How to Survive as the Second Son of a Mage Family - Chapter 602

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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 Noble Family (602)

There is no answer. The blade pushes my sword aside and fiercely closes in. We repeat collisions, being pushed back and then pressing forward again. In the sensation like a rock being driven straight into my head, I already knew what spell Lucien had cast without incantation, and now I realize it once more. If he’s not using some fake magical formula but the orthodox European magical academic techniques, he would have used a formula that magically implements the biblical story of a shepherd defeating an enemy giant with a single stone, and according to that, the shepherd saved the Israeli army by defeating the impregnable enemy commander and returning. He saved his own army with a sling. If there were scholars’ calculations, it was highly likely that Rosalie’s awakening was due to the influence of the divine power formula creating the ‘rock’ effect he’s now using. I whispered, moved by the scholars’ enthusiasm.

—I am the Lord’s servant, son of Jesse from Bethlehem.

Light rises from beneath my feet and shoots toward the sky. In the darkness, the light burns my optic nerves. All of Lucien’s attacks coming at me lose their effect at once, clearing my head. The clear sound of clashing swords is more welcome than ever.

This is the shepherd’s line who receives God’s protection. Even if Lucien substitutes himself as the shepherd, can’t I just steal it away? I kept retreating behind my sword, mindful of Rosalie’s position. Seeing the smile at the corner of my mouth, Lucien says quietly.

“You’re smiling.”

“Is that a problem?”

It sounds like urging me to cry, but you shouldn’t be demanding that I cry. I convey such words through my expression instead. Your output is insufficient, so your power doesn’t fully reach my enhancement magic formula.

Even though I recited the earlier spell that ‘calls upon protection,’ that wasn’t exactly me stealing Lucien’s spell, but rather my spell neutralizing his attack, so now there are just two shepherds. The difference is that the ‘divine protection’ following him cannot overcome mine. Lucien says.

“You weren’t like that.”

The sound of clashing blades repeats endlessly and light bursts forth.

“No, I smiled often.”

Lucien’s left-handed assault, unable to use his right hand, is surprisingly as precise as his right hand. So what good does that do? Despite my taunting, he doesn’t react. Is he a serious personality? Of course that’s part of it. But fundamentally, it’s because he has no energy to spare. I whispered to him.

“You know why? If a person is only tragic, they can’t last long.”

Since fixing sound-blocking magic to the vocal cords isn’t ordinary work, I could see from the corner of my eye that Rosalie was struggling for breath. When I’m careful not to block my prayers, the opponent’s sword and the magic power within it straighten up and advance swiftly. Cracks form in my physical barrier and quickly repair. Damn, he acts all kind but is quite cunning. I curled one corner of my mouth and struck his sword away with appropriate force. The magic power that was supposed to come at me scatters to the side.

“Shouldn’t you be a bit tragic in this situation?”

Are you that strong? I tilt my head before the light bouncing along the blade.

Just from his words, it seems like he’s taking my smile as provocation and just being prideful, but there’s no desperate strength in his arms. He’s calculating. I pulled my waist back, adjusted my center of gravity, and appropriately struck away his sword. If I don’t want to give him momentum when he’s pushed upward, I shouldn’t push him hard.

“That’s your wishful thinking. Just because I’m smiling doesn’t mean I don’t consider you important, so take it as an honor.”

I licked away the blood flowing into my upper lip and continued speaking gently.

“I’m facing you like this, aren’t I?”

In this shameless 2-on-1 fight, that is. He closes his mouth. He doesn’t tell me to do my best until the end. Right, at least he seems to understand the situation. I have no intention of doing my best at killing.

In some fights, killing is less complicated and less difficult than sparing. Right now it seemed like I could kill them easily if I wanted to, and that terrible fact restrains me. The moment Lucien stomped his foot, magic power burst from beneath his feet along with his sword. Normally binding the legs would be standard, but his magic power is nowhere to be found. It’s heading for my head, and along with intuition, drowsiness washes over me, so I lick my lips with my tongue again. I don’t know if it increases my strength, but at least it clears my mind.

Though I don’t know how I did it, I was also afraid that the abnormal phenomenon that occurred around Easter just ten days ago might happen again here. No matter how crazy these friends were, I had no intention of carelessly killing people and never wanted to. If they stopped, I would stop too, and if they said let’s talk, I would welcome it. But they don’t. So I will do my best to maintain human decency. If you criticize me for consistently smiling in such a situation, that’s too much. I am doing my best…

In the darkness, my thigh hits an obstruction. It’s a desk. The moment I lose proper footing to dodge the sword, the back of my neck grows cold. My body moves before my thoughts.

