How to Survive as the Second Son of a Mage Family - Chapter 85

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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 Family (85)

Having moved to Adelbert’s room, I had to keep up with his excited chatter that had been going on for an hour straight.

‘…I might as well call him Melvin 2.’

Now that I think about it, wasn’t the celebration party also something this guy insisted on holding?

Just like how Melvin came up with the idea of inviting Nicolaus as a lecturer just to meet him.

Still, at least Melvin was a friend, but Adelbert only appeared to me as an antagonist who had solid support and constantly interfered with Elias at every turn.

He was outstanding in terms of ability, and being more personable and sociable than the Crown Prince, he had many supporters.

‘I never thought I’d meet such a guy in this childish state…’

“I don’t think I could have acted like you, Count. Do you happen to have any books you keep close and enjoy reading? I’d like to have the same values as you.”

“If you read various books, Your Highness will develop your own values.”

When you’re about to die in a foreign land in someone else’s body, you just do whatever it takes, books or otherwise.

This was the truth, but I couldn’t say that.

Perhaps my explanation was insufficient, as the Prince was still looking at me with sparkling eyes.

“…Just because you read the books I recommend doesn’t mean you’ll become like me. If Your Highness has values you truly believe are right, you’ll be able to find those values no matter what books you read. And in that process, you might discover other values as well, so it’s not yet time to be buried in just one book.”

“I see…!”

‘Don’t be enlightened by such words…’

I suppressed the urge to look away and nodded.

‘While I’m at it, let me check the status window.’

Adelbert Hohenzollern

Favorability +10

Title: —

Stamina: +5

Mental Power: +1

Magic Power: +8

Skill: +2

Impression: +7

Luck: +8

Trait: Charm (Lv.1)

Are you kidding me with this favorability?

But like with Fai, it seems that younger people tend to shower me with favorability.

The Prince glanced at me, then took out an expensive-looking wine from the display case.

“Count Ernst, would you like to drink together? Actually, His Highness the Crown Prince gave this to me to drink alone… but I thought Count Ernst might like it too.”

“Thank you, but I’ll decline. I drank quite a bit earlier.”

Actually, I had only taken one sip earlier, but I didn’t want to drink with a 15-year-old who wanted career counseling, so I refused.

The Prince then fidgeted and sat back down.

“…By any chance, Count Ernst.”

“Please speak.”

“Could you become my sparring instructor?”

“…”

Was this what he wanted to say when he asked if I’d drink? And with wine the Crown Prince gave him to drink alone?

‘Anyway, who am I to teach anyone?’

My skill score has just entered the mid-4 range.

Of course, if it’s just senior-junior mentoring level sparring, that’s entirely possible.

Adelbert’s skill score is 2 points.

A 2-point difference isn’t someone I can’t teach.

But what this guy wants probably isn’t that.

“If it’s Your Highness’s wish, I’d like to fulfill it, but I don’t have much time available.”

“I see.”

Adelbert couldn’t hide his disappointment and let his shoulders droop.

Certainly when he went to prison ten years later, he wasn’t this pitiful, and the dissonance keeps occurring because he’s different from the image I knew.

“If time permits, I’ll arrange something together with Duke Elias. Since my injury has healed, I should be able to train soon.”

His face darkened slightly.

“That’s right. It healed completely. But the Duke is…”

“His skill is guaranteed. I’m more skilled in special magic than combat magic, so he would be much more suitable for teaching Your Highness.”

Then Adelbert pressed his lips together and looked into space with a troubled expression.

“Do you dislike Duke Elias?”

“…”

He seemed to know how to package his words well, but seeing that he couldn’t do so now, he definitely dislikes him.

Of course, since he disliked him that much, he opposed him to the end even when Elias had the upper hand.

He was a stubborn one who remained loyal to the Crown Prince to the end even knowing his own defeat was predetermined.

“I don’t like him.”

