How to Survive as the Second Son of a Mage Family - Chapter 607

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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 (607)

“Well.”

Rohan had broken the implicit rule that he should be loyal to the Bourbons. How should I respond to that? Should I interpret this as you having the ambition to hold France in one hand?

Rohan approached me closely and said.

“It’s always our Rohan and Noailles families first.”

I looked down at him while maintaining my expression.

How tremendous this declaration is… Does he himself know?

“This technology is very unstable, so we cannot carelessly inform the House of Bourbon. It might bring danger to them, and if we’re not careful, there’s also the risk of the coffin being destroyed.”

“What if we make an identical one?”

“That’s exactly the problem. If we try to damage this coffin to understand its principles in order to make an identical one, we won’t even recover our investment. This is a unique gift bestowed by God. The principle is not within human hands.”

I want to ask where he obtained it. Is Lucien Noailles someone who can ask such questions? Should I ask and erase his memory if not? Even considering the risks of manipulating minds too frequently, it’s a topic worth asking about.

“Because this just appeared.”

I smiled. At my incomprehensible gentle smile, Rohan looked even more proud. He shouted firmly toward the child.

“Lord Jeanne Moro!”

“…Lord? I am… No. Yes, my lord.”

The child answered without knowing anything. To know the child’s name, when those who died in witch hunts wouldn’t even have tombstones, he must have investigated properly. The tension is evident in the hands gripping the hem of the skirt tightly. Everything must look new to the child’s eyes. All the humans here are over 180cm tall. Unlike the late 19th century on the verge of the 20th century when food, clothing, and shelter were greatly developed like modern times, by the standards of ancient humans, they were no different from giants. These Espers will someday aim for 2 meters. It would be fortunate if they don’t reach 3 meters. Moreover, instead of wearing tights, they wear loose-fitting pants, and on their chests, instead of lace, simple cravats, and instead of thick, luxurious coats with embroidery and no collars, similarly simple wool coats… All of this must look strange to the child’s eyes. Nevertheless, the child recognized that we are nobles, which is merely intuition. Intuition synthesized from oily skin, lustrous fabric, and gold chains hanging on the chest. The child still looks at us with wavering eyes. Rohan declared in a loud voice.

“You have died and awakened. Through the power of our glorious Rohan family, you can breathe vigorously again in this world, so greet God who made this possible.”

The child just rolled their eyes blankly. Rohan, displeased with that reaction, shouted loudly once more.

“Your mother died long ago. We are your guardians from now on. Quickly rise strongly and salute as a member of the Rohan family!”

“What?”

The child froze at the words that their mother had died. When they tried to bolt from their seat and run out the door, the priest held them with magic. The child, caught in magic, screamed as if they had seen a ghost. Rohan whispered to me in embarrassment.

“This is the problem. Even if we bring back the dead, they’re usually not happy about it.”

Would they be happy? I suppressed my desire to look serious and spoke earnestly.

“This is an important matter.”

“That’s right. Even if we revive them, if we can’t grasp their will, it’s meaningless. We need their knowledge, not their body, and if they won’t cooperate, why should we have revived them?”

The reason he requested cooperation from Noailles despite having this tremendous ability is because the resurrection ability is only half-complete by itself. People were complex entities that create variables. Walking, talking, thinking gold is troublesome. They want to cut off limbs, shut mouths, and remove brains.

Rohan looks at me. It would be harder not to know what he wants. I brought the child that the priest was holding without losing Lucien Noailles’ smile and sat them on the coffin. The child was crying out loud in panic. I knelt on one knee in front of them. The child’s pale skin and brown eyes follow my face.

—Enter through the narrow gate.

What more should I say beyond this? I closed my eyes with my hand on the child’s forehead. You have already come back to life. You have already lived and cannot die again. You must temporarily submit to their words to survive. Otherwise, they will point a gun loaded with silver bullets at your heart. Even if you lower yourself temporarily, it must not be permanently lowered. You must not forget to leap even if crawling on the ground becomes familiar.

Since you had no freedom in death and life, I hope you have gained freedom now. Since you are already a revived life, at least the future should be something you can choose with your own hands. I opened my eyes while touching their forehead. The child’s pupils, even stained with divine power, meet my eyes. Above all, become someone who values your responsible happiness, freedom, and rights. If you entrust your freedom to others’ hands, it becomes convenient because there’s no responsibility. Submission seems like briefly suffering and long resting, but it’s an illusion and falsehood. The moment you’re liberated from the pain of submission, you’re already dead. If you’re alive, think with your head. Know with your head the burden on your shoulders and know the weight your footsteps will leave for the next person to step on the soil. Then you’ll know well how to act now.