The sound of tearing air passes in front of my feet, which are higher than my head. I feel the sword tip scrape the sole of my shoe. I flip my body backward, land beyond the desk, and kick off the ground again. On the third step, as soon as I step on the desk and climb to where I had rolled, an explosion and flash strike my right side. The barrier breaks from the attack.

The smile that Lucien had such trouble adapting to becomes even more solid. The fact that I jumped up onto the desk means my lower body became unstable. What does that mean? Lucien was in the perfect position to knock me down, so he wouldn’t miss the opportunity and would push me with all his might.

If I know he’s going to act, what should I do?

The explosion makes my ears ring. Reflection magic pushes away the scattering barrier fragments and divine power. Lucien, who was trying to circle around the desk, squeezes his eyes shut for an instant. An opening. I thrust my arm when he was about to open his eyes, and naturally, given his reflexes, the magic power I shot was reflected back. A fierce wind rushes out and explodes, shaking the furniture on that side. He probably tried to push me off the desk, but…

Lucien’s body stiffens. His left wrist suspended in midair is twisted and caught inside my elbow. I press my wand, transformed into a dagger, against the skin below Lucien’s jawbone and look at the back of his neck from behind him. Having sent magic power into his wrist, I slowly move my hand inward. As I slip my fingers inside his clenched fist, the sword hilt touches my hand. Lucien looks straight ahead and swallows. Why?

Because I cast the same sound-blocking magic on him that I had cast on Rosalie before putting the sword to his throat, he cannot speak. The fact that this was possible means I broke through the gap before his physical barrier could repair, and if I shift position slightly, I can make the air in his trachea reflect only inside his lungs. Even so, he could still counterattack if he tried. Go ahead, try doing what you’ve been doing without incantation. However…

“It’s meaningless, isn’t it?”

I spoke quietly into his ear. There’s no point in continuing to fight me when you’re at such a disadvantage. Either way, the result will be your defeat.

I see his eyelashes flutter downward. Then slowly rise. He spreads his fingers entangled with my hand. I catch his falling sword from the air, shake it once in the air, change it to a wand, and tuck it into my waist. The moment I turn my gaze, a strange phenomenon occurring in the body before me awakens all my senses.

Reflexively, my left foot slides backward. I raised my arm to block the front. Blue-black attack magic power explodes from his body. If you had the presence of mind to hear the sound wind makes in a storm, it would surely be like this. My physical barrier rattles from it, and his hand curves around to grab my arm. Just as I had done. The time it takes for him to turn his body flows slowly. I grabbed his shoulder as if to crush it amid the light disturbing my vision. I flicked my fingers.

Something surrounding the outside crumbles from the force surging up from within. What turns to powder is not mine. My power that I had placed on his vocal cords bursts out from within the opponent.

The sight of losing even the physical barrier while caught in the enemy’s grasp must have been fresh for both of us. Lucien’s eyebrows, his mouth contort mercilessly as he had been shooting magic power throughout his body, launching attacks in all directions. Brutal strength fills his fingertips.

—Unless the Lord watches over the city.

When he, dyed pure white with light, completely turned around and grabbed my throat, I hammered each word of the spell clearly into his eyes.

—The watchman stays awake in vain.

Lucien’s eyes lose focus. As if he had never been angry, he makes a peaceful sleeping face and collapses onto my chest. I don’t catch him and let him fall to the floor.

The remaining one had also lost consciousness just the same.

I changed Laplace’s crude wand into a staff and lightly struck the floor. Light illuminates the chaotic 2nd floor. Wooden walls are broken and scattered in the hallway, and two people lie collapsed on the floor. I looked up at the ceiling, did some light stretching, and took a deep breath.

I need to prepare myself mentally. The resolve to collapse once more was no ordinary resolve. I briefly tidied my appearance and approached the sleeping Rosalie.

“Wake up.”

I need to have a conversation with you.

If the engagement isn’t broken, it won’t be broken. Laplace and Rosalie’s engagement might itself be a directive of the Bourbon royalist party, and it was obviously a political promise between families. If this is broken, it will become difficult for Laplace to set foot in France again. Also, when Rosalie withdraws from a contract where both parties’ intentions are important, there’s no solution. In other words, Luca Laplace continues to remain as Rosalie’s fiancé and party comrade.

