a smile like Ulrike’s.

“Lord Ascanien did what?”

* * *

“Phew….”

“Luca… cheer up.”

When I sighed while leaving the dining room and moving to the hall upstairs, Elias made a deliberately pitying voice and massaged my shoulder. Since his hand naturally slipped inside my shirt collar, I took this opportunity to swat away his arm and replied curtly.

“Cheer up? I’m not cheered up.”

“Why not.”

“Since when have I been bad at cooking? When did you properly see me cook?”

“Hah….”

Leo chimed in from the side with a hollow laugh. Before I could sigh at Leo’s attitude, Elias patted my shoulder.

“Then why did you give that long speech about the amount of sodium bicarbonate? People who are originally bad at something talk a lot~!”

Ulrike unusually clapped her hands and agreed.

“Hahaha! Right! Usually Lucas, you hardly talked at all, didn’t you? You just thought a lot.”

“When did you observe me like that….”

I shook my head and plopped down on the sofa in the hall. Through the long window attached to the hall, I could see outside. Since we were at Kleist’s manor in Frankfurt—his house was also in the Pomerania region of Prussia, next to the Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Strelitz—I could see the road leading to Berlin in the distance.

‘But… it’s different from what I thought.’

Unlike what I heard about it being a Prussian military family, the family atmosphere was surprisingly free and humorous. Since mages with a lot of mana are extremely few in number, having multiple jobs is routine, so they can’t live with just one identity, but still. Come to think of it, the Kleist family was also a house that produced many artists, so there was no need to have prejudices about other families.

Ulrike went into her room and came out to the hall carrying a box-like suitcase. Leo asked such Ulrike.

“So why are we sitting here.”

“Guys. It would be troublesome if we just eat like this, sleep, wake up, eat breakfast tomorrow morning, eat lunch, and then return.”

Ulrike spoke seriously. Elias patted his belly and said.

“Why would it be troublesome? I ate goose meat until my belly was about to burst, so now I want to sleep.”

“Ah, no….”

“…Speak.”

Elias leaned his head back on the sofa and shrugged as if he had given up. Ulrike clapped her hands to focus attention and shouted.

“Let’s do Wichteln!”

“Hmm?”

“Ah, that sounds fun~”

Cheringen and Narke reacted simultaneously. Elias narrowed his eyes and pouted.

Wichteln. A game where you secretly give gifts to other people around Advent. In Korea, it would be more familiar as “Secret Santa.” I tried it a couple of times when I was in school, but it really didn’t suit my personality, so I remember it being quite boring.

But now it felt different. Was it because there were only six people instead of dozens, or was it because I had gotten used to these friends? I nodded and asked.

“Hmm. When? Right now it’s neither St. Nicholas Day nor Christmas. When we return to Bavaria, we’ll buy….”

“No!”

Ulrike shouted firmly. She looked around at all of us and said.

“Let’s buy them before midnight today. If we leave it to Lord Walter, he’ll put them on the table tomorrow morning! Then we’ll open them one by one and find their owners! How about it?!”

Silence flows. When Narke was about to speak with an unusually mischievous smile, Leo beat him to it.

“I’m in favor.”

“Me too~ Ah, I absolutely must not use insight.”

When two people already joined in, Ulrike clapped her hands.

“Julia, what about you?!”

“Sounds good. Elias will do it too. Lucas too?”

“Of course.”

“Good. I knew you would….”

Ulrike rummaged through her suitcase and pulled out a box containing lots.

“I already made them!”

“….”

Very thorough preparation. As I was laughing at Ulrike’s actions, she suddenly thrust the box toward me.

“Here, Lucas first!”

“Me first?”

“Yes. You.”

I was suspicious, but I started running my fingers over the papers.

Strangely, all the lots had marks on them. There were marks pressed with fingernails, or the ends were torn about 1mm, or the paper was slightly yellowed. There were only two papers without any marks. I picked one of them and unfolded it.

[Leonard Wittelsbach]

“….”

I felt deflated and let out a hollow laugh. What was the other unmarked lot? I pressed my forehead firmly and cast a sound-blocking spell, muttering.

“Luise. You….”

“Hmm~?!”

“You know me well.”

Then Ulrike whispered in my ear—even though I had already cast a sound-blocking spell—.

“Hahaha, right? You were easier to predict than Leo. Leo seems like he would just pick without much thought.”

“You planned all this?! Let me draw again!”

Ulrike snatched the box away and shouted.

“No way! No redrawing. Take this opportunity to become closer…!”

“We’re already close! Really! How many more times do I have to say it for you to believe me?”

“…It is a bit confusing, actually. Ah, this is strange.”

“What’s strange…. Look at that. The way he was being annoying the whole time we were cooking earlier. If you’re not close, you wouldn’t….”

I couldn’t continue because Leo is the type who can be picky even if he’s not close to someone. I exhaled deeply and pouted, muttering.