Right now you must submit but your heart should look beyond the horizon. Whatever Rohan commands, follow for a while but don’t become one who completely prostrates. If you choose to risk death to do as you wish right now, that’s unavoidable if it’s your choice…

If your spirit is still that of the living, couldn’t you survive and throw at least one punch? Taking revenge on someone who believes they have the power to turn human lives on and off is surviving with the free will they believed they controlled.

The child didn’t blink even once. They remained motionless like a plant in that spot, then found their composure when my divine power faded. Clear, weighty brown eyes spoke. They were no longer afraid. But they didn’t lose their boldness either. The child looked at me with the dignity of a village owner treating a stranger, then turned their gaze to Rohan.

The summary I had read swirled in my head. I wanted to know whether I, as Laplace’s demon, had made one person’s future into a world where the laws I know operate and I can predict from beginning to end, or whether I had liberated them from Rohan, who was Laplace’s demon. That paper’s author probably summoned Laplace’s demon using forced analogies because they couldn’t compare humans to God. That demon only knows but has no ability to change.

The author who would refute me would say that changing the world is fundamentally God’s will. God pulled the lever of world lines to a world where those demons can know and predict all laws for Laplace’s demon. In other words, those religious people pass off their choices according to their free will to God and conveniently make their actions into things God made them do. Disillusionment covers my chest. I had to close and open my eyes again. I couldn’t be disillusioned for long.

“My lord.”

The child’s gaze lingered on me briefly after finishing speaking, then returned. Seeing the child’s eyes had changed, Rohan clapped his hands. When I got up from my seat and stepped back beside Rohan, he whispered in my ear.

“This is it. I knew the synergy would be tremendous. The Noailles family’s divine power has always been truly remarkable.”

I look at his profile filled with admiration. Rohan dreams while admiring his now-perfected business in ecstasy.

“It would be good if the two families could be united as one.”

* * *

I tilted my head while maintaining my smile. Rohan requested my silence and said it was late so I could return. Even if he acted like it was a request, it was a demand, so I had to go meet Rosalie as planned.

Well, is there a way for the families to be united?

The first thing that comes to mind is becoming political partners. Rohan and Noailles could become each other’s allies in politics.

In that process, some ceremony like a knightly ritual would be held, so forming a blood pact could also be considered. What I did in the cathedral, drawing blood from palms and pressing wounds together with the priest, was such a ceremony, and it’s a very traditional custom in Europe. When Espers need strong political bonds and credibility for those bonds, they mainly choose to symbolically become brothers instead of marrying. Even without thinking of origins, you can understand this easily by thinking about what kind of friendly relationship “like brothers” means in our society and when it’s frequently used. Forming sworn brotherhood is the strongest friendly relationship that strangers can form, and in this case, brothers refers to brothers as cousins that can encompass both Brüder and Schwester. Blood pacts and brotherhood, both involve blood. It’s undeniable that humanity has given powerful symbolism to blood since ancient times.

Therefore, I’m now anticipating whether someone from the Rohan family will send a marriage proposal to the Noailles family from house to house—will they say let’s mix blood? If so, what kind of blood pact ceremony do you perform?

It would be really good if I knew what magic they use. Above all, if the two families were united, Rohan alone wouldn’t be the leader of Terminus Yukairya. Now I need to investigate Noailles in earnest too.

I met Rosalie, briefly told her about what I experienced while acting as Lucien, and asked her to pass it on. Regardless of whether it’s believable, he needs to know the facts to avoid conflicts. Whether he’ll play along with my act or not is a later problem.

“Where should I sleep?”

Then I asked. Rosalie, who had secretly let me in through the window, said bluntly.

“Sleep in our barn.”

“That’s too much.”

I rested my chin and giggled. Of course it’s not serious. But Rosalie looks at me blankly. I looked at him with increasingly less humor.

Rosalie, thinking something of my silence, suddenly made that request.

“You absolutely must not return to your family. Laplace, you practically entered the country illegally.”

That’s a good idea. I brought my head close to Rosalie and asked.

“Then can I know what you did at the Laplace family? Will you tell me how you addressed and treated Laplace’s wife?”

Rosalie, who was looking at me with a face that said ‘this bastard is doing this again,’ opened his eyes wide. His mouth fell open. He reflexively slapped my cheek. I thought about how many times Laplace might have been hit by him and said coldly.

“It hurts, Rose. I have pain receptors too. If you can think of others, you should control your temper.”