But whether I’ll let Rosalie win, whether he wins or not has nothing to do with me, but at least…

I have no intention of going along with his wishes. Between Rosalie and Lucien, it seems Rosalie is the one who often exerts power in major matters that determine the fate of us three. Even if I subdue both by force, what remains is endless fighting. Once they leave this place, they’ll devise other schemes to render me combat-incapable, and I needed to reestablish the hierarchy before that. Since talking with two irrational people would inevitably get me caught up in their pace, I’ll first settle things with one person while maintaining my advantage.

When I place my hand on Rosalie’s forehead, he opens his eyes wide and contorts his face. I smile and preemptively grab the back of my neck where my tattoo is. Then when Rosalie opens his mouth to scream, I press his forehead again. Enter through the narrow gate. Very weakly. Let’s just prevent fainting until the conversation ends. Feeling the divine power flowing into his forehead, Rosalie furrows his brow.

“…!”

“Let’s just have a calm conversation.”

I looked into his eyes and spoke with trust. The mental manipulation magic cast weaker than usual left his reason intact. I need to leave his reason so that even after lifting the ‘anti-fainting mental manipulation magic,’ he can remember what we discussed and agreed upon. Instead, he who would have immediately recited my code and knocked me down now said nothing as I wished.

Should I erase the memory of Laplace’s code while I’m at it? It’s an attractive option. But…

I want to find the person who left me this tattoo. If I carelessly erase memories in that situation, even related memories might become buried and unfindable. Well, I’ll manage. I can collapse a few times. Rosalie looked behind him, his eyes shaking madly as only his mouth moved. Looking at the sleeping Lucien, he said.

“Wake Count Noailles.”

“I don’t want to.”

These are people who take tormenting others for granted, and I’m someone who looks like he’ll be tormented. It’s not easy for one to beat two. Not just winning momentarily by force, but in future situations.

Even so, you can’t wake Lucien who fell asleep by divine power. So you have no choice but to somehow talk with me and break through the situation. Do you understand? Perhaps annoyed by my sarcasm, a shrill cry in a foreign language pierced my ears. The back of my neck grew hot.

I gritted my teeth and suppressed the pain. The tension in my neck blocks the vibration of my vocal cords. From Rosalie’s mouth flows another foreign language I’ve never heard before. My waist reflexively jerked. I grabbed my cervical spine and squinted. Even as I lean my head against the wall and slide my body down, Rosalie doesn’t intend to make me faint.

He would if this manipulation magic ended. I felt the inside of my shirt grow cool with cold sweat as I looked up at Rosalie. Rosalie stands by the bedside, watching me with a stern face. There was a tense light, worried I might block his throat at any moment.

“Let’s be reasonable.”

That’s what I said. Without intending to intimidate him further, I said to Rosalie.

“As long as you don’t suddenly try to knock me down and interrogate me like today, I have no intention of putting you in trouble either. You don’t need to worry about me harming the Bourbons.”

“How will you prove it?”

“You’ll have to trust me. You saw there’s no other way.”

I smiled and shrugged. Rosalie’s face is rigid. Contrary to my expectation, he blurted out something unexpected.

“You hate me.”

Is that important right now? I looked at him silently. Rosalie muttered.

“Do you remember?”

“How many times are you going to ask?”

“Do you remember?”

“I don’t know.”

With a spitting sound, I held my breath and quickly pulled my head to the side. Rosalie’s spit fell where my head had been. Look at that definite temper. I quietly looked at him and raised one corner of my mouth. He must be very angry… Even so, knowing he’s not in a situation where he can exert power, I’m really curious why he’s swayed by such momentary anger.

Rosalie muttered coldly in a powerless voice.

“Tell me. If you’ve become someone else, you’d know too. What you’ve been doing. How you came to have divine power.”

“I don’t know. What should I do for you to believe me? If you insist, I’ll swear on divine power. I have no intention of going against God’s will.”

To tell the truth, I went to meet the Crown Prince and conspired with him. Your President Henri was quite helplessly caught by my magic. Even so, I had no intention of blocking your Bonaparte’s presidential defense strategy, and I have no intention of making that happen. Would you be satisfied if I said this? Even if it’s all true, from the fact that I messed with Henri’s head, I would have nothing to say even if I were hung upside down in the Seine. So would I say it?

