How to Survive as the Second Son of a Mage Family - Chapter 8

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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 (8)

As if he hadn’t expected such words to come out, Leo’s eyes wavered.

“…What on earth could it be.”

“So promise me first.”

Even without making such a promise, he wasn’t the type to spread other people’s stories around. That’s why he stayed by the protagonist’s side for over ten years.

Still, he needed to know what kind of weight the story he was about to hear carried.

Leo looked at me with suspicious eyes before letting out a deep sigh.

“I promise. In the name of God.”

“I don’t think we need to bring God into this, but fine. I’ll explain briefly, so listen carefully.”

Leo nodded with a solemn expression.

“I was born with the strongest magical power in our family, and I want my hyung to inherit father’s title and take the position of family head.”

“…That’s it?”

Even as he said that, Leo seemed to have already figured out the situation, as his face had darkened.

I nodded at him.

“You know that inheritance rights are usually given in order of magical strength, right? With this much, you should understand how the situation unfolded.”

“…You’re saying you couldn’t use magic because of your hyung?”

“Right, because I’d die if I used it.”

“Does your hyung come to kill you or something?”

Leo said this in the sense that it didn’t make logical sense, but knowing the future where I really would be killed by my hyung’s hand, I could only give a bitter smile.

I took out a crystal bottle from the bag I had brought from the dormitory at dawn and held it in front of Leo’s eyes.

“What kind of medicine do you think this is?”

Leo, who received the bottle and examined it in the light from various angles, narrowed his eyes.

“Medicine? What did they extract to make it glow like this? It looks just like ink.”

“It’s medicine that my hyung sends me every month. It’s made from materials that have never been officially distributed in the Empire, so you wouldn’t know about it either.”

Why would the medicine sent by that hyung who wants to become the family head be made from substances that have never been officially distributed in the Empire?

At this ominous combination that anyone could see, Leo’s brow furrowed.

“Don’t tell me….”

“Right. If I drink this, my core gets completely blocked, so the moment I use magic, I get a shock.”

“Wait, even so, you’re family. Mages die if magical power doesn’t circulate through their bodies, so how are you supposed to live if that’s blocked?”

“What else? My hyung wants me to die as soon as possible. Making me take this kind of medicine naturally means he wants me dead, doesn’t it?”

Leo’s face was colored with shock.

That expression as if he had never imagined such a thing.

Leo, who had always grown up in a warm and harmonious family, wouldn’t be able to understand.

Leo, who had been wearing a confused expression the whole time, opened the bottle cap and slowly created a breeze to smell it.

“How long have you been drinking this?”

“I was ten, I think.”

“From then until now, that’s your entire growth period. During the most important time for a mage, this kind of….”

“….”

Leo ground his teeth as if he was more upset than the person who had actually taken the medicine.

I let out an incredulous laugh.

It seemed like this guy found my inability to grow magically more serious than anything else.

I had no idea how powerfully the magic of young Luca he had seen remained in his memory to cause such a reaction.

“Couldn’t you just not take it? What about your father….”

“When I was twelve, I skipped it for a week. Then at some point I fainted, and when I opened my eyes, my hyung said I had devoured a wolf. After that, it was obvious.”

“What happened?”

“Whenever I showed signs of not wanting to drink it, I was locked in my room. They didn’t even give me meals. It was an order from my hyung and father.”

That’s how I remembered it.

Leo held his head as if he had heard an insane situation.

“…I’m sorry to ask this in this situation, but did you really eat a wolf?”

“I have no idea about that. I have no memory of what happened after I lost consciousness.”

“This might be a presumptuous guess, but is there a possibility your hyung lied? Honestly, even if you used magic, how could a child that young catch and eat something like that? Setting up a situation to look real wouldn’t be a problem at all.”

“That’s enough.”

“Then the rumors about blood-sucking, and being connected to Pleroma… there’s a possibility your hyung spread those too.”

“Right.”

Leo buried his face in both hands.

After groaning for a while, he raised his head with a haggard expression.

“…This is insane. This should be reported to the Royal Investigation Unit immediately.”

“You won’t report it though.”

“Right, we can’t move rashly yet. There’s no way your hyung wouldn’t have prepared for that too.”