“Are you sane? You want to go to your house looking like me?!”

“Yes.”

“You haven’t been hit enough to come to your senses…”

Somehow it sounds like what I used to say to my medical school seniors. I looked away while pretending not to care. It would be fine to go home looking like Lucien Noailles, but since he’s an influential figure among these Bourbon supporters, if I can get information as another character, it would be better to minimize movement. I changed the subject.

“Rose, tell me what you know about the Noailles family.”

“Why? You’ve been asking about Her Excellency Marie Noailles since earlier, now why are you asking about their family?”

“I thought I’d try to get close.”

Rosalie pulled down the corners of his mouth with an uncomfortable expression. Still, he answered in a sincere voice while pursing his lips.

“I don’t know much.”

“You got along well with Lord Lucien Noailles.”

“That’s between me and him. If you’re dealing with the family, you’d know more about the family than I would.”

When I just tilted my head with a ‘what are you talking about’ expression, Rosalie pointed as if frustrated.

“The Laplace family knows well. Lord Noailles was originally a friend you brought.”

“Ah. The reason you get along well with Lord Noailles is partly personality, but also because the Blanchet family told you to befriend Noailles?”

“Do you need confirmation?”

“No, thank you.”

Thanks to this, it’s becoming certain that Marie Noailles was the one who said “it goes around and around.” As if Rohan told me that. It’s likely that Marie Noailles and Rohan joined hands to organize Terminus Yukairya. Which of the two became the core?

What’s important now is this.

First, I cannot meet Marie Noailles directly. Well, he seems to have predicted ‘me’ rather than Laplace, so how could I make such a choice? I need to be prepared and approach carefully.

Second, the Laplace family knows the Noailles family well.

These are the two points. Leonard is investigating, but I also need to find out if there’s intimate information that can only be known in this era.

Thanks to Rosalie letting it slide, I was able to move freely in Paris, and it would be good if he helped me once more at this point. Thinking about how to persuade Rosalie, I scanned Rosalie’s face. Not particularly long eyelashes, cheeks plumper than Lucien’s, lips of moderate thickness, and thin, long eyebrows. The forehead is convex. The neck is neither short nor long, and the hair is reddish-brown but slightly bright, perhaps bleached due to magic power. There are no special features in the iris. There’s a mole on the collarbone and the earlobes are ordinarily round.

“I’m getting annoyed, can I hit you once?”

“I’d appreciate it if you’d let it slide just once.”

I snapped my fingers. Instantly, Rosalie’s jaw dropped. Rosalie’s gaze stays on my cheek. It would look like there’s an eye there.

“…Oh. I’m pretty.”

Rosalie looked at me, covered his mouth, and giggled. I chuckled dryly and stuck my hand in my pocket. Is this the time to look at that? I tilted my head toward him and asked.

“Isn’t it fine?”

“It’s not fine.”

Rosalie examined my face closely and laughed with reddened cheeks. Inconsistency between words and actions. I looked down at him and clicked my tongue.

“Are you using me as a mirror?”

“You want to impersonate me? But your attitude is completely wrong. Try walking.”

He said, hitting my hand stuck in my pocket. I was grateful for his changed heart, which flipped like a palm, and walked around the room. Rosalie shook his head.

“Narrow your stride a bit more.”

“But you can walk like this too.”

“Your way of speaking is too rough too.”

“Hmm, I’m speaking as usual.”

“You’re a mademoiselle now. Be careful when dealing with family elders.”

I was disgusted by those words and shrugged my shoulders.

“You keep calling me Monsignor, but do you want to keep saying Human-like things yourself? And can’t a mademoiselle speak normally to adults? You’re not even close to the Laplace family. Besides, I’ve seen a society where everyone speaks like this.”

Rosalie looked at me quietly, then opened his mouth firmly.

“I don’t know what society that is, but no. I won’t allow anyone. People don’t welcome your confidence.”

In the suddenly heavy atmosphere, no one spoke. I understood what he meant and nodded.

“I know. I understand what you’re saying. I’ll keep it in mind.”

“How would you know? Don’t carelessly say you understand.”

“You’re right, I don’t know. Since we were getting beaten up together, I mistook it for my own experience. But….”

I was spreading my hands in response to Rosalie’s sharp words when I paused in silence before finishing my sentence.

“At least I watched.”

“What’s that supposed to mean.”

“What do you mean what. That’s how all our lives are. People tried to kill us. When you’re running away together, you end up seeing everything.”

“What are you going to do, you’re perfect for dying since you can’t fight.”

“Exactly. That’s why I ran away.”