“This isn’t fun…. I want to give it to a different friend.”

“Hey hey?! You can’t say who you got!”

“You already know anyway….”

“Then think about who your Nicolaus might be. Aren’t you curious about who will give you a gift?!”

“That is a bit curious.”

“Right?!”

Ulrike energetically broke the sound-blocking spell and had the other friends draw lots. She even started distributing letter paper for each person to use and spare gift boxes. Meanwhile, I was lost in thought.

‘Can’t I just buy Leo a box of soft chocolates?’

Actually, I don’t really know what else he likes. I know well that he likes magic, but there’s no way to give that as a gift. As for giving artifacts or elixirs as gifts, he already has enough of those.

‘Ah, this is harder than I thought.’

Should I really just get him some chocolate? But he probably eats the finest chocolate at home, so I don’t know if he’d be happy with just anything I buy. And now that the stage was set, I didn’t want to give just anything to a friend I cherish. What could be a gift that my friend would be happy to receive?

‘Alcohol? No… that’s not Elias.’

Clothes? He already has good taste and dresses well on his own. There’s no point in buying clothes for a friend who has his own philosophy. And this isn’t the occasion for expensive gifts… though considering everyone’s backgrounds, the price range will naturally be high anyway. Let me think without considering the price.

“…”

Even without considering it, there was no answer. After racking my brain for a while, I frowned and opened my eyes.

‘Ugh, I don’t know. I’ll think about that when I go out and write the letter first.’

I moved to the side table in the hallway and took out the navy blue luxury stationery card that Ulrike had prepared, writing ‘To Leonard Wittelsbach’ in cursive. I wasn’t particularly good at handwriting since childhood due to lack of dexterity, but thanks to improving it as I grew up, it wasn’t unpleasant to look at now. Besides, honestly speaking, writing the alphabet prettily was easier than writing Korean.

‘Good.’

After finishing the writing, I lifted the paper and blew on it. Navy blue stationery with golden ink—a nice color combination. Just from the appearance of the stationery, it already felt like I’d accomplished something great and my heart felt full. I turned the card to the back and smoothly moved my pen across the cream-colored surface.

[Hey Leo]

[How are you? Always stay strong. You’re a really wonderful friend.]

[Your friend]

It was a decent attempt considering I usually end things with one word, but I wrote three whole sentences. Leo would understand enough.

‘How much more do I need to write on a card.’

This much is sufficient. I let the ink dry well and put it in the gift box that Ulrike had prepared in advance. Then I pondered again what would be good to give as a gift.

‘…Ah.’

Suddenly a decent list came to mind. It was still just a vague picture drawn, so nothing was decided yet, but the thought crossed my mind of what if I gave that. I closed my eyes and planned it out precisely. Meanwhile, the Wichteln drawing must have ended because Ulrike suddenly stood up from her seat.

“Alright, finished! Let’s go to the market! I have something else prepared for midnight, so we must buy things and come back before then! Got it?!”

Now suspicious of everything, I carefully asked Ulrike.

“What did you prepare?”

“Nothing much!”

“…”

“Leo! Want to go to the market together with Lucas and Narke?”

“Huh? Sure…”

Feeling my blood run cold for a moment, I quickly cut off Leo’s words.

“No. I’m going with Luise. Anyone else going with us?”

* * *

I changed into reasonably comfortable outdoor clothes, asked Narke to change my eye color to something ordinary, and came outside. Together with Ulrike. I confirmed no one was around and cast a sound-blocking spell.

“What are you doing?! We’re going there to buy gifts, so how can you drag along the person who’s supposed to receive the gift.”

Ulrike calmly shouted in response to my protest.

“You need to hang out together and become closer! You can just hide the gift you buy well.”

“Ah… this isn’t right, Luise. There are plenty of other opportunities.”

“Right. There are plenty.”

“…?”

I felt a chill on the back of my neck as I looked at Ulrike.

Plenty of what? What other friendship programs are prepared for the future. Now is not the time to get closer to Leo. That guy is already the closest friend I made first in this place, so how could we possibly become any closer than this. Including Elias and Narke, these three were the friends who immediately came to mind when talking about ‘close friends.’ So if anything, I wanted to become closer with Ulrike.

Then, a voice came from behind.

“Let’s go, guys.”

Cheringen was walking out wearing casual clothes like us. Right, I wanted to become closer with Julia who’s here too. There would be no getting closer with Leo today as Ulrike intended, and I planned to spend more time with these two. Cheringen smiled and held out his hand.

“I’m nervous. It’s been a long time since I’ve been to Wichteln, except when I was little.”

Ulrike high-fived his hand and answered.

“Me too. Lucas says it’s been a while for him too.”

“I bet.”

From now on, all six of us would walk around the streets buying gifts. Cheringen held out his hand to me too. He smiled broadly and said.

“Let’s choose well. So everyone can be happy tomorrow morning.”

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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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