Divine power is considered God’s grace received only by those loyal to God. One with such power couldn’t do wrong. With such common belief in Europe, my words would have given appropriate trust.

But soon Rosalie grabbed my collar and pulled me up.

“So you’re just his shell?”

I narrowed my eyes. Why does he keep asking questions off the point?

I know. Rosalie has been walking a tightrope between being a Bourbon subordinate and a fiancé all along. Right now I was speaking to him as a Bourbon subordinate as I had before he first put me to sleep, and he was asking me as a fiancé. I opened the favorability window. What was initially +7 is now +8. From the beginning, even before calling me, they had noticed something was wrong with Laplace. Knowing the fact of ‘Laplace with problems,’ he would have felt antipathy toward me and still does, but face to face, he couldn’t ignore the favorability given by the appearance of the fiancé he had in mind. In short, +7 is a reduced number and +8 is the recovery process. He knows I’m no longer the Laplace who comes under his control, yet he’s confused emotionally.

Rosalie’s voice was firmly hardened, but his expression gradually becomes gloomy. I know what the shadow falling over his face means. Strength gradually drains from his shoulders.

“I don’t know either.”

I didn’t answer mockingly like before. This time I answered more seriously than ever.

I don’t think I’m Laplace. He disappeared and only I am here. But I don’t know how the system works, how it gave me the world. Did Laplace really exist? Did the system create an appropriate ‘Lucas’ in a world without Laplace? Just like Sarah Hohenfelss creates non-existent memories with her ability?

Or did I really steal some ‘Lucas’s’ body? I said as if entranced.

“I have no memories. Then am I a different person from the one you knew?”

“It’s an opportunity.”

Rosalie says in a crumbling voice. I tried to lift my head to see his face shrouded in darkness.

“Is it an opportunity for us to start anew, or…”

Rosalie moved his mouth and continued.

“Is it time for me to mourn?”

His clothes touch me. He sits down weakly, puts his elbow on his knee, and holds his head. Looking at him, I said what I should say as one human to another at this moment.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry for your loss.”

It’s something I couldn’t feel when I was Luca. In a place where someone who loved Laplace exists, I don’t know how to bear this heavy responsibility. Rosalie’s back ripples soundlessly. As I sit in silence with my eyes downcast, a cold hand touches my cheek. He kissed me. Hygiene issues rose as the biggest concern in my mind and my cheek was rigid, but it wasn’t the time for that. Having another person’s tears smear and spread on my cheek is not a pleasant thing. I slowly reached out and grabbed his head. After a moment, he whispered in a sunken voice.

“You’re not him.”

“Sorry.”

I roughly apologized and pulled him a bit closer to pat his back. His face is on my shoulder, invisible. It still seems like there’s crying sounds. I said quietly.

“What should I have done?”

“The fact that you’re asking this shows you’re not yourself.”

“From today on, this is who I am.”

If you had told me, I could have put it straight into the script. Though I feel disconnected now, what I’ve long learned is that – I could do enough to comfort someone’s sorrow. Someone inside asks if there’s a need to comfort, but in my eyes, any of their patheticness only looks pitiable for a long time. It seems it’s always been that way. While everyone remains with me and passes by, I cannot close my eyes.

“You shouldn’t kiss if you don’t love. Don’t you know? You have no memories and don’t particularly like me either. Do I have to say this for you to understand? The more you try to be considerate of me…”

In the middle of emotional utterances that didn’t really resonate, I’m not sorry but how did you fulfill your ‘fiancé’s duty’ while tormenting me like that until now? I was dumbfounded and rolled my eyes, then decided not to speak. That was a loving relationship from Rosalie’s perspective. Whatever was between the two of them. But now I am a stranger in his eyes. Though he doesn’t know whether the person themselves was truly switched or only the memories are gone. I don’t know either.

I tucked Rosalie’s gaunt reddish-brown hair behind her ear and murmured.

“Let’s call it Bruderschaft.”

“That’s comradeship, not love.”

“Isn’t it a strong signal that I respect you as a comrade? That I have no intention of stopping your coup attempt and won’t interfere.”

“You want to start from that kind of relationship?”

I looked at him silently.

I’m seeing you for the first time today, and I had to find balance between my needs and human emotions. Though he wouldn’t know, this is my meager conscience. My emotions won’t operate in the way you knew. I spoke to Rosalie with a smile that wouldn’t form properly.

“What will you do?”

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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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