I finished speaking with a smile, but he seemed to want to hear more from me as he deliberately added another word.

“You’re alive. Surprisingly.”

“Surprising? Like you said, I ran away but people kept chasing after me persistently. How they knew… Though it was a place where escape was impossible anyway.”

“You were in low ground. You should have taken the high ground. Can’t you even think of that? And what do you do for a living that makes people chase you? It’ll be big trouble if those above find out, man.”

“It won’t be big trouble if only you keep it secret.”

Rosalie’s mouth closed. He looked at me seriously, perhaps finally feeling responsible.

“Still, there are times when the environment doesn’t cooperate. Knowledge is just knowledge. Even if I memorize the Thousand Character Classic in solitary confinement, the fact that I’m in solitary confinement doesn’t change. Like you said, we were in low ground, so wherever we ran, we were too easily visible. Birds and mice were all watching us. We were in the palm of their hands. The people who chased us pushed me and that friend to a cliff, but they hated that friend more than me. They wanted to kill both of us, but they acted as if they had conspired to kill that friend first.”

“You should have helped. Do you live alone abandoning your colleague?”

“If I help, that kid gets pushed harder, so what should I do?”

Rosalie listened quietly while wondering what this was about. Even though these were words he couldn’t understand, he continued trying to listen. Since he kept looking at me, I continued speaking.

“That friend tried not to be pushed. The audacity of trying not to be pushed was what lit the fire. So—”

“Did they die?”

I shrugged my shoulders.

“Is this about the girlfriend you said you met while studying abroad? Why do you keep telling me your stories?”

Well, because you asked. I looked at him with a hollow laugh. I know what he’s saying. Even though he asked, I could have chosen not to answer, so why did I do that.

“I wanted to say that since I watched that, I’m not ignorant of what you’re worried about. The reason I’m telling my story is, to be honest, because I truly need your help, and to be honest a second time, no matter how much you want to torment me, I don’t want to treat anyone falsely before our relationship heads toward catastrophe. Why do you keep asking about what I’ve already revealed? Whether you believe my sincerity or not is up to you, but my intention has always been this.”

I need your help. That’s because I can’t trust Lucien Noailles. I didn’t say that much.

Before pulling out a chair to sit, I took Rosalie’s hand and kissed it. He was startled. I smiled and sat back down in my seat.

“Now I just need you to respond.”

“Is that okay between friends?”

Kissing the back of a hand is an expression of respect, isn’t it? A modern person might misunderstand, but it’s a common expression in this era, yet Rosalie’s perception had already changed conservatively.

Should I brush it off, or try to have more conversation. My choice was the latter.

“Those words are always harder for me than any physical contact.”

“Why.”

“Not now. After we return, I’ll tell you then.”

I smiled while tucking his hair that was sticking out from under his hat. Then I stood up from my seat. Rosalie probably anticipated where I would go but didn’t stop me.

From now on, I had to investigate the Noailles family that would form strong ties with House of Rohan in the future. I also had to look into the statement “going around and around” that Marie Noailles was presumed to have made. I would save even sleeping time to get out as soon as possible.

Before leaving Rosalie’s room, I took out a notebook from inside my jacket and held it out to Rosalie.

“Could you draw me a map?”

* * *

Rosalie first asked his parents for permission late at night and came outside to go along with my act. Instead, he was now at a place some distance from me.

“Good evening, Laplace’s Wife.”

Following the map to the Laplace Family, I followed his behavioral patterns as Rosalie had advised. My vision was at 185cm height, but Mr. Laplace’s gaze was at my neck. It’s difficult when you use divine power to possess someone with a significant height difference.

However, there were no difficulties in acting the conventional rationality. It was something to learn and move on from as an actor, and I was actually easier at acquiring it compared to other friends. The reason I refused the Rosalind role at school was because there were many people and many things to do, so why would I need to… but today there was no place for “why would I need to.” I had to pioneer every path.

“What brings you here at this late hour…”

“I met your son, so I thought I should convey my regards.”

“Ah, yes. I see. Please come in.”

Mr. Laplace led me inside the manor. He turned his head with a smile and spoke to me.

“How was our son? Is he doing well?”

“Of course.”

“But what brings you…?”

If he was just doing well, would you have bothered, would you who doesn’t even get along well with our son have come to find me? Mr. Laplace seemed to be saying that with his whole face. I followed behind him and spoke quietly.

“Let’s talk slowly.”

I have many things to ask you.

Mr. Laplace glanced at me with a stiff smile and walked forward. A heavy silence flowed through the manor.

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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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