“I’d like to hear the reason.”

“He has no manners. He’s always openly rude, and he acts arrogantly relying only on his magic power.”

Until now, Elias couldn’t train because of his leg, but actually Elias wasn’t particularly humble when it came to skill.

‘But the one who relies only on magic power seems to be this side, not Elias.’

Having +8 magic power but only +2 skill points.

This means he’s only been doing attacks and defense that push through with brute force without effort.

He frowned and continued speaking.

“And the Duke is… excessively frivolous. Doesn’t he go around committing debauchery while bearing the name of the imperial family?”

“Debauchery… Duke Elias has participated in all activities together with me. Are you saying all those actions were also debauchery?”

“That’s…”

He shook his head.

“I misspoke. I wasn’t trying to belittle you, Count.”

Still no apology regarding Elias to the end.

I nodded and stood up from my seat.

“It’s fine, Your Highness. It’s gotten quite late now, so I should head back.”

He also didn’t seem in the mood to continue the conversation, so he escorted me to the door.

“Yes. I enjoyed our conversation today, Count Ernst. I hope we’ll have another opportunity next time.”

* * *

“You’re quite popular, Count.”

When I returned to my lodging, Elias was lying sprawled on my bed as if it were his own room.

I cast a sound-blocking spell around Elias and myself.

“You did the same thing back in the detention center. Quite impressive.”

“What? That’s something I’ve never heard you say before. Is it because you’re tipsy? Haha!”

Elias rolled over on the bed as if doing me a favor, then patted the lower part.

“I’m not drunk. Just move over, Eli.”

“We should have a second round.”

“…”

“But a lot of people got really drunk today. That kid you met with was drinking quite a bit too.”

“It seemed that way.”

No matter how much you respect someone, to hold onto a person you’ve just met for an entire hour at dawn, you’d need to have lost some reason.

“Do you know why the Crown Prince didn’t come?”

“He’s probably shitting blood trying to develop his pitiful magic power. Would he be in any situation to go out and play?”

“Mm.”

Compared to Elias, it is pretty pitiful.

Maybe Adelbert disliked him for constantly saying things like this. Adelbert truly respected the Crown Prince. It couldn’t even compare to the passion he showed toward Nicolaus.

“Ah, I’ll go get some alcohol. Wait!”

And so, Elias actually warped to his own manor and brought back wine.

I drank only enough to barely wet my throat, but Elias was really pouring alcohol down his throat like crazy.

While drinking, he asked how my conversation with the Emperor went, so I told him everything from start to finish, and after hearing about the Catacombs, his drinking speed got even faster.

“How is it that you’re drinking this much but not getting drunk.”

“It’s a family trait. Ah, Leo should have been here for this too.”

Leo had already returned to Bavaria.

He said he needed to check if there were any problems in the region before the magical potion experiment competition began.

And we would have to depart soon as well.

“It’s four in the morning. We should get going too.”

“Ah, you’re leaving at eight in the morning, right?”

“Yeah.”

For the next week, I had to go to Bavaria and participate in the competition.

“Alright, then I’ll go downstairs for a moment. I left something in the clock room.”

“Go ahead.”

I sat comfortably on the bed, flipping through the magical potion books I had brought.

Even after about 20 minutes had passed, Elias hadn’t returned to the room.

‘Why isn’t he coming back.’

I quietly stepped outside the room.

For some inexplicable reason feeling anxious, I concentrated mana in my ears.

Loud voices could be heard from below the stairs.

Perhaps because it was the end of the banquet, there were actually more people going up and down the stairs than during the middle hours. I couldn’t distinguish any sounds that seemed to belong to Elias in particular.

‘It would be better to just go and look for him.’

The moment I took a step, I heard an unfamiliar noise.

Crash― Thud―!

“Aaaahhh!”

“…!”

That was Elias’s voice.

Running down two floors, I could see people crowded together in a swarm. Some had just come out of their rooms to look, and others were running over from the banquet hall.