“You understand well.”

As expected, the protagonist’s friend was different.

It was convenient that we communicated well.

“What on earth should we do here…. You want to escape from your hyung too, right? You’ve definitely changed. This time… well, you’ve improved your appearance a bit, and seeing you use magic, it seems you’ve stopped taking the medicine too. Honestly, this is the first time I’ve had a conversation with you that flowed like this.”

“Of course. I want to live.”

“You controlling your power too… you want to change but you’re scared your hyung might notice. Right?”

“Right. But that’s over now too. If I continue any longer, I might arouse my hyung’s suspicion.”

“…And I had no idea about any of this when I said those things to you….”

Leo buried his face in his hands again in frustration and reflected on past events.

Once he started digging through his memories, all the incidents from first year when he had been giving Lucas plenty of attitude came flooding back.

He couldn’t help it since he didn’t know the circumstances then, and maybe it wasn’t something he should blame himself for alone… but after hearing the story, feelings of guilt and regret washed over him.

‘I just… I wanted that guy to use magic properly.’

I didn’t want to accept that the person I had admired my whole life, the person who had changed my future, was being trampled by others.

I thought he had given up too easily in the face of hardship.

I thought he was being weak when he had the weapon to overturn public opinion.

Only now did my face burn with shame.

I had judged someone else’s life too easily.

I had made school another space of suffering for a friend who was already suffering from family problems.

Even though the entire student body disliked Lucas, so I wasn’t the only one who created that atmosphere, it was true that I had influenced it.

Leo apologized without being able to make eye contact.

“Sorry. I didn’t know about those circumstances and I….”

“I’d like to hear exactly what you’re sorry for.”

“…For treating you carelessly all last year without really knowing anything, and for suddenly calling you out yesterday to pick a fight, everything.”

I carefully traced through Luca’s memories.

Leo did play a big role in making Luca’s school life even more desolate.

There was no way someone who was hated by a popular student could have a proper school life.

‘Of course, even if Leo hadn’t shown it, Luca would have had the same image here anyway….’

I let out a bitter laugh at the sad reality.

Leo did add fuel to the fire by openly showing that he looked down on Luca.

But that fire had already been burning nicely from the first day of enrollment.

‘That doesn’t mean he wasn’t hurt at all though.’

As I quietly looked at Leo, Leo hung his head.

“I’m sorry. It’s late, but if there’s anything I can do to help, I’ll help with anything.”

“Well, can I postpone forgiveness for later?”

I am not Luca. The one who had been living on others’ disapproval wasn’t me, but Luca.

If I ever left this body, he would have to live on his own after that.

So regardless of other things, I wanted to leave at least this much for Luca to choose directly.

At those words, Leo nodded.

“Of course. You don’t have to accept it. I wasn’t apologizing to burden you. It’s just that, whatever the circumstances, you naturally had your reasons for having to live that way… I’m sorry for showing my dislike all this time.”

I quietly watched Leo as he increasingly rambled incoherently.

Actually, this timing should have come 10 years later, in the process of dealing with my hyung.

Thanks to changing the flow, I was able to hear a sincere apology while Luca was still alive.

Right now he must be feeling all sorts of emotions, but from Leo’s perspective, it would be better to get things off his chest while the other person is alive rather than apologizing to a grave.

Most importantly, just seeing how he felt guilty about such behavior and apologized, even though he could have just gone along with the school’s atmosphere, showed that his nature wasn’t bad to begin with.

I carefully examined Leo’s face.

He seems to have been dejected for too long.

Should I lighten the mood a bit now?

“It’s fine. How could you have known when I didn’t tell you?”

“That’s just it, even if you didn’t say anything, there’s obviously a reason why a person lives in such a state, but I only put my own feelings first…”

“…I get it, man. I’m telling you to stop thinking about it.”

I could tell from yesterday when he poured out his words without choosing them carefully, but not knowing what he’s saying seems to be this guy’s characteristic.

I suppressed the urge to hit him and nodded.

I gave him time to think alone, but even after time passed, Leo’s face was still ashen.

‘This won’t work.’

If you dig this deep, it’ll be troublesome not just for you but for me too.

I didn’t want to bring this up, but I have no choice.

“Don’t blame yourself too much for this incident. The truth is, forget about class attitude and all that, you just wanted to see my proper magic, right?”

At those words, Leo made a slightly puzzled expression, then nodded.

“…To some extent. It was annoying that you could use magic but put up with other kids ignoring you. Actually, I saw your magic when we were young. I thought if it was that kind of magic, everything would be resolved…”

“That’s different from what I know.”

“Hm?”

“I think you said something like ‘To be able to see this again, how much I’ve longed for this day…'”

“I did?”

The guy’s eyes shook like crazy.

‘As expected, he wasn’t in his right mind back then.’

“I guess my words got mixed up. Not to that extent…”

“No, you said you started magic because of me.”

“Huh?”

Only silence followed.

Leo, who couldn’t close his mouth, spoke as if flustered.

“Wait. Who told you that…?”

“…If you were going to be this shocked, you should have just denied it right away.”

Even though I was the one who brought it up first, seeing that shocking reaction made me let out a bitter laugh along with sympathy.

Though denying it wouldn’t have meant anything anyway.

Anyway, I can’t say I read it in a book. For now, I opened my mouth casually.

“You told me right before you collapsed yesterday. Shouldn’t I know?”

At those words, all the color drained from Leo’s face.

Leo tried his best to answer as usual and shook his head.

“No, it’s not. It’s okay for you to know. Just don’t tell the other kids.”

“I won’t tell them. Anyway, what an honor. To think you started magic because of me.”

Luca should know about this.

If the real Luca had known, what kind of reaction would he have shown?

As I smiled while thinking such thoughts, the guy must have thought I was mocking him because he snapped with a flushed face.

“Aren’t you going to class? And to be precise, I started because of your magic, not you. I didn’t even remember your face. I just remembered when I saw your name.”

I wanted to ask if my magic just manifested out of thin air somewhere, but I let it slide for now.

“Alright, I understand. Now enough of this stuff, let me ask you two favors. I need your help.”

“Why are you even setting a number? Just tell me.”

Leo answered bluntly.

I just ignored the tone that didn’t match the content. Anyway, it was a good sign that he was willing to actively cooperate with me.

“There’s a medicine I’m looking for. Get it for me.”

“Is it available in the Empire?”

“Yeah.”

I took out a note from my pocket and handed it to him.

Since I couldn’t remember the exact names of medicines from the novel, I searched through books whenever I had time. At least I was able to find familiar names in herbal medicine books.

Leo, who received the note, nodded.

“It’s common stuff, so I can get it within a week. I’ll tell my family. What’s the second thing?”

“Spar with me every day.”

“Huh?”

Leo’s face instantly brightened.

He must have realized his mistake because he composed his expression, but it was already too late.

I couldn’t help but burst into laughter.

“…Pfft…”

“…You keep seeming to mock me, but it’s just because I haven’t been able to find a friend at my level until now. You know?”

“Do you think I’m at your level? Don’t make excuses. So, can you do it?”

At those words, Leo avoided my eyes and closed his mouth.

Actually, no matter how much it was just talk, I couldn’t say we were at the same level. My mana was exceptional, but my magic skills weren’t outstanding.

Leo recalled memories from last year.

Developing skills together with the person who led me down this path.

This was something he had hoped for since hearing rumors that the guy would enroll here.

‘No, maybe I’ve been hoping for this since ten years ago.’

How much effort had he put in to build skills that could match Lucas’s magic since the day he saw it?

So this wasn’t a favor the guy should be asking me, but actually a favor I should be asking.

Leo nodded.

“Yeah. Of course.”

Ding—!

At the same time as Leo’s answer, bright white text sparkled before my eyes.

Congratulations!

‘Proposal: ‘Make Leonard Wittelsbach your ally.’ Success!

‘Chapter 2. Help Yourself, and God Will Help You Too (2)’ Complete!

‘Route 1 — 〈Chapter 3. Constant Drops Wear Away the Stone (1)〉’ confirmed.

「 Chapter 3. Constant Drops Wear Away the Stone (1) 」

‘Hmm.’

Good, I’m satisfied.

It seems the foundation has been laid with this.

This proposal seemed quite important, so has anything changed?

I called up my status window.

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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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