“Are you alright?!”

“Quickly help him up!”

Adelbert had apparently fallen too, as someone was supporting him and helping him stand.

Beside him, Elias was curled up holding his leg, suppressing his screams.

It was the same spot that had been wrapped in bandages until just a few days ago.

“….”

I felt a chill run down the back of my neck.

They had definitely said that if he injured his leg again, he would never be able to use it.

“Call a doctor!”

“Your Highness, you mustn’t move!”

I could see Elias gritting his teeth and trembling.

‘…I need to turn it back.’

Ding―!

Retry Lv. 1

― Move to the checkpoint just before 〈Chapter 5〉

― 1 use costs 2.0 points

― 2.0 points until next level

* Points held: 8.0 points

* 0.25 luck points until next point acquisition

I was about to tell it to turn back time, but I closed my mouth.

“….”

Let me think.

If I turn back time and change what happens, this entire scene will disappear.

I need to understand the situation first.

“What happened!”

“That person pushed them. That person there!”

“N-no, I didn’t! How could I do such a thing to members of the royal family…!”

“What do you mean no, I saw it too!”

The noise from people got jumbled in my ears.

‘Isn’t the timing too coincidental.’

Of all times, the accident happened now, less than a week after Elias had his bandages removed.

Also, is it common to injure from below the knee to the ankle when tumbling down stairs?

‘…Normally you’d injure your head or back. Even wrists and hip bones would be more typical.’

This was deliberate.

Simply pushing would be too obvious and rarely results in injuries from below the knee to the ankle, so they would have had to deliberately crush the leg against the edge of the stairs with a person’s body weight.

That way it would be unusable forever.

Sure enough, there was someone who tumbled down together, meant to be used for crushing.

I continued my thoughts while looking at the prince who was breathing heavily with a pale face.

‘Then who did this, that’s what’s important.’

If I turn back time to prevent the accident, I can save Elias but I won’t be able to punish the person who pushed them.

That’s obvious.

If no accident happened, claiming ‘I can’t explain it but this person pushed two royals down the stairs’ would just make me look crazy.

Instead, if they fail this time, that person will look for the next opportunity.

To prevent that opportunity, I need to turn back time with the resolve to find the culprit.

I looked at the face of the person currently being accused as the perpetrator and opened the retry window.

―”Turn back to before this time.”

* * *

Yellow lighting and antique wallpaper came into view.

I, who had just been standing on the stairs, was suddenly back in the room reading magical potion books.

“…!”

I immediately shot up from my seat and ran to the stairs, looking down.

Drunk nobles and politicians were slowly descending the stairs.

“We don’t know when another one will be held.”

“Haha, the main character of the banquet is someone else entirely.”

“Still. It was good to meet His Excellency this time and discuss next year’s security budget. No matter how I think about it, we really need to increase the deployment of mages….”

I urgently searched for Elias among the crowd.

Elias, coming up the stairs, spotted Adelbert mixed in among them and frowned.

“Hey, why do you look like that. Haven’t you had too much to drink?”

“….”

“Even if I try not to interfere, still, you haven’t even had your birthday yet so drink in moderation.”

“Your Highness.”

A noble who spotted Adelbert bowed politely in greeting.

The noble standing behind him also greeted in the same manner. When Adelbert nodded, they resumed their steps with sluggish movements.

At that moment, the noble above Adelbert swayed backward as if pulled by something.

Elias opened his mouth with confused eyes at that moment.

“…Huh?”

“Whoa?! Catch him!”

“No!”

Grab―

I pushed past the drunk noble and grabbed the collar of Adelbert’s shirt as he was falling with him.

And with my other hand, I waved my wand to catch the falling Elias with mana.

“…!”

Unprecedented shock spread across Adelbert’s face.

I grabbed him by the collar and said quietly.

“That wouldn’t do, Your Highness.”

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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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